It’s time to take a look at what’s happening around Wyoming for Wednesday, May 20th. I’m Mac Watson.
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Fremont County ranchers say roaming Great Pyrenees have killed livestock and terrorized neighbors for years in a rural feud that’s now spiraled into criminal charges. Cowboy State Daily’s Kolby Fedore reports that court records show Kerri Johnson was charged with property destruction last week in the latest development of an escalating feud.
“Two ranch families in Kinnear, Wyoming, have been telling authorities for years that a neighbor's dogs have been coming onto their property and killing their calves. Over the last several years, Kerri Johnson has been charged with an animal at large. Last week, she was charged with property destruction over $1,000 that is a felony, which carries a potential sentence up to 10 years in prison. Rancher Chris Eberline says that her husband was confronted by Johnson when he was fixing fences. Eberlyne said things escalated at a court hearing in December when she told the judge, ‘Somebody's gonna get hurt.’”
Ranchers living near the Johnson property tell Cowboy State Daily that the legal fight barely scratches the surface of the last several years’ struggle.
Read the full story HERE.
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It took at 36 hours, but most of Rawlins had power restored Tuesday as a fast and furious spring snowstorm wreaked havoc in southcentral Wyoming. Cowboy State Daily’s Andrew Rossi reports that the Carbon County Sheriff's Office spent the day rescuing residents and helping snow-stranded drivers.
“Rawlins just had a rough time of it on Monday. They had a power outage that lasted nearly 36 hours. They were still trying to get power back to some places in Rawlins on Tuesday afternoon. So the Carbon County Sheriff's Office and the Medical Center down there, they had the deal not only with the calls of residents, but dozens of people who were stranded on I 80 because I 80 was closed for most of the day, and they were having problems with their cell phones throughout this whole period, too.”
Carbon County Sheriff Alex Bakken tells Cowboy State Daily that he knew he was in for a tough day when he set out to start coordinating the response to the power outage, his truck got stuck in the snow.
Read the full story HERE.
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A man found dead in a car in the parking lot of the Cody airport after being missing for two weeks died of blunt force injuries and exposure to the elements. Cowboy State Daily’s Jen Kocher reports that the family still wants answers as to how their relative ended up in that car.
“Sean Ezekiel Hughes was found in a car that was not his at the Cody Airport. He disappeared on April 5, and he had been missing for 11 days when he was ultimately discovered in that vehicle by police. Autopsy reports show he died of a shoulder blunt force shoulder injury, likely from a fall, and also that combined with the elements, and the coroner said that the fall would have caused internal bleeding that combined with cold temperatures ultimately what killed him.”
Park County Coroner Cody Gortmaker tells Cowboy State Daily that the timeline of the man’s death is unclear as to when exactly he got into the vehicle and ultimately died.
Read the full story HERE.
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Cheyenne’s Public Service Committee didn’t endorse or reject a 12-month moratorium on new data centers after hours of emotional testimony Monday. Cowboy State Daily’s Renee Jean reports that state legislators say the clash exposes issues the Wyoming Legislature may need to address.
“It really exposed a lot of issues that are at the state level, so you know, more guard rails around water use, more transparency. Should these things be going through the industrial siting commission right now? They have a different process that's kind of governing how they function, different people who are kind of going over whether they fit in a community, maybe the industrial siting commission needs to be part of that layer, that's, you know, some of the questions that lawmakers were asking after listening to all the testimony in Cheyenne.”
The committee’s Monday decision highlights deep divisions over the rapid growth of data centers in Cheyenne, as nearby residents worry about water use, noise, rising electricity demand and the pace of development.
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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Wyoming groups that host hunts for disabled veterans fear a proposal to change Game and Fish regulations on what counts as a disability could freeze out some vets. Outdoors Reporter Mark Heinz reports that the change could disqualify vets with PTSD or disabilities that aren't apparent.
“Nothing has been decided yet, but there's a proposal to, well, the big one is to change what would qualify someone as disabled to get special disabled hunting access. Currently on the books, if you have a qualifying letter, if you have a letter from the VA stating that you are 100% disabled, you are allowed to do that, but what they're talking about getting rid of that and having it just be straight up, you have to have a blindness or some sort of full physical disability. These veteran groups that host these hunts for disabled veterans are a little bit concerned about that, because they're saying if you cut that out, a lot of the people we host might not qualify for special disabled hunts.”
The Wyoming Game and Fish Commission is considering several changes to hunting regulations, including removing a provision for counting a “100% service-related disability,” based on a letter from the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Read the full story HERE.
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The federal government looks likely to reject Wyoming's plan to invest roughly $1 billion in projected Trump-backed grants for rural medical services. Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports that Wyoming has to spend the money quickly instead.
“Wyoming wanted to invest the money and live off the interest to support these structures over like a three decade or more timeline, and the Fed said, ‘No, you got to spend it within a year.’ Governor Gordon did go ahead and announce that the feds approved the grant for the first year in that tighter deployment timeline that doesn't involve a long-term investment.”
Wyoming had planned to invest the majority of a roughly $1 billion projected federal grant for rural hospitals, ambulances, baby delivery and other health care so the state could benefit from gains beyond the five-year grant cycle.
Read the full story HERE.
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Yoder breakaway roper Hadley Thompson could make history this weekend as the first to earn $2 million with one throw of a rope. Cowboy State Daily’s Julie Mankin reports that the 18-year-old could get a huge payout for beating the best in the world.
“Hadley Thompson is only 18 years old, still in high school, and she's got experience winning first over the best in the world at breakaway roping. She's a phenom. This is not your typical rodeo. This thing is in Globe Life Field, Arlington, Texas, home of the Texas Rangers. She's the only breakaway roper from Wyoming in contention. There are also a couple of team rompers and a saddle bronc rider from Wyoming that have a chance for the big money.”
What could an 18-year-old do with $2 million? Thompson tells Cowboy State Daily that it’s been hard for her not to think about that.
Read the full story HERE.
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After a mama duck panicked when her ducklings fell into a Sheridan storm drain this past weekend, a big bearded hero climbed in to get them. Cowboy State Daily’s Kolby Fedore reports that one woman who watched the rescue says it restored a little of her faith in humanity.
“A Sheridan mother named Franny Blackwell was on her way home from Home Depot on Saturday when she saw a large gathering by a drainage off to the side of the road. She flipped a U-turn, and when she pulled over, she saw a large bearded man going into the sewer to rescue baby ducks. There were about six ducks in total that he pulled out. At first, Mama Duck seemed very suspicious, but by the end it was as if she knew that her babies had been rescued by this mystery man. We never learned the identity of the hero in this story, although several people said that their faith in humanity has been restored again.”
Blackwell tells Cowboy State Daily that she never learned the names of the people who stopped to rescue the ducklings.
Read the full story HERE.
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.
