It’s time to take a look at what’s happening around Wyoming for Friday, July 11th. 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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Wyoming entrepreneur Reid Rasner on Tuesday filed a lawsuit against a former state legislator for allegedly jeopardizing his “major business acquisition.” He told Cowboy State Daily on Thursday that’s a direct reference to his reported bid to buy TikTok, and other business ventures.
Rasner on Tuesday filed a defamation lawsuit in Laramie County District Court against former state Sen. Anthony Bouchard, a Republican from the Cheyenne area. Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports that Rasner’s civil complaint alleges that Bouchard launched a, quote, “concerted and well-orchestrated attack” on Rasner.
“Bouchard was on Facebook in 2024 according to screenshots that we've received, talking like raisner had done some sexual misconduct while teaching drama courses at Casper College. And Rasner said, Okay, I was not an instructor. I was in some sort of a student outreach program, and did not do what he says I did. And where this takes a turn in the lawsuit is if you accuse someone of sexual abuse, it actually makes defamation a little easier to prove - on the flip side of that, if you're a public figure, as Bouchard can certainly argue and possibly prove Rasner is, it makes defamation harder to prove.”
Rasner’s other civil claims against Bouchard are tortious interference with a contract — a reference to Rasner’s business endeavors — and negligent and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Read the full story HERE.
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Wyoming Secretary of State Chuck Gray wants to know why the state isn’t doing more to open export terminals for Wyoming coal, while Gov. Mark Gordon says his “all-of-the-above” energy policy is paying off.
An ongoing rift between the Cowboy State’s top elected officials was evident Thursday when both appeared separately on the Cowboy State Daily Show with Jake Nichols.
Cowboy State Daily’s David Madison reports that the two offered sharply different perspectives on how the state should capitalize on the Trump administration's pro-fossil fuel energy policies.
“The governor wants to see a West Coast port open. We were able to break some news today… some legal wrangling in Oakland, California has swung in the direction of some developers who want to create a new coal export port right there in the bay… the governor clearly has his eye on the ball when it comes to finding a way to export this stuff. Of course, he's not without his critics. One of the guests this morning was also Secretary of State Chuck Gray, who wants to see even more boosterism behind fossil fuels, and the governor sticking to his guns, he's saying, ‘Nope, you know, all the above.’”
The political backdrop to the dueling interviews with Gordon and Gray remains the energy industry landscape, and the politics around it in Wyoming.
Read the full story HERE.
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When politicians announce they’re visiting Wyoming, they usually mean they’re visiting Jackson. That’s where the second-in-line to the presidency will be later this month.
Vice President J.D. Vance is the name at the top of a high-priced fundraising event in Jackson on July 29. Cowboy State Daily’s Andrew Rossi reports that the announcement came as a surprise to many Jackson residents, including the chair of the Teton County Republican Party.
“Jackson and Teton county are bastions of blue in one of the reddest states in the nation. But that doesn't mean that top tier Republicans don't drop in to do some fundraising. And JD Vance was unexpected in Jackson. Even the Teton County Republican party didn't know anything about the event he's attending… he thing about Teton county is that it's one of the wealthiest counties in the nation… I mean, you look at the event that Donald Trump held during his election campaign last year, back in August 2024 the tickets. The prices for tickets range from $5,000 as the baseline for a single seat to up to $250,000 if you wanted to be a sponsor a host of the event.”
With one of the powerful people in national politics attending an event in Jackson, it’s destined to be a high-dollar affair. And Jackson residents have the dollars to do it.
Read the full story HERE.
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A Crook County prosecutor this week filed four more charges against a Moorcroft man accused of touching little girls sexually during church services after two more alleged victims have come forward.
64-year-old Charles Massie pleaded not guilty Thursday in Gillette to the total of nine charges he now faces. Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports that Massie was originally charged May 27 with four counts of second-degree sexual abuse and one count of sexual battery, after he confessed to a counselor that he’d been sexually inappropriate with young girls.
“The new charges stem from new allegations, where the investigator basically found two more girls. He was hearing the other families were victimized, and he found these girls, and they couldn't get in for forensic interviews until June… and they're described. Describing, you know, him allegedly touching the one, him allegedly kissing the other in a very, you know, non platonic way.”
Massie originally faced up to 81 years in prison, but now could get up to 156 if convicted on all charges.
Read the full story HERE.
