It’s time to take a look at what’s happening around Wyoming for Friday, September 5th. I’m Wendy Corr, bringing you headlines from the Cowboy State Daily newsroom… Brought to you by Wyoming Interventional and Vascular Associates. WIVA offers the best solution for treating tired, aching and swollen legs, at Wyoming's only IAC-accredited vein facility. With virtually no downtime and minimal risks, if you’re ready for relief, see what WIVA can do for you. Schedule a consultation at Casper Medical Imaging dot net, forward slash WIVA.
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The vehicular homicide trial for Haitian truck driver accused of killing a Wyoming EMT while driving a New York commercial driver’s license started Thursday in Green River.
Prosecutors accuse Saviol Saint Jean of recklessly plowing a commercial truck into two emergency medical personnel who were responding to a crash on Interstate 80 three years ago — killing one and severely injuring the other. Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland was in court for day one of the trial.
“It's this early morning scenario where this truck and trailer gets jackknifed, and another semi truck plows into the trailer, and another semi swerves around, manages to dodge the collision. Other cars are passing on the right, and Saint Jean allegedly plows into the center of the crash, striking both EMTs as they walked back to their ambulance… the defense is really positing this idea that this was just a chaotic scene… whereas the prosecutor is emphasizing Like, here's how well other truckers reacted, here's how well other drivers reacted.”
The trial is ongoing Friday and into next week.
Read the full story HERE.
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A drilling rig in Sweetwater County punched through nearly 3.5 miles of Wyoming rock, reaching a total vertical depth of nearly 18,500 feet, to complete what's now the deepest Class 6 carbon storage well ever drilled in the United States.
The Sweetwater Carbon Storage Hub, a collaboration between the University of Wyoming's School of Energy Resources and Frontier Infrastructure Holdings, successfully completed drilling operations for its second deep-characterization well last week. Cowboy State Daily’s David Madison explains why this matters.
“Carbon capture has been a priority of the University of Wyoming and industry in Wyoming to get CO two out of the atmosphere so it can't contribute to climate change and to reduce the carbon footprint of private industry. Now this, you know, why go so deep? Well, because it's proven that gasses and liquids can be trapped there for millions and millions of years, and so we take them out when we pull oil and other resources out of the ground. Now, through this well, we'll be putting CO2 back down there. And according to the sources I spoke to, the deeper you go, the more assured you can be that it's going to stay there.”
The partners described the accomplishment as a key milestone in advancing commercial-scale carbon sequestration in Wyoming.
Read the full story HERE.
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The first operational Minutemen III Silo has been taken offline to make way for a $141 billion upgrade to Sentinel missiles, a huge milestone for the nation’s nuclear modernization project.
The decommissioned silo, located at F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne, is a key step in the Air Force’s plan to modernize the land-based portion of America’s nuclear arsenal. Cowboy State Daily’s Renee Jean reports that all MIII missiles will be replaced with a modernized missile, the LGM-35A Sentinel, which is being led by prime contractor Northrop Grumman.
“Decommissioning this silo, that's an opportunity for them to figure out, Hey, Are there parts of this that we can keep and reuse, how? What's the best way to do this? What's the best way to build a new one and get the new missile in place?... But you know, the bigger picture Wendy is just this project is not stuck… decommissioning this silo shows that project is moving full speed ahead.”
The military will continue to meet all ICBM alert requirements for U.S. Strategic Command and the president throughout construction of the Sentinel program.
Read the full story HERE.
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U.S. Rep. Harriet Hageman has assumed a leading role in asserting Congress’s authority to fight crime in the nation’s capital and fix mismanagement by the city’s officials.
However, in an interview with Cowboy State Daily’s Sean Barry on Thursday, the Wyoming Republican said it is premature to determine whether she supports a colleague’s bill to abolish D.C.’s municipal government, and revert to the system of total federal governance that existed prior to 1973.
“The Constitution gives the federal government total authority if they want it. But… Congress and the President in 1973 chose to give some power to the people there to elect their own mayor and council. The reason this is significant is President Trump has used a section of the 1973 law to federalize the police there. He did that last month, and his authority is due to expire in 30 days under the law, but Congress can extend that… Hageman… does support an extension of Trump's authority to take over the Municipal Police Department in Washington… I wanted to ask her several other questions, including whether she supports current legislation to abolish the council and mayor altogether and go back to the Pre 1973 system where federally appointed commissioners ran everything. She would not commit to being for or against that bill.”
In Thursday’s interview, Hageman said officials in Democrat-led, high-crime cities like Chicago should welcome the general principle of D.C.’s police surge.
