One More For The Road

[{"type":"text","text":"In his defense, he did have on his turn signal....."}]

One more for 9 30 24

Cowboy State Daily is Wyoming’s largest newspaper with Wyoming’s most experienced journalists. 

<title>One More For The Road: Monday, September 30, 2024 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

In his defense, he did have on his turn signal.....

One More For The Road: Monday, September 30, 2024

 In his defense, he did have on his turn signal.....

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily's general assignment reporter, Clair McFarland.

Clair McFarland

Government & Politics

Politics

After vocal Green River residents shut down the city’s attempt to secure grant funding for a license plate reader camera project, a police sergeant speaking on his own behalf Tuesday urged the council to reconsider.

Green River Mayor Pete Rust and Councilman Gary Killpack had speculated at a July 7 meeting that the group opposing the cameras drowned out a silent, alternate movement in their favor.

 against the $112,000 federal grant for the project, which had been slated for putting Motorola license plate reader (LPR) surveillance cameras at town entrances.

Green River Police Sgt. Brad Dodson, who said he was speaking for himself and not the department, brought that alternate view to the council’s regular Tuesday meeting.

“While I recognize that decision, I was a little disappointed you didn’t listen to the chief a little bit more and maybe take more time to reevaluate that decision,” Dodson said during the public comment section.

 the grant was characterized as an anti-terrorism effort, but he said the cameras would also be a tool in helping find missing and vulnerable people, as well as answering other real-time investigations.

Dodson told the council the department recently responded to a stolen vehicle incident, and was able to use LPRs from other areas.

In another stolen- vehicle attempt last week, “a license plate reader would have been great to have” to track down the vehicle, he said.

“This is something people ask, something people maybe even expect us to have,” Dodson said.

He urged the council to consider the camera project if it surfaces again, and said he’s happy to offer any information people seek.

“I’m happy to dispel some fear, some concerns, or maybe just give another side of the story,” Dodson said. “Especially from someone who’s on, essentially, the front line trying to solve these crimes for the citizens of this community essentially every day.”

Killpack delivered comments toward the end of the meeting to rebut what he described as an email from a Laramie resident on the topic, calling him dumb and dishonest.

He said he’d take the dumb critique but the “dishonest” claim is slander and “unacceptable.”

The people who opposed LPRs two weeks ago, said Killpack, “they don’t understand what happened.”

Killpack said if any of those people go to Salt Lake City, “they’ve been picked up” by the camera and their plates logged into the system.

Salt Lake City has LPRs. It also paused a plan to expand its system in December over privacy concerns, 

Killpack said the people in the audience two weeks ago also didn’t understand the council’s nay votes killed the grant, though not necessarily some later decision to raise cameras.

Marshall Burt, a former, and first, Libertarian state lawmaker for Wyoming bristled at that in a Wednesday interview with Cowboy State Daily.

[{"type":"text","text":"He said Killpack was “blaming people for being stupid and confused.”"}]

“Now I’m going to have to wait for the next city council meeting, show up and argue again,” said Burt, who rallied people via social media ahead of the July 7 meeting.

Dennis Laughlin, vice-chair of the Libertarian Party and a business owner in Green River, also protested at the July 7 meeting.

“Yeah I would say Killpack doesn’t understand what the people of Green River obviously want,” Laughlin said.

Laughlin said he had a qualm with the federal funding, and it’s wrong for people to believe that’s free money. But most LPR opponents were against the installation of the cameras alone, and lobbied against the grant as a means to prevent that, he said.

“People are seeing this constant encroachment on their liberties. It’s like being pecked to death by a duck, and one peck doesn’t hurt – but eventually you die,” Laughlin said.

[{"type":"text","text":"Laughlin said he’s glad Killpack is not running for council again."}]

Green river license plate reader 7 7 26

<title>Green River Police Sergeant Urges Reconsideration Of License Plate Cameras | Cowboy State Daily</title>

A police sergeant urged the Green River City Council Tuesday to reconsider license plate reader cameras, two weeks after vocal residents blocked the project. He said they are a valuable tool in helping find missing and vulnerable people.

