It’s time to take a look at what’s happening around Wyoming for Thursday, July 10th. 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 Wyoming legislative committee on Wednesday voted to subpoena leaders of two small towns and one special district — to have them explain slow progress following audits that range from criminally suspicious to somewhat problematic.
Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports that critics of the rare subpoena call it an inappropriate gesture, when an invitation - which does not carry criminal penalties for noncompliance - may summon those leaders just as effectively.
“It is highly unusual for a legislative committee to be subpoenaing people, and that's because they have a tradition of inviting people first when they want answers, and people often tend to come when invited… it's a powerful tool that we don't see used very often from the legislature. But they went ahead and deployed that… The Manderson audit, the Department of audit was like… we're calling the Division of Criminal Investigation, because this is so problematic. Whereas the other two, they were like, Okay, these are areas we've given you time to improve, and you have not improved.”
People who don’t comply with the subpoena can face up to six months in jail and $100 in fines.
Read the full story HERE.
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Green River residents have reported seeing rattlesnakes curled up on public trails or basking in the sun near homes and businesses. That’s expected at this time of year, as the slithering snakes are also looking to beat the heat.
A Wyoming rancher might recommend taking rattlesnakes head-on, either with a machete or a firearm. But Cowboy State Daily’s Andrew Rossi reports that that strategy is especially inadvisable for the rattlesnakes infiltrating Green River, because these particular snakes have legal protection.
“Midget faded rattlesnakes … live in a small range that encompasses the southernmost part of southwest Wyoming and parts of Utah and Colorado. And there are no prairie rattlesnakes within that vicinity, so Green River, Rock Springs, when they see a rattlesnake, they're seeing one of these midget faded rattlesnakes. They're smaller and their venom is more potent, but they're also less grumpy than their prairie rattlesnake counterparts… here's the rancher method of dealing with snakes, which is, you know, the beheading get to the head of the matter. You can't do that with midget faded rattlesnakes, because they're a protected species in Wyoming, because their population is so small.”
Rattlesnakes are destined to show up where people don’t want them. In that case, Green River residents can call the Wyoming Game and Fish Department or Green River Animal Control to safely relocate the reptiles.
Read the full story HERE.
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Two years after a man was found dead with his throat cut on the Wind River Reservation, a Riverton man has been charged in his death.
31-year-old John Goodman faces one count of first-degree murder in the death of 37-year-old Gustave Yellowhair. Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports that Goodman was already in prison when evidence surfaced that he killed Yellowhair with a machete.
“So we have this body found, and everyone's like, there's this body, and we're waiting on DNA results, and we're interviewing people. And one month later, Goodman threatened someone with a pistol, and he wasn't supposed to have a pistol as a convicted felon. So he finds himself in prison for four years, which then gives authorities just a good, good time to really investigate and really dig in, not to mention monitor his jail calls.”
Goodman’s case is ongoing.
Read the full story HERE.
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The developer seeking to mine gravel on state-owned land at the base of Casper Mountain is digging deeper into state law and the courts to keep the project alive.
Prism Logistics Manager Kyle True petitioned the Natrona County District Court on Monday for a judicial review of the Wyoming State Board of Land Commission’s June decision to deny renewing the company’s six leases for the land. Cowboy State Daily’s Dale Killingbeck reports that Prism’s position is that the Board’s denial of the renewal of leases was contrary to law.
“This has been an ongoing controversy since True initially leased… six parcels of land that belong to the state at the base of Casper mountain. Back in 2023 landowners were not notified about it, and they're afraid of losing their water, property value, health issues associated with gravel mining, etc. So True was shot down by the state land board by a three to one decision just recently.”
True said he remains “confident” the company will prevail and that gravel will be mined at the base of the mountain.
Read the full story HERE.
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A Calgary-based mining company has filed 21 mineral lode claims in the Bear Lodge Mining District of northeast Wyoming, marking another entry into the state's exploding rare earth industry.
