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

<title>Daily Cartoon 1: Monday, June 15, 2026 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Daily Cartoon 1: Monday, June 15, 2026

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

Clair McFarland

Government & Politics

A federal judge declined Thursday to make Wyoming and Nebraska irrigation districts open a competitive bid for the sake of a drilling company that missed out on the chance to bid a $100 million job on the Goshen County tunnel project.

But the judge also ruled that Drill Tech Drilling & Shoring Inc. 

, at this phase, in claiming that the Wyoming-based Goshen County Irrigation and Nebraska-based Gering-Fort Laramie Irrigation Districts violated their states’ public-records laws by not giving information the company had requested.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Lock In"}]

Drill Tech Drilling & Shoring Inc. filed a federal lawsuit against both districts in May.

The lawsuit asked U.S. District Court Judge Scott Skavdahl, of Wyoming, to intervene in what Drill Tech called an unlawful bidding process that cut it out of the opportunity to win a job on the massive tunnel repair.

One of the two 119-year-old tunnels suffered a catastrophic failure in 2019. The other is reportedly in dire need of a rebuild.

The districts assigned Atkinson Construction LLC as construction manager at-risk (CMAR) over the project, which means Atkinson can oversee and work with subcontractors, court documents say.

Drill Tech alleged that for the $100 million drill project it had sought to perform, the irrigation districts should have held — and didn’t hold — a competitive bidding process. The districts gave the job instead to their CMAR, Atkinson, court documents say.

[{"type":"text","text":"In his Thursday order, Skavdahl countered. "}]

He said the laws of both Wyoming and Nebraska appear to support the CMAR’s authority to self-perform this kind of work. Drill Tech has not shown substantially that it has a right to enter a competitive bidding process for this project, he added.

Skavdahl wrote that requiring the districts to pause or backtrack their work and hold that bidding process could harm the agricultural community by stalling the long-awaited repairs even longer — and he declined to do that.

The public has an interest in government entities abiding by the open bidding process, wrote Skavdahl.

“On the other hand, the Irrigation Districts are right that ensuring irrigation water to the thousands of acres of farmland served by the tunnels is also in the public interest,” he added. “In light of Drill Tech’s failures (to show it deserves court intervention) as well as the serious risks to the farmers and public from another tunnel collapse following any delay in this construction project, the preliminary injunction requested by Drill Tech is more contrary to the public interest than in support of it.”

Drill Tech had waited several months to sue, though it had reportedly learned it had been cut out of the job last summer, Skavdahl noted.

He declined to let that delay kill the case altogether, but he factored the delay into his decision not to order the open bid.

The judge’s order doesn’t end the case. It just denies Drill Tech’s request to have Skavdahl intervene in this early phase.

Skavdahl gave his early conjectures that Drill Tech isn’t likely to win on the bidding question, only for the purposes of declining to compel the districts to change course immediately.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Might Win That One"}]

Drill Tech had also accused both irrigation districts of violating their states’ open meeting laws and assigning the job in secret.

[{"type":"text","text":"Skavdahl said the company looks unlikely to win that challenge as well."}]

But, the judge wrote, Drill tech appears likely to win two of its claims: that the Wyoming irrigation district and the Nebraska one both violated their states’ public-records laws by not giving Drill Tech information it had requested.

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

The complaint says the two districts contracted Atkinson to be the construction manager at risk and provide oversight for the Fort Laramie Canal Tunnel 1 and 2 rehabilitation project.

That project is expected to benefit more than 100,000 acres of farmland across eastern Wyoming and western Nebraska.

 that the U.S. Department of Interior has chosen to use $100 million of its $889 million One Big Beautiful Bill appropriation on the tunnel project.

The tunnel collapsed July 17, 2019, cutting off irrigation water to the region and flooding fields. The infrastructure was more than a century old.

Temporary repairs restored most of the system’s capacity in time for the 2021 season, but it still needs long-term solutions. Repairs to Tunnel 2 also are in the works so that it doesn’t suffer the same catastrophic failure.

During the bidding process, Drill Tech’s complaint alleges, the two irrigation districts confirmed Atkinson would have to comply with Wyoming and Nebraska laws, and that it may be able to self-perform the construction work in the project, but would competitively bid that work.

But 18 months after Atkinson became the project manager, the districts “fundamentally changed the (manager’s) agreement to allow Atkinson to self-perform all the construction work for the Project under the guise of a contract amendment,” the complaint alleges.

This transformed the contract into a standard prime contract for the massive project “with no competition for the construction work,” says Drill Tech’s complaint. 

The project manager no longer had to open competition to the public bidding process, it adds.

Drill Tech Drilling and other interested parties were cut out of the process, the complaint says.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Asking For Documents"}]

Drill Tech didn’t ask to become the project manager because it wanted to work on the tunnel rehabilitation work packages instead, the complaint says, adding that Drill Tech has experience with the method that project requires.

