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[{"type":"text","text":"Everything about this is accurate....."}]

You still here 2 13 25

Cowboy State Daily is Wyoming’s largest newspaper with Wyoming’s most experienced journalists. 

<title>Bonus Video: Thursday, February 13, 2025 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Everything about this is accurate.....

Bonus Video: Thursday, February 13, 2025

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily's general assignment reporter, Clair McFarland.

Clair McFarland

Government & Politics

Politics

Wyoming congressional candidate Reid Rasner has brought his opponent’s dad into the fiery race for the GOP nomination to U.S. House.  

Rasner is running against nine other Republican candidates for the GOP nomination to Wyoming’s lone House seat, which the incumbent Rep. Harriet Hageman is leaving to vie for the Senate.

From about Friday through Monday, Rasner’s political Facebook page showcased screenshots that depict Jan Charles Gray – who is the father of one of Rasner’s opponents, Secretary of State Chuck Gray – reacting to Rasner’s posts with heart-face and fire emojis.

“Chuck Gray’s Dad Supports Reid,” says a banner attached to one of the posts.

One screenshot shows what appears to be Jan Charles Gray’s Facebook page giving a heart-face emoji at 1:37 a.m., about May 13, to one of Rasner’s reels.

Another screenshot shows a message, blurred in the screenshot but which Rasner identified in a Monday video as the elder Gray’s email address. That screenshot depicts a fire emoji from Jan Charles Gray at 9:29 a.m. about June 2.

[{"type":"text","text":"Did Not Confirm Or Deny"}]

Jan Charles Gray, in a brief Monday phone interview, did not deny or confirm leaving the Facebook reactions, but voiced emphatic support for his son.

“Clearly I support my son, Chuck Gray, 100% - and he’s going to win,” said the elder Gray. “Reid Rasner is a very troubled individual. Chuck Gray for Congress.”

Rasner’s team did not respond to a text message request for an interview, for the original screenshots, or for confirmation of a different claim Rasner made Monday.

[{"type":"text","text":"\"More Unhinged Nonsense\""}]

Chuck Gray called Rasner’s provocation “more unhinged nonsense from Reid Rasner, who will say anything to get elected, no matter how absurd or wrong.”

“If Reid keeps acting like a child, Reid's mom, who has been funding his campaign, should cut off his allowance and take away his phone,” Gray continued.

Conversely, Gray’s father has been a major donor to Gray’s House campaign, and funded nearly all of his secretary of state campaign in 2022.

“This is absurd and not a serious story, and no serious reporter should pretend otherwise,” said Gray, who claimed that Cowboy State Daily has “been influenced by Reid buying advertising from them” and “insiders who fund their entire operation.”

Rasner has not advertised with Cowboy State Daily in more than five months. His ads contract expired Jan. 31, Cowboy State Daily’s advertising department said Monday.

[{"type":"text","text":"Chuck Gray, Grocery PAC, Feinstein"}]

Jan Charles Gray is politically active. He'd given $3,500 to Chuck Gray’s campaign as of March 31.

The father funded nearly all of his son’s brief 2022 U.S. House run and gave him $500,000, 95% of his total funding for what became his secretary of state campaign,

Jan Charles Gray also gave $500 to the campaign of Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein, of California, in 1994, and more than $2,000 to a grocery company PAC in the 1990s, his Federal Election Commission filings show.

Chuck Gray and Rasner face eight more contenders for the GOP nomination: State Senate President Bo Biteman, philanthropist Steve Friess, former Superintendent of Public Instruction Jillian Balow, veteran and former congressional staffer David Giralt, Casper-based veteran Kevin Christensen, former legislator Keith Goodenough, Teton County rancher Frank Chapman and Richard Dodson. 

Mix Collage 13 Jul 2026 06 13 PM 6341

<title>Gray Calls Rasner ‘A Child' For Bringing His Dad Into Fiery GOP Primary Race | Cowboy State Daily</title>

GOP congressional candidate Chuck Gray derided primary opponent Reid Rasner after he brought Gray’s father into the campaign by saying "Chuck Gray’s Dad Supports Reid.” Gray called it “More unhinged nonsense from Reid Rasner.” 

Gray Calls Rasner ‘A Child' For Bringing His Dad Into Fiery GOP Primary Race

Native American Tribes

[{"type":"text","text":"Tribe Tells Christian Church To Leave Reservation; Church Says No "}]

Northern Arapaho Tribal leaders told a Christian pastor who said "a pipe cannot hear your prayers" to leave their reservation. The pastor said she's staying, and won't apologize for preaching from the Bible. 