Green River Police Sergeant Urges Reconsideration Of License Plate Cameras

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily's Feature Reporter, Andrew Rossi.

Andrew Rossi

Around Wyoming

Many Wyoming ranchers are struggling with an existential problem that’s completely out of their control. Hay has become harder to find, harder to grow, and more expensive to buy.

With the lack of rain and ongoing drought, it’s harder to grow hay for feeding Wyoming’s cattle, horses and other livestock. Ranchers who have historically harvested their own hay might have to purchase it to keep their animals fed, and prices are constantly creeping upward.

In the short term, it’s enough to make ranching difficult. In the long term, some say, it could hasten the end of many family farms and ranches that can’t afford to feed their animals.

“If it’s not a problem now, it’s going to be,” said Dennis Sun, publisher of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. “Some people are looking to sell cattle because they’re afraid they can't get the hay to feed them.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Not A Hay Day"}]

Meeteetse resident Mitchell Huene works with Cowboys with a Mission, a nonprofit that runs two annual Bible schools teaching kids to ride, brand, lay irrigation pipes, and understand “where their food comes from.”

“Whatever anybody needs us to do, we'll do,” he told Cowboy State Daily. “To facilitate that, we've got 43 horses we need to feed.”

In the past, Cowboys with a Mission got its hay from the Pitchfork Ranch. Huene learned in May that the ranch wouldn’t be able to supply them this summer.

“Because of how bad the winter was, nobody in the area has any grass,” he said. “They're grazing their hay fields at the Pitchfork.”

They found a new supplier near Powell that had enough hay in their price range. However, that deal fell through last week.

“There wasn't as much hay coming off the fields as he thought, and he had other customers to take care of first,” Huene said. “That was a bit of a problem for us, because we had about 10 days’ worth of hay left at that point.”

When Huene first arrived in Meeteetse 12 years ago, he was paying $100 per ton of hay. Last summer, it was $150 per ton.

This summer, finding hay for less than $200 per ton is a bargain, and even that’s a rare find.

“We’re seeing hay going for $300 to $350 per ton on Facebook Marketplace,” Huene said. “There was some hay down in Thermopolis posted for $450 a ton this morning. We're a nonprofit, so we're not exactly rolling in dough, and that’s three times what we were paying last year.”

Huene has heard similar stories from ranchers across Wyoming. They either can't produce enough hay or are worried about affording enough hay.

“One hay producer in the area said he got 250 tons off a field last year,” he said. “He got 100 off of it this year.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"No Hay, No Way"}]

Hay is essential to Wyoming’s agricultural industry. Animals need it, and ranchers need to make sure they’re amply supplied to feed their livestock throughout the year.

[{"type":"text","text":"The year so far has been a struggle for ranchers across the state."}]

“Most ranchers produce their own hay,” Sun said. “When there’s a drought, there’s not much going on.  I'm hearing that ranchers aren’t getting enough water to put up their usual amount of hay.”

By Sun’s estimate, a 1,000-pound cow needs at least 20 pounds of hay every day, assuming it’s grazing and has its diet supplemented with other sources such as grain or corn.

[{"type":"text","text":"A cow that isn’t grazing will need around 25 pounds of hay per day."}]

Many ranchers have reliably produced enough hay to keep their livestock well fed. Anything extra can be sold or stored.

That hasn’t been the case this summer. Sun has heard reports of ranchers who’ve only had a quarter of their usual tonnage.

“They'll either have to start selling livestock or buying hay,” he said. “It’s better when you can buy at $100 or $150 per ton, but you're not going to see any hay like that this summer.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"It Gets Worse"}]

Jason Watts, co-owner of HayWerks in Buffalo, has been crunching the numbers. Overall, they aren’t good.

“Overall assessment for hay in Wyoming is down 60-70% of a normal year over a 10-year period,” he said. “Certain areas in Wyoming are much worse than other areas where snow packs were moderate this spring.”

