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

<title>Daily Cartoon 1: Tuesday, May 26, 2026 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Daily Cartoon 1: Tuesday, May 26, 2026

Mac Watson

Daily Video News

It’s time to take a look at what’s happening around Wyoming for Friday, July 10th.  I’m Mac Watson

This newscast is brought to you by the Wyoming State Fair. Wrap up your summer at the Wyoming State Fair, August 11th through the 15th in Douglas!

Rodeo, Demolition Derby, live music, entertainment and fair food await. Learn more at W-Y State Fair dot com. See you at the fair! This ad was paid for by Converse County Tourism.

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A Big Horn County grandfather and mother have been charged after a baby died Monday. Cowboy State Daily’s Kolby Fedore reports the infant was found in a 95-degree trailer filled with feces, garbage, and a 5-gallon bucket of human waste. 

“Destiny's duty said she woke up sometime after 1am to feed the baby and put the baby back to bed, and in the morning around 9am she found the baby in the crib unresponsive. She was on her way to Three Rivers Hospital when she called 911 and when she got to the hospital, investigators saw that she herself was covered in dirt. She had what appeared to be head lice and a strong odor coming from her and the baby. When they looked at the baby's body, there was dirt under its fingernails, as well as an insect that was crawling inside the diaper. Investigators obtained a search warrant, and when they went into the camper where the family lived, they found horrific conditions. There was a bucket of human feces in the bathroom, no running water, no air conditioning, and the temperature was 95 degrees inside their home.” 

56-year-old Travis Study is charged with felony child endangerment alleging exposure to meth, along with misdemeanor counts of reckless endangering, child endangerment, possession of methamphetamine and possession of marijuana.

22-year-old Destynie Study is charged with misdemeanor reckless endangering of a child and child endangerment. She pleaded not guilty Wednesday.

Wyoming U.S. Rep. Harriet Hageman is demanding answers from Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg about how its Cheyenne data center contaminated the city’s wastewater system. Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports that in a Thursday letter, Rep. Hageman writes she’s “deeply concerned.”

“Hageman issued a letter Thursday to Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta, which is a Facebook giant that also is that also has data centers in Wyoming and Cheyenne, demanding to know things like how could a rare bacteria leak from a closed loop data center cooling system into Cheyenne's wastewater system, and now the company fired back, saying, you know, we haven't found the bacterium in our system, whereas the Board of Public Utilities announced the data center as the source of the bacterium. She really focused her questioning on how could something leak from this, in, you know, how could a rare bacteria leak from this.”

That public announcement about the contamination came more than four months after the Meta contractor — which is building an $800 million data center in south Cheyenne — disrupted the city’s reclaimed wastewater system with the rare bacterial contaminant.

With Pathfinder Reservoir less than 24% full, some farmers and ranchers in eastern Wyoming and western Nebraska are being warned they could be out of irrigation water by the first week of August. Cowboy State Daily’s Kate Meadows reports that there is a backup plan, but it’s not foolproof.

“The snow pack has been historically low, it was the worst on record this year, and the reservoir where this irrigation, where this irrigation channel originates, is called the Pathfinder Reservoir, and it is at just about 23% right now. So the levels were already low, and it caused the irrigation canals to open up later in the year than they normally would have, and so farmers and ranchers are already hurting for water, and just weeks after the canals open, they're being told we may run out of water first part of August. the Pathfinder Irrigation District has previously said that they are against pulling water from other sources because they have to rent it, they basically pay to use it, and then they're required to return it somehow before the end of the irrigation season, so it's really a lose-lose as far as that goes.”

The district operates a vast canal network that diverts water from the North Platte River at Whalen Dam, delivering irrigation to more than 100,000 acres of farmland. The water originates in Pathfinder Reservoir southwest of Casper.

A Cheyenne boy who was 14 when he allegedly shot his mom in the head and charged as an adult with first-degree murder should be in juvenile court, his attorney argues in a Tuesday court motion. Cowboy State Daily’s Greg Johnson reports public defender Emily Williams claims Havoc Leone’s mother “verbally and physically abused” him.

“The motion does lay out some of the arguments the defense plans to make, like the mother is was allegedly abusive to this teen, verbally and physically, they, he was homeschooled for like six years and was kept isolated and didn't have any friends, and just wasn't as mature as other teens his age would have been, so and they mean there's several, they mentioned several times in the motion that society is not kept safer by trying him as an adult, that the extra help that he'll get in the juvenile court actually will make society safer, whether that's that, whether that's really the case or not, that's up to a judge to decide.”

