Daily Smile

[{"type":"text","text":"Happy duck excited to see puppy friends...."}]

Smile 10 2 25

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

<title>Daily Smile: Thursday, October 2, 2025 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Happy duck excited to see puppy friends....

Daily Smile: Thursday, October 2, 2025

 Happy duck excited to see puppy friends....

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily's managing editor, Greg Johnson.

Greg Johnson

Crime & Courts

Law Enforcement

CHEYENNE — A 57-year-old Cheyenne woman has been arrested on suspicion of first-degree murder in the death of a newborn baby boy found discarded near a Laramie County intersection 38 years ago.

Eva Martinez would have been 18 on Feb. 28, 1988, when Laramie County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a call at Happy Jack Road and McKinney Drive just southwest of the boundary for F.E. Warren Air Force Base, the LCSO says in a Wednesday report announcing the resolution of the cold case.

Martinez was arrested Tuesday, the agency reports.

The newborn baby — who became known as Baby John Doe — was “abandoned, unclothed, deceased … discovered near the roadway,” the report says.

“An autopsy concluded that the baby was a fully developed, full-term, 6.5-pound baby,” according to the report. “The autopsy found no evidence of significant injury, congenital anomaly, or disease.”

It also was determined that the baby was born alive and remained alive for “an amount of time due to air being in the baby’s lungs and stomach,” the report says.

However, at the time the cause and manner of the boy’s death were undetermined.

Over the next 38 years, the LCSO continued to investigate the death as a potential homicide and “followed up on numerous leads.”

Along the way, technology advanced and the agency continued to use DNA testing in an attempt to identify the baby’s parents, efforts that “proved unsuccessful,” the agency reports.

A break in the case came in 2021 when the LCSO partnered with Othram Inc., a laboratory that specializes in forensic genetic genealogy.

“Othram’s work on the case identified several individuals who were potentially related to Baby John Doe, which helped further the investigation,” the LCSO report says.

That led to the identification and arrest of Martinez.

The Laramie County Coroner’s Office and Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation also helped resolve the case.

This is a developing story and will be updated as more information is available.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":" "}]

Eva Martinez 6 10 26

<title>Cheyenne Woman Faces First-Degree Murder In 1988 Death Of Newborn Boy | Cowboy State Daily</title>

A Cheyenne woman was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of first-degree murder in the death of a newborn baby boy found discarded near a Laramie County intersection 38 years ago. “The baby was a fully developed, full-term, 6.5-pound baby,” authorities report.

Cheyenne Woman Faces First-Degree Murder In 1988 Death Of Newborn Boy

The Carbon County Sheriff’s Office deputy who was shot multiple times by a suspect in Baggs, Wyoming, on Monday remains in critical condition, but is improving, Sheriff Alex Bakken reports.

Sgt. Zach Burns was in the area Monday when dispatchers relayed information about a suspect in an active shooting incident, Bakken says in a Wednesday morning update on the event.

“Sergeant Burns located the suspect vehicle and initiated a traffic stop in front of a small apartment complex in Baggs,” Bakken says. “Upon coming to a stop, the suspect immediately exited his vehicle and opened fire on Sergeant Burns with a semiautomatic rifle.”

Burns took bullets to the neck, arm and hip, the sheriff says in the report.

The suspect — who so far has not been named by law enforcement but 

“The suspect proceeded to set fire to the apartment building before getting back in his vehicle and fleeing northbound on Highway 789,” Bakken wrote.

The sheriff also confirmed reports from Baggs residents who told Cowboy State Daily that neighbors of the apartment building rushed to help Burns.

“Residents of Baggs immediately rushed to provide aid to Sergeant Burns until EMS crews could arrive, providing cover and emergency wound treatment,” Bakken says in the report.

Burns was taken by helicopter ambulance “to a trauma center in Colorado, where he is expected to pull through,” the report says. “He remains in critical but improving condition.”

As for the suspect, he was “killed in a shootout with Carbon County deputies on Highway 789 after fleeing the scene,” the sheriff continued. “The investigation is ongoing and being conducted by the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation.”

A Tuesday Cowboy State Daily message to the Carbon County Coroner’s Office requesting an identification and official cause of death for the suspect hasn’t been answered.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"WHP Trooper Also Took Fire, Not Hurt"}]

During that shootout that ended in the death of the suspect, a Wyoming Highway Patrol trooper also took gunfire, but wasn’t injured, the agency reports.

