One More For The Road

 I called my insurance company and told them I hit an animal. They asked what kind of animal. I said "A fish!"

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

<title>One More For The Road: Tuesday, December 24, 2024 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

I called my insurance company and told them I hit an animal. They asked what kind of animal. I said "A fish!"

One More For The Road: Tuesday, December 24, 2024

  I called my insurance company and told them I hit an animal. They asked what kind of animal. I said "A fish!"

Employee kate meadows cropped

Kate Meadows

Agriculture

A sweeping class-action lawsuit accusing the nation's four largest meatpackers of conspiring to manipulate cattle and beef prices is moving forward after a federal judge in Minnesota certified several classes of plaintiffs earlier this month.

The lawsuit alleges that JBS, Tyson Foods, Cargill and National Beef coordinated to restrict beef supplies and inflate prices between June 2015 and February 2020, harming ranchers who sold cattle while forcing wholesalers, grocers, consumers, restaurants and caterers to pay more for beef.

Together, the four companies control more than 80% of the U.S-fed cattle processing market, giving them wide influence over cattle prices and the nation's beef supply.

[{"type":"text","text":"U.S. District Judge John Tunheim issued his ruling July 16."}]

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"From The Big 12 To The Big Four"}]

For Wyoming ranchers who have watched consolidation reshape the industry over decades, the lawsuit is about far more than the five-year period covered in the complaint.

"The packers have controlled the destiny of beef for decades upon decades," Crook County rancher Tyler Lindholm told Cowboy State Daily. "It's getting to the point where people are starting to push back."

State Sen. Ogden Driskill, R-Devils Tower, said the current market is the product of decades of declining competition.

"Our federal government has allowed our federal packing industry to go from the big 12 to the big 10 to now the big four," Driskill said.

With a dozen major packers competing, coordinating prices would have been far more difficult, he said. Today, with only four dominant players, ranchers are left with few options for selling cattle.

"It really is high time for the government to step in and say we have to get a process that treats everybody fairly," Driskill said. "We're not asking for an upper hand. We're looking for everyone to be treated fairly."

Driskill blamed what he called a "very, very failed federal bureaucracy" for allowing market concentration to reach its current level.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Not Every Rancher Is Convinced"}]

Not everyone in Wyoming's cattle industry believes the allegations will hold up.

Laramie County rancher Mark Eisele said he remains skeptical that the major packers have engaged in coordinated misconduct.

"I'm not sure how I feel about this lawsuit," Eisele told Cowboy State Daily. "I would like to see what comes from this."

After decades in the cattle business, Eisele said he has never seen evidence of retaliation or deliberate manipulation by the major packers.

[{"type":"text","text":"Court filings paint a different picture."}]

According to the plaintiffs, economic modeling shows ranchers were underpaid by nearly 7% during the period covered by the lawsuit because the packers coordinated slaughter schedules and managed beef inventories to suppress cattle prices while increasing wholesale beef prices.

Lindholm said he believes market behavior itself supports those allegations.

He pointed to the Trump administration's approval of roughly 2 million additional pounds of beef imports from Argentina, saying a significant increase in imported beef should have softened domestic prices if the market were functioning normally.

"By all expectations, having an insane amount of beef imported from a country should have moved the beef prices here. It did not," Lindholm said. "Some might call that a conspiracy. But the proof is there. You can see it in the market."

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"More Harm Than Good?"}]

Eisele, however, questioned whether repeated class-action lawsuits are driven more by financial incentives than by wrongdoing.

If plaintiffs prevail, attorneys could receive more than one-third of any award, he noted.

[{"type":"text","text":"Activists often follow the same pattern of suing and settling, he said."}]

He suggested that previous settlements, including one involving JBS, reflected business decisions rather than admissions of wrongdoing.

[{"type":"text","text":"\"It was a pressure point,\" he said."}]

Meanwhile, Eisele worries the industry faces another challenge altogether: shrinking cattle supplies.

Some large packing plants are already slowing production or closing facilities because there simply aren't enough cattle moving through the system, he said.

"Cattle producers need to be real careful of what they wish for," Eisele said.

If additional plants close, ranchers could find themselves with even fewer places to process cattle.

"We're starting to paint ourselves into a dangerous corner on this," he said.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"A Difficult Case To Win"}]

Even if the allegations are justified, Driskill said he believes proving them in court will be difficult.

"They have deep pockets," he said of the meatpackers. "They're going to have the better lawyers."

