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

<title>Daily Cartoon: Thursday, October 10, 2024 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Daily Cartoon: Thursday, October 10, 2024

Employee kate meadows cropped

Kate Meadows

Wyoming Life

Around Wyoming

After years of watching lawn chairs, coolers and other personal belongings appear earlier and earlier along the Sheridan WYO Rodeo parade route, the Sheridan City Council unanimously approved a resolution Monday restricting when people can begin claiming spots.

The rule prohibits anyone from placing personal property on public sidewalks, streets or alleyways along the parade route before 5 p.m. the day before the parade unless they receive authorization from the city.

Personal property left along the parade route too early will be confiscated and taken to a designated location, where owners can reclaim it. 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"A Race for the Best Spots"}]

What once involved residents setting out chairs the evening before the parade gradually evolved into a race to reserve prime viewing locations days in advance, according to city officials. 

"It was just becoming crazy," Sheridan Mayor Rich Bridger told Cowboy State Daily.

Police Chief Travis Koltiska said he has seen personal property appear along the route as early as Tuesday for a Saturday parade.

[{"type":"text","text":"\"People were going out earlier and earlier every year,\" Bridger said."}]

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"A Growing Problem"}]

Koltiska said the police department repeatedly asked residents to wait until the day before the parade to place chairs and other items along Main Street.

[{"type":"text","text":"Instead, the problem worsened."}]

"We saw this problem progressing," he said. "We asked for voluntary compliance and the problem seemed to exacerbate."

As more people claimed spots earlier in the week, others felt pressure to do the same.

[{"type":"text","text":"\"It feeds on itself,\" Bridger said."}]

The increasingly competitive scramble for front-row seats reflects the popularity of Sheridan's annual Rodeo Week celebration, one of the city's signature summer events. The parade routinely draws large crowds downtown and is one of the highlights of the weeklong festivities.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Safety Concerns"}]

City officials say the growing volume of property along Main Street created significant safety and accessibility concerns.

Personal belongings often extended far beyond the curb, blocking sidewalks and making it difficult for pedestrians.

"It was a safety issue," Bridger said. "People couldn't get out of their cars. People were stacking their chairs so far back people couldn't move on the sidewalks."

Koltiska said the obstacles posed particular challenges for people with mobility limitations and anyone trying to access businesses along the parade route.

Main Street is not only the center of parade activity, Bridger noted, but also Sheridan's primary business corridor.

"Everything happens on Main Street as far as the parade is concerned," he said.

Businesses still need customers to access storefronts, and residents should be able to park and exit their vehicles without encountering rows of unattended chairs, coolers and other belongings, city leaders said.

[{"type":"text","text":"Ultimately, officials concluded that a formal resolution was necessary."}]

"It reached a point where the only way to attempt to create a safe environment was to enact a resolution," Koltiska said.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Little Public Pushback"}]

Despite the issue's history, the proposal generated no public opposition during Monday's council meeting.

[{"type":"text","text":"Bridger said he expected at least some residents to voice concerns."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Instead, the resolution passed without public comment."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"\"It just went through,\" he said."}]

Brandy Campbell, secretary of the Sheridan WYO Rodeo Board, said the board has not taken a position on the matter.

"We really don't have a dog in the fight," she said, adding that she would need to speak with other board members before commenting further.

Koltiska expects reactions will be mixed once residents become aware of the new policy.

[{"type":"text","text":"\"I'm sure there's going to be mixed reactions to it,\" he said."}]

He emphasized that the city is not banning chairs or other viewing setups during the parade itself.

"No one is prohibiting people from using chairs," he said. "It's simply a timing issue."

Other Wyoming communities that draw large crowds for summer celebrations have so far managed the issue without formal restrictions.

In Lander, where crowds swell dramatically during Fourth of July festivities, city officials rely largely on public cooperation and reminders to be considerate of others when claiming parade-viewing spots.

"We like to remind folks that parking lots are almost always private property," Lander Mayor Missy White told Cowboy State Daily.

The situation is somewhat unique because Main Street is a Wyoming Department of Transportation highway, meaning decisions involving the street and sidewalks ultimately fall under state jurisdiction rather than the city, White said.

As part of its annual parade guidance, Lander reminds spectators that chairs may be placed along Main Street sidewalks at the owner's risk, asks people to leave room for pedestrian traffic and ADA access, and encourages residents to obtain permission before placing chairs on private property.

