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[{"type":"text","text":"DEVO meets Guns N' Roses....."}]

Music 5 19 25

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

<title>Today In Music: Monday, May 19, 2025 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

DEVO meets Guns N' Roses.....

Today In Music: Monday, May 19, 2025

Kolby fedore

Kolby Fedore

Courts

What a 27-year-old Laramie man intended as a frustrated Facebook rant ended with a criminal conviction, five days in jail, the loss of his apartment and job, and three years of supervised probation.

Dawson Cooley was sentenced Tuesday in Albany County Circuit Court after pleading guilty last week to a reduced misdemeanor charge of sending a death threat electronically.

 in May directed at Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon, including one that stated, "I might assassinate you."

As part of a plea agreement accepted by the court, Cooley received a suspended 365-day jail sentence and was placed on three years of supervised probation. The court also granted him a deferred sentence on a second charge.

The misdemeanor conviction carries a maximum penalty of up to one year in jail and a $1,000 fine.

Albany County Prosecuting Attorney Joel Defebaugh and defense attorney Travis Shurtliff jointly recommended the plea agreement.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Looking Back"}]

Speaking with Cowboy State Daily after his sentencing, Cooley said he regrets the Facebook posts and wishes he had handled his frustrations differently.

"It all started with a media request functionality website that was broken," Cooley said. "I kind of got upset about that and expressed myself in a pretty ignorant way."

Cooley said he believes portions of the post were taken out of context and that he had been criticizing Gordon before writing the threatening language.

[{"type":"text","text":"\"If I could go back and not do that, I would for sure,\" he said."}]

He also said he posted an apology the following morning after realizing how his words could be interpreted.

At the time, Cooley said he believed the post fell under free speech protections because "the whole thing in context ... painted a different picture."  

Cooley said he has been pursuing independent journalism and was attempting to gather information through public records requests when he wrote the Facebook posts.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Heavy Consequences"}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Cooley said the criminal case altered nearly every part of his life."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"He spent five days in jail before posting a $20,000 cash bond in May."}]

While released pending trial, he said bond conditions prohibiting internet access left him unable to search for housing or jobs, complete online college coursework or even make routine purchases electronically.

"I lost my apartment, my job, like the new radio position, and potentially my prospects to go to college," Cooley said.

[{"type":"text","text":"He described the restrictions as \"pretty horrible.\""}]

[{"type":"text","text":"\"I had to withdraw from that stuff,\" he said of his college classes."}]

Looking ahead, Cooley said he plans to continue pursuing independent journalism while developing software he hopes will help people conduct legal and public records research more efficiently.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Mental Health"}]

One of the primary conditions of Cooley's probation requires him to participate in mental health treatment and counseling.

Defebaugh told Cowboy State Daily that the probation terms are "for the most part routine," but place "an emphasis on Mr. Cooley's mental health treatment and counseling."

[{"type":"text","text":"Cooley said he does not object to that requirement."}]

"Everyone's got problems, and I'm no different," he said. "I was actually, before this all happened, looking at getting treatment."

Looking back, he said he wishes he had addressed his frustrations differently.

"I could have done things in a much more mentally healthy way instead of just a rant," Cooley said. "I could have put together a concise article about all my grievances."

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"'If I Could Go Back ...' "}]

Cooley said he believes aspiring independent journalists should have the same ability to seek government information as members of the traditional news media and that frustrations over public records requests fueled the Facebook posts.

Among the posts investigators cited in the criminal affidavit was one stating, "Gov. Gordy, if I have to talk to you with a gun in your office, so be it." 

Court records show Gordon's legal counsel informed the court that the governor was not seeking restitution and did not wish to provide a victim impact statement.

Cowboy State Daily also requested comment from the governor's office. Communications Director Amy Edmonds declined.

Cooley said he recognizes the seriousness of what happened and hopes to move forward.

"I think that I'm lucky to not be getting jail time for this," he said. "If I could go back and ... not do that, I would for sure."

Laramie assassin 8 4 26

<title>Laramie Man Pleads Guilty, Regrets Threat To ‘Assassinate’ Governor In Online Rant | Cowboy State Daily</title>

A Laramie man who pleaded guilty Tuesday for saying he might assassinate Gov. Mark Gordon says his Facebook rant has cost him his apartment, job and college future. Today, Dawson Cooley says, "If I could go back and not do that, I would for sure."

