Daily Smile

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

<title>Daily Smile: Sunday, December 1, 2024 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

How to weigh a mama and baby koala bear....

Daily Smile: Sunday, December 1, 2024

 How to weigh a mama and baby koala bear....

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily's business and tourism reporter, Renée Jean

Renée Jean

Wyoming Life

Around Wyoming

Cheyenne railfan and sculptor Carey Moose Hosterman wasn’t planning to see a rocket train. 

He was just driving home from Home Depot with a bag of sculpting tools last week when a strange-looking locomotive rolled out of Cheyenne’s historic depot onto the main line.

He wasn’t sure at the time exactly what he was seeing, but he didn’t hesitate to hit his blinker and pull over to watch it go by.

“I was like, ‘Wow, that is a really cool-looking car or engine on that train there,’” he told Cowboy State Daily. “It’s got an American flag on it and it looks really different.”

Only later would he learn that No. 4547 was passing through Wyoming on June 2 on its first mission hauling the final solid rocket booster segments for NASA’s Artemis III rocket to Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

In late 2027, four members of the crew for Artemis III will launch aboard an Orion spacecraft. 

It's a demonstration flight in a low Earth orbit that will test rendezvous and docking operations between Orion and test versions of the Human Landing System being developed by Blue Origin and SpaceX.

The Artemis IV will be the first crewed lunar landing mission of the Artemis program, scheduled for 2028.

Hosterman has spent years watching all kinds of trains roll through Cheyenne. 

He’s seen trains with tanks and armor, and wind turbine blades so long they need two flat cars just to make the curves. 

A rocket train, though, was a first, and it was rolling through Cheyenne without fanfare or warning.

The lead engine, he would later learn, was Union Pacific No. 4547, a commemorative locomotive that celebrates President Donald Trump, painted with a fluttering American flag all along its length. 

Behind it was the equally colorful No. 1616, a red locomotive that honors Abraham Lincoln for signing the Pacific Railway Act in 1862.

Then came the cars that really puzzled Hosterman — a square, yellow car surrounded by rings of white pipes, followed by a chain of white round cars alternating with square yellow ones.

“They were just these weird-looking, covered capsule-looking things,” Hosterman said. “And my wife and I have been so excited with the Big Boy train, we really pay attention to what’s going around on the tracks. 

"So we got to talking about that train, too, and wondering what was in it.”

They wouldn’t solve the mystery until the next day, when they saw a news story about segments of Artemis III being delivered to Florida. 

That’s when the strange white capsules and square yellow cars suddenly made sense.

“I wish now I would have taken a picture,” he told Cowboy State Daily. “From now on, when the senses are going off, ‘Hey, you know, this is kind of cool. We should snap a picture.’”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"First Steps To The Moon"}]

The rocket train carried the final eight of Northrop Grumman’s twin solid rocket-booster motor segments, manufactured in Utah. The parts will be joined to previously delivered segments shipped in April. 

The solid rocket boosters will generate 7.2 million pounds of thrust at liftoff, according to Northrop, and will be among the first pieces of hardware assembled on the mobile launch platform.

Artemis III is the third in a series of missions aiming to return humans to the surface of the moon for the first time in more than 50 years. 

It’s one of several steps along the way to eventually establishing a permanent base on the moon and then sending astronauts to Mars. 

Artemis III builds on the success of the prior Artemis II mission in April, which sent four astronauts on a 10-day flyby of the moon. 

The overall mission involved testing NASA’s Orion spacecraft for maneuverability, including docking with a lunar lander. 

Wyoming manufacturer L&H Industrial in Gillette had a hand in 

helping build mission-critical hardware for Artemis II

That included upgrades to the huge crawler transporter that takes rockets to the launching pad, traveling at 1 mph. 

It also included flame detector plates, which help to deflect the searing heat caused by 9 million pounds of thrust that comes out of a rocket all at once during launch.

For those who missed Artemis III’s passage through Wyoming, retired railroad man Stan Blake said rocket parts have passed through Wyoming before, and will likely do so again for future Artemis missions.

Wyoming has some advantages when it comes to hauling such things, thanks to its many wide open spaces. 

Many times for extra-wide loads, trains will stop at a certain point on the rail line where things are wider, allowing that extra wide load to pass by without delay.

