You Still Here

[{"type":"text","text":"Unfiltered reactions to receiving Christmas cards...."}]

Herald 2 12 27 24

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

<title>Hark The Herald 2: Friday, December 27, 2024 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Unfiltered reactions to receiving Christmas cards....

Hark The Herald 2: Friday, December 27, 2024

 Unfiltered reactions to receiving Christmas cards....

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

Clair McFarland

Government & Politics

Politics

[{"type":"text","text":"In Wyoming elections, Trump giveth and Trump taketh away."}]

He’ll endorse some candidates on Election Day and others more than a year before they can even file to run. 

A three-time general-election favorite of the reddest state in the nation himself, Trump’s picks almost always win the state’s Republican primary elections.

The president has not endorsed anyone in Wyoming’s most bitter struggle for statewide office, the nine-candidate field of Republicans vying for U.S. House.

[{"type":"text","text":"It’s unclear if he will. The election is Aug. 18."}]

One of the nine GOP candidates, conservative activist Steve Friess told Cowboy State Daily in a 

 that he’s heard he’s under consideration for an endorsement.

The White House did not respond to a request for confirmation by publication.  

Certified public accountant and political analyst Bill Cubin — son of former U.S. Rep. Barbara Cubin — said in his own Friday interview that it wouldn’t surprise him if Friess has been getting “positive comments” from the Trump inner circle.

[{"type":"text","text":"“I’ll bet you privately, Chuck Gray is too,” added Cubin."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"‘"},{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"Trump World'"}]

Secretary of State Gray, Friess, and seven other Republicans are running for the GOP nomination to the seat after U.S. Rep. Harriet Hageman announced she’s leaving it to run for Senate.

The other candidates are: state Senate President Bo Biteman, former Superintendent of Public Instruction Jillian Balow, military veterans Kevin Christensen and David Giralt, former legislator Keith Goodenough, actor/singer Richard Dodson and Casper businessman Reid Rasner.

“It’ll be interesting to see what they do,” said Cubin of Trump’s top staffers, whom he calls “Trump world.”

“My personal opinion — if, you know, I’m connected to Trump world — my message to the president would be, there’s no reason to endorse anybody,” said Cubin. “Because whoever you get is going be your ally in the House.”

Wyoming hasn’t elected a Democrat to its lone U.S. House seat in 50 years.  

The first criterion in winning a Trump endorsement is past support for Trump, said Cubin.

[{"type":"text","text":"Plus, he said, the president likes to win."}]

“They’re going to pick someone that they think has a good chance of winning,” said Cubin. “Or they’ll pick an opponent of someone they hate.”

Projecting electoral victory also sends the message, “We run the Republican Party,” he added.

[{"type":"text","text":"On Election Day"}]

President Donald Trump endorsed Steve Friess’s late father, Foster Friess, for his gubernatorial run on primary election day in 2018.

The last-minute move wasn’t enough to get the Republican over the finish line, and he finished second place with about 26% of the vote after now-Gov. Mark Gordon, who won 33.4% and went on to win the general election.

Now-U.S. Rep. Hageman finished third in that race with about 21% of the vote, and three more Republicans trailed.

Trump later told the Daily Caller that he’d come to realize that by the time he endorsed Foster Friess, “almost 70% of the vote was already cast."

Foster Friess had shown a newsworthy support of Trump, opting to give the presidential hopeful financial backing in 2016 — a move 

 “a sign that more of the party’s moneyed elite are rallying behind Trump’s unconventional White House campaign.”

On the other end of the timing spectrum, Trump 

 for reelection 14 months before she could legally file to run again.

[{"type":"text","text":"And Lummis later chose not to run again."}]

Wyoming’s primary election, which tends to be more decisive than its general election, falls around the third week in August.

More timely were Trump’s past endorsements of U.S. Sen. John Barrasso (

), and state Senate candidate (now-U.S. Attorney for Wyoming) Darin Smith (

[{"type":"text","text":"The Switcharoo"}]

Trump endorsed Brian Schroeder in the 2022 race for Superintendent of Public Instruction, but Megan Degenfelder won.

It was the president’s second high-profile endorsee loss in a Wyoming race.

This cycle, Trump endorsed Degenfelder in her bid for governor on Jan. 9 — seven months before the election and three days before she publicly declared the run.

