Daily Darwin

[{"type":"text","text":"Have to respect the airtime and distance...."}]

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

<title>Daily Darwin: Tuesday, January 6, 2026 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Have to respect the airtime and distance....

Daily Darwin: Tuesday, January 6, 2026

 Have to respect the airtime and distance....

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

Renée Jean

Business & Tourism

Business

Some of Wyoming’s 1860s prospectors would be rolling over in their graves if they knew just how narrowly they might have missed striking it rich in South Pass City and other 19th-century gold hotspots.

Gold was there in those arid hills. All those poor pioneers really needed to find it was a helicopter and some artificial intelligence.

Not to mention modern geological science, which has led Relevant Gold founder and CEO Rob Bergmann down a multi-billion-year-old channel called the Abitibi Belt, to what he believes is a hidden gold belt underneath Wyoming.

“We can’t promise anything,” Bergmann told Cowboy State Daily. “But we do believe that all of the data indicates there’s a lot of opportunity that has really just never been tested in Wyoming — especially along these Archean belts that were once connected to the Abitibi.”

The hypothesis that those were once connected is the geological theory that’s brought Bergmann to Wyoming. 

The Archean belts arc from the CK Gold Project in southeast Wyoming, sweep through South Pass near Lander, and continue on to Bradley Peak near Rawlins. 

All three areas once drew gold seekers when the West was still untamed, from about 1867 to 1881. Each fizzled long before living up to their hype — even at the comparatively successful Carissa Mine in 

 with a toolkit the state’s pioneer miners could scarcely have imagined.

Instead of panning streams and digging random holes in the rock to find gold veins they could mine with hand tools and dynamite, Bergmann’s crews are flying helicopters to conduct geophysical surveys over the company’s projects at South Pass and Bradley Peak. 

The surveys can see hundreds of meters beneath the surface, mapping out rock types and identifying structures that commonly travel with gold and other precious metals. 

“It’s an incredible data set that’s never existed in the state of Wyoming before,” Bergmann said. “It allowed us to see up to 400 meters below the surface of some of these rock characteristics. It doesn’t necessarily find the gold, but it helps us find the things that might be associated with the gold.”

A Wyoming state grant helped fund the airborne surveys at Bradley Peak and South Pass, creating the new, high-resolution, geophysical picture of grounds that have been prospected off and on for more than 150 years.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Big Drilling Plans"}]

This summer, Relevant Gold will stage large drilling programs at Bradley Peak and in the South Pass area, fresh off raising more than $12 million in Canadian dollars. 

The drilling is about collecting sample cores from likely areas to map out where a mine might be economically feasible.

The company will focus on two targets this summer, but there are 17 targets in all. That’s a multi-year runway of possible follow-up work if the results remain encouraging. 

High-grade ore samples have already been collected, Bergmann added — samples that also contained significant percentages of silver, copper and lead. 

“We’ve already drilled gold, found gold,” he said. “What we have to start defining is whether there’s something over, say, a million ounces. We’re really targeting larger-scale gold and critical metal opportunities.”

While the word “mining” might conjure images of vast coal pits or 

 Relevant Gold’s footprint will look different. 

“Gold can be mined a lot of different ways,” Bergmann said. “But underground mining is the most common type.”

Those tunnels will likely be much narrower than trona or coal-mining tunnels. 

The company has set up a field office in Riverton, and has been working extensively with local contractors for drill-pad construction and reclamation. Its headquarters is in Canada, and it has an operational office in Minnesota.

Under state rules and bonding requirements, all the baseball-sized drill holes must be reclaimed and reseeded within a year, which will make it difficult to tell a rig was ever there.

Right now, Bergmann has a staff of between six to 12 local workers in Wyoming, along with support from three outside geologists and a small array of local suppliers and services.

Ultimately, if a mine is realized, that could balloon to a hundred or more workers.

South Pass City Witold Skrypczak via Alamy 6 20 26

<title>How Modern Technology Is Reshaping The Search For Gold In Historic Wyoming Mines | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Helicopters, artificial intelligence, and geology are giving a modern mining company a second shot at finding gold in historic Wyoming mines. The company believes there's a hidden gold belt and technology allows them to see 400 meters below the surface.

How Modern Technology Is Reshaping The Search For Gold In Historic Wyoming Mines

Kerry Drake

Outdoors

Public Lands

On the 55th anniversary of Bill Briggs’ legendary, incredibly dangerous, and totally outrageous first ski down the face of Grand Teton this past Monday, the now-94-year-old mountaineer and musician said it was just something he had to do.