“Our thoughts, prayers and hopes go out to the wounded Carbon County deputy who was struck in the shooting yesterday in Baggs,” says the WHP’s Tuesday report.

“While responding to the incident, one of our troopers was fired upon,” it continues. “The trooper’s patrol vehicle was struck, but the trooper was not injured. He is currently at home with family.”

It’s not clear how many deputies or other law enforcement officers were involved in the shootout with the suspect or how many times the suspect was hit.

Linda Fleming, a lifelong Baggs resident who was the town’s mayor for a time in the 1980s, called Monday’s deadly shootouts “something tragic” that also highlights the hero spirit of first responders.

 Baggs residents rushed in to help Burns, possibly saving his life.

“The most immediate (heroes) were the neighbors who rallied for that deputy,” she told Cowboy State Daily on Tuesday morning.

“It’s just what we do,” she continued. “We don’t have any local police, so people help and don’t give it a second thought.”

She also said that while violent episodes like Monday’s have become rare for Baggs, that wasn’t always the case.

“I was mayor in the ’80s when we had a pretty serious drug problem at that time,” Fleming said. “But we didn’t have anything like the shooting of a police officer.”

Zach Burns 6 10 26

<title>Deputy Who Took Multiple Bullets In Baggs Shootout Is Critical, Improving | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Sgt. Zach Burns has been identified as the Carbon County deputy who took multiple bullets in a shootout with a suspect in Baggs on Monday. He’s in critical condition but improving, the sheriff reported Wednesday.

Deputy Who Took Multiple Bullets In Baggs Shootout Is Critical, Improving

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily's general assignment reporter, Clair McFarland.

Clair McFarland

Government & Politics

Politics

Three of the Republicans hoping to become Wyoming’s next governor answered questions at a Tuesday forum in Cheyenne that were tailored to, and delivered in front of, a largely Christian audience.

Wyoming Family Alliance, an advocacy group that emphasizes Biblical principles and Christian ideals, also hosted U.S. House and U.S. Senate candidates at the forum.

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder, retired Marine Col. Brent Bien, and former state House Speaker and current Sen. Eric Barlow took the stage in the packed Metropolitan in downtown Cheyenne.

Wyoming Family Alliance president Nathan Winters posed questions about parental rights and autonomy, the role of faith in governance, education, abortion and religious freedom.

The governor’s candidates displayed minor policy and philosophical differences - yet greater disparities in tone.

Bien spoke in bold tones, pulled from his past experiences in active duty in Bagdad and elsewhere, and called for Wyomingites and every level of government to wage war on evil and usher in a revival of good.

Degenfelder, assertive in tone, pointed to what she cast as her own strong Christian faith, her studies of the Bible, her Wyoming roots and work as superintendent.

Barlow, the most conversational in tone, leaned on his work in the Legislature, spoke of his faith in personal terms as a matter of daily living, and brought an edge of pragmatism to the highly idealistic debate.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"On Abortion"}]

A rare policy difference between the three candidates surfaced when Winters asked a question about whether abortion ends a human life, and whether the candidates would support any exemptions to an abortion ban.

All three candidates agreed that abortion ends a life. Degenfelder and Bien said they wouldn’t accept any exceptions.

“I can’t accept any exception when it comes to life,” said Degenfelder, adding that a Jan. 6 decision by the Wyoming Supreme Court - proclaiming that abortion is a health care right - “has gotten it wrong.”

Bien said, “I unequivocally support zero, no exceptions, all the way across the board.”

When serving in Iraq, said Bien, a 6-year-old child had been shot in the head. He and his fellow service members were trying to get the kid to Bagdad in the middle of the night, but he bled out, said Bien. He said he was pro-life before that, but, reflecting on how dependent even 6-year-olds are on their parents, he said, “something about that made me absolutely resolute.”

Barlow said in his heart, he would not want exceptions to an abortion ban- except possibly an exception to spare the life of a mother in a medical emergency. But he warned that the Legislature gets messy when crafting laws.

“I believe in life and I voted multiple times for life in the Wyoming Legislature,” he said.

Some of the many abortion bans and restrictions Wyoming has tried to pass since 2022 contained exemptions, like abortion allowances for women who’ve suffered rape or whose unborn children are a product of incest.