[{"type":"text","text":"Cubin noted that Hageman, a Trump ally, has also endorsed Degenfelder."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"That may be the right race for calling out preferences, said Cubin."}]

“Because there are only 50 governors in the country, you know,” he said.

Conversely, the House and Senate are more crowded arenas, with 437 representatives and 100 senators respectively.

Also in 2022, Trump endorsed Gray for secretary of state, and state Treasurer Curt Meier for reelection.

Trump pointed favor toward Gray again in 2023, 

 that covered in part a Laramie attorney’s challenge against Gray’s office, against Trump’s eligibility to appear on the Wyoming ballot.

for the Senate president’s efforts in passing school-choice legislation.

No Wyomingite is referenced more on Trump’s TruthSocial page than former U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney, his sworn enemy.

The Republican delegate helped to investigate Trump as part of the U.S. House Select Committee to Investigate the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the United States Capitol.

[{"type":"text","text":"It’s often called the J6 Committee."}]

Trump speculated in May 2022 about Cheney dropping out of the race rather than filing for reelection. He held a 

 in Casper that month to raise money for Hageman’s challenge against Cheney.  

” one month before her 2022 primary election.

 after Hageman beat Cheney overwhelmingly. He derided Cheney again on 

 calling her a “Warmonger of low intelligence.”

Trump endorse 7 31 26

<title>Will President Trump Endorse Anyone In The Wyoming GOP House Race? | Cowboy State Daily</title>

President Trump has not endorsed anyone in the nine-candidate Republican race for U.S. House and it’s unclear if he will. The president has a good batting average, but his endorsement hasn't meant a win every time for Wyoming candidates.

Will President Trump Endorse Anyone In The Wyoming GOP House Race?

Heinz mark

Mark Heinz

Public Lands

Horse advocates are alleging that the Bureau of Land Management rushed rounded-up mustangs through holding corrals near Lander and sent them to dealers who subsequently sold them for slaughter.

Oregon-based Skydog Sanctuary has filed a complaint with the BLM. The group alleges the horses passed through the Lander Public Off-Range Pasture, also known as the Wind River Ranch, before they were sent to dealers in other states and sold for slaughter. 

The BLM confirmed it sends horses to the Wind River 

"We do have a contract with that sanctuary, which is authorized to offer horses for adoption and direct sale,” BLM spokeswoman Courtney Whiteman said in an email to Cowboy State Dai

Groups of horses, totaling 24 animals, arrived at the pasture in May and July. The Wind River Ranch is supposed to be a “long-term care” facility for mustangs rounded up off the range in Wyoming and other states, according to Skydog

But the horses were quickly sent to a dealer in Colorado, with no public notice of sale, Skydog claims.

“The horses whose sales were recorded were sold the same day as they arrived at Lander, indicating that the buyers were aware in advance that they were arriving,” according to Skydog.

Among those horses was at least one from Wyoming’s Salt Wells Creek herd, according to Skydog. That herd includes rare curly-haired mustangs.

“Nothing is as magnificent as the curlies that come out of Wyoming and the Salt Wells Creek herd,” Skydog founder Clare Staples told Cowboy State Daily.

She’s adopted several Wyoming mustangs, which live on her 9,000-acre horse and burro sanctuary near Bend, Oregon.

Staples said the latest complaint is the eighth Skydog and other wild-horse advocates have filed against the BLM recently.

However, the latest allegations stand out because of the status of the Wind River Ranch.

“This was unusual, because that’s supposed to be a semi-sanctuary facility,” she said. “Having the horses allegedly moved through so quickly and snatched up by one buyer really isn’t normal, like anything we’ve ever seen.” 

She also noted that some of the horses allegedly later sold for slaughter were young and healthy.

“Horses that absolutely could find some wonderful homes, but they’re not being offered a chance,” she said.

Wild-horse advocate Suzanne Roy told Cowboy State Daily the complaint claims the BLM broke its own rules by sending horses to a dealer known to sell horses for slaughter.

Advocates contend the BLM is not to knowingly send horses to slaughter or knowingly send or sell them to dealers who might do so, said Roy, founder of American Wild Horse Conservation based in Davis, California.

There are no longer any horse-slaughter plants in the United States, so horses are shipped to slaughterhouses in Mexico.

