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Just an average day at the pro shop (outside of the falling through the ceiling part)....

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

<title>Daily Darwin: Tuesday, October 1, 2024 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Daily Darwin: Tuesday, October 1, 2024

 Just an average day at the pro shop (outside of the falling through the ceiling part)....

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

Clair McFarland

Government & Politics

Politics

Media outlets gasped last week at the socialist movement’s success in the New York congressional 

That success headed west Tuesday, to Wyoming’s southern neighbor of Colorado.

Democratic socialist Melat Kiros, 29, defeated 15-term incumbent U.S. House Rep. Diana DeGette in Tuesday evening’s primary election.

Colorado Public Radio called the ouster “a stunning blow to the Democratic establishment in Denver and continuing a run of leftist victories in major cities.”

Former Wyoming Gov. Mike Sullivan, a Dvemocrat, told Cowboy State Daily on Tuesday that he wasn’t surprised at the move by Denver voters, but he doubted the proximity of a House socialist – if Kiros wins the general election – will affect Wyoming much.

“We have our own issues, and we’re certainly more sensitive to certain issues than others,” Sullivan said. “And it doesn’t necessarily divide us or make us closer to anybody else.”

[{"type":"text","text":"Could Deepen 'Don't Colorado My Wyoming' Sentiment"}]

Liz Brimmer, longtime Wyoming politico, agreed in general, but said having a socialist congressional neighbor could galvanize Wyoming even harder into a tendency it already has: spurning anything that looks like Colorado governance.  

“I think Wyoming uniformly and strongly feels, you know, ‘Don’t Colorado my Wyoming',” Brimmer said. “And I think if anything, it deepens that sentiment.”

Brimmer said the ouster speaks of “these times, where there’s no doubt an anti-incumbent strain.” But no one will know all the reasons, nor should presume too much, until the voter data return, she said.

The Republicans saw the anti-incumbent strain surface differently, with newcomers ousting President Donald Trump’s foes in GOP primary elections.

State Rep. Landon Brown, R-Cheyenne, who is finishing off his final legislative term, voiced fascination with the election outcome.

Brown, a self-described political junkie, lives about 14 miles from the Colorado border.

He said the ouster shows Denver is increasingly dictating the rest of Colorado’s fate, and that the state is growing more polarized.

On the Republican gubernatorial primary side, The 

 a half-point lead for Victor Marx as of Wednesday.

“He’s just as crazy as a democratic socialist on the left,” said Brown.

As for DeGette’s defeat, it’s not as symptomatic as one would think, he added.

“She was running a ‘Hey, I’m the incumbent and I’ve been here 30 years’ (campaign),” he said.

That hurt her. As did a growing divide on the left over Israel’s approach to its many foes — and Congress’ funding of Israeli war and defense efforts, said Brown.

Israel was also a fulcrum in the May primary loss of libertarian-leaning incumbent Rep. Thomas Massie, of Kentucky. But the Republican voters took the inverse approach on that one, nominating the candidate who supports funding Israeli war efforts.

Jack Speight, the GOP strategist who helped Wyoming Gov. Stan Hathaway to victory in 1966, told Cowboy State Daily Kiros’ win is alarming.

Speight was a Democrat when he graduated from the University of Wyoming law school. But the allure of capitalism and the prevailing logic of his good friends pulled him to the Republican side, he said in another interview last month.

The socialist victories of 2026 are “sad for this country. It may well affect the results of this fall, and nationwide,” he said. He called it a shift of California transplants into the Rockies, and a symptom of a growing entitlement.

[{"type":"text","text":"Colorado isn’t the only Wyoming neighbor with socialist momentum."}]

Sam Forstag, a smoke jumper endorsed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, D-New York, won his primary bid for Montana’s U.S. House District 1 on June 2.

Forstag may be less favored than Kiros going into the general election: No Democrat has won that Montana House district this century.

 a “test for left-leaning politicians” who have been arguing for a populist surge in the blue party.