On July 25, 2025, Drill Tech sent a letter to the two districts, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and one of the project designers, HDR Inc., to raise concerns that Atkinson was no longer required to bid projects competitively and in public.

Drill Tech noted in that letter that it had been monitoring the project for two years, waiting for the bid advertisement.

Nearly a month later, the Goshen County Irrigation District’s attorney acknowledged the district had received the letter and thanked Drill Tech for its “continued interest in the Project,” court documents say.

That December, Drill Tech submitted public-records requests to both districts under the public-records laws of each state, the complaint says, asking for all post-award modifications and amendments regarding the project manager’s agreement, and for a copy of the procurement plan.

The Nebraska-based district never responded to that request, the complaint says. The Wyoming-based district reportedly responded two months later, Feb. 10, 2026.

Goshen District’s public records yield was “heavily redacted,” says Drill Tech’s complaint. The district claimed those redactions were justified as trade secrets, privileged information, confidential commercial, financial, geographical or geophysical data.

The complaint disputes that. It shows a side-by-side comparison of the same page of the scope of the project manager’s services.

The page that was publicly released in the request for proposal, and the page Drill Tech received in its public records request, are vastly different, with the latter about 75% or more redacted.

“Reactions such as these were pervasive” throughout the agreement, the complaint says.

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

Copies of the changes to that agreement also had “pervasive redactions,” it adds.

Still, says the document, Drill Tech learned that the agreement was amended before Drill Tech’s July 25, 2025, letter requesting information about whether public bids were still required.

The complaint says the district knew the agreement had already been changed to edge out competitive bidding, but didn’t tell Drill Tech that when the company asked.

The complaint also says the district didn’t provide notice of an important public meeting.

By Feb. 20, 2025, the Goshen district board voiced concerns about HDR’s original maximum price estimate of $87 million swelling to more than $120 million, the complaint relates from the meeting minutes.

HDR proposed a confidential guaranteed maximum price proposal and non-disclosure agreements so there would be “no worry about (Atkinson) getting underbid,” the document alleges.

There was, the complaint says, no documented vote for Atkinson to self-perform the task they were discussing without publicly bidding the work packages, but the district did vote to approve changing the design plan.

It’s “entirely” unclear what role the Nebraska-based district played here because it didn’t respond to Drill Tech’s public records requests, the complaint alleges.

The document says that on July 8, 2025, the Goshen district and Atkinson signed an amendment to change the agreement, so that the latter was no longer required to advertise bids or publicly open them.

In the July 17, 2025, meeting minutes, “Atkinson was already apparently working with a vendor for the digger shield, but there was no indication that Atkinson has publicly bid or competitively awarded the subcontract for the digger shield.”

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<title>Judge Says $100M Goshen Tunnel Project Won’t Stop For Company That Couldn't Bid | Cowboy State Daily</title>

A federal judge declined Thursday to pause the $100 million Goshen Tunnel project for a company that missed out on a chance to bid on the work. He also ruled the company has a valid case against two irrigation districts in charge of the tunnel.

Judge Says $100M Goshen Tunnel Project Won’t Stop For Company That Couldn't Bid

Kolby fedore

Kolby Fedore

Crime & Courts

Courts

A Florida woman who owned a behavioral health clinic in Cheyenne has been ordered to pay back more than $870,000 to Wyoming Medicaid for bilking the federal agency with fraudulent claims.

Federal prosecutors say her daughter helped carry out the scheme by assisting with billing and falsifying service documentation while working for the clinic.

Tera Marie Campbell, 47, of Maitland, Florida, owned The Olive Branch LLC, a behavioral health clinic that provided autism services in Cheyenne and Minot, North Dakota, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Wyoming said Thursday in a statement announcing the women’s sentences for conspiracy to commit health care fraud.

Campbell used the business to submit fraudulent Medicaid claims over several years, including claims for services provided by employees who lacked required certifications, claims that were upcoded to higher-paying services and bills for appointments that never occurred, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Investigators said some of those claims were submitted for dates when the clinic was closed and even while Campbell was out of the country on vacation.

Campbell's daughter, Tayler Ann Krauss, 27, of McDavid, Florida, worked as the clinic's medical biller between December 2020 and October 2022. She was instrumental in providing service documentation used to support fraudulent claims.

The investigation concluded the clinic relied extensively on untrained employees, falsified certification and supervision records, and knowingly billed Wyoming Medicaid for services that did not meet Medicaid requirements, according to prosecutors.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Joint Investigation"}]

The case was investigated by the Wyoming Attorney General's Office Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Department of Defense's Defense Criminal Investigative Service.

U.S. Attorney Darin Smith said in a statement that Medicaid fraud "steals taxpayer dollars from programs that millions of Americans depend on and undermines care for vulnerable patients.

