It’s time to take a look at what’s happening around Wyoming for Wednesday, May 6th. I’m Mac Watson.
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Hiker Craig Lerman was the first to find one of two victims of a grizzly bear attack near Old Faithful in Yellowstone on Monday after he stumbled on a bloody hat. Cowboy State Daily’s Andrew Rossi reports that two victims were airlifted out of the park.
“We still don't have a lot of information in terms of what actually happened based on what was observed at the scene, and apparently, what Craig said was the conclusion of people at the scene. It was probably a mother grizzly defending her cub. Just these people were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Craig stayed with one of the victims for as long as he could. He called 911 on his own phone because the victim had actually managed to call 911, on his own phone, but it was covered with blood after the attack, and he stayed with that victim until the Rangers arrived, and then both he and the other victim were life flighted from the spot where they were attacked to the eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center where they're receiving treatment.”
As of Tuesday afternoon, there’s been no update from the Idaho Regional Medical Center on the status of the two victims.
Read the full story HERE.
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Donald Trump is a common theme in a recent blast of mass mailers from U.S. House candidates Chuck Gray, Reid Rasner and Steve Friess. Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports that the mailers all invoke Trump numerous times and describe how their values line up with the president’s.
“These mass mailers are all pretty focused on President Donald Trump. It's no surprise for Wyoming, we outstripped the nation in voting for Trump three elections in a row, and we landed at about 72% in Trump's favor in the 2024 general election. So to call it Trump countries is certainly accurate, and we're seeing that play out in this campaign season.”
Of the 10 contenders for the GOP nomination, at least three have dispatched mass mailers. Casper-based Army veteran Kevin Christensen told Cowboy State Daily he’s put out mailers, but in localized batches and not as a statewide effort. Christensen’s mailer, uniquely, doesn’t mention Trump.
Read the full story HERE.
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Wyoming coal is getting an unexpected lift as rising electricity demand, driven in part by data centers. Cowboy State Daily’s Kate Meadows reports that is forcing utilities to keep coal-fired power plants online longer than planned.
“This will benefit the coal industry in Wyoming, and especially in the Powder River Basin, because it creates an increase in production of coal. And the Powder River Basin is Wyoming's largest coal mine. Kyle Wentland, the deputy director of the Wyoming Energy Authority, says, right now, demand is outstripping supply. The Wyoming Energy Authority released a study in February on Wyoming coal. And according to that study, 40% of the annual US coal production comes from Wyoming.”
Industry insiders tell Cowboy State Daily that the new energy demand is putting Wyoming’s signature coal industry back into the conversation and is a good thing for the coal industry.
Read the full story HERE.
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The Powell City Council on Monday condemned Councilman Troy Bray's comment suggesting Wyoming start “hanging judges” in response to a judge halting an abortion ban. Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports that Mayor John Wetzel says it hasn’t been ‘The greatest look for the town of Powell.”
“Troy Gray had written, ‘the only way Wyoming is going to have freedom is to start hanging bad judges.’ And so that's not a direct threat on a judge, but it is a suggestion toward violence. And so, you know, in the case of that being protected speech, the city council wants to be careful not to retaliate. And so what they chose to do was to send a message to the public. And so the bringer of the resolution, Steve Lensegrav, emphasized that when he was speaking about it at the council meeting Monday. And also the mayor emphasized that in a Tuesday interview.”
The council voted in favor of a resolution to “condemn and reject any and all statements which threaten or support political violence, including threats toward judges in our courts.”
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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The heavy, wet snow that blanketed southeast Wyoming brought an inch of water to a parched part of the state Tuesday, the most in 24 hours since August. Cowboy State’s Executive Editor Jimmy Orr reports that according to meteorologist Don Day, this is a million-dollar storm, and it's not done yet.
“Southeast Wyoming needed this storm badly. It's an exceptional drought stage. It's been snowing for the last 24 hours, 36 hours, and by the time it's all over Cheyenne, Laramie County will be getting more than an inch of water. And it is so dry in Laramie County to be able to get this is exceptional.”
With the precipitation anticipated overnight, Day says Cheyenne and Laramie will get well over an inch of water by Wednesday morning. That's more than either community saw in either of the months of March and April.
Read the full story HERE.
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A new study has traced $39 million in foreign funding behind anti-data center campaigns across the U.S. Cowboy State Daily’s Renee Jean reports that is local and national leaders are concerned about it.
“I talked with numerous people. Representative Harriet Hageman's office is watching this. I talked with Cheyenne attorney Matt Mikayla. He is watching this, you know, I talked with Americans for Prosperity, James Halverson, he has seen it in action when he was in South Dakota. These kinds of campaigns that Chinese operatives would engage in to spread disinformation around through American advocacy groups. And so, you know, this is not an isolated thing. This is part of the new trend. This is part of the Information Age.”
Betsey Hale, the CEO of Cheyenne Leads, tells Cowboy State Daily that “No one has complained about data centers until about the last month and a half.”
Read the full story HERE.
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Skid marks at the scene of a devastating crash shows a pickup with a camper trying to stop before plowing into a semitrailer on U.S. Highway 85 near Lusk over the weekend. Cowboy State Daily’s Kolbe Fedore reports a 10-year-old girl napping above the truck’s cab were among those killed.
“Wyoming Highway Patrol reports that there was a horrific accident in Niobrara County on May 1, leaving three people dead. Two were adults. One was a 10-year-old girl. There were also two people injured. Wyoming Highway Patrol Public Information Officer Aaron Brown said the 10 year old victim had been sleeping in the camper that was being pulled by the truck. She was unrestrained and was ejected from the camper into the semi. Investigators are still working to determine why the pickup did not slow sooner before impact. Also possible. Mechanical issues involving the semi trucks, transmission are being examined as a contributing factor.”
The crash, detailed by the Wyoming Highway Patrol in a Tuesday report, happened at about 11:21 p.m. on Friday at mile marker 159 on U.S. 85, about 9 miles north of Lusk, that’s according to authorities.
Read the full story HERE.
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Yellowstone superintendent Cam Sholly is calling a new $100-a-day per-person entry fee for non-U.S. resident visitors to Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks “fantastic.” Cowboy State Daily’s Andrew Rossi reports that the new entry fee means the parks get more money to help offset the impact from mobs of tourists.
“When asked about how the new $100 per person per day fee for non residents of the United States would impact the park, Cam Shelley was very open just about the fact that he thinks that's a fantastic idea, if only because it'll bring more money into the park for the park to address critical infrastructure issues, basic maintenance, and he believes that US citizens shouldn't be paying the same as non residents for use of their national park.”
Sholly went on to say that the park retains 80% of what they collect in entrance fees. The more they collect, the more money the park can invest in the staffing and infrastructure in the parks.
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.