Price-fixing cases are notoriously difficult because plaintiffs must show competitors acted together rather than making similar business decisions independently.

Regardless of the lawsuit's outcome, Driskill said Congress should revisit the Packers and Stockyards Act to strengthen protections for independent producers and smaller regional packing plants.

He would also like to see policymakers encourage enough competition to return the industry to something closer to the days when 10 or 12 significant packers competed for cattle.

"Let's break it up and get rid of these huge multinational conglomerates," he said.

Lindholm said the only way to do that is to look at the existing regulatory structure. The Federal Meat Inspection Act currently blocks states from controlling the meatpacking industry.

“What is allowing these big four to capture so much (business) under one umbrella?” Lindholm said. “That’s the key … Congress needs to go break the back of the packers.”

Driskill added that only a substantial financial penalty would change corporate behavior.

"A $30 million fine on a $10 billion company is like me getting a 10-cent speeding ticket," he said. "I would just pay the ticket and be on my way."

Cowboy State Daily reached out to JBS, Tyson Foods, Cargill and National Beef for comment. None had responded by publication.

Lindholm 7 30 26

<title>Federal Judge OKs Cattle And Beef Price-Fixing Suit Against 'Big Four' Meatpackers | Cowboy State Daily</title>

A federal judge has OK'd a class-action price-fixing lawsuit against the nation’s four largest meatpackers. "The packers have controlled the destiny of beef for decades," Crook County rancher Tyler Lindholm said. "People are starting to push back."

Federal Judge OKs Cattle And Beef Price-Fixing Suit Against 'Big Four' Meatpackers

Kolby fedore

Kolby Fedore

Crime & Courts

A Newcastle police sergeant pleaded not guilty Thursday to six charges 

 during a series of confrontations that stretched nearly a year and involved a police cruiser, a department K-9, an officer's baton and a knife threat.

One affidavit describes the allegations as escalating from verbal abuse to physical violence. 

During one encounter, Division of Criminal Investigation Special Agent Ed Rosier described allegations that escalated from verbal abuse to physical violence. 

One alleged confrontation involved Kaminski threatening the woman with a knife if she refused to get into his patrol vehicle. 

Nicholas Joseph Kaminski, 36, entered not guilty pleas Thursday in Weston County District Court to two counts of aggravated assault and battery, one count of felonious restraint and three counts of domestic battery.

Kaminski was employed by the Newcastle Police Department but is suspended pending the outcome of the criminal case, according to previous statements from city officials.

A request for comment from Newcastle Police Chief Derek Thompson was not returned.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Where It Began "}]

Rosier's affidavit shows Kaminski and the alleged victim's relationship began in early 2024.

Kaminski became verbally abusive early in the relationship, degrading the woman, criticizing her appearance and leaving bruises during confrontations, per statements in the affidavit. 

The first alleged physical incident happened in July 2025 after Kaminski became angry that another man had stayed overnight at the woman's home.

Because she did not want Kaminski around her children, she agreed to meet him at a Newcastle gun range instead.

Witnesses told investigators Kaminski pulled her from her vehicle by her arms, threw her keys into a nearby field and shoved her against the vehicle.

The affidavit notes Kaminski struck her head, back, and body against the vehicle while forcing her back inside and used his police nightstick to intimidate her.

Investigators also say Kaminski later used a department K-9 to locate the keys he had thrown into the field.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"'Knifed To Death' "}]

The woman told police that five months later Kaminski demanded she meet him again, so she drove to the Newcastle Lodge and Convention Center because it was public and well-lit.

She said Kaminski followed her in a marked patrol vehicle, took her keys, ordered her into his patrol car and physically pulled her from her SUV when she refused.

Rosier wrote that Kaminski then "started cutting his own arm and told her that he would do the same thing to her if she didn't get into his cop car."

The woman later told investigators she believed Kaminski would have "knifed her to death" if she refused.

According to the affidavit, Kaminski then drove her toward the refinery outside Newcastle, where he continued screaming at her.

Those allegations form the basis for one count of aggravated assault and battery and one count of felonious restraint.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Brass Knuckles"}]

The final allegations unfolded at Weston County Health Services, where the woman worked as a nurse.

On May 10, investigators say Kaminski arrived at the hospital while on duty after transporting an unresponsive patient and demanded to speak with the woman.

Hospital surveillance video reviewed by DCI shows Kaminski grabbing the woman's arm and wrist, pulling her down a hallway and backing her into a corner while dressed in full police uniform.

