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There's a right and wrong way of doing things. He chose the wrong way.....

Inman 8 14 25

Cowboy State Daily is Wyoming’s largest newspaper with Wyoming’s most experienced journalists. 

<title>Steve Inman: Thursday, August 14, 2025 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Steve Inman: Thursday, August 14, 2025

 There's a right and wrong way of doing things. He chose the wrong way.....

Mac Watson

Daily Video News

It’s time to take a look at what’s happening around Wyoming for Wednesday, June 24th.  I’m Mac Watson

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During a lengthy meeting that grew contentious, the Kemmerer City Council on Monday approved an ordinance establishing regulations for a possible man camp inside city limits. Cowboy State Daily’s Kate Meadows reports that despite resident’s objections, Mayor Robert Bowen says, “The groundwork’s been laid.

“The Kemmerer City Council was adamant at the meeting on Monday that there is no man camp guaranteed. The ordinance just lays this groundwork. One place that has gotten interest from potential developers for a possible man camp is an area near this Antelope Ridge subdivision. Multiple people were at this meeting who live in that subdivision saying we don't want this in our backyard. the main concerns are safety, one woman brought up, you know, when you have people in groups, strange things happen.”

Developers are proposing a temporary hub to house workers who will build the TerraPower nuclear power plant near Kemmerer.

The Wyoming Supreme Court denied a Cheyenne-based attorney’s request for an order appointing a special prosecutor to investigate Secretary of State Chuck Gray for handing sensitive voter data to the federal government on Tuesday. Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports that the high court also denied the attorney, George Powers’ request that it order Wyoming Attorney General Keith Kautz to recuse himself from this investigation since Kautz’s office has reportedly counseled Gray on the voter data transfer.

“George Powers had asked the Wyoming Supreme Court to make the Attorney General's office recuse itself from Fowler's requested investigation of Chuck Gray, and for the High Court to appoint a special prosecutor for that investigation itself. And now, while the Attorney General fired back last week, like we already got special prosecutors to look into this. The high court officially ended the case on Tuesday, saying George Powers, you didn't show that the Attorney General's office had shirked a clear duty here, so we're not going to make the Attorney General do certain things.”

The U.S. Department of Justice last year urged Gray to hand over unredacted voter rolls bearing driver's licenses or partial social security numbers. Gray did so, public records indicate. He’s since said repeatedly that Kautz’s office advised him in this, and approved the release.

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At a meeting in Denver on Tuesday, Wyoming's state engineer said 2026 is “one of the worst, if not the worst, hydrologic years on record.” Cowboy State Daily’s Mark Heinz reports the engineer added it’s due to the dire water situation in the Colorado River's Upper Basin states. 

“There's a representative from each of the four states, which are Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, New Mexico. Our representative is our state engineer, Brendan Gebhart. Bottom line is looking really grim. I think Gebhart said, from a hydrological standpoint, it's one of the worst, if not the worst years we have on record for the Colorado River.  The commissioner from Utah mentioned that there's already towns there that have run out of water and are having to truck it in little towns in Utah.”

Members of the Upper Colorado River Commission expressed frustration during the meeting, saying water-management policy needs to shift away from legal wrangling and toward the realities of water availability. The commission didn’t make any policy decisions, and plans to meet again this summer.

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The Wyoming group that launched a civility movement after the killing of Charlie Kirk has gotten candidates to sign a peacemaker pledge to love their enemies. Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports that includes gubernatorial candidates Eric Barlow and Megan Degenfelder.

“They launched in September after the killing of Charlie Kirk, calling for civility in politics. They, this candidate, see this election season, they released a pledge for candidates to sign if they wish, where they're basically promising to love their enemies, stand on their principles, but not resort to cruelty. And as of Monday, 35 candidates had signed it, including two running for governor.”

