It’s time to take a look at what’s happening around Wyoming, for Monday, February 10th. I’m Wendy Corr, bringing you headlines from the Cowboy State Daily newsroom - Brought to you by the Wyoming Senior Olympics! Experience the excitement of the Winter Games, February 20–22 in Pinedale, and support the SAFE Initiative. For event details and the full schedule, visit wyoming senior olympics dot com.
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The climate for wind and solar power has been getting downright chilly in the Cowboy State, but no one in that sector appears to be too worried just yet.
That’s despite recent executive orders from President Donald Trump calling for a moratorium and review of wind leases, and a string of bills in the Wyoming legislature that seek to place moratoriums on more renewables. Cowboy State Daily’s Renee Jean reports that there are several major renewable energy projects in the works in Wyoming.
“A lot of them in Wyoming already have their permits. They're located on private land, so Trump's orders really only affect federal permits, and most of them don't think that that can be retroactive… a lot of them are hoping that tax credits stick around that was passed through Congress, changing that would take, you know, another act of Congress. It's not just an executive order type of thing… on the flip side, you know, Albany County is hoping that the Trump executive orders can be retroactive, because they're wanting to see the rail tie wind project stopped.”
Wyoming wind has attracted lots of developments to the Cowboy State, and is expected to create thousands of jobs.
Read the full story HERE.
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Sammie Cyrus, a senior at Dubois High School, is an exceptional wrestler. He won his hundredth match at the end of January, and he is preparing for his final attempts to win Wyoming’s regional and state championships.
What makes him even more exceptional is that he’s done it as a double amputee. Cyrus lost the lower halves of his legs as a child, but Cowboy State Daily’s Andrew Rossi reports that his talent, determination and sportsmanship make him as tall in stature as any other high school athlete.
“Sammy Cyrus lost the lower half of both of his legs before he was eight years old, and he not only found a sport that he could do, which is wrestling, he's succeeding in that sport. He's got over 100 matches that he's won already, and it's something that's helped him cultivate himself and make his disadvantages into advantages… he's just got such a mindset, having to struggle through such adversity at such a young age, and then building on those disadvantages, making them his strengths, those are going to take him places. And right now, the places he wants to be taken to are the regional and state championships here in Wyoming, and he's got a good shot at going at it.”
Cyrus will face quality wrestlers at the regional and state tournaments. That’s why he’s giving everything he can to his training, eager to culminate his high school wrestling career with victories in Wyoming.
Read the full story HERE.
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The jerky aisles at convenience stores across Wyoming and Montana are so long and stacked with choices, a shopper might reasonably spend an hour examining every flavor available in this cornucopia of seasoned protein.
Cowboy State Daily’s David Madison spoke to several people in the business of beef jerky, who say the dried-meat market has become decidedly more saturated.
“When you go to the town pump, which is the biggest convenience store chain in Montana, you can literally enter a tunnel of jerky. The jerky aisle is astounding… You could spend legitimately an hour there browsing jerky if you really wanted to drill down and and and you know and truly express your attraction to the jerky lifestyle, which is what seems to be developing out there… I interviewed a former jerky maker from Riverton, and he had a similar epiphany… he decided he needed to get out of the jerky making business and concentrate on his company's bread and butter, which is providing seasonings and jerky kits for do it yourselfers.”
According to a 2024 report, the jerky market could grow to $10 billion by 2032.
Read the full story HERE.
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When it comes to mountain lions, everybody might not agree on how to best manage them – but one thing seems certain, Wyoming has a lot of them.
Although the Wyoming Legislature had been considering a bill that would allow unlimited hunting of the predators, outdoors reporter Mark Heinz spoke to several outdoors experts who say the big cats might be better at controlling their own numbers than humans.
“There is a school of thought that when mountain lions are just kind of left to their own devices… they can be better at controlling their population than humans are, with the idea being that large Toms or large mature males will actually go around and they'll kill their competition, or they will kill kittens, Much like bears are known to kill young that aren't their own… but there's also people on the other side that say, you know, yeah, in some limited circumstances… just leaving them alone to do their thing works. But in other areas you still need hunting to be really effective.”
