CSD Staff

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

<title>Daily Cartoon 2: Thursday, February 12, 2026 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Daily Cartoon 2: Thursday, February 12, 2026

Letters to the Editor

[{"type":"text","text":"It's time for Gov. Gordon to stop, look and listen to his constituents."}]

In a recent guest column, Gov. Gordon poo-poos public concerns about data centers and cites the old “Lead, Follow or Get out of the Way” quote. 

However, he would be wise to “Stop, Look and Listen” to the concerns of Wyoming citizens. 

Gordon talks about lost economic opportunities and data centers but fails to acknowledge the real impacts and concerns facing citizens in Wyoming and across the country.

Gordon fails to address the fact that hyperscale data centers are a subtractive industry, adding very few real long term jobs while using a tremendous amount of resources. 

They are not necessary for current AI use like Siri, Google Lens, medical information transfer, emergency services, or any of the services we use every day. 

Hyperscale data centers are for surveillance, crypto-mining, and  increasing mega-corporation profits by reducing the human workforce. 

They are not a cost-effective industry until AI can eliminate about 40% of the workforce - the ultimate goal some of AI’s founders tout. 

Citizens in Wyoming are concerned about the tax breaks, the noise, the increased fire risks, the water pollution, the air pollution, increased power demands, rising electricity costs, the impacts on our wide open spaces and wildlife, the replacement of technology every 3-5 years, the man camps during construction and all the problems those bring. 

We are concerned about the use of eminent domain for infrastructure like power lines, and need an answer to the question, “What do we do in 25 years?” prompted by the life expectancy of hyperscale data centers. 

And those are only a few of the issues. What’s wrong with Stopping, Looking and Listening to citizens and experts to address these concerns and come up with a better plan?

[{"type":"text","text":"Gordon wrote 818 words but failed to address a single issue. "}]

[{"type":"text","text":"The only point he made was to use our energy here. "}]

Once again, it looks like Wyoming is just a colony for more out of state corporations, as they exploit our resources while the money goes to faraway billionaires and their corporations.

So please tell us, Gov. Gordon, what are the details, and what is the total amount of revenue lost to Wyoming from the tax breaks these multi-billion dollar corporations have received? 

[{"type":"text","text":"Give us the details. "}]

And tell us what protections we have in place that will prevent citizens from paying increased electrical costs, and prevent citizens from paying for water cleanup and new infrastructure? 

What protections are in place to protect our legacy as a state of wide open spaces and valuable wildlife?

Governor, you failed to lead on this issue because you have catered to the tech billionaires. Now is the time for you to follow your relative’s advice and get out of the way.

The citizens of Wyoming are leading to ensure their concerns about data centers are addressed and not swept under the rug by politicians like you.

[{"type":"text","text":"Andrea Knutson, Sheridan"}]

Gordon 11 23 23

<title>Letter To The Editor: It's Time For Gordon To Stop, Look, And Listen | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Dear editor: In a recent guest column, Gov. Gordon poo-poos public concerns about data centers and cites the old “Lead, Follow or Get out of the Way” quote. However, he would be wise to “Stop, Look and Listen” to the concerns of Wyoming citizens.

Letter To The Editor: It's Time For Gordon To Stop, Look, And Listen

Heinz mark

Mark Heinz

Wildlife

Wyoming Game and Fish Department agents killed a black bear that tried to enter two women’s tents in the Bighorn Mountains and then subsequently entered other camps in early July. 

One of the women who was initially attacked told Cowboy State Daily on Friday that she was saddened but relieved to hear that the bear had been killed.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"The Same Bear"}]

Game and Fish personnel responded to a report of a black bear in a camp on Forest Road 15 in the Bighorns late on July 23. 

“The reporting party said the bear had frequented the area for multiple nights, accessing food and showing a notable lack of fear of humans in the area,” according to Game and Fish. “When the bear returned to the camp that night, it was killed by department personnel, and a tissue sample was sent to the Wyoming Game and Fish Wildlife Forensic Laboratory in Laramie.” 

On Wednesday, lab results confirmed it was the same bear that had “attempted to enter two tents while they were occupied” late July 5 at another camp off Forest System Road 178 near Fool Creek, according to Game and Fish.

The distance between the two camp sites is approximately 4.5 air miles.

‘I’m Sure Glad They Put An End To It’

Shonna Kaye Dehl of Lovell and Maggie Bassett of Powell previously told Cowboy State Daily the bear drove them out of their camp and then returned and 

In a text message to Cowboy State Daily on Friday, Bassett reacted to the bear being killed. 