Three of the 10 Republican U.S. House candidates have also signed the pledge: Senate President Bo Biteman, former Superintendent of Public Instruction Jillian Balow, and Casper-based veteran Kevin Christensen. U.S. Senate candidate Jimmy Skovgard is also among the signers.

I’ll have more news from Cowboy State Daily right after this.

Cowboy State Daily News continues now….

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Cheyenne’s City Council moved a massive 3,500-acre data center annexation closer to approval Monday night, rejecting an effort to secure a $50 million community benefits agreement. Cowboy State Daily’s Renee Jean reports that Mayor Patrick Collins recently described as “extortion.”

“What are the impacts of that? Councilman Wolf felt that the city should be looking to get more out of the deal, so that it could handle or deal with those impacts, but the council did not agree. There were three votes for such seeking an agreement and the rest were against. It's a nine-member council. The mayor was absent, and so you know that went down to defeat. Some of the councilmen pointed out that they can still seek annexation agreements.”

The tract, roughly one-fifth the size of Cheyenne and adjacent to Microsoft’s existing data centers, is envisioned as a long-term expansion site where it would build its facilities out over the next 10 to 20 years. 

The Yellowstone Volcano Observatory confirmed Tuesday that a hydrothermal explosion occurred in Yellowstone's Biscuit Basin. Cowboy State Daily’s Andrew Rossi reports that Yellowstone authorities say they observed water spouting 30 feet into the air.

“When geologists went out there the next day, they found a 21-foot-wide crater filled with boiling water, a 60 foot long fissure, and several vents that were draining water into the nearby Fire Hole River.  I spoke with Mike Poland, the scientist in charge of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, and he said that this is evidence that these incidents are very shallow and they're very localized, that they only occur in individual thermal features rather than affecting an entire basin.”

Biscuit Basin has been closed since a similar explosion occurred at nearby Black Diamond Pool in July 2024.

Wyoming lawmakers started work on Tuesday to lift the upper limit on county prosecutors' salaries, topping out at $180,000. Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports that the bill would raise Wyoming Supreme Court Justices’ salaries and district court judge salaries as well.

“A lot of these salaries for prosecutors, judges were set like 18 years ago in state law, so that's a hard figure that remains rigid in state law, even as inflation and other factors take off, and so they're having a look at raising those, those amounts, and also maybe tying them to some kind of an escalator that hinges on economic factors like inflation and cost of living.”

If it becomes law, the bill now being drafted would raise Wyoming Supreme Court Justices’ salaries from $187,250 to nearly $225,000, district court judge salaries from $171,200 to almost $202,000, and circuit court judges from $153,700 to $180,000. Those figures would change over time based on economic metrics, as they’d be tethered to federal judge salaries, which have built-in escalators.

A Colorado woman, accused of stealing $2,000 worth of pyrotechnics from Artillery World along Interstate 25 in Cheyenne, is headed to district court. Cowboy State Daily’s Kolby Fedore reports that the woman allegedly drove toward store employees at high speed to avoid being detained.

“61-year-old Sandra Bafia loaded up her cart at a fireworks stand at Cheyenne, and then left without paying. As she was putting the fireworks into her car, two employees tried to stop her. Bafia scratched one employee, and then she pushed off the other one, got into her car, and then turned the car around and drove toward the employees as if to hit them. She missed them. If convicted, Bafia faces up to 10 years in prison. Anything over $1,000 in the state of Wyoming is considered a felony.”

Sandra May Bafia waived her preliminary hearing on Monday in Laramie County Circuit Court, sending the case to district court more than a year after the alleged theft. If convicted, Bafia faces up to 10 years in prison. 

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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 

 - and you can watch this newscast every day by clicking Subscribe on our 

 channel, or listen to us on your favorite podcast app.  Thanks for watching - I’m Mac Watson, for Cowboy State Daily.