Laramie Man Pleads Guilty, Regrets Threat To ‘Assassinate’ Governor In Online Rant

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily's business and tourism reporter, Renée Jean

Renée Jean

Business & Tourism

Jackson Hole isn’t the first place most people think of for a wrestling match, but that’s what is about to quietly unfold in Teton County over the next few weeks. 

Two events, one week apart, will place opposing visions of money within the same valley.

While the two opponents won't share the same stage, they will feature opposing visions of money within the same valley. And each will host different sets of financial titans — neither of which are likely to pull any punches.

First up is the Wyoming Blockchain Symposium, Aug. 17-20, an invitation-only, three-day gathering in Teton Village that will draw 500 billionaire founders, institutional investors and top-tier policymakers for what amounts to a digital-asset Davos. 

The guest list includes top-level regulators such asSEC Chair Paul Atkins and billionaire CEOs such as Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse, Galaxy’s Mike Novogratz and BitGo’s Mike Belshe. Venture capital titans such as Morgan Stanley head of Emerging Markets Amy Oldenburg, Nasdaq senior executive Kevin Kennedy, and Skybridge Capital Managing Partner Anthony Scaramucci are also attending.

Then, seven days later, after the crypto and fintech crowd clears out, a considerably smaller group of 120 traditional gatekeepers of legacy finance will arrive at Jackson Lake Lodge for the Federal Reserve’s annual economic retreat — led by new Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh. 

His banner for the equally closed-door event Aug. 27-29, is “Financial Innovation: Implications for Payments and Policy.”

If all this sounds like it’s just coincidence, it’s one that mirrors events of the past 17 years, ever since Satoshi Nakamoto published his Bitcoin white paper amid the 2008 global financial crisis — just two weeks after the government announced a $2 trillion bailout for banks deemed “too big to fail.”

The argument between the two camps boils down to one core question: Who will control the future of money, and what shape should that future take? 

As crypto advocates see it, government should not be trusted with this power. Exhibit A in their book is the continual printing of money, devaluing everyone’s savings. Computer code can be programmed to limit the money supply automatically, without fear or favor.

The Federal Reserve, on the other hand, is angling for more central control. They believe a group of human experts should control the money supply, to print or restrict money in ways that steer the economy, prevent crashes and manage inflation. 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"Wyoming’s Digital Asset Bet"}]

Sen. Chris Rothfuss, D-Laramie, one of the architects of Wyoming’s digital asset framework, is among those in the Cowboy State watching all of this unfold. 

“It’s an interesting little battle,” he said. “Those traditional financial institutions obviously want to win and want to be in control of financial systems, regardless of the financial system type. So it’s going to be a continued battle.”

Rothfuss hopes that despite the federal battles Wyoming has had to fight for its regulatory framework, that some of the financial institutions are finally coming around.

“I’m hopeful that the hard work we’ve invested in will pay off,” he said. “I think we are still better positioned than any of the alternative solutions — really any of the federal solutions, when it gets right down to it. Because the federal regulatory structure is very subject to political will and the politics of Washington, D.C.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"Keeping More Wyoming Youth?"}]

Former state legislator and Crook County rancher Tyler Lindholm also helped pioneer the state’s digital asset laws. He sees the digital asset sector as a chance at economic diversification that might help retain more of the state's youth.

“The reality is not everybody wants to grow up to be a cowboy or a coal miner,” Lindholm said. "So, what are we going to do to provide that opportunity for those homegrown Wyoming kids who do want to chase self-actualization and become their best selves and work in the trade they want to work in? Wyoming needs to find a way. We have to find a way to be attractive to different types of industries, because if we keep going down the path we’re going down, Wyoming is going to continue to just look like a retirement state.”

Rep. Daniel Singh, R-Cheyenne, has also been active in digital asset legislation. He is optimistic about the future — and proud of how Wyoming has handled the digital asset space.

“We didn’t have to give any special tax breaks or handouts to these industries to make them think Wyoming is attractive,” he said. “All we had to do was lean into our strengths, which was recognizing the rights of the people, that coming in the form of recognizing property rights in the digital age. We were the first state to go forward and do that, and because we were the first ones to create that legal clarity, so many entities are coming into the state of Wyoming now.”

Some of those entities are already stepping up to give back, Singh added. 

“The largest single entity in Wyoming is Kraken, and they are the ones who have pledged to fund the Trump accounts for our next generation,” he said. “That’s creating a whole other opportunity for the next generation of kids who are going to be here, and they did that voluntarily.”

