It’s time to take a look at what’s happening around Wyoming, for Friday, June 20th. 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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Star Valley Search and Rescue recovered the body of an Idaho woman who died after falling 100 feet into the Snake River near Alpine after “a tragic accident” Wednesday afternoon.
89-year-old Joyce Balls of Rigby, Idaho, was with her sister and niece at a picnic area overlooking the Big Kahuna rapid along U.S. Highway 26 when the accident happened. That’s according to Cowboy State Daily’s Andrew Rossi.
“Joyce Falls was 89 years old, and she lived in Rigby, Idaho, and she was just picnicking with her family that afternoon, Wednesday afternoon, at the big kahuna overlook, and something happened where she just lost her footing and fell into the canyon below. Now what's interesting is that the US Forest Service has an AED along that section of the river to help people if they get heart attacks from falling in. But unfortunately, that wouldn't have done Joyce any good, because we confirmed with the one of the deputy coroners at the Lincoln County Coroner's Office that she died of injuries sustained in the fall.”
This is the second time Afton SAR has recovered a body in the last two weeks. On June 12, the body of 93-year-old Ned Eddins was recovered from the water in Swift Creek Canyon after he went missing while riding his e-bike June 10.
Read the full story HERE.
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In what’s become a familiar pattern, the Bureau of Land Management’s controversial Rock Springs Resource Management Plan is — again — not quite finished.
Cowboy State Daily’s Mark Heinz reports that the RMP is up for another round of comment, review and possible revision, this time centering on minerals development in the roughly 3.6 million acres of land that the BLM manages through its Rock Springs office.
“For over two years now, we've been following this. It was supposedly settled at the end of 2024 when they released their final decision. But then there was a change in the presidential administration. The new Secretary of Interior called for a revision of the plan, and so now it's been opened back up again for more review, including public comment… The good news is that they seem to be really having it narrowed down, and they're just putting the last little details in place to where they're hoping that by next spring, spring of 2026, they'll finally have this thing put to bed in a way that satisfies, gets everybody's needs met, and we hope we can quit squabbling over this thing.”
The Rock Springs RMP includes numerous areas of special designation, including five special recreation management areas, a historic trail corridor and 13 wilderness study areas.
Read the full story HERE.
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Multiple Wyoming school districts say the repeal of Wyoming’s gun-free zones has prompted hikes in their liability insurance costs.
To detractors of House Bill 172, which is the 2025 bill criminalizing people who try to block lawful concealed-weapons carriers from public areas, the insurance hikes are a testament to the risks associated with the new law. Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports that the topic surfaced repeatedly Tuesday and Wednesday at a Casper meeting of the Select Committee on School Finance Recalibration.
“A lot of school districts, not all, but a lot say that their liability slash building insurance rates are going up, or they're having to get more coverage with the repeal of gun free zones… they're paying, you know, between 10 and $35,000 extra to have basically a shooting event, extra policy on their insurance… a couple of the districts raised this at the school finance recalibration meetings this week… they were like, Oh, by the way, we're paying 1000s more in insurance now. So even though they weren't like, you need to increase the block grant model by this much to pay for this. You know, the timing indicates that that's in play.”
An insurance pool in which many school districts participate has taken the position that the new law shouldn’t change its coverage, but national carriers have been less willing to tolerate that risk.
Read the full story HERE.
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Friday is the first day of summer, and people in Wheatland will feel it with temperatures forecast by the National Weather Service to push 100 degrees. Other high-elevation parts of the state can expect snow and below-freezing temperatures.
Cowboy State Daily’s Andrew Rossi reports that Wyoming is about to reach the crest of a weeklong roller coaster of schizophrenic weather that will impact the entire United States.
“Thursday, we reach near record highs. Friday and Saturday are going to be similar with temperatures in the 80s and the 90s. Saturday night, a cold surge of wet wet where Sunday, Saturday night, a cold surge of wet air is going to move into Western Wyoming, which will send temperatures down. We're talking about daily highs 20 to 30 degrees lower than they are right now, upper 50s and into the 30s or even the 20s. Overnight, that's going to bring snow to the Beartooth highway in Yellowstone National Park. So if you're traveling there, dress warm. And the rest of the state is going to get much, much colder… So that's just that's Wyoming's weather for you. It's wild, it's wacky, and it does what it wants. Not unprecedented for the first day of summer, but certainly not something that a lot of people are going to enjoy.”