News image no play 6 24 26

<title>Cowboy State Daily Video Newscast: Wednesday, June 24, 2026 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Wednesday's headlines include:
* Cheyenne OKs Microsoft Annexation
* Kemmerer Lays Groundwork For Man Camp
* Explosion Creates Boiling Crater In Yellowstone

Cowboy State Daily Video Newscast: Wednesday, June 24, 2026

Heinz mark

Mark Heinz

Outdoors

The situation with the Colorado River is dire, and likely will keep getting worse if the river continues to be managed according to arcane policies, officials representing the four Upper Basin states said Tuesday.

Water-management policy needs to shift away from legal wrangling and toward the realities of water availability, or hydrology, members of the Upper Colorado River Commission said during a meeting in Denver.

The commission didn’t make any policy decisions, and plans to meet again this summer.

At issue is whether the Upper Basin states – Wyoming, Colorado, Utah and New Mexico – can keep meeting downriver demands according to water allocations drawn up under the 1922 Colorado River Compact.

The compact also includes the Lower Basin states – Arizona, Nevada and California – as well as Mexico and numerous Native American tribes.  

The headwaters of the Colorado River are in Colorado. Wyoming’s Green River is one of its main tributaries.

Wyoming and Utah share Flaming Gorge Reservoir. It’s facing a 

 in an effort to replenish desperately low Lake Powell, on the Utah-Arizona state line.

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The conversation must shift from legal wrangling to managing the river according to what nature provides, commission members said.

“As I’ve been saying for years, this is a problem that needs to be settled by hydrology,” said state engineer Brandon Gebhart, Wyoming’s representative on the commission.

“This is one of the worst, if not the worst, hydrologic year on record,” he added.

Longstanding drought conditions across the West, coupled with the unusually dry 2025-2026 winter, have left ranchers, farmers and communities facing tough choices, commissioners said.

“It is dire; the pain is felt in every corner of every state in the Upper Basin, Colorado commissioner Beck Mitchell said.

In Utah, some small towns have already run out of water and are hauling it in, Utah commissioner Gene Shawcroft said.

There have been calls for a “statewide state of emergency” because of drought, he added.

Gebhart said all of Wyoming is also essentially in a state of drought.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Bad News For Ag"}]

At one point, commission executive director Chuck Cullom displayed slides showing aerial photos of agricultural areas in each Upper Basin state.

There was stark contract between widespread greenery in images from 2024, when water was relatively abundant, and those from 2026. This year's photos show far more brownish, dry land and shrunken reservoirs.

Regarding images taken along South Piney Creek in Wyoming, Gebhart said more than just a lack of green crops is at stake.

South Piney Creek ranchers might have to cut back their cattle herds because of a lack of forage, he said.

Mitchell said farmers and ranchers in the Upper Basin states are facing conditions that can’t be ignored.

“In a year like this year, they’re impacted in ways that we can’t imagine sitting in a room in Denver, trying to keep cattle alive, trying to keep crops alive, trying to make it through one more day,” she said.

On one optimistic note, it was reported to the commission projects are underway in each state to curb secondary water losses during crop irrigation. That includes installing more efficient headgates on irrigation canals, and lining canals with concrete or other materials to keep water from leeching into the ground.

Wyoming has roughly $6 million earmarked for such projects, staff reported.

Management of dams and other infrastructure in the Colorado River Basin should be managed for long-term water conservation, Mitchell said.

“When we consistently release more than what is coming into our reservoirs, we drain the system,” she said.

And this is a pivotal year for Colorado River management. Water-use negotiations and infrastructure operations were last updated in 2007, and are up for renewal at the end of 2026.

The Upper Basin can’t be managed in a perpetual cycle of diminishing returns, Shawcroft said.

The effects of drawdowns to feed the Lower Basin accumulate on long-term storage, he said.

“There’s likely to be little to no carryover storage (this year),” he said.

And there will likely be even worse water shortages next year, “Unless we have a Snowmaggedon runoff,” he added.