Others in the space are less optimistic, pointing to the “leap-frogging” the Fed’s delay has made possible by banks in financial centers like New York..

“As a result of that, the big financial institutions have stayed mostly in New York,” Custodia Bank’s Caitlin Long told Cowboy State Daily. “Because the powers that be were able to block Wyoming as an upstart … So Kraken is the only big company that has not just registered in Wyoming, but has relocated to Wyoming and has jobs on the ground.

”It’s not going to be what we had at one time hoped it would be. And there’s one simple reason for that. It’s the Federal Reserve.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"An Annual Wyoming Fixture"}]

The fact that a digital asset conference with so much global heft is happening in Jackson Hole is not an accident, even if its timing with the Federal Reserve’s annual symposium might be coincidental. 

Wyoming has spent the better part of a decade quietly rewriting its laws to court this kind of moment.

Starting in 2018, lawmakers passed a series of first-in-the-nation statutes to define digital assets clearly and to recognize them as a form of personal property. That legal clarity came with special charters for things like digital asset “SPDI” or speedy banks, to securely hold digital assets and cash them out, and DUNAs, which allow Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) to enter into contracts, hold assets, hire contributors and pay taxes. 

The latter Wyoming model has since been copied by other states such as Alabama and West Virginia. 

SPDIs, however, were choked out at the federal level by regulators — despite lawmakers engaging in at least 100 meetings with the Kansas City Federal Reserve to hammer out a SPDI law that would be pleasing to the Fed.

The state has also backed its own government-issued stable token, the Frontier token, pitched as a way to modernize public finance, while helping the state bolster its education system and its property tax base. 

The strategy, Rothfuss and other lawmakers have said, was taking a page from another lightly populated state's playbook. Decades ago, South Dakota successfully diversified its economy by embracing a nascent credit card industry, collaring several companies that still have significant operations there today, among them Citibank and Wells Fargo. 

That’s had mixed success, with the Biden Administration’s Federal Reserve blocking Wyoming’s SPDI banks, but Rothfuss does see notable successes, like Kraken’s decision to plant not only its incorporation papers but its headquarters in Wyoming. 

Founded in 2011, the cryptocurrency exchange and fintech platform serves more than 15 million users in 190 countries, facilitating billions in trading volume and posting $2.2 billion in annual revenue.

It’s No. 3 on the inaugural Fortune Crypto 100 list, tracking the most influential infrastructure builders in the digital asset world. 

“A big part of the reason we have SALT is Kraken and their recognition of (Wyoming’s) framework,” Rothfuss said. “And then we have other entities coming to Wyoming, utilizing our DUNA Act and utilizing other resources like the speedy that we have. We’re trying to get traction with our Frontier Stable tokens, so I think we’ve got all the right tools in place.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"In Global Company"}]

That backstory explains how and why the Wyoming Blockchain Symposium, whose sister SALT Conference is held in places like Abu Dhabi, Hong Kong, Singapore, Tokyo, New York, and London, has kept the Cowboy State on its short list for three years running. 

“Wyoming, in particular, has shown leadership within that (digital) asset class,” SALT CEO John Darise told Cowboy State Daily. “So this event is built around being an annual fixture in Wyoming.”

It does bring a large economic impact to Teton County and by extension Wyoming. 

Darise will secure as large a hotel room block as possible in Teton Village, which essentially means the Four Seasons Teton Mountain Lodge, Faraway Jackson, Gravity House, and Hotel Terra.

“All told, the event is meant to be a 500-person event and is supposed to be somewhat exclusive in nature — by application or invitation only,” he said.

SALT will spend thousands on catering for those 500 out-of-state guests as well as different types of events meant to be a crash course in the Wyoming experience.

“Each year we’ve done a reception at Snake River Ranch at the gray Barn facility in Teton Village,” Darise said. “We’re doing a big reception at the Mangy Moose in Teton Village this yea, and, then, for the third straight year, we’re doing a concert at the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar in downtown Jackson.” 

The event has sometimes been closed to media, but not this year.

“In year one, we did take more of a Chatham House rule approach,” Darise said. “But we’ve decided that we want to open it up. There’s nothing that’s going on that we don’t want to share with the world. So we’ve opened it up to media in subsequent years.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"Wyoming Positioned Well"}]

Darise is a believer that Wyoming stands to gain, long-term, from the digital asset industry, which he sees as a natural when dovetailing with Artificial Intelligence.

