It’s time to take a look at what’s happening around Wyoming, for Friday, March 7th. I’m Wendy Corr, bringing you headlines from the Cowboy State Daily newsroom - Brought to you by the Cowboy State Daily Morning Show With Jake! From 6 to 10 a.m., Monday through Friday, host Jake Nichols brings you news, weather, sports AND in-depth interviews with news-makers from across Wyoming - presented with Jake’s unique humor and lively commentary. Just click on the Cowboy State Daily homepage and join the live broadcast!
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Wyoming is on course to become the first state to build a new coal-fired power plant since 2013.
Representative Scott Heiner of Green River told Cowboy State Daily’s David Madison on Thursday that new legislation and a $10 million matching grant is paving the way for the construction of a game-changing coal-fired plant somewhere in Wyoming’s coal country.
“You know, when coal fired power plants come up with news, it's usually about them being decommissioned or wound down. You know, transition away from coal. We've had years of news stories about that. What happened this week was remarkable, because… plans are in the works for an unnamed Wyoming company to begin the design and engineering phase of a new coal fired plant. It will be the first one built in the United States in the last dozen years… this plant will will produce as much electricity as some of the existing plants, but it will also produce CO two, which he aspires for this this technology to turn CO two into a commodity that can be used in a pressurized form to inject into old oil wells that will essentially push out the old oil, the oil you missed the first time around.”
The last coal-fired power plant to come online in the U.S. was the Sandy Creek Energy Station in Texas in 2013. The last coal-fired plant to come online in Wyoming was Dry Fork Station in 2011 about 10 miles north of Gillette. That plant also is next to a Powder River Basin coal mine, the Dry Fork mine.
Read the full story HERE.
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A Wyoming sheriff who refused to hold onto inmates for federal immigration authorities without a criminal warrant changed course Wednesday, and now will honor civil detention requests from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Teton County Sheriff Matt Carr will now hold suspected illegal immigrants for up to 48 hours after their scheduled jail release date, at ICE’s request and without a judge-signed warrant. Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports that there were several points made by the Sheriff regarding his change in stance on this issue.
“It has three main points. We're going to start doing these civil detainers that other Wyoming sheriffs are doing… This is contrasted to prior concerns about constitutional issues. And then the second point is, we've had productive talks with ice about their protocols. And then the third point is, we do want to keep law enforcement officers safe.”
Carr’s pivot was announced on the same day a U.S. House of Representatives committee grilled four mayors of major American cities about their supposed sanctuary-city policies.
Also on Wednesday, a Wyoming bill to ban sanctuary city policies in the state cleared both legislative chambers, and now sits on Gov. Mark Gordon’s desk for passage or veto.
Read the full story HERE.
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That’s all folks, the 2025 Wyoming legislative session is complete.
In 37 days, the Legislature passed 165 bills, overrode five of Gov. Mark Gordon’s seven vetoes and on the Senate side, consumed 534 omelets - that’s what Senate President Bo Biteman of Ranchester told Cowboy State Daily’s Leo Wolfson.
There had been rumors swirling around the Capitol on Thursday that the Legislature was considering adding two days to override a potential veto from Gordon on Senate File 196, which aims to protect Wyoming residents from federal firearm orders and laws and builds on a similar existing law.
“They certainly could have pushed the bar and tried to hold out to override a potential veto from Governor Mark Gordon, but I think at the end of the day, the legislature kind of looked at it as a situation of, is it really worth it to spend all this time and money reconvening to possibly adjourn for we a veto that they didn't even know was for sure going to happen or not… I think this was a conciliatory, feel good type thing, where they're recognizing that he is the governor, and although they might have some significant policy differences with him, kind of giving him almost the latitude to veto this bill. What we saw this session, to be honest, was kind of the opposite remarkable amount of bills that the legislature overrode Gordon’s vetoes on.
There were also some last-minute discussions on Thursday about a bill that would have reduced the property tax assessment rate from 9.5% to 8.3%, but members of the House and Senate ended up letting that bill die.
Read the full story HERE.
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Last year, Sheridan native and Nashville recording star Ian Munsick listed headlining Cheyenne Frontier Days at the top of his big bucket list of dreams after playing Red Rocks in Colorado. This year, his Frontier Days dreams are coming true.
Cowboy State Daily’s Renee Jean reports that Munsick has been tapped to headline Cheyenne Frontier Days during the world’s largest rodeo on its opening night.
“Ian Munsick is opening night, the headliner for Cheyenne Frontier Days. He is the first one on the list for this year's Cheyenne Frontier Days. And not only that, but his opener is the name most people will recognize. Travis Tritt is opening for Ian Munsick… for a Wyoming native to headline Cheyenne Frontier Days, that's a first… the other interesting thing to know here is, you know, and when he was 18, Muncie moved to Nashville to pursue his music career, but he has come back to Wyoming. He's bought a house here in Wyoming, and he's back now for good. He's moved back home. He's already working on his next album.”
The “Long Live Cowgirls” and “Horses are Faster” songwriter told Cowboy State Daily he’s already thinking about how to make his concert appearance at CFD one-of-a-kind. He’s already written a song for the occasion, called “Cheyenne.”