Green river 6 23 26

<title>Colorado River's Dire Water Picture Expected To Hit Green River Ranchers Hard | Cowboy State Daily</title>

At a meeting in Denver on Tuesday, Wyoming's state engineer said 2026 is "one of the worst, if not the worst, hydrologic years on record" due to the dire water situation in the Colorado River's Upper Basin states. He said Green River Basin ranchers will be hit especially hard.

Colorado River's Dire Water Picture Expected To Hit Green River Ranchers Hard

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily's Feature Reporter, Andrew Rossi.

Andrew Rossi

Public Lands

Another hydrothermal explosion has rocked Yellowstone National Park, only 100 feet from the pool that 

The Yellowstone Volcano Observatory confirmed that a hydrothermal explosion occurred around 5:09 a.m. June 13. When geologists went to evaluate the area the next day, they found a 21-foot-wide pool filled with boiling, silty water, a 60-foot fissure, and water spouting 30 feet into the air.

It was an unexpectedly dynamic event in Biscuit Basin, which has been closed since a similar explosion occurred at nearby Black Diamond Pool in July 2024.

“Black Diamond doesn't seem to have been affected by this event in a major way,” Mike Poland, scientist in charge of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, told Cowboy State Daily. “That’s a sign that these are very shallow events that impact individual features in a very explosive thermal basin.”

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The observatory detected the explosion as soon as it happened. It was even captured on the camera installed in Biscuit Basin to monitor Black Diamond Pool.

When geologists got to the basin the next day, they found several significant changes. For one thing, there was the new 21-foot-wide crater filled with boiling water, which Poland wasn’t surprised to see.

“That’s pretty standard for Biscuit Basin,” he said. “It has a lot of high-temperature water.”

What was more surprising was a 60-foot-long fissure and several new vents.

“All of these vents were draining water into the Firehole River, and geologists found near-boiling waters in most of these vents,” Poland said. “They were draining enough water that the river itself turned a milky-white color for many miles downstream.”

Based on the scene, Poland said the event was a “relatively small” hydrothermal explosion. It occurred in an area with no existing thermal features.

After weeks of observation, the water-filled crater has shown some geyser-like behavior. Water was seen rising as high as 30 feet.

Poland was interested in the longevity of this behavior and all the new features in Biscuit Basin. It’s too early to say whether they’ll be long-lived or peter out over time.

“It’s completely unknown at this point,” he said. “Maybe that (spouting) was caused by a release of the pressure accumulated beneath the surface, or maybe this new pool will end up being a geyser-like feature. Clearly, there was a lot that went on the morning of June 13.”

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Hydrothermal explosions are caused by water rapidly converting to steam. The rapid phase change from liquid to gas releases an enormous amount of energy, as evidenced by the incident at Black Diamond Pool on July 23, 2024.

“It’s a pressure-cooker situation,” Poland said. "When water turns to steam, it expands over 1,000 times. When that happens in a confined space, the space can't hold the rapid expansion of steam and can cause explosions.”

Biscuit Basin has been closed to the public since that day, but sophisticated equipment has been installed so geologists can monitor ongoing activity. Black Diamond Pool has 

 since then, but nothing as significant as the July 2024 event.

wasn’t significant by Yellowstone standards

, Poland is excited about what can be learned from it. It might help him and other geologists, hydrologists, and volcanologists predict the unpredictable.

“One of the problems with studying these explosions is that you really don't know where they're going to occur,” he said. “If you put out a monitoring station, you’re never guaranteed to catch an explosion, and we don’t know of any precursors that might indicate an explosion is imminent.”

This hydrothermal explosion occurred 400 feet from temperature sensors and sophisticated stations installed to monitor seismic and acoustic activity in Biscuit Basin. With this event and “a year’s worth of data,” Poland hopes they might find a potential precursor.

“This explosion happened in the middle of an area of dense monitoring, he said. “We've got an opportunity to dive into all of those data sets and see if there was some change in the system that was detected by the seismic and acoustic monitoring.”

