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

<title>Daily Cartoon 2: Friday, February 14, 2025 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Daily Cartoon 2: Friday, February 14, 2025

Heinz mark

Mark Heinz

Agriculture

Wyoming ranchers must accept that electronic ear tags for cattle are here to stay, Wyoming Livestock Board Director Steve True told lawmakers Tuesday. 

A hoped-for executive order from President Donald Trump rescinding the electronic tag requirement “didn’t happen,” he said.

The requirement for certain cattle to have electronic tags before they cross state lines out of Wyoming is still in place, True told legislators in Casper. 

He spoke before the Legislature’s Joint Agriculture, State and Public Lands, and Water Resources Committee. The committee took no action on the matter.

The electronic ID tag requirement for interstate cattle transport was finalized by the U.S. Department of Agriculture on Nov. 4, 2024, the day before Trump was elected to his second term.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Trump Rumor Squelched"}]

In recent years, there’s been pushback against the transition from metal ear tags for cattle to electronic ID tags, which can be instantly read with a scanner.

Some ranchers argue electronic tags are too expensive, at about $3 each. Metal ear tags cost 10 to 15 cents apiece.

Others worry data collected through the tags could lead to government intrusion.

There’s no indication the electronic ID tag (EID) rule will change, True said.

“I do want to nip one story in the bud that I’ve heard quite a bit, that President Trump was writing some executive orders that would repeal the EID rule,” he said. "Didn’t happen.

“So, you all can let that go, if you’re thinking that happened. Because it didn’t, and it’s probably not gonna, with the screwworm problem we’ve got going on.”

At least five cases of New World screwworm infections were confirmed earlier this year in domestic animals in Texas and New Mexico.

There are concern that infestations could spread to other states, including Wyoming.

And hunters worry that screwworm infestations could jump to deer and other wildlife.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Rule Requirements"}]

Electronic ID tags are required for several classes of cattle before they can be transported out of Wyoming, True said.

Some of those include breeding cattle, sexually intact cattle 18 months or older, exhibition cattle and dairy cattle.

It’s hoped that electronic tags can streamline the detection, tracking and containment of livestock diseases, such as brucellosis.

A tag signifies, for instance, that an animal has been vaccinated against brucellosis.

Wyoming got clearance from the USDA to carve out an exception, allowing ranchers to use metal ear tags to certify vaccination for brucellosis.

Ranchers can use either new yellow ear tags or leftover orange vaccination certification tags, True said.

Yellow tags can be purchased from manufacturers. The orange tags should be available until supplies run out, as production ceased after Nov. 4, 2024, he said.

However, those metal tags are good only within Wyoming state lines. Electronic tags will still be mandatory for animals within the required categories that cross state lines, he said.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Still Seems Unfair"}]

Marta Mossburg of Riverton told Cowboy State Daily she’s opposed to mandating electronic cattle tags.

She is a research fellow at the Mountain States Policy Center and in November 2024 published a guest column in Cowboy State Daily expressing her hope that then-President-elect Trump would scrap the electronic ID requirement.

Among other things, she expressed concern over government intrusion.

“With the heightened surveillance of tags will come the ability for the federal government to expand its reach into ranchers’ operations,” Mossburg wrote. "Knowing exactly how many cattle ranchers own means the ability to tax cows based on their greenhouse gas emissions, as has been enacted in Denmark, to start in 2030. It could also mean forced slaughter if, for example, the USDA decided that the number of head in a particular operation was adversely impacting federal lands or violating climate policy.” 

On Tuesday, she said electronic ear tags would be expensive and unnecessary for small ranches in Wyoming.

Larger ranches might find electronic tags more efficient than old-style metal tags, Mossburg said, but they should have the option of using them voluntarily, not through a government mandate,.

RFID tag 7 28 26

<title>No Trump Executive Order: Livestock Director Says Electronic Cattle Tags Here To Stay | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Wyoming Livestock Board Director Steve True told state lawmakers in Casper on Tuesday that electronic ear tags for cattle are here to stay. A hoped-for executive order from President Trump rescinding the electronic tag requirement didn’t happen, he said.

