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

<title>Today In We Get Everything Wrong: Thursday, May 22, 2025 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

We had no idea.....

Today In We Get Everything Wrong: Thursday, May 22, 2025

Coy Knobel

Don Day Weather

Sunny, smoky in Wyoming on Wednesday and smoky overnight. Highs from the upper 70s to near 90. Lows from near 40 to upper 50s.

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

Areas of smoke, sunny today with a high near 88 mostly clear overnight with areas of smoke and a low near 52.

Areas of smoke, sunny today with a high near 90 and mostly clear overnight with widespread smoke mainly before 8 p.m. and a low near 53.

  Areas of smoke, sunny today with a high near 89 mostly clear overnight with areas of smoke and a low near 55.

  Patchy smoke, sunny today with a high near 83 and mostly clear overnight with patchy smoke and a low near 46.

  Patchy smoke, sunny and breezy today with a high near 86 and wind gusts as high as 25 mph. Mostly clear and breezy overnight with areas of smoke, a low near 50 and wind gusts as high as 25 mph.

 Areas of smoke, sunny today with a high near 84 and wind gusts as high as 21 mph. Mostly clear overnight with areas of smoke and a low near 39.

 Areas of smoke, sunny and breezy today with a high near 79 and wind gusts as high as 23 mph. Mostly clear and breezy overnight with areas of smoke, a low near 42 and wind gusts as high as 24 mph.

 Areas of smoke, sunny today with a high near 84 mostly clear overnight with areas of smoke and a low near 45.

  Areas of smoke, sunny and breezy today with a high near 82 and wind gusts as high as 22 mph. Partly cloudy and breezy overnight with patchy smoke, a low near 39 and wind gusts as high as 24 mph.

 Areas of smoke, sunny and breezy today with a high near 78 and wind gusts as high as 26 mph. Mostly clear and breezy overnight with areas of smoke, a low near 46 and wind gusts as high as 26 mph.

  Areas of smoke, sunny today with a high near 83 mostly clear overnight with areas of smoke and a low near 44.

Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park

:  Widespread smoke mainly before 8 a.m., sunny today with a high near 75 and mostly clear overnight with areas of smoke and a low near 41.

Areas of smoke, sunny today with a high near 88 and mostly clear overnight with areas of smoke, a low near 56 and wind gusts as high as 20 mph.

:  Widespread smoke mainly before 2 p.m., sunny today with a high near 83 and mostly clear overnight with areas of smoke and a low near 56.

  Widespread smoke mainly before 8 a.m., sunny today with a high near 82 and mostly clear overnight with areas of smoke and a low near 52.

   Areas of smoke, sunny today with a high near 81 and mostly clear overnight with areas of smoke and a low near 56.

  Patchy smoke after noon, mostly sunny today with a high near 88 and mostly clear overnight with patchy smoke and a low near 50.

:   Patchy smoke after 9 a.m., mostly sunny today with a high near 86 and mostly clear overnight with patchy smoke and a low near 52.

Areas of smoke, sunny today with a high near 82 and wind gusts as high as 20 mph. Mostly clear overnight with areas of smoke, a low near 54 and wind gusts as high as 20 mph.

   Areas of smoke, sunny today with a high near 80 and wind gusts as high as 16 mph. Mostly clear overnight with areas of smoke and a low near 56.

:  Areas of smoke, sunny today with a high near 82 and wind gusts as high as 17 mph. Mostly clear overnight with areas of smoke, a low near 54 and wind gusts as high as 17 mph.

  Patchy smoke, mostly sunny today with a high near 82 and partly cloudy overnight with patchy smoke before 9 p.m. and a low near 58.

  Patchy smoke, mostly sunny today with a high near 81 and partly cloudy overnight with patchy smoke before 11 p.m. and a low near 54.

  Areas of smoke, sunny today with a high near 87 and wind gusts as high as 21 mph. Mostly clear overnight with areas of smoke, a low near 53 and wind gusts as high as 20 mph.

