It’s time to take a look at what’s happening around Wyoming, for Tuesday, April 22nd. I’m Wendy Corr, bringing you headlines from the Cowboy State Daily newsroom - Brought to you by Wyoming Community Gas. The Choice Gas selection period ends on Wednesday April 23rd – This is your opportunity to select your Natural Gas Provider for the coming year. For more information, visit Wyoming Community Gas dot ORG.”
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The Wyoming National Guard Base in Cheyenne has been chosen to host the biggest high-tech air tanker made by the Lockheed Martin Corp. — the C-130J.
Starting in 2028, the base will be home to eight of the C-130J tankers. Cowboy State Daily’s Renee Jean reports that the move is being touted as a double win for Wyoming, both for the future of the military base, and for fighting wildfires around the region.
“The C-130 H's that they had have all been, you know, they're kind of discontinued now, you can't really use them for missions anymore, and so getting this was a big deal. Without it, they couldn't continue their mission… And then it also helps boost a firefighting capacity for Wyoming. These tankers are bigger, they're more precise, they're just better in every way. They're the cutting edge… and it's a big deal economically for Southeast Wyoming, the Air National Guard, is a $325 million economic injection here.”
Among the upgrades, the crew complement requires two fewer people, making it a more efficient unit. That’s key for the future of the Air National Guard base in Wyoming, and does bring a welcome sense of job security for personnel at the base.
Read the full story HERE.
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The judge in the trial of a former award-winning foster father accused of sexually abusing his adopted and foster children tossed out eight charges against Steven Marler just as the trial is winding to a close.
Judge Kerri Johnson dismissed eight of 19 sexual abuse of a minor charges against Marler in a ruling signed Saturday. Cowboy State Daily’s Dale Killingbeck reports that of the 11 counts remaining, two are charged in the first degree, five in the second degree, and four in the third degree. He also faces charges of battery and child endangerment.
“Last week, the defense attorney for Stephen MARLAR asked the judge to acquit him on several charges because of the language that was used in the charging information, and he said that it did not conform to Wyoming State law when it when it came to sex charges, because there has to be specific language for the specific degrees of sex charges, like first degree, second degree, third degree… the prosecutors had used the same language for first degree, second degree and third degree. They didn't alter the language, and the judge said she had been warning them for the past year about that language. They didn't change it until they completed their case, and then after they presented their case in the trial, then the defense moved to eliminate these charges… So he now faces fewer sex charges.”
Closing arguments in the case are expected Tuesday following a single expert witness who closed the case for the defense on Monday morning. Marler did not take the stand in his own defense.
Read the full story HERE.
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A retired judge specially assigned to review Wyoming’s two newest abortion restrictions on Monday paused both laws during a lawsuit challenging them as unconstitutional.
The most noteworthy facet of Judge Thomas Campbell’s order for preliminary injunction is his treatment of abortion as a fundamental health care right. Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports that that’s in keeping with a November order from another District Court judge, Melissa Owens of Teton County.
“Judge Campbell, who has been appointed to the case that's talking about ultrasound requirements, a waiting period and surgical center requirements imposed on the abortion clinic, he issued a preliminary injunction on Monday, which essentially blocks the laws from going into effect while the case is going on. And it's really, it's a noteworthy order because… he goes full bore in agreement with Teton County District Court Judge Melissa Owens, who, throughout her treatment of the big abortion bans that try to try to ban the process altogether. She's deemed abortion health care and a health care right. And Judge Campbell's order is very similar.”
Campbell ruled that the pro-choice coalition is likely to win this legal challenge. But the case is ongoing.
Read the full story HERE.
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Two formidable candidates with legitimate state party experience are challenging each other to be the next leader of the Wyoming Republican Party early next month.
On Monday, Sheridan resident Bryan Miller confirmed to Cowboy State Daily’s Leo Wolfson that he’ll be running for state chair. His opponent will be Jackson resident Rebecca Bextel, who announced her campaign last fall.
Wolfson reports that although their conservative political views are almost identical, the two possess substantially different backgrounds and personalities.
“He was the chairman of the Sheridan County Republican Party for about seven years. And he also ran for a number of different offices, although he never won any of those races. Bextel is a more of a newer face, and she's gotten very involved with the state party politics in a very short amount of time, raising an incredible amount of money for the state party, for different legislative candidates and for President Donald Trump's campaign as well… they both have very similar political views. They're very, both very conservative. This is just kind of a matter of, you know, what kind of leadership style is the new chair going to have?”
The election will happen at the May 3 central committee meeting in Cody.
Read the full story HERE.