One of Watts’s largest customers is the HF Bar Ranch near Buffalo. They typically order between 250 to 275 tons of hay per year to feed 200 horses.

[{"type":"text","text":"On July 1, they ordered an additional 300 tons of hay."}]

“They began feeding their horses in late June this year because the pastures were too dry to graze during the summer months,” Watts said. “Now, take this example of one customer and how they are handling the hay situation and multiply this across Wyoming.”

Watts managed to meet the HF Bar Ranch’s order by studying drought maps and finding an area that had enough moisture to grow a surplus of hay. He found growers in North Dakota that could meet the ranch’s needs.

“Delivered prices this year are $125 a ton higher over 2025 prices,” he said. “I arranged transportation and began shipping hay (from Fargo, North Dakota) to the HF Bar Ranch. That’s 625 miles, one way.”

That’s a hefty cost for any ranch, but larger ranches have an easier time footing the bill. That usually isn’t an option for smaller ranches, or even people with small acreages with a handful of horses.

Watts said he works in a “small hay world,” selling only a few thousand tons of hay each year. That’s why he finds the current situation so concerning.

“I cannot imagine, on a state level, how much hay is needed to feed privately owned livestock,” he said. “Customers are scrambling to dig deep into their bank accounts to buy hay and keep the livestock they own.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Grass Isn’t Greener"}]

According to Watts, the HF Bar Ranch needed hay because there was no grass in its pastures. That, too, is a universal problem and growing concern.

“In a lot of places, there's no grass in the hills for the cattle to winter on,” Sun said. “If there’s no grass, you’re going to have to feed them more hay.”

It’s particularly bad for areas recovering from recent wildfires. Sun knows of several ranchers who have little to no hope of seeing any grass this year.

“If they got really affected by the fires last summer, there’s no new grass coming in where the fire was,” he said. “That’s going to make hay even more expensive.”

Even if a rancher can only buy at $450 per ton, they’ll be paying much more. According to Sun, that money covers the hay only.

“That doesn't cover the high cost of trucking it in from some place that does have hay,” he said. “For ranchers in droughty areas, it doesn’t look good at all, and that’s probably over half of Wyoming.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Kitchen Table Decisions"}]

Right now, the hay feeding Wyoming’s livestock is probably from out-of-state. Watts said importing hay from neighboring states “might” be enough to stabilize Wyoming, if only temporarily.

“Folks in Montana and North Dakota ship hay into eastern Wyoming,” he said. “Eastern Idaho has hay that will likely end up in western Wyoming. It’s the central and southeastern area of Wyoming that I cannot predict how they will improve on hay supply.”

Central and southeastern Wyoming are struggling because they’re competing with Colorado, Watts said, adding that Colorado is “pulling a lot of hay from multiple surrounding states” to cover its own crop losses.

While the pressure is certainly being felt now, Watts said he thinks the severity of Wyoming’s hay situation will come to a head this fall.

“When calves are taken to market, the decision to buy hay or sell (livestock) will be the topic at many kitchen tables,” he said.

That will be the reality unless something changes. And something can still change to improve the outlook.

“There's not going to be much improvement unless we get some of these monsoon rains,” he said.

Sun referred to 2025 as an example of a recent turnaround. The rains “stopped” in July and August, and it stayed dry until October.

“I had pastures with six inches of green grass in them in October,” he said. “These things can happen at any time, but they need to happen.”

Monsoonal rains are in Wyoming’s forecast, but favorable weather is never guaranteed. Sun is looking at this week’s forecast with increasing concern.

“If we don't get it here in the next few days, and it goes back to 98 degrees during the day next week, that’ll be a problem,” he said. “You don't want to stop doing your rain dances.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"“It’ll Break Us”"}]

Faced with a growing shortage of hay, Huene turned to Facebook to see if anyone had anything extra that they’d be willing to sell at a reasonable price.