“There was a lot of uncertainty, but I felt it’s probably now or never,” Briggs said in an email to Cowboy State Daily. 

Now hard of hearing, email is the way he communicates now — except when he’s at his haunts in Jackson and Wilson every weekend where he sings and yodels.

“I thought (skiing the Grand) was sort of a last chance, and I was running a little late already,” Briggs recalled. “I thought, ‘Just do the best you can, one thing at a time. It’s all doable snow all the way, and I’m as fit as I will ever be for this lifetime.'”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Without A Hip Joint"}]

Skiing down the sheer face of a rocky and intimidating Grand Teton would have been impressive enough, but it’s even more so considering that Briggs was born without a hip joint. 

He underwent surgery at age 2 to carve out a socket, and ultimately had it fused in 1961. Ten years later on June 15, 1971, he would make his historic descent down Grand Teton.

 by Kimberly Geil said his hip was frozen in place and never quite worked properly after the fusion, but Briggs didn’t allow it to keep him from doing what he wanted.

“He has achieved athletic feats that most people with all joints functioning at 100% could never have accomplished,” she wrote. 

Briggs’ route required a free-hanging rappel down a 165-foot cliff face, which he completed with his skis on. 

Despite all the preparation and planning, he said there was plenty of unexpected twists and turns.

“Ice ripples at the bottom of the Stettner Couloir. Not enough snow for the traverse over to the Ford Couloir,” Briggs said. “Huge chockstone clear across the Stettner. Steep slot to climb out of the Stettner onto the East Face.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"Then there were frozen crampon straps. "}]

“No flat place to put skis on and can’t dent the hard crust on the snow,” he explained. “Many rocky outcrops to ski around. Breaking through the hard crust and falling downhill. Big slough of snow down the East Face. Ski tails hit rock when skiing the slot. Rappelling the chockstone.”

Briggs recalled periodic bunches of snow spiriting into the Ford-Stettner route on the peak from the right, to then flow down the runnel in the middle of the couloir. 

“Cornice to ski off onto slope over to Teepee’s Pillar,” he wrote. “Entire slope sloughs as I ski across to Teepee’s. Huge frost feathers 3 feet deep to ski through down Teepee’s glacier.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"His assessment 55 years later? "}]

“Harder than I thought,” Briggs said. "Only the less than 10-foot wide, steep 60-degree slot. That’s the absolute limit of what I can ski.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Father Of Extreme Skiing"}]

What does Briggs — known as the father of extreme skiing (he prefers the term ski mountaineering) — think about the body challenges he faced with his hip disability?

“What’s possible? What’s the limit?” he replied. “The great fun of making the margin of safety more narrow.”

After completing the feat and returning to town, Briggs quickly realized that he had a problem: many people didn’t believe he did it. Where was the proof?

But when Briggs drove to the Jackson airport and saw that the tracks his skis made on the mountain were still visible, he called Jackson Hole News co-owner Virginia Huidekoper, who immediately recognized the news value and how important it was to document what her friend did.

“She knew the greatness of the achievement and told me to stay right there so we can fly up and photograph the tracks,” Briggs said.

Huidekoper flew her Cessna 182, but Briggs said she suddenly surprised him by turning control of the craft over to him, even though he had absolutely no experience as a pilot.

“She told me to put my feet on the pedals and hands on the steering wheel and don’t do anything while she took four photos of the tracks as viewed from the south,” Briggs wrote. “She dropped me off at the airport and probably picked up her paper’s chief photographer, Roger LaVake, so he could get several shots of the tracks.” 

Briggs told Cowboy State Daily that he had many other wonderful experiences as a ski mountaineer, including his time as an Exum guide. 

He also made first descents of other mountains in the Teton Range, including Middle Teton, South Teton, Mount Moran and Mount Owen.

“So many!” he exclaimed in his email. “But none as great.”

Eventually, the physical pain of mountaineering as he got older forced Briggs to seek other work. He tried his hand at being a folk singer in New York City, where folk music was all the rage.

Briggs played once in a small, almost empty Greenwich Village coffee shop. The lack of an audience was due to the fact there was another folk singer performing at a nearby club, a fellow named Bob Dylan.

“I didn’t fit in very well at all in Greenwich Village,” Briggs said. “I was just coming out of the lowest point of this life. Bob Dylan was a great talent, but there were so many others. 