   Patchy smoke, mostly sunny today with a high near 80 and partly cloudy overnight with patchy smoke before 7 p.m. and a low near 53.

  Patchy smoke, sunny today with a high near 81 and partly cloudy overnight with patchy smoke and a low near 49.

  Patchy smoke, mostly sunny today with a high near 82 and partly cloudy overnight with patchy smoke and a low near 47.

   Patchy smoke, mostly sunny today with a high near 82 and partly cloudy overnight with patchy smoke and a low near 53.

   Patchy smoke, mostly sunny today with a high near 84 and partly cloudy overnight with patchy smoke and a low near 46.

   Patchy smoke, mostly sunny today with a high near 81 and partly cloudy overnight with patchy smoke and a low near 50.

Daycap 8 5 26 small

<title>Don Day's Wyoming Weather Forecast: Wednesday, August 5, 2026 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Sunny, smoky in Wyoming on Wednesday and smoky overnight.  Highs from the upper 70s to near 90. Lows from near 40 to upper 50s.

Don Day's Wyoming Weather Forecast: Wednesday, August 5, 2026

Kolby fedore

Kolby Fedore

Crime & Courts

Nearly two months after Wyoming prosecutors accused a Utah car dealer of 

 to resell hundreds of hail-damaged Wyoming vehicles using fraudulent titles, the criminal case has advanced to district court.

After a preliminary hearing Monday, Scott Keith Pryor, 50, owner of The Good Car Dealer in Salt Lake City, was bound over on 15 felony counts of altering, forging or counterfeiting a certificate of title.

Laramie County Circuit Court Judge Antoinette Williams found prosecutors presented enough evidence for the case to proceed.

Each felony count alleges a violation of Wyoming's title fraud statute, which carries a maximum penalty of two years in prison.

The charges stem from what investigators describe as an elaborate title scheme involving vehicles damaged during the historic August 2025 hailstorm that battered Cheyenne.

[{"type":"text","text":"Pryor has remained free throughout the case on a $5,000 signature bond."}]

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Nearly $2 Million In Vehicles"}]

The affidavit filed by Wyoming investigators alleges Pryor purchased 292 hail-damaged vehicles with an estimated value of nearly $2 million after insurers declared them total losses.

[{"type":"text","text":"Many were purchased through online salvage auctions operated by Copart."}]

Normally, vehicles sold through those auctions receive titles reflecting their salvage status or other branding intended to alert buyers that the vehicles sustained significant damage.

Investigators say Pryor instead sought duplicate Wyoming titles that removed those brands, allowing some vehicles to be sold for substantially more money than they otherwise could have commanded.

The criminal case centers on 15 vehicles investigators say were fraudulently retitled.

The Wyoming Department of Transportation ultimately identified numerous irregularities in title applications connected to the vehicles.

Among them, investigators allege, were forged signatures, counterfeit notary seals and fraudulent paperwork submitted in the names of previous owners.

Perhaps the most startling allegation involved paperwork purportedly signed by a Wyoming woman who had died weeks before the August 2025 hailstorm occurred.

Investigators allege another application listed a notary whose commission had expired years earlier.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"'Tennessee Titles'"}]

During an interview with investigators, Pryor acknowledged using a company he identified as "Tennessee Titles," according to the affidavit.

He told investigators he found the business through Facebook and paid approximately $150 for each title application.

According to investigators, Pryor identified the people he worked with only as "Rashard" and "Miss Catherine."

The affidavit says Pryor told investigators he simply submitted vehicle information and received paperwork back.

Investigators, however, allege the documents contained forged signatures and counterfeit notarizations that allowed duplicate Wyoming titles to be issued.

Those allegations remain unproven and will now be considered in district court.

At the time charges were filed in June, Cheyenne auto dealer Dallas Tyrrell said dealers were still dealing with the storm's aftermath.