"I am committed to holding accountable those who exploit these programs for personal gain."

Smith said his office will continue working with federal and state partners to investigate and prosecute health care fraud, saying the effort is aimed at protecting public resources and preserving confidence in the healthcare system.

Wyoming Attorney General Keith Kautz added in the statement that the prosecution and conviction of Campbell and Krauss demonstrates the value of cooperation between state and federal law enforcement agencies and praised the work of his office's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit.

Smith nor Kautz responded to Cowboy State Daily's request for an interview beyond the prepared statements released by the U.S. Department of Justice on Thursday. 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Sentence Handed Down"}]

U.S. District Judge Kelly H. Rankin sentenced Krauss on Monday and Campbell on Tuesday in federal court in Cheyenne.

Campbell and Krauss were indicted May 21, 2025, and both pleaded guilty April 9 to conspiracy to commit health care fraud.

Campbell was sentenced to 36 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release. Krauss was sentenced to two years of home confinement.

The judge ordered the women to jointly pay $735,717.63 in restitution to Wyoming Medicaid. Campbell was also ordered to repay $135,890.91 to the military's Tricare health care program.

The court ruled Krauss is jointly responsible for up to $71,509.44 of that amount.

Campbell was separately sentenced in January in a related North Dakota Medicaid fraud case.

In that case, she received a three-year suspended sentence, three years of supervised release and was ordered to repay an additional $225,000 to North Dakota's Medicaid program.

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<title>Florida Woman, Daughter Ordered To Pay Back $870K They Stole From Wyoming Medicaid | Cowboy State Daily</title>

A Florida woman who ran a Cheyenne behavioral health clinic, and her daughter, have been ordered to pay back more than $870,000 they stole from Wyoming Medicaid. They funneled fraudulent claims through the clinic for years, say federal prosecutors.

Florida Woman, Daughter Ordered To Pay Back $870K They Stole From Wyoming Medicaid

Image depicting a missing headshot of a Cowboy State Daily team member.

Ray Hunkins

Opinion

CSD Columnists

by Donald J. Trump was published in 1987 and was an immediate success. Trump’s book reached #1 on the New York Times best-seller list and stayed there for 13 weeks. The autobiographical book sets forth the principles of successful negotiation in complex, “deals."

 What is a deal? When accompanied by offer, acceptance and legal consideration, it results in a contract if, but only if, there has been a meeting of the minds.

Treaties can be thought of as contracts between sovereign nations.  A memorandum of understanding (MOU), is essentially an agreement to agree in the future and usually has no legal significance.

Since at least March 23, 2026, the United States, at the direction of the President, has been negotiating a “deal” with the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Recently the negotiations produced an MOU which was accompanied by an agreed ceasefire

Surprisingly, the processes that have been followed in negotiating a “deal” with Iran violate principles of negotiation articulated by President Trump in his book.

One of the cardinal principles set forth in "The Art of the Deal,"

is the admonition to walk away from any “deal” if the circumstances warrant. According to Trump, one should never appear “desperate” for a deal. 

the worst thing you can possibly do in a deal is seem desperate to make it.

 If the counterparty senses you cannot leave the table, you lose all your leverage. You must convince the other side that you are perfectly willing to move on.”

Trump offers good advice. Most successful negotiators would agree.

It is curious then, that when it came to negotiating with Iran in March, President Trump did not follow the advice of author Trump.

Instead, he projected the very attitude and demeanor he warned against. 

While his rhetoric claimed otherwise, Trump appeared desperate and unwilling to walk away, even in the face of provocations. 

Trump threatened to resume hostilities if progress in negotiating a deal was not apparent, and in several instances authorized “proportionate” actions of limited strikes on selected targets, but they were followed by a quick resumption of talks. 

Those proportionate strikes did little to change the appearance that Trump was desperate for a deal. That the Iranians sensed this is beyond dispute and verified by both their words and conduct.

The Iranians also appeared desperate, but for reasons that were transparent. Iran was playing for time. They had taken a terrific pounding and needed time to recover, retool and restock, with the aid of their allies, China, Russia and North Korea.

Conventional wisdom suggested the U.S. should have press its advantage and not interrupt its momentum. Victory appeared close at hand.

So why the dichotomy between Trump’s advice and Trump’s actions; between “walking away” and ignoring the obstinance and deceit of the negotiating counterparty. 

Wouldn’t Iran’s repeated violations of the agreed ceasefire, not to mention renewed attacks on Gulf allies suggest it was time to “walk away” from the negotiating table? 

Under these circumstances doesn’t forging ahead with efforts to “make a deal” appear desperate? Yes, but only if Trump was not acting purposely.

The available evidence points to circumstances that suggest Trump may have been purposeful, not desperate. Why?