No Trump Executive Order: Livestock Director Says Electronic Cattle Tags Here To Stay

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily's managing editor, Greg Johnson.

Greg Johnson

Crime & Courts

DOUGLAS — Saying through his court-appointed public defender that he’s afraid for his life if he shows his face, a Converse County man facing 72 felony child sex and pornography charges failed to show up for his plea hearing Tuesday afternoon.

By no-showing his arraignment in Converse County District Court, John Charles Smallbone also forfeits the $250,000 cash someone posted on his behalf to get out of jail June 24. 

“I waited a couple more minutes (to begin the hearing), and your client is not here,” Judge F. Scott Peasley said to Smallbone’s public defender, Denny Harts.

“He has expressed fear for his life,” Harts responded as about 25 people gathered in the second-floor courtroom at the Converse County Justice Center. 

“I reassured him he would be safe, but he is not here,” Harts added.

Peasley then issued a new warrant for Smallbone’s arrest for missing his hearing, while Converse County Deputy Attorney Nathan Shumway said he had just filed new charges on top of the 72 Smallbone already faces.

Those new charges weren’t yet in the court system immediately after the hearing, which from start to finish took about three minutes.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"On The Run"}]

Already a wanted man, Smallbone should have already been in police custody and available for Tuesday’s arraignment, Shumway said.

The prosecutor referenced an incident in Colorado last week when a 

Fort Collins magistrate allowed Smallbone to walk out

 of the Larimer County Detention Center on his own recognizance instead of holding him on a fugitive warrant out of Wyoming.

“There were issues with executing our warrant in Colorado,” Shumway said, echoing the frustration Converse County Sheriff’s Office officials have expressed since Smallbone was released on Thursday.

Instead of having a man accused of committing dozens of illegal sex acts with kids in custody, “We’re out looking for him again,” Converse County Undersheriff Chris Walsh 

told Cowboy State Daily after Smallbone’s Colorado release.

 “And we’re going to find him again. The freedom clock on him is running out.”

Walsh said whatever snafu allowed a wanted man to be released didn’t happen on Converse County’s end of the transaction. He was just as surprised as everyone to learn Smallbone was released.

“We’d been working with investigators there in Larimer County; we provided them with all of our warrant information, all our affidavits,” Walsh told Cowboy State Daily on Friday.

Add the Larimer County District Attorney’s Office in Colorado to the list of agencies unhappy with the magistrate’s decision.

“Mr. Smallbone was taken into custody on a valid and active warrant out of Wyoming, which included dozens of allegations of sexual crimes against children,” agency spokesperson Kylie Masserman said in a Monday email to Cowboy State Daily.

Masserman confirmed Walsh’s account that “all required information to set bond was provided to the court.”

She said her office also asked Magistrate Heather Siegel to also issue a $250,000 cash-only bond for Smallbone. 

That’s because the objective was “to keep him in custody until he could be transferred back to Wyoming to face his charges,” she said in the statement. “This request was consistent with what the Wyoming authorities requested and consistent with our practices on cases of this severity.”

Masserman said that instead, the personal recognizance bond was issued “contrary to our request.”

“The District Attorney’s Office strongly believes that this bond setting is dangerous and has put the communities in both Colorado and Wyoming at risk,” she said. “Giving a free pass to dangerous out-of-state offenders fleeing to Colorado sets a terrible precedent and risks further harm to the victims in the Wyoming case.’

When contacted by Cowboy State Daily on Friday to inquire about Smallbone’s bond, a staffer in Siegel’s office said the magistrate didn’t have that paperwork in front of her at the time of the hearing.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Ready For Anything"}]

Meanwhile, Converse County officials were ready and waiting in case Smallbone did show up for his Tuesday hearing, or for any trouble that might ensue because of the nature of the allegations against him.

Sheriff Clint Becker was leaning on a rail outside the justice center ahead of the scheduled hearing, flanked by five deputies. 