"We see victims to scams like this all the time," Tyrrell told Cowboy State Daily. 

A vehicle's title history can be every bit as important as its mechanical condition, he said, because it affects its value, financing and insurability. 

"It's so important to use somebody that has a license and is reputable," Tyrrell said.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Customer Speaks Out"}]

After Cowboy State Daily first reported Pryor's arrest in June, a woman named Brooklyn Arthur reached out to say she believed her own experience mirrored some of the allegations now playing out in court.

"I wanted to reach out because I was a customer of his too," Arthur wrote.

Arthur said she purchased a hail-damaged vehicle from Pryor in approximately September 2024, nearly a year before the Wyoming hailstorm at the center of the criminal case.

"He was very reassuring in the beginning, and there were no issues at first," she said.

[{"type":"text","text":"\"But once I never received the title, things got very sketchy.\""}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Arthur said months passed without the paperwork arriving."}]

"I never received the title after 11 months of having the car," she said. "There was a duplicate title involved in the process,. He also mentioned getting the title from Tennessee, similar to what your article mentions."

Arthur's vehicle purchase is not part of the Wyoming criminal case, and prosecutors have not alleged her transaction was criminal.

Still, she said reading the charging documents immediately reminded her of her own experience.

Cowboy State Daily reached out Tuesday to Pryor’s attorney Thomas Garvie seeking comment on Monday's hearing as well as Arthur's account. He did not immediately respond.

Pryor has not yet entered a plea in district court. He will next appear for an arraignment. 

Court records show the case is being prosecuted by William Joseph Edelman.

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<title>Case Advances Against Dealer Charged With Forging Wyoming Titles For Hail-Damaged Cars | Cowboy State Daily</title>

A Utah auto dealer accused of using forged Wyoming titles to turn hail-battered cars into clean-title bargains is now facing 15 felony counts and up to 30 years in prison. Prosecutors say the scheme involved nearly $2 million worth of damaged vehicles.

Case Advances Against Dealer Charged With Forging Wyoming Titles For Hail-Damaged Cars

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily's general assignment reporter, Clair McFarland.

Clair McFarland

Energy

Wildlife

The Montana judge who threw out more than 1.5 million acres of Wyoming oil and gas leases in June over sage-grouse habitat concerns has declined to let the Trump administration and the state take a newer environmental challenge to a Wyoming judge instead. 

In a case environmental groups filed against the U.S. Bureau of Land Management this year — again in Montana — the state of Wyoming asked U.S. District Court Judge Brian Morris to dismiss the issues pertaining to the case or send them to a federal court in Wyoming. 

The Montana Wildlife Federation, The Wilderness Society and the Defenders of Wildlife argue in their lawsuit against the BLM, which Wyoming has joined in opposition, that the BLM’s “permissive approach” to oil and gas development is out of step with sage-grouse environmental science. 

The BLM asked Morris in a hearing last month to send the whole case to Wyoming. The federal agency argued, in part, that the more southerly state’s federal courts are less congested, and the agency manages between two to three times more sage-grouse habitat in Wyoming than Montana. 

The Wyoming Attorney General’s office also argued that Montana wasn’t the proper venue for decisions pertaining to the Cowboy State’s oil and gas leasing. 

“The Court recognizes that Wyoming has a strong interest in having its localized controversies decided at home,” wrote Morris in a July 29 order. 

He acknowledged the state’s keen interest in the oil and gas economy, and its efforts to conserve sage-grouse.

[{"type":"text","text":"But that’s not enough to switch the case southward, Morris wrote. "}]

“Wyoming provides no authority, however, to support the contention that its interests in oil and gas extraction, or its concentrated efforts on sage-grouse management, should outweigh Plaintiffs’ choice of forum,” said Morris, referencing the environmental groups choosing to file the case in his court. 

Morris’ June 12 order in an environmental groups’ 2018 case had blocked the oil and gas leases, sold under the Trump administration, due to sage-grouse habitat concerns. 

 it would force the state to return $50 million in payments and imperil $180 million in future revenue for schools and other services. 