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A former Jackson Hole Fire/EMS chief charged with numerous child sex crimes in Utah is now being sued by two girls who claim he sexually abused them and distributed nude photos of them online when they were younger than 7 and 5 years old.
In Weber County, Utah, Ned Brady Hansen has been charged with eight counts of aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor, on claims that he was trafficking videos of young children nude and in sexual situations.
Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports that after those charges were made public, two Utah girls sued Hansen for crimes against them.
“This lawsuit complaint says that these girls were essentially groomed and photographed their entire early childhood spans of five and five and seven years, respectively, and that they are now suing because photos of them have been disseminated online, allegedly, you know, to which they couldn't possibly consent… He was at Jackson Hole, I believe, from like 2017 to 2022 he was the fire chief there. And this lawsuit complaint says that he started molesting one of the girls in 2018 through 2025 and another one of the girls in 2020 through again through 2025, and so this, this would have placed him as the the leader of Jackson holes Fire Department for a good chunk of that span.”
Court documents also say Hansen was sexually involved with a local judge, Kevin Robert Christensen, who released him from jail against the wishes of law enforcement in January.
Read the full story HERE.
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A black fox, with smatterings of white and silver in its fur, was hanging out in plain sight last week near Yellowstone National Park’s Old Faithful geyser. A wildlife photographer who also works in the Park was able to snap some impressive photographs before it dashed back into the timber and out of sight.
Cowboy State Daily’s Mark Heinz did some research and found that the fox’s coloring is probably the result of a condition called melanism.
“If you think of albinism or albino animals on one side of the scale, that's the condition that can turn them white and sometimes they have red eyes. Melanism is just kind of the same, but opposite. It turns animals unusually dark. It's not, not to confuse with animals that, like some horses, are naturally black… it's just a natural occurrence. It happens. They are extremely rare, but they're out there. They appear to be healthy. They're capable of reproducing. Of course, not all their offspring turn out black, but it's just just kind of a cool anomaly, just kind of one of those things, variants in the way that nature uses her paint brush.”
A wildlife researcher says the red fox is known to exhibit several color phases, including black, silver, and ‘cross.’ He said at higher elevations most have a noticeable grayish cast to their fur, and there is some information suggesting that red foxes at high elevations in western North America form a distinct subspecies.
Read the full story HERE.
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Thirteen police officers in Bozeman, Montana, were caught playing games on duty. But these games have caused the public to wonder whether or not innocent people were targeted to, literally, fill a Bingo card.
In Bozeman, “Crime Bingo” had officers trying to mark off spots on their cards with things like “ARREST 3 PEOPLE OUT OF ONE CAR,” or “TEAM MEMBER HIT ON BY ARRESTEE.”
But Cowboy State Daily’s David Madison reports that, once this game was made public, Bozeman Police Chief Jim Veltkamp insisted the rights of those stopped by officers were not violated as part of the game.
“Those working in law enforcement certainly see a lot of idiosyncratic, strange situations. And according to Sheriff Kozak, the Laramie County Sheriff, he told me he's seen these bingo cards used by law enforcement for the last 30 years. But in Bozeman, Montana, where I live, it became a problem… where they crossed the line, apparently, is that the bingo card had situations that could be… manipulated in the moment… what if they really, under normal situations, would have just arrested two people, but they're playing bingo, and the bingo card says, arrest three, and they do that… The Bozeman police department just now announced that they've done three separate investigations, and they believe that no injustice was served, that no cases were tainted by this good fun.”
Chief Veltkamp said the game went on for 12 days until someone alerted command staff, who shut it down. Eleven felony cases referred to the County Attorney’s office for prosecution involved defendants arrested during the bingo game.
Read the full story HERE.
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There’s a good chance Wyoming will see the Northern Lights on Tuesday evening. The National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Prediction Center is monitoring activity from the latest surge of solar energy lighting up the night skies this week.
Cowboy State Daily’s Andrew Rossi reports that while it might not be the best show this year, the lights are always worthwhile.
“It's going to reach its peak visibility from Earth sometime between Tuesday and Wednesday night. So if you step outside around with midnight, because that's the best window for viewing, you could see auroras, especially in the southern part of Wyoming, for whatever reason, with this storm, the way the Earth's position and the way that this geomagnetic geomagnetic storm is manifesting. It's going to be more visible over southern Wyoming than it will be in northern Wyoming.”
Conditions should be favorable for a good sighting. The moon will be less than 40% illuminated on Tuesday and Wednesday night, reducing the ambient light. NOAA recommends stepping outside Tuesday night between 11 p.m. and 3 a.m.
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.
