CSD Staff

Daily Darwin

At least the dog will be easy to identify...

Darwin 3 28 26

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

<title>Daily Darwin: Saturday, March 28, 2026 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Daily Darwin: Saturday, March 28, 2026

 At least the dog will be easy to identify...

Kolby fedore

Kolby Fedore

Crime & Courts

Courts

A 24-year-old semitrailer driver accused of slamming into the bed of a pickup and triggering the deadly 2025 Valentine’s Day pileup that closed the Green River Tunnel for months has been criminally charged more 15 months after the explosive crash that killed 

According to court records made available Tuesday, Riaz Ahmad Noori is wanted on two counts of aggravated homicide and one of aggravated assault and battery — all Wyoming felonies each punishable by up to 20 years in prison each if convicted.

The Feb. 14, 2025, crash eventually ballooned into a 26-vehicle catastrophe that filled the westbound Interstate 80 tunnel near Green River with fire, explosions and thick, black smoke.

According to an affidavit written by Wyoming Highway Patrol Trooper Tyler Chapman, the pileup began when a Toyota Tundra lost traction near the tunnel exit, struck a guardrail and spun back into traffic, blocking most of the right lane and part of the left lane.

Snow had fallen earlier that day, and slush and ice had formed near the tunnel exit where the variable speed limit had already been reduced from 65 mph to 55 mph because of weather conditions, according to 

by the National Transportation Safety Board.

A Pepsi semitrailer then braked and veered left to avoid the disabled pickup, striking the tunnel wall before narrowly missing the Tundra.

Another semi entered the tunnel afterward and jackknifed while attempting to stop, leaving its trailer blocking the right lane and the tractor sideways across the left lane, the affidavit says.

The crash killed Christopher Johnson, 20, and Quentin Romero, 22, both of Rawlins. Another truck driver, 30-year-old Harmanjeet Singh of Nova Scotia, Canada, died after becoming trapped in the post-crash fire.

, reports the affidavit, including a major liver laceration, lacerated spleen, traumatic subdural hemorrhage with loss of consciousness, fractured vertebrae, multiple broken ribs, fractures in her foot and a fractured thumb.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Semi Slammed Into Truck "}]

Investigators say 21-year-old Bradley Coleman was driving a Dodge Ram westbound through the tunnel with passengers Daryn Macy, Christopher Johnson and Quentin Romero.

At roughly the same time, Noori was driving an IGM Logistics Inc. semi westbound approaching the tunnel. According to the affidavit, the Dodge Ram passed the IGM semi on the left before entering the tunnel.

The affidavit states the Ram’s brake lights became visible as it approached the jackknifed semitrailer blocking the roadway ahead.

“Right at the camera timestamp of 11:34:53,” the affidavit states, the Ram “begins to slide, rotating toward the south wall.”

Chapman wrote that the truck’s brake lights were visible, as was the semitrailer blocking the lane ahead.

Investigators say Noori then moved into the left lane, struck the tunnel wall and “overrode the bed” of the Dodge Ram before continuing forward into the disabled tractor-trailer blocking the tunnel.

The affidavit states the “IGM/Ram combination” then struck the disabled Toyota Tundra before crashing into the rear of the Pepsi trailer outside the tunnel.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Tunnel Filled With Fire, Smoke"}]

Federal investigators said several more vehicles crashed after the initial collisions, and a massive fire erupted inside the tunnel.

 who goes by the online handle tophauler0 and narrowly escaped the 

 described the horror inside the tunnel and posted graphic and intense video of the immediate aftermath on social media. 

In one of the videos, screams can be heard from drivers who say they are burning up.

“Oh, this truck is on fire,” tophauler0 said in one of the videos, referring to a truck that crashed in front of him. “I gotta get out of here.”

He then can be seen kicking out the windshield of his semitrailer to escape, while other vehicles in the crash and a fire can be seen burning in the background. 

The trucker’s second video picks up after he’s escaped from the tunnel and clearly shows him just outside the entrance, a huge plume of black smoke billowing out with various law enforcement officers on the scene. 

He goes on to tell the officer that his truck was involved, but was one of the last ones, and it did not get too far into the tunnel.

“I was one of the very last ones, man,” he says. “The truck in front of me was on fire, with that guy dying in there. He’s dead."