“I’m sorry it had to be killed, but I’m sure glad they put an end to it before someone got hurt,” she wrote. “Unfortunately, even with the bear being gone, I can’t imagine ever sleeping in a tent again, which is one of the only ‘fun’ things I do. This whole thing just sucks.”a   m

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"‘Food Conditioned’"}]

Dehl and Bassett described the bear as a large adult, probably a male. Game and Fish did not provide any information about the age, size and sex of the bear it killed. 

After the first attack, Game and Fish tried to trap the bear near Fool Creek. The traps were removed on July 8. 

A person or people removed warning signs around the trap area and also might have “interfered with the opportunity to capture the bear” by getting too close to the traps, according to Game and Fish. 

“The reported behavior of the bear during the two conflicts suggests it was food-conditioned and had likely received human-provided food rewards in the past. Food-conditioned bears can become destructive and dangerous in their attempts to obtain human food,” Game and Fish said.

Mix Collage 08 Jul 2026 04 14 PM 647

<title>Fish And Game Kills Black Bear That Drove Women From Bighorns Camp, Shredded Tent | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Wyoming Game and Fish wardens have killed a black bear that drove two women from their camp and shredded their tent in the Bighorn Mountains early last month. The bear likely was food-conditioned and continued to enter other camps through July.

Fish And Game Kills Black Bear That Drove Women From Bighorns Camp, Shredded Tent

Wyoming Sunrise

Today's Wyoming sunrise was captured by David Osmundsen. David writes, "Sunrise over Circle Park Road in the Bighorn Mountains. I woke up and sat sipping hot coffee to this view every morning  while at camp."

[{"type":"text","text":"To submit your Wyoming sunrise, email us at: News@CowboyStateDaily.com"}]

NOTE: Please send us the highest-quality version of your photo. The larger the file, the better.

[{"type":"text","text":"NOTE #2: Please include where you are from and where the photo was taken."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"NOTE #3: Tell us about your sunrise. What do you like about it?"}]

NOTE #4: We prefer horizontal photos. We can use vertical but horizontal is preferred.

Sunrise small 8 7 26

<title>Your Wyoming Sunrise: Friday, August 7, 2026 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Your Wyoming Sunrise: Friday, August 7, 2026

A Yellowstone bull bison with a gigantic abscess on its right rear quarter probably isn’t suffering much pain and will likely survive, one of the county’s top bison ranchers says.

But the recovery process is going to be good, said Ken Klemm, past president and a lifelong member of the National Bison Association.

After seeing a photo of the bison, taken early Wednesday in Yellowstone National Park’s Lamar Valley, Klemm said a gushing rupture of the abscess is imminent.

“It looks like a 5-gallon bucketful of stuff will come out of that one,” Klemm, who has managed some of the world’s largest bison ranches, told Cowboy State Daily.

The abscess probably formed around a wound, he said.

The bison rut, or mating season, is on in Yellowstone. The bull might have suffered a puncture during a fight with another bull, Klemm said.

Lauri Foster lives just outside of New York City and loves coming to Wyoming to visit Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks.

Early Wednesday, she was on a wildlife-viewing drive through the Lamar Valley when she spotted the bull sporting a huge, bulbous mass near its backside.

Foster works with horses and is familiar with injuries to large animals, so she knew what she saw on the bison must be something serious.

“I thought it had to be a hematoma or an abscess,” she told Cowboy State Daily.

Foster couldn’t see any visible cuts or sores that might indicate exactly where it was wounded, she said.

To keep safe, Foster stayed in her vehicle to photograph that bull and other bison.

The bulls were raising a ruckus as they competed for mating rights.

“They were headbutting each other and chasing each other down,” Foster said.

The bull with the abscess was taking a break, though she surmised he had probably been recently wounded in a fight.

She added that despite how hideous that abscess looked, the bull didn’t seem sick or weak.

“He was walking along normally,” she said.

The rut has made bull bison extra agitated lately. In the most dramatic incident, a bison flipped and seriously injured Washington state resident Carl Isom-McDaniel, 65, in July.

Foster said at one point the bull walked up the middle of the road and stopped directly in front of her vehicle, giving her the stink-eye.

“I was thinking, ‘this is a little intimidating,’” she said.

Bull elk are known for getting into epic battles once their rut starts, usually in September.

Bison take it to another level, Klemm said.

“They’re worse than elk. If the loser doesn’t get away, the other bull will kill him,” he said.

The National Park Service has a general policy of letting nature take its course with animals’ injuries.

Klemm said the bull with the super-sized abscess has a good chance of making it.

“The infection is just raging in there,” he said. "The immune system is keeping that bison from dying, just from walking around with that much infectious material in its body.

“I suspect it will burst fairly soon and he’ll get over it. Bison have unbelievably good immune systems for things like this.” 

