It’s time to take a look at what’s happening around Wyoming for Tuesday, September 16th. 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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A Wyoming state legislator and at least one parent say it’s inappropriate to allow a male custodian at a local elementary school to cross-dress on the job and be called by she/her pronouns.
House District 38 Rep. Jayme Lien of Casper lobbied the Natrona County School District board last week regarding this issue. Cowboy State Daily’s Dale Killingbeck reports that Lien’s stated purpose was to ask the school board what is happening with the staff member, and if they are willfully neglecting state law.
“The state rep in Casper, Jayme Lien, appeared at the school board last week voicing concern about a cross dressing custodian who, when kids started the new school year, asked students to call them by she/her pronouns and also dressed as a woman. And previously, this parent is saying her 10 year old knew him as a man. So on Facebook, there is a firestorm that has been created.”
The parent’s Facebook post about the issue drew 430 responses with many supporting her stand and others challenging her for calling out the custodian and raising the issue.
Read the full story HERE.
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Researchers have confirmed the presence of "kissing bugs" that carry a deadly disease in Wyoming.
Kissing bugs can carry a parasite that causes the Chagas disease, which leads to irreparable heart or digestive problems if the disease is not caught and treated early enough.
Cowboy State Daily’s Renee Jean reports that while the Wyoming Department of Health has not yet seen any instances of Chagas in the state, kissing bugs have been confirmed in at least 32 states so far - including right here in Wyoming.
“Its symptoms are kind of similar to the flu, you know, or a cold, fever, aches, pains, we've all had that with various colds. Most people aren't thinking, Oh, maybe I should be thinking about Chagas… There are several species of this kissing bug… they're not going to try to feed on you while you're awake. They wait until you're asleep… The rest of you is probably covered up, right but your face is right there, and the lips are very blood, rich, thin skin, easy for them to get a nice meal. And so hence the name kissing bug.”
The CDC says the parasitic disease is often fatal if not treated, and can linger in a body for years.
Read the full story HERE.
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The first day of fall isn’t for another week, but the first signs of winter can already be seen covering the highest points of Wyoming.
Drivers making the Monday morning commute over Togwotee Pass were greeted by a flurry of light, wet snow near Wind River Lake. Cowboy State Daily’s Andrew Rossi reports that shorter days and longer nights are contributing to snow-friendly conditions.
“Getting snow on Togwotee Pass or on the Beartooth highway, that's not unusual from mid September. I think the thing that stresses people out is, is this the trendsetter? Is this the change that's coming? And from what we're looking at, probably not… that seasonal change where it is going to get colder and snowier probably isn't going to happen for another few weeks. So getting snow at the highest points of Wyoming in mid September, when days are getting shorter, nights are getting longer and temperatures are getting cooler, that's just par for the course in mid-September in Wyoming.”
A dusting of snow has already been spotted in mountain ranges across western Wyoming, and between 1 and 6 inches of snow is expected to fall on the Beartooth Highway between Monday night and Wednesday.
Read the full story HERE.
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The widow of the Wyoming businessman who kick-started Turning Point USA announced a $1 million donation to the organization Sunday, in the wake of group leader Charlie Kirk’s shooting death and his wife’s tearful response.
When at age 18 Charlie Kirk co-founded Turning Point USA, Wyoming philanthropist Foster Friess wrote an early check to the organization for $10,000. Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports that Lynn Friess’ contribution is 100 times larger than that.
“Back in like 2012-ish, we had Foster Friess seeing something in Charlie Kirk, just kind of man to man, I think that there's a spark in you. I'm going to cut the first check to your organization, Turning Point USA, and it was $10,000, and we reported on that. And so now we have an entirely different dynamic post-shooting of widow to widow, where Lynn Friess saw Erika Kirk's just very emotional, very resolved, address to the country a couple days after her husband's death, and she decided, well, since you guys are getting all sorts of new chapters, I'm going to go ahead and cut a million dollar check to support those.”