“I’m sure they are very heavy,” Blake said. “Instead of the normal two axles under each end of the railroad car, they might have three, maybe four axles, kind of like when you see a semi hauling something heavy. They have extra sets of axles and tires.”

Military tanks, meanwhile, typically travel in a special car built for heavier loads.

“There are probably also armed guards in a caboose or in the locomotive,” Blake added. “They do that when they haul nuclear waste. Usually, they’ll have a caboose with armed guards.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Front-Row Seat To History"}]

Cheyenne is an essential hub for the United States, Hosterman said. That has him constantly looking anytime he passes by the depot, to see if something cool is headed through Wyoming.

“That makes Cheyenne unique, because a whole lot of new things are coming through the tracks that you just don’t know what they are,” he said. “Sometimes you get to see some neat rail cars with military stuff on it.”

As a sculptor, Hosterman appreciates the odd forms that sometimes pass by. He also likes some of the artwork painted on the train cars.

“I’m an artist, so I do kind of admire some of the artwork that goes by,” he said. “Some of it is pretty good, actually.”

After seeing a rocket train roll through Cheyenne, it’s one more reason to keep looking at what’s passing through the depot. 

You just never know when the next quiet train rolling through town will be another piece of history.

Artemis III locomotive Artemis II Is final rocket booster segments traveled through Wyoming recently on their way to Kennedy Space Center 6 11 26

<title>New Trump Locomotive No. 4547 Rolls Through Wyoming Carrying Artemis III Rocket | Cowboy State Daily</title>

The first job for Union Pacific’s new Trump-themed locomotive No. 4547 took it through Wyoming carrying the Artemis III rocket. Nobody except railroad watchers noticed. “They were just these weird-looking, covered capsule-looking things,” one said.

New Trump Locomotive No. 4547 Rolls Through Wyoming Carrying Artemis III Rocket

Employee kate meadows cropped

Kate Meadows

Outdoors

Wildlife

The bull bison that attacked and killed a 70-year-old woman in Custer State Park last month will not be euthanized.

Instead, he will live out the rest of his life in the care of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Game, Fish and Parks. The relocation will allow the bison to continue in his natural life in a secure environment away from the public.

The Rosebud Sioux Tribe agency announced the decision Wednesday, which effectively lifts a death sentence for the bison. 

The announcement followed fierce public debate over whether the bull should be put to death after it 

attacked and killed a 70-year-old Canadian tourist

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Public Weighs In"}]

Dave Scragg, a photographer who lives in Custer and frequently is in the area getting images of local wildlife, told Cowboy State Daily he’s heard rumors the bison was targeted to be put down.

[{"type":"text","text":"He’s glad that won’t happen. "}]

The South Dakota Governor’s Office did not confirm whether a kill order had been placed on the bison, nor did the South Dakota Game, Fish, and Parks Department.

When asked if he could confirm whether a kill order had been put in place, Nick Harrington, communications manager for the South Dakota Game, Fish, and Parks Department, said in a one-sentence email that “all options were being considered and evaluated.”

Scragg, believing along with many others that the bison was facing death, encouraged his followers on social media to plead with the South Dakota Governor’s Office, the South Dakota Game, Fish, and Parks and Custer State Park to not euthanize the bison.

“Our main goal was to save the animal,” he said, adding that people responded by calling officials with the state of South Dakota, Custer State Park and the South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks.

Scragg said he doesn’t know how many people made calls, but he believes the public input made the difference and saved the bison’s life.

“When this all started, the word from the top was that putting this animal down was the plan,” he said in a statement. "We didn’t accept that, and we made sure our voices were loud enough to reach the people who could actually make a change.” 

Rosebud Sioux Tribe Game, Fish, And Parks Takes Over

The Rosebud Sioux Tribe Game, Fish, and Parks department extended its condolences to the family of the deceased woman. 

It also acknowledged that bison are wild animals, and that the one who attacked her was “acting in accordance with its wild nature."

“We will honor both our cultural obligation to protect our relative and the need of keeping the public safe,” the tribe's statement reads.

Cowboy State Daily reached out to the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Game, Fish, and Parks for comment but had not heard back by publication.

Chad Kremer, the bison herd manager for Custer State Park, thanked the tribe for providing a safe home for the bison, sharing on social media that he has been the “steward and caretaker for this bull’s journey of life thus far.”