[{"type":"text","text":"This case is ongoing. "}]

Wyoming oil and gas drilling 2 1 24

<title>Judge Who Tossed Oil And Gas Leases Declines To Let New Case Move To Wyoming | Cowboy State Daily</title>

A Montana U.S. District Court Judge who threw out 1.5 million acres of Wyoming oil and gas leases due to sage-grouse concerns has declined a request to send a newer case to Wyoming. "Wyoming provides no authority” for its argument, he wrote.

Judge Who Tossed Oil And Gas Leases Declines To Let New Case Move To Wyoming

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily's managing editor, Greg Johnson.

Greg Johnson

Courts

A 34-year-old Upton man denies allegations he pulled a gun on a group of people at a Gillette hotel and threatened to “put a bullet in everybody’s head.”

That’s what Gillette Police Department investigators allege a reportedly intoxicated Dakota Adams did during a Saturday confrontation with his girlfriend while their children were present at the National 9 Inn on the east side of the city.

Police were contacted by a bystander at the hotel who reported Adams, who “appeared to be intoxicated and extremely aggravated” and arguing with a woman, while another man and her older children were behind her, according to an affidavit of probable cause written by GPD Officer Kimberly Hockman.

“Dakota had a revolver in his hand and threatened to ‘put a bullet in everybody’s head,’” the affidavit says.

The witness “explained it appeared to be a family dispute between Dakota and a female,” Hockman wrote, adding that Adams and the woman were in a five-year relationship, but that she wanted out.

In fact, she was at the hotel with another man, identified in the affidavit as her new boyfriend.

By the time police arrived at the National 9, Adams had “placed the revolver in his waistband and left the area in a gray Ford Edge with no rear plate … (and) with two children in the back seat,” the affidavit says.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"What She Said"}]

Because Adams may have been armed and the children in the back of the car — which belonged to his father, and who was in the car with Adams — police were prepared to conduct a “high-risk stop,” Hockman wrote.

They wouldn’t need to, as Adams pulled into a gas station, where police caught up to him, according to the affidavit.

Hockman then arrived with the girlfriend, who “explained she had come to Gillette to cash her paycheck,” and that her “vehicle was parked outside of the National 9 because her new boyfriend resided there,” she wrote.

The woman had been getting repeated phone calls and text messages from Adams, then he spotted her car at the hotel, the affidavit says.

“When (the woman) came outside to roll up her windows, Dakota was in the passenger seat of (his father’s) vehicle watching her,” the document continues. “Dakota got out and started walking towards (her) and her two older children.”

Believing Adams was trying to get to the two older children to take them with him, the girlfriend told police that he “repeatedly said, ‘Get the f*** out of my way’ and tried pushing past (the woman),” according to the affidavit.

She said she told Adams to leave because of how he was behaving and she didn’t want him scaring their kids.

Adams eventually retreated back to his father’s car, then emerged with a gun.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Not The First Time"}]

The woman told police that she heard his father say, “Cody, don’t,” and explained that they all sometimes would call Adams “Cody.”

That’s when she “looked back and saw Dakota pointing the gun directly at her,” the affidavit says. “Dakota said something to the effect of, ‘Why don’t I just cut everybody in this mother f***er down’ while waving the gun around.”

Adams allegedly backed off when he realized that others were watching the confrontation and that at least one bystander had called police.

The woman also said that Adams “was a chronic alcoholic and this was not the first time Dakota had become belligerent and aggressive towards her,” Hockman wrote, “even stating this was not the first time he threatened her with a gun.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"What He Said"}]

For his part, Adams denies threatening anyone and initially claimed he didn’t pull a gun. He later admitted he did get a gun from the car and had it in his hand, but denied pointing it at anyone, the affidavit says.