Another witness told investigators Kaminski entered a room, shut the door and said, "I know there's no f*cking cameras in here."

The witness reported seeing Kaminski throw the woman into cabinets during the confrontation.

The allegations are separate from another May incident that led to Kaminski's arrest.

According to an earlier affidavit, Kaminski spent hours outside the hospital sending increasingly threatening text messages demanding the nurse come outside.

Among them were: "Hey ur f***ing ass outside. Or I'm coming in," "U have 3 minutes to either come out here or answer the phone," and "U made this worse by not coming outside."

Just before 4 a.m., the nurse was escorted to her vehicle by a law enforcement officer after finishing her shift.

Investigators say Kaminski emerged from a nearby parking lot, cursed at the officer after being told the woman did not want to speak with him and sprinted toward her vehicle as she drove away.

Thompson later stopped Kaminski and arrested him. Investigators say they found a loaded Glock 48 pistol with a round chambered tucked into his waistband, along with a folding knife and brass knuckles.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Arraignment In District Court"}]

Kaminski pleaded not guilty to all six charges Thursday, and the District Court judge set the case for trial.

[{"type":"text","text":"He posted a $35,000 bond July 10 and has remained out of jail since. "}]

During the hearing, defense attorney Ryan Titus told the court Kaminski had found new employment that requires travel to Converse County, Cheyenne, Sheridan County and even Montana. He asked the judge to modify Kaminski's bond conditions to allow him to leave the Sixth Judicial District for work.

Crook County attorney DaNece Day did not object, telling the court it was important Kaminski remain employed given the potential financial obligations if he is convicted. The judge granted the request.

If convicted on all six charges and ordered to serve consecutive sentences, Kaminski could face up to 27½ years in prison. 

Sgt Nicholas Kaminski in March 2025 6 19 26 1

<title>Suspended Newcastle Cop Pleads Not Guilty To Assault, Domestic Battery Charges | Cowboy State Daily</title>

A suspended Newcastle police sergeant pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges alleging a yearlong pattern of abuse toward a woman including threatening her with a knife if she refused to get into his patrol vehicle. He faces up to 27 1/2 years in prison.

Suspended Newcastle Cop Pleads Not Guilty To Assault, Domestic Battery Charges

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily's Feature Reporter, Andrew Rossi.

Andrew Rossi

Public Safety

A motorcyclist has died after an accident on the Beartooth Highway on Thursday morning.

Information acquired via WyoLink confirmed that a motorcycle incident was reported near the junction of U.S. 212 and Wyoming Highway 296, the Chief Joseph Scenic Highway, around 10 a.m..

Details of the incident are still unclear, but one communication mentioned an individual was “down an embankment.”

A First Flight of Wyoming helicopter landed near the scene at 11:15 a.m. By then, first responders had been doing CPR on the victim for more than 50 minutes.

[{"type":"text","text":"By 11:22 a.m., a coroner from Red Lodge, Montana, was on the scene."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"No additional information was available as of noon."}]

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Multiple Confirmations"}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Cowboy State Daily confirmed this information through multiple sources."}]

Red Lodge Fire Rescue sent a fire truck and ambulance to the scene. A source with Red Lodge Fire Rescue confirmed they had responded to a report of an accident involving one motorcycle, but their first responders were still on the scene and couldn't provide any updates.

Monte McClain, a spokesman with the Park County Sheriff's Office, confirmed one fatality at the scene. He didn’t have any additional information, as the response and investigation were taken over by the Wyoming Highway Patrol.

The Wyoming Highway Patrol (WHP) was not available for additional information at the time of publication.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Tragic Warning"}]

There's been a growing concern about the number of motorcycle incidents on the Beartooth and Chief Joseph Highways this summer. Cowboy State Daily published a story about these specific concerns 

Earlier this month, Park County Fire District 2 issued a statement urging motorcyclists to “consider the challenges” before embarking on the narrow, winding mountain passes. WHP spokesman Aaron Brown agreed, confirming a notable increase in motorcycle incidents on both highways this summer.

“The WHP has seen five motorcycle crashes on the Beartooth Highway this year, and all of them have been in July,” he told Cowboy State Daily on July 24. “A few had minor injuries and at one reported had serious injuries, but no fatalities.”

Colloquially, Brown has heard about the increase in motorcycle crashes from WHP troopers stationed in northwest Wyoming.

