CSD Staff

Daily Smile

[{"type":"text","text":"Puppy slide......"}]

Smile 3 24 26

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

<title>Daily Smile: Tuesday, March 24, 2026 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Puppy slide......

Daily Smile: Tuesday, March 24, 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. 

Arvada 8 13 26

<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

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily political columnist, Rod Miller.

Rod Miller

Opinion

CSD Columnists

There was no crowd to energize, no babies to kiss nor hundreds of hands to shake. No stem-winder of a political speech was delivered. 

This was just a cowboy and a little kid comparing their hand-me-down belt buckles and getting to know each other.

It happened last Friday in Cheyenne when Sen. Eric Barlow took some time away from the grueling pace of his campaign for governor to meet my four year-old grandson, Dayton, in front of the U.P depot so they could shake, howdy and compare belt buckles. 

[{"type":"text","text":"I consider that just cowboy as hell on Barlow’s part."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Here’s the story of those buckles. "}]

I had just returned to the ranch where I grew up after several years in Italy. 

I decided to get belt buckles made for my dad Frank, my brother Mark, and myself with the family’s I Lazy D brand emblazoned thereon.

A belt buckle with the family brand is wearable heritage. Passing it down to the next generation is an act of love and shared history.

I Lazy D is an old brand, recorded in the Wyoming territorial brand book around 1870. 

Cattle and horses wore it before Wyoming became a state. But more on brands later.

I ran my trapline in Rawlins and found out that the best bucklemaker was doing time in the old penitentiary for forgery. 

Seems that if a man is good at engraving plates for counterfeit money, he’s also good at crafting belt buckles.

I had three I Lazy D buckles made, and Dad, Mark and I wore them for years. I recently handed mine down to Dayton. 

Mark was State Archaeologist at the time, and got permission from Bill Barlow, Eric’s dad, to excavate an archaeological site on the Barlow ranch. 

To express his thanks, Mark had a belt buckle made by the same silversmith with Barlow’s Bar L O brand and gave it to Bill.

When you see Eric on the campaign trail, he’s wearing that same belt buckle. 

It’s the one his dad wore, then handed down to him, and for my money, it’s one of the cleverest brands in the Wyoming brand book. 

I asked the candidate if he had time to meet Dayton so they could show off the buckles that held their britches up. He graciously said yes, and the photo is in this column.

The expression “riding for the brand” is often misused, and has nothing to do with politics. 

It comes from Wyoming’s open range days in the late 19th century, It describes a cowboy who is skilled and dependable enough to be kept on long term, roundup after roundup, by a big cow outfit. 

A lesser cowhand would be paid his wages after roundup, and sent back out on the grubline to find work somewhere else. 

[{"type":"text","text":"Top hands rode for the brand because the brand gave the cowboy a home."}]

Riding for a brand, a cowboy learns the landscape of the outfit. He knows where to find good grass and water, and where to avoid larkspur and locoweed. He learns where to cross the mountains and rivers without losing livestock.

[{"type":"text","text":"And the cowboy doesn’t choose the brand. "}]

[{"type":"text","text":"The brand chooses the cowboy. Loyalty cuts both ways."}]

That’s why a brand on a belt buckle is worn with a deep sense of pride, like young Dayton Miller and candidate Eric Barlow wear theirs.

Contrast this brand ethic with a Freedom Caucus member getting busted for DUI, and bragging about his “Honor Wyoming” belt buckle during his booking at the jail. 

[{"type":"text","text":"A brand means different things to different people. But I digress."}]

I suppose the aforesaid is a long-winded and flowery way for me to tell you who will get my vote for Wyoming’s governor, and why. 

[{"type":"text","text":"Barlow rides for the brand, as I understand the term. "}]

He shows up. He does the work. And Dayton Miller took a real liking to him.

Rod Miller can be reached at RodsMillerWyo@yahoo.com

Mix Collage 13 Aug 2026 09 42 AM 1858

<title>Rod Miller: Riding For The Brand Wearing Hand-Me-Down Belt Buckles | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Columnist Rod Miller writes, "A brand on a belt buckle is worn with a deep sense of pride, like young Dayton Miller and candidate Eric Barlow wear theirs. Contrast this with a Freedom Caucus member getting busted for DUI, and bragging about his 'Honor Wyoming' belt buckle at the jail."

Rod Miller: Riding For The Brand Wearing Hand-Me-Down Belt Buckles

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

Clair McFarland

Politics

The national social media influencer Libs of TikTok blasted a Laramie High School counselor Thursday for saying he wishes Wyoming House Speaker Chip Neiman “had been aborted.”