Cowboy State Daily’s David Madison reports that Argyle Resources has partnered with Elko, Nevada-based Rangefront Mining Services to stake claims on federal land north of Sundance in Crook County.
“They come in to this area north of Sundance, and literally stake out where the claims are. There's 21 of them, and they happen to be adjacent to another really big project going on that's not only going to be taking or out of this mining district, but they're also want to establish a processing facility in nearby Upton. And so the news here really is that… the word is out in the mining community, that this area, north of Sundance, is hot for rare earth development… The secretary of energy is coming to Wyoming this week to be at the grand opening for another rare earth facility. So the chips are stacking in the favor of this sector of the mining industry.”
The Bear Lodge Mining District has been an active mining region since gold was discovered near Warren Peak in 1875. The area has historically produced gold, barium, copper, lead, zinc, manganese, niobium, tantalum, thorium, fluorine and phosphate.
Read the full story HERE.
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Northern Colorado residents were stunned by the death of a local animal celebrity, Larry the camel, who was struck and killed by lightning on July 4 in his pasture. Larry’s sudden demise might have seemed like a freak accident, but Cowboy State Daily’s Mark Heinz reports that livestock deaths from lightning are more common than many people might think.
“I did a little bit of digging. There was a horrible case last year in Colorado, kind of in Larry's territory, northern Colorado, a rancher and 34 of his cows were killed in a single strike… I talked to, I think two or three different agriculture people here in Wyoming, and they… gave me specific instances that they remember of their animals, either horses or cows, being struck and killed by lightning… For ranchers… their animals are out there in open fields for most of their lives.”
One rancher said that when sudden death comes ripping down out of the clouds, there really isn’t anything they can do besides hope that the casualties are minimal.
Read the full story HERE.
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Wyoming’s congressional delegation, governor and top education official are hailing new federal legislation that would free up investment opportunities for the state’s $5.4 billion dollar education trust fund.
Wyoming Republican U.S. Sen. Cynthia Lummis is the lead sponsor of the Wyoming Education Trust Modernization Act. She told Cowboy State Daily’s Sean Barry Lummis that an act of Congress is necessary to make the changes sought by state officials, because of the 1890 federal law by which Wyoming became a state.
“The 1890 Statehood Act, the very act that had to do with Wyoming entering the union… contained language, spelling out how money for schools could be invested well, that was 1890 This is 2025 things have changed. The school system wants more flexibility to be able to invest money more wisely. They say their hands are tied right now, under that 1890 law, they're getting about 5% returns. They think they can get, like 8% so this is potentially a real win for Wyoming taxpayers to increase money for the schools without having to raise taxes.”
Current law prohibits investing principal funds, and only accrued interest can be used for K-12 education funding.
Read the full story HERE.
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It may be 13 years since Gary Striewski has broadcast from KGWN-TV in Cheyenne, but the ESPN SportsCenter anchor remembers it well, and he’s looking forward to doing it again.
Striewski, whose broadcasting career launched in Cheyenne 15 years ago, told Jake Nichols on Wednesday morning that when he returns July 24 for a Cheyenne Frontier Days segment on ESPN, he will sit in his old seat at the local TV station.
“He started locally, in the Front Range. He's, he's born in Denver. He, he just moved up the ladder. He went to Houston, covered the Astros, the Rockets, all the Houston teams. Then he finally went to NESN on the east coast, where he covered the Boston Red Sox, the New England Patriots. And he's just a trajectory to ESPN, and that is the pinnacle… He's legit? Like, I'm a big fan before I talked to him, but talking to him like he's real, he's so quick. He's so fast with his mind, sports or anything. I mean, he was born to do this.”
Striewski, who wrote in his sixth grade yearbook that he was going to be an ESPN anchor, actually requested this assignment. When the network announced it was doing a 50 States in 50 Days event, Striewski marched into his boss’ office and requested Wyoming. He said, quote, “I still have my boots.”
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.