“Dakota advised he was in town from Upton with his father and two children to do some grocery shopping and to run a few errands,” the affidavit says. “One of those errands was shopping at Gun Traders, where he stated he purchased a ‘defective’ Taurus handgun revolver.”

[{"type":"text","text":"He also said the gun wasn’t loaded."}]

Adams knew his girlfriend was at the hotel because she was having trouble cashing a check and was there.

The woman “came outside yelling at him, saying she wanted to end their relationship,” according to the affidavit. “While (she) was yelling at Dakota, she ‘nudged’ him away; however, Dakota never expressed that he felt threatened.”

The Upton man also told police that “he realized what he did was ‘dumb’ and put the gun back,” the affidavit continues.

The man who initially called 911 told police that Adams allegedly confronted him about calling police and that he “believed he may be shot by Dakota at this time,” Hockman wrote.

That’s when Adams then opened the cylinder on his revolver and said there were no bullets in it, got into his car and left the hotel.

Adams was arrested Saturday and had his first appearance in Campbell County Circuit Court on Monday.

A preliminary hearing to determine if there’s enough evidence to continue with a felony prosecution is set for Monday.

If convicted of aggravated assault, Adams could face a maximum sentence of up to 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $10,000, or both.

National 9 Inn Gillette 8 4 26

<title>Upton Man Denies Pulling Gun, Threating To ‘Put A Bullet In Everybody’s Head’ | Cowboy State Daily</title>

A 34-year-old Upton man denies he pulled a gun on a group of people at a Gillette hotel Saturday and threatened to “put a bullet in everybody’s head.” Police say the threat was made during a confrontation with his girlfriend and her new boyfriend.

Upton Man Denies Pulling Gun, Threating To ‘Put A Bullet In Everybody’s Head’

A Gillette man who reportedly grew angry when his girlfriend wouldn’t “submit” to him is accused of raising a knife to her and threatening to “kill you and the kids, and all of your extended family.”

Eduard Florea was bound over to Campbell County District Court on Monday on a felony charge of aggravated assault, which could land him up to 10 years in prison if convicted.

He allegedly grew angrier and angrier with his girlfriend as they argued Saturday when he repeatedly demanded she “submit” to him and she refused, according to an affidavit of probable cause written by Gillette Police Officer Ethan Hayes.

Florea went to his girlfriend’s apartment that morning but became agitated when she asked him for money to help pay rent for the place she and their shared daughter live in, the affidavit says.

The girlfriend “stated during this argument, Eduard repeatedly told her she needed to ‘submit’ to him if he was going to continue helping her financially,” Hayes wrote. “When (the woman) did not agree to submit, Eduard grew increasingly angry.”

At one point, she left the house and returned about an hour later, but the argument continued. Then he left for another hour to go to a local store, but that also didn’t defuse the situation.

“When Eduard returned from Walmart, the argument again ensued,” the affidavit says. “This time, Eduard grew increasingly angry, and (the woman) stated she did not want to have Eduard share the apartment with her any longer and he needed to go back to his apartment.”

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

That’s when the confrontation took on another level, the affidavit says.

Florea repeatedly called his girlfriend “every dirty name in the book,” then retrieved a knife with a blade about 6 inches long, Hayes wrote.

He then allegedly threatened to kill the woman while their teen daughter was behind her.

“After grabbing the knife, Eduard got to within 3 feet of (the woman), while their 13-year-old daughter was directly behind (her mother) crying,” the affidavit says.

“Eduard raised the knife over his head, with the blade pointing toward (his girlfriend),” Hayes continues. “Eduard stated, ‘I will kill you and the kids, and all of your extended family.”

Those threats continued for about six minutes until the daughter was able to get the knife from him and hide it, the affidavit says.

The woman told investigators that she remained calm during the altercation because she has had practice trying to weather Florea’s temper.

“When she replies in an aggressive manner, she gets hit, slapped, or choked,” Hays wrote in the affidavit. The woman “told me she was tired of getting treated this way.”

