It’s time to take a look at what’s happening around Wyoming, for Monday, January 20th. I’m 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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Anyone who lives with wind knows the truth in the saying, “It’s not the cold. It’s the windchill.” When Wyomingites get out and about this morning, they'll experience both.
The National Weather Service anticipates dangerous windchills as low as minus 50, as the coldest air of the subzero surge smothers the Great Plains and Rocky Mountains. Cowboy State Daily’s Andrew Rossi reports that in Wyoming, forecasts call for windchills ranging from minus 15 to minus 45.
“When you've got this massive cold, dry air that's sticking around, even a slight breeze can send the temperature, how it feels, plummeting. And some of the lows that we're looking at across Wyoming on Monday, which is going to be the coldest that it gets… it doesn't take long for exposed skin to be subject to frostbite. When temperatures get that low, like we're at minus 45 we're talking 10 minutes top if that before you're putting yourself at risk, if you stay out without the proper coverings, and even with the proper coverings, you want to limit your exposure to that kind of cold as much as possible.”
Anyone brave enough to confront the cold will want to bundle up, but even several layers of winter clothing won’t completely eliminate the dangers these severe windchills present.
Read the full story HERE.
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Wyoming wallets have been on fire when it comes to homeowner’s Insurance rates, with customers reporting their rates doubling and tripling in the Cowboy State, even for longtime customers.
Devastating wildfires this past season that burned more than 850,000 acres in Wyoming didn’t help, either - and Cowboy State Daily’s Renee Jean reports that what’s happening now in California could even have broader impacts on the nation’s economy as a whole.
“People have seen double and triple premiums. People have been told by their insurance company, sorry, but you live in Story, so we're not going to renew your policy at all, and then they're left scrambling trying to find somebody to insure them, while meanwhile and a fire is actually bearing down on their community. So we know in Wyoming, we've seen, already seen some issues, this California situation… insurance regulations are written to try to ensure that a company's rates reflect the cost of doing business in a particular state… there's a recent Harvard study that looks at this, when there's a huge natural catastrophe elsewhere, inevitably rates across the nation start going up.”
The Wyoming Department of Insurance Commissioner told Cowboy State Daily that he thinks the ripple effects from the recent California fires herald price increases ahead.
Read the full story HERE.
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The Joint Appropriations Committee of the Wyoming Legislature made about 20 changes to Gov. Mark Gordon’s biennial budget Friday, reversing many of the governor’s 2024 budget line-item vetoes.
Cowboy State Daily’s Leo Wolfson reports that the changes send a strong message to the executive branch to cap off the first week of the 2025 legislative session.
“It says maybe more of a philosophical message than anything actually literal from a practical standpoint, at the end of the day, they are making changes to the biennial budget that the governor had a final say on last spring. They already adjourned for the session, so they weren't able to try to override his vetoes… the interesting twist in all this is that the governor could once again, override their overrides, because this is going into the supplemental budget, which is really just adjustments to that biennial budget.”
The changes made Friday will not result in any more or less money spent by the state, but will dictate how money is spent.
Read the full story HERE.
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The search for a missing Lander man has intensified, after his vehicle was discovered abandoned along a Utah interstate.
The discovery also leaves authorities and family with more questions about what might have happened to 60-year-old Brent Layman, who has been missing for more than a month. Cowboy State Daily’s Jen Kocher reports that they’re turning to the public for help.
“According to his daughter, she said she talks to him every other day for 30 years, he's worked as a care giver for people with special needs… although he's very private, his daughter said he's never not been in contact with the family… his car was found on December 13, and this is before the family even knew he was missing… and the Utah police, because it was unattended, they had it towed and impounded so they had no idea that this person was missing… But the windows were all down, which, you know, nobody I've talked to understands why, in the winter, under what conditions a car would be found with all the windows down, and also the fact that his wallet and cell phone were were still in the car. The only thing that was missing were his keys, and him, of course.”
Layman’s daughter said that there was no indication that her father had been suffering a mental health break or any other medical issues. Family members are asking for the public’s help in sharing any information about Layman’s disappearance or any potential sightings of him.
