It’s time to take a look at what’s happening around Wyoming for Friday, April 17th. I’m Mac Watson.
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The body of Cody resident Shawn Ezekiel Hughes, who had been missing since Easter, was found on Thursday afternoon in a parked car at Yellowstone Regional Airport. Cowboy State Daily’s Jen Kocher reports that his sister says the family is in shock.
“Sean Hughes was found at the Yellowstone Regional Airport. Now this is where he was also last seen on Easter, and it's thought now that he actually did not duck off surveillance footage as they thought, and headed out of the parking lot, but instead got into an unlocked vehicle. So he's found, actually in a vehicle, on the parking lot. Police had earlier searched the parking lot, going up and down the rows, looking into vehicles, but did not see him at the time. At present, his cause of death is still under investigation, with an autopsy scheduled for Friday. However, there is no suggestion of foul play or self harm. His family in Charlotte, North Carolina, are just absolutely devastated by this news.”
The 36-year-old was last spotted on video surveillance at the airport on April 5th.
Read the full story HERE.
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Casper state Rep. Steve Harshman, the longest-serving Wyoming House member, is running for state superintendent of public instruction. Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports that the lifelong teacher and coach says the bottom line is he loves Wyoming schools.
“Big change for Steve Harshman coming up on 24 years in the Wyoming House of Representatives. So he is running for superintendent of public instruction, the top public education official in Wyoming, and also a key figure on the fate of state lands and loans and other things like that. And this is a big move for him, because it means he can't run for house after nearly 24 years, he's either done or interrupted in that tenure one way or another, whether he wins or loses, he's also going up against his fellow representative, Tom Kelly, a pretty staunch conservative, and Chad Auer who was a policy advisor to Governor Mark Gordon before hitting the road to campaign.”
The 62-year-old Harshman was born in Wyoming, raised in the small Natrona County town of Midwest, and has taught and coached for decades in the state’s public schools.
Read the full story HERE.
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Speaking of politics, former House Speaker Albert Sommers is running to win back his Sublette County House District 20 seat. Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports that Sommers says the Legislature needs “less political theater and theatrics.”
“He rose to the top post you can attain in the House House Speaker in 2023- 2024. Tradition holds now, it's not perfect. Not everyone does this, but tradition holds that you seek Senator higher office after that, and he did. He ran for his Senate seat and lost to Laura Pearson, a newbie, and so now, after the two year hiatus, he's running again for his old house seat against perennial candidate Bill Winnie, who is also a fixture as a person testifying at legislative hearings.”
The former House Speaker from Pinedale, made the announcement on Thursday, hours after the seat’s incumbent Rep. Mike Schmid, of LeBarge, announced he won’t run this year.
Read the full story HERE.
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In other political news, Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon announced he will not seek a third term in office. Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports that Wyoming law limits the governor to two terms, but Wyoming Supreme Court precedent suggests that law could be overturned easily.
“Some people were like, well, can't he not run for a third term anyway. Well, the truth is that even though he's capped at two terms, Wyoming Supreme Court case law holds precedent that would make it very easy for a governor with a simple petition to become eligible for a third term, he's not going to do that.
In a statement, Governor Gordon added that he wants to focus on building a strong future for Wyoming, including supporting core industries, growing the state’s economy, strengthening local communities and families, and safeguarding vital natural resources.
Read the full story HERE.
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A suspicious package left near Gate 1 at F.E. Warren Air Force Base on Thursday prompted an evacuation of nearby homes and the Wyoming State Capitol. Cowboy State Daily’s Greg Johnson reports that one man who had left his house, couldn’t return for hours because of police presence.
“There were emergency vehicles all over the place, lights, people just kind of hanging around to see what's going on. And I noticed a guy just kind of standing on the corner. He was wearing his shorts. He was wearing a sweatshirt and sneakers. He's one of the people who were evacuated from the area. The only problem is he didn't know at the time he was being evacuated. He went out for his morning walk, walked down the street, walked around the park, and when he came back, everything was there. It was blocked off. They wouldn't let him back to his house. He waited for several hours, but he took it in stride.”
