It’s time to take a look at what’s happening around Wyoming for Tuesday, July 1st. I’m Wendy Corr, bringing you headlines from the Cowboy State Daily newsroom - Brought to you by Cheyenne Frontier Days. Ten days of rodeo thrills, Xtreme Bulls, live concerts, carnival rides, western heritage, and unforgettable cowboy spirit in Cheyenne, Wyoming! Don’t miss the 129th Daddy of ‘Em all July 18-27th.
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A dramatic marathon weekend session in the U.S. Senate elevated coal as a high priority among lawmakers who hammered out amendments to President Donald Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
Republican senators successfully turned the tables on Biden administration efforts to promote green energy through wind and solar projects. Cowboy State Daily’s David Madison reports that although critics of the sweeping changes to the bill argue that wind and solar power bring costs down for utility ratepayers, those sentiments didn’t slow the Senate’s pro-coal legislative maneuvering.
“If you worry coal is heating the planet and causing climate change, it was a bad weekend. If you're Wyoming's coal industry, you're really encouraged that you're being listened to clearly… Should it pass, as as currently written, there's a tax break for coal. There's a reversal in Biden era policies that are really rolling back the competitors to coal, clean energy, like wind and solar.”
The amended One Big Beautiful Bill Act now contains several provisions that aggressively support the coal industry through both regulatory relief and financial incentives.
Read the full story HERE.
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When Wyoming passed a law protecting doctors who prescribe drugs off-label, the state excluded providers of abortion drugs from that protection.
But Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports that the judge presiding over the latest in a series of pro-choice challenges blocked that exception Monday, saying it leaves abortion providers exposed to consequences in a way that could pose both constitutional wrongs and health issues to people.
“Wyoming passed this law where it was like, Okay… Doctors will not face discipline generally for prescribing drugs off label. And the chatter during the lawmaking session was, oh, we kind of have ivermectin in mind, because there was a doctor that suffered consequences for prescribing ivermectin during COVID… but they put in this carve out that says this protection does not apply to those prescribing abortion drugs, right?... Judge Campbell, in a Monday order, said, to me, leaving them out in the cold is similar to punishing them, and we're not punishing them right now because as the law stands while the High Court is reviewing it, abortion is a health care right now.”
The new law also excludes from its safe harbor providers prescribing sex-change treatments to kids, but Campbell wasn’t called upon to address that provision.
Read the full story HERE.
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Wyomingites concerned about Utah Republican Sen. Mike Lee’s proposal to sell millions of acres of federal public land in Wyoming, and 10 other Western states, may be able to relax for the time being.
After bipartisan backlash over his plan, Lee finally waved the white flag Saturday regarding getting the sale of public lands into the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
Political reporter Matthew Christian spoke to former Deputy Secretary of the Interior - and Teton County resident - Rob Wallace, who said Lee’s proposal isn’t likely to become law anytime soon, either.
“Mr. Wallace said that … basically there's no way for this to become law right now… because you have to have 60 votes… to get into filibuster in the Senate, and there's not 60 votes for this to be able to become law. The senators from Idaho and Montana have come out and said, basically, we don't support this, though they're all Republicans. So essentially, right now, you have 49 votes for it… You have 51 against it. So you can't make it law right now… five members of the House came out last week and said they didn't want it in the but the big, beautiful bill, which basically means it can't be passed right now.”
Although Lee backed off of his proposal, he said he remains convinced that the federal government owns far too much land, which he said it is, quote, “mismanaging, and in many cases ruining, for the next generation.”
Read the full story HERE.
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As the Laramie County Sheriff’s Office continues to investigate the June 24 shooting death of a Pine Bluffs crop duster, those who knew him say they’re still shocked.
52-year-old Kevin Hefley, a local pilot and owner of Airtime Aerial, was shot and killed on a County Road. Cowboy State Daily’s Dale Killingbeck spoke to people close to the victim.
“We were able to contact a friend of the crop duster from Pine Bluffs that was shot last week. And he as well as other friends, he said that knew him in rodeo… at Kansas State University. He's shocked, you know, to know that his friend is dead. He had been in contact with him, and he said he calls him a level headed guy… and so he's just surprised that he was in a situation or whatever happened that allowed him to be in this place where he got shot… The Laramie County Sheriff's Department is staying very quiet. We called them today, and they said they have nothing to add to the story a week after it, and all they've released is basically the victim's name,”
No other details are being released as the investigation continues, including whether the incident reflects an alleged criminal act on the shooter’s part.
