Daily Cartoon

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

<title>Daily Cartoon: Monday, January 19, 2026 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Daily Cartoon: Monday, January 19, 2026

Heinz mark

Mark Heinz

Outdoors

The Powder River at Arvada in Sheridan County has essentially stopped flowing for nearly a month, encapsulating severe drought conditions persisting across the West.

The river’s flow levels there have been sitting at zero to near-zero cubic feet per second (cfs) since mid-July, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) communications specialist Cheryl Miller told Cowboy State Daily.

When the river hits 0 cfs, “there could be a little pool there, but it is not moving," Miller said. "There is no water going downstream from there.” 

The Powder River's main steam flows for 375 miles from the Bighorn Mountains into the Yellowstone River near Terry, Montana. It is susceptible to wild fluctuations because it is one of the last free-flowing prairie river systems in the country.

During a typical year, the Powder at Arvada is flowing at 135 cfs, Miller said. 

[{"type":"text","text":"On June 16, it was at 17.5 cfs."}]

When the river reaches zero cubic feet per second, native fish such as sauger, channel catfish and sturgeon chub have evolved to survive in deeper pools.

“This is not unheard of for that site," Miller said of zero cfs, "but it is uncommon.” 

Records dating to 1930 indicate the Powder River has hit a standstill at Arvada about a dozen times, though there are no records for length of time at zero flow. The Powder also reached 100,000 cubic feet per second in 1923.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Why So Low?"}]

Unusually light snowpack coupled with a relative lack of rain during the spring and summer have contributed to the scarcity of water this summer, Miller said. Irrigation has also taken water from its tributaries, 

fishing guide Gene Pruett told Cowboy State Daily.

Dry ground along the upper stretches can absorb some of the river’s runoff.

The main Powder River’s tributaries include the North, Middle and South forks, which are still flowing.

The Middle Fork is typically fishable until late June or early July, when the water becomes too warm for responsible angling, said Pruett, owner of the Thermopolis-based Wyoming Trout Angler fishing guide service.

He guides anglers on the North Fork in Outlaw Canyon above Kaycee.

Wyoming State Engineer Brandon Gebhart recently told the Legislature’s Select Water Committee that this is one of the 

“Over 83% of the state is in severe or extreme drought,” he said. "Luckily, no parts of the state are under exceptional drought, as of right now.” 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Time To Stop Fishing"}]

Flows along the upstream forks of the Powder River is “generally low,” said Mike Cassidy, fishing guide with Rock Creek Anglers, based out of Saddlestring in Johnson County.

It is probably weakest on the South Fork, he told Cowboy State Daily.

“We shut down our fishing on the Middle Fork because of high water temperatures,” he said.

Stretches of the North Fork on private property remain “fishable” because cold water from tributary springs has kept water temperatures lower, he said.

As a general rule, it’s best to stop even catch-and-release trout fishing once the water temperature hits 68 to 70 degrees because of stress to the fish, Pruett said.

In addition to shutting down his operations on the Middle Fork, Pruett said he’s limited trips to early mornings only on other rivers because of rising water temperatures.

The Wyoming Game and Fish Department hasn’t mandated catch-and-release fishing shutdowns but is asking anglers and guides to suspend their fishing on numerous waters.

On the Bighorn, the Green, the Salt, the Snake, and the New Fork rivers, there are voluntary closure signs everywhere,” Pruett said.

“I think it’s the guides’ and the anglers’ responsibility to preserve the resource” and refrain from catch-and-release fishing when the water is too hot, he said.

As for the Powder, it was still near zero cubic feet per second at Locate, Montana, but picked up some water by the time it reaches Moorhead, where the flow was 10-12 cubic feet per second Thursday. 

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<title>Under Severe Drought Conditions, Wyoming’s Powder River Has Completely Stopped Flowing | Cowboy State Daily</title>

The Powder River in Sheridan County has completely stopped flowing for nearly a month due to severe drought conditions and irrigation. During a typical year, the Powder at Arvada is flowing at 135 cubic feet per second, now it's at zero cubic feet per second.

Under Severe Drought Conditions, Wyoming’s Powder River Has Completely Stopped Flowing

Wildlife

Tourists might like the idea of watching Yellowstone National Park’s top two predators locked in a bloody battle royale, but when it comes down to it grizzlies and wolves would rather work things out. 