Three more deputies manned the security station just inside the front doors, and two Douglas cops were hanging out inside the courtroom.

While there were no emotional fireworks, Becker said he and his deputies were ready “just in case.”

It was the same inside the courtroom, which looked a bit like a shotgun wedding, with the 30 or so people watching from the gallery choosing to sit behind the prosecutor’s table.

Of the three people on the other side behind the public defender, two were reporters seated there for a better view of Smallbone in case he was in attendance.

Along with relaying his client’s fear for his life, public defender Harts also will have to continue representing Smallbone, at least for now.

While the Converse County Public Defender’s Office has filed a motion with Peasley to withdraw from the case, the judge said Tuesday he needs to talk to Smallbone in person before making a decision.

Smallbone was appointed a public defender to represent him when he was first charged with the 72 felony charges because he claimed he couldn’t afford an attorney on his own, according to the motion.

But after someone walked into the jail with a quarter of a million in cash to get him out of jail, he doesn’t qualify, the motion says.

“The defendant had the ability to post two hundred fifty thousand ($250,000) dollars cash in bond,” says the motion to reconsider the court appointment. “The defendant stated on his application for court-appointed counsel he had no ability to borrow money for his legal defense.”

Smallbone 7 28 26

<title>No-Show! Douglas Man Wanted On 72 Child Sex-Related Charges Doesn't Show Up To Court | Cowboy State Daily</title>

A Wyoming man facing 72 felony child sex charges was a no-show for his plea hearing Tuesday in Douglas. John Smallbone was released on his own recognizance by a Colorado court last week. Law enforcement officials are angered that he was set free.

No-Show! Douglas Man Wanted On 72 Child Sex-Related Charges Doesn't Show Up To Court

Zakary Sonntag

Public Safety

 through a hospital emergency department last week cannot be criminally prosecuted because the attack was the direct result of severe mental illness, Sweetwater County Attorney Danny Erramouspe said Monday.

Wyoming law requires a person to have a necessary level of mental capacity and intent to be held criminally responsible for an act. The patient did not have that mental capacity, Erramouspe said.

“It was clear that due to this individual's severe mental illness we would not be able to prosecute," Erramouspe told Cowboy State Daily, adding in an official statement that it was not an easy decision.

“These are among the most difficult decisions prosecutors make. I never take any satisfaction in telling a victim that charges cannot be filed, but it is sometimes required by law and the facts.”

The explanation comes one week after Christian R., an emergency room nurse at Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County, was punched in the face after asking the patient if he’d taken his nighttime medication.

Christian, who asked Cowboy State Daily to withhold his last name, said the blow broke his nose and touched off a chase through the emergency department, where the patient repeatedly caught him and continued the attack by throwing more punches and kneeing him in the head and face. 

A security officer intervened as the chase reached the department lobby, allowing Christian to seek the safety of a locked supply closet. He was treated for a nasal fracture, facial injuries and bruising.

Before the attack, the patient had been committed to the Wyoming State Hospital in Evanston, where he received psychiatric care under court order. The patient was being treated under Wyoming's Title 25 statute, the state's legal process for involuntarily hospitalizing people whose mental illness makes them a danger to themselves or others.

At some point, doctors determined his condition had improved enough to enter what is known as the convalescent phase of treatment, which serves as a transitional stage between inpatient hospitalization and full release. 

In this stage, the patient was returned to Sweetwater County and continued treatment through Southwest Counseling.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"But the transition did not go smoothly."}]

“Earlier in the day I had a separate conversation with the patient … and he was normal to me and didn’t pose a threat,” Christian said. “It wasn’t until the incident that it (changed).”

standard, a Latin term translated as a "guilty mind,” prosecutors must prove not only that a person committed a criminal act, but also that they possessed the mental capacity and intent necessary to be held responsible for it.

"We get cases like this periodically," Errasmoupse said. "Someone has dementia. Someone has a traumatic brain injury. Sometimes a special-education student with diminished mental capacity assaults a teacher or aide."

