It’s time to take a look at what’s happening around Wyoming, for Friday, January 3rd. 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 Radio Show with Jake. Listen every morning from 6am – 10am on CowboyStateDaily.com and soon will be broadcast on your local radio station.
Laramie County’s top prosecutor said Thursday she won’t pursue charges against the Cheyenne Police Department Officers who shot and killed a man who took his wife hostage. In March 2024, 47-year-old Patrick Flores reportedly fired at Cheyenne police officers during a tense standoff. The officers fired back, fatally wounding Flores. Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports that upon reviewing the investigation into the police, the Laramie County District Attorney deemed the officers’ response fitting.
“On Tuesday, they released their report of this incident stemming back to last March to me, and it's exhaustive. They interviewed neighbors, they interviewed the wife and the cops…the landlady. Everyone…But what stood out to me the most, is that the wife who was taken hostage describes, just before police show up, her husband has her pinned on the bed, and he fires next to her head, and the the bullet goes into the mattress, and she said…. the black stuff covered me, and I smelled it, and I heard it, and then [in] the next breath, she says that. More than that, she was heartbroken.”
During an investigation interview, the man’s wife said she believed if the police hadn’t arrived, he would have killed her that night.
Read the full story HERE.
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President Joe Biden gave Liz Cheney the Presidential Citizens Medal on Thursday, the second highest civilian honor, sparking criticism from Wyoming Republicans, including Sen. John Barrasso, who said she didn’t deserve the award. Cowboy State Daily’s Leo Wolfson reports Barrasso’s comments are significant since he had stayed relatively neutral on Cheney since she started speaking out against Trump, until now.
“He kind of kept a neutral stance there for about four years now, just kind of not really commenting in any direction on anything she did until now. He called her divisive and not a true representation of Wyoming, and he believed that either Biden was going to pardon her or he was going to give her an award, as he did on Thursday…Cheney has pretty much gone the opposite direction of Barrasso, kind of opposing Trump, and kind of moving away from the main support of the Republican Party and Wyoming voters, while Barrasso has really moved towards Trump.”
Biden awarded Cheney for her role as the vice chair of the U.S. House Select Committee on the January 6th attack.
Read the full story HERE.
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Photographer Dave Bell of Pinedale, Wyoming captured the stunning reds and greens of a rare New Year’s Eve aurora over the Cowboy state. Cowboy State Daily’s Andrew Rossi reports that this might be a sign that 2025 could be even better than last year for auroras.
“2024 was a stellar year for auroras in Wyoming, and that's because the sun reached its solar maximum when it has the most amount of sun spots on the surface which generate these coronal mass ejections which manifest as auroras in the northern and southern hemisphere... So not only could that mean that 2025 could be just as good as 2024 in terms of seeing auroras in the night skies of Wyoming, it could actually be better... There is a good possibility that we're going to have another terrific year of auroras in the night skies of Wyoming as we get into 2025”
Auroras can last from a few minutes to several hours. The intensity depends on many factors, including the strength of the coronal mass ejection and one’s distance from the North Pole.
Read the full story HERE.
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Requiring photo identification to vote in Wyoming could alienate a large number of the state’s older voters who don’t drive or have state-issued IDs, Wyoming AARP says. That could happen under legislation Secretary of State Chuck Gray is advocating for that would require photo identification for all voters. Gray is pushing for the legislation as part of his larger efforts to tighten voting requirements and help prevent nonresidents and undocumented people from voting in Wyoming elections.
“Currently, there is a few forms of ID like Medicaid and Medicare cards that are accepted as a form of identification of voting that don't have a photo that come with them. Gray finds this very disturbing, and he wants to take care of it as an effort to basically try to weed out voter impersonation... Wyoming AARP, however, pointed out that many senior citizens... don't have a form of ID because it's been many years since they've driven a vehicle.”
A University of Wyoming poll conducted this summer revealed that 92% of residents are satisfied with Wyoming’s current voter ID laws.
Read the full story HERE.
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A video recently filmed in South Dakota of a mule deer and whitetail buck that fought until they fell over in complete exhaustion encapsulates a region-wide conflict between the species. Cowboy State Daily’s Mark Heinz reports that in the bigger picture, whitetails seem to be winning the war.
“I talked to Ogden Driskill… who’s…a prominent Wyoming legislator, but they have that family ranch that's right up against the Devil's Tower, and that is really kind of Ground Zero where we're seeing the clash… between whitetail deer and mule deer. He says, Yeah, it's really pretty darn rare for the bucks to clash like that, but the two species do fiercely compete, and it's almost always the mule deer that come out on the losing end. Whitetail are smaller, but they're more aggressive.”
People reportedly separated the two deer who stumbled away. It’s unclear if the animals survived the blow out.
Read the full story HERE.
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Wyoming police last weekend caught two men bringing vehicles through the state with fake license plates. Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports that the two men involved each face one felony count of bearing false vehicle titles, which is punishable by up to two years in prison and $5,000 in fines.
“It could mean a variety of things. It could mean... my temp tags expired, I want to get by a little longer. Could mean I'm smuggling vehicles... it could mean anything that we don't yet know. But as it is just the blunt... allegation of this is a false title. Indiana doesn't recognize this title. That in itself, regardless of what the reason for having a false title, allegedly is, it is charged as a felony.”
According to court documents, police think the two cases are connected, and that a mobile printer is being used to print out false license plates on the road.
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. This week, host Wendy Corr has a conversation with Dr. Hudson Freeze, whose scientific studies in the 1960s at Yellowstone National Park's thermal pools revolutionized biomedical research. 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 Reilly Strand, for Cowboy State Daily.