Charlie Kirk’s podcast producer on Sunday announced that TPUSA received more than 32,000 inquiries over the weekend to start new campus chapters. The University of Wyoming already has a Turning Point USA chapter.
Read the full story HERE.
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I’ll be back with more news, right after this.
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A Laramie County landowner who is against a massive 170-wind turbine project, says the giant wind turbines have a negative impact on earthworms.
Ryan Schneider believes wind turbines create vibrations that could potentially lead to the displacement of earthworms, making them easy prey for birds and other predators, which leads to soil erosion.
Cowboy State Daily’s Jackson Walker reports that Schneider relayed these concerns to the Laramie County Planning Commission, where he was one of among roughly 100 community members who gathered to share their thoughts on the proposed Laramie Range Wind Project, which would bring as many as 170 wind turbines to the area.
“There's actually some scholarly research to back this up, that vibrations created by wind turbines have a negative impact on earthworms, and the abundance of earthworms, as they put it, was more concentrated in the places that was farther away from the wind turbines, the peripherals, rather than closer to it…if the worms are impacted, then that'll impact the birds. And then if the birds are impacted, then it might impact other sides, specifically, too. We talked about insects. And so I guess insects can be disturbed by these as well.”
The commission will ultimately get the final say in whether the project is permitted to proceed.
Read the full story HERE.
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Picture pulling into Evanston, Wyoming, with your side-by-side loaded on a trailer, opening your onX mapping app, and discovering dozens of off-road trails within reach.
But there's a problem: getting to many of these trails means navigating around Interstate 80, which cuts right through town. Cowboy State Daily’s David Madison reports that now, thanks to legislation passed a couple years ago, that barrier is on its way to being lifted.
“In 2023 the legislature recognized… that sometimes ORVers need to get from one side of an interstate to the other… Wyoming Department of Transportation today, they had a hearing announced and took public comment on a new rule change that would implement what this legislation called for. So it's great news if you enjoy ORVing around places like Evanston, which is cut in half by I-80 and now with this new rule, it's going to turn Evanston into a more ORV friendly base camp.”
For ORV enthusiasts studying their maps around Evanston, the rule change promises to unlock connectivity that has long been blocked by I-80's path through the region.
Read the full story HERE.
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Fulfilling the viral “TikTok Door Kick Challenge” by kicking and pounding on people’s doors while wearing ski masks or carrying airsoft guns is a stupid enough idea, but doing it in Wyoming is even dumber.
The Carbon County Sheriff told Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland on Monday that the viral challenge could get someone killed.
“According to Sheriff Alex Bakken, it there this like a lot of forceful pounding and kicking at a homeowner's door, often wearing masks or holding airsoft rifles, airsoft guns, and so all of that, you know, with that reasonable person standard, it can give someone the impression, particularly if they're in some kind of a domestic violence situation or an abuse situation or some other outside threat situation, could give someone this idea like, oh, I, in my reasonable person head, believe that I'm under attack. I'm going to grab my gun.”
Bakken said in a later phone interview that he hasn’t seen these incidents in his county but issued the statement to warn people and fellow law enforcement agencies.
Read the full story HERE.
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A female grizzly bear with two cubs disrupted an ultramarathon in Canada late Sunday, when she charged nearby campers and then followed them.
The Divide 200 race had to be rerouted, but nobody was mauled. Cowboy State Daily’s Mark Heinz spoke to a Wyoming ultramarathon runner, who said that although this incident occurred in Canada, when racing in grizzly country, he always carries bear spray.
“There's a few ultra marathon trail runner races in Wyoming. There's some by Laramie, a huge, world class one in the Bighorns… I spoke to a gentleman who's run quite a few ultra marathons, including some in grizzly country… He said, You just carry bear spray, period, and carry it where you can get to it… like anything else, you got to be prepared for it.”
As more people take to the mountains and forests, the potential grows for conflicts with grizzlies.
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.