Jason Uitterdyk’s Facebook page commented on a Wednesday post by the Wyoming Freedom Caucus that 

n, R-Hulett, advocating this session for the Human Heartbeat Act.

That’s the latest of four years’ worth of Wyoming abortion bans, all of which have been blocked in court.

“Ladies and gentlemen I will say this today,” said Neiman in the video. “I would have fought for you too … At what point did you become human? At what point would you have been glad to have somebody fight for you?”

Under the post, Cowboy State Daily has confirmed, Uitterdyk’s Facebook page wrote, “I wish this guy would have been aborted.”

Libs of TikTok blasted the screenshot of the comment and of Uitterdyk’s profile photo to their audience of 4.7 million. As of Thursday afternoon, nearly 100,000 people had viewed her 

The influencer also included a phone number for Uitterdyk’s employer, Laramie High School.

“Would you want this person in charge of your kids’ mental health?” she wrote.

Uitterdyk did not respond by publication to a Thursday-morning voicemail and text message.

Laramie High School administration did not return a voicemail. Albany County School District No. 1 declined via its communications coordinator Madison Green to comment.

Neiman told Cowboy State Daily on Thursday morning that he was not aware of the Libs of TikTok post or Uitterdyk’s comment.

Reacting to the outlet’s recitation of the comment, Neiman said, “I would never wish that on him. I’d fight for him and am fighting for him.”

Neiman said the comment is "horrific" and undermines the pro-choice argument, which Neiman called the “anti-life” position.

“I feel for the guy, I really do,” he said. “I feel awful for somebody that would have that attitude.”

Neiman said matters around Uitterdyk’s employment are “a local control issue” for the school district.

The school district's website and Uitterdyk's Facebook page say he is a counselor at Laramie High Shcool. 

[{"type":"text","text":"Abortion is a fraught topic in Wyoming."}]

Led by the Legislature, the voters passed a health-care autonomy clause into the Wyoming Constitution in 2012. Rhetoric around the amendment cast it as a way to combat the Affordable Care Act.

The Wyoming Supreme Court ruled Jan. 6 that the clause also makes abortion access a right protected by the highest level of judicial scrutiny in constitutional law.

[{"type":"text","text":"The court struck down Wyoming’s abortion bans."}]

Neiman sponsored another ban, the Human Heartbeat Act, banning abortion from the point at which a fetal heartbeat can be heard.

Consistent with history, a pro-choice coalition challenged the law.  

A Natrona County District Court judge paused it while the litigation unfolded. It’s still ongoing.

This law has a trigger component, however, so that when it was blocked by a court a post-viability abortion ban sprang into law.

Gov. Mark Gordon urged the Legislature this year to advance a new amendment to the voters to allow abortion bans through the state Constitution. The Legislature did not do that.

Chip abortion remark 8 13 26

<title>Libs Of TikTok Blasts Laramie School Counselor For Wishing Chip Neiman Was Aborted | Cowboy State Daily</title>

The national social media influencer Libs of TikTok blasted a Laramie High School counselor on Thursday for saying he wishes Wyoming House Speaker Chip Neiman had been aborted. "Would you want this person in charge of your kids' mental health?" she wrote.

Libs Of TikTok Blasts Laramie School Counselor For Wishing Chip Neiman Was Aborted

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily's Feature Reporter, Andrew Rossi.

Andrew Rossi

Public Safety

Two South Dakota Highway Patrol troopers nearly got the shock of their life from a lightning strike.

The troopers were searching for someone with “a purple shirt” when lightning suddenly struck the ground just south of Rapid City, according to a video the highway patrol posted.

They were within 50 feet of the spot where the bolt of energy hit the flat, open prairie where they were standing.

The troopers were shocked and ran, but neither was harmed. A typical lightning bolt is 54,000 degrees. 

"That's one way to light up a manhunt," the patrol said on its social media post.

One commenter complimented the highway patrol for the abrupt editing of the posted video.

"SDHP editing is great. There was definitely a bad word coming," Justin Harmon wrote.

Another suggested the highway patrol receive some extra funding.

"Better make a note for budgetary increase in uniform pants cause there’s going to be some new ones needed," wrote Mark Lefebre.

The South Dakota Highway Patrol could not be reached for additional information.

[{"type":"text","text":"The Shocking Truth"}]

August is the peak of “the lightning season” in the Rocky Mountain Region. Atmospheric conditions favor the development of afternoon thunderstorms, which tend to be short-lived but potent enough to generate powerful blasts of lightning.

“Our thunderstorm season is our thunderstorm season in Wyoming, Montana, and the Dakotas, and August is the peak of it,” said Cowboy State Daily meteorologist Don Day.

