It’s time to take a look at what’s happening around Wyoming for Thursday, August 14th. 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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A Wyoming legislative committee chair is removing a former speaker of the state House, and one of the state’s foremost public records law experts, from the schedule of an upcoming meeting because of a political column he writes.
Former House Speaker Tom Lubnau writes a column for Cowboy State Daily that is sometimes fiery in tone, and often critical of the Wyoming Freedom Caucus, a group of Republican lawmakers with a social-conservative focus.
Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports that Lubnau, a Republican himself, was removed from the agenda for Thursday's legislative Corporations, Elections and Political Subdivisions Committee meeting.
“Tom Lubnau, besides being former House Speaker, is probably the foremost expert on the Public Records Act in Wyoming… And so he was going to testify, not not for the press, but for the government… And Senator Cale Case let him know here a couple days ago, like, Oh, whoops. Never mind. My co Chairman doesn't want you on there. Your column is problematic. So I reached out to Chairman Christopher Knapp, and he said, Look, this column is beneath a level of civil discourse that I would expect from someone testifying before this committee… Lubnau conversely, was like, I've been testifying before legislative committees since 1986 without issues.”
Lubnau said his political column is a product designed to both entertain and inform people, and its nature doesn’t affect his ability to show decorum at a legislative meeting.
Read the full story HERE.
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A Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office training exercise on Flaming Gorge Reservoir on Wednesday turned into a real rescue for five deputies and a K-9 on board.
The department’s Marine Unit was conducting a joint training exercise near Buckboard Marina with the K-9 division to acclimate the police dogs to being on a boat and the water, when the unexpected happened, according to Cowboy State Daily’s Greg Johnson.
“It was a landing vessel, which means the back end folds down to allow people to get on and off. They were coming in slow, lowered the back end. Lowered it too low, and… the boat took on water, tipped it over, and that's what put them in the water… there was a captain who was in a partially enclosed cabin and a canine because… they were training the dogs to get used to being on a boat in case they ever had to do a water rescue… so one of the canines was on the boat when it tipped over and its leash got tangled, and so it rolled over with the boat, and when its handler noticed the dog didn't come out… He dove in and got it off and got his dog out…. another deputy ran back and made sure that the… captain who was in the cabin, got out.”
Sweetwater Sheriff’s Office Deputy Jason Mower said the result was a “best-case scenario” for having a boat overturned, and added that it highlights the need to always be vigilant and prepared.
Read the full story HERE.
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The recent listing of Wyoming’s expansive Pathfinder Ranches drew a global spotlight for its size at more than 900,000 acres — four times New York City, and bigger than Rhode Island.
Now there’s an even larger ranch for sale, and it’s also in Wyoming. Cowboy State Daily’s Renee Jean reports that a sheep ranch in southwest Wyoming that lies under the shadow of the Wind River Mountains, spanning parts of Sweetwater and Sublette counties, is on the market for just $22 million dollars.
“The Midland ranch in southwest Wyoming… is 1.1 million acres, and a really pretty interesting place, too… This is a third generation ranching family… It was first homesteaded in the, I think, the 1890s. There's an old remnant of a pony express remount operation there, along the Big Sandy on this ranch. It was also a crucial point on the Mormon and Oregon trails.”
The ranch includes a seasonal residence in the Prospect Mountains for summers. There are functional buildings that serve as bunkhouses for ranch hands and barns, shops and corrals made of old weathered wood. With generations of history, the Midland ranch is a landmark in Wyoming.
Read the full story HERE.
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A 55-year-old Casper woman is accused of siphoning money from fundraisers that were meant for her Glenrock client, who suffers from ALS.
Sherri Roberts of Empower Case Management faces an initial hearing Thursday in Douglas Circuit Court on a charge of exploitation of a vulnerable adult - in this case, a 43-year-old Glenrock woman with Lou Gehrig’s disease named Deanna Cotten.
Cowboy State Daily’s Dale Killingbeck reports that police began investigating Roberts after they were alerted by the Wyoming Department of Family Services.
“This case manager had done three fundraisers for her client. And according to the information in the affidavit, those fundraisers, the money from those fundraisers didn't all get where they were supposed to be. They were siphoned off. That's what it appears according to the court document, and now this case manager is facing a charge that could get her 10 years in prison.”