“The worst they can do is say no or ignore you,” he said. “They can't take away your birthday, right?”

Cowboys with a Mission has found a hay supplier in Bozeman, Montana, able to deliver for $310 per ton. Huene said that’s the best they can do for now, but he knows it isn’t sustainable.

“If that's the route we're going to have to go, it’s pretty well going to break us,” he said. “If anyone wants to help a registered nonprofit, we’re still hurting for hay. It’s brutal.”

Hay wyoming 7 22 26

<title>'It's Brutal': Wyoming Can't Grow Hay, So Ranchers Pay Big Bucks Or Sell Livestock | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Wyoming ranchers are struggling with an existential problem out of their control. Hay has become harder to find, harder to grow, and more expensive to buy. Some say this will hasten the end of family farms and ranches that can’t afford to feed their animals.

'It's Brutal': Wyoming Can't Grow Hay, So Ranchers Pay Big Bucks Or Sell Livestock

Kolby fedore

Kolby Fedore

Law Enforcement

A Wednesday afternoon at a Cheyenne hardware store gave way to flashing lights, drawn guns and a swift police response after a reported armed robbery outside Ace Hardware that ended with three people in custody and multiple firearms recovered.

Within minutes of the first 911 call, police flooded the east side of the city.

By about 3:30 p.m., at least eight law enforcement vehicles with emergency lights flashing were clustered near athletic fields east of the store, where officers appeared to be investigating and searching vehicles.

Motorists slowed as they passed, trying to make sense of the sudden show of force.

[{"type":"text","text":"Cheyenne resident Cassadie Randolph was one of them."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"She pulled over after spotting the police activity."}]

"I just saw someone in handcuffs and cops looking through the vehicle," Randolph told Cowboy State Daily just before 4 p.m. 

What she witnessed was the aftermath of what police say began just minutes earlier.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Armed Robbery"}]

According to the Cheyenne Police Department, officers were dispatched at approximately 3:06 p.m. Wednesday to a report of an armed robbery at Ace Hardware, 3505 E. Lincolnway.

They located three people believed to have been involved in the robbery and took them into custody, police said. Officers also recovered firearms.

[{"type":"text","text":"No injuries were reported."}]

"Officers do not believe there is an ongoing threat to the community at this time," the department said in a statement released Wednesday afternoon.

Police have not yet identified the three people who were arrested or announced what criminal charges they may face.

Authorities also have not released details about what happened before officers arrived, what property may have been taken, or whether the victim and suspects knew one another.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Firearms Recovered"}]

Earlier emergency dispatch traffic indicated the robbery was reported in the Ace Hardware parking lot and that officers were searching for a vehicle believed to be connected to the crime before making the arrests. 

The investigation drew a significant law enforcement presence to the area, with patrol vehicles from multiple directions converging.

Witnesses watched as officers secured the scene, detained at least one person and searched a vehicle while investigators worked nearby.

As investigators continue gathering evidence, authorities have not indicated whether additional arrests are expected.

Police also have not yet said what led to the robbery.

Ace arrest 7 22 26

<title>Three Arrested After Reported Armed Robbery Outside Cheyenne Ace Hardware | Cowboy State Daily</title>

A reported armed robbery outside of an Ace Hardware in east Cheyenne sparked a major police response Wednesday. Three people were arrested and multiple firearms recovered. "I saw someone in handcuffs and cops looking through the vehicle," a witness said.

Three Arrested After Reported Armed Robbery Outside Cheyenne Ace Hardware

The Wyoming Republican Party’s decision to buck tradition, and maybe state law, by 

 before the primary election is sparking controversy and consternation for some.

The GOP state central committee voted Monday night to endorse Brent Bien for governor, Chuck Gray for U.S. House, and Harriet Hageman for U.S. Senate. Also: Tom Kelly for Superintendent of Public Instruction, Scott Smith for state Treasurer and Rachel Williams for Secretary of State – all over their respective Republican opponents.