Despite the arguments of abuse and his age — 14 is the cutoff in Wyoming to be charged as an adult — Laramie County District Attorney Sylvia Hackl says her office believes the adult charge is appropriate and will oppose Williams’ motion.

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

Cowboy State Daily News continues now….

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Two months after a Casper woman was killed during a child custody exchange with her ex-boyfriend, her mother, Shannon Clark, says she wants people to know who her daughter was. Cowboy State Daily’s Kolby Fedore reports that mom says she misses her daughter everyday and “The quiet moments are the hardest.”

“Jackson's mother, Shannon Clark, talked to Cowboy State Daily on Thursday. She wants people to remember her daughter as more than just a victim. She says that her daughter, Ashley, loved her son more than anything. The couple's three-year-old son witnessed the shooting and is now living with his grandparents. Clark said that is now her mission in life to raise Ashley's son the way she would have wanted.”

 to help provide long-term financial support for Will as he grows up without his parents. For Clark, though, her daughter’s legacy isn't measured by memorials or fundraisers. It's measured every morning when a little boy wakes up in his grandparents' home.

A Uinta County rancher charged with videotaping two others torturing a sickly moose by roping, riding, and spurring it is continuing toward a trial date next month. Cowboy State Daily’s Dale Killingbeck reports that two other men in the case have entered plea deals with a special prosecutor.

“Two of three people charged in Uinta County for abusing a moose have entered a plea deal with a special prosecutor, and that deal says that they'll have three years of probation, and they also had to tell the court about the third defendant, who's charged with videotaping both of their abuse, one riding the mute, the moose, spurring it, and the other one lassoing the moose, and call and pulling it with a horse, those were separate incidents back in May 2021 So now the third defendant is still headed to a trial that's going to be in August, August 11th, in Uinta County.”

Court records show 54-year-old Justin Martin of Evanston, faces trial on charges of two counts of accessory before the fact to felony cruelty to animals, and two counts of accessory before or after the fact to wanton taking of a big-game animal, both misdemeanors. His son, Range Martin of Evanston, 23, pleaded guilty June 22 to a felony cruelty to animals charge in return for the dropping of two misdemeanor charges. Kylan Platte, 22, of Malad City, Idaho, took a similar deal and plead guilty to felony cruelty to animals June 30.

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Wyoming local government leaders in data center-heavy areas who spoke with Cowboy State Daily on Thursday say they've never signed nondisclosure agreements with data center companies. Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports that the agreements can be legal if built correctly, however.

“We've been hearing for a long time that local public officials signed non-disclosure agreements with data centers while being courted by those companies. I contacted the leaders of communities that have known data centers or have been implicated as having them. I called county chairs and mayors, and everyone that talked to me on Thursday said no, I've never signed any such NDA.”

Tom Lubnau, a Gillette-based attorney who’s worked at length with Wyoming’s public-records law, tells Cowboy State Daily that state law allows for local governments to sign NDAs with data center companies, but it’s complicated.

The National Weather Service is predicting a record-breaking weekend for many locations in Wyoming with “dangerously hot conditions” in the forecast. Cowboy State Daily’s Andrew Rossi reports that temperatures will be hottest in the Big Horn Basin with Worland and Greybull expected to top 110 degrees.

“This isn't a one-and-done. We're not going to get relief out of this. Between at least Saturday night and Monday evening, we're going to have record breaking or potentially record breaking temperatures, and it's going to continue to be hot going into Tuesday, Wednesday, and possibly beyond that. So, people need to be aware and be prepared, because this is going to get worse before it gets better. Those aren't my words. That's from Cowboy State Daily, the meteorologist Don Day.”

If there is a bit of good news with the upcoming heat, it won’t feel quite as hot as the thermometer says. Because the atmosphere will be mostly dry, the heat shouldn’t be amplified by humidity.

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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 

 - 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 6 10 26 v2

<title>Cowboy State Daily Video Newscast: Friday, July 10, 2026 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Friday's headlines include:
* Pathfinder Reservoir Drying Up
* Hageman Wants Answers From Zuckerberg
* Arrests Made After Baby Dies In 95-Degree Trailer

Cowboy State Daily Video Newscast: Friday, July 10, 2026

Coy Knobel

Don Day Weather

Sunny in most of Wyoming on Friday with a few chances of afternoon rain. Mostly clear skies overnight. Highs in the 80s and 90s. Lows from the mid-40s to the upper 60s.