“Wyoming’s leadership in sort of financial innovation is going to dovetail into its leadership in energy and AI leadership,” he said. “Wyoming is a very resource-rich state, a lot of which is untapped. Energy, if it’s consumed closer to where it’s produced, is much more efficient.”

Historically, Wyoming has exported 12 to 15 times the amount of energy it uses, according to various media estimates. 

“I know data center is a dirty word,” Darise said. “But if you can have data centers built in a place like Wyoming …” it flips the script on both jobs and tax revenues.

“They are positive for the locations in which they operate,” he said. “They are job creators, as long as they’re not putting an onerous strain on an energy grid or a water source or poisoning a water source. And I think as these data centers go on, they will get better at making sure those two things aren’t the case. Then it’s up to local and state leaders to make sure the data centers are built in the right place and operate the right way.”

The vision of Wyoming ripping a page from South Dakota’s playbook is “absolutely” possible, Darise added.

“This is a growth industry,” he said. “And Wyoming has very effectively staked out its place as the leader in this asset class and in this industry that I think, long-term, will cause it to have more of a moat around it in terms of regulatory innovation.”

Darise added that he “yearns” for the West every time he’s in Wyoming — if he could just one day convince his wife to relocate. 

“I’m really excited for the future in Wyoming,” he said. “And I’m excited to have our long-term home there for this event.”

Kevin warsh tetons 8 5 26

<title>New Fed Chief Visits As Two Elite Summits Puts Wyoming At Center Of Money Fight | Cowboy State Daily</title>

In the span of a week, Teton County will host a 500-person, invite-only, digital-asset “Davos.” That will be followed by the Federal Reserve’s elite annual retreat. Each event is another round in a high-stakes wrestling match over the future of money.

New Fed Chief Visits As Two Elite Summits Puts Wyoming At Center Of Money Fight

Mac Watson

Daily Video News

It’s time to take a look at what’s happening around Wyoming for Tuesday, August 4th.  I’m Mac Watson.

This newscast is brought to you by the Wyoming State Fair. Wrap up your summer at the Wyoming State Fair, August 11th through the 15th in Douglas!

Rodeo, Demolition Derby, live music, entertainment and fair food await. Learn more at W-Y State Fair dot com. See you at the fair! This ad was paid for by Converse County Tourism.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"},{"type":"italic"}],"text":"–"}]

Gambling sites PolyMarket And Kalshi both favor Steve Friess to win the Republican nomination for U.S. House and Eric Barlow to win the GOP nomination for governor. Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports that bettors, so far, have wagered $210,000 on these two Wyoming races.

“So these markets, according to pollster Dustin Olson, are not really a crystal ball. They're more a reflection of headlines and chatter, and sometimes publicly released polls, and sometimes internal polls that people know about. So on the one hand, it's kind of a composite of chatter and publicly released polls and headlines. On the other hand, people are at least confident enough that they're willing to put money forward.”

Dustin Olson, owner of American Pulse Research and Polling, tells Cowboy State Daily that political wagering is, “one of the more fascinating things to happen in politics in the last decade.” But it carries risks of fixed races, dishonest polls, and even inside political maneuvering.

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

Worland athlete Roman Parra died Sunday, eight days after being ejected from his vehicle in Colorado. Cowboy State Daily’s Kolby Fedore reports that his mother says her son’s purpose in life was to spread kindness.”

“A 20-year-old Worland man died eight days after a crash in Weld County, Colorado, that claimed the lives of three others on impact. Roman Parra was traveling in the car with four others when the vehicle got into a rollover collision. All five occupants were thrown from the vehicle, according to the Colorado State Police. Investigators are examining whether alcohol played a role in the crash, as there were opened and unopened alcoholic beverages inside the vehicle.”

 to help cover Roman's medical and funeral expenses.

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

For most of Wyoming, July was the hottest month in recorded history. Cowboy State Daily’s Andrew Rossi reports that Worland's scorching 110 degrees on July 12th was the hottest, while many towns saw as many 100-degree days in one month as they usually see in several years.

“The numbers are in – July 2026 was not only the hottest month of the year; it was the hottest month on record for many Wyoming communities, and some of those records go back as far as 1891. In the case of Lander, several communities had many days where there were 100 degree plus temperatures, for example, in Riverton, I think they had at least five, 100 degree plus days. That's as many as they might have in several years.”

National Weather Service meteorologist Jason Straub in Riverton, tells Cowboy State Daily that seven communities either set records or tied for the hottest July on record.

