It’s time to take a look at what’s happening around Wyoming, for Tuesday, December 17th. 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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After news broke that drones circulating over Wyoming’s Niobrara County this autumn bear eerie similarities to those now reported over New Jersey and other places, many Wyomingites raised a war cry of “Shoot them down!”
But that’s illegal, drone experts and law enforcement told Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland.
“In federal law, it's like punishable up to 20 years in prison to ‘destroy aircraft,’ is the phrase, and in Wyoming, just under our property destruction statutes, if whatever you're destroying is not yours, and is worth more than $1,000, it can be 10 years in prison. It's a charge as a felony, which means you can lose your gun rights, which is circular and ironic, in this case.”
Read the full story HERE.
However, a Wyoming state senator last year quipped that if someone were to shoot down a drone, a shotgun might be the best way to deal with it. And it turns out he probably was right, according to gun experts that spoke to outdoors reporter Mark Heinz.
“I hypothetically asked a couple people, because it is illegal, don't do this. Hypothetically, if someone wants to shoot down a drone, what would be the best way to do? It sounds like a shotgun… there's a couple reasons for that. You know, you get a pattern of shot versus a single projectile coming out of a rifle or a handgun. And the other thing is, is that if you fire a rifle or a handgun into the air, you're asking for trouble, because these rifle bullets out of some colibris, they'll go five miles so, and you are liable for every shot fired.”
So if a shotgun is the best choice in this purely hypothetical scenario, what’s the best ammunition? Experts say perhaps using full-powered 12-gauge hunting loads would work best.
Read the full story HERE.
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Casper and Gillette are the envy of the Cowboy State right now, each with a new Amazon facility that promises to speed package deliveries for those customers living within a 60-mile radius of the new centers.
Amazon’s Regional spokesman for Wyoming and Montana told Cowboy State Daily’s Renee Jean on Monday that he can’t say whether more distribution centers are coming to other Wyoming cities, like Cheyenne, Sheridan or Jackson anytime soon, but said the decision to open a warehouse is always data-driven.
“They're using flex drivers. These are pretty similar to what we think of with DoorDash, Uber Spark, those kinds of things… We don't know if they're going to open any other centers in Wyoming… Cheyenne would seemingly be an obvious one. That's the capital. It's the most populous state or city in the state. So it's kind of puzzling to me that Cheyenne didn't get a center if Casper and Gillette did.”
During holidays, Amazon sees a 30 to 40% increase in volume based on customer orders, and that has put deliveries at about 4,000 per day at each center right now.
Read the full story HERE.
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One of the most contentious debates in Wyoming politics these days is gun-free zones and a larger conversation about how much gun control Wyoming should or shouldn’t have.
State Sen. Ed Cooper of Ten Sleep has introduced a bill for the upcoming session that he said would bridge a middle ground between people who do and don’t want a ban on gun-free zones in Wyoming, according to Cowboy State Daily’s Leo Wolfson.
“What the bill does is it allows people to have an avenue to carry firearms in public school grounds, which doesn't currently exist in Wyoming. And what I found interesting about this is that people on both sides of the issue are already opposing Cooper's bill… state representative Jeremy Harrelson, who brought the gun free zones bill last year, does not support Cooper's bill. And then on the other side… The Wyoming chapter of Moms Demand Action also said they do not expect to support Cooper's Bill either, because they believe it supersedes local control.”
The bill, Senate File 37, would only apply to schools, and as currently written, only K-12 institutions.
Read the full story HERE.
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America’s national bird, the bald eagle, is doing exceptionally well across Wyoming and the West, but wind turbines and other hazards have left golden eagles struggling.
Outdoors reporter Mark Heinz spoke to Bryan Bedrosian, conservation director for the Teton Raptor Center, who coordinated with others to create man-made nesting sites in the vast Thunder Basin National Grasslands that might give golden eagles a safe haven where they can feast on abundant prairie dogs.