“As a prey animal, unfortunately, pressure was placed on him that caused him to REACT, not attack, but he didn’t deserve to be destroyed,” he said.

Kremer declined to comment further to Cowboy State Daily pending approval of Custer State Park officials for him to speak to the press. Phone calls to Custer State Park were not returned prior to publication.

Scragg called the decision not to euthanize the animal a “total win for the community and a win for our wildlife.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"South Dakota Game, Fish, And Parks Respond"}]

“Herd management decisions are made with public safety at the forefront, and we will continue to take necessary action to protect human life,” Harrington said in his statement.

The best management decision was to remove the bison from the park to ensure public safety, he said.

“We are grateful for Rosebud Sioux Tribe’s willingness to work with us to relocate the buffalo to a location that is suitable for the animal and away from interaction with the general public,” Harrington added.

Custer State Park Phil Gould via Alamy 6 1 26

<title>Bison Escapes Death Sentence After Killing Woman In Custer State Park | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Public backlash against a reported kill order saved a bison that killed a woman in Custer State Park last month. Advocates for the bison say he was acting within his wild nature on his home turf when he killed the 70-year-old Canadian tourist.

Bison Escapes Death Sentence After Killing Woman In Custer State Park

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

Clair McFarland

Government & Politics

Politics

“This is not a purity test,” says a letter to Republican candidates for Park County partisan offices, warning 

 that if they don’t commit to back at least 80% of the state Republican Party platform, they won’t receive an endorsement or support from the party.

The state GOP passed a set of new bylaws in April which requires county and state committee iterations of the party to vet candidates for office 

 commitment to the platform and “demonstrated loyalty to the Party’s principles.”

The Park County GOP’s vetting committee chair Richard Jones dispatched his vetting letter and survey to multiple candidates this week. Responses are due next Wednesday.

“We ask you to complete the questionnaire, and that you complete it honestly,” says Jones’ letter. “This is not a purity test. It is a questionnaire to see where you align with our Platform. 

"Also, this Platform is a reflection of the majority of Wyoming Republicans.”

The letter urges candidates against opting out of prompts they deem irrelevant to the offices they’re seeking.

“We wish to know where you stand regarding the Platform, not the role of the position you are seeking,” it says.

Candidates are split on whether the test is necessary, appropriate, and whether it is or isn’t a “purity test.”

“I support this,” said Karin Richard, a candidate for Park County Commission. “The Wyoming Republican Party, it stands for something. It stands for timeless truths — these truths are to maintain and protect and defend life, liberty, property, the pursuit of happiness.”

Richard added, “The Wyoming Republican Party isn’t demanding a purity test … it’s protecting the integrity of those foundational principles.”

Jones, who is also running for a Park County GOP precinct committee position, did not return a voicemail request for comment by publication. 

[{"type":"text","text":"Then Why Do It?"}]

Former state Park County GOP precinct committeewoman and current candidate for the position, Sandy Newsome questioned why the party would bother dispatching a test at all if it’s not a “purity test.”

[{"type":"text","text":"Newsome is also a former state reprsentative. "}]

She said she didn’t receive the questionnaire at all — and she checked her spam folder. Other candidates have also said they didn’t receive it, she added.

“They want to say (it’s not a purity test) but that’s not true in my mind,” said Newsome. “Then why do they care? Why would they send that out … if it’s not to pigeonhole someone because of their responses into some group?”

Newsome defined herself as a Ronald Reagan Republican, and said the current GOP platform, while it tries to tackle vital issues, is poorly written and confusing in some areas.

 are endowed with the rights to life, liberty, property, and the pursuit of happiness “from the moment of conception to the moment of natural death.”

That language is a problem for Republicans who support the death penalty, noted Newsome.

The last two times Wyoming lawmakers proposed bills to abolish Wyoming’s death penalty — to the Senate in 2021 and the House in 2020 — the legislators who killed the bills on their introductory votes were all Republicans.

Newsome said that at a candidate forum in late May, current Republican state Sen. Dan Laursen, who’s now running for a seat on the Park County Commission, voiced discomfort with a plank strongly in favor of property rights.

“He spent his career doing water projects for the state, and sometimes you need an easement; sometimes you need to condemn some land to do an irrigation project,” Newsome related from what she recalled of Laursen’s answer.

Laursen did not respond by publication to a voicemail request for confirmation and comment.