Sen. Eric Barlow says attack ads accusing him of voting to allow sex changes and voting to send money to illegal immigrants are not true. Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports that Barlow says the bills he voted against were poorly written or rushed and are being twisted against him.

“These attack ads in some of them will they'll attack Eric Barlow, Senator Barlow, for these attack ads will go after Senator Barlow for voting against a child sex change ban in 2023 when he actually voted for a different child sex change ban that same year, same thing with immigration – they'll go after him for voting against a sanctuary, an anti-sanctuary cities bill in 2025 when he voted for what he thought was a more careful version of it that same year.”

The new attack ads say Barlow voted to send money to illegal immigrants. He denies making such a gesture, saying his nay votes on two immigration bills were due to the short, rushed nature of the budget-planning sessions that fall on even-numbered years.

I’ll have more news from Cowboy State Daily right after this.

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

Cowboy State Daily News continues now….

A Rawlins churchgoer says her "heart was just so broken" after worshippers stepped outside of Sunday service to find remnants of a bicycle crash that killed an 8-year-old boy. Cowboy State Daily’s Kolby Fedore reports that worshipper Michelle Greer says, “I work at the school, and I knew it was one of our kids.”

“An eight-year-old Rawlins boy was struck and killed on Sunday in Rawlins at a busy intersection on East State Street and Jefferson Avenue. The Wyoming Highway Patrol says the boy was heading north and possibly went through a stop sign when he was struck. A witness named Michelle Greer says she was in church when she heard the sirens. Everyone in the church went outside, and there they saw the mangled bicycle. There was a black tarp covering a body, and she believes the man was brought to the hospital for what she is calling a nervous breakdown.”

Investigators reported the roads were dry, the weather was clear, and the pickup driver was not injured. The crash remains under investigation and authorities have not released additional details.

Big Horn County Search & Rescue is second only to Teton County in calls due to booming tourism and uniquely rugged and remote terrain leading to the high-risk missions. But Cowboy State Daily’s Kate Meadows reports that as demand for rescues have quadrupled, the agency's budget has been cut in half.

“Property tax legislation has caused Bighorn County Search and Rescue to see huge cuts in their budget for operating. They went from 106,000 a few years ago down to 50,000 in 2025. Meanwhile, their calls for help have quadrupled as more and more people travel through Bighorn County on their way to Yellowstone or sometimes to The Bighorn Mountains. When the Wyoming legislature voted to cut property taxes, that scrapped a lot of funding for these rural search and rescue operations. Bighorn County receives the second most volume of calls for their search and rescue behind Teton County search and rescue.”

The challenge facing Big Horn County is unique. Although only about 12,000 people live in the county – which ranks among Wyoming's lowest for median family income – nearly 1 million visitors travel to or through it each year.

A Thermopolis woman accused of neglecting an 87-pound elderly man who’s mostly deaf and blind, and wears diapers that allegedly hadn’t been changed in 10-14 days has reached a plea agreement. Cowboy State Daily’s Greg Johnson reports that the deal calls for no jail time and a year of probation.

“Part of the agreement is that she would still be part of the abuse registry. If you're convicted of certain abuse crimes, you have to register and be on some registry. Now this is a plea agreement. It doesn't mean that the judge has to accept it or not. That that we don't know. The court file didn't say whether the judge has actually accepted this plea agreement or not, and then sentencing won't happen for at least 60 days, so we don't know exactly what sentence she’ll get.”

A no-contest plea isn’t an admission of guilt, but acknowledges there’s enough evidence to secure a conviction. If 67-year-old Colleen Blakesley had been convicted of a felony, she would’ve faced up to 10 years in prison.

For years, a huge male grizzly called Bruno was one of the brawniest bears in Grand Teton National Park. But Outdoors Reporter Mark Heinz reports that Bruno is past his prime and those who routinely watch him are saying he's gotten thinner and “is on the downhill side.”

“He's somewhere around the age of 22, which, according to what a bear biologist told me, is roughly about 10 years past a bear's you know the peak of their prime, so he is showing his age a little bit. Some people say he maybe looked a little thin right about now, but they haven't really gotten, you know, that they do that pig out right before they go into hibernation. They haven't really had that yet, so he might still put on some weight. But he is getting old. He's past his prime.”

Bear biologist Cecily Costello tells Cowboy State Daily that dominant, male grizzlies hit their peak sometime in their early to mid-teens. She also added that Grizzlies rarely live past 30 in the wild.