Identifying a precursor to hydrothermal explosions will help keep people safe in Yellowstone and around the world, Poland said. It could inform scientists when a hydrothermal explosion is imminent, or the risk is higher based on temperature, acoustic signals, or some other change in the system.

Such a precursor isn’t known to exist, and Poland isn’t confident they’ll find one, but a prime opportunity to do so just presented itself.

“This was a pretty good situation,” he said. “We had all the monitoring instrumentation in the right place at the right time, lots of data already collected, and no one was threatened by this activity.”

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Since June 13, Biscuit Basin has gotten less explosive. The real question is whether any of the changes will become permanent.

According to Poland, many of the vents opened by the explosion have since dried up. The collapsed crater is still filled with boiling water, but the geyser-like behavior hasn’t been observed since June 18.

“The future of any of these features is really unknown at this point,” he said. “Will they stay boiling or gradually cool down? Was there a change in the heat emission of Biscuit Basin? Those will be the interesting questions going forward."

Meanwhile, other than what Poland described as a “subtle bubble” from the pool’s vent, Black Diamond Pool doesn’t seem to have been impacted.

Poland sees that as evidence of how Yellowstone’s thermal features coexist. While most of Yellowstone’s geysers, hot springs, and steam vents share space with other thermal features, most tend to be separate rather than part of a vast, interconnected system.

“When the 2024 explosion happened, none of the other features in Biscuit Basin changed their behavior,” he said. “This explosion happened 100 feet north of Black Diamond Pool, and it doesn't really seem to have affected it in a major way. That’s a testament to how local all these events are.”

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<title>Explosion Creates 20-Foot Crater of Boiling Water in Yellowstone National Park | Cowboy State Daily</title>

The Yellowstone Volcano Observatory confirmed Tuesday that a hydrothermal explosion occurred in Yellowstone's Biscuit Basin that created a 21-foot-wide pool filled with boiling, silty water, a 60-foot fissure, and water spouting 30 feet into the air.

Explosion Creates 20-Foot Crater of Boiling Water in Yellowstone National Park

Don Day Weather

Sunny in much of Wyoming on Tuesday, chance of rain in the east. Mix of clouds and clear skies overnight, with a chance of rain. Highs from the mid 60s to upper 80s. Lows from near 40 to mid 50s.

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Gradually clearing today with a high near 78 and becoming mostly cloudy overnight with a low near 50 and wind gusts as high as 22 mph.

Mostly sunny today with a high near 82 and mostly clear overnight with a low near 50 and wind gusts as high as 20 mph.

 Gradually clearing today with a high near 79 and partly cloudy overnight with a low near 49.

 Sunny today with a high near 83 and afternoon wind from 11-16 mph. Mostly clear overnight a low near 47 and wind from 12-17 mph.

  Sunny and breezy today with a high near 88 and wind gusts as high as 25 mph. Mostly clear overnight with a low near 48 and wind gusts as high as 26 mph.

Sunny today with a high near 87 and wind gusts as high as 30 mph. Mostly clear overnight with a low near 49 and wind from 12-17 mph.

Sunny and breezy today with a high near 79 and wind gusts as high as 26 mph. Increasing clouds and breezy overnight with a low near 40 and wind gusts as high as 25 mph.

 Gradually clearing today with a high near 83 and increasing clouds overnight with a low near 45.

  Gradually clearing and breezy today with a high near 82 and wind gusts as high as 25 mph. Breezy overnight, becoming mostly cloudy toward daybreak with a low near 44 and wind gusts as high as 22 mph.

 Sunny and breezy today with a high near 77 and wind gusts as high as 26 mph. Mostly clear overnight a low near 43 and wind gusts as high as 24 mph.

  Sunny today with a high near 83 and clearing overnight with a low near 45.

Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park

:  Sunny today with a high near 74 and increasing clouds overnight with a slight chance of rain after 5 a.m. and a low near 38.