By around 11:30AM, the evacuation alert had been canceled, but Gate 1 at F.E. Warren remains closed “until further notice while investigations are completed,” according to a Laramie County statement.
Read the full story HERE.
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I’ll be back with more news from Cowboy State Daily right after this.
Cowboy State Daily news continues now…
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A Wheatland woman accused of trying to hire a friend to kill her husband — out of fear he would take their three children — pleaded not guilty Thursday in district court. Cowboy State Daily’s Kolby Fedore reports that authorities say Molly Hamby asked a friend to make her husband “disappear.”
“28-year-old Molly Hamby is facing life in prison. She was formally charged on Thursday with solicitation to commit murder in the first degree and solicitation of forgery. She pled not guilty by reason of mental illness. Hamby's public defender asked that the judge lower bond from $50,000 to $5,000 cash. The judge rejected that proposal. Bond is still set at $50,000 cash only. Her next appearance will be in 180 days for a trial.”
Hamby is charged with two felonies: solicitation of first-degree murder, punishable by up to life in prison, and solicitation to commit forgery, which carries a penalty of up to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
Read the full story HERE
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Residents in tiny Emblem, Wyoming, are alarmed and looking for answers after two dogs were shot in two days in drive-by incidents this past week. Cowboy State Daily Andrew Rossi reports that the owner of a pit bull that took a shotgun blast to the face says, “He’s lucky to have a thick skull.”
“Emblem’s a safe place. Everybody knows everybody, so they're not thinking that it's somebody within their community that did this, which leads them to believe that it was a possible drive-by shooting of these dogs. Her dogs were on her property when the incident happened. They like to run to the entrance just to see who's coming by, but they say where they are. They're not aggressive, and as far as she knows, somebody just shot them, shot her dog in the 10-minute window between when she last saw the dog and when her husband found the dog with a head covered in blood and a bullet hole between his eyes.”
Tessa Walbert and her family have been living in Emblem for 18 months without any issues with their neighbors, dog-related or otherwise. That’s why she believes whoever shot these dogs doesn't live in Emblem.
Read the full story HERE.
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Many of this year’s Country Music Award nominees, including Entertainer of the Year Ella Langley, have played Jackson’s Million Dollar Cowboy Bar. Cowboy State Daily’s Kolby Fedore reports that not only is the venue a place for up-and-coming stars but country music legends who keep coming back.
“Jackson's million dollar cowboy bar has long been a proving ground for up and comers in the country music scene. In fact, last fall. Paul Ella Langley appeared at the Cowboy. and now she's up for Best Female Artist of the Year for the Academy of Country Music Awards. Booking manager Justin Smith told Cowboy State daily that this year's ACM Awards also has alumni that have played at the bar for the best new male and female artists. Their names are Hudson Westbrook and Avery Anna.”
The bar has hosted legends like Willie Nelson and Hank Williams Jr., and it continues to serve as a proving ground for the next wave of country stars.
Read the full story HERE.
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As herds of elk have overtaken a beach in a small Oregon coastal town, tourists have tried to put their children on them to ride and others attempt to feed them carrots. Outdoors Reporter Mark Heinz reports that one local chamber member says “We have visitors who don't know elk are wild animals.”
“These aren't Rocky Mountain Elk like we have here. They're Roosevelt elk. And the distinction is, they're bigger in the body, but they have smaller antlers than our elk do out here.
As in Yellowstone National Park, Estes Park, Colorado and other places where people and elk are in close proximity, some people behave stupidly, James Paino, executive director of the local chamber of commerce, tells Cowboy State Daily.
Read the full story HERE.
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And that’s today’s news. Get your free digital subscription to Wyoming's only statewide newspaper by hitting the Daily Newsletter button on Cowboy State Daily Dot Com - and you can watch this newscast every day by clicking Subscribe on our YouTube channel, or listen to us on your favorite podcast app. Thanks for watching - I’m Mac Watson, for Cowboy State Daily.