"I had musically met with Pete and Penny Seeger, Joan Baez and Judy Collins. I was very impressed with them all.”

Later, Briggs would get a chance to play with Dylan — or maybe it was Dylan who had the good fortune to play with the famed mountaineer.

It was at a wedding reception at the small Turpin Meadow Ranch 50 miles north of Jackson. Briggs recalled a few inches of snow on the ground.

Dylan came as the guest of music producer David Geffen. 

“Our bass player/photographer said Dylan might show up,” Briggs said. “He did and didn’t seem very happy to be there. Our front man, John Cooke, invited him to play with us, which cheered him up.”

Briggs said the only extra instrument his band had was a mandolin, “which Bob played very well for our three remaining sets.”

“At the end, one of the ranch hands introduced Bob to me as if I was sort of equal,” Briggs said. “Bob would have none of it.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Still Playing Music"}]

Briggs is still playing music for the summer and winter seasons each Sunday at the Stagecoach Bar in Wilson, and Monday at the Hoot. 

“Skiing the Grand was by far the best [experience] of my life,” Briggs said. “But what I enjoyed most about it all was doing each piece and having completed each one. Planning is fun, but deep enjoyment comes only with the doing.

“Often the enjoyment is unexpected and that makes it even better,” he added. “There’s a growth element wherein it’s being or been done better than ever. It doesn’t matter whether it’s music making or athletic endeavor as long as it’s better in some way.” 

Briggs has long been a proponent of Scientology, and said it’s helped shape his life in many ways.

He confided that he’s become a student of religious philosophy and “resolved to my own satisfaction practically all of the mysteries of life. One has to come by this on his own. I don’t know who else may have, or what to do with it all.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"How would Briggs like to be remembered?"}]

“I’ve been in the pursuit of happiness, and through the study and practice of religious philosophy, got there to my satisfaction,” he said. “And I’m the one responsible for that.” 

Kerry Drake can be reached at: Kerry@CowboyStateDaily.com

Bill Briggs main 6 20 26

<title>It’s Been 55 Years Since Bill Briggs Became The First To Ski Down Grand Teton | Cowboy State Daily</title>

This week marks the 55th anniversary of one of the most daring feats in Wyoming history, when Bill Briggs — the “father of extreme skiing” — became the first person to ski down the face of Grand Teton. “It was harder than I thought,” the 94-year-old recalled.

It’s Been 55 Years Since Bill Briggs Became The First To Ski Down Grand Teton

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

Clair McFarland

Crime & Courts

Courts

RIVERTON — A 33-year-old Lander man faces up to 42 years in prison and fines in connection with the Wednesday evening Riverton crash in which two people died.

Micheal Odom was already on probation for DUI, police interference, and reckless driving convictions out of Campbell County when the truck he was driving sped through Riverton’s busiest 30 mph thoroughfare at more than 75 mph, Fremont County deputy attorney James Weck told the Lander Circuit Court on Friday.

Odom, who is in custody, appeared in court for his initial hearing that afternoon.

Weck noted that besides the Campbell County convictions, Odom is also on parole for 

heft, burglary, and property destruction felonies out of Natrona County.

Friday’s filing marks his third DUI charge in five years, and Odom tried to flee the scene of the crash, Weck added. 

The prosecutor asked Lander Circuit Court Judge Jefferson Coombs to set Odom’s bond at $5 million cash-only.

Coombs warned Odom that he doesn’t have to incriminate himself, but asked if he wanted to speak about his life in response to Weck’s bond argument.

[{"type":"text","text":"Odom took that opening to apologize instead."}]

“I’m terribly sorry about what happened,” he said. “I’ve just been fighting addiction my whole life. I do not really know what happened or remember anything. I just apologize to the victims’ family and everything.”

[{"type":"text","text":"Coombs set Odom’s bond at $1 million, cash-only."}]

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"The Scene"}]

Cowboy State Daily arrived on scene Wednesday to find a white Dodge pickup with front-end damage on its side in the middle of Riverton’s busiest thoroughfare, Federal 

About a half-block away sat the mangled remains of what eyewitnesses said had been a Jeep.

An evidentiary affidavit by Riverton Police Department Officer Jesse Francher, filed by the Fremont County Attorney’s Office, says a 23- or 24-year-old woman lay on the ground at least 20 feet away from the Jeep. 

A man that same age, the Jeep’s passenger, remained inside the vehicle, the document says.