Newsome emphasized that while the party seeks to threaten withholding its endorsement or financial backing, it can’t keep people off the ballot.

To her, she added, the people of her precinct — not the party — are the judge of whether she’s worthy to serve.

[{"type":"text","text":"‘Buncha RINOs’"}]

Jimmy Rush is campaigning to become Park County Clerk. He told Cowboy State Daily in a Thursday phone interview that he agrees 100% with the party platform and has no problem with the questionnaire.

He countered Newsome’s point about how the platform’s “natural death” wording, in its plank touting the right to life for every individual, is inconsistent with support for the death penalty.

“Well, I think that (plank) covers abortion,” said Rush, adding that he supports the death penalty and wishes the state were tougher on crime.

“I think that falls more into a legal area,” Rush said. “Once you break the law, you lose your rights. Once you get convicted as a criminal you lose your rights.”

Convicted criminals retain many rights such as the due-process right of appeal and rights against cruel and unusual punishment within their prison sentence or other punishment. Convicted felons lose civic, voting and gun rights.

U.S. Supreme Court precedent allows states to enforce the death penalty and thereby remove a convict’s right to life, but only after a rigorous legal process and under limited circumstances.

Rush pointed to Park County candidates who have re-posted a Facebook post Newsome published deriding the test. He called the re-posters unoriginal.

“I think it’s a bunch of RINOs making a bunch of noise, because they’re scared to death that some absolutely true, patriot conservative Republicans are finally running for office,” he said, adding that he’s campaigning on transparency promises.

“RINO” is a pejorative acronym that means “Republican in name only.” It’s become prevalent in recent years as the divide between at least two factions of Wyoming Republicans deepens.

On the one hand, Democrats do switch to Republican voter registration so they can vote in the state’s GOP primary elections.

On the other hand, many Republicans who’ve been hit with the “RINO” 

 accuse their attackers of glossing over nuanced and grey-area issues, especially pertaining to hyper-local governance.

[{"type":"text","text":"More About The Platform"}]

The platform has remained substantially the same for the past eight years, Richard told Cowboy State Daily.

[{"type":"text","text":"The party touts the platform as a collection of “timeless truths.”"}]

Cowboy State Daily covered a platform committee at this year’s state GOP convention in April, where party delegates rejected new planks rooted in more transient issues, like the advancement of artificial intelligence, and rejected a plank calling Wyoming a Christian state — after a heated debate about biblical principles and free will.

[{"type":"text","text":"The principle behind the platform’s plank No. 23 is a hot topic now."}]

“The Wyoming Republican Party opposes any federal takeover or interference of federal, state, or local elections,” the plank says.

Numerous federal courts are now contemplating whether the U.S. Department of Justice can, under federal law, 

[{"type":"text","text":"And More About The Party"}]

The state GOP is suing the Wyoming Secretary of State's Office over a law barring the party from financially backing one Republican candidate over another ahead of the primary election, which is Aug. 18. 

That law has been interpreted over time to mean the party can't endorse candidates during the primary election cycle either, state GOP Chair Bryan Miller told delegates in April. 

The party says it has a First Amendment right to endorse and publicly vet Republican candidates. 

[{"type":"text","text":"That case is ongoing. "}]

Jones' letter says that, "Failure to achieve, or commit to, a minimum 80% support negates any candidate from receiving an endorsement at the primary election and party support, financial or otherwise, during any general election."

GOP convention 5 4 25 26

<title>Park County Republican Party Sends Platform Loyalty Tests To GOP Candidates | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Republican candidates for office in Park County received a letter warning them if they don’t commit to backing at least 80% of the state GOP platform, they won’t receive an endorsement or support from the party. "They is not a purity test," it reads.

Park County Republican Party Sends Platform Loyalty Tests To GOP Candidates

Kolby fedore

Kolby Fedore

Crime & Courts

Courts

A Sheridan couple is facing felony theft charges after police say they hauled away more than $1,400 worth of donations from outside a church that had been collected for a fundraiser.

The pair later told the Sheridan Police Department that they believed the items had been left outside for anyone to take.

Michael C. Forni, 27, and Amber Mae Walker, 32, were each charged Wednesday during initial appearances in Sheridan County Circuit Court.

According to an affidavit filed by the Sheridan PD, church staff discovered Saturday that more than a dozen items staged outside First United Methodist Church for an upcoming fundraising sale had disappeared overnight.

