It’s time to take a look at what’s happening around Wyoming for Wednesday, November 26th. I’m Mac Watson. This newscast is “Brought to you by the University of Wyoming Center on Aging. Did you know that 1 in 3 Wyoming adults have pre-diabetes, and most don’t realize it? Are you tough enough to know your numbers? Take the quiz at: Find Out WY dot org."
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DNA has confirmed the remains found in a rural area near Gering, Nebraska, last month are Chance Englebert. Cowboy State Daily’s Jen Kocher reports that the family still has questions about how their son died.
“Remains were found in mid-October, and they were found kind of in a remote area on where hikers typically don't go. It's on the north side of the Scottsbluff monument, and typically people hike on the south side…and they believed at the time that they were Chance, because belongings were found with the remains that were identified as Chance….The Scottsbluff County Attorney's office has not officially released the cause of death. That is the next step.”
The 25-year-old Englebert disappeared over the July Fourth holiday weekend in 2019 on a visit from Wyoming to Gering, Nebraska, to visit the family of his wife, Baylee’s, and their infant son.
Read the full story HERE.
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The Florida trucker arrested by a Wyoming Highway Patrol trooper Thursday near Rawlins could face life in prison on an attempted murder charge during a road rage incident. Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland breaks down what Rabindranath Bunsee is charged with.
“This is a really interesting investigation, because the alleged victim and the defendant have completely different stories. The the dad driving the pickup truck is like, I was just trying to pass him, and he had driven my wife off the road, and he fired at our truck, and my toddler was inside it, whereas the trucker, the commercial truck driver, the defendant, is saying, no, they drove me off the road, and I took 20 minutes to collect myself. He did say that he hadn't fired the gun, though which the physical evidence would dispute.”
Court documents reveal that Bunsee lives in Florida and works as a commercial truck driver. He’s in custody in the Carbon County Detention Center on a $100,000 cash-only bond.
Read the full story HERE.
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A woman caught on video earlier this year harassing a baby wombat in Australia is in trouble again, but this time in Wyoming. Cowboy State Daily’s Mark Heinz reports that Samantha Strable faces multiple charges claiming that she lied about her residency to get hunting tags in Wyoming.
“Earlier this year, we published a story about an influencer, at least at the time, was, or at least claimed to be, from Pinedale…The game wardens and prosecutors are claiming that she has been absent from Wyoming long enough to no longer be a resident here, but she applied last year, and this year, she applied for numerous hunting tags as a resident, which is technically illegal hunting.”
Strable was booked into the Sublette County Jail on Nov. 21 and released on her own recognizance that same day, according to an order filed in Pinedale Circuit Court. She faces eight misdemeanor charges.
Read the full story HERE.
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A Gillette woman is facing up to 10 years in prison on claims her brother-in-law’s 2-year-old son was severely scalded, and badly bruised while in her care. Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports that 24-year-old Reanna Sams’ attorney says there's more to the story and the woman is being villainized.
“Her attorney's saying there's more to the story. You know, an evidentiary affidavit, while useful for reporting. The basic framework underpinning the charges is really investigators compiling just what they need, sometimes more, but often just what they need to establish probable cause in the case of a felony, to vault the case to the felony level court. And so the defense attorney here is saying, hey, there's more to this story. The public is just going off of the bare bones, and we look forward to blasting the rest open in court.”
Sams is is out of jail on a surety bond and scheduled to attend a Jan. 23 preliminary hearing in Gillette Circuit Court and is facing one count of felony child abuse and up to 10 years in prison.
Read the full story HERE.
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I’ll be back with more news from Cowboy State Daily, after this….
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An off-duty Carbon County deputy is being praised for his quick action to help a pair of Wyoming Highway Patrol troopers fighting with suspects on a Casper roadside. Cowboy State Daily’s Kate Madison reports that Deputy Jason Black was on his way to the store when he ran to help with the chaotic scene.
“He's out shopping in Casper and runs to help this fight in progress. Wyoming State Trooper Kolton Carbon had initially pulled over the SUV for speeding, and by the time black got there, carbon was hanging on to the vehicle, trying to prevent the individual in the driver's seat from fleeing. So Black was able to help break up that scuffle. There was another Trooper that had pulled in front of the SUV to block it, so multiple people were assisting. Sheriff's Wyoming, Wyoming Highway Patrol Public Information Officer Aaron Brown, said that another civilian saw what was happening from a Walgreens parking lot and also ran to help. So there were a number of people involved in this incident, and thankfully, it's, you know, ended with these two suspects under arrest.”
Two people were arrested and face multiple charges after the traffic stop on Wyoming Highway 258. Carbon County Sheriff Alex Bakken tells Cowboy State Daily that for his actions, Deputy Black will receive a letter of commendation at the County Commissioners meeting next week.
Read the full story HERE.
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A new docuseries entitled “Saving Yellowstone” premieres Wednesday on Animal Planet featuring Dennis Quaid. Cowboy State Daily’s David Madison reports that the series is about exploring the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.
“It kind of all fell into place. Really focused on the science each episode, which begins, premiering on Wednesday, will tell a specific story about research going on into a piece of the ecosystem…Dennis really did his homework on this when he attended a gathering of researchers in Bondurant back in August. And so he was up to speed and Mark Pierce with Warm Springs Productions told me that when he reached out to Dennis to ask he was enthusiastic right away. He says, ‘I'm in. I love that place.’”
“Saving Yellowstone” is a four-part series that includes episodes focused on specific species and conservation challenges. After it debuts on Animal Planet, it will be streaming on HBO Max.
Read the full story HERE.
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Wyoming grocers are selling whole turkeys at losses because of the bird flu and inflation. Cowboy State Daily’s Renee Jean spoke to shoppers who are using those savings to offset rising costs for other Thanksgiving staples.
“With Thanksgiving this year, people are still able to get their birds at a pretty cheap price, but the rest of their basket is another story. You know, we've got tariffs on aluminum and steel right now that's jacking up the prices of some of the canned goods that we buy, the cranberry sauce, those kinds of things that come in cans might be a little more expensive. There are other tariffs that you know are contributing to different facets of the economy.”
Even though grocery stores are offering steep and strategic markdowns, turkey prices are actually up. Way up. That’s mostly because a wave of avian bird flu has decimated turkey herds, killing off supply.
Read the full story HERE.
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Although the Thanksgiving Day forecast in Wyoming is looking pleasant, a "potent winter storm" will quickly follow. Cowboy State Daily’s Andrew Rossi spoke with Meteorologist Don Day who says Thanksgiving day will be pleasant, but things radically change over the weekend.
“They're confident that there's going to be a steep plunge in temperature, and there could be snow accompanying it…It depends on when the cold front arrives. It could arrive as early as Friday, but it's definitely going to reach us by Saturday. So traveling on Saturday, Sunday and Monday is going to be pretty dicey, no matter where you're going in the state.”
If you are traveling over the weekend, remember to check the forecast and leave yourself plenty of time to safely get to your destination.
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 watching - I’m Mac Watson, for Cowboy State Daily.