That was evident when a young wolf and a grizzly reached what a witness described as a “gentleman’s agreement” over a bison carcass in the Yellowstone River recently, wildlife photographer Marcela Herdova told Cowboy State Daily on Thursday. 

About the worst it got was the bear giving the wolf a grumpy “side eye,” said Herdova, who was among numerous visitors who saw the drama in Yellowstone's Hayden Valley. 

The grizzly “eventually made one swipe with a paw but didn’t seem to have any intent of actually slashing the wolf,” she said. 

Retired Wyoming Game and Fish Department biologist Mark Bruscino told Cowboy State Daily that wolves and grizzlies generally get along better than people might think.

“These kinds of interactions probably happen very frequently,” he said. 

Biologist Doug Smith, who led the Yellowstone wolf program for nearly three decades, said wolves and bears have adapted to each other. 

"This is a common interaction. They both respect each other. The bear us stronger, the wolf is quicker. Hence neither want to do anything dramatic,” Smith said. “They (wolves) just go slow, watch the other and see what they can get. If the bear wants to control you carcass it can, but the wolf can nimbly dart in when opportunity arises.” 

The grizzly apparently was a large, older bear and seemed confident in laying claim to the carcass, Herdova said. 

The bear at one point dug a bed next to it and went to sleep, apparently completely confident it wouldn’t be bothered. 

Then two young wolves, from the Wapiti pack, approached. 

The bolder of the two walked up the grizzly and, for a while, it appeared there might be trouble, Herdova said. 

“We watched it unfold, but there was no direct conflict,” she said. “This went on for a long time, the way they were just dancing around each other.”  

Eventually, the wolf capitulated and sat nearby. The grizzly went back to feasting off the carcass, she said. 

The encounter was ended not by the animals but by an irresponsible human, Herdova added. 

“Somebody flew a drone over the grizzly and ran it off,” she said. 

It’s illegal to fly drones in Yellowstone. In June 2025, a tourist was caught and 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Avoiding Fights"}]

After the grizzly left, the wolves moved in to eat from the carcass, Herdova said. 

Next in line were eagles and ravens, which took over after the wolves left, she added. 

Animals can usually work out a pecking order without coming to blows, Bruscino said. 

“I think animal behaviorists would say animals almost always prefer to work out dominance through body language, vocalizations, non-contact aggression, or a combination of those. Fighting can have serious consequences, injury or death, for the participants,” he said. 

After viewing a video clip that Herdova took of the encounter between the bear and the wolf, he said it was a prime example of wildlife settling things without violence. 

“I think that bear is communicating that he doesn't want to fight but he doesn't want to give up the carcass during that short moment that is filmed,” he said. 

‘One Of The Greatest Things I’ve Ever Seen’

Herdova said watching the wolf and bear part ways peacefully was “one of the greatest things I’ve ever seen in Yellowstone.”

“They’re a lot smarter than we give them credit for. They know that conflict is costly,” she said.

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<title>Wolf-Grizzly Drama Over Carcass Shows Yellowstone Visitors How Predators Coexist | Cowboy State Daily</title>

A grizzly and wolf initially had a tense standoff over a bison carcass in Yellowstone, but opted to resolve it peacefully. The photographer who filmed the interaction said they're smarter than people think. "They know that conflict is costly," she said.

Wolf-Grizzly Drama Over Carcass Shows Yellowstone Visitors How Predators Coexist

Kolby fedore

Kolby Fedore

Crime & Courts

A former office manager for two Goshen County businesses is facing eight felony forgery charges after state investigators allege he siphoned nearly $700,000 from the companies over a four-year period.

Logan Patrick Reifschneider, 31, was arrested by the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation Wednesday night. Reifschneider, already on probation for grand theft involving a Wyoming credit union, faces up to 10 years in prison for each felony count.

A probable-cause affidavit written by DCI Special Agent Jon Briggs says Reifschneider worked for Zell Heating & Cooling and Big Wood Tree Service from June 2020 until about October 2024.

Briggs wrote that money moved out of the businesses in a variety of ways — through payroll, customer payments, checks and transfers, with some payments disguised to look like ordinary business expenses.