Melat Kiros Getty 7 1 26

<title>Win By Colorado Socialist Could Galvanize Wyoming Independence, Says Politico | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Fresh after socialist-backed candidates' success in New York's U.S. House primaries, Colorado Democrats nominated their own socialist House candidate Tuesday. Having a socialist neighbor could galvanize Wyoming's independence even more, one politico said. 

Win By Colorado Socialist Could Galvanize Wyoming Independence, Says Politico

Kolby fedore

Kolby Fedore

Public Safety

What first appeared to be an ordinary construction delay on a lonely stretch of highway west of Casper quickly turned into one of the 

 many of those involved had ever witnessed.

By the time emergency crews reached U.S. Highway 20/26 near mile marker 58 Friday afternoon, two people were dead, seven others had been injured, and strangers were comforting survivors, checking on children, searching for fire extinguishers and handing out bottled water.

On Monday, the Natrona County Coroner's Office identified the two people killed as James Faris Cox, 74, and Susan Horn Cox, 69, of Golden, Colorado.

"That was my aunt and uncle killed in the wreck Friday," their nephew Lee Wolfe told Cowboy State Daily. "They were on the way to their house in Ennis, MT. They lived in Golden, CO."

[{"type":"text","text":"He said the couple was traveling alone."}]

"It was just my aunt and uncle in their truck, no survivors," he said. "My two cousins and their families were heading up there at a different time thankfully."

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Semi, Multiple Vehicles Involved"}]

The Wyoming Highway Patrol said the crash involved multiple vehicles, including a semi-truck.

"Two confirmed fatalities. Seven injured. Seventeen people involved, two flown by helicopter, the others were taken to Wyoming Medical Center by ambulance," Wyoming Highway Patrol spokesman Aaron Brown said. "This is still an active investigation." 

As of Monday afternoon, investigators had not released a preliminary cause of the crash, and no criminal charges had been filed.

The Natrona County Coroner's Office said it is investigating the fatalities along with the Wyoming Highway Patrol and Natrona County Sheriff's Office.

[{"type":"text","text":"Krista Nethercott of Jackson never saw the crash itself."}]

She had been traveling toward Casper with a neighbor after taking her son to enroll in college when traffic suddenly came to a stop.

[{"type":"text","text":"At first, she assumed the delay was caused by nearby road construction."}]

"There were these pylons on the right-hand side that kind of tell you there's construction," she said. "But there wasn't anything alerting you to slow down. There wasn't a flagger."

After waiting several minutes, she said she couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.

She stepped out of her vehicle and walked toward the front of the traffic backup.

"That's when I could see there were cars on both sides of the road," she said. "I was like, 'Oh my goodness.'"

Nethercott said she immediately ran toward the wreckage to make sure someone had called 911 and to offer whatever help she could.

She said she told him, "I'm a funeral director. I'll help you. I'm not scared to see death." 

Working with another bystander, she checked on the occupants of one of the most severely damaged vehicles — the Coxes' pickup.

"The gentleman was immediately deceased," she said. "The lady probably lived a couple minutes."

[{"type":"text","text":"She said both appeared to have been wearing seat belts."}]

The truck was crushed so badly, she said, that she believed rescuers ultimately would need the jaws of life to remove the couple.

"If the woman had lived longer, I don't think this gentleman and I could have ever taken her out of the vehicle," she said. "That's how crushed it was."

Despite witnessing the aftermath firsthand, Nethercott said she has no idea what caused the collision.

"I don't know if the semi-trailer didn't slow down and ran into people, or if somebody was trying to pass too many vehicles. I couldn't ascertain that at all. It was just mass metal and cars," she said. 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Before The Sirens"}]

The crash occurred about 45 miles northwest of Casper, and Nethercott estimated it was roughly 30 minutes before ambulances and fire crews reached the scene.

"It seemed like it was a long time to see paramedics," she said. "But considering you're out in the middle of nowhere, I don't think they could have gotten there any quicker."

Long before emergency vehicles arrived, however, strangers had already organized themselves.

Nethercott estimated around 10 people got out of their vehicles and immediately began helping.

