It’s time to take a look at what’s happening around Wyoming for Wednesday, July 23rd. I’m Wendy Corr, bringing you headlines from the Cowboy State Daily newsroom - Brought to you by Cheyenne Frontier Days! Experience legendary performances during Frontier Nights. On Wednesday, July 23rd, Brooks & Dunn are appearing with Wyoming’s own Chancey Williams. On Thursday, July 24th, Luke Bryan is headlining, with Priscilla Block. A perfect blend of country icons and rising stars. Only at the 129th Daddy of ‘Em all!
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U.S. 14A, one of Wyoming’s most scenic routes over the Bighorn Mountains, was closed Tuesday after a harrowing accident that sent a semi-truck careening off the highway.
The incident occurred around 22 miles east of Lovell, between the Five Springs Campground and the Big Horn-Sheridan county line, around 2:30 a.m. Cowboy State Daily’s Andrew Rossi reports that the vehicle was headed down the mountain toward Lovell when the driver entered a curve at a higher-than-posted speed.
“He over corrected in the westbound wet lane, slipped, and then the semi slipped over the barrier, and so was just precariously hanging off the edge of this cliff. The driver, thankfully only sustained minor injuries and was able to escape. But the Wyoming Department of Transportation and Wyoming Highway Patrol are investigating driver inexperience and excessive speeds as contributing factors to this incident.”
WYDOT spokesperson Cody Beers said the effort to haul the semi-truck back onto the road requires a lot of time and intense machinery.
Read the full story HERE.
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A federal judge on Tuesday dismissed a voting-advocacy group’s lawsuit challenging Wyoming’s new law that requires proof of citizenship and Wyoming residency before someone can register to vote.
Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports that Secretary of State Chuck Gray, who had been named in the suit, celebrated the ruling.
“He's celebrating what he calls a victory for, you know, common sense and conservative values and truth. Though the judge actually didn't get to the the merits of the case. What he said is the plaintiffs lack standing, and so that's a pretty foundational constitutional concept… so Judge Skavdahl was like, Well, you guys are a group made of groups, and you're not pointing to any potential voters with hard evidence, that they will be harmed by this law, so I can't let you through that courthouse door.”
Judge Scott Skavdahl dismissed the case without prejudice, meaning plaintiffs could file it again with differing circumstances or support.
Read the full story HERE.
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A proposed ban on bear-baiting on federal land in Wyoming and other states has rekindled the debate over whether it’s a fair and ethical way to hunt bears.
A coalition of about 70 animal welfare and environmental groups endorsed U.S. House Resolution 4422, the “Don’t Feed The Bears Act of 2025.” It calls for a ban on hunters using bear-bait barrels to draw in black bears.
Cowboy State Daily’s Mark Heinz, though, spoke to hunters who use bait, and argue that it’s an effective and ethical way to hunt bears.
“This is where folks take … a barrel full of whatever might be tempting to a bear and set it up, and then set a blind over the spot, or set trail cam so they can get photos of the bears that are coming in and see if there's one they want to get. That has long been a controversial subject… You have one side saying it's unethical, it's not fair, it's not giving the bears a fair chance. And you have another side saying, actually, it gives the bears a better chance, because if you're sitting in a blind over bait, you can really take your time and be choosy and avoid the big possible mistake of shooting a female that has cubs.”
Bear-baiting is already forbidden in Montana and other states in the West.
Read the full story HERE.
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Famous “Yellowstone” actor Moses J. Brings Plenty still remembers the stories about how his uncle Howard Hunter, Sr., won the saddle bronc competition at Cheyenne Frontier Days in the 1970s on a horse named Frontier Airlines.
Ultimately, those stories are what brought the A-lister back for the second year in a row to Cheyenne Frontier Days. But Cowboy State Daily’s Renee Jean reports that this time he’s serving as the parade’s grand marshal.