[{"type":"text","text":"So far, White said, residents have responded well."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"\"We've had a good response from the public,\" she said."}]

White said she hopes Lander never reaches the point where local leaders feel compelled to adopt an ordinance or formal resolution regulating parade-chair placement.

"My way of thinking about it is I really hope people stay respectful," she said. "I really hope we're not put in that awkward position.

"If we get to the level of an ordinance, really, we all lose. Because no one's going to be happy. So let's not do that. Let's behave appropriately, let's be responsible and respectful, and not come close to an ordinance having to be enacted."

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Getting The Word Out"}]

In Sheridan, city officials acknowledge the first year of enforcement will likely come with challenges.

"We'll have to experiment," Bridger said. "I expect that the first year will be a little rough. People will be surprised."

In the coming weeks, city staff and law enforcement officers plan an extensive outreach effort to make residents aware of the new rule before Rodeo Week begins July 8.

Koltiska said he intends to visit businesses along Main Street personally to explain the resolution and answer questions.

Many business owners already understand what city officials are trying to accomplish, he said.

The goal isn't to diminish the excitement surrounding the parade, officials say, but to strike a balance between preserving a cherished Sheridan tradition and keeping downtown safe and accessible.

WYO Rodeo Parade Visit Sheridan Wyoming 6 16 26

<title>Sheridan Bans Claiming Spots Too Early Along WYO Rodeo Parade Route | Cowboy State Daily</title>

After years of watching lawn chairs and coolers appear earlier and earlier along the WYO Rodeo parade route, the Sheridan City Council on Monday banned people claiming spots too early. "I expect that the first year will be a little rough,” said the mayor.

Sheridan Bans Claiming Spots Too Early Along WYO Rodeo Parade Route

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

Clair McFarland

Crime & Courts

Courts

Wyoming’s governor is asking a court to undo the 

 under his purview, saying the board exceeded its law-given authority 

by not accepting a limit on how much property taxes can increase each year.

Gov. Mark Gordon filed a motion Tuesday for the Laramie County District Court to deem Wyoming’s 4% cap on yearly increases in residential property tax assessed values constitutional. 

 asked the court to block the actions of the State Board of Equalization.

The board had issued a report Thursday calling the 4% cap —‚ which has been 

in some form since 2024 — unconstitutional. The board warned county assessors that if the cap is included in their property tax calculations for this year, the board won’t certify those residential property tax values.

That decision came from the two board members who participated in the tax value examination last year: Chair E. Jayne Mockler and Vice-Chair Marty Hardscog.

The third board member, Karl Anderson, did not participate in that evaluation and so didn’t sign the Thursday report.

[{"type":"text","text":"Expects To Move"}]

The board hasn’t yet issued an order requiring Wyoming’s county assessors to rework their pending tax bills without the cap.

But it expects to do so in the coming weeks after working with counties, Mockler told Cowboy State Daily in a Thursday phone interview.

Also, the board has undertaken its work with counties, 

o certify residential property tax values for Campbell, Hot Springs, and Sublette counties on the basis that it believes the exemptions the counties calculated under state law are unconstitutional, says the governor's complaint.

Gordon’s Tuesday legal filing calls the board's actions “ultra vires,” or exceeding the board’s property authority. It asks the court to void the board’s actions.

The Wyoming Constitution requires the governor to “take care that the laws be faithfully executed,” the governor’s court filing says.

[{"type":"text","text":"The State Board of Equalization falls under the executive branch."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"This maneuver is unprecedented, the governor’s court challenge says."}]

“In the past twenty years, the Board has only delayed certification of values on one occasion,” says the filing. That was in 2006 when the board required one county to equalize its property valuations.

“In that time, it has never declined to certify values,” says the filing.

Besides urging the court to keep the tax board under its limited executive-branch authority, Gordon’s complaint also asserts that a clause of the Wyoming Constitution justifies the 4% tax cap.

Wyoming Constitution Article 15, Section 12, says the Legislature may by law provide for exemptions on “such other property” beyond churches, cemeteries and libraries.

The board’s Thursday report had addressed that section, but said it wasn’t enough to overcome another sections’ call for all taxation within property tax classes to be “equal and uniform.”

Wyoming Attorney General Senior Assistant James Peters signed Gordon’s Tuesday court filing.

The filing also lists as counsel Wyoming Attorney General Keith Kautz, and Deputy AG Mackenzie Williams.