There is an overseas market for horse meat. Belgian chef Alfons Gulickx previously told Cowboy State Daily 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"‘Continuous Check-Ins'"}]

Whiteman said the BLM prioritizes getting mustangs adopted

Adopted horses’ titles remain with the BLM for a year, during which time the agency conducts “continuous check-ins” to ensure the horses are well-cared for before the title is transferred to the new owner.

Even when horses can’t be adopted, the BLM looks out for their welfare, Whitman said. 

"A horse may only be offered for direct sale after it has been unsuccessfully offered for adoption three times. With a direct sale comes an agreement where the buyer agrees they intend to keep the horse humanely, then a transfer of title,” she wrote. "BLM ensures all adopted and sold wild horses have met these conditions, and we investigate any complaints that come to us. After a horse's transfer of title, it is no longer under our jurisdiction. However, we do look into complaints regarding buyers or adopters potentially breaching the terms of their contract.” 

Those who have concerns about the fate of mustangs should contact the BLM directly, Whiteman said. 

"Our law enforcement and wild horse and burro specialist staff investigate these complaints thoroughly and seriously,” she wrote. 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"‘Tip Of The Iceberg’"}]

As a method of population control, the BLM frequently rounds up mustangs in Wyoming and other states.

The agency’s mission should be to adopt those horses out to people who will give them good homes, Roy said.

However, she said she thinks the agency is moving away from that and toward funneling horses to slaughter dealers.

“They don’t call them ‘adoption events’ anymore. They call them ‘placement events,’” she said.

“We’ve tracked large groups of horses going straight from events to ‘kill pens,’ where they’re sold for slaughter,” she said.

Advocates claim about 320 horses have been sent to kill pens across the country, Roy said.

“That’s probably just the tip of the iceberg,” she added.

According to Skydog, Wyoming mustangs that have allegedly gone to kill pens include:

• A 7-year-old gelding from the White Mountain herd, sold at a kill pen in Oklahoma on June 22.

• A 5-year-old mare from the Steward Creek herd, sold May 30 in Colorado.

• A 4-year-old gelding from the Salt Wells Creek herd, sold May 8 in Texas.

• An 8-year-old mare from the Divide Basin herd, sold in Oklahoma on March 25.

Wild horses 7 31 26

<title>Mustang Advocates Claim BLM Funneled Wyoming Wild Horses To Dealer For Slaughter | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Mustang advocates are alleging that horses were funneled from a Bureau of Land Management holding facility near Lander to dealers in other states, who subsequently sold them for slaughter. A BLM spokesperson says the agency prioritizes adoption.

Mustang Advocates Claim BLM Funneled Wyoming Wild Horses To Dealer For Slaughter

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

Andrew Rossi

Public Safety

 numbers from northwest Wyoming are of increasing concern to the Wyoming Highway Patrol.

, the Beartooth Highway. It’s the seventh motorcycle accident on the Beartooth Highway and Wyoming Highway 296, or Chief Joseph Scenic Highway, this year.

“That doesn’t sound like a lot of paper, but it’s tied for the worst year on record for (U.S.) 212 and 296,” said Aaron Brown, Wyoming Highway Patrol (WHP) spokesman. “We have seven crashes (on the two highways) in 2004. We’re already at seven in 2026, and they've all happened in July." 

But that isn’t the total number of reported crashes between the two highways this year. Brown said WHP troopers have colloquially told him of 

 that other agencies in Wyoming and Montana responded to this summer.

“Anecdotally, my troopers are saying they're seeing as many as 18 crashes so far this year,” he said. “If that is true, that's more than the number of motorcycle crashes on 212 between 2021 and 2025 combined.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Navigating Reports"}]

There still isn’t much information on what happened to the motorcyclist who died on the Beartooth Highway Thursday.

The crash occurred near mile marker 21 on U.S. 212, between the Top of the World Store and the Island Lake Campground. Multiple agencies responded, including the WHP, First Flight of Wyoming, and Red Lodge Fire Rescue.

The official investigation is ongoing, but Brown said preliminary reports indicate there were only two likely causes: a medical emergency or operator inattention.

“The fatality we had yesterday wasn't even on a hairpin curve,” he said. “It was a very soft curve in a very beautiful area. The only things that make sense are either a medical situation or distraction, but we're still waiting for the official report.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Curves Ahead"}]

According to Brown, WHP troopers have interviewed several people who were injured in motorcycle accidents on 212 and 296. Many of them have shared similar narratives of what led to their crashes.