That does not automatically shield someone from criminal responsibility, but in this case, Erramouspe said, the patient's psychiatric condition was so central to the attack that criminal prosecution was not legally available.

"Sometimes people are injured and are victims of something that we can't ethically or legally charge," he said.

Civil Options Also Face Significant Hurdles

The county attorney's decision closes the door on criminal prosecution, but not necessarily every legal remedy.

Mark Aronowitz, a Jackson attorney with the Spence Law Firm and president of the Wyoming Trial Lawyers Association, explained that civil lawsuits operate under a much lower burden of proof than criminal cases. 

Even so, Aronowitz said the path to a civil case would be complicated, beginning with the practical questions about a patients’ financial resources and ability to satisfy a judgment.

"Even if you prove they were negligent and breached their duty, is this someone you can even recover from?" He said.

Aronowitz explained that such an incident might be more likely to implicate institutional liability. Whether that liability exists here would depend on facts that are not yet publicly known, namely what providers knew about the patient's history before the assault.

"If this person has a known history of doing this, if there were five other assaults in the last year, then there might be accountability somewhere because someone could have done something to prevent the sixth time," Aronowitz said.

On the other hand, if the incident stemmed from an unexpected deterioration in the patient's condition, as the hospital implied, a civil suit would likely fail.

"If it's a one-off without any foreseeability, without any notice or knowledge, then it's hard to say to somebody, 'You should have seen this coming,'" he said.

Christian told Cowboy State Daily previously he intended to pursue criminal charges; he did not indicate an intention to pursue a civil lawsuit.. 

He is entitled to workers compensation, which would cover workplace-injury-related medical care as well as around two‑thirds of lost wages.

Christian’s misfortune highlights one of the most difficult realities in behavioral healthcare: predicting when a person is truly ready to return to the community.

Lindsay Simineo, executive director of the Wyoming Behavioral Health Alliance, said involuntary commitments may stabilize a person's condition, but it doesn’t mean a person's struggles are over.

Wyoming's Title 25 system is built around a difficult balance between public safety and individual liberty, she said.

"We want to be able to protect the public and protect people from themselves when they are in danger," Simineo said. "We also do not want to have a system that can take the rights of people easily."

The question hanging over the incident in Rock Springs is whether the assault reflects a failure by a provider, a facility, or Wyoming's broader mental-health system.

Simineo cautioned against assuming any one answer.

Mental illness is often not a one-time crisis, she said, but an ongoing cycle of stabilization, decline and renewed treatment.

"If somebody is considered chronically mentally ill, then you can see these repeated cycles of somebody becoming stable and then they go back," she said. "They can have a structured treatment plan that's given upon release, but if they don't engage with it, then yes, they are going to need additional support again."

At the same time, Simineo said providers can only control so much.

"Humans have free will and humans have choice," she said.

For that reason, she believes the more productive question might not be who failed, but what additional resources, safeguards or supports might prevent similar incidents.

"What did they need in addition?" she said. "What do they need in addition to make situations like this less frequent?"

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"Erramouspe expressed a similar view."}]

"The mental health crisis is much larger than Title 25, and it's larger than what the Sweetwater County Attorney's Office can address," he said. "That's just the nature of mental health. Somebody has to deal with these patients, and many times it puts healthcare workers in a very dangerous situation."

Nurse folo 7 28 26

<title>County Attorney: Rock Springs Patient Who Broke Nurse's Nose Can't Be Prosecuted | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Sweetwater County's attorney says severe mental illness and Wyoming's legal standards for criminal responsibility make charges impossible despite a violent assault that left a Rock Springs nurse with a broken nose, facial injuries and bruising.

County Attorney: Rock Springs Patient Who Broke Nurse's Nose Can't Be Prosecuted

Employee kate meadows cropped

Kate Meadows

Energy

Two significant workforce housing projects are likely to take shape in neighboring southwest Wyoming counties, but despite their proximity the developments are moving on separate tracks to serve two entirely different energy projects.