That’s because the Legislature is a collaboration between numerous people, Barlow said.

“Because in the legislative process, you actually have to bring people on board. You actually have to advance policy,” said Barlow.

The governor’s role on abortion policy is limited. He or she can sign, passively enact, or veto abortion legislation. But, more pivotal right now, he or she chooses the state Attorney General - who then defends Wyoming in abortion litigation from pro-choice groups.

The state has been facing - and losing - abortion lawsuits for about four years. It is taking a fresh start now under the leadership of Wyoming Attorney General Keith Kautz, who has said in court that his office seeks to bring evidence that a state ban on abortion is justified. It’s a high bar given the court’s broad protections of abortion, but technically not impossible under the legal definition of those protections. To overcome those protections, the government would have to show a compelling state interest for a ban, and that its ban is narrowly tailored to meet that interest. 

Deciding Who Leads The University Of Wyoming

Winters asked about how a governor should approaching choosing trustees to lead the University of Wyoming.

Minor differences between candidates emerged here as well.

Degenfelder said UW should return to its rightful mission of being a land-grant university and feeding the Wyoming economy and job demands in useful and meaningful ways, rather than educating people for “women’s studies” and “careers that don’t exist.”

It’s time to find efficiencies in the university’s workings as well, she indicated.

She talked of her work to help rid the institution of diversity equity and inclusion (DEI) practices, and her own time at UW and as a member of the College Republicans.

Barlow said people ask him the UW trustee question a lot while he’s on the road.

In choosing trustees he’d emphasize finding people of character, he said.

“People who actually have a heart, and an ear for Wyoming. Who will listen to the interests and needs of… Wyoming’s people,” he continued. “And who abide by the constitution” and work well with other people.

UW is so “foundational,” he added, the Wyoming Constitution carves out its existence.

Community colleges, the K-12 school system, and industries all work in conjunction with UW as well, he said.

“UW may be a culmination for many folks,” said Barlow. “But there are many other opportunities” outside of UW as well.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"Elect Them"}]

Bien said he’d like to see UW trustees face election, rather than the governor’s appointment process - but that that would require a change to the state Constitution.

He said he graduated from UW’s college of engineering in 1991.

“Since then, things have changed a lot, and I have not been pleased,” he said. Like Degenfelder, he expressed dislike toward the more modern-social-movement degrees available and urged UW to “get back to our roots.”

He’d appoint people who understand Wyoming’s job needs, show leadership, and “understand what this state is all about,” said Bien, adding that they should also be people of sound moral judgment.

He said he’d like to strive for UW to be a top institution in the nation.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"The American Library Association"}]

Winters asked a question about a decision that falls uniquely under the purview of the Wyoming governor: whether Wyoming’s state librarian should be in league with the American Library Association.

The Montana State Library cut ties in 2023 with the American Library Association over the ALA president of the time self-identifying as a Marxist.  

The group has also garnered controversy for touting and defending sexually explicit books that are marketed toward kids and youth.

Montana was the first state to break from the 147-year-old organization.  

Unlike Montana, Wyoming doesn’t have a state library board, rather, a state library director under the governor’s direction.

 when Cowboy State Daily pressed the state library director and the governor’s office on the issue after Montana’s break from the ALA.

“My hat’s off to Montana,” said Bien at the Tuesday event. “We stop funding anything that promotes any type of hypersexualization.”

Degenfelder said that by taking ALA book suggestions in libraries and schools, Wyoming has let an organization that had been led by a Marxist determine material in them, and that that system is “broken.”

She agreed with Bien that the state shouldn’t pay dues to that group, and said state leaders should take the issue further, by equipping school boards with policy guidance, and letting parents know what problematic materials are in the libraries now.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"Barlow pointed to the power of the purse."}]

Though the Legislature determines the state’s budget, the governor starts that process by proposing the budget, and he also can line-item veto certain provisions in the final budget.

“And then… there’s that red pen that says, nope, we’re not doing this,” he said. Certainly, he added, the governor can direct one person under his purview to do something or not do it. But the budget is a bigger tool, and “you hold (agencies) accountable to it.”

He also emphasized the need for parents’ to be involved in their children’s library access, and said he’d encourage that as governor.