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Sunny today with a high near 91 and mostly clear overnight with a low near 62.

Sunny today with a high near 94 and mostly clear overnight with a low near 60.

 Sunny today with a high near 88 and mostly clear overnight with a low near 56.

 Sunny today with a high near 86 and mostly clear overnight with a low near 48.

  Sunny today with a high near 90 and mostly clear overnight with a low near 56.

Sunny today with a high near 85 and mostly clear overnight with a low near 52.

Sunny today with a high near 83 and mostly clear overnight with a low near 49.

 Sunny today with a high near 90 and mostly clear overnight with a low near 52.

  Sunny today with a high near 83 and mostly clear overnight with a low near 47.

 Sunny today with a high near 81 and mostly clear overnight with a low near 51.

  Sunny today with a high near 88 and mostly clear overnight with a low near 52.

Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park

:  Sunny today with a high near 80 and mostly clear overnight a low near 47.

Sunny today with a high near 96 and mostly clear overnight with a low near 65.

:  Sunny today with a high near 93 and mostly clear overnight with a low near 64.

  Sunny today with a high near 96 and mostly clear overnight with a low near 68.

  Mostly sunny today with a high near 90 and mostly clear overnight with a low near 66.

  Slight chance of rain after 3 p.m., otherwise sunny and hot today with a high near 95 and mostly clear overnight with a low near 59.

:  Slight chance of rain after 3 p.m., otherwise sunny and hot today with a high near 93 and mostly clear overnight with a low near 62.

Sunny today with a high near 95 and wind gusts as high as 22 mph. Mostly clear and breezy overnight with a low near 64 and wind gusts as high as 32 mph.

  Sunny today with a high near 90 and wind gusts as high as 20 mph. Mostly clear overnight with a low near 66 and wind gusts as high as 23 mph.

:  Sunny today with a high near 96 and wind gusts as high as 18 mph. Mostly clear overnight with a low near 64 and wind gusts as high as 28 mph.

  Gradually becoming sunny and hot today with a high near 92 and mostly clear overnight with a low near 62.

  Sunny and hot today with a high near 90 and mostly clear overnight with a low near 59.

  Sunny today with a high near 93 and mostly clear and breezy overnight with a low near 61 and wind gusts as high as 23 mph.

  Chance of rain mainly after 3 p.m., increasing clouds today with a high near 84 and mostly clear overnight a low near 56.

  Chance of rain mainly after 3 p.m., increasing clouds today with a high near 80 and mostly clear overnight a low near 51.

  Sunny today with a high near 88 and mostly clear overnight with a low near 57.

  Sunny today with a high near 86 and mostly clear overnight with a low near 54.

  Sunny today with a high near 86 and mostly clear overnight with a low near 50.

  Sunny today with a high near 89 and mostly clear overnight with a low near 48.

Daycap small 7 10 26

<title>Don Day's Wyoming Weather Forecast: Friday, July 10, 2026 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Don Day's Wyoming Weather Forecast: Friday, July 10, 2026

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

Clair McFarland

Government & Politics

Politics

David Giralt is trying to send a message to Wyoming voters. He's touting the endorsement of six sitting U.S. House members — plus rock star Ted Nugent. 

Giralt, a former active-duty Army Ranger from Casper, is running against nine other candidates for the Republican nomination to Wyoming’s lone U.S. House seat.

[{"type":"text","text":"The primary election is Aug. 18."}]

Giralt conceded in a Thursday phone interview with Cowboy State Daily that he’s short on name recognition in the crowded GOP field. 

He faces state Senate President Bo Biteman, former Superintendent of Public Instruction Jillian Balow, philanthropist Steve Friess and Secretary of State Chuck Gray, to name a few.

Giralt said he’s also “not the richest person in this race by any means." 

He faces well-heeled contenders such as Friess, Gray, and Casper businessman Reid Rasner.  

But Giralt has garnered arguably more high-profile endorsements than any other House candidate. Those include one from Nugent.

[{"type":"text","text":"Multiple U.S. House representatives have endorsed Giralt, he said. "}]

Those are Reps. Ryan Zinke (Montana), House Armed Services Committee Chair Mike Rogers (Alabama), Jack Bergman (Michigan), Jake Ellzey (Texas), and Pete Stauber (Minnesota). Giralt said Thursday that Rep. Rich McCormick, R-Georgia, has also lent his endorsement.