The common belief is that lightning will always strike the tallest point in any particular area, whether that’s a mountain top, a skyscraper, a tree, or the tallest person in a flat field.

[{"type":"text","text":"While that tends to be true, Day cautioned it’s “no guarantee.”"}]

“It’s true that you want to be away from the higher ground and the highest object, but lightning is going to go where it wants to go,” he said. “Lightning hits the ground all the time. That’s how we get wildfires on the plains.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 37 million lightning strikes hit the ground each year in the United States. The odds of being struck by lightning are less than one in a million, and almost 90% of all lightning strike victims survive.

Nevertheless, there were 517 lightning-related deaths in the U.S. between 2006 and 2025.

, a 22-year-old man was killed by a lightning strike during a NOLS wilderness expedition in the Absaroka Mountains. Another man in the vicinity of the strike was severely injured

Many lightning-related deaths and injuries occur without a direct strike. The energy can travel through plumbing and electrical systems, wired devices, and even the metal bars in concrete walls and floors.

“People in the western U.S. have been injured or killed by just being along or touching a fence,” Day said.

If someone’s concerned about being struck by lightning, the best thing they can do is get low and small.

Whatever you do, don’t drop flat. That might seem obvious, but Day said it’s actually putting yourself in a high-risk position.

“What you want to do is have the least amount of your body touching the ground,” he said. “The best thing you can do is squat in a ball and try to position yourself on the ground so that only your toes are touching, and you’re conducting as little electricity as possible.”

Are there any warnings of an imminent lightning strike? Science says yes but, again, it’s not a guarantee.

“There will be a buildup between the positive and the negative energy before the strike,” Day said. “Some people have heard a light buzzing sound or felt static electricity. There are some famous photos of people with their hair standing up, just like if they’d rubbed a balloon on their head, before a strike.”

Two women at the Horseshoe Bend Overlook in Arizona’s Glen Canyon National Recreation Area 

. They were amused when their long hair started standing straight up as energy collected in the atmosphere.

[{"type":"text","text":"Day didn’t find it particularly amusing."}]

“There is, without a doubt, a very strong correlation between a phenomenon that they observed and an imminent lightning strike,” he said. “So, you probably shouldn’t try to take pictures and upload them to social media.”

Day said these can be “brief warning signals” of an imminent lightning strike, but it doesn’t always manifest that way. There often is no warning.

“The thing about lightning is that it can be really unpredictable where it hits,” he said. “You shouldn't assume that you're going to get that warning sign, but it has happened.”

[{"type":"text","text":"Just Get Inside"}]

When someone’s hiking in the mountains, working in the fields, or floating on a river during a thunderstorm, there will always be a risk that they could be struck by lightning. In Day’s opinion, it’s a severely underestimated hazard for all Wyomingites.

“I believe that lightning is one of the most underappreciated weather dangers that we live with,” he said. “This may sound like overkill, but if you hear thunder, especially if you know it's close, you're at a risk of being struck or being affected by lightning somehow.”

When out in the open with no shelter, it's best to get low and keep as much of your body off the ground as possible.

The safest option, though, is to go inside when the thunder rumbles. Day doesn’t see that as much of an imposition for the sake of safety.

“In this part of the country, thunderstorms don't last very long,” he said. “If you get chased inside because of thunder and lightning, odds are you're not going to be inside for hours waiting for it to go away. It's one of those things where you get yourself into a safe position, be patient, and let it pass.”

Lightning 8 13 26

<title>South Dakota Troopers Nearly Struck By Lightning While On Manhunt | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Two South Dakota Highway Patrol troopers were nearly struck by lightning while on a manhunt Wednesday evening. Body cam video captured the lightning strike followed an immediate yell. "That's one way to light up a manhunt," the patrol said.

South Dakota Troopers Nearly Struck By Lightning While On Manhunt

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.

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.

Daily Smile: Tuesday, March 24, 2026

In case you missed it

CSD Staff

Writer

More in Daily Smile

Daily Smile: Friday, August 14, 2026

Daily Smile: Thursday, August 13, 2026

Daily Smile: Wednesday, August 12, 2026

Daily Smile: Tuesday, August 11, 2026

Most read

Daily Smile: Tuesday, March 24, 2026

In case you missed it

Authors

CSD Staff

Writer

More in Daily Smile

Daily Smile: Friday, August 14, 2026

Daily Smile: Thursday, August 13, 2026

Daily Smile: Wednesday, August 12, 2026

Daily Smile: Tuesday, August 11, 2026

Most read