By the time investigators finished tracing the money, Briggs put the businesses' losses at approximately $688,477.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Something Wasn't Adding Up"}]

As office manager, Reifschneider had access to the companies' finances, including payroll, accounting information and Automated Clearing House, or ACH, transactions.

Eventually, the business owner began noticing they were experiencing financial problems and hired an accountant.

The accountant's review uncovered a substantial amount of missing money, the affidavit says.

The owner and others confronted Reifschneider about the suspected thefts. Reifschneider stopped working for the businesses around October 2024.

The accountant also turned over checks believed to contain forged signatures.

By February 2025, the Goshen County Sheriff's Office had asked DCI to investigate.

[{"type":"text","text":"Briggs began following the money."}]

Investigators served numerous search warrants on financial institutions in Wyoming and Nebraska, as well as others around the country.

The financial records were eventually given to an FBI forensic accountant for another look.

What investigators say they found was money leaving the businesses in several different ways.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"'Ill-Gotten Gains' "}]

DCI identified $161,790 in payments allegedly made directly to Reifschneider but disguised to look as if they were to legitimate suppliers.

The affidavit says another $159,634 came from customer payments allegedly diverted through Square or Intuit rather than going to the businesses.

Payroll accounted for another $138,609, which investigators characterized as excess payments to Reifschneider, including some coded as though the money belonged to other employees.

Through ACH transactions, checks and other transfers, another $113,177 allegedly landed in accounts belonging to Reifschneider or businesses he controlled.

Then there were expenses allegedly paid on his behalf. Investigators identified $81,267 in unauthorized payments from Zell Heating & Cooling and Big Wood Tree Service, along with a separate $40,000 payment from one of the businesses to an account belonging to Reifschneider.

Investigators also looked at what Reifschneider should have legitimately earned.

Between June 2020 and October 2024, Briggs calculated his legitimate income at approximately $298,214.

Based on that income and the financial records, Briggs described the additional money paid to or on behalf of Reifschneider as "ill-gotten gains."

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Eight Checks"}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Then investigators turned their attention to the checks."}]

The accountant provided DCI with a number of checks suspected of containing forged signatures. Eight written between April and September 2024 are specifically identified in Briggs' affidavit.

[{"type":"text","text":"The smallest was for $292.95. The largest was for $8,318.30."}]

Some were written to suppliers. Others were made directly to Reifschneider.

An April 17 check made out to Reifschneider was for $815.12. Another, dated Aug. 23, was for $3,195.81. A Sept. 7 check was made out to him for $1,025, while another dated Sept. 19 was for $2,158.

Other checks were made out to Torrington Office Supply, Dennis Supply, Gustave A. Larson and Johnstone Supply.

[{"type":"text","text":"Investigators claim Reifschneider signed Patrick's name to the checks."}]

The official charging document filed in Goshen County contains eight felony counts of forgery.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"The Money Trail Continues"}]

Briggs wrote that Reifschneider returned some money, and Briggs said those repayments were taken into account when DCI calculated the businesses' losses.

After Reifschneider stopped working for the businesses, he paid one business owner about $6,000 through personal checks.

[{"type":"text","text":"Other money had been returned while he was still employed."}]

Another check mentioned near the end of Briggs' affidavit tells a smaller story.

A man with 308 Plumbing told investigators he performed work at Reifschneider's home in Torrington on Oct. 24, 2025.

[{"type":"text","text":"The bill was $782.50."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Reifschneider paid with a personal check, but it bounced."}]

The man told investigators the check was returned for "insufficient funds" and that he still had not been paid when Briggs prepared the affidavit.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Grand Theft Case"}]

The new charges come just over two months after Reifschneider was sentenced for a separate grand-theft conviction involving a Wyoming credit union.

That case began with another series of transactions that didn't have enough money behind them.

In February 2025, Reifschneider used the third-party payment platform ProPay to put thousands of dollars into accounts he held at WyHy Federal Credit Union, alleges a second affidavit written by Cheyenne police detective M. Webster.

[{"type":"text","text":"The money initially appeared in his accounts."}]

Reifschneider then transferred, withdrew or spent it, investigators alleged.

[{"type":"text","text":"But the underlying transactions didn't clear."}]

Four transactions totaling $8,902.47 were ultimately returned for insufficient funds, and WyHy calculated its loss at $8,725.59.