The Northern Arapaho Tribe’s executive branch has asked a Christian church to leave the reservation, the tribe’s chair said Friday.

In response, Foundations for Nations pastor Sarah Lucas told Cowboy State Daily she and her family aren’t planning to leave yet. They’re looking to legal solutions to stay – and hoping for a “revival” in the meantime, Lucas said.

The church, which has operated in Fremont County for nine years, sits within the borders of the Wind River Indian Reservation, but it’s on a parcel of private, not tribal, land.

The controversy erupted eight days ago when Lucas discouraged some tribal faith practices during a church service, just as the tribe finished its Sundance ceremonies. She had said, “a pipe cannot hear your prayers,” and “we know that Jesus is enough.”

. Northern Arapaho Tribal members were furious at what they cast as an insult to their “grandfather pipe” – a revered relic associated with the Arapaho creation story.

Protests unfolded at the Riverton City Hall and at the Foundations for Nations church site in the town of Arapahoe.

“I want a public apology from them,” said Northern Arapaho Business Council Chair Keenan Groesbeck during a 

 last Tuesday. He stood in front of a yellow tape line that stretched across the church’s driveway. 

[{"type":"text","text":"He said Lucas’ message was disrespectful."}]

“If they don’t want to apologize to us, they can leave,” said Groesbeck. 

Protestors joined in a traditional chant as honks and whoops sounded from passing vehicles.

Lucas went to a meeting with tribal leaders Friday. She said the council allowed its “Four Old Men” elder group to join the meeting, and leaders discussed the importance of the pipe relic and told her to leave.

[{"type":"text","text":"Lucas described the meeting as unprofessional."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Groesbeck took to Facebook about two hours later."}]

“Just so everyone knows. We told Foundations For Nations and Sarah Lucas they got to go. We ain’t putting up with their bullshit,” says Groesbeck’s Friday post. “

Groesbeck could not be reached for comment by publication. Nor could the other council members except for Sami Dresser, who declined to comment.

The tribe’s spokesman did not respond to a request for comment by publication.

Lucas told Cowboy State Daily she won’t apologize for preaching from the Bible, though she wishes to apologize “that it came off as an attack.”

“But I am a Christian preacher. I am a pastor and I preach the full counsel of God’s word,” she said. 

Lucas said she’s not against the sun dance altogether: she supports fasting and praying as a whole concept. But she understands the ceremony also involves “the worship of the pipe,” she said, adding that’s idolatry, and irreconcilable with the teaching that “Jesus is the only way.”

She pointed to the divisive messages the Bible attributes to Jesus, and the persecution and martyrdom his followers suffered.

“You could take everything from me but you can’t take my God,” said Lucas. “I’m willing to be martyred for the faith. I’ve counted the cost.”

She voiced mild surprise at the current outrage, saying community members have maligned Jesus and biblical teaching to her for years and she hasn’t retaliated. 

Regarding the tribal community, Lucas said she loves them and wants to maintain a forgiving posture. She referenced the high suicide, poverty, and addiction rates of the reservation. And she reiterated part of the same message that sparked this clash.

“Only Jesus can turn a life around, can deliver somebody, can set somebody free,” she said, adding that she’s called to preach that and is “more concerned with eternity, than I am about earthly hate.”

Lucas said people have been “twisting” her family’s message, casting their work as a grift and slandering them. She countered, noting that she did not take a salary for the church’s first several years, and that she’s now at about $25,000 annually. Her husband has worked two jobs in the past to pay their bills, she said.

She rebutted other rumors about harms to kids in the church’s sizable kids’ program, saying “All these lies are making the kids in our program feel unsafe. And that just hurts.”

Lucas indicated her family isn’t ready to leave the reservation. She said she wants to see people’s hearts changed.

“They might be mad for now, but I believe the supernatural power of God is going to turn this around,” said Lucas. “We don’t obey man. We obey God.”

She said she and her family are working with an attorney to remain on their parcel. They’re also weathering death threats, according to multiple screenshots Lucas sent Cowboy State Daily.

The outlet reached out to the FBI late Monday and will update this story when the agency comments.

Special church events are suspended for now, but church is scheduled for each Sunday as usual, Lucas said, adding that some kids still want to come to youth group, and some parents have been asking when the church will start youth group again.

The church runs a philanthropic food pantry, which closed early last week.  

