It’s time to take a look at what’s happening around Wyoming for Monday, September 8th. 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.
–
Monday is day three in the trial of a Haitian truck driver accused of slamming into two emergency medical technicians and killing one of them.
The EMT who survived weathered intense questioning Friday in Sweetwater County District Court. Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland was in the courtroom for the testimony of former Carbon County EMT Tiffany Gruetzmacher, who was struck and injured by a semi driven by Haitian national Saviol Saint Jean.
“The one surviving EMT, whose colleague died and who herself was hit and back broken multiple places, skull and neck both fractured, she weathered around two hours of questioning on Friday from the state, and then from the defense, where the defense especially was like, Are you supposed to park where you parked? Are you supposed to park on the other side of the debris? And just she basically said, that is what was in line with my employer's systems. And that is the judgment call we made.”
Saint Jean faces one count of aggravated vehicular homicide, another of aggravated assault and a third of not merging away from emergency vehicles, and could face up to 30 years in prison plus fines if convicted.
Read the full story HERE.
–
Bridger Walker says not all of his sixth-grade schoolmates at Cheyenne Classical Academy are aware of the incident five years ago that led to an appearance with Spider-Man actor Tom Holland on a movie set, and nearly yearly opportunities to hug and high-five boxing legends at the World Boxing Council.
As a 6-year-old, Bridger stood in front of a charging, vicious dog and protected his then 4-year-old sister, Brielle, from an attack. The result was 90 stitches to his face, plastic surgeries and, as Cowboy State Daily’s Dale Killingbeck reports, a turning point in his life that continues to take him places.
“His family really wants to use the situation to communicate about, you know, to be a superhero doesn't mean that you have extraordinary powers, but it means kindness and other things. And both Bridger and his dad have been speaking at different conferences and opportunities over the years. And this fall they are headed to a security conference in Dallas, and they'll speak there, and then, additionally, you know, they're looking to speak at some schools around the state… I asked Bridger, you know, hey, what do you want people to know about you?... And he just goes, I'm a normal kid.”
There may be opportunities this year to speak at Wyoming schools, as well, about the “superpowers” that everyone has. And an action figure modeled after him may be coming in the future.
Read the full story HERE.
–
When the Buffalo Bills played their season opener at home on Sunday night, the Bills Mafia got an assist from a relatively new legion of fans thousands of miles away.
Many football fans in Wyoming have adopted this NFL franchise as their own in the seven years since Josh Allen was drafted as the quarterback for the Bills — and when Cowboy State Daily’s Anna Jackson attended the National Chicken Wing Festival in Buffalo last week, she witnessed first hand the connection between the Buffalo Bills and the Wyoming Cowboys.
“It's all Josh Allen… when he was drafted by the Bills… that was a big deal for the University of Wyoming and the Bills fans… at that festival, I probably saw a handful of people each day in the brown and gold of Wyoming. And I think it's kind of fun for them to mix things up and not wear the Bills gear some days. And it's always Josh Allen, obviously.”
The MVP quarterback deserves the credit for ushering in a new era of Bills fans in Wyoming and beyond.
Read the full story HERE.
–
WyoTech is not only growing its campus and student base, its reputation has taken off as well. Automotive tech grads from the Laramie-based school are coveted like star athletes, to the point that they’re recruited by companies for jobs all over the country.
Cowboy State Daily’s Renee Jean reports that WyoTech grads are making big plans for their futures and heading out to whatever new corners of the world they choose.
“These guys are like, sticking a pin in a map and saying, I'm going to work here, or I want to work there… And the amazing thing to me is these guys are all finding jobs before they graduate, exactly where they want to land and exactly what they want to do… One guy is headed to a Ferrari dealership… Another guy’s headed to Texas, one of the largest Cadillac dealers in the country… They're bringing hundreds of employers from all over the country to these job fairs to talk to these kids about their careers. Some of these companies fly them to their companies for tours, and then get them back in time for dinner that same day. You know, they're just kind of getting the rock star treatment.”
The career and technical school has helped people turn the world into their very own oyster, by giving students the skills and tools to dream big and plant those dreams anywhere in the world they choose.
Read the full story HERE.