Read the full story HERE.
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I’ll be back with more news, right after this.
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As football season kicked off on Thursday, fueling the biggest sports gambling season in the nation, the state of Wyoming has a stake in how successful at least one major gambling company fares.
The state treasurer’s office confirmed that the state of Wyoming owns a little less than $111,000 worth of shares in sports gambling company DraftKings as of Wednesday.
Wyoming has been investing in the company for more than two years, but Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland spoke to at least one member of the Wyoming legislature who doesn’t like the idea of the state investing in gambling.
“On the one hand, you have Senator Cale Case like, why are we investing in something that we're also regulating and working on, actually revisiting the tax scheme for and Senator Tara Nethercott, who actually chairs the Capital Finance Committee, was like… We are such a tiny, tiny drop in the bucket for Draft Kings global revenue that anything we do isn't going to influence our investments.”
DraftKings announced it was launching online sports wagering in Wyoming in September of 2021, after the state legislature and Governor approved sports betting. Wyoming was the 13th state to authorize the DraftKings Online Sportsbook.
Read the full story HERE.
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Steep, rugged terrain is slowing down progress for the more than 500 personnel fighting the nearly 16,000-acre Dollar Lake Fire about 40 miles north of Pinedale.
The fire continues to move, however. Cowboy State Daily’s Greg Johnson reports that the blaze is burning southeast along the western edge of the Green River Lakes and within sight of Squaretop Mountain.
“The dollar Lake is only about 31% contained. That doesn't mean that they don't have fire lines around it, that they don't have control over some places, but it is still moving. And it's moving south, southeast, along the western banks of the green Green River lakes, and it's within sight now of Squaretop mountain… they had some rain last week, and that's helped… but it also saturates and gets things wet, gets it muddy, and makes it so they can't take trucks into places where they normally could… the firefighters say it's very steep, very rugged. And even hotshot crews are saying… We can't get in there… if they say it's inaccessible, it's inaccessible because they go everywhere.”
More containment is expected to be announced in the next couple of days, but so far, no structures have been lost.
Read the full story HERE.
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Energy supporters across Wyoming are holding their breath as they wait to see how the Trump administration’s continued steps against offshore, and onshore, wind projects will impact the industry in the Cowboy State.
Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., during a Tuesday cabinet meeting, announced that an “interdepartmental coalition” of Trump administration leaders are now collaborating on an effort to examine risks associated with offshore wind. Cowboy State Daily’s Jackson Walker reports that energy supporters throughout Wyoming are concerned that the Trump administration is preparing for a fight against future wind developments.
“Wyoming being an energy dominant the way that it is, relies heavily on wind. About 20% of the state's power came from wind in 2023, so with this, some people are a little wary that there might be an impact here in the cowboy state. However, I did speak to one resident here in Cheyenne who's a landowner that's going to have a wind development come to their property. They don't think that there's going to be any issue, because offshore wind is obviously way different than domestic wind here in Wyoming.”
While Trump’s latest actions are aimed at offshore projects and haven’t yet been directed toward onshore wind farms, Wyoming insiders believe Wyoming is “absolutely” in the administration’s crosshairs.
Read the full story HERE.
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Former University of Wyoming Cowboys quarterback Josh Allen - and current NFL MVP - led Wyoming to two consecutive eight-win seasons, a Mountain West Championship game appearance in 2016, and two bowl games.
On Nov. 22, Allen will return to War Memorial Stadium for the first time since his 2018 pro day to watch his No. 17 jersey officially retired at halftime of Wyoming's game against Nevada.
Cowboy State Daily’s David Madison reports that the ceremony will mark the first official jersey retirement in Cowboys football history.
“I spoke to a few close watchers, including the voice of the Cowboys, Kevin McKinney, and they recalled some of the great moments. You know, the time that Josh Allen threw up what appeared to be a pick six that he had lit his team down. Well, most quarterbacks would have given up, but Josh Allen actually ran this defender down, hit him so hard that he fumbled the ball into the end zone, thereby creating a touchback and getting the ball back for the Cowboys. So it's moments like that that folks are reminiscing about right now.”
Over his college career, Allen accounted for 5,833 yards of total offense and 57 touchdowns. He was drafted seventh overall by the Buffalo Bills in 2018 — Wyoming's highest-ever draft pick — and won the 2024 NFL MVP award.
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, we check in with Longmire author Craig Johnson. You can find the link to this really entertaining conversation on our website, on our YouTube channel, 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.
