It’s time to take a look at what’s happening around Wyoming, for Friday, December 6th. I’m Wendy Corr, bringing you headlines from the Cowboy State Daily newsroom - brought to you by the Cowboy State Daily Morning Show with Jake. From 6 a.m. to 10 a.m., Monday through Friday, Cowboy State Daily’s Jake Nichols takes you deeper into the stories that matter - and keeps up with the news, weather and sports in your part of Wyoming. Just tune into Cowboy State Daily Dot Com and join the conversation.
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State Sen. Wendy Schuler of Evanston believes it’s time to crack down on students using cellphones in schools.
A retired high school teacher of 40 years, Schuler believes that not only has student performance been negatively affected by these devices, but so has their ability to communicate and socialize with each other. She told Cowboy State Daily’s Leo Wolfson that her Senate File 21 would require all Wyoming school districts to enact a cellphone ban for their students.
“The ban would be limited to instruction periods, but it would be the first of its kind on a statewide level to restrict cell phone use by students in schools… she was stunned by the level of the use of this technology by the time she retired, and was really kind of disturbed and concerned by how much less students were actually talking to each other.”
Schuler said she’s seen a number of studies showing that cellphone bans led to improved testing scores, which she believes could occur as a result of the ban.
Read the full story HERE.
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The former head housekeeper of the historic Plains Hotel in downtown Cheyenne is accused of stealing about $26,000 worth of coins from a guest’s room and having other people sell them to coin dealers for cash.
46-year-old Rene Manzanares faces one count of felony theft, punishable by up to 10 years in prison and $10,000 in fines. Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports that the case started in May, when the Cheyenne Police Department was contacted by a coin dealer in Cheyenne.
“The most interesting part is how all that money got to come to Wyoming in the first place. You know, just this woman is a friend of the hotel owner and is going to help out during Cheyenne Frontier Days, and she decides to bring her box of silver and gold coins with her and leave under her bed. And, you know, there's, there's, I think there's a little tension in the affidavit. We don't know, did the maid come in and clean and allegedly take it then, or did it actually get left behind and was allegedly taken then?... but I think that to be the coins on this journey would be the most fun because of the trip that they've had, you know, reportedly from Colorado to a renowned Wyoming hotel and then to various purses and then coin shops.”
The detective estimated the coins’ value at $26,000, but noted that they could be much more valuable depending on their years and conditions.
Read the full story HERE.
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Wyoming has no shortage of elk, and many of the state’s herds are as big as they’ve ever been, but finding them has been supremely challenging for hunters this year.
Massive wildfires that burned more than 850,000 acres struck prime elk habitat in some parts of the state, such as in the Bighorn Mountains above Dayton. But Cowboy State Daily’s Mark Heinz reports that even in areas where the elk herds weren’t directly hit by the fires, there was still a ripple effect.
“The areas that were actually affected by the fires, which there's a lot of Wyoming that wasn't, but even in those areas that weren't, a lot of the hunters that were counting on those areas that were burnt up got pushed out, and so they went to other parts of the state… And then also… the the really hot, dry weather this year might have really… switched up the timing of the rut or the mating season for the elk. And also might have really switched or changed their migration patterns going into the fall. And so that kind of explains why people keep hearing there's bazillions of elk out there. Why can't I find any? Probably because not they're not where you're looking for them.”
There’s still some opportunity for elk hunters who haven’t yet filled their freezers, as some late-season hunts run through the end of December.
Read the full story HERE.
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Rural America’s population has been in a downward spiral for decades. With that trend comes the loss of businesses, some of them with longtime histories in tight-knit communities.
That’s certainly the case for Big Horn Co-op, which has a 101-year history in several of the small towns that lie across Wyoming’s Bighorn Basin.
Cowboy State Daily’s Renee Jean spoke to VP of Energy Dana Richardson, who said that the Co-op is closing several of its farm stores, primarily because of changing shopper habits.
“It's kind of the same story we've heard across rural America, the population has been in a downward spiral for decades. That alone makes it difficult for small communities to keep a hold of their businesses, because business is falling off. And then on top of that, we have all these new retail trends. More people are shopping online. They're not going to stores and buying things… and so Big Horn Co-op is just being responsive to what the market is demanding. And they're wisely downsizing some of these parts of their business that aren't as profitable.”
The last day for the Farm Stores in Basin, Buffalo, Greybull, Powell and Worland will be Dec. 31. But stores that are still doing well, and will remain open include the Riverton Farm Store, the Worland C-Store and Powell Tire.
Read the full story HERE.