Initially, emergency crews could not reach portions of the tunnel because of intense heat, explosions, heavy smoke and falling concrete.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"‘Human Error Was The Primary Factor’"}]

Investigators say road conditions inside the tunnel were dangerously slick because of snow, slush and ice buildup.

Water carried into the tunnel by passing vehicles had frozen on the roadway surface, increasing the distance required for vehicles to stop safely, says the affidavit. 

Even with those conditions, and despite an illuminated 55 mph speed limit sign, investigators allege Noori was traveling between 60 and 65 mph approaching the tunnel.

The affidavit states he slowed closer to the speed limit as he entered the tunnel, but not before colliding with the Ram.

“Human error was the primary factor contributing to these crashes” Chapman concludes in the affidavit. "Notably, 13 vehicles were brought to a controlled stop without striking anything, with five ultimately being struck."

The charging documents were filed in Sweetwater County Circuit Court on May 22. As of Friday afternoon, Noori had not been arrested, but the Sweetwater County Sheriff's Office has confirmed there is an active warrant for his arrest.

Noori is also facing separate civil litigation tied to the crash from a wrongful death lawsuit filed in September accusing he and his employer, IGM Logistics Inc., for failing to operate safely in dangerous winter conditions.

"As a direct and proximate result of Defendant Noori's negligence and reckless acts and omissions, Quentin Romero was killed, and his family suffered damages and losses," reads the complaint.

Brewer photo Green River Tunnel 2 2 14 25

<title>Trucker Faces Homicide Charges For 2025 Green River Tunnel Inferno That Killed 3 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

A trucker accused of triggering a 26-vehicle crash in the Green River Tunnel in 2025 that killed three people now faces homicide charges. “Human error was the primary factor contributing to these crashes,” says an affidavit supporting the charges filed last week.

Trucker Faces Homicide Charges For 2025 Green River Tunnel Inferno That Killed 3

Employee kate meadows cropped

Kate Meadows

Energy

Talks about how to accommodate roughly 1,600 temporary and 250 permanent workers at the TerraPower Nuclear power plant that’s on a fast-track for construction in Kemmerer are heating up.

At least three permanent housing developments are kicking off in Lincoln County’s county seat, along with talks about temporary workforce housing.

The city of about 2,400 people is bracing for explosive growth with the first-of-its-kind sodium-cooled nuclear power plant a month into construction.

Multiple companies are eyeing various properties to build a temporary workforce hub that could house workers when the plant comes online sometime around 2030.

“It’s more than just a man camp,” Kemmerer mayor Robert Bowen told Cowboy State Daily about the vision for the development. “This is living quarters. It’s like a little city within a city.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Requests For Proposals"}]

Bechtel, an engineering, construction and project management company partnering with TerraPower, put out a request for proposal to build workforce housing, said Bowen.

[{"type":"text","text":"Bechtel did not respond to Cowboy State Daily’s request for comment."}]

What the man camp looks like, what it will cost to build and where it is will depend on who is awarded the contract, Bowen said. 

He estimated the project is being considered by between five and seven bidders.

“All the companies have identified different properties they would like to use,” he said.

Some of the properties are in Lincoln County, some are on private property, and others are owned by the city, the mayor said.

“There are too many variables and moving parts to say what’s going happen,” Bowen said “Each bidder is going to have their own proposal.

[{"type":"text","text":"\"They’re not all going to look the same.”"}]

One area being considered for the development is undeveloped city-owned property between the local justice center and the Antelope Ridge subdivision. 

[{"type":"text","text":"Bowen said one developer has shown interest in that land."}]

Not all details of the request for proposals were shared with the city. However, the city council has formally heard about possible details being proposed as part of the project.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Amenities"}]

Bowen stressed that none of the items mentioned are guaranteed to be part of the buildout, but developers are considering adding amenities such as a dining facility that would provide three meals a day to workers, a recreational facility and a cantina.

A cantina, or bar, on a temporary workforce housing site drew mixed reactions from both members of the Lincoln County Planning and Zoning and the Kemmerer City Council.

Some people believe an on-site drinking establishment would lower the risk of drinking and driving because workers would remain at the housing site. 

Others see it as a threat to local bars because a cantina would compete with already-established business.  

