It’s time to take a look at what’s happening around Wyoming, for Tuesday, December 31st. I’m Reilly Strand, in for 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.
A Rock Springs first grader saved his grandmother’s life this month by dressing himself, getting to school and reporting that his grandmother had died. Fortunately, she was not dead, just unconscious from low blood sugar. Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports it was when Mason Rasmussen got to school with cowboy boots, shorts and a t-shirt, despite the freezing temperatures, that his teacher knew something was wrong.
“She's like Mason, what's going on here, bud? And he said, My grandma is home alone, and she has died. And so he was very just honest, and the school arranged for emergency responders to go to the home…Because he was so forthright, and because he had the pluck to get himself to school, that's why authorities were able to get aid to the house.”
On Friday, the Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Department presented Mason with a bravery award for remaining calm and telling a trusted adult about the crisis he had seen.
Read the full story HERE.
–
In 1977, then-President Jimmy Carter picked up the phone to talk to Cheyenne resident Susan Allen, who was only 12 at the time. It was part of a CBS Radio Network call-in show called “Ask President Carter.” In the wake of Carter’s death on Sunday, Cowboy State Daily’s Leo Wolfson spoke with Susan to find out what she talked to the former president about.
“She remarkably got through to Carter despite there being about 9 million people who tried to call and get a hold of him during that two hour call-in show….They didn't talk about too many things, but she asked him about the pressures of the job and how he dealt with it, and she also asked him if he supports solar heating. Remarkably early question for something that has become a very hot button topic in recent years.”
Because of the call, she held a personal affinity for the former president that stuck with her for the rest of his life, which was only strengthened by his volunteerism and public service.
Read the full story HERE.
–
When billionaire Joe Ricketts bought Pinedale’s White Pine Resort in April, people speculated the goal was to turn it into an upscale Jackson Hole-like resort. Ricketts is the founder and former CEO of T.D. Ameritrade and co-owner of the Chicago Cubs. Cowboy State Daily’s Renee Jean reports that so far, the resort has yet to see much change.
“There are billionaires buying up little ski resorts and turning them into kind of posh little clubs, really skyrocketing the prices so that they're no longer the kind of family ski resorts they had always been. So there was…some genuine fear that that might be the direction this would take. But so far, I'm told by people who have been there that everything looks pretty much the way it's always been. Prices haven't even changed.”
According to a White Pine Resort board member, the resort may see a few improvements in the future, including a new ski lodge and snow machines.
Read the full story HERE.
–
Whatever winter Wyoming has missed so far is expected to arrive in force moving into the new year.
Cowboy State Daily’s Andrew Rossi reports that heavy snowfall in the mountains is starting to drift down with enough intensity to bring scattered showers to lower elevations. Meanwhile, strong winds will carry colder temperatures across the Cowboy State.
“December was warmer and drier than Wyomingites might be used to. But as we move into January, the La Nina system over the Pacific that has created these conditions is weakening, and thus kind of the stranglehold that it has over Wyoming, is weakening as well… meteorologists tend to stay within the next three days or a week. Beyond that? It's hard to say, but the thing we can rely on is that Wyoming is going to get a healthy dose of winter, starting in 2025 and that's likely to continue through January, February and going into March, at least.”
Future surges of cold air from Canada, mixed with Pacific patterns, will carry precipitation into the lower 48 states. Sources say the challenge is anticipating where and when those weather systems will impact Wyoming.
Read the full story HERE.
–
A Rock Springs couple is facing charges that add up to centuries in prison after local police alleged they sexually abused and involved a teenage girl in sex acts with themselves and others for over a year. Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports that an evidentiary affidavit alleges 39-year-old Jennifer Renee Fahrney involved the girl in sex acts with her boyfriend, 56-year-old Richard Allen Turner.
“The woman in this pairing that's accused of all these sex crimes and child endangering, she's facing nearly a millennium in prison if convicted. It's like 850 some years if she were to be convicted on all of these charges, more than 60 and sentenced consecutively. Whereas…her boyfriend… he is facing several life sentences if convicted.”
Fahrney’s case reached the Sweetwater County District Court on Dec. 20, while one of Turner's cases reached the court earlier this month. Turner is set for arraignment next month, while his other case is pending.
Read the full story HERE.
–
A man camping on the ice on Ocean Lake in Fremont County woke up stranded hundreds of yards from shore Saturday after the ice broke up overnight. Cowboy State Daily’s Mark Heinz reports that the man’s friend, Jake David, said it’s common for ice fishermen to stay in their tents overnight, but David left Friday night because something felt off. He came back to check on his friend, Zack, the next morning.
“So he called his friend and said, Dude, you need to get up, and you're stranded…I guess his friend didn't even realize that it had happened…Nobody was injured, nobody froze to death or anything. But it's… just weird to think going to sleep on a lake and waking up in the morning and finding out that you're surrounded by water instead of ice, and it's a little spooky. I mean, I think it just kind of speaks to…it's been a warm winter so far.”
According to David, Zack was rescued by Riverton Search and Rescue, and local duck hunters helped him retrieve his fishing equipment.
Read the full story HERE.
–
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.! We will be taking New Year’s day off, but join us back here on Thursday morning for more news. Thanks for tuning in - I’m Reilly Strand, for Cowboy State Daily.