[{"type":"text","text":"Counties Like This"}]

Because Gordon's filing is, in part, a request for the court to lend clarity to this issue, the Wyoming County Commissioners Association voiced approval of the action Tuesday. 

"It is important that counties, assessors and taxpayers have clear direction as they move through the annual assessment and certification process," said WCCA Executive Director Jerimiah Rieman in a statement. "The Legislature adopted the 4% cap, and counties have worked in good faith to implement that law. We support efforts to obtain timely clarification from the courts so local governments can continue administering Wyoming's property tax system with consistency and confidence."

Uncertainty in applying the cap could create significant administrative challenges for counties, including recalculating assessments, revising assessment schedules, processing appeals and updating tax notices, the statement says. It adds, "Counties also face potential increases in staffing, technology and mailing costs if significant changes occur after assessments have already been completed."

Mark Gordon 20260205 slib 0616 6 16 26

<title>Gordon Sues His Tax Board For Blocking Property Tax Cap | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Gov. Mark Gordon on Tuesday sued his tax board for refusing to recognize a 4% limit on property tax increases. He said the board exceeded its law-given authority, and the executive branch's job is just to “take care that the laws be faithfully executed."

Gordon Sues His Tax Board For Blocking Property Tax Cap

Kolby fedore

Kolby Fedore

Outdoors

American robins are such a common sight in Wyoming that most people barely notice them.

They bounce across lawns, tug worms from flower beds and chatter from fence posts all summer long. They're so familiar that they practically become part of the landscape.

But when a rare 1-in-30,000 albino robin showed up in the yard of a Cheyenne-area couple, they noticed this bird was something special.

Heather and Eric Wiseman said that they’ve been keeping tabs on a snow-white fledgling robin with pink-red eyes since it first appeared in their yard June 6.

"Look what I found," Eric Wiseman told his wife, showing her a cellphone photo of the unusual visitor.

That also was the day of a memorial service for one of their friends, Gail.

"If I was to call the bird anything, I'd call it Gail,” Heather Wiseman said.

Coincidence or not, the robin quickly became something the couple looked forward to seeing each day.

"It got me a little down when I didn't see him for a day,” she said. "Then last night, he came back.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Backyard Haven"}]

By day, Heather Wiseman works as an X-ray technician. By evening, she's become something of an amateur birdwatcher.

"I just have a pair of mini binoculars," she said. "I'm not a real birder, but I might join the Audubon Society after this experience."

The couple's property has become something of a sanctuary for small wildlife. They keep fresh water available, maintain two bird baths, and have a bird feeder that attracts a steady stream of visitors.

[{"type":"text","text":"\"Nothing special, but they love it,\" Wiseman said."}]

The albino robin seems particularly fond of several towering blue spruce trees she planted about 30 years ago.

The trees provide shade and shelter, and the young bird often disappears among the branches before reappearing on the lawn.

The unusual robin isn't the only surprise visitor the couple has hosted recently. A few weeks ago they spotted a Western tanager. Then came a red-headed woodpecker.

"Three birds in less than three months that we haven't seen before," Wiseman said. "We live in the county, and it's a haven for birds."

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Following Mom"}]

The white robin's appearance caught the attention of Zach Hutchinson, community science coordinator for Audubon Rockies.

After reviewing photographs of the Wiseman’s bird, Hutchinson confirmed the bird is a fledgling American robin and that it appears to be a rare albino.

[{"type":"text","text":"\"It's following its mother around and begging for food,\" he said."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Several of Wiseman's photographs capture exactly that."}]

In one image, the young bird stands with its mouth open while an adult robin delivers food. In another, the pair forage together in the grass.

Despite its unusual appearance, the fledgling appears to be behaving like any other young robin.

[{"type":"text","text":"To its mother, there doesn't seem to be anything unusual about it at all."}]

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Rare, But Vulnerable"}]

[{"type":"text","text":"What makes the bird remarkable is its coloration."}]

The robin's white feathers and pink-red eyes are consistent with albinism, a genetic condition that prevents the body from producing melanin, the pigment responsible for color in feathers, skin and eyes.

The red eye visible in Wiseman's close-up photographs is one of the strongest indicators of true albinism, said Hutchinson.

While the condition creates a striking appearance, it can also create challenges.

"These animals are easily found by predators, and the albinism can have other effects on their physical health," Hutchinson added. 