The man camp would be an “on-demand buildout,” Bowen said, with the developer creating a base number of housing units and scaling from there according to need.

“Some could be modular. Some could be stick-built. It depends on the bidder,” he said.

The hub would accommodate temporary workers for about a year. Bowen said it could later be used for other area projects — a data center, for example, or if TerraPower were to build a second unit.

[{"type":"text","text":"Bowen said he's excited by the workforce hub’s possibilities."}]

“The thing I love about the workforce hub is it keeps us from getting stuck in the boom-bust cycle,” he said. “We won’t have to worry about overpriced houses that people are upside-down in when a bust comes.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"More Permanent Housing Coming"}]

The Canyon Road Development in town is a 291-acre mixed-use project that will include apartments, up to 1,000 units, along with possible retail and other amenities.

The Gateway Development is underway on 116 acres and plans call for 270 single-family homes.

A third development on private land will see higher-end, custom-built homes. Bowen said that development could draw interest from permanent TerraPower workers such as construction foremen and supervisors.

Jesica Fox Lozier, president of the Fossil Basin Chamber of Commerce and a local Realtor, told Cowboy State Daily she believes there might come a time when Kemmerer will need more workforce housing, adding that permanent housing growth is exciting. 

But she questions how taxpayer money is being used to fund private developers of the housing sites.

“It is definitely important that people stay within the community if at all possible and utilize the services available here,” she said.

Last year, the Wyoming Business Council awarded more than $4 million in business-ready community (BRC) grant money to Lincoln County for crucial infrastructure updates.

The State Land Investment Board (SLIB) unanimously approved the funds, according to a statement from the Business Council.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Nation’s First Advanced Nuclear Power Plant"}]

TerraPower officially began building the first-of-its-kind nuclear power plant last month. 

It will be the nation’s first utility-scale advanced nuclear power plant and will house the country’s first commercial-scale sodium-cooled reactor.

 that the advanced nuclear power plant will have more cops than the local Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office.

TerraPower has estimated its system will produce electricity at half the cost of a traditional nuclear plant, while boosting safety, in a system that’s been designed with interruptible power sources like wind and solar in mind.

Terra Power construction 1 5 29 26

<title>Kemmerer Plans For Man Camp To House 1,600 TerraPower Nuclear Plant Workers | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Developers are making proposals to build a man camp for the up to 1,600 workers who will build the TerraPower nuclear power plant near Kemmerer. “It’s more than just a man camp. It’s like a little city within a city,” said the mayor.

Kemmerer Plans For Man Camp To House 1,600 TerraPower Nuclear Plant Workers

Wyoming Life

Entertainment

A Kearney, Nebraska, man who loves the giant 

suffered a small fracture to his spine when he fell off a ladder trying to climb into the cab of the locomotive during its historic whistle-stop tour on Thursday.

Trevor Allen Bentley told Cowboy State Daily that he was about to fulfill a longtime dream of riding inside the cab of the world’s largest operating locomotive. 

 and had one more step to go on the five-rung ladder to get into the cab when he fell backward about 8 feet, landing hard on the ground.

A 16-second video posted (see below) shows the heavyset man, wearing a bright yellow construction vest, jeans and tennis shoes, gripping the handles on either side of the ladder and struggling to get up to the last step. 

After a few seconds, he slips and falls to the ground, landing on his back between the train tracks.

Three others nearby, also in bright-colored vests, were at Bentley’s side immediately. Instinct seemed to kick in as they attempt to help him sit up.

Bentley said he was able to sit up and that he wanted to get up right away.

“I felt fine,” he told Cowboy State Daily on Friday. “Obviously, I was sore. But I just wanted to get up.”

He said he was more embarrassed than anything, “because the Big Boy attracts a show.”

He guessed a few hundred people had turned out to see the Big Boy at the station.

It also was raining, a factor Bentley said likely contributed to his slip.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Ride Of A Lifetime Dashed"}]

Bentley, who works for the online news site CentralNebraskaToday.com, had planned to ride Big Boy 4014 on its approximate 40-mile leg between Kearney and Grand Island, Nebraska, documenting the trip on video for the outlet. 

He said he had emailed Union Pacific to request the ride, which the railroad granted.

In a social media post he shared after the fall, he wrote, “A boyhood dream got dashed as I fell 8 feet off of Big Boy 4014 before I got the ride of a lifetime.”