That could alienate numerous candidates and their supporters, said Rodger McDaniel, a former legislator who had tried, in 1977, to stop the passage of the law the party is potentially flouting.

“This is the kind of thing that really tears a political party up,” said McDaniel, who served in the Legislature as a Democrat and now says he's a Republican-in-name-only. “To make those endorsements when you have other Republicans running, that’s not going to go easy.”

State Party Chair Bryan Miller has countered in both a press release and an email interview, saying the party respects the “fiercely independent, discerning” voter base.

"This process is not about party leadership picking winners and losers, nor is it about telling anyone how to vote,” Miller said in a Tuesday statement to Cowboy State Daily. “It is about transparency.”

Miller emphasized that the state party’s platform – 80% approval of which was the entry ticket to participate in the endorsement process – was written and passed “by grassroots delegates from all 23 counties.”

People elect their Republican neighbors to GOP precinct committee positions. Those officials then elect their state delegates.

“Our endorsement simply highlights candidates whose platform pledges and track records most closely align with those grassroot conservative principles,” added Miller.

[{"type":"text","text":"‘You’re The Insider Now’"}]

McDaniel’s prediction is manifesting, through recent statements by a few – though not all – of the non-endorsed candidates.

Senate President Bo Biteman, who’s running in a 10-candidate field against Gray for U.S. House, did not seek the party’s endorsement.

Though ranked conservative by many of its vetting committee’s metrics, Biteman didn’t return the party’s questionnaire, so he wasn’t eligible for endorsement.

He told Cowboy State Daily on Tuesday that party leadership and their favorites are coalescing into a group of insiders.

“Republicans have always stood against that kind of crap,” said Biteman. “We’ve always, you know, looked at the Democrats and laughed at them for doing what they’ve done … We’re becoming what we railed against.”

[{"type":"text","text":"Biteman mixed Gray into his critique."}]

“Now we have a new establishment. Like Chuck Gray comes on your show and rails against the ‘woke wind,’ the ‘liberal media’ and the ‘insiders,’” said Biteman. “Well Chuckie-boy  you’re the insider, buddy. I don’t know how else to tell it to you.”

Biteman has served in the state Legislature for a decade. He recalled being part of an anti-establishment conservative movement that gained momentum after 2014 to buck "party insiders." 

"Things do have an equal and opposite reaction. So when you get into power you've got to use it wisely. You've got to use it fairly," he said. "Or else you won't have it for very long." 

[{"type":"text","text":"‘Insiders,’ And ‘Leftwing Media’"}]

Gray in a Wednesday text message said the party’s endorsement of him reflects a “record of standing with Wyoming Republicans, advancing the conservative movement, and delivering real victories — not just talking about them," and said he’s put principles ahead of political convenience.

Gray pointed to his backing of numerous election-reform bills, and again derided an unspecified group of “insiders.”

“I took on the political insiders, the out of control leftwing media, and the special interests when they tried to destroy me because I refused to back down from conservative principles,” said Gray.

Gray asserted that he “made sure that President Trump remained on the ballot.”

Colorado litigants had tried to remove Trump from that state’s ballot in 2024. Gray filed amicus briefs to dispute that, including about one of 76 amicus briefs in the U.S. Supreme Court case.

The move prompted a controversy on the House floor about whether Gray could use state money for out-of-state litigation, which then ballooned into an unsuccessful defamation suit, as Gray’s allies had claimed some lawmakers who voted to curb his spending power had “voted to keep Trump off the ballot.”

Gray asked Wednesday, “Where were the other candidates in this race when that fight was happening?”

“It's not surprising that some candidates are disappointed they didn't earn the party's endorsement,” said Gray, adding: “But I've never believed conservative leadership is measured by complaints after a vote — it's measured by the work you've done and track record.  I've shown that I work hard to advance the priorities of the people of Wyoming.” 

Gray is running for the nomination against Biteman, philanthropist Steve Friess, Casper businessman Reid Rasner, Teton County-based attorney Frank Chapman, military veterans Kevin Christensen and David Giralt, former legislator Keith Goodenough, former state Superintendent of Public Instruction Jillian Balow, and the self-described “pragmatic” Republican Richard Dodson.