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

And that’s today’s news. Get your free digital subscription to Wyoming's only statewide newspaper by hitting the Daily Newsletter button on 

 - and you can watch this newscast every day by clicking Subscribe on our 

 channel, or listen to us on your favorite podcast app.  Thanks for watching - I’m Mac Watson, for Cowboy State Daily.

News image 8 4 26

<title>Cowboy State Daily Video Newscast: Tuesday, August 4, 2026 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Tuesday's headlines include:
* Barlow: Attack Ads Aren’t True
* Gambling Sites Favor Friess & Barlow
* Grand Teton’s Mighty Grizzly Bruno Getting Old

Cowboy State Daily Video Newscast: Tuesday, August 4, 2026

Around Wyoming

[{"type":"text","text":"The room Roman Parra left behind still looks much the way he left it."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"His Bible remains on the coffee table at his home in Worland. "}]

His truck still needs a suspension repair he never got to finish with his father.

And in the days since the 20-year-old former Worland athlete died from injuries suffered in a northern Colorado rollover crash, family members say those ordinary reminders have become priceless.

, Colorado State Patrol said Parra was critically injured July 25 when the Chevrolet Tahoe he was driving rolled on Weld County Road 80 near Eaton, ejecting all five occupants. Three Colorado passengers died at the scene. A fourth passenger survived with minor injuries. Parra remained hospitalized for eight days before dying Sunday. 

Cowboy State Daily requested the official crash summary from the Colorado State Patrol but had not received the report before publication. 

 that the State Patrol said that speed and impairment contributed to the crash, though a cause hasn’t yet been determined.

Now, those who knew Roman best say they hope he is remembered not for the crash but for the life he lived.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"A Mother's Worst Call"}]

Roman's mother, Alyssa McDonald, said Saturday had been an ordinary summer day.

She had taken Roman's younger sister to the fair parade before returning home to surprise her oldest son by cleaning his bedroom.

[{"type":"text","text":"Roman had driven to Colorado the night before for a concert with friends."}]

As she folded clothes and straightened his room, she expected him to walk back through the front door the next day.

[{"type":"text","text":"Instead, at about 5:15 p.m., her phone buzzed."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"The Life360 app she used to keep track of Roman showed a collision."}]

"I texted, called, panicked when I saw there was no movement," said McDonald. 

She hoped his phone had simply fallen to the floor or been tossed across the vehicle.

[{"type":"text","text":"When the location never changed, she called police and waited."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Nearly two hours later, the hospital called."}]

"They told me there had been a bad accident and my son was involved," she said. "Three had passed away at the scene, but Roman had survived."

[{"type":"text","text":"Doctors rushed him into emergency brain surgery."}]

"The chance of him making it off the table was very unlikely," she said.

[{"type":"text","text":"For over a week, his family remained by his bedside before Parra died."}]

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Faith Before Football"}]

Long before he became one of Wyoming's top linebackers, Parra was the little boy who wanted one thing more than anything else.

[{"type":"text","text":"\"He just never wanted to let me down,\" McDonald said."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"His faith grew naturally alongside him, she added. "}]

As a second-grader, teachers noticed he signed the bottom of school assignments with the words "God is Good." 

Near graduation, one of his teachers asked what he wanted to do with his life.

"My first priority is my relationship with Christ," he replied, according to his mother.

Looking back, McDonald said she believes that answer explained the way he lived.

"I think that was probably his purpose in life — to spread that kindness, that joy and Christ's love," she said.

[{"type":"text","text":"His aunt, Daniela Parra, saw the same thing."}]

If someone challenged Roman's beliefs, she said, he didn't argue emotionally.

"He would fight for God all the time," she said. "If somebody said something, he could back it up with Scripture."

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Competitor On Every Field"}]

In his final high school football game in the fall of 2024, McDonald said Parra tore his meniscus.

[{"type":"text","text":"Coaches wanted to pull him from the game."}]

He finished the game and scored the final touchdown of his high school career.

In the spring of 2025, he again played through the same injury during the state soccer tournament because he didn't want to leave his teammates behind.

When football ended, Roman spent the summer working construction alongside his father while preparing to attend Laramie County Community College this fall to study automotive technology.

Asked what his son had taught him over the past 20 years, Armando Parra paused.

Worland athlete Roman Parra died Sunday, eight days after being ejected from his vehicle in Colorado. His family said Roman's greatest gift wasn't in sports, but making everyone feel loved. "His purpose in life was to spread kindness," his mom said.

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