Officers arrived on scene and pulled Odom, who was bleeding, from the pickup.

“While waiting with Odom he was worried that he was going to jail,” wrote Francher. "Odom was very agitated as if he did something wrong.

"I suspected Odom was intoxicated but was unsure if it was caused by the accident or him being under the influence.”

The affidavit says that after a short time on scene, Odom fled and ran to a nearby parking lot “where he ran into a truck.”

It’s unclear if this means Odom ducked into the cab of the truck or collided with the truck.

Officers apprehended and handcuffed him and put him in Francher’s patrol vehicle, the affidavit says.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"The Hospital"}]

Francher took Odom to SageWest Health Care, where a nurse drew Odom’s blood at 9:13 p.m. — about one hour after the crash.

“I did not apply for a blood warrant first due to the exigent circumstances of a fatal accident and the suspect being injured,” wrote Francher in the affidavit. “I did not read Odom implied consent before the blood draw due to forgetting because of the circumstances at hand.”

[{"type":"text","text":"Francher later applied for a blood search warrant, the document says."}]

“While waiting with Odom, he stated that he was drunk,” wrote Francher.

[{"type":"text","text":"At that point Odom was given his Miranda rights. "}]

The document does not distinguish who interviewed Odom, but says he was asked if he’d been drinking and when.

 two 4-Loco drinks at 7 p.m., the affidavit says. He “was read” implied consent at 10:55 p.m. and did not consent, says the affidavit.

Medical personnel found he had a fractured wrist and fractured orbital floor. 

He was cleared and taken to the police department, where he submitted to a breath test and logged a 0.134% breath-alcohol concentration, the document says.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"What Happened?"}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Meanwhile, another officer interviewed bystanders on scene."}]

The witnesses reportedly said the Jeep was on Webbwood Road, which intersects North Federal 

 and runs along Walmart’s southern lot — and that the Jeep entered the intersection heading west when Odom sped through the red light and struck the Jeep.

The woman, Taylee Dresser, was declared deceased on scene. The man, Gregory Trosper, was taken to the hospital after 

 perceived a “flicker” of his eyes. 

He was declared deceased at SageWest Health Care that night at 1

due to internal bleeding, says the affidavit.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"The Tally"}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Coombs read Odom's charges Friday in court. "}]

Those include two alternative counts pertaining to Trosper's death: one accusing Odom of aggravated homicide by vehicle due to being drunk, and the other accusing him of the same but due to driving recklessly. 

Each is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, and since they're in the alternative, a jury in this case would have to choose one or the other if it chose to convict Odom. 

The state alleges the same set of alternate charges pertaining to Dresser's death, which makes for another potential 20 years in prison. 

And the state also charged an enhanced DUI misdemeanor that ranges from 30 days to six months in jail and $3,000 in fines; one count of interfering with police ( up to one year and $1,000 in fines); and one count of reckless driving (up to six months in jail and $750 in fines).

Odom's preliminary hearing, where he'd have a chance to argue whether the state has probable cause to keep prosecuting him, is set for June 29 in Lander Circuit Court. 

Michael odom crash 6 19 26

<title>Lander Man Faces Homicide Charges, 42 Years In Double Fatal Riverton Crash | Cowboy State Daily</title>

A Lander man faces homicide charges and up to 42 years in prison in connection with a Wednesday Riverton crash that killed two people. “I’m terribly sorry about what happened,” he said in court on Friday. “I’ve just been fighting addiction my whole life.”

Lander Man Faces Homicide Charges, 42 Years In Double Fatal Riverton Crash

Kolby fedore

Kolby Fedore

A Rock Springs man accused of holding his girlfriend captive for days, cutting her with a razor blade, stabbing her with a kitchen fork and threatening to kill her is being held on a six-figure bond.

Jake Thomas Canestrini, 24, made his initial appearance Thursday afternoon in Sweetwater County Circuit Court, where he was charged with a handful of felonies, including kidnapping, three counts of aggravated assault and battery with a deadly weapon, strangulation of a household member, interference with a peace officer, three counts of domestic battery and cruelty to animals.

Court records show bond was set at $300,000 cash or surety, or $100,000 cash-only.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Parents Leave Town"}]

The alleged abuse began after the victim's parents left town on May 30, according to an affidavit written by Rock Springs Police Officer Tiffany Harris.

The victim and Canestrini had been in a relationship for about three years and were living together at her parents' home in Rock Springs.