[{"type":"text","text":"‘Why Are They Trying To Save Us?’"}]

Chris Friday, a tribal member who has helped to coordinate multiple protests, told Cowboy State Daily on Monday that the question of whether the Lucases and church must leave the reservation “Now (is) probably going to involve the courts.”

Friday helped organize another protest outside the church during its Sunday service, which occurred on schedule. He said church attendees were seen “carrying around guns.”

Lucas confirmed this in her own interview, as she referenced the death threats.

“There’s people protesting there all the time,” said Friday, regarding the church. “Just, what they said, man. It hurts us as Arapaho people. Makes us seem like we’re lower than them, that their way is better than ours.”

Friday defended the Arapaho prayer traditions, saying they go back generations, and non-tribal members have often tried to observe them without permission.

“Why are they interested in us so much? Why are they trying to save us? I don’t know. We don’t need any saving or anything; we didn’t ask for them,” said Friday. “They should just take the hint and leave – respectfully of course. Go back to where you were.”

The Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868, which Arapaho and other tribal leaders signed along with the U.S. government, says any “bad men among the whites” or other people who “commit any wrong upon the person or property of the Indians” shall be, “upon proof” handed to the federal government for arrest and punishment according to the nation’s laws. The offender shall “also reimburse the injured persons for the loss sustained,” the treaty says.

Friday referenced the clause as a potential avenue for barring the Lucases from the reservation.

[{"type":"text","text":"It’s uncertain whether the tribe would win such a case."}]

Some tribes invoked it against the federal government in litigation regarding pharmaceutical companies’ marketing and sale of opioid drugs to tribal members. That claim failed because the tribes “(failed) to allege a ‘wrong’ cognizable under the treaty,” says a Dec. 9, 2020, 

 of Federal Claims, and the opioid company hadn’t come onto the reservation to commit some wrong.

Friday noted in his interview that tribal land surrounds the Foundations for Nations private land parcel. He wondered aloud if the tribe could block the Lucases’ access, but said “I don’t know how that would really work. It would probably have to go through the court.”

[{"type":"text","text":"More From That Church Service"}]

Lucas’ full sermon was unavailable at least as of Monday. The one-minute, 38-second clip that went viral last week depicts Lucas paraphrasing from the Bible: “tear down the altars, tear down the idols.”

She spoke of “this nation” gathering in recent days, praying. The tribal members had just conducted their sun dance ceremony.

“They prayed to pipes and they prayed to the ancestors, believing this is the way for their freedom. To get free from addiction, for people to be healed … this is what this culture did this week,” said Lucas.

[{"type":"text","text":"She urged the congregation to pray."}]

“Because we know that Jesus is enough. He’s enough. It’s not Jesus-plus. It’s Jesus everything. He’s everything,” said Lucas.

She referenced people she described as tribal members who have become Christians.

“And they understand the price … when they say that publicly. The persecution that can come with them publicly,” Lucas said. “But they know that this is it. Jesus is the chain breaker. He’s the only one that we should be praying to. A pipe cannot hear your prayers.”

[{"type":"text","text":"Because Of This Dark History"}]

Christian Wassana, an enrolled Cheyenne Arapaho of Oklahoma who played Martin Kills Many on “Yellowstone," told Cowboy State Daily in a Wednesday interview that tribal members are still wrestling with troubling treatments by past, Christian-affiliated missions, such as the boarding schools that forbade the children from speaking their native languages.

[{"type":"text","text":"He had posted one of the original links to the video of Lucas preaching."}]

Indian boarding schools proliferated in the nation a century ago, many run by religious groups and funded with federal money.

Historical accounts tell of tribal leaders who wanted their kids to gain an education, a federal government that wanted to assimilate the kids and religious leaders who wanted to convert them.

Northern Arapaho sub-chief Sharp Nose sent his son, Little Chief, to the Carlisle boarding school in Pennsylvania in the late 1800s, hoping the boy could learn skills from the white man for surviving in the new culture.

Little Chief died in the school’s infirmary in 1883 and was buried on school grounds – a common occurrence for tribal children.

Jesuits came to the Wind River Indian Reservation and built St. Stephen’s Indian School in 1884.

Arapaho 7 13 26

<title>Arapaho Tribe Tells Christian Church To Leave Reservation; Church Says No | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Northern Arapaho Tribal leaders have told a Christian church to leave the reservation after the pastor preached "a pipe cannot hear your prayers.'  The pastor said she's staying, and won't apologize for preaching that "Jesus is the only way."