The haul was an eclectic mix of yard-sale treasures and oddities: a rototiller, propane tank, window air conditioner, camp cots and coolers, alongside retired traffic signals, rifle scopes, a handmade wooden wagon and even a jade plant.

Church staff told investigators they weren't exactly sure how many items in total were stolen. 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Two Trips"}]

Investigators reviewed surveillance video from the church and reportedly observed a black Toyota Tundra pull into the parking lot at about 4:01 a.m.

A man and woman got out of the truck and loaded several items before leaving, says the affidavit.

About 17 minutes later, the same truck returned, and the pair loaded more property before driving away a second time.

Church staff later provided police with a detailed list of the missing items that had been gathered for a fundraising sale organized by the church's Methodist Men's Group.

Pastor Jim Barth was unavailable for comment, but the church receptionist immediately recognized the case.

The ministry regularly hosts parking lot sales and Palm Sunday breakfasts to raise money for projects that support both the church and the broader Sheridan community. 

Other items taken included several rifle scopes, a weed eater, Cabela's dry bags, and two retired traffic signals. 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Facebook Tip"}]

After obtaining still images from surveillance video, Sheridan police posted photographs on the department's Facebook page seeking help identifying the pair. It appears the photos have since been removed.

According to court records, an anonymous tip identified the suspects as Forni and Walker.

When officers arrived at the couple's home, they reportedly found a black Toyota Tundra matching the truck seen in the surveillance video parked in the driveway, the affidavit says.

Investigators also observed a window air conditioner in the bed of the truck that matched one reported missing from the church.

Police then contacted Forni and Walker, who both acknowledged taking the items, according to the affidavit.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Wrong Assumption"}]

Court records indicate both told investigators they believed the items had been left outside for people to take for free. The couple told officers they had been driving around and noticed the collection of property outside the church.

Forni reportedly said they assumed the items were being discarded and decided to "dumpster dive" through them.

[{"type":"text","text":"Walker gave a similar account."}]

Police later recovered the property from them. The total value of the recovered items was estimated at about $1,455.

Under Wyoming law, theft of property valued at more than $1,000 is punishable by up to 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $10,000, or both.

Forni and Walker made their initial appearances Wednesday afternoon in Sheridan County Circuit Court.

First United Methodist Church in Sheridan 6 11 26

<title>Police Say Sheridan Couple Accused Of Stealing Fundraiser Donations From Church | Cowboy State Daily</title>

A Sheridan couple is facing felony theft charges after police say they hauled away two pickup loads of donations from outside the church that had been collected for a fundraiser. They said they believed the items had been left outside for anyone to take.

Police Say Sheridan Couple Accused Of Stealing Fundraiser Donations From Church

Heinz mark

Mark Heinz

Executive

In a move indicating that concerns over the dwindling Colorado River have reached a new level, Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon and U.S. Sens. John Barrasso and Cynthia Lummis joined other Western elected officials met for discussion and negotiations in Washington, D.C.

Gordon, Barrasso and Lummis met Tuesday with Utah Gov. Spencer Cox Chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Mike Lee, R-Utah, Sen. John Curtis R-Utah.

On Wednesday, Barrasso invited Pinedale rancher Mike Vickrey to testify about the Colorado River negotiations before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

 said that in Wyoming and other Upper Colorado River Basin states, “our expectations of how much water we will have to irrigate with are based on Mother Nature,” according to a statement from Barrasso’s office.

Vickrey told the Senate committee that as he sees it, he and other Upper Basin farmers and ranchers have gone above and beyond to conserve water.

Meanwhile, downstream states benefit from greater “security” offered by large reservoirs at Lake Powell and Lake Mead, 

Parts of two of Wyoming’s reservoirs along the Green River, a major tributary of the Colorado River, are in Sweetwater County. Those include Fontenelle Reservoir and Flaming Gorge Reservoir.

That means the area has a huge stake in what happens along the Colorado River, Sweetwater County Commissioner Taylor Jones told Cowboy State Daily on Wednesday.

A Pinedale rancher told U.S. Senators on Wednesday that he and other Upper Basin farmers are tired of Wyoming giving up Colorado River water. Negotiations moved up a notch this week with Wyoming leaders meeting in Washington, D.C., with other states.

Daily Smile: Sunday, December 1, 2024

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