It’s time to take a look at what’s happening around Wyoming for Monday, August 24th. 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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Just as hundreds of wildland firefighting crews are getting a handle on multiple fires in the Bighorn Basin of northern Wyoming, spots in the tinderbox-dry Bridger-Teton National Forest are blowing up.
Cowboy State Daily’s Greg Johnson reports that a new large and dangerous fire has flared up in the Star Valley about 4 miles south of Smoot, prompting an hourslong closure of Salt River Pass along U.S. Highway 89.
“Just as fire crews are getting a handle on these fires that are burning in the Big Horn Basin, especially… the 125,000 acre Red Canyon fire that that is now 75% contained… the Dollar Lake fire is burning. It was discovered Thursday, it was only about 20 to 30 acres. It blew up to about 17 or 1800 by Friday, and now it's about 10,000 acres… it's still 0% contained… and it's kind of running east toward square top… with that going on, another fire is blowing up in Star Valley, only about four miles south of Smoot. It's about 4000 acres as of Saturday evening.”
There are 61 firefighters on the Willow Creek Fire near Smoot and more are on the way. Officials also warn looky-loos not to impede traffic on Highway 89, noting that watching a wildfire isn’t safe or an appropriate spectator activity.
Read the full story HERE.
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Last year, the Shoshoni police department issued 2,372 speeding tickets. If you were to divide that into its population of 630, it’s the annual equivalent of about four speeding tickets for every man, woman and child in this mile-wide town.
Of course, these citations are not going to local residents. They’re doled out among the 3.4 million out-of-town travelers who pass through each year. Cowboy State Daily’s Zakary Sonntag rode along with Chief Chris Konija last week.
“He is right at the forefront of an institution that is known as Wyoming's foremost speed trap. And… I got to ride along, sit in the car, watch the radar climb, and then when someone speeds, they're right out on their tail, and those tickets come out fast… and it happens all day long… So it is, you know, it makes it wonder, are these speeding tickets really changing behavior? Because that's the goal. That's what they say. We want to slow down the traffic.”
Konija seems to genuinely believe that the town can cite its way to robust public safety. With enough citations given, he says, the message will eventually reach all drivers: When you arrive in Shoshoni, you better slow down.
Read the full story HERE.
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A death Saturday morning on Honor Farm Road just north of Riverton brought at least a dozen law enforcement vehicles and prompted an hourslong investigation.
Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland arrived on the scene around 7 a.m. Saturday, where officers had discovered the dead body of a juvenile male who had apparently been stabbed.
“Fremont County Sheriff's deputies and Riverton Police Department officers responded like early, like 4am to Honor Farm Road - now that stretches alongside the prison farm… I was there while they were processing the scene… I watched them bag up a Nike shoe, a lot of fabric. They took copious photos. And then lastly, they they put the youth on a gurney, and the coroner took custody of the body… the sheriff's office on Saturday said… a lot of the witnesses and the suspects fled before investigators got there.”
The investigation revealed that a large group of males who were familiar with each other had had a physical altercation, in which the juvenile was stabbed fatally. No one is in custody as of Saturday afternoon, but law enforcement reports that the incident was specific to those involved and not a random act.
Read the full story HERE.
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The Minutemen missiles under F.E. Warren’s control have been ready for blast-off, every second of every minute of every hour of every day for decades, in the rural fields of Wyoming, Colorado and Nebraska.
And for anyone who has ever wondered what happens in the underground bunkers that house the controls to the nation’s nuclear arsenal, Cowboy State Daily’s Renee Jean was given an extremely rare opportunity to tour one of the underground capsules from which America’s missiles would be launched - if they are ever needed.
“They built this stuff in the 60s and the 70s… So to me, it felt a lot like I'm on this time travel trip. The elevator could be a TARDIS… And then you get down there, and it's dark and it's dungey, and you step on the floor… and there are shock absorbing equipment under there, because if there's an earthquake or an above ground attack, to try to get at these bunkers which have been hardened against attack… And then the air, they keep it dry… And it didn't taste good, you know, it was kind of dank and musty tasting… There's big blast door that you have to open the elevator there… and then everything in there is just really old.”