One man walked the line of stopped traffic asking whether anyone had a fire extinguisher. Another, who identified himself as working at a pediatric clinic, examined a young child who remained safely strapped into a five-point car seat while the boy's injured father tried to comfort him.

Others brought camping chairs for survivors to sit in while Nethercott handed out bottled water from her vehicle.

"There were people left and right getting out of their vehicles and trying to find anything that could be used," she said. "Whether it's water, an emergency medical kit or a fire extinguisher."

[{"type":"text","text":"The scene itself was almost impossible to comprehend."}]

"There was debris all over the place," she said. "Food, toilet paper, paper towels ... it looked like somebody had been camping. There was glass everywhere, bumpers everywhere."

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"'The Wyoming Way'"}]

The Natrona County Fire District described responders arriving to "a very chaotic scene" involving multiple damaged vehicles, a large debris field, numerous victims and a large bystander presence.

The response included firefighters from the Natrona County Fire District, ambulances from Mills Fire Department, Banner Wyoming Medical Center and Evansville Fire/EMS, Wyoming LifeFlight, Guardian Flight, the Natrona County Sheriff's Office, Wyoming Highway Patrol, WYDOT crews, dispatchers and road construction personnel.

[{"type":"text","text":"Fire officials said 17 people were directly involved in the crash."}]

In a statement, the department singled out the motorists who stopped to help before first responders arrived.

"Crews would like to send a heartfelt thank you to all the bystanders who assisted victims immediately after the crash, while waiting for help to arrive, as well as while responders were on-scene, offering shelter during the passing of a thunder cell, emotional support and minor patient care," they wrote. 

[{"type":"text","text":"\"The true spirit of the 'Wyoming Way' was in full force this day.\""}]

Nethercott said, "There were people left and right getting out of their vehicles and trying to find anything that could be used. They didn't sit around and wait for somebody else to do it."

[{"type":"text","text":"The moment she has replayed most, however, involved Susan Cox."}]

Although there was little anyone could do medically, Nethercott said she wanted to make sure the woman did not spend her final moments alone.

"We told her help was coming,” she said. "We don't know what happens when people are unconscious, but we wanted her to know somebody was there."

Only after that did she turn her attention to survivors who still could be saved.

Among those survivors is Kensi Van Patten. A 

 campaign organized on her behalf says she suffered serious injuries in the crash and faces a lengthy recovery while her family copes with mounting medical expenses. 

The fundraiser asks for donations to help with medical costs and lost income during her recovery.

The Wyoming Highway Patrol, Natrona County Sheriff's Office and Natrona County Coroner's Office continue to investigate the crash. 

Double Fatal Crash Go Fund Me 6 29 26

<title>Witnesses Describe Chaos, Compassion After Wyoming Crash That Killed Colo. Couple | Cowboy State Daily</title>

An older Colorado couple have been identified as the two people killed in a Friday multi-vehicle crash west of Casper. "We made sure she wasn't alone,” said a Jackson woman who was among those who stopped to help the couple and others hurt in the crash.

Witnesses Describe Chaos, Compassion After Wyoming Crash That Killed Colo. Couple

Anna-Louise Jackson

Public Lands

The Going-to-the Sun Highway has such a cult-like following that some Internet detectives have spent recent weeks analyzing the live webcam of a high-altitude parking lot just to catch a glimpse.

They’re now able to put boots on the ground as this iconic highway fully opened to motorists Monday after an eight-month winter closure.

Your take on this feverish obsession probably comes down to something simple: You’ve either experienced firsthand the beauty and grandeur of this stretch of road in Montana’s Glacier National Park — or you haven’t. 

For many people, there’s no middle ground.

There are practical reasons, too, why people go gaga about the Going-to-the-Sun. As the park’s sole east-west artery, it connects the two most-visited entrances and unlocks Glacier’s sprawling interior to recreationists for a scant four months of the year or so.