Gov debate 6 9 26

<title>How Wyoming Gov Candidates Handled Questions From The Christian Lobby | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Gubernatorial candidates Eric Barlow, Brent Bien, and Megan Degenfelder fielded questions on Tuesday at a forum in Cheyenne before a largely Christian audience. Policy differences emerged on abortion, university leadership, and library policy.

How Wyoming Gov Candidates Handled Questions From The Christian Lobby

Coy Knobel

Don Day Weather

Sunny, windy in much of Wyoming on Wednesday with a chance for afternoon rain in some areas. Breezy, with a chance of rain overnight. Highs from the mid 50s to low 80s. Lows from the low 20s to near 50.

Red flag fire warning until 8 p.m. tonight. Sunny and windy today with a high near 76 and wind gusts as high as 50 mph. Partly cloudy and windy overnight with a slight chance of rain after midnight, a low near 41 and wind gusts as high as 50 mph.

Sunny and windy today with a high near 74 and wind gusts as high as 46 mph. Mostly clear and windy overnight with a low near 39 and wind gusts as high as 44 mph.

 Sunny and very windy today with a high near 70 and wind gusts as high as 55 mph. Mostly clear and very windy overnight with a low near 35 and wind gusts as high as 55 mph.

 Sunny and breezy today with a high near 64 and wind gusts as high as 45 mph. Mostly clear and breezy overnight with a low near 30 and wind gusts as high as 45 mph.

  Sunny and windy today with a high near 71 and wind gusts as high as 44 mph. Mostly clear and windy overnight with a low near 36 and wind gusts as high as 45 mph.

Sunny and windy today with a high near 62 and wind gusts as high as 40 mph. Mostly clear and windy overnight with a low near 26 and wind gusts as high as 40 mph.

Sunny and windy today with a high near 59 and wind gusts as high as 43 mph. Mostly clear and windy overnight with a low near 25 and wind gusts as high as 44 mph.

 Increasing clouds and windy today with a high near 61 and wind gusts as high as 34 mph. Breezy, gradually clearing overnight with a slight chance of rain before 8 p.m., a low near 30 and wind gusts as high as 33 mph.

  Sunny and windy today with a high near 61 and wind gusts as high as 44 mph. Mostly clear and windy overnight with a low near 23 and wind gusts as high as 41 mph.

 Slight chance of rain after 4 p.m., increasing clouds and windy today with a high near 56 and wind gusts as high as 46 mph. Partly cloudy and windy overnight with a chance of rain and snow mainly before 8 p.m., a low near 32 and wind gusts as high as 44 mph.

  Slight chance of rain after 3 p.m., increasing clouds and windy today with a high near 60 and wind gusts as high as 38 mph. Breezy, gradually clearing overnight with a chance of rain and snow gradually ending after 8 p.m., a low near 27 and wind gusts as high as 34 mph.

Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park

:  Chance of snow and rain, otherwise partly sunny today with a high near 49 and wind gusts as high as 30 mph. Partly cloudy overnight with a slight chance of rain and snow before 7 p.m., a low near 24 and wind gusts as high as 21 mph.

Sunny and windy today with a high near 75 and wind gusts as high as 38 mph. Partly cloudy and windy overnight with a slight chance of rain before 8 p.m., a low near 39 and wind gusts as high as 34 mph.

:  Chance of rain mainly after 2 p.m., increasing clouds and breezy today with a high near 68 and wind gusts as high as 38 mph. Breezy, gradually becoming mostly clear overnight with a chance of rain mainly before 7 p.m., a low near 41 and wind gusts as high as 31 mph.

  Mostly sunny and windy today with a high near 70 and wind gusts as high as 41 mph. Partly cloudy and windy overnight with a chance of rain, a low near 42 and wind gusts as high as 44 mph.

  Chance of rain mainly after 3 p.m., otherwise mostly sunny and breezy today with a high near 66 and wind gusts as high as 33 mph. Breezy, becoming mostly clear overnight with a chance of rain, a low near 41 and wind gusts as high as 33 mph.

  Rain likely, increasing clouds today with a high near 66 and wind from 8-16 mph. Mostly cloudy overnight with a chance of rain, a low near 39 and wind from 14-18 mph.

:  Rain likely, increasing clouds today with a high near 65 and wind from 8-16 mph. Mostly cloudy overnight with a chance of rain and a low near 41.