When Webster spoke with Reifschneider on May 16, 2025, he acknowledged that the credit union had contacted him about problems with the accounts, according to the affidavit.

[{"type":"text","text":"He said he would pay the money back by May 23."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"He didn't, Webster wrote."}]

When the detective contacted him again June 17, Reifschneider again said he would get the money paid.

[{"type":"text","text":"By July 11, the credit union still hadn't been repaid."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"On June 4, Reifschneider was found guilty of grand theft."}]

He was sentenced to 3-5 years in prison, but the prison sentence was suspended, and he was instead placed on three years of supervised probation.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Already On Probation "}]

Reifschneider was on supervised probation for the grand theft conviction when DCI arrested him Wednesday, although the conduct alleged in the new Goshen County case predates that probation.

It wasn't Reifschneider's first conviction involving money, or his first suspended prison sentence.

On Nov. 27, 2017, he was found guilty of fraud for writing a bad check for $4,000.

He was sentenced to 3-5 years in prison. That sentence also was suspended, and Reifschneider was placed on five years of supervised probation.

Court records also show a separate grand theft charge against Reifschneider was dismissed in September 2023.

[{"type":"text","text":"Reifschneider now faces eight felony forgery charges in Goshen County."}]

Court records did not indicate as of Thursday that he had yet made an initial appearance on the charges.

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<title>Goshen County Man Charged With 8 Felonies For Allegedly Stealing $700k From Businesses | Cowboy State Daily</title>

A former Goshen County office manager, already on probation for grand theft from a Wyoming credit union, is facing eight felony forgery charges after nearly $700,000 was lost from two local businesses. He faces up to 80 years in prison.

Goshen County Man Charged With 8 Felonies For Allegedly Stealing $700k From Businesses

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

Renée Jean

Business & Tourism

Kelly Maher-Wolfensperger has just a few rules for the annual Ham and Jam party that happens in Hulett each year, when 30,000 or so bikes roll into town for a free pork sandwich and the fixings from Captain Ron’s Rodeo Bar.

“We do not mince, muddle, or blend,” she told Cowboy State Daily. “And we have no carbless and we have no Twisted Tea — so don’t ask.”

Her no-nonsense rules mean the bar doesn’t make Old Fashioneds, mojitos, or mules during the weeks of the Sturgis rally. 

“I’ve got people coming in here asking me for Chardonnay,” Wolfensperger added with a laugh. “I’m like, ‘What about this says we have wine?’ I mean, yeah, we have some really bad Cab, but this is not a wine bar.”

What she can make, besides the best Bloody Mary on the Hulett side of Sturgis, is a scene. 

“I live for chaos,” she said, spreading her arms wide to take in a classic small-town dive bar scene that is about to host hundreds of guests. “I’m born and ready for it. I’m an Aries, so, hell yeah, I’m ready for it.”

Sleep, coffee, ibuprofen and DripDrop — not necessarily in that order — are what she relies on to get her through August and the Sturgis Rally week.  

“My daughter is a dietician for a Big Ten football team and that’s what they use to keep their football players hydrated,” she said. 

With that, and 10 cute outfits complete with colorful boots, she’s ready — and rarin' — to go.

Wolfensperger and the town spend months preparing for the Ham and Jam.

“I think you start planning next year like the day it’s going on,” Tom Coronato told Cowboy State Daily. He is a co-owner of the Ponderosa Cafe. “I’m already planning for how I do it differently next year, because it’s not a one-day event. I mean Ham and Jam is one day, but if you prepare for one day you get one day. So we prepare for 21 days, because that’s when business is up in the Black Hills.”

The community works together on the broader logistics of drawing thousands of bikers. That includes a row of porta potties, as well as road crew and traffic crews, who keep the bikers going in the right direction and ensure cars aren’t driving into the middle of the Ham and Jam. 

“The mayor and the town council will do the budgets in advance, in anticipation of how many porta potties they need,” Coronato said. “What kind of staff they need, how many extra security people they need, like for police presence and stuff like that. The rest is just a wing and a prayer that you have good weather and good attendance.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"Things aren’t always smooth. "}]

“It’s a nightmare,” Brianna Gose told Cowboy State Daily with a chuckle and a sigh. “As usual. It’s just a lot of work, but I’ve got great employees.”