And as a National Historic Landmark, the highway is a destination unto itself. A slow, winding west-to-east journey takes visitors through lush valleys before steadily ascending along sheer cliffs with sweeping views of glaciers, alpine lakes, cascading waterfalls, and occasional glimpses of wildlife until it reaches Logan Pass atop the Continental Divide and descends once again.

Ranked the third most-scenic drive in the U.S. by Tripadvisor reviewers, people tend to throw around superlatives like “stunning,” “spectacular,” or “unforgettable” to describe it.

At the highway’s opening ceremony in July 1933, Montana’s then-governor Frank H. Cooney summed it up in a way that remains apt today: “We may confidently declare that there is no highway which will give the sightseer, the lover of the grandeur of the Creator’s handiwork, more thrills, more genuine satisfaction deep down in his being than will a trip over this road.”

A trip over the Going-to-the-Sun today wouldn't be possible were it not for a group of 1920s-era visionaries who first mapped this engineering marvel.

But the modern-day road crew deserves just as much credit.

It was while listening to a presentation by the park’s road supervisor a few years ago that local filmmaker Jordan Lefler became inspired.

“I thought how cool it would be to document that plowing process,” Lefler recalled. “It’s very orchestrated.”

He enlisted the help of his brother and fellow filmmaker Logan Lefler, and the duo initially set out to document that annual ritual, only to learn their access would be limited due to safety concerns. Undeterred, they decided to take a broader purview of a road that shouldn’t exist. 

And their timing couldn’t be more perfect: One day after the Going-to-the-Sun re-opened, the brothers pulled back the curtain on their documentary film that celebrates this road. 

” will premiere on Tuesday in Kalispell, launching a summer and fall screening tour that will hit various cities across Montana and potentially some places in Wyoming.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Beautiful Sweep of Road"}]

Part of what makes the road so iconic is the route itself.

Before construction began in the 1920s, engineers proposed three potential routes. One of those designs was "really hideous," Lefler said, featuring a dizzying dozen or so switchbacks, more like a utilitarian logging road.

Instead, today’s scenic highway uses the mountain’s natural topography as a guide and features only one official, albeit massive, hairpin switchback.

Dubbed “The Loop,” this switchback marks the transition into the white-knuckled portion of the drive for some people, as a low brick wall or guardrail is all that protects cars on one side of the road, while the other side hugs a sheer cliff

Born and raised in Arlee, Montana, about 115 miles south of the park on the Flathead Indian Reservation, Lefler said his love of both the outdoors and photography meant that he naturally gravitated to visiting Glacier quite frequently.

Now having spent so many hours behind the lens documenting this place he loves, he sees some aspects of the road in a new light.

“When I hit ‘The Loop’ area and see the road laid out ahead of me, I see how it blends in with the landscape,” Lefler said. “We have some people to thank for the beautiful sweep of the road we got today.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"First Impressions"}]

One of the beauties of this highway is that each journey up and down offers something new to experience even for regulars, while first-timers might feel a tinge of regret: 

 on his first visit to Glacier, and that’s saying something: His professional photography business takes him to plenty of spectacular places.

“It’s phenomenal,” the Kansas-based photographer said of his first experience driving the Going-to-the-Sun. “It’s easily one of the top roads in the United States, if not the world.”

When he arrived in 2022 to capture the fall foliage, Shannon quickly scrapped his pre-mapped itinerary because he was compelled to pull over dozens of times instead of the handful of stops he’d planned.

The vistas were perfect for his portfolio, but Shannon said it was hard to beat an opportunity to capture some close-ups of a family of black bears. He added nearly a dozen prints from that trip to a collection that celebrates destinations ranging from the Grand Tetons to the Swiss Alps.

Though aspects of Glacier remind Shannon of other places he’s photographed in the Canadian Rockies, he’s eager to return in summertime to photograph the park’s alpine wildflowers.

“There’s just so much to see, it’s really unique,” Shannon said. “I could go on and on about how beautiful that drive is.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"A Catch-22"}]

But the park’s growing popularity has proved problematic for locals who want to pop in for a spontaneous visit. Over the past five seasons, Glacier instituted a strict vehicle reservation system for peak visiting hours along the highway to combat the congestion that comes with 3 million annual visitors, nearly double the average seen from the 1980s through the early 2000s.