Gradually becoming sunny today with a high near 80 and mostly clear overnight with a low near 52 and wind gusts as high as 21 mph.

:  Sunny today with a high near 72 and wind gusts as high as 20 mph. Partly cloudy and breezy overnight with a low near 49 and wind gusts as high as 28 mph.

  Gradually becoming sunny today with a high near 80 and partly cloudy overnight with a low near 51 and wind gusts as high as 22 mph.

  Slight chance of rain, otherwise partly sunny today with a high near 66 and partly cloudy overnight with a slight chance of rain and a low near 49.

  Patchy fog before 9 a.m., chance of rain before noon, otherwise mostly sunny today with a high near 69 and partly cloudy overnight with patchy fog after 3 a.m. and a low near 45.

:  Patchy fog before 9 a.m., mostly sunny today with a high near 71 and partly cloudy overnight with a low near 46.

Gradually becoming sunny today with a high near 70 and wind gusts as high as 20 mph. Partly cloudy overnight with a low near 46 and wind gusts as high as 20 mph.

  Mostly sunny today with a high near 73 and wind gusts as high as 18 mph. Increasing clouds overnight with a slight chance of rain after midnight, a low near 50 and wind gusts as high as 17 mph.

:  Gradually becoming sunny today with a high near 66 and wind gusts as high as 17 mph. Increasing clouds overnight with a low near 46 and wind gusts as high as 16 mph.

  Slight chance of rain after 3 p.m., otherwise mostly sunny today with a high near 78 and mostly cloudy overnight with a chance of rain and a low near 56.

  Slight chance of rain after 3 p.m., gradually clearing today with a high near 78 and mostly cloudy overnight with a slight chance of rain and a low near 50.

  Slight chance of rain after 3 p.m., otherwise partly sunny today with a high near 79 and mostly cloudy overnight with a chance of rain and a low near 56.

  Chance of rain after noon (some storms could be severe), otherwise mostly sunny and breezy today with a high near 75 and wind gusts as high as 30 mph. Increasing clouds overnight with a chance of rain (some storms could be severe), patchy fog after 5 a.m. and a low near 52.

  Chance of rain after noon, otherwise mostly sunny today with a high near 79 and partly cloudy overnight with a chance of rain mainly before 9 p.m. and a low near 48.

  Chance of rain after 3 p.m., gradually becoming sunny today with a high near 75 and wind gusts as high as 25 mph. Mostly cloudy overnight with a chance of rain before midnight and a low near 52.

  Slight chance of rain after 3 p.m., breezy, gradually becoming sunny today with a high near 83 and wind gusts as high as 30 mph. Mostly clear overnight with a low near 48.

  Sunny today with a high near 83 and wind gusts as high as 25 mph. Becoming clear overnight with a low near 48.

  Breezy, gradually becoming sunny today with a high near 83 and wind gusts as high as 25 mph. Mostly clear and breezy overnight with a low near 45 and wind gusts as high as 21 mph.

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<title>Don Day's Wyoming Weather Forecast: Tuesday, June 23, 2026 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Don Day's Wyoming Weather Forecast: Tuesday, June 23, 2026

Wyoming Life

Entertainment

Fifty years ago, the highlight of the Cody Stampede Parade marking America’s bicentennial celebration was a 30-foot-long .30-30 Winchester rifle, dominating a float that also carried legendary Western actor John Wayne.

[{"type":"text","text":"That rifle has been sitting atop a storefront in downtown Cody since. "}]

Everyone loves the giant Winchester, so they might have noticed when it recently suddenly disappeared from the roof where it had been prominently displayed since its trip down Sheridan Avenue decades earlier.

Like John Wayne himself, Cody’s giant Winchester rifle is coming back, better than ever, for another 50 years dominating Cody’s historic downtown.

“We're putting it back to what it was in 1976, as best we can,” said Mike Darby, owner of the Irma Hotel and the giant Winchester. “I can’t confirm or deny what we’re going to do with it, but we’re hoping to have it done by July 3.”