Arapaho Tribe Tells Christian Church To Leave Reservation; Church Says No

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily's business and tourism reporter, Renée Jean

Renée Jean

Energy

Agriculture

A massive data center and power generation complex is being proposed for 5,344 acres of ranchland northeast of Wheatland in Platte County near the Goshen County line, on property owned by the Lazy V Six Ranch.

The developer, a company called Site Layer 4, has filed an application to rezone the land from agricultural to industrial for what it describes as a $26 billion data center campus with co-located, utility-scale energy generation. The property is roughly 13 miles east of Interstate 25, in an area now used for grazing and agriculture.

Public hearings for the rezoning have been set for 7 p.m. Aug. 11 before the Platte County Planning and Zoning Commission and 10 a.m. Aug. 20 before the Platte County Commission. 

Site Layer 4 says in its application that the project would be built over multiple years and is designed to concentrate infrastructure in one unified location. 

Residents who live around the Goshen Hole Rim say that location also happens to include springs, mule deer habitat and big-sky views their families have cherished for generations. 

In its application, Site Layer 4 describes the Wheatland project as a long-term phased industrial campus that could scale with market demand. 

“Rezoning the proposed project area would allow well-planned large-scale industrial development in an appropriate location, and protect private landowner rights to use property for business and economic purposes in a manner reasonably balanced with regulatory oversight,” Site Layer 4 wrote in its application. 

Site Layer 4 also emphasizes that the project area represents less than half of 1% of the acres devoted to ranching and agriculture in Platte County.

“The project area has been selected specifically because it enables development of a unified, co-located facility, limiting potential sprawl of infrastructure and associated regional impacts,” the company added. “The project area has access to critical grid interconnection and other necessary existing infrastructure, is separated from residential uses and public spaces, and is visually buffered via topography from the community of Wheatland.”

Site Layer 4 further promises that the campus would include stormwater drainage and other environmental controls consistent with local, state and federal requirements, and would “prioritize environmental protection and effective mitigation of potential environmental impacts.”

That might sound good on paper, one of the project’s neighbors, George Gamblin conceded. But, he said, the project’s footprint falls within a dramatic and scenic portion of Goshen Hole where Platte County’s plateau drops hundreds of feet into canyons and draws before flattening out again across Goshen County.

“You can see clear into Nebraska from here,” Gamblin said. “You can look all the way across Goshen County.”

The area is a unique land feature for the area, a place where there are plants and animals that probably should not be there, and would not be there, but for a micro-climate that’s supporting what would typically need more water.

“I probably have a couple hundred acres of pine trees on my little property that are not even really supposed to be there,” He said. “I think it’s about a 12-plus precip zone, and they’re not even really supposed to be growing there. But some of these trees are probably 100-plus years old. And they contain a lot of birds and things like that, which typically don’t exist in this area out here in the plains.”

Gamblin’s family has been in the location for close to 90 years.

“I live on Goshen Hole Rim, which dissects Platte and Goshen counties,” he said. “And in places, from the rim to the bottom is anywhere from I don’t know, 400 to 600 feet that drop and what you have in those canyons, there’s a lot of varied habitat.”

Ponderosa pine, mountain mahogany and little riparian areas near the natural springs that come up in the bottom of the canyons lie within a half to three-quarters of a mile from the proposed rezoning.

“Some of the wildlife we have out there — it’s pretty amazing,” Gamblin said. “I had some professional birders come out and they got I believe over 40 species of birds in like seven or eight hours walking along the rim.”

There’s also a diversity of wildlife, including elk and mule deer, as well as occasional mountain lions — which Gamblin noted wasn’t mentioned in the wildlife portion of the application.

“There’s just any number of things that are very unique to Platte County, and especially this part of Platte County,” he said. “So I would like to see, at the very least, some kind of buffer for that kind of habitat.”

From his place, much of the proposed industrial zone would sit less than a mile and a half away, with the rezoning boundary coming to within about a half-mile of his property.

“That’s a huge tract of land that’s going to affect quite a few people,” he said. “I understand private property rights and I respect them, but that needs to work both ways in my mind. You need to respect the neighbors. There’s no reason where they can’t protect Goshen Hole Rim and still probably have everything they need down there on the lessee’s land.”

Gamblin added he’s not against the project at this point, but he does want to hear that appropriate steps will be taken to protect water, wildlife and the view.

“I would rather not see it go in at all,” he said. “But I do understand the private property issue and I understand people wanting to make more money to benefit from it, so I’m not opposed to it.”