In Kemmerer, city leaders on Monday cleared another hurdle that could allow a temporary workforce housing hub for workers constructing TerraPower's advanced nuclear power plant. Meanwhile, about 120 miles to the southwest, Uinta County officials are considering a proposal for a much larger workforce camp to serve construction of a planned hyperscale data center near Evanston.

While both projects have drawn attention because of their size and potential economic impacts, Kemmerer Mayor Robert Bowen said the timing is largely coincidental.

"The whole point of a workforce hub is to keep people who work on the project close to the project," Bowen told Cowboy State Daily.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Kemmerer Clears Zoning Hurdle"}]

The Kemmerer City Council on Monday approved the third and final reading of a zoning change for approximately 60 acres of private land known as the Fox King property, changing its designation from heavy industrial to light industrial.

The zoning change makes the property eligible to be considered as one possible location for temporary housing tied to TerraPower's Natrium reactor project.

Bowen said the property is included in a request for proposals being evaluated by Bechtel, the Virginia-based engineering and construction company considering a temporary workforce hub for the TerraPower project.

Bechtel will ultimately decide whether to move forward with the Fox King property or another proposed site, Bowen said.

"The city has no influence, no say," he said. "All of it is in their (Bechtel's) court."

If selected, the 60-acre site would help house up to 1,600 workers expected to descend on Kemmerer during the peak years of construction on the first commercial Natrium nuclear reactor in the United States.

The city of about 2,400 people is bracing for explosive growth with the first-of-its-kind sodium-cooled nuclear power plant under construction, 

Cowboy State Daily has previously reported

The property also offers an alternative to an undeveloped city-owned piece of land between the justice center and the Antelope Ridge subdivision. Residents of the subdivision have pushed back at recent city council meetings about a man camp on land adjacent to their neighborhood.

Multiple companies have been eyeing properties to house workers when the plant comes online around 2030.

[{"type":"text","text":"Bechtel did not return Cowboy State Daily's messages before publication."}]

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Uinta County Proposal Advances"}]

At nearly the same time, officials in neighboring Uinta County took a significant step toward approving a workforce housing hub for a different project.

Last week, the Uinta County Planning and Zoning Commission approved a conditional use permit allowing Target Hospitality to move forward with plans for a temporary workforce housing community on county-owned land east of Evanston, adjacent to Bear River State Park.

The proposal now heads to the Uinta County Commission for final consideration.

If approved, the camp would house as many as 3,400 workers during construction of a nearby hyperscale data center. Under the permit, the housing complex could remain in place for up to five years during the project's primary construction phase.

Target Hospitality CEO Troy Schrenk has said the approximately 150-acre site was selected because of its access to Interstate 80 and its location about eight miles from the construction site.

The company estimates construction of the workforce housing hub would take about one year, with completion targeted for October 2027 if approvals continue on schedule.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Different Projects, Similar Challenges"}]

Although both proposals involve temporary housing for large construction workforces, they reflect a broader challenge facing Wyoming communities as billion-dollar industrial projects move forward in rural areas with limited housing inventories.

Purpose-built workforce housing can reduce pressure on local rental markets, hotels and other housing while keeping workers close to job sites. At the same time, such projects often generate debate over traffic, infrastructure demands, public safety and the eventual removal of the temporary facilities once construction winds down.

[{"type":"text","text":"For now, both southwest Wyoming projects remain works in progress."}]

Kemmerer's zoning action simply keeps one potential housing site in contention as Bechtel evaluates proposals, Bowen said. Meanwhile Uinta County's proposal still requires approval from county commissioners before construction can begin.

Terra Power construction 1 5 29 26 1

<title>Man Camps Moving Forward As Uinta And Lincoln Counties Build, Build, Build | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Potential man camps in neighboring Uinta and Lincoln counties are moving forward. Kemmerer cleared zoning for a workforce housing site for a nuclear power plant, while Uinta County is a step closer to a 3,400-bed camp for a hyperscale data center.

