It’s time to take a look at what’s happening around Wyoming for Friday, August 8th. I’m Wendy Corr, bringing you headlines from the Cowboy State Daily newsroom - Brought to you by the Converse County Tourism Promotion Board! Discover Douglas and Glenrock in beautiful Wyoming, where rich history, outdoor adventure, and welcoming communities await. Feel the Energy of Converse County at www.ConverseCountyTourism.com.
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If size matters, then this Wyoming ranch has it all.
The Pathfinder Ranches, at more than 916,000 acres, is bigger than the state of Rhode Island and almost double the size of Jacksonville, Florida, the largest American city by land mass in the Lower 48.
It’s larger even than the fictional “Yellowstone” Dutton Ranch from Taylor Sheridan’s famous television series, which is somewhere between 775,000 to 825,000 acres - and Cowboy State Daily’s Renee Jean reports that the ranch - which covers a sprawling area in four Wyoming counties - is on the market for just $79.5 million dollars.
“The Yellowstone Dutton Ranch is a fictional ranch. It's purposely exaggerated in size, you know, to suggest something no reasonable person could ever own. But this ranch, Wendy, is bigger than the fictional exaggerated ranch, and it is right here in the real world in Wyoming… it's bigger than a lot of metropolitan cities. It's basically 12 ranches strung together over the decades… It's historic. It's iconic. It's got every kind of outdoor recreation you can imagine… so yeah, if only I had 79 and a half million laying around.”
History has left its mark on the Pathfinder Ranches - literally. Independence Rock is near the ranch, and the Oregon Trail, the Pony Express, the California and the Mormon trails all cross its land.
Read the full story HERE.
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The parent company of eight Wyoming hometown newspapers shut them down with no notice Wednesday after a deal to sell them fell through.
News of the abrupt closure of the Pinedale Roundup, Platte County Record-Times, Guernsey Gazette, Torrington Telegram, Lusk Herald, Uinta County Herald, Bridger Valley Pioneer and Kemmerer Gazette was alarming to industry leaders, who told Cowboy State Daily’s Greg Johnson that a failed sale is no excuse for the “unconscionable” way employees were treated.
“Wyoming newspaper industry people who are very well known, they've been around for decades… they were as shocked as anybody else about the sudden closure of these eight newspapers from News Media Corp… The former publisher of the Casper Star Tribune, said it's, you know, it's a big loss for the whole state, but also his word was unconscionable, to just spring it on everybody and not let them know, ‘hey, this could be coming. You know, we're having some trouble.’
News Media employees said that they knew of the potential for the company to be sold, but had no clue it was close to being shut down.
Read the full story HERE.
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U.S. Air Force bases depend heavily on the same electrical grids that power homes and businesses. In a blackout, while homeowners are fumbling for the candles and the flashlights, military facilities switch over to diesel generators.
Looking to provide a more reliable and long-term source of electricity, nuclear startup Radiant this week signed what it described as a first-ever agreement to deliver mass-manufactured nuclear microreactors to U.S. Air Force bases. Cowboy State Daily’s David Madison reports that the California-based company hopes the military contract adds momentum to its efforts to establish a manufacturing presence in Wyoming.
“This would give a base its own power plant that's not beholden to a cyber attack on the commercial grid, and it can be placed in remote locations. And they're not alone. There's another company that the Air Force is working with that is talking about putting a reactor up at one of our remote Air Force bases in Alaska. And so this is clearly a new market… and it could create a huge industry in Wyoming if the state changes its law. And that's the other complicating factor here is the legislature is considering a bill that would allow for the storage of waste.”
Company spokesman Ray Wert expressed optimism that the Air Force deal could boost support for the contentious Natrona County facility proposal.
Read the full story HERE.
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Saying a Teton County-based ski resort’s year-round roller coaster threw him when his seatbelt came undone, a Wyoming man is suing the resort, and an international roller-coaster equipment manufacturer.
In July, Juan Camacho filed a civil lawsuit in Teton County District Court, against Snow King Mountain Resort and Wiegand Sports, over an incident that occurred in 2021 - three years after several seatbelt malfunctions triggered a nationwide recall. Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports that Camacho is asking for a trial to establish judgment and determine “just and proper” damages and relief.
“It's a year round roller coaster at a ski resort, and the 2018 accidents happened in August of that year. So, summertime accidents, and the seat belts were recalled, and then they were replaced, and so they got the thing up and running. This plaintiff alleges that in 2021, after the whole 2018 debacle, his seat belt wasn't checked, and it malfunctioned, throwing him from the coaster. And so, he's suing the manufacturer and the Snow King resort.”