–
Aspen Alley in the Sierra Madre Mountains of southern Wyoming isn’t what it once was. And in 2025, it looks worse than ever.
Dennis Faerber, owner of the Aspen Alley Ranch, is fully aware that the iconic grove of aspen trees lining the road, one of the most beautiful autumn spots in Wyoming, is barely a shadow of its former glory. But Cowboy State Daily’s Andrew Rossi reports that Faerber has spent the last few months working to revitalize and renew the famous scenic lane.
“The hard reality is, Aspen Alley had reached the end of its lifetime, at least as their stand of healthy aspen trees. When the current ranch owner bought it, a lot of the trees were diseased and dying, and so he made the choice that in order to ensure that there was a future for Aspen alley, the present would have to suffer, which meant that a lot of the trees have been torn down and ground up, and their remains, if you will, scattered across the ground, because that, that's what's been proven to help new Aspen shoots grow and thrive. And there already are new aspen trees growing… it's going to look great for future generations, and for them, that's the important thing.”
Aspen Alley reached the heights of its former grandeur after 80 years of growth. And while experts are confident that future generations will savor the fruits of their labor, current generations won’t miss out, either.
Read the full story HERE.
–
The future of ranching might rumble across Wyoming's sagebrush on tank tracks, equipped with cameras and sensors instead of spurs and lassos.
At Mississippi State University, researchers have been testing a 4-foot-by-4-foot robotic platform called the Warthog that can herd cattle with surprising effectiveness. Cowboy State Daily’s David Madison reports that the results from the trials suggest that autonomous herding technology could soon supplement traditional cowboys and sheepherders.
“In the cowboy state, it gets people's attention when you talk about the robots coming for their jobs. There's no proof that that's happening yet, but you could say that we're in the research phase. Mississippi State University has tested the Warthog, this All Terrain Vehicle, that is, I don't know about the size of a, I guess, an easy chair, and has wheels that can move around a pasture… of course, cowboys are going to tell you there's no replacement for the a man on a horse… but as a couple of the experts I spoke to said, Never stay never. The technology is learning faster and faster.”
The concept isn't confined to American research labs. In Australia, researchers at the University of Sydney have developed SwagBot, an AI-powered robot that has shown promising results in cattle management.
Read the full story HERE.
–
Wheatland beekeeper Pete Herman is still reeling from an attack that struck in the dead of night. A neighbor informed Herman that their dogs began barking and howling loudly around 11 p.m. Sunday for seemingly no reason. In the morning, Herman visited his bees to discover two of the four hives had been torn open and gutted of their precious honey - by a bear.
Cowboy State Daily’s Jackson Walker witnessed the devastation.
“On Friday, I went to the scene of a terrible crime. I went out to Wheatland, where a beekeeper said… he arrived one morning to see that two of those hives were completely torn apart and gutted of their precious honey. Now I talked to this beekeeper who said he put up an electric fence around the beehives to deter from future bear attacks. However, bears are very persistent in trying to get their honey, and will do anything they can to get at honey. They'll fight through electric shocks. They'll fight through a swarm of angry bees. So even with these precautions up, there's still about a 50-50 chance that the bear could return.”
The attack caused about $1,200 worth of damage and set Herman back about one year worth of beekeeping time.
Read the full story HERE.
–
Three years after rising country music star Luke Bell died, more than two-dozen of the promising Wyoming country artist’s songs are being released to benefit those who struggle with the same depression and darkness that claimed him at the age of 32.
Carol Bell, the Cody singer-songwriter's mother, told Cowboy State Daily’s Dale Killingbeck that proceeds from her son’s official sophomore album, “The King Is Back,” will go to the Luke Bell Memorial Affordable Counseling Program that offers mental health counseling to those who can’t afford it.
“In talking with Luke Bell's mom, Carol, she told me that she was really surprised that there were that many songs out there that hadn't really been released, and they found 28 recordings. She said about half of them, you know, are polished. Half of them not, but they put them in a new double album, and it's going to be a literal album. It's going to be vinyl, and it's going to be released November 7. They've released the first song from that.”
The title song “The King Is Back” features a hard-driving beat, toe-tapping electric and steel-guitars and lyrics maybe meant as a prophesy for what was and could have been if he had overcome his inner demons.
Read the full story HERE.
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.