That controversial reservation system was eliminated for the 2026 season, though a three-hour parking limit at Logan Pass will be implemented this year — yet another attempt to encourage visitors to ditch their cars in lieu of other modes of transportation including free shuttles or paid tours aboard the park’s historic red jammer buses.

Still, the throng of tourists who travel along Flathead Lake each summer creates a Catch-22 for small business owners in Polson, about 70 miles south of West Glacier.

Polson’s relative proximity to the park doesn’t necessarily make a summertime visit any easier for fixtures at the town’s Friday farmers market like Wendi Arnold, co-owner of 

, and John Dalpiaz, owner of the apparel company 

Arnold isn’t sure a Glacier getaway is in the cards this year. A dwindling number of local dairy farms means that she and her husband already spend a lot of time on the road, making frequent three-hour round-trip journeys to Kalispell to fetch milk for their artisanal cheeses.

If Arnold is able to squeeze in a visit, she might opt to leave the driving to someone else by taking one of the red bus tours.

“You get to just be a passenger and focus on the majesty of it all,” Arnold said. “There’s just something about being in those glacial valleys—the vistas are spectacular.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"A Most Epic Experience"}]

Like Arnold, Dalpiaz isn’t sure he’ll make it to Glacier this summer.

But he’s had the good fortune of visiting the park so many times he can’t even remember his first time there — though he reckons it was before he could walk or talk — and has come to enjoy the park outside of peak season.

In fact, his “most epic” experience was a few years ago while biking the Going-to-the-Sun road with a friend before it opened to vehicle traffic, a popular springtime activity. 

When the duo spotted a slew of grizzly bears headed toward them, four or five in total, they pulled off the side of the road and hid behind a tree, watching as the bears ambled past.

“That was a trippy experience,” Dalpiaz recalled.

While seeing grizzly bears undeniably makes for a memorable trip, Dalpiaz also enjoys appreciating the beauty of Glacier anew through the eyes of a first-timer—whenever that might happen next.

“Every little turn, every little bend of the road is jaw-dropping and you want to stop at every single opportunity,” Dalpiaz said. “It’s one of the most beautiful drives the planet has to offer.”

Anna Louise Jackson can be reached at: Jackson.Anna@gmail.com

Going to the sun 1 6 26 26

<title>'Most Beautiful Road In America': Glacier's Going-to-the-Sun Road Opens For Summer | Cowboy State Daily</title>

The Going-to-the-Sun Road in Montana’s Glacier National Park, which opened for the summer Monday, is considered by many to be the most beautiful road in America. So be prepared to have plenty of company, human and otherwise, on the way to Logan Pass.

'Most Beautiful Road In America': Glacier's Going-to-the-Sun Road Opens For Summer

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

Andrew Rossi

Around Wyoming

Many relics from the age of the steam engine in Wyoming remain. Some are grandiose, like 

One of these relics is the Lusk Water Tower, a point of pride in eastern Wyoming. It’s one of the few structures of its kind remaining in the United States, still standing strong 140 years after it was built.

“It's pretty important and iconic to the community,” said Leslie Stewart, a volunteer at 

. “I think there would be a drive to save it again if we needed to.”

It's also significant as one of only six surviving redwood water towers in the United States, according to the Niobrara County Historical Society.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Built Better"}]

In 1886, the Fremont, Elkhorn and Missouri Railway was establishing a line to connect Douglas and Chadron, South Dakota. This necessitated new depots and water towers along the route to ensure the steam engines kept running.

Lusk was chosen because it had, at the time, the only post office along the intended route.

Stewart, who’s also a commissioner for Wyoming State Parks and Cultural Resources, said the establishment of this railway was an important development for the newly incorporated town.

“The railroads were coming this way to transport livestock, grain, mining equipment, and coal, but they also provided ready access for ranchers, farmers, and homesteaders coming to settle this area,” he said.