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The latest information published by a Libertarian and conservative think tank found that Wyoming had the third lowest score for overall personal freedom in the country.
Cowboy State Daily’s Leo Wolfson reports that in its Freedom in the 50 States map, the Cato Institute gave Wyoming a poor showing in the categories of educational freedom, access to cannabis and psychedelic drugs, and the state’s rate of incarceration and arrests.
“The primary reason why Wyoming got downgraded was because… there is only a limited amount of laws allowing for the use of public dollars to go towards private education in Wyoming, which is commonly known as school choice, the legislature, though, however, did pass a law creating this this past year. The thing with that is that the study was completed on 2023 data before that law went into effect, so Wyoming actually likely would get a much higher score on the study if it had been more up to date.
There were certain categories of personal freedoms where Wyoming did better. The Cowboy State was eighth best for gun rights, fourth highest for tobacco freedom, and 15th best for asset forfeiture.
Read the full story HERE.
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A man accused of pepper-spraying a liquor store attendant and grabbing about 30 cartons of cigarettes led Casper police on a high-speed chase late Tuesday night.
The man, who isn’t being identified until he makes his first court appearance, also tried to flee on foot after police deployed spike strips to disable the dark Ford Explorer he was driving.
The tail end of the chase was caught on video by a local resident, who told Cowboy State Daily’s Greg Johnson it was an exciting adrenaline rush to watch.
“It's good video that shows the the cars, shows the the Explorer running from them, the the cops after him. He takes a takes a curve, really, really fast. The the guy estimates about 70 miles an hour. He's amazed that it didn't turn out tip over. They finally get get it stopped. And then the guy got out of the car, wanted got out of the Explorer, wanted to run, but was kept from fleeing on foot by a canine named Buster.”
At $80-$90 a carton, the theft of cigarettes added up to an estimated $2,400, which is a felony amount of product taken from the store.
Read the full story HERE.
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Veterinarian Larry Friedman was just a year into his practice when he joined the Department of Agriculture in 1962 with the intention of working in Wyoming. Instead, he was sent to Texas to help eradicate the new world screwworm - fly larvae that burrow into the flesh of living animals.
By 1966, the efforts of the USDA were successful and the screwworm had been exterminated from American soil. But the dangerous flesh-eating larvae that can kill cattle and people is making a comeback.
Cowboy State Daily’s Jackie Dorothy spoke to Friedman about how they combatted the parasite by introducing sterile male flies to the population.
“In order to sterilize these male flies, what they do is they take them into a laboratory and they radiate them, and then they release them into the wild, and they will mate with the females. And over time, they will take over the population, and the eggs will not hatch when they are laid in the animals. And within six months, it should be over, and they should have it defeated… And I really thought, how unique is this, that we're having this screw worm infestation come back, and it was a Wyoming vet that was part of it 62 years ago. I mean, more power to Wyoming!”
The technique for eliminating the screwworm remains the same as in the 1950s, and Friedman believes that vigilance is the key.
Read the full story HERE.
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Many people who knew Teno Roncalio, Wyoming’s last Democratic congressman, said that he put Wyoming first before any kind of party affiliation.
It’s been 46 years since Roncalio represented the Democratic Party for the Cowboy State in the U.S. House, for a total of five terms. Cowboy State Daily’s Leo Wolfson reports that Roncalio spearheaded a number of initiatives that were important for Wyoming while in office.
“While he was in Congress, Roncalio passed critical legislation that was really beneficial to Wyoming, such as increasing the state's share of the mineral royalties it receives from 37 and a half percent to 50%. Roncalio also passed the Surface Mining Reclamation Act, which put regulations on coal mining throughout the country, but allowed states to regulate it, which is kind of a critical nuance that he put in there to try to help Wyoming out… But speaking to a number of people about him, like former Wyoming Republican Party chair Jack Speight, he really was primarily focused on just representing Wyoming first, rather than any kind of party allegiance, I think that's kind of a legacy that will remain with him forever.”
Roncalio is unknown to many younger Wyomingites, with the Rock Springs post office named in his honor the only public designation that exists for the man who died in 2003.
Read the full story HERE.
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And that’s today’s news! For a deeper dive into the people and issues that affect Wyoming, check out The Roundup, conversations with the most interesting people in the Cowboy State. A new episode drops tomorrow, when I have a conversation with longtime Buffalo newspaper publisher Jim Hicks. You can find the link on our website, on our YouTube channel, and wherever you get your podcasts. And of course, you'll find it in our FREE daily email newsletter! Thanks for tuning in - I’m Wendy Corr, for Cowboy State Daily.