Cotten is a former businesswoman and author who has written about her efforts to live with the disease. In a statement provided to Cowboy State Daily, Cotten said the case highlights how easily trust can be abused, and the importance of knowing how to protect vulnerable individuals from exploitation.
Read the full story HERE.
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I’ll be back with more news, right after this.
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A Montana outfitter is facing a $10,000 fine after he allegedly shot a grizzly bear during spring black bear hunting season, then failed to report the killing to authorities on time.
According to federal law, anyone who kills a grizzly must report it to state and/or federal wildlife agents within just a few days. But Cowboy State Daily’s Mark Heinz reports that outfitter Bryant Mikkelson waited weeks to report killing the grizzly bear on May 27.
“Not clear whether it was unintentionally or not, but he was hunting black bears in kind of northwest Montana, and shot a grizzly bear… he waited two weeks to report it, and that got him into some hot water, because… anybody who kills a grizzly has to report it to either the Federal or State game officials within five days… he was up in a in a small mountain range, the outfitter was, but there are known to be Grizzlies kind of all throughout that area.”
Mikkelson was charged with failing to report the taking of a grizzly bear. He made a plea agreement with prosecutors, who recommended that he be fined $10,000 and sentenced to one year of probation.
Read the full story HERE.
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A person has been arrested in connection with a gunshot death in July at F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne.
21-year-old Brayden Lovan died in a shooting on July 20 that remains under military police investigation. Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports that the scope of the investigation includes looking into the Sig Sauer M18 pistol – a model that has been under scrutiny for reports of unintentional firings.
“They did not give a name. They did not say which court, if it's a court martial or Federal proceeding. They say that the person was arrested on suspicion of involuntary manslaughter and making a false statement and obstructing justice, and that this is the fruit of progress in the investigation, after initial reports prompted an investigation into the gun.”
Lovan was a defender assigned to the 90th Security Forces Squadron, 90th Security Forces Group. Officials say the investigation is ongoing, and further details are not available.
Read the full story HERE.
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Sharp-eyed Buffalo Bills fans weren’t mistaken when a Wyoming-themed banner appeared on their screens during the team’s first preseason game against the New York Giants on Saturday.
Complete with the famous UW bucking horse logo, the targeted branding of the brown and gold continues a campaign of drawing attention to the university through its most famous alum, Bills quarterback and reigning NFL MVP Josh Allen. That’s according to Cowboy State Daily’s Jackson Walker.
“The University of Wyoming on Tuesday announced a partnership with the Buffalo Bills, and it's going to feature a lot of University of Wyoming branding and messaging throughout the 2025 and 2026 NFL season. And what's really cool about this partnership is that they're specifically targeting western New York State students to come to the University of Wyoming… the University told me that it received 43 students from New York in last year's class, and they are hoping on increasing those numbers in subsequent years.”
The partnership, which builds on momentum from UW’s 2025 Super Bowl ad, will see the school promoted across several in-stadium and digital marketing assets. UW will also be named the official home game sponsor of the Bills’ Nov. 16 game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Read the full story HERE.
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It takes an act of Congress and a lot of bipartisan support to rename a post office. In Shoshoni, Wyoming, that honor was just bestowed upon Dessie Bebout as her family, local community and politicians gathered to honor the rededication of the town’s U.S. Post Office building in her name.
On Wednesday, her family was joined by members of Wyoming’s Congressional Delegation, local officials and scores of townspeople at Shoshoni High School for the renaming. Cowboy State Daily’s Jackie Dorothy attended the event.
“The unusual thing about naming the post office after Dessie is that when you look at the post offices that are dedicated, it's to people like Bob Hope, Walt Disney, national figures, and here in Shoshoni, we named it after a local post mistress. Very unique, and that is the Wyoming spirit… The entire family gathered, and especially her three children, Eli and Nick Bebout and Ruby Calvert. They were there talking about their mother and really proud of the legacy she has left our state.”
Bebout was called a trailblazer who was an advocate for education, veteran and a postmistress for 13 years in Shoshoni, Wyoming, living to age 102 before she died in 2023.
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.