Man Camps Moving Forward As Uinta And Lincoln Counties Build, Build, Build

Kolby fedore

Kolby Fedore

Families had gathered to watch Fourth of July fireworks at F.E. Warren Air Force Base when the celebration turned into a nightmare.

Just after 10 p.m. July 4, a 5-year-old girl watching the fireworks from the Trails End parking lot suddenly suffered what appeared to be a head injury. She was rushed to Cheyenne Regional Medical Center, where doctors discovered a bullet lodged in one of her sinus cavities.

The girl, the daughter of an airman stationed at F.E. Warren, was later flown to Children's Hospital Colorado in Aurora, where physicians confirmed the object was indeed a bullet. Surgeons removed it, and she has since been discharged and is recovering with her family.

Now, nearly four weeks later, military and local investigators are asking the public for help in identifying who fired the shot.

Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to contact the Air Force Office of Special Investigations at 307-432-2114.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Public Asked To Think Back"}]

Cheyenne Mayor Patrick Collins said investigators initially chose not to publicize the shooting because they believed doing so could jeopardize the investigation.

"We wanted to talk about it right away," Collins told Cowboy State Daily on Tuesday. But after consulting with investigators, city officials agreed to wait.

"They felt like if we could wait till a week or two, that would give them time to run down a bunch of leads before we made it public," Collins said. "They were worried maybe the gun might disappear or something along those lines, and so in order to be able to get justice for the family, we thought it was prudent to give law enforcement opportunity to do their investigation before we made a public announcement."

Collins said he first learned about the shooting from the commander of the 90th Missile Wing, likely the morning after the incident.

Because the shooting occurred outside Cheyenne city limits, neither the city nor the Cheyenne Police Department participated in the investigation, he said.

F.E. Warren Air Force Base Public Affairs did not respond to Cowboy State Daily's requests for additional information before publication.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Residents Urged To Think Back "}]

Officials urged anyone who discharged a firearm that night — or anyone who witnessed unsafe gunfire — to consider the consequences and contact investigators.

Collins echoed that message, saying responsible firearm ownership carries an obligation to use guns safely.

"Wyoming is a Second Amendment state, and we take pride in our guns," he said. "But along with that comes the responsibility to handle them properly.

"There is no time where celebrating and shooting a gun or a weapon into the sky is safe or appropriate."

He also urged residents to think back to the Fourth of July celebration, saying even seemingly insignificant observations — a vehicle parked near the base, unusual activity or someone firing a weapon — could help investigators piece together what happened.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"'I Was Heartsick'"}]

[{"type":"text","text":"The case struck Collins personally."}]

"I have grandchildren about that same age, and I was heartsick," he said.

He said he was relieved the little girl appears to be recovering but couldn't believe a holiday celebration ended with a child wounded by gunfire.

[{"type":"text","text":"\"It was devastating,\" he said."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Collins said the family deserves answers."}]

"We're just asking for help," he said. "We really hope that we'll be able to find the gun and maybe try to understand what happened. I think the family deserves that, and I hope we can make it happen."

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Other Recent Shooting Cases"}]

Tuesday's appeal comes after several unrelated shooting incidents involving F.E. Warren Air Force Base personnel that have drawn public attention over the past year.

In September 2025, Fort Collins police identified a Wyoming-based airman assigned to F.E. Warren as the gunman in a murder-suicide tied to a domestic violence incident. The airman died at the scene, and the woman who was wounded died the next day.

In March 2025, Air Force personnel target shooting on private land in Platte County accidentally struck and seriously injured a Verizon contractor working atop a nearby cell tower. The worker survived, and Cowboy State Daily has requested the final investigative report in that case.

Cheyenne Mayor Patrick Collins is asking for the public's help in finding the shooter responsible for a 5-year-old getting struck in the head by a bullet. She was watching the July 4 fireworks show at F.E. Warren Air Force Base when hit by the stray bullet.

Daily Cartoon 2: Friday, February 14, 2025

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