Increasing clouds and breezy today with a high near 71 and wind gusts as high as 31 mph. Partly cloudy and breezy overnight with a chance of rain after midnight, a low near 40 and wind gusts as high as 32 mph.

  Mostly sunny and breezy today with a high near 73 and wind gusts as high as 33 mph. Breezy, becoming clear overnight with a low near 43 and wind gusts as high as 31 mph.

:  Mostly sunny today with a high near 73 and wind gusts as high as 25 mph. Partly cloudy overnight with a slight chance of rain after midnight, a low near 39 and wind gusts as high as 28 mph.

  Red flag fire warning until 9 p.m. tonight. Sunny and windy today with a high near 84 and wind gusts as high as 45 mph. Breezy, gradually becoming mostly clear overnight with a low near 50 and wind gusts as high as 40 mph.

  Red flag fire warning until 9 p.m. tonight. Sunny and windy today with a high near 80 and wind gusts as high as 45 mph. Partly cloudy and windy overnight with a low near 47 and wind gusts as high as 45 mph.

  Sunny and windy today with a high near 73 and wind gusts as high as 39 mph. Partly cloudy and breezy overnight with a chance of rain, a low near 39 and wind gusts as high as 36 mph.

  Red flag fire warning until 9 p.m. tonight. Sunny and windy today with a high near 79 and wind gusts as high as 45 mph. Mostly clear and breezy overnight with a low near 45 and wind gusts as high as 35 mph.

  Sunny and windy today with a high near 70 and wind gusts as high as 45 mph. Partly cloudy and breezy overnight with a low near 40 and wind gusts as high as 40 mph.

  Red flag fire warning until 9 p.m. tonight. Sunny and breezy today with a high near 84 and wind gusts as high as 35 mph. Breezy, becoming mostly clear overnight with a low near 48 and wind gusts as high as 30 mph.

  Sunny and windy today with a high near 69 and wind gusts as high as 50 mph. Partly cloudy and windy overnight with a low near 38 and wind gusts as high as 50 mph.

  Sunny and windy today with a high near 71 and wind gusts as high as 50 mph. Partly cloudy and windy overnight with a low near 36 and wind gusts as high as 40 mph.

  Sunny and breezy today with a high near 75 and wind gusts as high as 40 mph. Mostly clear and breezy overnight with a low near 37 and wind gusts as high as 40 mph.

Daycap small 6 10 26

<title>Don Day's Wyoming Weather Forecast: Wednesday, June 10, 2026 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Don Day's Wyoming Weather Forecast: Wednesday, June 10, 2026

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily's business and tourism reporter, Renée Jean

Renée Jean

Business

It was yet another data-center dominated night for the Cheyenne City Council at its regular session Monday night, with intense, sometimes emotional public testimony on a proposed, roughly 3,460-acre annexation south of the Sweetgrass subdivision and east of South Greeley Highway. 

City staff and Microsoft representatives who were present confirmed the annexation is being advanced to support future expansion of data centers.

No annexation vote was taken. The routine item, which was initially part of a consent agenda, was a referral to the Public Service Committee.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"Out-Of-Date Plan"}]

Ward 1 Councilman Larry Wolfe requested the council take the proposed annexation off the consent agenda so it could be discussed separately. 

The area, Wolfe contended, should not be treated the same as a 2-acre parcel of land. He questioned annexing so much territory into the city at once when there are no specific plans yet attached to it, even as the city is getting ready to update its long-range planning, which Wolfe suggested is 12 years out of date.

“As you look at this giant annexation, and as you look at all of the hullabaloo about it that we have faced as a city council, and your office has faced, did it occur to you all to think maybe this annexation could proceed in a couple of steps?” Wolfe asked Cheyenne Planning and Development Department Director Charles Bloom. “Maybe it might even be better off to just be considered in the future, two, three years from now, when you, in fact, have updated Plan Cheyenne?”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"Not Staff’s Job"}]

Mayor Patrick Collins interceded, saying it’s not appropriate for staff to dictate the timing of an annexation. 