The bill allowing open season on mountain lions essentially died in the House Travel, Recreation, Wildlife and Cultural Resources Committee, after no one called for a vote to send it to the House floor.
Read the full story HERE.
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Two young Big Piney men were charged with first-degree murder in the apparent death-by-bowshot of a third man.
19-year-old Rowan Littauer and 18-year-old Orion Schlesinger were charged Friday with first-degree murder and other felony charges. Court documents allege the men worked together to barge into the Big Piney home of 23-year-old Dakota Farley and fatally shoot him with two compound bow arrows. Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports that the prosecutor for the case hasn’t ruled out the death penalty.
“The claim is that Rowan Littauer was bragging to others about having killed someone, and one of the people who received that message related to authorities, and then when they went to the home, they did find a man who appeared to have been shot through the chest with an arrow. And they also interviewed Littauer and according to court documents, the things he described about going to this guy's home and shooting him twice matched up with the scene.”
Littauer is charged with first-degree murder, and with mutilating a dead body. Schlesinger faces a first count of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, plus a second count of felony theft.
Read the full story HERE.
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Over the past century, Wyoming has modernized, evolving from a rugged frontier state into a hub of industry and energy. Despite its economic and cultural advancements, one thing remains true: Wyoming has an abundance of single men.
That’s what Cowboy State Daily’s Jen Kocher discovered when she read a recent report from the U.S. Census, which ranks the Cowboy State in third place for the highest ratio of unmarried men.
“The national average, for example, is 90 women to every 100 men. And in Wyoming is … 106 men to every 100 women. So this has been historically accurate since the founding of the state, and it makes sense, because a lot of guys went west, and there's a lot of guys who came here to work on ranches, to work in the oil field.”
Montana did actually pass a $3 poll tax on all unwed men between the age of 21 and 60 in March 1921. The money raised was dog-eared for a “widow’s fund” to help those women who may have benefitted from the financial support of the unmarried men. The law only lasted for 10 months.
Read the full story HERE.
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There’s a 300-foot asteroid on a collision course with the Earth. It could impact the planet in 400 years or 4,000 years – or, if we're really unfortunate, within the next decade.
Cowboy State Daily’s Andrew Rossi reports that according to data collected by NASA’s Center for Near-Earth Object Studies, asteroid 2024 YR is on a trajectory that will eventually impact the planet – the question is when.
“They determined that it now has a 2.3% chance of hitting Earth sometime within the next 10 years, and they believe it could be as early as 2032. Now, 2% chance is not nothing, but it's a very low percent chance. And I spoke with Max Gilbraith, who's the planetarium coordinator at the University of Wyoming, and he said that with the trajectory of this asteroid, it's going to hit Earth eventually. It's not a question of if, it's a question of when… But we do have technology to divert these things, if it comes to that, and astronomers are marking its position. They're aware it's in the neighborhood. They're aware that it's a risk. So you could say all eyes are on the skies on this one, but it's not worth panicking over, because we don't have enough information to panic about.”
Asteroid 2024 YR is between 40 and 100 meters long. Astronomers say if it hit a major metropolitan area, the results would be apocalyptic.
Read the full story HERE.
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And Wyoming legislators are working on a bill that would, among other things, distinguish between highly-trained service dogs and other types of pets used as emotional support animals.
The situation is the same in Texas. In fact, outdoors reporter Mark Heinz spoke to one Texan man who is making a statement with his registered support animal - a 2,000 pound longhorn steer.
“Close to 10 years ago now, he sent in his application, and he sent me a photo of Tiny as a certified emotional support animal. He said they couldn't find a vest big enough to fit him, so he doesn't have his official support animal vest. But other than that, you know… I asked him if he'd ever taken it into a Kmart or anything like that. He said, No, but if I wanted to, I could have, because he is a certified, you know, registered emotional support 2000 pound Longhorn steer.”
Tiny is among a herd of 14-15 longhorns. Although they are naturally independent, and, if left alone out on the range, not too friendly toward people, his owner says with enough attention and affection, they can become “just like big dogs.”
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! 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.! Thanks for tuning in - I’m Wendy Corr, for Cowboy State Daily.
