It’s time to take a look at what’s happening around Wyoming for Thursday, July 24th. 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. Tonight, Luke Bryan is headlining, with Priscilla Block. A perfect blend of country icon and rising star. Only at the 129th Daddy of ‘Em all!
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With private companies eyeing Wyoming as a home for small nuclear reactors and accompanying spent fuel disposal sites, lawmakers are weighing risk-versus-opportunity, as they consider whether to greenlight multiplying those sites.
State law already allows temporary, high-level radioactive waste storage facilities within its borders. Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports that, going into the 2026 winter lawmaking session, the question is whether to also let reactor manufacturers maintain waste facilities in-state.
“The minerals committee is getting ready to decide whether to expand basically waste storage allowances to reactor manufacturers as well as power generators. And… that could multiply these waste facilities throughout Wyoming, but storing one's waste is also a necessary component of the reactor process. And so you have people like, whoa, slow down. Let's give ourselves more ability to dispute these installments. And you have other people like, hey, now is the time to diversify our economy, especially as coal is lagging.”
Lawmakers on the Minerals, Business and Economic Development Committee are split, as they approach a meeting on the topic this coming Tuesday.
Read the full story HERE.
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What's happening at a single coal-burning power plant serving Colorado Springs reveals how federal and state authorities are clashing over energy policy, with implications for Wyoming coal producers.
The Ray D. Nixon Power Plant has been burning Wyoming Powder River Basin coal since 2003 and was targeted for closure by 2030 under Colorado's plan to reduce regional haze pollution. But Cowboy State Daily’s David Madison reports that the EPA under the Trump administration withdrew federal support for that shutdown timeline, possibly extending the life of the plant.
“So it's still scheduled to close. What I think the utility is feeling now, Colorado Springs Utilities, is that they might have some flexibility here, but what really is exposed is a major policy difference between the state government of Colorado and the current administration in Washington. And I think in speaking with Cyrus Western, the region eight administrator, he really said this was us making it clear that there's a new administration with new priorities, and that's really no secret that those priorities are pro coal.”
Despite the EPA’s decision, Colorado officials have signaled that they plan to proceed with the planned closures of coal-fired power plants.
Read the full story HERE.
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When a fully loaded semitrailer slipped off U.S. Highway 14-A near Lovell and was left hanging precariously over a cliff Tuesday, it took a lot more than a standard tow truck to recover the dangling rig.
That’s where Hanser’s comes in, a Billings, Montana-based heavy-duty towing and recovery service. But Cowboy State Daily’s Andrew Rossi reports that even with their level of experience, it took three large trucks, some strategic positioning, physics and hours of time to lift it off the mountainside.
“They assessed what needed to be done, they were able to extract the truck as a single unit. They had a lot of rigging, and it only took three trucks to do it… that allowed them to pick the truck and the trailer up, which was carrying a load of bent nights. You can only imagine how heavy that is. They were able to pick it up as a single unit, turn it around and get it back on the highway in just over three hours, which is really impressive considering the task at hand. I spoke to one of the CO owners of Hanser’s. He said on a scale of one to 10, this was a nine.”
According to the Wyoming Highway Patrol, the driver was taking a narrow curve above the recommended speed of 35 mph when he overcorrected, which sent the semi-truck and its load of bentonite up and over the edge of one of the hillside barriers on the steep, winding highway traversing the mountain. Amazingly, the driver escaped with only minor injuries.
Read the full story HERE.
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The Air Force unit that oversees missile and bomb bases has suspended the use of the M18 modular handgun after an airman’s death in Wyoming on Sunday.
An active-duty airman assigned to the 90th Missile Wing died at F.E. Warren Air Force base in Cheyenne, while on duty early Sunday morning. Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports that one day after his death, the Air Force Global Strike Command, which oversees Air Force bases, announced a pause on the M18 pistol “until further notice.”
“The Air Force announced that an airman died in a tragic incident on the FE Warren Air Force Base on Sunday, and right after that, a division of the Air Force that oversees bases was like, We are suspending the use of the M18 pistol. It's a Sig Sauer p320 series product. And so, you know, the two things are suggestive of possibly a firearm discharge incident. And as I was talking to a gun manufacturer here based in Laramie, he said, Yeah, those pistols are kind of reputed to fire unintentionally or reported. There's been lawsuits and reports of unintentional firings that have followed that series for a while.”