“They got a hold of, power company was gracious enough to give them some old power line poles, and so they set those up and built some basic nests for and they're hoping to bring the eagles to entice eagles to come back to the thunder Basin National grasslands, which that's kind of a safer place for eagles to hang out, would help boost the golden eagle population and also help control the prairie dogs. So sounds like a win, win, win for everybody.”
Using old telephone poles and other materials, eagle conservationists have built nests. Now it’s just a matter of waiting to see if golden eagles will show up to use them.
Read the full story HERE.
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Wyoming public entities are together paying a $375,000 lawsuit settlement to a family that accused a sheriff’s deputy of tackling their second-grade son at school in 2022 during a disciplinary response.
Emily and Ishmael DeJesus sued Laramie County Sheriff’s Deputy Benjamin Jacquot and the sheriff’s department in November 2023. Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports that the family claims that the deputy tackled the boy, who had a special needs plan in place, and bloodied his face during a disciplinary incident.
“It never went to trial, but the state and the family decided to settle it for $375,000. The bulk of that is paid on behalf of the deputy, and $50,000 of that is paid on behalf of the sheriff's office via a insurance pool that Wyoming uses… The judge earlier this month dismissed it with prejudice, meaning the De Jesus family cannot bring it again.”
U.S. District Court Judge Kelly Rankin dismissed the lawsuit earlier this month, after the state and the family filed a settlement agreement.
Read the full story HERE.
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The Pronghorn Meadows subdivision outside of Ennis, Montana is in a high-dollar neighborhood. The home and guest house at 37 Montana Way are currently on the market for $1.39 million.
But Cowboy State Daily’s David Madison reports that the glossy real estate sales materials have left out details about how this comfortable residence became the scene of an infamous drug and firearms bust less than two years ago, and the starting point of a fugitive’s attempted escape from justice.
“What seemed like a low level burglary, you know, into these storage units around Bozeman and Ennis, Montana, actually turned into quite a find for law enforcement when they showed up in an upscale neighborhood outside of Ennis, recovered more than 50 firearms, two pounds of meth… and put Jason Michael Hoover into custody. Well, he posts bail and then he goes on the lam for six months. And when he's caught… he allegedly gets a real beat down from the bounty hunters who… he tried to sue for damages, but in the end, he pled guilty to drug charges and now will be in federal prison for 12 years.”
In sentencing documents, there are details about how 47-year-old Hoover started using meth at age 13. His latest sentence comes after stints ‘in and out’ of jail for much of his adult life.
Read the full story HERE.
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The National Pony Express Association’s Sweetwater County chapter galloped 15 miles from Green River to Rock Springs on Saturday - one rider wore a Santa suit, while others wore traditional cowboy garb - and inside the four official Pony Express mochilas and additional saddle bags were 625 Christmas cards — official mail that carried a special Pony Express imprint.
This year was the 23rd holiday Christmas card ride, and it has grown in popularity over the years with area residents, according to Cowboy State Daily’s Dale Killingbeck.
“It's really something everybody looks forward to. As Thanksgiving rolls around, people start asking about it. So those Christmas cards are taken between the communities, and then the post Postal Service takes them and processes them as usual. So they have to go to Salt Lake City, and then back to the address.”
Just like the annual Pony Express Association rides that highlight the special horse-based service that existed for 18 months starting in 1860, the annual Christmas event draws local interest from bystanders, young and old, who see the riders off in Green River and welcome them in Rock Springs.
Read the full story HERE.
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And that’s today’s news. Get your free digital subscription to Wyoming's only statewide newspaper by hitting the Daily Newsletter button on Cowboy State Daily Dot Com - and you can watch this newscast every day by clicking Subscribe on our YouTube channel! And don’t forget to drop in on the Cowboy State Daily morning show with Jake Nichols, Monday through Friday from 6 to 10 a.m.! Thanks for tuning in - I’m Wendy Corr, for Cowboy State Daily.