Shortly after her parents left, Canestrini allegedly threw her to the ground multiple times and prevented her from leaving the residence, the affidavit says.

"Canestrini held her on the ground for several hours and continued to hit her on the head," Harris wrote.

Every time the woman tried to get up and run, "Canestrini would yank her by the hair to keep her down," according to the affidavit.

On June 2, Canestrini allegedly called the woman's employer and told them she would not be coming to work.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Razor Blade, Fork And Knife"}]

The victim described a series of assaults involving household items that investigators later sought when executing a search warrant at the home.

According to court records, Canestrini reportedly used a razor blade to make cuts on her thighs, hips, stomach, and arm. She also reported being stabbed in the upper back and "butt cheek" with a kitchen fork.

The alleged victim told investigators that during one confrontation, Canestrini held a kitchen knife against her throat while threatening to kill her.

[{"type":"text","text":"\"I will f***ing murder you,\" he allegedly told her."}]

At one point during the ordeal, Canestrini reportedly told the woman he loved her and "did not want to do this but because she was being a bitch to him, she deserved the punishment,” the affidavit says.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Extensive Injuries"}]

[{"type":"text","text":"The victim told investigators he also threatened her family and pet."}]

"I will murder your cat. I will murder your f***ing family if you get the cops involved,” he allegedly said, according to the affidavit. "I will wait 20 years so I can kill you."

Court records indicate Canestrini reportedly strangled the woman multiple times during the ordeal. She told investigators there were times she could not breathe and feared for her life.

Medical records cited in the affidavit indicate a physician later advised her she had suffered a concussion.

Investigators documented bruising across much of the woman's body. Photographs attached to the case file show injuries to her face, arms, shoulders, legs, and knees, along with dried blood on her lips.

Other photographs show razor-blade cuts on her stomach, thighs and hips; puncture wounds allegedly caused by a fork and long scratches running down her back, the affidavit says.

The victim told investigators she was eventually able to escape only after waiting for Canestrini to fall asleep.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Animal Cruelty"}]

The cruelty to animals charge stems from allegations involving the woman's cat.

According to court documents, she reported Canestrini picked up the cat and was "squeezing the f*** out of him."

[{"type":"text","text":"When the cat cried out in pain, she reportedly begged him to stop."}]

Canestrini responded by "picking the cat up by the throat and slamming it to the floor," according to the affidavit.

The woman told investigators he then said, "I will treat this cat however the f*** I want."

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Search Warrant"}]

Before investigators arrived to execute a search warrant at the residence, neighbors reported seeing Canestrini leave the area on foot carrying a duffle bag, the affidavit says.

When detectives searched the home, they recovered a kitchen fork, a knife and items believed to contain blood evidence. The affidavit notes detectives detected a strong odor of bleach in one of the bathrooms.

On Tuesday, a detective reportedly spotted Canestrini riding in a vehicle registered to his father. During a traffic stop, Canestrini identified himself and was taken into custody that day. 

Canestrini remains jailed pending a Wednesday preliminary hearing in Sweetwater County Circuit Court.

[{"type":"text","text":"He is represented by Rock Springs attorney Joseph August Hampton."}]

If convicted of kidnapping, Canestrini could face 20 years to life in prison under Wyoming law, while the aggravated assault charges carrying potential penalties of up to 10 years each.

Jake Thomas Canestrini 6 19 26

<title>Rock Springs Man Accused Of Torturing Woman For Days With Razor Blade And Fork | Cowboy State Daily</title>

A Rock Springs man was in court Thursday, accused of holding a woman captive for days and torturing her with a razor blade and fork. "I will murder your cat,” police say he told her. "I will murder your ... family if you get the cops involved."

Rock Springs Man Accused Of Torturing Woman For Days With Razor Blade And Fork

Heinz mark

Mark Heinz

Hunting

While investigating a poaching case against a Utah hunting guide, wildlife officials found a video on his cellphone showing him shooting a compound bow at cattle.

In the video, one of the cows jumps after he releases an arrow, as if it might have been struck. The condition of the cattle remains “unknown,” Chase Pili, captain of administrative services for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (DWR), told Cowboy State Daily. 

While investigating a Utah hunting guide for poaching a deer, wildlife officials came across a video of him shooting at cows with a bow. “It’s appalling,” says a Rock Springs bowhunter. “That sort of outfitter would never get a license in Wyoming."

Daily Darwin: Tuesday, January 6, 2026

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