Florea eventually calmed down, gathered his belongings and left.

For his part, Florea denies the allegation he made threats while brandishing a knife, the affidavit says.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"At least to a point."}]

When asked directly if he threatened the woman and their daughter in the manner they described, Hayes reports Florea’s answer was carefully constructed.

“Eduard was asked a very direct question if he threatened (the woman) and the kids. Eduard replied, ‘I would never threaten my kids,’” the affidavit says.

He admitted calling his girlfriend “every dirty name in the book” and yelling at her. He also said he told her to “submit” about “100 times,” Hayes wrote.

Pressed again about threatening with the knife, Florea gave the same guarded answer.

“Eduard denied ever raising it above his head and multiple times told officers, ‘I would never threaten to kill my kids,’” the affidavit says. “Eduard never said that he would never threaten to kill (the woman), just that he would never threaten to kill his own children.”

The man also said that his threats were actually explanations of things he wasn’t going to do to his girlfriend, the affidavit says.

“Eduard also stated, ‘I told her if I was some crazy Islamist, I would probably smash her and cut her up from the disrespect she gives me,’” Hayes wrote. He “admitted making threatening statements; however, stated he said it in a way of, ‘If I were any other guy’ this is what I would do to you.”

Florea was arrested Sunday and had his first appearance in Campbell County Circuit Court on Monday.

Gillette police 5 31 23

<title>Gillette Man Accused Of Threatening To Kill Woman When She Wouldn’t ‘Submit’ | Cowboy State Daily</title>

A Gillette man who reportedly grew angry over the weekend when his girlfriend wouldn’t “submit” to him is accused of raising a knife to her and threatening to “kill you and the kids, and all of your extended family.” He could get up to 10 years in prison.

Gillette Man Accused Of Threatening To Kill Woman When She Wouldn’t ‘Submit’

Seven months after allegedly kidnapping her 11-month-old son, fleeing the state, then 

 during a brief standoff with law enforcement, a trial has been set for Madeline Daly.

It will be another six months before a Grant County, New Mexico, jury trial is scheduled to begin on Jan. 11, 2027, which was set during a July 21 pretrial hearing.

While the wheels of justice take time, there’s no amount of time that can make Jake Stoner feel much better since the death of his son, reportedly at the hands of his mother.

“There’s a special kind of evil at work here,” he told Cowboy State Daily on Tuesday as Daly, 35, sits in a southwest New Mexico jail cell facing charges of 

 and intentional abuse of a child resulting in death.

[{"type":"text","text":"Stoner said he’s still “pretty much” shellshocked."}]

He declined to discuss the legal and court process much ahead of the trial, but Stoner did say he would have preferred if she were facing a federal prosecution instead of state.

With a federal court, “she would face the death penalty,” Stoner said.

In New Mexico, there is no death penalty and life in prison also can mean a convicted felon could be up for parole after 30 years.

If convicted, Daly could face 30 years to life for first-degree murder and life for intentional abuse, according to New Mexico statutes.

“This is the most God-awful thing I’ve ever experienced,” Stoner said.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"‘She Would Do It Again’"}]

Already wanted on a Wyoming warrant for kidnapping her infant son Basil, Daly was located near Silver City, New Mexico, just before Christmas last year.

As Grant County Sheriff’s Office deputies moved in around an RV she was staying at, Daly, who lived at an RV park in Ten Sleep before leaving the state, realized they were closing in on her, according to an affidavit of probable cause filed in her case.

She allegedly shot her son, then tried to turn the gun on herself, but by then officers were able to subdue her, according to the affidavit written by Detective Lt. Jason Jordan.

Seven months after allegedly kidnapping her 11-month-old son, fleeing the state, then killing the infant during a standoff with law enforcement, a trial has been set for Madeline Daly. “There’s a special kind of evil at work here,” said the baby’s father.

Today In We Get Everything Wrong: Thursday, May 22, 2025

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