“When troopers have spoken to the riders, a lot of accidents occurred when they were coming around one of those tight hairpin turns,” he said. “A lot of times they were following that white line on the outside, called the fog line.”

As motorcyclists followed the fog line and came to a tight curve, they were going too fast for a safe turn, Brown said. As they attempted to navigate the turn, they overcorrected and, with little to no shoulder, drove off the road.

That scenario explains a majority of motorcycle crashes on 212 and 296, but it doesn’t account for what happened to the victim of Thursday’s accident.

For Brown, a contributing factor to these accidents isn’t the road, it’s the landscape.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"A View To Not Die For"}]

The Beartooth and Chief Joseph Scenic highways are among the most spectacular mountain highways in the United States. They’re renowned for their vistas, which would turn anyone’s head.

Motorcyclists can turn their heads more than most, which could easily be part of the problem, Brown said.

“When you're on a motorcycle or bike, the only limit on what you can see is how far you can turn your head. It's easy to get distracted if something catches your eye, like a hawk, other wildlife, or just the view.”

Just like the tight turns, many motorcyclists might not anticipate the sheer beauty of their surroundings. That would mean they’re also unprepared for the other hazards they could encounter.

“Things can happen on 212 and 296 that you won’t be ready for if you don’t anticipate them,” Brown said. “That's going to be weather. That's going to be wildlife popping out of nowhere. Another thing our troopers are learning from post-crash interviews is that it’s easy to get distracted up there.”

 on 216 and 296, but it’s especially dangerous for motorcycles following the fog line with no buffer between them, the side of the highway, and anything in front of them.

“There's already such a small margin for error on a motorcycle to begin with, and that margin’s even smaller on those roads,” Brown said.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Sturgis Surge"}]

One of the biggest annual events in the western U.S. could make the accident total even higher.

The 86th Sturgis Motorcycle Rally starts Aug. 7 in South Dakota. Thousands of motorcycle enthusiasts will be traveling there from across the country and often take a detour across the Beartooth and Chief Joseph highways on their route.

Brown said WHP troopers aren’t worried about or anticipating an increase in serious or fatal motorcycle accidents before and after Sturgis, but they hope everyone will be aware of the motorcyclists cruising through Wyoming. There was a 

“We're going to see a lot more coming through, going to and coming from Sturgis, all over the state,” he said. “Just because they come up Cheyenne, going up U.S. 85 to the Black Hills, doesn’t mean they won’t take a detour to see the beautiful Beartooth Highway.”

While 212 and 296 might be more prone to motorcycle accidents, Brown wanted to remind all drivers that Wyoming is a beautiful state.

“It can happen anywhere in Wyoming,” he said. “If they’re heading to Sturgis, they’ll be in the Black Hills. Devils Tower is right there. Medicine Bow National Forest is a popular route. All kinds of things you can see and get distracted by.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Be Prepared And Aware"}]

We won’t know the extent of Wyoming’s 2026 road and highway accidents until 2027. That’s when all the incident reports from across the state will be compiled and analyzed.

From what he’s heard from WHP troopers, Brown is already anticipating more motorcycle accidents across Wyoming. On the same day as the fatal incident on the Beartooth Highway, another motorcycle fatality was reported in Casper.

According to the Casper Police Department, a single-vehicle motorcycle crash occurred near the intersection of King Boulevard and West 13th Street on Thursday morning. The driver, a 20-year-old Casper resident, died from the injuries.

[{"type":"text","text":"The cause of the accident is under investigation."}]

Brown and WHP troopers will be keeping a wary eye on the Beartooth and Chief Joseph highways. At least two months of good weather remain, and thousands of motorcycles could cruise through.

“We want our drivers, both visiting and local, to be aware of the increase in riders. Look twice, save a life,” Brown said.

According to Brown, the best way to avoid accidents is to think and act before burning rubber. Preventative actions, coupled with extra attention on the road, can go a long way during a long drive.  

“It comes down to personal choice,” he said. “Paying attention, buckling up, wearing a helmet, ignoring or getting rid of distractions, and focusing on the road are choices. Only you can make them.”

Brown had a specific message for anyone planning to travel along U.S. 212 and WY 296, especially if they’ll be on a motorcycle.

“If you’re going to do the Beartooth or Chief Joseph, ride within your skills and slow down,” he said. “It’s not a place you want to be crashing out on.”