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While Wyoming has remained relatively quiet on the coal seam fire front so far this summer, the same can’t be said for just across the border in Montana.
There, temperatures are soaring past 100 degrees, and vegetation is drying into tinder, creating the perfect environment for smoldering underground coal to become raging wildfires.
Cowboy State Daily’s David Madison reports that a thermal imaging drone last month identified 107 new burning coal seams.
“A coal seam is a place where coal is literally popping up above the ground or just beneath the surface. Maybe, you know, it's just a length of a root from a yucca plant or a sage brush away from the surface. And I'm fascinated with this phenomenon. What happens is these can be ignited by lightning or wildfires, and then they become this smoldering cauldron underground… The conditions haven't gotten to the point where in Wyoming, those smoldering coal seams, which can be a 3000 degrees, like a steel forge, those have not ignited any wildfires yet. But they have over the Fourth of July - in fact, on the fourth of July in Powder River County in Montana, they had a five acre fire break out… all those coal seam fires that are burning, it's like they're unattended campfires out there.”
There are dozens of underground seams of coal in northeast Wyoming, which can smolder for years before something kicks them up to the surface. After hundreds of thousands of acres burned during last year’s wildfire season in the region, state and local wildfire officials have said many more may have been started.
Read the full story HERE.
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Can Wyoming ranchers prevent grizzlies from killing their cattle? Possibly, if they go all-in on Charolais cattle.
That’s what happened last week when a herd of Charolais cattle on a ranch in Dutton, Montana, decided that a pesky grizzly had to go. Cowboy State Daily’s Andrew Rossi reports that where most cattle might panic or run at the approach of the apex predator, this herd went on the offensive.
“They're bigger, one of the heaviest breeds of domestic cattle in the world, and they have a reputation for not the greatest temperament, because they are extremely, extremely protective of their calves… in this case, there was a herd that was confronted by a grizzly, and rather than running or giving ground, the only ground they gave was the ground that they gave up while they were running after the grizzly, which was running for its life when being pursued by this herd of Stand Your Ground aggressive cows… So could that be the solution to stop depredation of cattle in Wyoming? It's possible, if people wanted to go all in on this particular breed.”
Charolais cattle are large. They are one of the heaviest cattle breeds in the world, as a fully-grown cow can weigh up to 2,600 pounds while bulls can reach 3,600 pounds.
Read the full story HERE.
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A Wyoming legislative committee voted Wednesday to have one of the governor’s agencies scrutinize the legislative branch’s staffers and researchers - but not before state senators argued at length about whether that violates the separation of powers.
Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports that a Senator from Cheyenne made a motion during a meeting of the legislative Management Audit Committee, to have the Wyoming Department of Audit run a performance review of the Legislative Service Office, a nonpartisan group of staffers who research topics for legislators and committees to inform the lawmaking process.
“The management audit committee has this lawful authority to direct its staff to audit executive branch agencies, right? And Senator Darren Smith on Wednesday was like, we're going to flip this script, and we're going to have the Department of audit, which is under the executive branch, scrutinize our staffers, give our staffers a grade, right, how they're doing, performance wise. And Chris Rothfuss was like, whoa, whoa, whoa, that's an inversion of the law. And also, I'm worried about separation of powers. Why does the governor get to come and root around in the legislative branch and give us a grade on how we're doing?”
With some minor quirks addressing constitutional and statutory concerns, Smith’s motion passed on a 9-2 vote, with the committee’s only two Democratic members voting against it.
Read the full story HERE.
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Wyoming rang its newly restored replica Liberty Bell - and unveiled an amped-up tour of the restored state Capitol on Thursday. It was all part of a kickoff to the nation’s 250th anniversary next year — and the 135th for Wyoming statehood. And Cowboy State Daily’s Renee Jean was there.
“The capital, you know, they did the restoration project a little while ago… But along with it, they have created this revamped, kind of souped up tour that really shows the history of Wyoming and the state capitol, and there are just all kinds of these cool easter eggs on the tour… The other part of the story, Wendy is today. For the first time in a long, long time, they ran Wyoming's Liberty Bell, and this was part of a kickoff for the nation's 250th anniversary. But it's also the birthday of Wyoming, 135th birthday for Wyoming.”
While the main thrust of the Capitol restoration was life and safety, as well as a better, more efficient space, the attention to historic details in the restoration could be a boon for tourism.
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 Steve Moulton, who is helping to keep the spirit of the Old West alive. 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.