He later told Cowboy State Daily he has been a train enthusiast all his life. He had been in the Big Boy cab before, he said, “which is why I thought I could do it.”

[{"type":"text","text":"“I just couldn’t get that last step in,” he added. "}]

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"30-Minute Delay"}]

Big Boy was already running behind schedule when it pulled into the Kearney station, said Bentley. His fall caused an added 30-minute delay.

North Platte resident James Burns said he frequently visits the tracks and had decided to follow Big Boy from North Platte to Kearney. 

He was at the stop, taking pictures of Big Boy 4014 when Bentley fell, though he told Cowboy State Daily he did not see the fall. He also confirmed the incident caused an approximate 30-minute travel delay.

The fall sparked a lot of speculation on social media, with comments ranging from prayers that Bentley was OK to sharper criticisms of Bentley’s attempt to climb aboard. One such criticism was his wearing tennis shoes rather than work boots.

Bentley was taken via ambulance to CHI Good Samaritan Hospital in Kearney and said he was released later that day.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"'No Fault of UP'"}]

He was home resting when he spoke with Cowboy State Daily via phone Friday.

“I’m just stiff more than anything,” he said, adding that he hopes to be back to work next week. “I am just extremely lucky.”

Bentley wanted to make it clear that his fall was no fault of Union Pacific or anyone but himself. He said what happened was a total accident and that’s why he signed a waiver with UP about riding in the locomotive.

“I do not fault them in any way, shape, or form,” he said. “I don’t want to put a blemish on their tour. It was no fault of Union Pacific. It was on my own accord.”

Union Pacific publicly responded to the incident in a 16-word statement: “We are glad the person is OK and appreciate the concern we've heard from rail fans.”

Contact Kate Meadows at kate@cowboystatedaily.com

Big Boy fall 2 5 29 26

<title>Nebraska Man Fractures Spine After Falling Off Big Boy Locomotive At Whistle-Stop | Cowboy State Daily</title>

A Nebraska man told Cowboy State Daily he suffered a spine fracture in a fall climbing into the cab of the Big Boy 4014 locomotive on Thursday. “A boyhood dream got dashed as I fell 8 feet off of Big Boy 4014 before I got the ride of a lifetime,” he said.

Nebraska Man Fractures Spine After Falling Off Big Boy Locomotive At Whistle-Stop

Mac Watson

Daily Video News

It’s time to take a look at what’s happening around Wyoming for Friday, May 29th.  I’m Mac Watson

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"–"}]

Just weeks after unveiling a 3,200-acre data center expansion around Cheyenne, Microsoft is adding two more parcels totaling 420 acres. Cowboy State Daily’s Renee Jean reports that the move comes amid a deepening debate over data centers, growth, and water.

“They're going to add 420 acres to the overall 3,200 acre footprint that they announced in April, so that announcement in April tripled their footprint in Cheyenne. So it's adding on to what was already a pretty massive expansion as far as their data center footprint goes, and so you know, I don't know exactly what they plan to do on those parcels, they were very close-mouthed about that, they wouldn't answer any further questions.”

The two areas are on opposite sides of Cheyenne, but one of them, a 385-acre parcel, is near the 3,200-acre site, which is not far from Laramie County Community College.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"– "}]

A 25-person team from the ATF is in Cheyenne to investigate the huge fire that burned a four-story apartment building under construction in minutes Tuesday. Cowboy State Daily’s Greg Johnson reports that the fire chief says it was “just a matchbox with open lumber, ready to go up at any time.”

“The fire chief said it's not a secret why it burned so fast, and it was so hot. It was under construction, so a lot of the finishes hadn't been put on, which a lot of those have fire retardants. What's interesting, that this giant, four-story apartment building, they were just at the phase of construction that you said, where they were going to be putting in, you know, the internal fire suppression system. Obviously, that's not happening now, but they said a lot of things went right for this fire to go as fast and as hot as it went.”

Cheyenne Fire Rescue Chief Andrew Dykshorn told Cowboy State Daily that ATF investigators have been at the scene since Wednesday and “bring the federal assets” to handle a major event like the fire at the Ridge View Apartments and Townhomes in north Cheyenne.