To Giralt, it’s a sign that, “Although my life goal hasn’t been building name-ID and trying to capture headlines, I can do the work. And there are very influential people who are senior in their careers who agree with me, and I think just driving that home is important.”

The endorsements reflect the time Giralt, a former congressional staffer, spent serving delegates in Washington, D.C., and what he calls the valuable relationships he forged there.

“Many of them, I’ve known them for years. They’re not fly-by-night,” he said. “It’s very rare for members of Congress to endorse in a crowded, 10-way primary.” 

Nugent, the rock star known for “Stranglehold” and “Cat Scratch Fever,” national spokesman for Hunter Nation and outspoken conservative activist, told Cowboy State Daily he researched Giralt and liked what he found.

Nugent also called Wyoming “one of the last states that represents real America.”

“My research showed me that David, as a veteran, Christian, Constitutional, conservative, conservationist, stands for and will fight for God, family, country, law and order, private property rights, game laws based on real science and against Fedzilla's overreach in the Cowboy State,” said Nugent in a Thursday email. “My conversations with the man fortified my trust.”

Giralt said he’s listened to Nugent’s music but didn’t know the rocker personally. He believes Nugent found him through his national news hits through conservative outlet Newsmax.

“We did have a conversation, off-air, before I was ever interviewed with him, and he had a lot of questions about public lands – stuff like that,” said Giralt, referencing the 

Giralt said he told Nugent the same thing about public lands he tells others: he seeks multi-use principles, responsible energy development, protecting lands “so we can recreate on them, hunt fish, enjoy the land – all those sorts of things.”

[{"type":"text","text":"Nugent is no stranger to Wyoming."}]

He hunted with the late Sen. Malcolm Wallop, R-Wyoming, on a muzzleloading pronghorn hunt to legalize the Hunters for the Hungry venison donation system for homeless shelters. That hunt was in October 1993. 

Cowboy State Daily executive editor Jimmy Orr founded the Hunters for the Hungry initiative in Wyoming while working for Wallop, and pitched the idea to Nugent while backstage at a concert in Baltimore.

Nugent also said he “arrowed a magnificent cow elk on another hunting adventure" with his son Toby. “Love Wyoming and everything she represents.”

Nugent said American families look to states like Wyoming “as an example of hope for all of America. Ranching, farming, freedom, conservation, rugged individualism, independent spirit, strong self-sufficiency and all the attributes of what the best of America still believes in.”

He said he believes Giralt will fight for those values “in this culture/spiritual war for the soul of the last best place.”

Giralt said the congressional delegates who have endorsed him are also serving in roles significant to Wyoming.

Rogers endorsed Giralt in April, saying he “has the backbone and the principles to hit the ground running in Washington.”

Rogers highlighted Giralt’s 12-year active-duty Army career and command of troops in multiple combat deployments to Afghanistan.

Giralt told Cowboy State Daily this endorsement “means a lot and is very humbling.”

He worked for Rogers for a year in a congressional fellowship program while still on active duty, he added.

The Armed Services Committee is one of the only authorizing committees that passes a bill annually, and it has for more than six decades, said Giralt. He said he hopes to serve on that committee if elected, and this endorsement tells voters he could do so.

“And (it allows me to have a vehicle to pass legislation and not just talk about it or say, ‘Oh I’ll build relationships when I get there, or I’ll learn about the process when I arrive.’”

Giralt said he also hopes to serve on the House Committee on Natural Resources, and Committee on the Budget.

Stauber chairs the House Committee on Natural Resources’ Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources.

Giralt announced Stauber’s endorsement Wednesday, in a statement in which Stauber called said Giralt would be “a strong voice for Wyoming.”

In May, Giralt announced the endorsement of Zinke, who is also a former Navy SEAL and former U.S. Secretary of the Interior.

Zinke serves on the House Appropriations Committee, which Giralt called a good fit, saying he wants to work toward fixing the nation’s exorbitant debt problem.

“If we want to actually tackle $40 trillion in debt, I need to work on the budget. There’s no way around that,” said Giralt. “I’m passionate about it.”

Bergman, who’s a retired three-star Marine Corps lieutenant general, voiced a “proud” endorsement of Giralt in a June 8 press release.

Giralt called that one’s meaningful because they have a “shared commitment to serving veterans and rural communities.”

“Jack Bergman is most likely the incoming chair of the Veteran Affairs Committee in the House,” Giralt said. “That matters significantly. Because we have one of the highest per capita rates of veterans anywhere in the country.”

Giralt said he wants to focus on rural health care and leveraging telehealth options for veterans, as well as end-of-life provisions and burial rights.