Bison abcess 8 6 26

<title>Bison Rancher: Yellowstone Bull With Gigantic Abscess Will Be OK Once It Gushes | Cowboy State Daily</title>

A massive abscess on a Yellowstone bull bison’s right rear quarter likely is the result of an infected wound from a rut battle. When it ruptures, “a 5-gallon bucketful of stuff” will gush out, a top bison rancher says, adding the bison should be fine.

Bison Rancher: Yellowstone Bull With Gigantic Abscess Will Be OK Once It Gushes

Employee kate meadows cropped

Kate Meadows

Around Wyoming

Legislature

Students in Lincoln County School District No. 1 will have to leave their smartphones, smartwatches and other internet-connected devices behind during the school day starting this fall — and those who repeatedly violate the rule could end up paying for it.

The district's board of trustees has adopted a Smart Device Policy for the 2026-27 school year that prohibits students from possessing smart devices on campus during school hours. 

Students caught violating the policy three times will face a $25 fine, a provision district leaders say is intended to change behavior rather than generate revenue.

School districts across the state are enacting smart-device policies after the Wyoming Legislature passed a bill earlier this year requiring the adoption of formal policies to address the possession and use of smart devices by students while on school grounds. 

However, district board chair Kristi Dearden said she is not aware of any other school districts whose policies include a fee for repeat offenders.

“In education, you have to be able to gain and keep students’ attention for them to learn,” said Shawn Rogers, principal of Kemmerer Junior-Senior High School. “When you’re competing with a cellphone, you’re going to lose every time.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Legislature Puts Districts in Charge"}]

The move comes as schools across the state consider how to monitor smart-device usage.

Campbell County School District in June approved a ban for K–8 students between opening and end-of-day bells, with high school students allowed to use their cellphones between class periods and during lunch.

Cody High School in Park County School District 6 also implemented a total ban.

Last year, Cowboy State Daily reported on 

a total ban implemented at Evanston High School

EHS English teacher Laura Clarito said the ban changed the attitudes of students.

“Since cellphones were disallowed, I have seen more engagement in coursework and more conversation during downtime,” Clarito said. “Kids aren't phone zombies now, they are humans.”

Both Rogers and Dearden said Lincoln County School District No. 1’s new policy is a direct result of the recent legislation.

“There was a need for it,” Rogers said. “We were really happy that our Legislature finally gave us something to go on. We feel like we battle with those phones so much it’s definitely a distraction.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"The $25 Fee"}]

Rogers said school administrators and board members researched what other states were doing to implement smart-device policies. In Texas, they learned, some districts are imposing fines for policy violations.

As the Lincoln County district considered how to change behavior, leaders thought a fee on a third offense made sense.  

“On the third offense, the behavior’s not changing,” Rogers said. “We would hope that it doesn’t get to that point.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Student Council To Receive Money"}]

Dearden said any fines collected will be deposited into the district’s student council fund.

[{"type":"text","text":"Rogers said he hopes the council won’t see much money from this source."}]

“I’m hoping it’s not going to be that big of a deal,” Rogers said. “Even if the fund collects $300, that means 12 students pushed it to three offenses.”

[{"type":"text","text":"That, he said, would signal a larger problem."}]

“I would hope that parents would make kids pay their own fine if it gets to that level,” he added.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Community Feedback"}]

[{"type":"text","text":"The policy has generated spirited debate within the community."}]

Discussions on social media revealed sharply divided opinions, though no one spoke directly to Cowboy State Daily when asked to share their thoughts.

Some argued a ban on smart devices violated personal property rights. Others questioned how students would contact their parents in an emergency such as a shooting.

Others said the school office should be in charge of communicating with parents as necessary. Many supported the policy, saying students have the right to an education, not a right to a cellphone.

“Everyone I’ve spoken to is in support of it,” Rogers said, “though I’m not naïve enough to believe there aren’t naysayers.”

Dearden said no community members have spoken publicly at board meetings about the policy. 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"‘Win Back Education’"}]

The Lincoln County district’s policy points to research showing the mere presence of a cellphone reduces cognitive capacity.

 suggesting that banning smartphones in schools has a positive impact. She also shared a 

study from the National Library of Medicine

 that explored the impact of smartphone use on a student’s understanding of course material and psychological well-being in the classroom.

The policy declares Kemmerer Junior-Senior High School a “smart device free zone” from the first bell to the final bell.

It defines a smart device as “any portable electronic tool capable of connecting to external networks (including but not limited to Wi-Fi, cellular data or Bluetooth) or possessing independent processing power to store, record, or transmit data. This includes, but is not limited to, cellular phones, smartphones, smartwatches, tablets, e-readers, handheld gaming consoles, and wearable technology.”