When Camacho’s seatbelt came undone, and the coaster threw him, he says it caused him, quote, “serious injuries, damages, and losses.”
Read the full story HERE.
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A former award-winning foster dad was sentenced in Natrona County District Court on Thursday to 128 years in prison for sexually abusing two adopted daughters, as well as physically abusing them and four other children in his care.
Natrona County District Court Judge Kerri Johnson imposed sentences on 50-year-old Steven Marler, who was convicted by a jury in April of 14 charges that involved sexual abuse of minors, child endangerment and battery. Cowboy State Daily’s Dale Killingbeck reports that Judge Johnson made the sentences all consecutive.
“Steven Marler was sentenced to a maximum of 178 years and a minimum of 128 years. And the judge said she said she did that because she wanted each of the victims that Marler has afflicted over the years to have justice… in court Marler … denied doing any sexual abuse of any children, said that he tried to be a good parent and father and that he had failed, and said he was sorry for that and that he was praying for everybody involved in the case. He did not seem to show any kind of repentance.”
In 2013, Marler and his wife Kristen were recognized by the federal Administration for Children and Families with an Adoption Excellence Award, one of only three families across the nation to get the award that year.
Read the full story HERE.
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As a search for a Minnesota hiker missing in the remote Cloud Peak Wilderness of northern Wyoming continues, confusion over another missing man found dead in Montana has rubbed at already raw emotions.
Reports out of Big Horn County, Montana, about finding the body of a missing man in the Bighorn River caused a storm of speculation on social media that it was the man search and rescue teams are looking for in Wyoming. But Cowboy State Daily’s Greg Johnson reports that it wasn’t.
“The search for the Minnesotan climbing Cloud Peak, it continues, even though it's going on 10 days since he made it up there. But they're still hopeful that they're going to find him… however, there has been some confusion over reports of another missing man in Big Horn County, Montana, which is just across the border, who was missing and was found deceased in in the Big Horn River… there was enough confusion over that that the Wyoming Big Horn County Sheriff's Office put out a statement saying, yes, it's not the same guy, and we are still looking.”
The Big Horn County Sheriff’s Office in Wyoming reports Thursday that a full-on search and rescue effort is ongoing for 38-year-old Grant Gardner.
Read the full story HERE.
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A 26-year-old Mexican national whose pickup “catastrophically dismembered” two motorcycle riders in Goshen County two years ago while driving while under the influence of methamphetamine, was sentenced Thursday, to between 24 and 27 years in prison.
In an agreement with prosecutors, Jonathan Cervantes pleaded guilty to two charges, and Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports that District Court Judge Edward Buchanan handed down the maximum sentence.
“To a case this severe, where the investigator himself is using words like catastrophic dismemberment, it sounds light potentially, but the prosecutor said, Well, there's detainers on him from other jurisdictions… at sentencing, Cervantes apologized, and Judge Edward Buchanan said… I don't get the sense that you have weighed the severity of what you've done… but Cervantes interrupted the judge, which is unusual, at that phase, and said, I do understand it perfectly.”
Cervantes is also wanted on felony charges in Colorado and Kansas, on suspicion of illegally re-entering the country (also a felony), and federal authorities have placed a claim on him for deportation proceedings.
Read the full story HERE.
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Huge gouts of smoke rose over the tiny town of Sundance, which sits along a popular Sturgis Motorcycle Rally ride, the Devils Tower loop, as part of what’s become known to rally goers as Wyoming Wednesday.
The smoke is from burning tires - an actual competition that has been taking place for 50 years now, in which riders deliberately burn out their motorcycle tires. Cowboy State Daily’s Renee Jean reports that a Gillette woman won the 50th annual Burnout this week, in part by boldly lifting her top to bare it all to win it.
“The way they choose the winner of the burnout, it's basically crowd appreciation, right? Who cheers the loudest for who. So the crowd, the person who gets the most cheers wins the money, which is considerable. The purse was 750 bucks. So you know, hey, maybe that's worth pulling your top up… the crowd was pretty loud for the fan favorite last year, but so Goodhouse put it over the top, though, when she lifted her top and boy, the crowd just went wild.”
The winner said she’ll definitely be back next year to watch the burnout, though she doesn’t know if she’ll participate again.
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 record-breaking marathon runner - and retired Cheyenne teacher - Brent Weigner. You can find the link to this inspiring and entertaining conversation on our website, on our YouTubechannel, 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.
