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

<title>You Still Here? Thursday, November 28, 2024 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

You Still Here? Thursday, November 28, 2024

 When a frozen turkey meets a deep fryer.....

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 At Cheyenne Ace Hardware | Cowboy State Daily</title>

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

Three Arrested After Reported Armed Robbery At Cheyenne Ace Hardware

A predawn law enforcement operation stretched across western Wyoming and eastern Idaho on Tuesday, as federal, state and local investigators executed coordinated search warrants in what authorities describe as a drug trafficking investigation.

By the time the raids were over, investigators said they had seized large quantities of methamphetamine, cocaine and other evidence tied to drug distribution.

[{"type":"text","text":"One man now faces five felony drug charges and a child endangering count."}]

But beyond those basics, much of the investigation details have not been released. 

Authorities have declined to answer questions about exactly where the raids took place, how much narcotics were seized, how long the investigation had been underway, or whether more arrests are expected.

[{"type":"text","text":"Three Communities Targeted"}]

The Lincoln County Sheriff's Office announced Wednesday that deputies, the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and other federal, state and local agencies carried out simultaneous search warrants Tuesday in Etna, Jackson Hole and Victor, Idaho.

Officials have not identified the addresses where the warrants were served, including the Etna location.

The coordinated nature of the operation — spanning three communities in two states — suggests investigators could've been targeting an interconnected investigation.

The sheriff's office described the seizures only as "large amounts" of methamphetamine and cocaine, "along with other evidence related to drug trafficking."

[{"type":"text","text":"Officials have not released the quantities of drugs recovered."}]

The only person publicly identified so far is 42-year-old Julio Jaimes Angeles.

[{"type":"text","text":"He has been charged in Lincoln County with:"}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Tight-Lipped Investigation"}]

Despite the unusually broad operation, investigators are saying little about what led to Tuesday's raids.

Cowboy State Daily sought additional information from both the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office and the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation. Neither agency returned a comment beyond the written news release, citing the ongoing investigation.

Lincoln county drug guy 7 22 26

<title>One Man Charged After Sweeping Drug Raids Across Western Wyoming, Eastern Idaho | Cowboy State Daily</title>

A 42-year-old man is facing five felony drug charges and another count of child endangerment after the DEA and DCI launched drug raids in Lincoln County, Teton County and Victor, Idaho. Investigators said they seized large quantities of meth and cocaine.

One Man Charged After Sweeping Drug Raids Across Western Wyoming, Eastern Idaho

Heinz mark

Mark Heinz

Outdoors

Wildlife

A hiker probably couldn't have done anything more to save himself when he surprised a grizzly at close range in the dark in Glacier National Park on May 3 and was subsequently killed, a seasoned bear-country trekker told Cowboy State Daily on Wednesday.

Anthony Pollio, 33, of Davie, Florida, used bear spray at some point during the attack “but it is unknown if and where the spray contacted the bear,” according to an incident report from the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee. 

The attack likely occurred between 9:15 and 10 p.m., when Pollio was hiking down the Mt. Brown lookout trail, the report states. He suffered fatal bit wounds to his head. 

“Darkness and deadfall on the trail would have prevented the bear and Mr. Pollio from seeing each other until they were very close,” according to the report. 

Pollio might have been using his cell phone light to illuminate his path, but it isn’t known whether he was making any noise before encountering the bear, the report says. 

Outdoor adventurer Michael Hodges was in Glacier at the time, and said he avoids hiking before dawn or after dark whenever possible. 

“I’m not saying he (Pollio) did anything wrong,” said Hodges, a novelist and internet personality.

He said Pollio, who was described by friends and family as an experienced outdoorsman, probably didn’t set out with the intent of staying out past dark. 

Letting the day get away while enjoying the backcountry and hiking out later than planned is a mistake even experienced outdoors people sometimes make, Hodges said.   

Running into a grizzly on a narrow trail in the dark is a “worst-case scenario,” Hodges said. “That’s a nightmare scenario.” 

“No bear spray, no gun is going to save you in a situation like that,” he added. 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"Brief, Intense Attack"}]

The Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee includes officials from the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, the National Park Service and other agencies. 

The committee’s report on the investigation of the site where Pollio’s body was found May 6 indicate 

, by an adult male grizzly, was brief and intense. 

His body was found about 69 feet below the trail and about 2.5 miles from the trailhead. 

During the attack, Pollio “fell or was thrown downhill” off the trail about 93 feet during the initial contact with the bear, according to a detailed incident report from the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee. 

“His path was littered with personal effects beginning 10 ft (feet) below the trail. We believe the bear followed Mr. Pollio downhill, continuing the attack. Spatters of blood increased in frequency and volume down the hill,” according to the report. 

One of Pollio’s ears was found about 40 feet downslope and a large pool of blood marked the end of his descent, the report states. 

“Based on blood marks and the orientation of branches, it appears as though Mr. Pollio managed to climb back up slope approximately 18 ft, at which point the bear re-engaged and inflicted the fatal bites to Mr. Pollio’s head,” the report states. 

There was no evidence of “predation” on Pollio’s body and the bear apparently left immediately after the attack, the committee reported. 

Pollio’s last known communication was a text message sent to girlfriend at 8:20 p.m. May 3 from about .9 miles up the trail from the attack site, according to the report. The text indicated that he expected to make it back to the trailhead around 11 p.m.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"Bears Use Trails Too"}]

Bears are smart enough to “take the path of least resistance,” so they like using hiking trails, Kim Titchener, founder of the Bear Safety and More organization in Canada, told Cowboy State Daily. 

Bears like to avoid people and will use hiking trails at times when people typically don’t, such as before dawn or after dark, she said.

That’s can make hiking on trails during those times particularly dangerous, she said. 

The trails in Glacier  have “lots of switchbacks” and blind corners with thick vegetation, she said. 

That can make surprise close encounters more likely, and bears might react defensively in those situations, Titchener said. 

Grizzlies usually attack to “neutralize a perceived threat” and will stop once they realize a person is no longer a threat, she added. 

In many cases, “playing dead” will stop a grizzly attack, she said.

It’s best to hike during the daylight, in groups, “making lots of noise,” Titchener said. 

Hodges agreed that bears in Glacier like using hiking trails at odd hours, usually in the dark, and so he tries to avoid being on the trails at those times. 

The attack on Pollio was most likely the result of bad circumstances, he said. 

But he’s observed other hikers in Glacier displaying bad behavior. 

“They’re spending 10 minutes filming themselves out hiking and not paying attention to what’s going on around them,” he said. 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"Glacier is no place for that, Hodges said."}]

“This is a national park that has the same number of bears as Yellowstone, in an area that’s about half the size of Yellowstone,” he said. 

Glacier grizzly v2 7 22 26

<title>"Nightmare Scenario": Victim Of Glacier Grizzly Attack Likely Surprised Bear In The Dark | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Officials concluded Tuesday that a 33-year-old man likely surprised a grizzly in the dark before he was killed in Glacier National Park in May. Running into a bear in the dark is a “nightmare scenario,” said an outdoorsman who was in the park at the time.

"Nightmare Scenario": Victim Of Glacier Grizzly Attack Likely Surprised Bear In The Dark

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

Clair McFarland

Politics

Government & Politics

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.” 

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.

You Still Here? Thursday, November 28, 2024

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