The pause will remain in place during comprehensive investigations by the Air Force, and officials add that Security Forces Airmen will be equipped with the M4 rifle during that time.
Read the full story HERE.
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Wyoming’s U.S. senators say they’re tired of waiting for Wyomingite Brian Nesvik to be confirmed as the next chief of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which could likely seal a long-awaited delisting of grizzly bears in the Lower 48.
Cowboy State Daily’s Mark Heinz reports that Nesvik’s seemingly certain appointment as head of Fish and Wildlife comes in tandem with Wyoming U.S. Rep. Harriet Hageman’s push to delist grizzlies through an act of Congress.
“President Trump has really put pressure on the Senate to go ahead and even go so far as to skip their August break to get through all these nominations, of which Brian Nesvik, the former Wyoming Game and Fish director, is one to head the US Fish and Wildlife Service. And why that matters is Nesvik has long been a strong proponent of delisting grizzly bears, so he's all for it. The agency itself, the Fish and Wildlife Service, seems to be leaning in that direction.”
During his tenure leading Wyoming Game and Fish, Nesvik openly advocated for grizzlies to be delisted from federal protection and managed by Game and Fish and other state agencies.
Read the full story HERE.
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A 5-year-old child shot in a vehicle parked outside a gas station in Cody Tuesday afternoon is recovering. And police announced on Wednesday that the shooter was his 9-year-old brother.
The Cody Police Department is still investigating the incident that occurred outside the KT Sinclair gas station on Sheridan Avenue in Cody, although Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports that at this time it appears to be the result of what law enforcement is calling a negligent discharge.
“We don't know exactly how the nine year old came by the gun. What we do know is that the Cody PD is saying evidence indicates this was a negligent firing. You know, Frank Groth, a Gillette based firearms instructor, was like, Well, I'm hesitant with that term, because negligent indicates someone acted against his better knowledge. And with a nine year old, it's tough to tell just how great his knowledge or experience is on guns, but we will hopefully learn more as the investigation progresses.”
The department encourages anyone who witnessed the incident or who may have relevant information to contact the Cody Police Department.
Read the full story HERE.
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A 39-year-old Casper man accused of nearly biting off the finger of a deputy in May made pleas of not guilty, and not guilty by reason of mental illness or deficiency, at his arraignment Wednesday.
In addition to being charged with aggravated assault and battery for his actions on May 13 at the Natrona County jail, Andrew Barrett also is facing charges of being a habitual criminal. Cowboy State Daily’s Dale Killingbeck was in court for Barrett’s initial arraignment two months ago.
“He was an entirely different person than I saw at his initial appearance. He was sitting in a wheelchair. He was responding normally. He wasn't barking, he wasn't sticking out his tongue, he wasn't making animal noises. So he listened to what the judge had to say… he's got some serious things he's facing, but today he showed no evidence of his being a serial biter or wanting to make any kind of disruption in the court.”
Barrett has a history of biting people. Barrett was on parole after serving prison time for an aggravated assault and battery charge that involved biting off the tip of an index finger of a Banner Wyoming Medical Center employee in 2021.
Read the full story HERE.
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As Wyoming progresses toward rolling out the nation’s first state-backed cryptocurrency, possibly as soon as this year, the state has begun testing out practical uses for the Wyoming Stable Token could be used.
State officials told Cowboy State Daily’s Justin George that the latest test proves that the stable token system could someday help residents and businesses when disasters like wildfires or floods strike.
“If you're a vendor and you had completed whatever task needed to be done, then you would submit to get paid for it. And this would essentially make sure that everything was verified and that everything was under the law, and then it would pay somebody out. Typically, that process takes up to 45 days… Well, this was able to do it instantaneously… This is important in case, for instance, Wyoming gets into a natural disaster, you have wildfires, and you need to pay, let's say, power linemen coming from across different states, and they need money in order to be authorized to fix your power, or for firefighters, or if you're in a disaster zone, and you need to get paid out, and you need the money quick. You can't wait 45 days.”
U.S. Sen. Cynthia Lummis, who has been leading the effort on Capitol Hill to get federal approval for Wyoming’s stable token system, said that the test was just a start to the endless ways Wyomingites will benefit from digital currency.
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.