[{"type":"text","text":"The primary election is Aug. 18."}]

Christensen was vocally critical of the party’s process. The state central committee had approved its candidate vetting committee to consider candidates’ donations to the party.

[{"type":"text","text":"Christensen worried aloud this lent the perception of “pay to play.”"}]

Crook County GOP Chair Mark Koep disputed the assertion Monday, suggesting Cowboy State Daily retract Christensen’s statement.

Treasurer Curt Meier, who did not win endorsement, had scored higher in party donations than his opponent Rep. Scott Smith.

[{"type":"text","text":"Koep pointed to that."}]

However, Cowboy State Daily learned by obtaining the vetting committee’s chart after the meeting, all the other endorsed candidates scored either equal to or better than their non-endorsed foes on the party donations metric.  

That was just one of many metrics. The party also considered legislative record breakdowns, past political involvements and other factors.

[{"type":"text","text":"The Call To Serve Our Country"}]

The vetting committee recommended an endorsement for Giralt as well as Gray.

Giralt came narrowly within winning a statement of “support,” but it failed by one vote.

In a Tuesday statement he thanked the party for its consideration and said he’s

grateful for the support we’ve received from Republicans across Wyoming.”

The party’s considerations of political activity, giving, and legislative records might disadvantage military veterans, both Giralt and Christensen have noted.

“I respect the committee’s decision, but I don’t believe anyone should be penalized for answering the call to serve our country, and I won’t apologize for serving mine,” said Giralt. “If my time away from Wyoming was spent defending the freedoms we all cherish, that’s something I’m incredibly proud of.”

Balow told Cowboy State Daily in a Wednesday phone interview that she filled out the party’s questionnaire as a gesture of transparency for the voters.

But, Balow said, she had announced publicly that she wouldn’t accept the party’s endorsement, if given.

“The (Gray) endorsement comes as no surprise,” she said. “But honestly it’s not something that I think Wyoming will pay a great deal of attention to.”

Balow said she’s spoken with Republicans across the state who believe Wyoming GOP leadership isn’t representative of party generally.

“The heart of it is that the Wyoming people should choose their nominees – not the party,” she said. “And that’s the process that’s kept our state red and strong for years.”

If the state GOP decides at some point to take over nominating power from the voters, it will need a law change to do so. 

[{"type":"text","text":"Biteman called the endorsement maneuver a step in that direction."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"“Thank God we can still vote,” Biteman said Tuesday."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Only Democrats Opposed This"}]

It’s been at least 49 years since Wyoming let its major parties financially back their favorites in the primary election.

The late state Sen. Robert Frisby, a Park County Republican, sponsored a bill in 1977 creating numerous election restrictions. 

One of them says: “No political party funds shall be expended directly or indirectly in the aid of the nomination of any one person as against another person of the same political party running in the primary election.”

Miller told state GOP convention attendees in April that the law has been interpreted as a ban on endorsements.

He asserted in a Wednesday email the law doesn’t work that way, however.

It’s a point of debate. McDaniel said he’s unsure if the law bans endorsements, though he acknowledged indirect expenses can be associated with vetting and announcing endorsements.  

State GOP leadership is now suing Gray in his official capacity to get the law overturned. The party leaders say the law violates parties’ First Amendment rights.

[{"type":"text","text":"McDaniel said he’s not sure how the court challenge will end."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Only Democrats, including McDaniel, voted against the bill in 1977."}]

It cleared the Senate with 18 in favor, 11 against and one excused; it passed the state House 42-19, one excused.

U.S. House candidate Bo Biteman is one of many criticizing the Republican Party's decision to endorse candidates. He called Chuck Gray, who sought and received the endorsement, the establishment. "Well Chuckie-boy you’re the insider, buddy," he said.

One More For The Road: Monday, September 30, 2024

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