Nearly two years after the decomposing body of a Cody man was found in a house after a drug bender with a female friend, the woman turned herself in to authorities this week. Cowboy State Daily’s Kolby Fedore reports that Brook Messick says she wants to take accountability for her actions.

“Brooke Messick remembers a night of drugs and partying during the weekend, right before August 14 in 2024. She was leaving the house when she decided to go back in and check on a friend who was snoring loudly. She tried to wake her friend up; he would not wake up, and she decided to leave without calling the police or saying anything to anyone. Investigators say that loud snoring after you've been using hard drugs like methamphetamine is a telltale sign of a potential overdose.Toxicology reports later revealed that the victim died as a result of bad drugs. The fentanyl and the methamphetamine had methadone in it, and then later they were able to find on the suspect's phone, Google searches, looking up how to inject methadone.”

Messick is being held in the Park County Detention Center on involuntary manslaughter and drug possession charges on a $50,000 cash-only bond.

Yellowstone visitors were furious after seeing an illegal drone harassing a grizzly bear and her two cubs. Cowboy State Daily’s Andrew Rossi reports that the man who shot video of the incident says, “Everybody was madder than hell.” 

“Someone was flying a drone near a mother bear and her cubs in mid-May. We don't know who it was, because the pilot was behind a hill at the time, but we do have the drone on video, and whoever was flying it was getting really close to those bears. The response to that video was pretty universal. Everyone was outraged, because it is illegal to fly drones in Yellowstone, and you certainly don't want to disturb the animals.” 

If convicted of flying a drone in a national park, the person or persons would be charged with a misdemeanor and face up to six months in jail and $5,000 in fines.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"italic"}],"text":"– "}]

I’ll have more news from the Cowboy State Daily newsroom right after this.

Cowboy State Daily News continues now….

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"},{"type":"italic"}],"text":"–  "}]

Democrats now have parties in all 23 Wyoming counties with Niobrara and Lincoln counties finally reviving theirs. Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports that Niobrara County is one of the reddest counties in the nation, but as of May 1st, it contains 35 registered Democrats, out of 1,233 registered voters.

The Wyoming Democratic Party announced it now has county iterations in all 23 Wyoming counties. For the first time in the current leadership's memory, they couldn't even remember a time when they had 23 county parties, and they just secured that this month. And interestingly, there's a few interesting parts of this, is that some prominent Republicans have been calling for more Democratic presence, saying we're weaker when we're a one-party state. Also the Lincoln County Democratic Party Chair, Donald Shelton, was saying, ‘I really want to galvanize workers and the working class and hear their concerns and get some momentum behind that.’” 

Rep. Tom Kelly, R-Sheridan, in a Facebook post earlier this month, “All of us are better off with a functioning opposition party.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"},{"type":"italic"}],"text":"– "}]

Uinta County planners voted unanimously Wednesday to recommend permit approvals for a huge 1.25-gigawatt data center. Cowboy State Daily’s Renee Jean reports that one person who attended the standing-room-only meeting said, “Officials need to do their research on data centers.”

“In Evanston, the gal I talked to after the meeting, you know, she said she really hasn't made up her mind yet. She just has a lot of questions, you just want to understand things a little bit better. She wants to make sure the benefit is really worth any of the risks involved, and some of her questions I felt really were more about AI in general, and how it's being used in society.”

After weeks of questions and skepticism at public forums and on social media, most of the standing-room-only crowd listened quietly as commissioners voted unanimously to recommend zoning and conditional use permit approvals to Uinta County commissioners for the proposed 1.25 gigawatt, 500-acre, off-grid campus.

Dashcam video released Thursday shows the wild end to a 120 mph chase on the I-80 where a woman was struck by her own moving car as she bailed out and ran on foot. Cowboy State Daily’s Kolby Fedore reports that according to officials, even with two flat tires, she was still driving more than 100 mph.

“When deputies with the Albany County Sheriff's Office tried to pull over 45 year old Sarah Grayson, because she was wanted in connection to a vehicle theft. She took off going 120 miles per hour on I 80. Sheriff's deputies deployed stop sticks. The car, even with two pop tires, continued rolling at 100 miles per hour as it slowed. Grayson hopped out of the car, which is how she accidentally ran over herself. Law enforcement did take her to the hospital. She sustained minor injuries. She is wanted on felony warrants out of Sublet County, as well as the recent charges connected to a vehicle burglary and larceny.”

