It’s time to take a look at what’s happening around Wyoming, for Friday, May 16th. I’m Wendy Corr, bringing you headlines from the Cowboy State Daily newsroom - Brought to you by the Wyoming Community Foundation, who asks you to give back to the place you call home. “5 to thrive” is YOUR opportunity to leave a legacy for generations to come. Support the community nonprofits you care about with a gift through the Wyoming Community Foundation. Visit wycf.org to learn more.
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Doctors are leaving or have left Cheyenne Regional Medical Center over what they are calling “ethical” reasons and “horrible” staffing issues.
One cardiac surgeon told Cowboy State Daily’s Justin George that there are, quote, “unethical things going on,” adding that the hospital staff is not telling families the real truth.
The president of the Cheyenne Regional Medical Center Board of Trustees, however, said the complaints were made by a vocal minority.
“Doctors, nurses and others were saying that there were all sorts of problems going on, especially staffing issues. There were issues, safety lapses, procedural problems, and they had said that none of it was being addressed, and that was becoming problematic. One doctor we spoke to said… patients weren't being told that complications had sort of stemmed from those issues, and some of those problems were either being held or shielded away from them. So and that caused him to leave, actually… there has been a defection of several doctors. The hospital has responded and said that they have full confidence in the CEO, and the Board of Trustees has actually unanimously passed a vote that says so, and they say that the CEO has done a great job putting the hospital on great financial footing, carrying it through the pandemic and actually increasing quality standards. So that's their response.”
Although trustees gave CEO Tim Thornell a unanimous vote of “full confidence” after interviewing or meeting with current and former hospital employees, the board has acknowledged some of the issues raised, and said more attention would be directed toward recruitment and retention of doctors, improving the culture surrounding safety and quality incident reporting, and making sure contractors meet patient care standards.
Read the full story HERE.
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A semicircle of federal agents and officers met Thursday in a fenced lot before neither the sun, nor Casper’s signature wind, had a chance to rise.
It was 10 minutes ‘til 4 a.m., and the four U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers based in the central Wyoming town, along with four other federal agents, were preparing for a day of watching, waiting and apprehending illegal aliens.
And in the agency’s first-ever media ride-along in Wyoming, Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland was there for it all.
“I had been discussing doing a ride along with ICE for months because we covered them. They're of high interest right now, especially in the Trump administration. Wyoming cares a lot about their operations, and so you know, when I was invited to do what multiple ICE personnel are recalling as the only Wyoming ride along that they know of in their 10 years, I was instantly a yes, and so I woke up in Casper at 3am and got in an unmarked federal vehicle at 3:45. They took me, to me and Mike McCrimmon, a videographer, to the federal facility in Casper, where a semi circle of Homeland Security Investigations, special agents and ICE enforcement officers gathered to get their briefing, some of them learning of the targets, pretty much for the first time, who they were going after that day… sheriffs in Wyoming are so cooperative with ice it's much more common for ICE officers to pick up illegal immigrants in the secure setting of a jail… but still, 25% of their operations in Wyoming, and 95% in Colorado, due to the state's laws, are out on the streets where there's there's higher risk, there's surveillance, there's routine observations, there's there to be mindful of the associates… The most shocking part was when the one, the HSI Special Agent, walked in with a box full of meth, and he was like, Look at this. And then he gave us a whole presentation about how they nabbed the meth and arrested someone, and how they think someone with ties to Mexico is orchestrating those boxes and they're on the lookout for that person.”
Four ICE enforcement officers are too few for this region, according to the leader of the Casper agents. More help is on the way, but new recruits face a roughly 18-month training, background-check and preparation process. The agency is expanding its “footprint” throughout Wyoming in other ways, which include tentative plans to build a facility in Rock Springs.
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A serial biter who nearly bit off the finger of a Natrona County Sheriff’s Office deputy Tuesday, barked like a dog and stuck out his tongue during his initial appearance in Casper Circuit Court on Wednesday.
But Cowboy State Daily’s Dale Killingbeck reports that between his bizarre animal noises and activity via videoconference from the Natrona County Detention Facility, 39-year-old Andrew Barrett calmly answered the Judge’s questions as if nothing was out of the ordinary.
“You should have been in the courtroom because it was just crazy. There was a man who appeared on the video screen, and he started out by barking like a dog, and then the judge is asking them questions, and he just like turns and answers her normally. And then he goes to animal sounds, making noises, pointing his fingers like a gun, swearing… this gentleman is appearing in Corp because he bit the tip of the finger of the ring finger of a deputy, as the deputy was trying to help get him into jail… he has a record of this. In 2021 he bit off the finger the index tip of a finger of a of a Banner Health employee here in Casper.”
Barrett is charged with aggravated assault and battery and being a habitual criminal, interference with a police officer and two counts of possession of a controlled substance involving meth and marijuana.
Read the full story HERE.