“The state law says that if they bring a petition to us, we must look at that petition,” Collins said. “And if it meets the criteria, shall by ordinance annex that property. And so I don’t know that it’s staff’s position to censor applications. That’s our job.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"On that point, Wolfe agreed."}]

“It’s your job to take a look at something of this magnitude and make a judgment about whether or not it ought to proceed through our regular processes,” Wolfe said. “Or, in fact, we might think hard about an annexation of this size for a topic of this controversy, and treat it in some different kind of manner. That’s my point.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"Collins, on that point, demurred. "}]

“I think if you were to poll your colleagues here and say that I have the authority to decide what comes before this governing body, I think you’d lose probably eight to one in that vote,” he said. “I think the job is we’re separate but equal, and when those applications come, we’re part of — all of us together, are the legislative body, the governing body. It should be done as a joint decision.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"Just Map Color Is Changing"}]

Collins also said he felt the discussion itself is conflating annexation with the development action, which are two separate items.

“Annexation doesn’t do anything but change the color of the map,” Collins said. “What you’re concerned about is what happens once it’s annexed, and that is another process the governing body goes through. That is when we do the zoning for it, when we do the final plat for it, when we do those types of actions. If we were to just annex this property and it sits there for a decade or so, it doesn’t really change anything does it?”

“In 10 years, a couple of things may change,” Wolfe replied. “And I take some guidance from what our good governor just said to us last week in his executive order on data centers. You know, he says local authority and community investment, we’re keeping power close to —”

“Point of order,” another council member interjected. “Are we on annexation? Or are we on data centers?”

“Madam Councilwoman,” Wolfe replied. “You cannot possibly separate them today.”

And so the conversation would roll throughout the public debate, with citizens and officials wrestling over points and points of order all along the way.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"Sounds Like “Extortion”"}]

Wolfe said he wants to see developers like Microsoft invest in local housing, charity and infrastructure, and believes annexation is the beginning of the right time to start talking about that.

“We shouldn’t kid ourselves that we are in fact looking at just the annexation,” he said. “This is the time for this council, for this government, for Mr. Bloom to actually take ahold of these issues and make them reality.”

A community benefit requirement, Collins replied, is “too much like extortion.”

“I just don’t agree,” he added. “At this point in time, what we’re doing is annexing a piece of property. If, in fact, the companies want to do some things like we have later on in our agenda, I think that’s well-welcomed, but to condition annexation on that, I think is a slippery slope, sir.”

“Mr. Mayor, it’s not a slippery slope, it’s in fact the slope that we are on right now,” Wolfe replied. “It’s not extortion. I’m talking about something that I’m going to call a mutually beneficial partnership agreement with Microsoft.”

“You can be annexed if you give us what, a rec center or something like that?” Collins said.

“No, no, my proposal is going to be 3% of the total cost of the project,” Wolfe replied.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"“So two rec centers,” Collins said."}]

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"Questions About Scale, Benefits"}]

Members of the public also came to the podium, both for and against, to discuss their own points and their own frustrations with city processes. 

Harmony Meadows resident Heather Madrid questioned the council’s use of an outdated land-use map.

“How is this protecting the health, safety, and welfare of people?” she asked. “If people don’t live there yet, it’s not really protecting anybody. In fact, I would argue that it’s harmful to that area.”

Such a large annexation, meanwhile, is going to affect the entire city, Madrid said, not just people who may live within 300 feet of the facility. 

“If there’s no plan of what’s going to happen over the next 10 years, how is it even possible that the criteria in Wyoming statute … has been met?” she asked. “At the Planning Commission, Microsoft was asked how many buildings and they didn’t know. 

“So how is it even possible to say that that statute has been met if there is no plan?”

The city should update everything before proceeding, Madrid added, and consider “not only what benefits global corporate billionaires who are trying to land grab in rural America.”

Speaking for the annexation was Brian Napier, a Cheyenne resident who has worked for Microsoft since 2016.

“I’ve been with Microsoft for 10 years and everything I’ve ever seen with the company has been positive, working with the community and trying to be a good neighbor,” he said. “If I didn’t believe that, I wouldn’t be standing in front of you here, on their behalf, today.”

Napier said the company has hired 100 people in the past three years, jobs that he characterized as “good” with “great benefits.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"Largest Annexation In City History"}]

The annexation which drew so many comments is the largest Cheyenne has ever seen at 3,459 acres land, 46% of which is contiguous to city limits. 

It was yet another data-center dominated night for the Cheyenne City Council on Monday, with intense, sometimes emotional public testimony on what would be the largest annexation in Cheyenne history. The annexation will support expansion of data centers.

Daily Smile: Thursday, October 2, 2025

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