Committee members have “already said they want to work with me on that,” he added.

Giralt called Ellzey a leader on small business issues, and McCormick a leader on sentinel missile upgrades — more issues the candidate cast as important to Wyoming.

David Giralt and Mike Rogers 7 9 26

<title>Another Day, Another Huge Endorsement For U.S. House Candidate David Giralt | Cowboy State Daily</title>

David Giralt acknowledges that he has less name recognition than some of the nine other Republicans he's running against in the GOP race for U.S. House. He's also touting endorsements by six sitting U.S. House members — plus rocker Ted Nugent.

Another Day, Another Huge Endorsement For U.S. House Candidate David Giralt

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily political columnist, Rod Miller.

Rod Miller

Opinion

CSD Columnists

Every election season, we in the Cowboy State are confronted with hordes of political hopefuls who can’t think of anything better to do with their noggins than shove them into cowboy hats. The result is all too often an egregious abuse of this form of political speech.

Nothing says “dude” or “drugstore” more than a politician wearing a hat that makes them look they are cos-playing. So please consider this screed as a helpful primer on the proper wearing of a cowboy hat – a Stetsons for Dummies, if you will.

First, the venerable cowboy hat was invented as accouterments for working trail hands, to keep the sun and rain off their faces while they worked cattle. Beginning with John B. Stetson’s utilitarian “Boss of the Plains” model of 1865, the cowboy hat morphed into a value-laden symbol of haberdashery embraced by presidents, rock stars and Hollywood. But it began as a work tool.

 for politicians is this – if you aren’t willing to do the work, don’t wear the goddam hat. Sweat stains speak volumes.

About that symbology. The cowboy hat evokes the aesthetic of western virtues (and you can fill in your own blanks about what that means), and cowboys who embody them. 

 for politicians – if your heart ain’t right, don’t try to conceal that fact under a Stetson.

Cowboy hats come in all shapes and colors, but the lingua franca is a silverbelly Stetson with a 5-inch brim and a cattleman’s crease made from good beaver felt. You can try wearing a garish wide-brimmed lid with a high-domed open crown and feathered hatband, or a glittery spray-painted straw monstrosity bought under the stands at Frontier Days, but you’ll just look like a dork. 

A black hat with a flat crown will make folks think that you’re a truck driver or a top forty pop country singer. It will broil your brain on a hot day. Also, movie bad guys wear black hats. Stick with something conservative and understated..

 for politicians – if the hat you wear scalds your scalp or makes people snicker at you, don’t wear the hat.

I use the term “Stetson” as a synechdoche for all things cowboy hat, because that brand is the Rolls Royce of headwear. And the best place in the known world to buy a Stetson is Paris Hatters, in San Antonio, on Broadway across from Travis Park. Abe Cortez, the proprietor, has sold Stetsons to popes, politicians and famous jocks. He’ll try his damnedest to talk you out of buying something that will make you look dorky.

I’ve owned half a dozen Stetsons from Paris Hatters – from an ostentatious Tom Mix style with a rodeo pinch crown to an understated Open Road, the choice of presidents and hipster Americana singer/songwriters– and I have no complaints. I like to iron the thumb-rolled and taped-edge brim of an Open Road flat, and block the crown out into a Montana Peak, one of the more ancient shapes for a cowboy hat. 

A word about brims. The front brim of a cowboy hat should be curvilinear, not straight as a razor or a ruler. It should make the horizon convex to your eye, the sky should dip downward. Like a Dwight Yoakam or Chris LeDoux Stetson.

 – be more like Dwight Yoakam or Chris LeDoux, less like Kid Rock.

The “straw vs. felt” debate rages on, but I’ve settled it in my own mind by refusing to wear a hat made of something that my horse could eat. Politicians are left to decide for themselves on this conundrum.

“X” in cowboy hat nomenclature once meant the percentage of beaver fur in the felt, each X denoting ten percent. Madison Avenue has rendered “X” just another meaningless letter, as a rich dude can buy a 100X (do the math) hat if he has the cash. Forget the alphabet, and just get a hat that holds its shape in a stead drizzle.

Finally, there are three chiseled-in-stone laws regarding cowboy hats. Only three. Always set a hat down on the crown, never set a hat on a bed (or someone will die) and always remove your hat when dining with a lady.

If a Wyoming politician can’t commit to at least 80% of the above platform but still craves a modicum of cowboy credibility, they should just buy a King Ropes ball cap and call it good. Here endeth the lesson.