“One trooper was telling me they've heard reports of even more motorcycle crashes up there,” he said. “We don’t have all the reports because some of those were county responses.”

Brown said he believed there were multiple contributing factors to these accidents, including the narrow curves of the highways and excessive speed. However, he also believed many motorcyclists could be overestimating their abilities. 

 “I think, at the end of the day, we're seeing a lot of riders trying to go outside of their skill set,” he said. “That’s not to say they’re not good enough to do the Beartooth and Chief Joseph, but they need to ride within their skills. If you’re going to do the Beartooth or Chief Joseph, ride within your skills and slow down. It’s not a place you want to be crashing out on.”

This is an ongoing story. Updates will be provided as additional information is confirmed.

Beartooth highway 7 30 26

<title>Motorcycle Accident Results In Fatality Thursday Morning On Beartooth Highway | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Cowboy State Daily has confirmed that a motorcyclist died in an accident Thursday on the Beartooth Highway near the junction of U.S. 212 and WY 296. This comes after growing concerns about motorcycle safety on the Beartooth and Chief Joseph passes.

Motorcycle Accident Results In Fatality Thursday Morning On Beartooth Highway

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily's managing editor, Greg Johnson.

Greg Johnson

Courts

CHEYENNE — It isn’t just illegal truck drivers who risk being caught in the Laramie County Sheriff’s Office’s Truck Around and Find Out highway enforcement operations.

Illegal drivers speeding in other vehicles while displaying lights that look enough like emergency responders that it prompts deputies to pull over for them will also get turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

That’s what happened to a man who got nabbed in the LCSO’s latest Truck Around roundup Tuesday and Thursday, said Sheriff Brian Kozak.

“Another funny story was one of our deputies was driving down one of the county roads and looks in the rearview mirror and sees blue lights coming up at a high rate of speed,” he said in an update on this week’s operation.

“So, he pulls over thinking maybe it’s an off-duty firefighter or something,” Kozak added. “As the vehicle passes, it’s a Ford Ranger. So, the deputy thinks, ‘Ah, that’s not an emergency vehicle,’ so he pulls it over.”

Turns out, the driver was an illegal immigrant and driving without a valid license, the sheriff said.

“So, the moral of the story is, ‘Hey, don’t bring attention to yourself in a situation like that, right?’” Kozak said. “Better yet, don’t commit a crime, especially here in Laramie County, where breaking the law is still illegal.”

He added that it was like the man was waving a big sign that said, “Arrest me!”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"By The Numbers"}]

Overall, this week’s Truck Around and Find Out resulted in about 120 traffic stops, with 40 tickets issued to drivers and 10 arrested for being in the country illegally, said Kozak and Chief Deputy Chance Walkama.

That’s a dramatic drop from the previous three crackdowns, where 118 illegal drivers were handed over to ICE agents. That includes a record 46 during the last operation in April.

The total now since the first crackdown in November 2025, then called Operation Safe Haul, is 128 illegal drivers arrested and turned over to ICE.

That only 10 were caught in this latest effort shows “that the word is getting out” that Laramie County should be avoided if you’re an illegal or unlicensed trucker, Kozak said.

“We have had less illegal immigration arrests, which is a good sign,” he said. “People who are illegal aliens are afraid to come to Laramie County — and that’s what we want.”

While people focus on how many illegal drivers are arrested during the county’s Truck Around campaigns, that’s not the goal, said Walkama.

“Our focus is always on traffic safety and safety in and around big trucks,” he said. “And that includes those vehicles driving around trucks. Sometimes there’s idiots out there.

[{"type":"text","text":"“These are primarily traffic-focused and law-focused.”"}]

Probably the most dangerous driver taken off the road this week wasn’t immigration-related, Kozak said.

“One of the arrests that we made … was for an aggravated, or felony, DUI,” he said. “That’s because that person had previous convictions for driving under the influence of marijuana, and that’s what he was doing again.”

Along with marijuana, deputies found a stash of fake urine in that vehicle, Kozak said.

“Because this person’s on probation, he has to provide urine tests,” he said, adding that it compounds the problem for the driver because it’s illegal to have fake urine if you’re on probation.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Keep On Truckin’"}]

Kozak’s Truck Around and Find Out operations have also been the target of criticism from local and national groups.

In March, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a legal challenge against the sheriff claiming he bypassed the public process to enter into agreements with ICE.

The ACLU filed the challenge on behalf of Juntos, the Unitarian Universalist Church of Cheyenne, and Drew’s Barbershop.