Water towers were essential for steam engines, but the Lusk Water Tower was built to be better. That’s reflected in the specifics of its design.

“It’s mostly made of Douglas fir, but the tank is four-inch planks of redwood,” Stewart said. “It wasn’t an aesthetic choice. They wanted something that would expand with water and hold the thing together tightly when it was wet.”

According to Stewart, adjustability was essential. The circular tank is 25 feet in diameter and equally as tall, but the redwood allowed it to expand and contract as needed.

“It was built like a barrel with metal bands around the outside,” she said. “When the tank was empty, they could tighten the bands. When it was full, they could loosen them up and expand the tank while keeping a tight fit.”

A windmill was used to move water 25 feet up into the tank. At full capacity, it could hold around 44,000 gallons of water.

In a certain sense, the Lusk Water Tower was ahead of its time in design and construction.

The tower and the railway were built by the Wyoming Central Railway, a subsidiary of the Fremont, Elkhorn and Missouri Railway. The director of the subsidiary was Frank Lusk, for whom the town is named.

The Wyoming Central Railway was established specifically to ensure that a Wyoming company would build the line and all its infrastructure.

“That was one of the requirements for the railway,” Stewart said. “They had to have a Wyoming company do the construction.”

There’s another way the Lusk Water Tower happened to be ahead of its time: It was deemed worth saving before it was too late.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Standing Strong"}]

When the original Lusk train depot was destroyed by fire, the water tower was moved from the center of town to the eastern edge, where it stands today. The tower continued to service steam locomotives until diesels took over.

The railway, which is still in service, changed hands multiple times over the next several decades. However, there were concerns that the Lusk Water Tower might be destroyed by the very railway it had been built to service.

“The Chicago and North Western Transportation Company was moving a lot of heavy coal traffic past the tower,” Stewart said. “The Niobrara County Historical Society was concerned that the vibrations from the trains would destroy the tower.”

In 1971, the Niobrara County Historical Society purchased the Lusk Water Tower. A campaign was immediately started to raise money to restore and repair it.

By 1982, enough was raised for Gillette LNT Fabrication and Construction to do a thorough restoration.

“A lot of different organizations helped fund that restoration, including the Wyoming Legislature and the Chicago and North Western Transportation Company,” Stewart said. “I don't think the railroad had any interest in saving it, although they did help in the end.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Lusk’s Own"}]

In 1991, the Lusk Water Tower was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. Rheba Massey, the historian who submitted the form for its consideration, said the tower was “one small part of that great expansion” that had “a major effect on the settlement history of the area.”

“The Lusk Water Tower represents this early development of rail transportation, including steam locomotion from the period of 1886 to World War II,” she wrote. “Massive water towers and windmills were regular features of station sites during the age of steam, (and) the Lusk Water Tower is Wyoming's only surviving railroad structure of its type.”

The railway is currently owned by Union Pacific, which still sends plenty of freight past the iconic tower.

As of 2026, the only other tower of its type that’s easy to track down is the Gerlach Water Tower, built in 1909 in Gerlach, Nevada.

Stewart wasn’t sure how many redwood water towers were built or how many remain. She’s content that the Lusk Water Tower isn’t going anywhere.

“We still get people asking about the tower,” she said. “Alumni come home and say they had to swing by the tower to make sure it was still there.”

She also applauded everyone who recognized the tower’s historic significance and organized the successful effort to save it, at a time when historical preservation wasn’t as popular as it would become.

“If those historically astute people hadn’t recognized that, I’m not sure it would have been saved,” she said.

Lusk Redwood water tower 6 28 26

<title>Lusk's Redwood Water Tower, One Of 6 Left In US, Still Standing After 140 Years | Cowboy State Daily</title>

The redwood water tower in Lusk was built in 1886 to keep steam engines running between Wyoming and South Dakota. While the engines are gone, the tower endures 140 years after it was built and is one of six such relics still standing in the United States.

Daily Darwin: Tuesday, October 1, 2024

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