Students can leave their devices in a locked vehicle or place them in a secure lockbox at the front office before school begins.

A first violation results in confiscation of a device until the end of the school day. A second offense requires a parent or guardian to retrieve it from the school.

[{"type":"text","text":"A third violation carries the $25 fine."}]

The policy also includes what administrators call a "burner device" provision. Students who place a dummy or decoy phone in a lockbox while secretly keeping their primary device will automatically receive a third offense.

With the new school year looming, administrators are optimistic that the policy will produce positive results.

[{"type":"text","text":"We call it “win back education,” Rogers said."}]

Kemmerer high and cellphone 8 6 26

<title>Lincoln County Students Face $25 Fines If They Keep Bringing Phones To School | Cowboy State Daily</title>

If stern warnings and rules won’t keep kids from bringing their cellphones and devices to school, maybe cash fines will get their attention. That’s the idea behind a new Lincoln County rule that will fine students $25 if they keep bringing them to school.

Lincoln County Students Face $25 Fines If They Keep Bringing Phones To School

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

Clair McFarland

Government & Politics

Politics

After a contentious State Board of Land Commissioners meeting Thursday, Secretary of State Chuck Gray indicated it's Gov. Mark Gordon's fault he voted yes on an easement for a data center generation facility in June. 

Gordon called that "clearly an excuse concocted by Mr. Gray to cover up the fact that he is not doing his homework and is taking votes he does not understand." 

The governor also said that Gray sounds "like a jackass in a tin barn." 

In his campaign against eight other Republicans for the GOP nomination to U.S. House, Gray is the only candidate voicing outright opposition to data centers. Many of his opponents have said it’s the state and local governments’ role, not the role of Congress, to dictate policies on data centers.  

Gray was the lone no-vote of the State Board of Land Commissioners in February, on approving a 35-year easement for Cheyenne Power Hub, a generation facility 

 being the lone nay on the data center project easement at Tuesday night’s House debate.

 to that same data center generator facility.  

Gray told Cowboy State Daily he voted in favor of that data center-feeding facility because the vote’s true nature wasn’t clearly noticed, and “it looked like an easement for an oil and gas producer.”

Members of the State Board of Land Commissioners receive application documents a week before each meeting, and Office of State Lands (OSLI) and Investments personnel offer them a chance to ask questions and gain clarity before the meetings, OSLI communications and policy analyst Melissa Defratis said in a brief Thursday interview. 

[{"type":"text","text":"'An Ongoing Problem'"}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Gray also blamed Gordon for what he calls inadequate notice of the votes."}]

“Unfortunately, at certain times, the Governor has found ways to hide what these leases are actually doing,” said Gray in a Thursday email. “For example, 

, it wasn’t even mentioned that any of the easement applications had anything to do with the data center.”

The June application was from the same facility that drew Gray’s no-vote in February.

“There was no way for the Board members to know, which has been an ongoing problem," Gray said.

All projects, easements, and Temporary Use Permits having anything to do with wind, solar, or data centers should be clearly noticed to the State Board of Land Commissioners," said Gray. "The fact that they haven’t been, including in the June meeting, is deeply disturbing to me.  

"It shows Gordon’s continued attempts to force outrageously wrong wind, solar, and data center projects without clear notice and knowledge of the public, including the State Board of Land Commissioners.

Gray accused Cowboy State Daily of being “the ultimately ally of Mark Gordon” and an unspecified group of “insiders.”

Gordon responded in a strongly-worded statement, noting that the members of the State Board of Land Commissioners are "fully briefed with every opportunity to ask the staff for more information. Nothing is being hidden from Mr. Gray."

Gordon said Gray has not been doing his homework and has been voting on things he doesn't understand. 

The governor said that in Thursday's meeting, "Mr. Gray appeared to be unprepared or unfamiliar with the material in front of him and was distracted by his cellphone during the meeting as he has been before." 

The governor said Wyoming's elected officials are expected to come prepared to meetings. 

"Mr. Gray continues to show his inability to understand the issues before him and to work well with his colleagues," said Gordon, adding, "The Secretary is sounding like a jackass in a tin barn." 

 has, for clarity, been published as a standalone story. 

Chuck Gray and Mark Gordon 8 6 26

<title>Gordon: Gray Sounds Like 'Jackass In A Tin Barn' For Blaming Data Center Vote On Gov | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Chuck Gray, who campaigns against data centers, indicated Thursday that his aye-vote on an easement for a data center generator was Gov. Mark Gordon's fault. "The Secretary is sounding like a jackass in a tin barn," Gordon responded.

Daily Cartoon 2: Thursday, February 12, 2026

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Daily Cartoon 2: Thursday, February 12, 2026

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