The cost of repairs and updates is driving replacement of the Minutemen system, as well as the sense that the nation’s overall technology will be outstripped by adversaries like China and Russia. The planned installation of the new LGM-35A Sentinel system is estimated to cost around $141 billion dollars.
Read the full story HERE.
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Nobody wants to hit an animal with a vehicle, but there are certain animals you definitely don’t want to hit. A mule deer will bend a bumper, but a cow could literally cost you an arm and a leg — or even your life.
Cowboy State Daily’s Andrew Rossi reports that size and speed matter, particularly when it comes to the survivability of a livestock-vehicle collision.
“I think when most people are driving on highways, they're more concerned about hitting prong horn and mule deer than they are hitting cows. But hitting a cow shouldn't be underestimated, because a mule deer, most will weigh around 200 pounds. Cows weigh around 1000 pounds. And speaking to body shop owners who have worked on vehicles that have been hit by cows, they describe it it's like hitting a brick wall… they couldn't think of a vehicle that wouldn't be shredded apart and torn to pieces by a cow strike.”
Hitting a cow is extremely dangerous, expensive, and life-threatening - and drivers should not underestimate cows and the possibility of running into one when driving through Wyoming.
Read the full story HERE.
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For nearly two decades, Darren Clifford fought wildland fires on the front lines, enveloped by smoke, heat and flames as he used shovels to build fire lines.
However, his career fighting these fires has come to an end after years of battling wildfires fought back. Now 42 years old and living in Lander, Clifford needs a lung transplant. But Cowboy State Daily’s Jackie Dorothy reports that he’s channeled that passion for fighting wildfires into keeping people informed about wildfires, through his “Caught The Fire Bug” Facebook page.
“When he was medically discharged because of smoke inhalation that led to his lungs being severely damaged, he wasn't ready to give up this love, this passion he had for fighting fires. So what he did is he turned to his computer and started sharing ‘Catch the Fire Bug’… he's sharing the fires that are happening across America, and he is also offering advice and his expertise to those that want to prevent these fires from happening in their own backyard.”
Clifford said that he is among an alarming number of wildland firefighters who have been medically discharged and now suffer severe issues from exposure to toxins in the smoke.He hopes that a solution can be found to help those still fighting fires and keep them on the job longer than he was able to stay.
Read the full story HERE.
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After the Cowboys football season ends this fall, a key University of Wyoming Plaza fixture across the street from War Memorial Stadium will go into a renovation mode - one floor at a time.
But when it returns to full operations as the university’s Class of 2027 prepares to graduate, the Hilton Garden Inn in Laramie will have rebranded itself as the UW-themed Graduate by Hilton Laramie. Cowboy State Daily’s Greg Johnson reports that the renovation will be a whimsical rework and upgrade of the campus hotel.
“They're going to transform this hotel into what's called a Hilton graduate hotel. It's owned by a foundation, and it's one of three hotels that they own that all the money that they make is given to charities… This hotel is going to be transformed to to really associate itself with the University of Wyoming. It's going to have a western feel, that's what I'm being told. There's going to have Western art and just a real identity that puts this hotel as part of the University of Wyoming's campus.”
The Pulte Family Charitable Foundation, a nonprofit group dedicated to supporting humanitarian works worldwide, owns the hotel and is reimagining the property as an over-the-top UW utopia.
Read the full story HERE.
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Beef tallow is gaining popularity as a skin care treatment, but slathering it on while vacationing in Yellowstone National Park or anywhere in grizzly country could get you mauled.
Grizzlies have a keen sense of smell, many times better than that of dogs - and a retired federal ecologist told outdoors reporter Mark Heinz that if the wind is right, it’s likely a grizzly could smell a hiker with beef tallow moisturizer from 5 miles away.
“The jury is still out on how effective they are… they're really packed with a lot of vitamins that are good for your skin… what I heard from bear biologists was absolutely not… it's cow fat, and that's like ice cream for bears… if you're using a beef tallow skincare routine. Don't do it if you're planning on going into grizzly country, because you're essentially turning yourself into a walking piece of bear bait.”
From a grizzly’s perspective, somebody oiled up with beef tallow would be like putting out a bucket of buttered popcorn at the movies — an invitation to chow down.
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.