Kozak’s office has three agreements with ICE, which the agencies call 287(g) agreements. 

One lets jail officials investigate inmates for potential immigration violations. Another lets the sheriff’s deputies act as immigration task force agents and investigate federal immigration violations while they’re out enforcing laws. And another lets the Laramie County Detention Center house detainees for ICE.

Kozak signed all three agreements last May, the complaint says. His agency has 

The Cheyenne Tribune Eagle reports that a Laramie County judge 

 Monday, and hasn’t yet issued a ruling.

Despite the lawsuit, Kozak said he’s continuing with Truck Around and Find Out, adding that he knew the operations would generate some opposition and political fallout.

“We’re going to keep doing them,” he told Cowboy State Daily on Thursday. “We knew when we started there would be these political groups that would be opposed to what we’re doing.

“But we’re going to continue to do these Truck Around and Find Out operations.”

Kozak said his interest is in public safety.

“You have these big trucks driving by people without licenses, and people are losing their lives,” he said.

Turck Around and Kozak 7 30 26

<title>Laramie County Sheriff Kozak Strikes Again: 10 More Illegal Drivers Busted | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Another 10 illegal drivers were busted in Laramie County Sheriff Brian Kozak’s latest Truck Around and Find Out operation this week. That includes one speeding with what looked like emergency lights. "We’re going to continue to do these," Kozak said.

Laramie County Sheriff Kozak Strikes Again: 10 More Illegal Drivers Busted

What began as an act of kindness for a pregnant woman new to Casper ended in months of anonymous threats, fake phone numbers and a digital trail investigators say stretched across Facebook, Google and multiple texting apps, prosecutors say.

A Natrona County woman is accused of stalking the foster mother who once drove her to prenatal appointments, took her grocery shopping and later cared for her infant son while she received mental health treatment.

Daji Carter, 27, was bound over to district court Tuesday after a preliminary hearing on two felony counts of stalking and two misdemeanor counts of violating a stalking protection order. She posted a $3,500 surety bond July 15 and was released from custody. 

Investigators say Carter spent months using anonymous texts, fake online accounts and spoofed phone numbers to continue contacting Ashley Monroe and members of her family after a court ordered Carter to have no contact with her.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"'She Was My Friend'"}]

For Monroe, the allegations are especially painful because the relationship began with compassion.

[{"type":"text","text":"She met Carter in June 2024 while Carter was pregnant and new to Casper."}]

"I would have considered her one of my friends," Monroe told Cowboy State Daily. "She didn't have any mode of transportation, so I always offered to take her grocery shopping. We took her to do shopping for stuff she would need for the baby once he was born. She was fun to be around. She had a good sense of humor."

Monroe, a licensed foster parent, said she wasn't expecting to become Carter's foster placement.

[{"type":"text","text":"Instead, she simply wanted to help someone she knew was struggling."}]

"I was just trying to be there to support her and keep the baby safe if she needed help," Monroe said.

According to Monroe, she became concerned about Carter's well-being and requested a welfare check. After Carter agreed to seek help, the Department of Family Services arranged a voluntary placement, and Monroe began caring for the infant. Monroe said the arrangement was intended to be temporary, allowing Carter to regain custody when she was ready.

[{"type":"text","text":"The baby returned home within weeks."}]

Not long afterward, Monroe said Casper police contacted her after Carter made statements suggesting the infant had died. Officers eventually located the child safely, Monroe said, and the Department of Family Services placed him in her home again. 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"'That's When Things Turned South'"}]

Monroe said the relationship unraveled during a visitation dispute around Halloween 2024.

She recalled Carter becoming upset over visitation scheduling during one of the baby's medical appointments.

"She tried to take the baby and run with him from the doctor's office," Monroe said.

[{"type":"text","text":"That night, Monroe said, the messages began."}]

She said the first texts said "You're a c---, this is Daji," along with a knife and blood emojis.

The criminal affidavit similarly alleges Monroe began receiving threatening messages from anonymous Wyoming and Alabama phone numbers, many sent through internet-based texting services rather than traditional cellular numbers.

Investigators say the harassment continued for months and eventually spread to Monroe's husband and mother.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Living In Fear"}]

After taking in a friend's baby, a Casper foster mom says her family became the target of anonymous threats by the biological mother, who is charged with two stalking felonies. "I didn't even feel safe letting my kids go to school," Ashley Monroe said.

One More For The Road: Tuesday, December 24, 2024

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