“He grew up on the Pine Ridge Reservation. His family, they had no running water, no electricity. What they did to entertain themselves at night, they told stories by kerosene lanterns. And some of those stories were all about Cheyenne Frontier Days and how great it was. And… to him, the Cheyenne Frontier Days is just the greatest rodeo on Earth… to come back and to be able to be grand marshall of the Cheyenne Frontier Days Parade, to be able to do the prayer ceremony during the grand opening today and tomorrow, that's just very special to him.”
Brings Plenty has not only acted in but served as a consultant for several famous television shows like “Yellowstone,” and “1923,” as well as movies like, “Revenant,” to help ensure American Indian cultures are accurately portrayed, from regalia to language, history and ceremonies.
Read the full story HERE.
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A slow-moving “superload” will be creeping across southeast Wyoming on Wednesday.
The Wyoming Department of Transportation alerted drivers to the colossal caravan that will be traveling from Laramie to Medicine Bow on Wednesday morning. But anyone who thinks they might be able to pass this convoy should reconsider - Cowboy State Daily’s Andrew Rossi reports that this superload is over 385 feet long, 26 feet wide, and weighs nearly 1.5 million pounds.
“It's going to be moving at 30 miles per hour to cover the distance between Laramie and Arlington, so you don't want to get stuck behind this thing, is the short version. It does have spots where it can pull off to let drivers but it's best not to risk it. There are other routes that you can take if you need to travel between Rawlins and Laramie, and it's only for the morning. By noon, the super load will have pulled off of I 80, and traffic will flow just as it always does.”
The 39-mile haul along I-80, from Laramie to Arlington, is expected to happen between 9 a.m. and noon.
Read the full story HERE.
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A Park County Sheriff’s Office detention deputy removed the Cody town mayor from a list of jail inmates, shielding her arrest from the public, for reasons unknown last weekend.
Cody Mayor Lee Ann Reiter was arrested early Saturday morning on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol. She was released from jail two days later, but Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland spoke to a representative for the Sheriff’s Office, who said the breach of protocol was a mistake and has been addressed.
“He said it was as simple as a jail officer unchecking a box when he wasn't supposed to uncheck a box. He said he didn't really know if there was any special motivation behind that… what it meant at the time was, you know, her name was up there for a little bit, and then not. And so as I understand it, for part of her two-ish day jail stay, people couldn't see that she was in there.”
Park County Sheriff’s spokesman Monte McClain said he does not know why the jail officer unchecked the box, though he speculated it could be a “misunderstanding on when a box is supposed to be unchecked.”
Read the full story HERE.
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U.S. Sen. Cynthia Lummis called Tuesday for the cancellation of the Senate’s August recess in order to move 136 nominees who are awaiting confirmation by the full chamber.
Cowboy State Daily’s Sean Barry reports that the 136 nominees would fill judiciary posts, ambassadorships and undersecretary jobs, including former Wyoming Game and Fish Director Brian Nesvik, who has been nominated to head up the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
“There are more than 1000 employees who need to be confirmed by the Senate… What the Democrats are doing now is they are slow walking all of them with the filibuster, and it's really crazy, because they can't stop them… They all get done on simple majority votes, but they can still use the filibuster to draw it out, and it's happening with scores of low level appointees… so far they've the Senate has confirmed about 100 now 136 have cleared committee… Senator Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming appears to be the first senator to call for the cancellation of recess.”
Democrats cannot block the nominees, but they have used the filibuster to draw out the process on all of them except for Marco Rubio, who was confirmed as secretary of state in a unanimous vote.
Read the full story HERE.
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And now some good news.
The Casper Humane Society has saved all of the 42 guinea pigs that were dumped off at their doorstep on Friday.
Cowboy State Daily’s Dale Killingbeck reports that the guinea pigs were in bad shape and had not been taken care of. Despite their obvious neglect, they are in the process of being rehabbed.
“They found these guinea pigs with a tarp over them. And inside the cages, I was told that there was these little chicken waterers that were there, but they were all covered with filth. There was no food inside the cages. So the people at the Humane Society said they didn't know when the last time was they had been fed or taken care of… the vet came in and found that there were some with issues. Some were given antibiotics. Some were pregnant.”
The good news is, the guinea pigs will be available for adoption after they are brought back to health.
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.