Read the full story HERE.
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The job description for prosecutors in Wyoming runs the gamut. They run criminal cases, address expungements, handle juvenile delinquency and probation issues - just to name a few of their duties.
But some of the state’s prosecuting attorneys told crime and courts reporter Clair McFarland that they’re doing it with too few employees.
“There's a shortage in government attorneys across the board, right there's the public defenders are really pinched, especially in the Northeast, and the prosecutors are feeling the pinch pretty much statewide… But then you also, you know, maybe the legislature has to balance their different priorities.”
Current prosecutors say the problem isn’t just a staff shortage, but a shortage of qualified applicants, which leaves openings unfilled longer. And whether public defender or prosecutor, government attorneys do tend to make less money than those in the private sector.
Read the full story HERE.
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A dry December might have left Wyoming snowmobilers and lodge owners feeling a little anxious, but January has been bringing a bounty of fresh powder to mountain ranges across the state.
Outdoors reporter Mark Heinz spoke to several snowmobilers who say this year’s conditions could be even better than last year.
“It was, you know, kind of a slow start in December, but it's really starting to pile up. They're reporting two and a half feet of fresh powder at the Wyoming High Country Lodge, up above Lovell. Things are looking good in the Wyoming range… Snowy range… But also, we get a lot of folks from the Midwest. And I did talk to one gentleman from the Midwest… And he said, Yep, everybody out there is getting pretty stoked over Wyoming. So here we go. It's snowmobile season.”
The Bighorn Mountains and Snowy Range Mountains are a huge draw for Midwesterners. They’re the first big mountain ranges that snowmobilers headed from there will hit along the interstate highways.
Read the full story HERE.
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Jetsetters know the Aman brand means posh and pampered resorts, the kind where no one parks their own Lexus and the continental breakfast never includes Froot Loops.
The only one in Wyoming is the Amangani, an uber-ritzy mountaintop retreat named for the brand. But the “Petit Aman,” perched high atop East Gros Ventre Butte overlooking a pristine valley, is a five-bedroom, six bath, 11,882-square-foot home designed to mimic the Amangani. And Cowboy State Daily’s Jake Nichols reports that it’s on the market - although he said it’s difficult to put a price on a property such as this.
“The uniqueness of this property to have a listing price of $18 million with very little acreage… So it's not a big place, pretty big house, but the Aman brand… They have almost three dozen properties around the world, and they're all just one more luxurious than the next, and this property being zoned in short term makes it especially attractive… The potential to derive revenue from it in short term rental is huge. And then to be able to send your guests over to the Aman, the lodge, and have them use that gym or that resources, the amenities they have, big selling point.”
The deck to the north of the Petit Aman has views of the slopes of Jackson Hole Mountain Resort. The home also includes a grand foyer, five king-size bedrooms, a library and media room, a two-sided wood-burning fireplace, plus an outdoor pool.
Read the full story HERE.
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For 70 years, from the time of the Civil War through the early 20th century, National Banks in Wyoming could have their own money printed, complete with their names and towns on it.
Cowboy State Daily’s Jackie Dorothy reports that now, these $10 and $20 bills are still legal tender, and worth big bucks to collectors.
“The federal government printed it, and as long as you sent them enough money to cover it, like, say, You sent them $40,000 they would give you $40,000 directly in cash, currency with your bank across debt. So there was 51 national banks in Wyoming, so 51 banks were doing this… the bank teller and the bank president had to sign it to make it legal tenor. So when it's coming from the US Mint, it was not legal yet, and that's a lot of times when it would be robbed and stolen. And so then you had the problem of forged bank notes. And so it's just a fascinating history, and it kind of answers a lot of questions I had about the outlaws themselves.”
In 2017, an 1875 $20 bill from Cheyenne, Wyoming Territory, sold at auction for $72,000. And an 1875 $10 bill from the National Bank of Laramie sold for $40,000.
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 - and you can watch this newscast every day by clicking Subscribe on our YouTube channel! Thanks for tuning in - I’m Wendy Corr, for Cowboy State Daily.
