It’s time to take a look at what’s happening around Wyoming, for Monday, March 17th. 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 conversation!
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Call it a low growl or a low rumble, like the far-off sound of a train constantly approaching, but never arriving or passing by.
That’s how one homeowner described the new sound he is hearing in his neighborhood - CleanSpark’s newest bitcoin mining operation in Cheyenne.
Cowboy State Daily’s Renee Jean spoke to residents of the Cherry Hills of Cheyenne subdivision, who say the noise gets louder at times, depending on which way the wind is blowing.
“If you've lived in a place for a while, and you know what it sounds like, of course, you're going to notice that something's new, something's different, something's off. And that's kind of what happened here… It's not something that's gonna, like, just drive you crazy, but there's definitely, like, a background hum in the neighborhood. Now, this kind of Bitcoin mining company. They have a little different technology that they use, though that makes it quieter than a normal Bitcoin mine. They are immersing all their units in like mineral oil… They're going to plant trees. They are in a zone light industrial does not allow for sound to travel off of your property. So they, they will be required to address that.”
A spokesperson for CleanSpark told Cowboy State Daily that noise complaints from neighbors are something the company takes seriously.
Read the full story HERE.
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A convoy of vehicles is slowly trudging its way through the interior of Yellowstone National Park. Snow removal is well underway in anticipation of the hundreds of thousands of vehicles that will soon be traveling along the park’s roads.
Clearing several feet of snow from Yellowstone’s roads and structures is an immense undertaking. Cowboy State Daily’s Andrew Rossi reports that both manpower and machine power are needed to ensure everything proceeds safely and efficiently.
“The park started opening roads at the beginning of March, and that's when they have bulldozers and graders with giant snow plows just slicing their way through several feet of compacted snow on the roads. And that takes over well over a month, closer to two months to get done in order for the park to open in summer. Winter keepers are a different breed altogether. They live in the park year during the entire winter, and they're the ones climbing up on the rooftops with chainsaws and snow and plows and shovels to get refrigerator sized chunks of ice and snow off of the roofs. And that's because a roof can collapse under the weight of all that snow. So what they're doing is ensuring that this doesn't happen.”
When Yellowstone’s summer season begins in early May, most of the snow will have been removed from its busiest roads and structures.
Read the full story HERE.
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A California man who characterized himself as a bitcoin billionaire before launching a Jackson Hole-area spending spree that landed him in jail on fraud charges, has skipped court and is wanted in all 50 states.
30-year-old Kevin Segal is facing up to 141 and a half years in prison on claims he cheated large and small Teton County businesses out of nearly $212,000. And now Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports that a friend who fronted the $50,000 cash-only bond, is now in deep financial trouble.
“The last time I visited this case, he was telling the judge he needed to get out, and the judge was saying, No, we're keeping your bond at $50,000 which is pretty high. And so I was like, Okay, who bonded him out? And when I saw … the document, I called the guy who bonded him out, and I found him very disillusioned, a little bit frantic and researching bankruptcy proceedings. And so he was like, I maxed out three credit cards. I thought he was my friend. He also promised compensation for this, like he made me believe he had been falsely accused, and now I don't know what to do.”
Segal got out of jail on Feb. 14, but under a strict court order to turn in his passport to the Teton County Sheriff’s Office. Park County District Court Judge Bill Simpson, who oversees the case, noted that Segal never handed in his passport. So the judge set a hearing at which Segal was to explain why he hadn’t followed the court’s order. But Segal never showed.
Read the full story HERE.
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It’s been more than a month since a devastating 26-vehicle Valentine’s Day crash killed three people and sent thick, black smoke pouring out of the westbound tunnel on I-80 near Green River.
In the weeks since, getting the burned-up and destroyed vehicles out has cleared the way for the next phase of cleanup, which the Wyoming Department of Transportation says will begin Monday. But Cowboy State Daily’s Greg Johnson reports that the Green River Tunnel will take at least another week to clean up and months to repair.
“They're shooting for next winter for it to be open again. In the meantime, the the eastbound lane, the eastbound tunnel has been divided into two, one lanes going each way. I went through it at the end of last week… took some dash cam video, and it's pretty narrow in there. And one, one of the times I went through it, there was a big semi right in front of me, and there wasn't much room all around. So these guys are pretty good drivers, but… t's gonna take a long time, and the folks in Green River are ready for that. I talked to their longtime city spokesman Steve Core who's lived there for more than 40 years… he says, yeah, it doesn't surprise him or anyone there in the city, that it's going to take quite a while, that it's actually still not even totally cleaned up in there.”
While the evaluation and repairs continue, the southwest Wyoming town of Green River will continue to see more truck and highway traffic as people avoid driving through the one-lane detour through the eastbound side of the tunnel.
Read the full story HERE.
