It’s time to take a look at what’s happening around Wyoming, for Thursday, January 23rd. 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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A Gillette man has been charged with second-degree murder, accused of shooting his sister as she burst into his mother’s home Monday.
26-year-old Vincent Hackett could face between 20 years and life in prison if he’s convicted. According to crime and courts reporter Clair McFarland, Hackett told his mother after he shot his sister, quote, “Give me a hug, because I am going to jail.”
“The mother and daughter were cleaning a house together and drinking… The brother’s also there. And so this escalates to a conflict where we have a verbal argument, and then, you know, we have the alleged victim taking off, coming back, getting in an argument, and then he kind of pushes her out onto the porch, according to the court documents, and deadbolts the door. So, so she's banging at the door wanting to come in. The Affidavit says, related from a witness statement that the door swings open. And so this, I think, is where the argument is going to play out over the next months or weeks. How did the door swing open? What kind of entry are we seeing? Is there a threat?... so those three factors, I think probably are going to weigh on the case going forward.”
Hackett’s bond is set at $750,000 cash. His preliminary hearing is set for January 30.
Read the full story HERE.
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With sustained winds reaching 60 mph and gusts hitting nearly 90 mph, Tuesday’s wild winds were some of the worst Wyomingites can recall in recent memory. The Wyoming Department of Transportation reports at least nine semitrucks were blown over around the state, the most in a day in at least two decades.
Cowboy State Daily’s Andrew Rossi reports that WYDOT is rolling out a new notification system for drivers warning them of the dangers of driving on dangerous wind-swept highways.
“They've started a new signage system that's giving people more information about not just what kind of wind risks they're facing as they drive on Wyoming's highways, but what kind of blow over risk their vehicle faces? So… with this new system, it's not just saying high profile vehicles can drive on these roads. It's providing the gross weight of the vehicle. So saying, If your vehicle is not above this weight, it can't drive on these roads, or it's going to get blown over.”
WYDOT hopes the new signage it has been using will reduce the number of future blowovers, but winds are always a hazard on Wyoming’s highways.
Read the full story HERE.
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A year ago, artificial intelligence didn’t even get a mention as TerraPower was working to develop its novel nuclear plant in Kemmerer, the first of its kind in the nation.
But AI is definitely in the driver’s seat now. Cowboy State Daily’s Renee Jean reports that TerraPower, founded by Bill Gates, has inked a deal with Sabey Data Centers - the largest independent data center provider in the country - to investigate how its nuclear power plants might help power Sabey’s growth plans.
“The opportunity with AI is really big… you know, put a simple chat GPT query out, it takes 10 times the power that a normal Google Search takes, as far as processing goes… It's like, think about Cookie Monster and cookies, and that's what's happening to the data centers here, is they are just going to gobble up power. A lot of them are looking to nuclear power to help fill that need.”
The rise of AI is expected to drive U.S. electricity demands through the roof. Goldman Sachs analysts have predicted a 160% increase in data center power demand alone, reaching 200 terawatt hours per year sometime between now and 2030.
Read the full story HERE.
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Wyoming Congresswoman Harriet Hageman is among Republicans in Congress calling out federal officials for an armed, intimidating response to a South Dakota ranch family’s home over a 75-year-old property line dispute.
Cowboy State Daily’s Mark Heinz reports that the letter signed by Hageman mentions the South Dakota case specifically, as an example of an alleged broader pattern of “misuse” of federal law enforcement against American citizens, during the administration of former President Joe Biden.
“Last year, we reported on a ranch family in South Dakota, and the… wife and mom of that family, actually is a Wyoming native… and this weird dispute started with the federal government… claiming that their fence had crossed over into some national grassland, in other words, unauthorized taking of of federal property. And so they thought they had the matter settled. But then… armed Forest Service agent in tactical gear showed up to hand them federal indictments for allegations of theft of government property.”
Hageman and the others who signed the letter call the response blatant abuse of government power and unnecessary intimidation of U.S. citizens.
Read the full story HERE.
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The legality of ballot drop boxes in Wyoming took center stage during a discussion in the House Corporations, Elections and Political Subdivisions Committee on Wednesday afternoon.
Cowboy State Daily’s Leo Wolfson was in attendance at the hearing, when Secretary of State Chuck Gray and County Clerks’ Association of Wyoming President Malcom Ervin got into an animated exchange over House Bill 131, legislation that would ban the use of ballot drop boxes in Wyoming, with each accusing the other of “gaslighting” their constituents.