Read the full story HERE.
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A judge has ruled that the man who posted a $50,000 bond to free the alleged “Bitcoin Billionaire” scammer from Teton County’s jail can have $15,000 of it back.
Court documents accuse Kevin Segal of tricking Teton County business people into giving him nearly $212,000 in services, a truck, groceries and other goods, based on his word that he was wealthy and would pay them back.
Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports that Jason Irvine agreed in February to post the $50,000 bond so that his then-friend, Segal, could be released from the Teton County Detention Center while facing numerous theft charges. But Segal skipped out on the bail.
“I think this is the first time I've ever seen someone approach a court pro say, like I was cheated out of this $50,000 bond by a smooth talker… normally the idea is, if someone's going to post bond for you, it's because you're a reliable character, you're going to go to court… the judge decided, okay, you can have 15,000 of the 50,000 back… the prosecutor, in the meantime, says, hey, now this looks like evidence that I can introduce to show that this guy has a pattern of smooth talking people out of their money by presenting himself as very rich and able to grant larger turns later on.”
Wyoming law says money from a forfeited state-court bond goes toward the public schools in the county where the case is proceeding.
Read the full story HERE.
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One of the longest-running sports television series will broadcast from Cheyenne this summer, bringing a familiar face to local viewers.
Gary Striewski will anchor the 9 p.m. broadcast of ESPN’s flagship SportsCenter program from Cheyenne Frontier Days as part of the network’s 50 States in 50 Days event.
Cowboy State Daily’s Matthew Christian spoke to Striewski, who said Cheyenne Frontier Days was his first TV assignment as a reporter for KGWN - and he volunteered to anchor the Cheyenne broadcast.
“ESPN SportsCenter will broadcast from Cheyenne Frontier Days on July 24 as part of a 50 state tour. The anchor that's going to broadcast from Frontier Days, Gary Striewski, is actually a former TV reporter here in Cheyenne, and so he's obviously very excited about it. The Frontier Days executive director is very excited about it. The governor is thrilled about it, and the local tourism board president is also thrilled about it.”
Gov. Mark Gordon said the broadcast will be a great national showcase for Wyoming.
Read the full story HERE.
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A proposed 450-megawatt wind and solar project spanning more than 53,000 acres in Goshen and Platte counties in eastern Wyoming is meeting resistance from locals skeptical about renewable energy developments.
Cowboy State Daily’s David Madison reports that the Chugwater Energy Project is expected to generate more than $250 million in additional revenue for landowners over the project's life and about $150 million in tax revenue for local governments.
“We've seen counties grappling with big wind and solar projects across Wyoming and now the latest ground zero for this is in Platte and Goshen counties… a state representative that I spoke with… and the mayor of Torrington are disappointed in the aftermath. They feel like there's a lot of questions that remain unanswered, and they sense the political winds blowing against wind and solar, and so just as we've seen around Douglas and around Lusk, we have some growing local opposition, or at least an opposition that's trying to get attention in the media.”
The Chugwater Energy Project would install up to 107 wind turbines, solar panels and battery storage systems on about 47,000 acres in Platte County and 6,100 acres in Goshen County.
Read the full story HERE.
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The former police chief of Manderson has agreed to plead no-contest in a case where he was accused of helping his girlfriend evade a drug arrest. In exchange, he’ll get probation and a promise that he’ll give up his policing certification.
Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports that BJ Kidgell is scheduled to change his plea next Monday in Basin Circuit Court.
“BJ Kidgell was the chief of police there in Manderson in northern Wyoming, and he was charged with six counts on claims that he was basically helping his girlfriend evade drug searches, evade arrests and get away from from cops and consequences, and he signed on to a plea agreement a couple days ago, agreeing to plead no contest to two of the charges in exchange for a term of probation, like a year supervised maximum.”
Also as part of the agreement, Kidgell must relinquish his Wyoming policing certification. If he fails his terms of probation, he could spend 180 days in jail.
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.
