It’s time to take a look at what’s happening around Wyoming for Thursday, December 4th . I’m Mac Watson.
–
More than two weeks after a 10-month-old boy was reported missing, authorities have issued a felony arrest warrant for his mother, who’s accused of taking the baby. Cowboy State Daily’s Jen Kocher reports that the father is offering a reward for any tips that would lead to getting his son returned home safely.
“A felony warrant has been issued from Madeline Daly for custody interference, because she has absconded with the couple's son, and she was last seen in the Worland area on November 16…So on Wednesday, the father of the child announced he was putting up a $10,000 reward for any information leading to his safe return.”
Daly’s grey 2017 Dodge Ram pickup was last seen in the Worland area in the Big Horn Basin in north-central Wyoming with her last known address at an RV park in Ten Sleep.
Read the full story HERE.
–
Construction of a $60 million state-of-the-art rare earth processing and separation demonstration plant is complete in Upton, Wyoming. Cowboy State Daily’s Kate Meadows reports that the plant is expected to be a re-defining moment in America’s efforts to break China’s rare earth stranglehold.
“So Rare Earth Resources is keeping China from having a monopoly on this technology. Their proprietary and patented technology will keep production of the elements that it mines within the US, and it also intends to process and separate the elements more efficiently and in a more environmentally friendly way…construction of the plant is completed, but the plant will not be fully operational until early 2026.”
Processing and separating the rare earths, which will come from neighboring Crook County as part of the Bear Lodge Critical Rare Earth Mining Project, will be a game-changer for Wyoming — and the domestic supply chain as a whole.
Read the full story HERE.
–
A Worland man who riddled his own dog with bullets was sentenced Wednesday to three years' supervised probation and fined $1,000. Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports that Donald “Dudley” Wright says he’s had death threats over the incident.
“
Wright also tells Cowboy State Daily that his punishment seems harsh for such a “miniscule” crime.
Read the full story HERE.
–
BLM story
“People right now are optimistic that that's going to be amended in a way that will give them more of what they want under the current administration, because Trump had signed an executive order that basically said that basically told the BLM, you need to amend this in order to to focus on energy development, domestic energy development. And that's been their order now from the Trump administration, which is what brought this, this whole idea of amending this resource management plan to the forefront, and so they're pretty optimistic…they're optimistic as far as knowing that there's at least going to be some changes that are going to benefit Sweetwater County.”
Read the full story HERE.
–
I’ll be back with more news from Cowboy State Daily, after this….
–
Wyoming wildlife officials and others fear a Utah-based company’s plan to build a 900-megawatt power project at Seminoe Reservoir could ruin the state's most-prized bighorn sheep herd and a blue-ribbon trout fishery. Cowboy State Daily’s Mark Heinz reports that county commissioners are weighing both sides of the issue.
“People are concerned that this proposed power project could disrupt the sheep's critical winter range…and people are concerned that that could disrupt the aquatic habitat and water temperatures, which in turn could affect the fishery, Seminoes, known for walleye fishing, as well as trout. I talked to county commissioners in both Carbon and Natrona counties, and they are concerned, because they're saying, Okay, well, we're being told this power plant would generate, you know, a lot of economic benefit for us, but at what cost? Because we, our counties, benefit hugely economically from recreation, hunting, fishing, wildlife watching, all those things.”
In a letter sent to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in April, Game and Fish Deputy Director of External Affairs Doug Brimeyer stated that the project’s estimated five-year construction time could affect an “entire generation of wildlife.”
Read the full story HERE.
–
An aviation consultant whose child custody battle raged for years in Wyoming’s court system sued Jackson Hole News&Guide on Tuesday for $25 million. Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports that David Laurence Mecartney is claiming that the newspaper falsely labeled him a child abuser despite court documents saying otherwise.
“
Mecartney filed his $25 million federal defamation lawsuit Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for Wyoming against the Jackson Hole News&Guide.
Read the full story HERE.
–
To access sections of Wyoming public land surrounded by private property, some hunters are charting helicopter pilots to fly them in, upsetting adjacent ranchers.
“
Read the full story HERE.
–
The Tour de Wyoming has announced its route for July 2026, when 250 cyclists will cover 400 miles through the Bighorn Basin, with a brief visit to Montana. Cowboy State Daily’s Andrew Rossi reports that this will be the 27th year for what's regarded as one of the best bike tours in the United States.
“It's one of the best, fully supported bike tours in the nation, because there are only 250 people selected to participate every year, but their luggage gets carried from stop the stop along the route. They have a caterer that makes all of their meals, sometimes even have fancy coffee and a masseur that goes along with them. And of course, there's a bike repair station so that if anything goes wrong, it can be tended to. And they choose a different spot in Wyoming to go to every year. They haven't been to Northwest Wyoming for a while, so they've chosen a route that covers a lot of small communities in the Big Horn Basin, the kind of places they prefer to go.”
The 2026 tour starts on July 12. Cyclists will follow a 56-mile loop from Powell past Cowley, Lovell, and Byron before heading back to Powell for the night. And then it’s on to Cody, Red Lodge and finally Yellowstone’s East Entrance and back.
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 watching - I’m Mac Watson, for Cowboy State Daily.