Water and the view are the two biggest issues for Kathryn Stevens, who lives across the rim on the Chugwater Flats about 5 miles from the proposed industrial zone.

“We moved out here specifically for the wide-open space, for the landscape, for the beauty, because we wanted to be homesteaders,” she said. “We moved out here to appreciate the heritage of the land.”

The project has taken her and her family by surprise.

“I came from western Washington, where that land, which is really beautiful land, has been exploited,” she said. “And it’s so sad to see that. I just shudder to think of that happening here in an area that’s in many ways kind of untouched. I can look out my window and see for 40 miles, and I don’t know what would compel somebody to destroy that or put a huge building there. I just don’t understand that.”

The family, like their neighbors, all depend on domestic wells for water, so how much water the data center might use is her biggest concern. 

“Everybody knows we’re in a drought,” she said. “Farmers are plowing under their wheat because it’s too low to even harvest and a lot of farmers didn’t even plant this spring. We are an ag community. Water is life. If you don’t protect your water supply, you’re going to be real sorry.”

The flats have no access to municipal water, Stevens added. 

“The people who live here rely on their wells solely,” she said. “If our wells were to go dry or become intermittent, then we wouldn’t be able to live up here. Like, there’s no alternative, and you also wouldn’t be able to sell our land for anything.”

The developer’s documents say the data center will use a closed-loop system to minimize water use. Its annual water use would be comparable to that of 25 to 30 residential homes, which Platte County Economic Development Executive Director Josephine Young characterized as watering about 5 acres of hay a year.

Young said she’s fielded phone calls, emails and social media posts about the project, some of which are mixing concerns for Wheatland with stories from Georgia and Cheyenne. 

She hopes residents will zero in on the specifics of Site Layer 4’s project and judge the project on its merits. 

“I’m sure you’ve been to Wheatland plenty of times,” she told Cowboy State Daily. “There’s a lot of vacant buildings. I think something everyone can relate to is wanting a place where their kids can come back to. I have an 8-year-old little girl, and I know we don’t want to lose our small-town culture, but we also want to thrive.”

Contrary to what some social media posts have suggested, the data center would offer between 250 to 300 permanent positions, which she said is “massive” for Wheatland.

“I mean, that would be one of our largest employers,” she said. “So I guess, if I could plug one encouraging statement, it would be to judge each project on its own merit and application, versus what Google says or what a standalone data center might offer versus one with power generation, because that does change a lot.”

The project, Young added, is in its infancy right now, and its application to rezone is just the first step of many to come. The application also doesn’t mean the project is necessarily a “done deal” either.

If it does come about though, the community benefits have potential to be “transformational.”

“I think the sales tax revenue would, gosh, triple our county budget,” she said. “It would be an influx. And I keep trying to tell myself, like when Laramie River Station — Basin Electric — came in, there was a lot of contention around it and now it’s the lifeline of our county.”

Platte County Commissioner Ian Jolovich told Cowboy State Daily he’s keeping himself at arm's length from the project, at least until the rezoning formally lands before the commission.

“I make a point to let the planner do — to not insert ourselves into the deal and to let them make an unmolested decision at the planning and zoning commission level,” he said. “I do know what’s coming down the pipeline but, typically, that’s how I feel like you get to muddy, if you start digging around too early.”

Commissioners will get a “full staff briefing” in time for the meetings, and until then Jolovich plans to stay “agnostic” about the project, though he did add that he is typically “for private business.”

“There’s some good and bad in everything,” he said. “So just find the good and regulate or treat the bad.”

Water will be a big issue to Jolovich as well, he confirmed.

“I’m in agriculture so I have a different perspective on water and its uses and whatever else,” he said. “Basically, what we do is we turn water and sunlight into beef, and so, when there’s no water, you can’t make beef.”

The nearby Laramie River Station power plant already uses 18,000 gallons of water per minute, which dwarfs the data center’s projected use. 

“The water issue is almost a solved problem to me,” he said. “The biggest issue with water is what happens to the stuff that is wastewater … So I’m interested to see what wastewater treatment practices and force majeure practices are, if say, something goes wrong, act of God, and something gets out and gets into the aquifer or whatever.

"That’s more of a detriment to the existing water supply. It’s not the use of it. I think they’ve got the use dialed down.”

Like Young, Jolovich, too, worries about young people leaving Platte County in the search for better job opportunities.

“I want more productive people in Platte County,” he said. “Our people are very productive, but we’re getting older and there’s not as much opportunity for kids to stay around.”