[{"type":"text","text":"Birds rely on melanin for more than color."}]

"For instance, in birds, the lack of pigmentation of feathers leads to extreme feather wear and weakened feathers," he said.

That means albino birds often stand out in ways that can make survival more difficult.

Against the dark green branches of a blue spruce tree, the Wisemans' robin seems to glow. Perched on a fence post against a Wyoming-blue sky, it's almost impossible to miss.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Rooting For Gail"}]

Researchers have long noted that albino robins seem to appear disproportionately often among reports of albino birds, likely because robins live so closely alongside people.

Most unusual birds can disappear unnoticed into forests or grasslands. Robins, meanwhile, spend much of their lives in backyards, parks and neighborhoods where people are more likely to spot them.

For now, the Wisemans aren’t focused on scientific theories. Heather said she's​ simply enjoying the chance to watch an extraordinary bird grow up.

[{"type":"text","text":"The robin has become something of a celebrity among family and friends."}]

"I had some family over last night and I got to show them the bird," she said. "It was nice to share."

The photographs that sparked interest online weren't taken with expensive camera equipment or professional lenses.

"I just have a cellphone," Wiseman said. "I don't have a Canon or anything."

Yet those snapshots captured something many birdwatchers never see — a one in 30,000 albino robin. 

Albine Robin 1000011575 6 16 26

<title>Rare 1-In-30,000 Albino Robin Hangs Out In Yard Of Cheyenne-Area Couple | Cowboy State Daily</title>

With its stark white feathers and red eyes, what Audubon Rockies says looks like a rare 1-in-30,000 albino robin has been hanging out in the yard of a Cheyenne-area couple. "It's following its mother around and begging for food,” said the homeowner.

Rare 1-In-30,000 Albino Robin Hangs Out In Yard Of Cheyenne-Area Couple

In response to a Cheyenne-based attorney’s claims that the Wyoming attorney general must appoint special prosecutors to decide whether Secretary of State Chuck Gray violated any laws, the AG countered Tuesday that he has already appointed two special prosecutors, and neither wanted to charge Gray with a crime.

Upon a request by President Donald Trump’s administration, Gray sent sensitive voter data to the federal U.S. Department of Justice last year, public records show.

George Powers, a semi-retired attorney based in Cheyenne, who won a past public records case, started filing requests to learn about Gray’s actions.

 complaint with the AG’s office accusing Gray of violating a state election law that makes data like the kind Gray reportedly released – voters’ partial Social Security numbers or driver’s license numbers – confidential.

Wyoming also has an umbrella statute that allows prosecutors to charge election officials who violate election law with a felony, if merited.

But Gray told the public that the AG’s office approved the release of voter data to the federal government.

So Powers, in his complaint, urged Attorney General Keith Kautz to offload the investigation onto a special prosecutor, because the AG’s office reportedly counseled Gray in this controversy. Powers suggested having a judge appoint the special prosecutor.

Kautz answered in a May 4 letter that Powers’ complaint would be handled in accordance with the AG’s office rules and state professional conduct rules for attorneys.

[{"type":"text","text":"Four weeks passed."}]

Powers filed a petition June 2 with the Wyoming Supreme Court, accusing Kautz of neglecting a clear duty and asking the court to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate Gray.

Kautz parried with a Tuesday filing, which says Powers doesn’t have standing to wage that battle, and it’s irrelevant anyway, 

 the AG’s office has arranged two different, independent evaluations. And neither special prosecutor wanted to charge Gray with a crime, says the filing.

“One of those independent evaluations was conducted by a division of the Attorney General’s office – separate from the civil division – by the construction of a ‘Chinese wall',” says the AG’s Tuesday answer. “The other independent evaluation was conducted by a private Wyoming law firm in conjunction with a Wyoming county and prosecuting attorney.”

A Chinese wall is an informational barrier with an entity designed to prevent ethical conflicts.

The independent attorneys submitted reports – one before Powers asked the high court to intervene and one after – and “each independent counsel declined to bring criminal charges,” says the AG’s response.

“Mr. Powers filed his petition in this matter before the Attorney General could announce that no prosecution would be forthcoming,” says the filing.

As to the AG’s reticence toward Powers, the filing says the person reporting a crime doesn’t have a right to hear the prosecutor’s decision on it, and that Powers hasn’t shown he’s a “victim” of a crime to enjoy some rights under the state Victims’ Bill of Rights.