Beartooth Highway Chris Howes via Alamy 7 31 26

<title>More Motorcycle Crashes On Beartooth Highway Than The Last Four Years Combined | Cowboy State Daily</title>

The Wyoming Highway Patrol has responded to more motorcycle crashes on the Beartooth Highway this year than the last four combined, including Thursday's fatality. With the Sturgis Rally looming, they're fearful of more crashes on the scenic mountain road.

More Motorcycle Crashes On Beartooth Highway Than The Last Four Years Combined

Kolby fedore

Kolby Fedore

Crime & Courts

A Colorado man wanted on 78 felony child exploitation charges was arrested Tuesday while working at a Saratoga sawmill, where authorities say he had been living and working for about five weeks before investigators tracked him to Carbon County.

Joshua Frasier, born in 1982, was taken into custody without incident after Saratoga Police Chief John Moore received a call from a Montrose County, Colorado, investigator around 12:30 p.m.

The investigator told Moore authorities received information that Frasier was working at Saratoga Forest Management, a sawmill on the south side of town.

Moore confirmed the felony warrant, obtained Frasier's driver's license photograph and asked a Carbon County Sheriff's Office deputy to assist with the arrest.

About 50 minutes later, the officers arrived at the mill and arrested Frasier while he was on the job.

[{"type":"text","text":"\"He was cooperative through the arrest,\" Moore told Cowboy State Daily."}]

Frasier was transported to the Carbon County Detention Center, where he was booked on the Colorado warrant.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Living At Campground"}]

[{"type":"text","text":"A warrant for Frasier's arrest was issued July 10 in Montrose County."}]

During the arrest, Frasier told officers he had been in the Saratoga area for about five weeks and had been staying at the Saratoga Lake Campground, Moore said.

Frasier also told officers they had previously gone to his parents' home in Montrose looking for him. According to Moore, Frasier said he believed that visit was related to a family-services matter and did not appear to know a warrant had been issued for his arrest.

According to court records, Frasier is charged with 50 counts of procurement of a child for sexual exploitation and 28 counts of sexual exploitation of a child.

Colorado law defines procurement of a child for sexual exploitation as "causing, inducing, enticing or permitting a child to engage in sexually exploitative conduct for the production of sexually exploitative material."

The charging documents filed in Wyoming do not describe the allegations supporting the case.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Waived Extradition"}]

Frasier appeared Wednesday in Carbon County Circuit Court, where he waived his extradition hearing.

By waiving extradition, Frasier agreed to return to Colorado without contesting the transfer in Wyoming court.

Colorado authorities now have 10 days to take custody of him and transport him back to Montrose County to face the charges.

Cowboy State Daily sought the arrest affidavit and other investigative records to learn more about the allegations in the Colorado case.

The Montrose County courthouse said the affidavit could only be obtained in person.

Ed Thompson, records supervisor for the Montrose County Sheriff's Office, declined to release investigative records, telling Cowboy State Daily the agency does not release documents that "may hinder a case getting prosecuted."

As a result, the allegations underlying the 78 felony charges were not immediately available Friday.

A comment from the Montrose County District Attorney's Office was not returned. 

Saratoga town sign 2 6 29 23

<title>Colorado Man Wanted On 78 Child Exploitation Charges Arrested At Saratoga Sawmill | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Colorado Man Wanted On 78 Child Exploitation Charges Arrested At Saratoga Sawmill

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

Greg Johnson

Courts

A Green River man who manipulated four underage children into performing sex acts on each other claims he didn’t entice the kids into “explicit sexual conduct” and that the 21-30 years he got in prison is cruel and unusual punishment.

The Wyoming Supreme Court disagrees in a Thursday ruling denying William J. Duncan’s appeal.

The justices didn’t buy Duncan’s legal arguments that even though he enticed the children to digitally penetrate and use sex toys on each other, that didn’t meet the legal standard for “explicit sexual conduct,” according to the ruling.

A Green River man who manipulated four underage children into performing sex acts on each other claims that the 21-30 years he got in prison is cruel and unusual punishment. The Wyoming Supreme Court disagrees in a Thursday denial of his appeal.

Hark The Herald 2: Friday, December 27, 2024

In case you missed it

More in You Still Here

Bonus Video 2: Friday, July 31, 2026

Today In Marriage: Friday, July 31, 2026

Bonus Video 1: Friday, July 31, 2026

Today In Friendship: Friday, July 31, 2026

Most read