“Gray does not believe these ballot drop boxes are legal under current law, and the county clerks disagree. They believe that is up to each individual county to decide if they want to use the ballot drop boxes… At one point, Gray was questioned by Representative Mike Yin if he was accusing the county clerks of breaking the law when they allowed ballot drop boxes for use in some of the most recent elections… Gray really didn't address the question specifically, and he told me after he wasn't trying to speak to anybody's intent, but he clarified and he reiterated, he does not believe the drop boxes are legal under current state law.”
The bill advanced on an 8-1 vote, with only Democratic state Representative Mike Yin of Jackson voting against it.
Read the full story HERE.
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Wyomingites are hailing the "national energy emergency” President Donald Trump declared on the first day of his presidency.
A number of Wyoming’s oil and gas industry officials told Cowboy State Daily’s Renee Jean they were still reviewing the declaration and accompanying executive orders, and weren’t sure how things would roll out here.
“Everyone I talked to is very optimistic about this approach and hoping it just means good things for the energy industry. I think there's uncertainty, though, about how it's all going to play out. Obviously, there are going to be those who are opposed to this plan. We're likely to see some litigation… it's clear from reading the document that he is trying to set up a way to expedite certain infrastructure, oil and gas projects to, you know, try and strengthen the energy industry.”
Declaring a national emergency unlocks new authorities and additional executive powers the president doesn’t normally have, including suspension of some environmental regulations or restrictions of various exports. No president prior to Trump has declared a national energy emergency, so it is somewhat new territory.
Read the full story HERE.
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Upstate New York is a long way to go to produce a pilot episode for a new television series set in Wyoming. But that’s what Sheridan-based Story House Pictures did last summer and fall, because New York offered the production company a tax incentive.
Sean Higgins, who was part of a task force that tried unsuccessfully to revive Wyoming’s tax incentive program for the film industry, is now looking just up the road from Sheridan to Montana for future productions. And Cowboy State Daily’s David Madison reports that Higgins isn’t the only filmmaker looking for such opportunities.
“He's part of a coalition in Montana. Last night, about 80 filmmakers gathered in Helena along with legislators to try and talk up this new bill called the Montana media Act, which would increase the tax incentive in Montana from about $12 million a year to $30 million a year… If they don't, according to these filmmakers gathered last night, the state of Montana could be looking at losing maybe 1300 jobs in that industry.”
Higgins said that when considering the United States and its territories, Montana ranks 41st in overall film production. Wyoming is 51st.
Read the full story HERE.
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A new one-room schoolhouse in remote Albany County has been life-changing for a ranch family there, and now they want other isolated rural families to have the same rural education opportunities.
Joint Resolution HJ3 would seal the Legislature’s commitment to rural schools all across Wyoming. Cowboy State Daily’s Mark Heinz, who visited the rural schoolhouse this fall, reports that the resolution passed the committee by a unanimous vote.
“Several people testified in favor of it, including the mother who has her children going to that school up in northern Albany County. And then several other people testified in favor. Nobody spoke out against it… going through committee is only the first hurdle. It's gotta go to the full house, and then, of course, in the Senate, through their committee and then the full Senate. But so far, things are looking pretty optimistic that Wyoming is going to dedicate itself to, you know, being committed.”
There are currently 15 schools in Wyoming with three or fewer rooms in 12 school districts, serving a total of 102 students in grades K-8.
Read the full story HERE.
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When Wyomingites want to escape the worst of winter, they head to all parts south. But the sunny South is digging out from an unprecedented snowstorm Tuesday and Wednesday. Areas around New Orleans got more than a foot of snow, while Pensacola, Florida, broke a 130-year-old record with 5 inches.
Cowboy State Daily’s Andrew Rossi spoke to Paul Knapp, a transplanted Pinedale resident who has found himself the local snow expert in his Louisiana community.
“Highways have been shut down, and they don't have the means to clear the roads, so interstate commerce is all but halted because they don't have snow plows to deal with these things like we have in Wyoming. So that's the serious side of it, but on the other side of it, Knapp said he jumped on his golf cart and just started cruising through his neighborhood, and everybody was having a good time. They were enjoying the snow in the South.”
The forecast for the rest of the week in the southern U.S. has higher temperatures and plenty of rain. That’ll be enough to clear the roads and unfreeze the region - but until then, Knapp and many others are making the most of it while it lasts.
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.