The AG’s filing emphasizes that Kautz didn’t involve Powers in the investigation, “but told him that investigations and charging decisions were not conducted in the public square.”

n Wyoming, prosecutors generally do not discuss their thinking publicly while they’re deciding whether to charge a crime. Often, especially in matters of high public interest, a prosecutor who decides not to charge a crime will issue a decision letter on why he made that choice.

Kautz’s office defended the reticence he displayed while the special prosecutors’ investigations were reportedly ongoing as standard practice, pointing to DOJ guidelines for keeping ongoing investigations quiet to avoid infringing the rights of the accused.

“Mr. Powers assumes the Attorney General’s lack of comment means that he is doing nothing, at best, and violating the Rules of Professional Responsibility, at worst,” says the AG’s filing. “Mr. Powers invites this Court to make the same assumptions, what is sometimes referred to as an appeal to ignorance.”

Prosecutors are required to address complaints in a “timely” manner, the AG’s filing acknowledges. But there’s no concrete deadline associated with that adjective, it adds.

As to announcing his decision to the public at the end of an investigation, the AG’s filing calls that a discretionary decision, not a requirement.

“It is obvious that Mr. Powers wants to be informed of how the Attorney General has addressed his complaint, (yet) a prosecutor has no duty to communicate with a complainant,” the filing says. “Instead, a prosecutor has discretion in deciding on whether to communicate about an investigation with the complainant or the public.”

That decision hinges on ethical considerations, such as if talking about a case publicly or with the person who reported it would botch some “eventual prosecution, should the prosecutor decide to proceed.”

In a Tuesday text message, Gray said Powers' claims and filings have been "nothing more than lawfare and weaponization of the legal system by leftists and the insider media."

Gray claimed the media have ignored the states that have complied with the DOJ's request. 

Multiple courts have ruled that the DOJ's requests for sensitive voter data unsupported by federal law. 

"Powers (sic) false claims are an effort to undermine our work on election integrity," wrote Gray. "I have and will continue to stand for the truth, and I will continue to comply with the law and advance election integrity and voter list maintenance, which is pivotal to our elections." 

Kautz gray 6 16 26

<title>AG Says Prosecutors Declined To Charge Chuck Gray With A Crime   | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Wyoming's attorney general on Tuesday said he appointed two prosecutors to investigate whether Secretary of State Chuck Gray violated any laws by releasing sensitive voter data to the federal government, but neither decided to charge Gray with a crime.

AG Says Prosecutors Declined To Charge Chuck Gray With A Crime  

Kerry Drake

Cheyenne’s new vehicle noise ordinance was unanimously passed by the City Council to stop obnoxious motorists who drive their loud cars, trucks and motorcycles late at night, disrupting people’s sleep.

 soon after it went on the books in late September was auto mechanic Geno Stecks, who was driving a fairly unassuming 2006 Subaru with a modified muffler. 

It also wasn’t in the middle of the night or in a residential section of the capital city. Stecks said it was on a main thoroughfare at the intersection of East Lincolnway and Hugur Avenue at 2:45 in the afternoon.

“Communists. Control freaks!” is how Stecks responded when asked what he thought about the City Council members who approved the ordinance after many people opposed it during public testimony at three council meetings.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"He Wasn’t Speeding"}]

Stecks was on the job when he got busted, transporting auto parts for FM Automotive when he heard the police siren.

He told the officer that he didn’t think he’d been speeding, but was informed the stop was made because of excessive noise.

This how the encounter went, according to Stecks:

“I couldn’t hear my radio for your exhaust,” the officer told him.

“I said, ‘Turn your volume knob up,’” Stecks said he replied. "I couldn’t hear my exhaust because of my radio, because I’ve got a kick-ass stereo in it.”

In hindsight, Stecks said he’s since thought of some other creative responses.

“I wish I had told him, ‘What are you going to tell the Hells Angels if they come roaring through town? Are you going to pull them over and cite them for having too loud exhaust? You probably wouldn’t live through it,’” said the bearded Stecks, wearing a T-shirt that depicted a full mug with the word “Beer – It’s What’s for Dinner.”

Mechanic Geno Stecks got the first ticket under Cheyenne’s new noise ordinance while delivering a car part in the middle of the day. When the officer told him he couldn't hear his radio because of the exhaust, Stecks said, "Turn your volume knob up."

Daily Cartoon: Thursday, October 10, 2024

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