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It’s 1976, and the United States is starting down the barrel of its 200th anniversary. The Buffalo Bill Museum, now the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, decided to add its own ammunition to an already-loaded celebration.

July 4 was selected for the opening of the lavish Cody Firearms Museum. The addition of a massive Winchester collection, on loan from the Olin Corp., made it the world's largest firearms museum at the time.

Adding to the excitement, the museum would be dedicated by the grand marshal of that year’s Cody Stampede Parade: “The Duke” himself, John Wayne.

The Husky Oil Co., founded in Cody in 1938, decided to make its own big contribution to the festivities.

What better to celebrate the bicentennial, Wayne, and the Cody Firearms Museum than with a giant replica of one of the American West’s most iconic firearms?

Denny Shore was the head of Husky Oil’s activities committee at the time. His wife, Sue, remembers it well.

“The theme for the parade that year was ‘Celebrating Winchester: The Gun That Won the West,’” she said. “Denny decided to call the people who make parade floats and asked if they could do a giant Winchester. They said yes, so they did.”

Shore doesn’t remember what company built the humongous rifle, but she remembers when it arrived on a flatbed trailer and was parked in front of her house.

“I loved it,” she said. “I'm a gun nut, and I have a .30-30 Winchester that I always hunted with. I feel like it was my own, and we were sharing it.”

Cody resident and photographer Dewey Vanderhoff was hired by the Olin Corp. to get photos of the parade, Wayne, and the rifle.

“Katy Brown's ‘Buffalo Bill Dollies’ can-can girls danced in front of the big Winchester rifle at its public debut at the airport,” he said. “Everyone was there waiting for John Wayne's ceremonial arrival on a Boeing 727 jet with his entourage and family.”

As the Cody Stampede Parade cruised down Sheridan Avenue, the Winchester was the center of attention. If that wasn’t enough, Wayne was riding on the same float.

Most parade floats quickly disappear when they reach the end of the route, but there was a brighter future for the giant Winchester.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"'Everything Under The Gun'"}]

After its centerpiece moment in the parade, the giant Winchester was stored at the Husky Oil Refinery in Cody.

A few years later, Cody business owner Jack Skates opened Jack's Sports & OK Hardware at 1137 12th St. right next to the Irma. The store came with the giant Winchester on the roof, where it had ended up after leaving Husky Oil.

[{"type":"text","text":"“Their motto was ‘Everything Under The Gun,’” Shore said."}]

While the storefront changed hands multiple times in the next four decades, the rifle stayed right where it was. However, even the gun was under the gun.

Bob Carter owned one of the businesses, The Gunrunner, that occupied the space. He shared some details on the unique rooftop sculpture with 

“It was only constructed for temporary display,” he said. “Some parts were made from cardboard. It held up for many years, but eventually required renovation and replacement with more permanent materials.”

Carter added that the giant Winchester was a replica of a 1968 Winchester 94 Buffalo Bill .30-30 rifle, making all the more appropriate for Cody’s bicentennial celebration.

Any knowledgeable gun owner knows firearms need regular care and upkeep. Even with more permanent parts, 50 years of exposure on a Cody rooftop made the larger-than-life Winchester a little worse for wear.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Giant Gun Restoration"}]

In May, the giant Winchester disappeared from the rooftop of 1137 12th St. It’s now getting some much-needed refurbishment.

Darby said the rifle was acquired by the Irma Hotel when it bought the building it was sitting on in the 1990s.

[{"type":"text","text":"“It came at no extra charge,” he said."}]

On July 4, 1976, John Wayne paraded through Cody with a 30-foot-long Winchester rifle. 50 years later, that rifle was still sitting on a rooftop next to the Irma Hotel until it was temporarily taken down but it will make its glorious return by July 4.

Steve Inman: Thursday, August 14, 2025

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