Read the full story HERE.
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A last-ditch effort on Thursday saved the $19.5 million Wyoming state shooting complex, securing $10 million in state funds for the project.
Senators Larry Hicks of Baggs and Chris Rothfuss of Laramie were instrumental in bringing an amendment to Senate File 169, which transfers funds from the state’s strategic investments and projects account. Cowboy State Daily’s Mark Heinz reports that the amendment unanimously passed a joint conference committee late Thursday morning.
“It's been like a ping pong ball with this Wyoming State shooting complex. It was on. It got passing in 2023 everything was looking good. All they had to do was just basically sign the release of the money. But then the supplemental budget got killed, and there were some various efforts made to bring it back. And it looked like it was dead and gone. And then just today, they had another budget bill. They managed to tack an amendment onto that that will re appropriate those funds… Of course, this is pending Governor Mark Gordon signature, but that made it through the joint conference or joint concurrence committee, and then was brought before both chambers today, and both chambers approved it.”
Corporate sponsorships, private donations and other funding sources are expected to provide the rest of the shooting complex’s budget.
Read the full story HERE.
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There’s a first time for everything, and that’s something the Fire Rescue department in Evergreen, Colorado, experienced Wednesday afternoon. That’s when the department’s firefighters successfully undertook their first yak rescue.
Cowboy State Daily’s Andrew Rossi reports that most of Evergreen Fire Rescue’s paid and volunteer firefighters have undergone training for ice rescues. When they responded to the yak call, they came ready to use the same techniques and equipment they’d deploy to rescue a human.
“They never know what the situation is going to be, so they came equipped for any scenario. But in this case, the Yak was doing okay. It was yakking up the fact that it was not in a good spot. But all they needed to do was cut a 10 foot path in the ice between the hole and the shore, and once they cut that path, the Yak understood what to do, and it didn't need any help pulling itself out of the water. So wasn't really an intense scenario, but they came prepared for anything.”
The Fire Rescue team posted a video of the rescue on social media, not only to create engagement with their community, but to remind people that while a lot of well intentioned people might try to save an animal like this themselves, they should instead call the trained professionals and let them handle the situation.
Read the full story HERE.
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Craig Johnson isn’t sure just how much the big bronze buffalo that comes with the Western Writing Association’s Owen Wister Award weighs. Or whether it will make it past airport security when the New York Times best-selling author returns with it from Amarillo, Texas, this June, where he is to receive one of the West’s highest honors.
The Owen Wister award recognizes lifetime contributions to Western literature. And the Wyoming resident - and creator of the bestselling “Longmire” book series - is not taking this honor lightly, according to Cowboy State Daily’s Renee Jean.
“Owen Wister. He's the father of the Western right. And so the Western Writers Association gives out once a year the Owen whisperer award. It's an award for lifetime achievements. It's an award for uplifting voices in the West, for contributing to, you know, this body of literature and culture in a unique and outstanding way. People like John Wayne have won this award. So you know, to join that elite cadre of people who have so affected and influenced and brought out the voices of the West, is quite an honor.”
Johnson may not know how he’s getting this big award home just yet, but he is so excited, he’s already cleared a spot for it at his home in Ucross.
Read the full story HERE.
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The lucky snacker who pulled a once-in-a-lifetime find from a bag of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos cashed in when a Pokémon-shaped Cheeto fetched nearly $88,000 at auction this week.
The small chunk of extruded cornmeal covered in bright red Cheetos dust resembles one of the most popular and collectible Pokémon cards, Charizard, a fire-breathing dragon.
Cowboy State Daily’s Greg Johnson spoke to people in the collectibles industry in Wyoming - and even they are shaking their heads over the Charizard Cheeto, which has been dubbed “Cheetozard.”
“Pokemon is huge. It's not big business, it's huge business. And these Pokemon cards go for a lot of money… Charizard is a little red dragon that breathes fire, and it's one of the most sought after Pokemon cards. And some of those Charizard cards sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars… And so when someone found a flaming hot Cheeto that looked like a Charizard they capitalized on it, they put it out there, and they went up for auction, and somebody paid almost $88,000 for a Cheeto that looked like a Charizard Pokemon. And it's not a precedent setting thing. It's happened before… A few years ago, with the Cincinnati Zoo's famous gorilla named ombre, somebody found a Cheeto that looked like ombre in it. They put it up on eBay, and the bids on it got to almost $100,000 before eBay took it down.”
For whoever sold Cheetozard, it’s not a bad return on investment, considering a standard 8.5-ounce bag of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos costs $3.33 at Walmart - that’s just 1.7 cents for each Cheeto. At a sale price of $88,000 dollars, that’s a markup of more than 5.1 million percent.
Read the full story HERE.
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And that’s today’s news! For a deeper dive into the people and issues that affect Wyoming, check out The Roundup, conversations with the most interesting people in the Cowboy State. A new episode drops tomorrow, when I have a conversation with Mike Bell, a member of the English Westerner’s Society. You can find the link on our website, on our YouTube channel, and wherever you get your podcasts. And of course, you'll find it in our FREE daily email newsletter!
Thanks for tuning in - I’m Wendy Corr, for Cowboy State Daily.