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Nashville recording star Chancey Williams is thrilled to be on this year’s lineup for Cheyenne Frontier Days.
The Moorcroft native, who will be the opening act for legendary performers Brooks and Dunn on July 23rd, has played on huge stages, like the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, and four times at the Grand Ole Opry. He’s played Billy Bob’s in Fort Worth, and at the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas - but he told Cowboy State Daily’s Jackie Dorothy that his favorite place to play, ever, is Cheyenne Frontier Days.
“He's really excited about being on his home stage. But what's really cool is, last year, he was inducted into the Cheyenne Frontier’s Hall of Fame, and so was Brooks and Dunn… this will be the first time that two Hall of Famers will be sharing the stage at the Cheyenne Frontier Days. So it's really exciting, and we recommend getting your ticket now.”
This is Williams’ fifth time playing on the main stage at CFD. He has opened for legends Merle Haggard, Dwight Yoakam, Gary Allen, Dierks Bentley and now Brooks and Dunn.
Read the full story HERE.
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There’s big money and a limited number of records for growers of giant pumpkins. That’s why the “pumpkings” of the world gather at the Great Pumpkin Commonwealth International Grower’s Convention to gain knowledge and share secrets about their niche field.
And this year, Worland’s Jay Richard, Wyoming’s “Pumpkin King,” attended the convention for the first time at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin. He told Cowboy State Daily’s Andrew Rossi that he’s learned more in three days than he has in the last 15 years of figuring it out on his own.
“The Great Pumpkin Commonwealth international growers convention is like pumpkin prom, for giant pumpkin growers, everyone from around the world who's in the world of giant produce attends this convention to hear about the latest in soil science and all the things that you need to do to grow these giant pumpkins. But more importantly, it's a chance for everyone to network. It's a small community, and there's really not a lot of secrets in said community, because anyone can grow one of these giant pumpkins… as Jay Richard puts it, who's our source of contact for all these giant pumpkin things, they're happy to help each other get to the next level, and that's what it's all about.”
Richard plans on planting his pumpkin seeds the first week of April. From there, it’ll be an intense labor of love for five months until his giant gourds are ready for the 2025 Wyoming State Pumpkin Championship Weigh-Off and other regional pumpkin events.
Read the full story HERE.
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Utah is set to become the first U.S. state to ban fluoride in public water systems, while also making it easier for residents to obtain fluoride supplements if they choose to ingest this chemical element known for fighting tooth decay.
While Wyoming hasn’t passed a statewide ban, Cowboy State Daily’s David Madison reports that some cities and towns have enacted their own bans, barring the addition of fluoride in drinking water.
“In the testimony in favor of this law that just passed, and we expect the governor to sign in Utah… they brought in people that worked in the public water municipal system who had been harmed by the chemical that sits around waiting to be put into the system… to fluoridate the water. Well, that was surprising to me. I didn't realize it was such a caustic substance when in contact with humans and not diluted in the water. Turns out Thermopolis was facing a resupply issue, where they needed to buy more of this stuff to have at the ready to… fluoridate the water in Thermopolis. And that triggered a conversation, do we really need to be doing this? Why should the city buy more of this stuff if we're not even sure we need it? And it led to a deep dive by the mayor and city council into the topic, and they chose to do what Casper is doing, what Evanston is doing, and no longer put fluoride in the water.”
Proponents of fluoridated water claim the naturally-occuring chemical prevents tooth decay and saves billions in oral healthcare costs each year. Opponents point to concerns about fluoride exposure being linked to thyroid dysfunction, cardiovascular problems and potential impacts on cognitive development.
Read the full story HERE.
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Underage driving in rural America is as old as the automobile itself. And in Wyoming, it’s a common occurrence for youngsters to learn to drive well before the legal age, usually to help out on the family ranch.
Cowboy State Daily’s Zak Sonntag spoke to several people who learned to drive long before the state would issue them a normal driver’s license, with many saying that driving farm equipment and pickup trucks on the property was just part of everyday life.
“All across rural Wyoming, families have a tradition of teaching their kids to drive young. And I was able to speak with six year old Natalie Sun, who has been getting some experience behind the wheel since she was four years old… I was speaking with 14 year old Carson Hornicker, who's getting ready for his hardship license exam… He's excited by the prospect. He thinks it's going to be kind of fun to show up to his eighth grade class driving a truck, and he'll be the only eighth grader driving himself to school. But in the same breath, he says, You know what? Rural kids have been doing this forever, and I've always anticipated doing it. So is this kind of the way things are.”
The restricted “hardship” license was legalized in Wyoming in the mid-20th century and has for decades afforded rural teens driving privileges beginning at the age 14 — provided they can prove to the Highway Patrol that not driving would result in “extreme inconvenience.”
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, or listen to us on your favorite podcast app. Thanks for tuning in - I’m Wendy Corr, for Cowboy State Daily.