Rod Miller can be reached at RodsMillerWyo@yahoo.com

Rod miller headshot scaled

<title>Rod Miller: Sombrero Etiquette for Politicians | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Columnist Rod Miller writes, "Nothing says 'dude' or 'drugstore' more than a politician wearing a hat that makes them look they are cos-playing. So please consider this screed as a helpful primer on the proper wearing of a cowboy hat – a Stetsons for Dummies, if you will."

Rod Miller: Sombrero Etiquette for Politicians

Employee kate meadows cropped

Kate Meadows

Agriculture

A severe water shortage has one irrigation district serving eastern Wyoming and western Nebraska is warning that it could run out by the first week of August unless farmers and ranchers sharply improve efficiency.

The Pathfinder Irrigation District, which serves parts of eastern Wyoming and the Nebraska panhandle, told customers this week it is experiencing "extremely high water losses" throughout its canal system, with seepage levels far greater than expected after one of the driest winters on record.

The district operates a vast canal network that diverts water from the North Platte River at Whalen Dam, delivering irrigation to more than 100,000 acres of farmland. The water originates in Pathfinder Reservoir southwest of Casper.

The reservoir is now less than 24% full, 

according to the Bureau of Reclamation website

. District officials warned in a statement that water losses in portions of the canal system are among the worst the district has ever experienced.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Drought Driving The Problem"}]

George Finnegan, North Platte water scheduler and civil engineer with the Bureau of Reclamation, told Cowboy State Daily the losses are being driven almost entirely by drought.

Peak snowpack during the 2025-26 winter in the upper North Platte Basin — which supplies roughly 75% of the North Platte River's water — was the worst on record, he said.

The effects have rippled through the entire North Platte irrigation system.

Wyoming also experienced its fifth-driest winter since statewide records began in 1895. Nearly the entire state remains in drought, with about 45% currently classified in extreme drought.

Irrigation districts commonly begin drawing water in April. This year, however, deliveries didn't begin until June because there simply wasn't enough runoff.

"There really hasn't been a lot of water in the river filling those banks," Finnegan said. "Those banks have been very thirsty this year."

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"'Hungry Ground'"}]

[{"type":"text","text":"The drought is creating another challenge beyond reduced runoff."}]

Months of dry weather have left canal banks and surrounding soils parched, causing water to seep into the ground before it can reach farms downstream.

[{"type":"text","text":"\"That hungry ground — it takes up the water,\" Finnegan said."}]

The dry conditions mean irrigation districts must push even more water through their canals just to deliver the same amount to users at the end of the system.

Many irrigation districts across the North Platte Basin are facing similar seepage problems this year, he added.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Less Water Left Than A Year Ago"}]

The Bureau of Reclamation has begun sending weekly allocation letters to irrigation districts showing how much water remains available for the season.

[{"type":"text","text":"Such letters are only issued during low-water years."}]

Last year was also dry enough to warrant the letters, but irrigation districts still had the benefit of water carried over from wetter years.

[{"type":"text","text":"\"We've been kind of living off of that storage,\" Finnegan said."}]

As of Thursday, the Pathfinder Irrigation District had about 393,000 acre-feet of irrigation water remaining for the season.

[{"type":"text","text":"At the same point last year, about 676,900 acre-feet remained."}]

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Silt Run May Help, But Won't Solve Problem"}]

An annual "silt run" scheduled for Saturday is expected to provide some relief.

During the operation, water is released through reservoirs at higher flows to stir up sediment and carry it downstream. As the silt settles into canal bottoms and banks, it reduces seepage losses.

But Pathfinder officials cautioned they cannot rely on the silt run alone to solve this year's water shortage.

Adding to the district's challenges, a June 8 storm caused extensive damage to the Pathfinder irrigation system, including seven canal breaches, five of them major. Repair work diverted crews and equipment that normally would have been preparing canals for the irrigation season.

On June 15, the district even sought to rent a water truck to assist with canal-repair efforts.

"We understand that this has been a difficult year for our users, and we recognize how important it is to deliver water as soon as possible," the district said in its public statement.

The district has also previously said it does not favor borrowing water for the 2026 irrigation season because of the high cost per acre-foot and the requirement that borrowed water be repaid before next year's irrigation season begins.

With Pathfinder Reservoir less than 24% full, some farmers and ranchers in eastern Wyoming and western Nebraska are being warned they could be out of irrigation water by the first week of August. Drought has left reservoirs drained and canals low.

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