No extreme weather watches have been issued for Yellowstone National Park or the Beartooth Highway, but freezing temperatures and snow are likely in Wyoming's high-elevation areas between Saturday and Sunday.
Read the full story HERE.
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A 38-year-old Cheyenne man who announced that he needed to get “strapped” at a local home Tuesday, pulled out a pistol, pointed it at two women, and then said he was going to play “Russian roulette” with them.
But Cowboy State Daily’s Dale Killingbeck reports that, after allegedly making the threat, Jonathan Potter was surprised to find himself in handcuffs.
“He apparently had gone with a woman to a home to deliver some medication to I don't know if it was a friend, but it was another woman. And while there, he goes into the bathroom, then comes out and says that he pulls out a gun and says he wants to play Russian roulette, pointed the gun at the women, and then allegedly took the clip out of the pistol and started twirling the gun in his hand. The woman, obviously were upset, called the police… according to the police affidavit, he said that ‘I think I didn't handle that right.’ Basically, in those type of words, after he's arrested, you know, he's kind of thinking maybe that's something I shouldn't have done.”
A Sheriff’s deputy noted that Potter’s account of the altercation was “scattered at times” during questioning. Potter was then notified he was being arrested for aggravated assault with a weapon.
Read the full story HERE.
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Wyoming Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder is still planning to distribute at least $6.44 million in payments to state-held accounts to use on private schooling or homeschool.
But the Wyoming Education Association and nine parents sued Degenfelder and Wyoming Treasurer Curt Meier last Friday, and Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports that they have asked the Laramie County District Court to block the newly-expanded Steamboat Legacy Scholarship Act’s payout program from going into effect.
“There was a little back and forth between the superintendent and the Wyoming Education Association, which is suing her, where she was like, This program was crafted in 2024 Why are you guys suing to stop it days, like, days away from families receiving the money they've been counting on, planning on… and the Wyoming Education Association countered, saying, hey, there were multiple parties raising constitutional concerns about this legislation as it was being formed.”
Laramie County District Court Judge Peter Froelicher has scheduled the case for a June 27 preliminary injunction hearing in Cheyenne. There, the judge will weigh whether to block the program from going into effect during the case against it.
Read the full story HERE.
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University of Wyoming Cowboys fans considering making the drive down Interstate 25 to Boulder to watch UW play the University of Colorado are out of luck.
The Sept. 20 game between the Buffaloes and the Cowboys sold out faster than any previous Colorado home opener in recent memory. Cowboy State Daily’s Justin George reports that the regional draw of both teams helps to pack the stands at Boulder’s Folsom Field.
“A couple years ago, when Coach Prime had arrived, the Buffs played their rival, Nebraska, and that was a big game. You had big stars on both teams, and finally, they did sell out that game early, but it was in July. Well, this game against Wyoming is selling out even earlier, a whole month. Part of the reason is because it's family weekend at CU. Family Weekend is a big weekend where parents come out and visit their kids, but it's also because there's a lot of regional interest in the matchup between the Cowboys and the Buffaloes.”
The Buffs and Cowboys have played 27 times since 1900, and the matchups have been one-sided. The Buffs own a 24-2-1 record against UW.
Read the full story HERE.
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And Friday’s sunset will be the latest of the year, after Wyomingites get more than 15 hours of sunlight. Once the sun sets, the amount of daylight each day will slowly diminish — a minute here, a few seconds there— until the light loss accelerates in September.
So, Cowboy State Daily’s Andrew Rossi advises, get it while it’s good.
“Once we reach the autumnal equinox in September, we're going to lose three minutes a day, and then we're going to keep losing minutes until we get to the winter solstice on December 21 and from there, we just claw back all the daylight that we've lost until we get till the next summer solstice, which, if you're keeping track, is June 21, 2026. So enjoy the daylight today while you can, because that's as good as it's going to be for the rest of this year and until we get into next year.”
The summer solstice is the longest day of the year, something humanity has observed and counted on since before history. The summer solstice has been a celebration of life, warmth, and sustenance in cultures worldwide for thousands of years.
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 historian Shannon Smith. 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.