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The coffee shop mega-chain Starbucks is, quote, “evolving” its dress code to “simplified color options,” which means black shirt and khaki, black or blue denim bottoms. And nationwide, the employees, on the whole, are not impressed.
Cowboy State Daily’s Jimmy Orr filled up on coffee Thursday morning and took the time to visit with Starbucks baristas in just a few of the 8 locations around Cheyenne. Many of them are upset over the new corporate dress code - but they're not sure if they will join a nationwide strike.
“The feeling that I got from most of the baristas that I spoke to was, this is silly, and do people really care that I've got a white shirt under this green apron? And why is the corporate office putting all this work into instituting a dress code? Just let us, just let us do our jobs. That's the sense that I got from speaking to the baristas. Then there were a couple, Wendy, that said, we're not going to do it anyway.”
So far more than 1,000 baristas across the country have gone on strike. Starbucks Workers United has filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board for failing to bargain over the new dress code. But the company says the strike has had a minimal impact on its operation.
Read the full story HERE.
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Wyoming Secretary of State Chuck Gray says an attempt by a retired lawyer to have him removed from office is “outrageous,” without merit and, quote, “the radical left’s attempt to weaponize the judicial process.”
Tim Newcomb, the Laramie Democrat who is suing to have Gray ousted under the 14th Amendment, claims Gray’s continued support of President Donald Trump and his insistence that the 2020 election was rigged means he supports “insurrection.” Cowboy State Daily’s Greg Johnson has more on this story.
“He is petitioning the court to kick Gray out of office under the 14th Amendment, saying that Gray is an insurrectionist. And he is an insurrectionist through his support of Donald Trump's claims about the 2020 election… Chuck Gray, of course, says that's that that's a bunch of hogwash… Chuck Gray's term is, it's a radical left trying to derail conservatives who are, who are making progress doing the right thing, and that this lawyer, Tim Newcomb, is just just trying to derail that… And he says that… there should be some accountability for people who he says, weaponize is his term, weaponize the courts for political reasons.”
Newcomb called Gray a bully who has targeted him before when he unsuccessfully challenged Trump’s eligibility to be on the Wyoming ballot. Gray said he intends to file a motion to dismiss the complaint, saying Newcomb was wrong to try and keep Trump off the 2024 Wyoming ballot.
Read the full story HERE.
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As a pair of controversial Wyoming wind and solar projects continue to move through the state approval process, the company behind it all said it’s bringing more than $1.7 billion in private investment to the state. However, at the same time, opponents are planning field trips to proposed project sites intent at halting them.
Cowboy State Daily’s David Madison reports that Focus Clean Energy plans to combine water, captured carbon dioxide and a lot of electricity to produce hydrogen jet fuel.
“Air travel in the future could be powered by hydrogen fuel made in Wyoming… Specifically in converse and Niobrara counties… there have been two wind and solar projects that have been in the works for a number of years. Back in April, the state land board approved leasing some of the land those projects need to these developers out of Colorado, and the idea is that they will use the energy generated by wind and solar to create hydrogen fuel… Well, it's caused a rift in the Republican Party in Wyoming. There's two camps, as far as I can tell. There's one that's still clinging and promoting to all fossil fuels and doesn't want to compete with renewables… That's one point of view. Another is that, hey, this is a great business. Wyoming is open for business, and that's what four of the five land board members seemingly were saying with their vote was that we're going to allow this to proceed on the merits and continue through the regulatory process.”
The president of Focus Clean Energy and the man steering potentially billions in capital toward Converse and Niobrara counties, sees a future when “green” hydrogen jet fuel created using wind and solar power will thrive as one of Wyoming’s many energy exports.
Read the full story HERE.
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A grizzly bear was captured and killed in Yellowstone National Park this week after becoming too used to human food.
Cowboy State Daily’s Andrew Rossi reports that the 11-year-old male grizzly had repeatedly sought out human food, turning over several bear-proof dumpsters and bear-resistant trash cans in several different areas of the park between April 3 and May 13.
“This bear, according to the National Park Service, had upturned bear resistant dumpsters near Old Faithful and near the Midway geyser basin, and it even knocked over several bear resistant trash cans, which they have concrete bases specifically to prevent this kind of behavior from happening. And there were multiple incidents between early April and mid May. So they made the decision that this was going to cause a confrontation, and this was going to cause an incident. Eventually, somebody was going to run afoul of this grizzly, because Grizzlies don't like anything getting between them and their food. And when we're talking about a spot like Old Faithful, which is the busiest spot by far in the park, it wasn't a question of if, it was a question of when.”
Because the incidents were happening near some of the busiest spots in Yellowstone, the decision was made to euthanize the bear rather than relocate it. This is the first grizzly to be killed within the boundaries of Yellowstone since 2017.
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. This week, my guest is Cowboy State Daily outdoors reporter Mark Heinz. 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.