Gose said she will start cleaning out the beer garden at Captain Ron’s Rodeo Bar at least a month ahead of time.

“It’s just a lot of running to get ready and going places, picking up all the supplies,” she said. “We had to go to three stores to find beans this year. Sam’s Club didn’t have any big cans of beans this time.”

The bar, which started the Ham and Jam 37 or so years ago, will spend thousands on its signature, free pork sandwich with picnic sides.

Rain might fall, but nothing seems to keep people from coming back, year after year, to experience this scene in the Black Hills of Wyoming. 

Hugs were the order of the day up and down the street as Ham and Jam regulars bump into one another again during Wyoming Wednesday.

Their excitement, their reunions, feed into an already festive, party atmosphere. 

Royce Griebler, for example, has been coming to the Ham and Jam since the late '80s and remembers when it was a bit woolier. 

“It was pretty wild with the drag racing and a lot of other stuff,” he said. “I mean, it was fun. Probably more dangerous, but back then you were young and you didn’t care about the danger.”

In the beginning, Griebler rode with his brother.

“He doesn’t ride anymore, but my son and some other friends do,” he said. “I’m out here to go ride.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Topless Steer Riding "}]

Frank Lamb also remembers when things were a bit wilder.

“At the time it was called No Panties Wednesday,” he said with a chuckle. “That was in 2003. They were just changing over to Ham and Jam.”

In those days, a PRCA rodeo capped the day, but the grand finale wasn’t bull riding. 

“It was topless steer riding,” Lamb said with a chuckle. “They don’t do that any more. So some things have calmed down quite a bit.”

DCI agents used to come to the event to help provide security, Lamb added. 

“One of them was a friend of mine, and it was horseback security,” he said. “So they had some horseback guys.”

Lamb doesn’t care that the event is a little tamer, nor did he care that rain clouds were gathering.

“I wouldn’t miss this,” he said. “I haven’t been able to come the last 10 years because of (work). But I”m not managing the racetrack anymore, so I can just go where I want.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Detour No More"}]

Ham and Jam is supposed to be a one-day party. Ride in, have a Bloody Mary, eat a pork sandwich, and roar off into the distance toward the next town on the Devils Tower loop’s “hydration station.”

But in Hulett, Wednesday’s spillover from Sturgis is so good it changes the script for some. They end up circling not just the date on their calendar but real estate listings, too.

Mike Romano, for example, first experienced the area as a child, then came back as an adult for rally week. Before he knew it, he was buying a ranch and changing his address.

“This place just speaks to me,” he said. “That might sound corny, but to some people that’s reality. I came here to unwind from two phones, two iPads, two laptops.”

Romano had been running a global company. But coming back to the rally as an adult showed him what his life was missing. 

“This helped me reconnect when I came back here,” he said. “So I gravitated to the Hulett side.”

Wolfensperger, as well, found herself drawn to Hulett. She first came in 2012, but had a motorcycle accident that year and had to go home early.

The next year, she and her husband were back. 

“We were staying out here with a friend and, well, we never left,” she said. “We saw the chaos that’s out there and so we just stayed here and people watched and fell in love with the town.”

The couple have five, six motorcycles. For them, the Sturgis Rally never really ends.  “When it’s not rally, we love riding the hills,” she said. “We ride the hills at least 300 to 400 miles every Sunday, which is not hard to do out here.”

Out-of-towners might think of Ham and Jam as a wild Wednesday detour for their Sturgis adventures. But for some, like Romano and Wolfensperger, the detour became the destination.

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<title>Sturgis 2026: Hulett's Ham & Jam — The Detour Party That's Become A Destination | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Hulett's Ham and Jam is supposed to be a one-day party. Ride in, have a Bloody Mary, eat a pork sandwich, and roar off into the distance toward Sturgis. But it's become such a popular event, the 30,000 bikers who visit every year have extended their stay.

Sturgis 2026: Hulett's Ham & Jam — The Detour Party That's Become A Destination

 who had been living in a sweltering, feces-filled Manderson camper have pleaded not guilty to seven total charges.

The mother and grandfather of a 2-month old baby found dead in a sweltering, feces-filled camper pleaded not guilty Tuesday to numerous charges surrounding the infant's death. Caseworkers say they were told to "get the f*** off the property" earlier in the year.

Daily Cartoon: Monday, January 19, 2026

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