It’s time to take a look at what’s happening around Wyoming, for Wednesday, January 8th. I’m Reilly Strand, in for Wendy Corr, bringing you headlines from the Cowboy State Daily newsroom brought to you by Visit Casper.
Visit Casper invites you to come enjoy the Casper International Film Festival, January 31 through February 2. A broad range of films from local and international filmmakers will be shown. Learn more and get your tickets at visitcasper.com.
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A federal bill called the “Protection of Women and Girls In Sports Act of 2025” that would strip federal funding from organizations that allow males to compete in girls’ and women’s sports has resurfaced as the new Republican-led Congress convenes. Sponsored by U.S. Sens. John Barrasso and Cynthia Lummis along with nearly two dozen others, the bill would also specify under Title IX that boys' and girls' categories in sports are based on biological sex.
“State lawmakers have been dealing with a federal administration that was unfriendly to them, and within Congress that was gridlocked, and so the state has been kind of waging its own in this issue. And this is completely new for them, because it's the first time that A, they're dealing with a transgender issue, but B, with... a friendly environment from on high.”
If the bill passes federally, it could simplify the work of the Wyoming Legislature, which has grappled with transgender issues regularly for the past three years.
Read the full story HERE.
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Gov. Mark Gordon and the Freedom Caucus held two separate press conferences Tuesday. Cowboy State Daily’s Leo Wolfson reports that Gordon was somewhat cryptic when asked what he expects from the Wyoming Freedom Caucus, but didn’t mince words about how he thought the Freedom Caucus took the majority seats in the Wyoming house.
“He said a lot of their success is due to out of state groups funding them. This is in reference to the fact that they are working under the state Freedom Caucus network. However, it should be pointed out that the vast majority of people who donated to the Freedom Caucus during the 2024 primary campaign were Wyoming residents, but the state of Freedom Caucus network does pay the salary of the Freedom caucuses state director. So there's kind of truth on both sides there.”
Later Tuesday, the Freedom Caucus held a press conference where it said its main priority is unity in the upcoming legislative session.
“There was about 20 members of the Freedom Caucus on hand, roughly. Quite a few of them were freshmen lawmakers that we didn't really know were official Freedom Caucus members until this press conference on Tuesday, they were outlying their they were outlining their legislative priorities for the upcoming session in more detail…But what really caught my attention about the press conference is that they're stressing a desire for unity within the entire legislative chamber.”
Wolfson says this marks a difference in the caucus’s previous approach, which sometimes mocked legislative leadership in the past.
Read the full stories HERE & HERE
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Balloons flying high over Wyoming aren’t Chinese spy balloons or even weather balloons. Some of them come from a South Dakota company called Aerostar. Cowboy State Daily’s Renee Jean reports that the company is putting balloons to work in ways so cutting edge, they almost seem ripped from the pages of a science fiction novel.
“One of their pilot projects, in fact, last year, was fighting wildfires, and what they did, to me, this sounds like something a little like out of Star Trek, they just had this balloon somehow magically suspended over a wildfire for days on end in the same spot... with these balloons, you can create that stationary cell phone tower that's floating above everything that's sending real time information about the fire and what it's doing, the firefighters and where they are, the fire equipment and where it is.”
Aerostar president Jim Nelson says wildfires are not the only area where they are actively innovating applications with balloons. He sees lots of exciting future applications like monitoring cattle herds and crops or detecting methane leaks from oil wells.
Read the full story HERE.
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Grizzlies might soon be delisted from federal protection and hunted in Wyoming, but don’t expect grizzly steaks on the menu at your favorite restaurant. Cowboy State Daily’s Mark Heinz reports that no matter what happens, selling wild game meat is illegal.
“They sold a gigantic tuna fish they caught in Japan or thereabouts, for like, 1.3 million or something insane, to a restaurant. And this tuna fish was described as weighing as much as a grizzly bear…The question is, if we get to the point where Grizzlies are delisted and people can hunt them, does that mean someone could sell a grizzly bear to a restaurant? And the answer is no, and the reason for that is… here in Wyoming, and really the United States, you cannot sell wild game meat.”
Heinz says those rules come from the 19th century when people were allowed to kill animals for profit, and certain species were nearly wiped out.
Read the full story HERE.
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Wyoming author C.J. Box will travel across the country to promote “Battle Mountain,” the latest novel in his popular Joe Pickett series, which goes on sale Feb. 25. Cowboy State Daily’s Andrew Rossi reports that Box prefers to tour the old-fashioned way because it helps him keep his ears open.
“Essentially, he likes to listen in on what people are talking about in grocery stores and post offices and bars in Wyoming, and then incorporating these real world issues and concerns into his novels, which has really made them so successful. Because one of the interesting things about the Joe Pickett series is that while other serialized fiction series are stagnant in terms of readers, or the readership is declining, the Joe Pickett series has actually been gaining readers with every new book.”
The 25th entry in the Pickett series traces the character’s latest adventure– trekking across Wyoming to find missing elk hunters.
Read the full story HERE.
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Arthur Nelson, the wrong-way driver whose reported meth use and reckless driving led to the deaths of five young people on I-80, died in prison on Tuesday. Nelson caused a chain-reaction crash on the interstate in 2023, killing five students traveling back to Arkansas after visiting Jackson Hole Bible College. Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports his case was unique, because the father of two of Nelson’s victims had forgiven him.
“He was sentenced to…a century in prison for that in September, but he didn't make it that long. He died Tuesday... What's been interesting about Nelson's case is that the father of two of the victims of later, the mother of one of the victims have forgiven him. Phil Prime, the father of two of the young women who died, has said at every turn that he has forgiven Nelson, that he's praying for him.”
Sarah Wimberly, the mother of another student killed in the crash, also openly forgave Nelson in court during his sentencing.
Read the full story HERE.
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Even as some sick patients test negative for illness, cases of the flu, COVID-19 and other viruses are spiking dramatically in Wyoming. Cowboy State Daily’s Jackie Dorothy reports that, according to health officials, the spike is likely due to mutated strains of influenza.
“We are experiencing a surge in Wyoming. We have high virus rates, and you need to be aware of it, especially those that have asthma and pre existing conditions, and those that are older in age, take the precautions, protect yourself... they do believe that the flu shot that they have is covering some of the flus that are out there, so it does protect you a little bit. It is just not protecting you from the one that is coming out of left field.”
There is also no magic cure if you have already caught the flu, COVID or another mysterious virus. You will need to treat your symptoms and get plenty of rest.
Read the full story HERE.
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The US Fish and Wildlife Service plans to send trained and permitted shooters into Pacific Northwest Coastal forests to kill up to 470,000 barred owls. The bigger and more aggressive barred owls have been crowding out spotted owls. Cowboy State Daily’s Mark Heinz reports that some have heralded the plan to kill barred owls as a bold step toward saving spotted owls from extinction. Others claim it will be a needless owl massacre.
“I can remember all the way back in the 80s, and I'm sure it goes further back than that. The the dilemma of the spotted owls…They've been struggling for decades…There's another species of owl called barred owls…In states such as…Washington and Oregon, they kind of want to knock the barred owls back so those spotted owls have more room to nest and a better prey base…I wanted to stress we do have barred owls…There's nobody going to be going out and shooting the Wyoming barred owls.”
Heinz reports that there’s a longstanding precedent of killing one species to save another, and sometimes it works, while other times it has unexpected consequences.
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. Thanks for tuning in - I’m Reilly Strand, for Cowboy State Daily.