Wheatland data center 7 13 26

<title>Ranchlands Near Wheatland Eyed For $26 Billion 'Transformational' Data Center | Cowboy State Daily</title>

A company called Site Layer 4 wants to rezone 5,344 acres of ranchland near Wheatland for a data center and power plant. The project, they say, adds 300 jobs and substantial tax revenue, but neighbors worry about water, wildlife and the viewshed.

Ranchlands Near Wheatland Eyed For $26 Billion 'Transformational' Data Center

Kolby fedore

Kolby Fedore

Around Wyoming

A parasite that can keep people chained to the bathroom for weeks has reached Wyoming.

State health officials have now confirmed six cases of cyclosporiasis this year — double the number 

 — including one domestically acquired infection that remains under investigation while federal officials search for the source of one of the nation's largest Cyclospora outbreaks in recent years.

The illness is often dismissed as just another stomach bug — until it refuses to go away, said Cheyenne Regional Medical Center emergency physician Dr. Matthew Loptien.

"Ultimately I understand those words can provoke that (laughter)," Loptien told Cowboy State Daily, referring to the phrase "explosive diarrhea." 

[{"type":"text","text":"\"But it is not funny, that's for sure.\""}]

His warning comes as Wyoming health officials continue tracking the parasite's spread within the state.

Five of Wyoming's six confirmed infections were likely acquired while patients traveled to countries where the microscopic parasite 

 is endemic, according to the Wyoming Department of Health.

That leaves just one case believed to have been contracted inside the United States.

"We have not linked our one non-travel-related case to any other cluster at this time," Wyoming Department of Health Surveillance Epidemiologist Matt Peterson said Monday.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Weeks, Not Days"}]

Unlike the stomach viruses that typically disappear after a day or two, the parasite can linger for weeks — sometimes even months — before finally loosening its grip.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says symptoms usually begin two days to two weeks after someone consumes contaminated food or water, often making it difficult for patients to remember exactly what they ate before becoming sick.

"The hallmark of this is a prolonged diarrheal illness," Loptien said. "The biggest risk is for developing dehydration as a result."

Young children, older adults and people with weakened immune systems are especially vulnerable because dehydration can develop much more quickly in those groups.

"Individuals who are experiencing profuse watery diarrhea and cramps for extended periods, especially if the symptoms subside and then return, or are accompanied by loss of appetite and significant weight loss, should see their physician about testing," he added.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Three Weeks"}]

For Grover resident Eve Sutter Buehler, the illness struck so suddenly she initially assumed it was food poisoning.

[{"type":"text","text":"\"Feeling fine one minute and not able to function the next,\" she said."}]

Buehler said several members of her extended family became ill after gathering for wedding festivities over Memorial Day weekend. Most were sick for nearly three weeks, while younger family members recovered after about 10 days.

"The first onset of sickness was on May 31st late in the day … by June 2nd in the evening, we were almost all miserable," Buehler said. "We eat a lot of raw fruit and raw veggies. Those who don’t, didn’t get sick. That’s how we started putting it all together. We did have a bridal shower meal where most of us ate a strawberry/spinich salad. We’ve considered that."

One relative became so ill she was repeatedly evaluated for appendicitis and gallbladder problems before a physician assistant suggested Cyclospora as a possible explanation.

[{"type":"text","text":"\"At first, we all thought we had food poisoning or a flu,\" she said."}]

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Easy To Miss"}]

One reason Cyclospora is so difficult to track is that doctors first have to think of it.

Loptien said patients usually provide a stool sample, but many commonly used laboratory panels don't automatically test for parasites like Cyclospora.

Instead, providers often must order specialized ova-and-parasite testing when they suspect the illness.

That means some infections could easily be mistaken for a routine stomach virus.

Asked whether additional Wyoming cases may have gone undiagnosed, Loptien said, "I think that is always a possibility."

"There certainly is overlap in regard to the symptoms with Cyclospora and more common viral intestinal illnesses," he said. "However, the symptoms tend to be a bit more persistent and tend to last a little bit longer."

Unlike norovirus, Cyclospora generally does not spread directly from person to person. The CDC notes the parasite must first mature in the environment before becoming infectious, meaning most U.S. infections are linked to contaminated food or water rather than casual contact.

Wyoming has confirmed six cases of Cyclospora, a parasite that can cause weeks of explosive diarrhea, dehydration and weight loss. Medical experts link five of the six cases to travel outside the U.S. "It is not funny, that's for sure," an ER doctor said.

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