The Albany County Sheriff's Office reports the chase began around 6:25 p.m. on Saturday after a sheriff’s sergeant spotted a stolen vehicle traveling eastbound near mile marker 323 on Interstate 80 in Albany County.

Lingle-based state Rep. Scott Smith, a member of the Freedom Caucus, is challenging Wyoming Treasurer Curt Meier for his seat. Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports that Smith says he wants to increase Wyoming's wealth, while Meier says, “He says he's going to do the same thing I am.” 

“Treasurer Kurt Meyer has a challenger, and that's Representative Scott Smith of Lingle, who's a two-term representative, served on the appropriations committee this year. Myers, he's a two-term incumbent himself, and he made headlines starting in October for having record high investment earnings for the state of Wyoming, generally surpassing minerals. I know there were some caveats to that, but it was the first time the analysts had seen it, had seen him pass those mineral pools that they were referencing.”

Three weeks earlier, Virginia-based group Make Liberty Win publicly endorsed Smith for the seat, though he hadn’t declared an interest in it at that time.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"—"}]

And that’s today’s news. Get your free digital subscription to Wyoming's only statewide newspaper by hitting the Daily Newsletter button on 

 - and you can watch this newscast every day by clicking Subscribe on our 

 channel, or listen to us on your favorite podcast app.  Thanks for watching - I’m Mac Watson, for Cowboy State Daily.

News image 5 29 26

<title>Cowboy State Daily Video Newscast: Friday, May 29, 2026 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Friday's headlines include:
* Microsoft Data Center Expands Even More
* Grizzlies Get Harassed By Drones In Yellowstone
* Woman Flees Police At 120MPH, Gets Hit By Own Car

Cowboy State Daily Video Newscast: Friday, May 29, 2026

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

Renée Jean

Just last month, Microsoft announced it would triple its data center footprint in Cheyenne by adding 3,200 acres of land for new projects. 

That expansion is already growing, with an additional 420 acres, or an increase of about 13%, just announced.

According to an email from Microsoft and information filed with the city of Cheyenne, the company is adding two areas on top of its previously announced 3,200-acre plan. 

The two areas are on opposite sides of Cheyenne, but one of them, a 385-acre parcel, is near the 3,200-acre site, which is not far from Laramie County Community College.

Microsoft in an email to Cowboy State Daily described the parcel as east of College Drive near Cheyenne Business Parkway. 

On a map shared with Cowboy State Daily by Cheyenne LEADS Executive Director Betsey Hale, the parcel appears along the eastern edge of Laramie Community College. 

The other parcel, roughly 35 acres, is located near the North Range Business Park, where Hale said Microsoft already operates data centers and where utility infrastructure, including a major substation, is already in place. 

New Parcels Tucked Into Existing Industrial Corridors

Cheyenne Mayor Patrick Collins refused to comment on Microsoft’s expansion. Hale, however, told Cowboy State Daily that the 385-acre parcel sits in an area already surrounded by industrial-scale uses, including the Bison Business Park, large solar and oil-and-gas projects, and gravel pits.

“The property is surrounded by a business park and undevelopable ground bluffs which are going into a conservation easement,” she said. “And then the solar field — a huge, huge solar field — and then 5,000 acres of oil and gas.”

The proximity to existing industrial uses on the ground means a data center is one of the best use cases for the property, Hale said. 

“There isn’t any residential use close to the project, other than the small county subdivision,” she said.

That particular neighborhood was notified about the project, and a meeting was held Wednesday night with landowners to discuss it, Hale added. 

The meeting was not required by city regulations, but was held voluntarily by Microsoft under its community-first guidelines.

The new industrial piece at North Range Business Park, meanwhile, folds additional land into the existing data center cluster west of town, near the Walmart Distribution center and Microsoft’s original Cheyenne data center campus. 

That means most of the power and infrastructure needed is already in place there.

Just weeks after unveiling a 3,200-acre data center expansion around Cheyenne, Microsoft is adding two more parcels totaling 420 acres. The move comes amid a deepening debate over data centers, growth, and water.

Daily Darwin: Saturday, March 28, 2026

In case you missed it

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Daily Darwin: Saturday, March 28, 2026

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