Truth be told, Trump needed “time” as much as Iran did. Circumstances dictated that the campaign against Iran be scaled back and that some way be found to open the Strait of Hormuz and thereby restore the flow of oil to the World.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"What circumstances? They were three-fold. "}]

First, with China’s threat to “reunite” Taiwan in 2027 looming, the burn rate on the sophisticated munitions being used in the Iran campaign was depleting the U.S. stockpile of heavy ordinance. Not only munitions, but also fuel. Enormous quantities of fuel were being consumed by the air and naval armadas assembled to prosecute the conflict. The U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve (“SPR”) had dropped to a dangerously low point (331 million barrels as of June 19).

Continuing the air campaign in view of the impending munition and petroleum shortages was inconsistent with U.S. national security.

President Trump let the cat out of the bag when he invoked the Defense Production Act (“DPA”) in mid-June. 

The DPA is a Korean war era law that grants the president broad emergency authority to command domestic defense industries to ramp up production of such items as munitions, when required by national security. 

Additionally, on June 24 Trump summoned executives of munitions and weapons manufacturers to the White House, demanding that they rapidly replenish missile and munition stockpiles depleted by the Iran campaign and other commitments.

There can be little doubt that these steps indicate a concerning shortage of the type of munitions being used in the Iran campaign and which might be required in the Eastern Pacific next year. The meager reserves in the SPR added impetus. The evidence suggests these concerns played a significant role in the decision to pause the campaign.

There were also two economic considerations that must have been carefully considered in reaching a decision to replace the military offensive with a diplomatic offensive.

Facing a midterm election in November that could determine the success or failure of the balance of Trump’s term, it was imperative that the economy be on a glide-path to prosperity. 

As the spring progressed it was more and more obvious that just the opposite was happening. Prices at the gas pump were increasing as was inflation. This of course was alarming to the President and his economic and political advisors. 

As for the latter, their advice must have paraphrased a truism from the Clinton era: “It’s the economy, stupid!”.

Given these circumstances, what was the best option forward? 

A ceasefire was needed to stop the drain on munitions, and the Strait of Hormuz had to be opened to restore the flow of oil and lower the price of fuel and fertilizer. Trump must have calculated that these objectives could best be reached through diplomacy. 

A temporary “deal” (the MOU) could be reached accomplishing both objectives by leveraging Iran’s need for a pause in hostilities and for relief from the blockade that was strangling its economy. 

Pairing that reality with the needs of the U.S. created a situation ripe for the art of the deal.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"What does the future look like? "}]

It's likely the bellicose IRGC representatives at the negotiating table and in Tehran will remain bellicose, occasionally acting out. 

Look for “proportionate” retaliation when they do. Unless a formal agreement is reached regarding the points in contention, this pattern will likely go on, at least until November.

Should the IRGC take action which seriously threatens the free flow of commerce in the Strait of Hormuz, the U.S. response will be more than “proportionate." 

For the reasons mentioned, it is imperative that the Strait remain open and oil flow unimpeded. Any action on the part of the IRGC which interferes with that U.S. objective will likely be countered with whatever force, including the use of ground troops, is needed to restore the status quo ante and keep the oil flowing.

Trump has said that, “time is on our side," and indeed it appears to be, but not totally. 

The IRGC will be using the pause to improve its ability to fight, but there is no doubt the U.S. can prevail if it has the will to do so. 

And, while the U.S. and the IRGC are exchanging tit for tat, the Iranian people may decide to take matters into their own hands.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"That would indeed be a happy ending."}]

Ray Hunkins, a Marine, is a retired country lawyer and cowman. He is a Distinguished Alumnus of the University of Wyoming and its College of Law. In retirement he is an award-winning author.

Ray hunkins headshot 10 4 24

<title>Ray Hunkins: The Art Of The (Iran) Deal | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Columnist Ray Hunkins writes, "Conventional wisdom suggested the U.S. should have press its advantage and not interrupt its momentum. Victory appeared close at hand. So why the dichotomy between Trump’s advice and Trump’s actions?"

Ray Hunkins: The Art Of The (Iran) Deal

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

Renée Jean

Around Wyoming

After months of uncertainty over the future of one of Wyoming’s most ambitious health-care experiments, the Hoskinson family is announcing that their clinic, which they’d hoped to turn into the “Mayo Clinic of the West,” is changing hands.

Monument Health will take over the former Hoskinson Health & Wellness Clinic, operating it as a multi-specialty clinic and employing providers and staff under a lease agreement for the building and equipment. 

“From the beginning, our goal was to bring Mayo Clinic-level care to the people of Gillette,” the Hoskinson family said in a media statement to Cowboy State Daily. “This transition to a Mayo Clinic Care Network member means that vision is now a reality. We are grateful to Monument Health for stepping in and making sure this community continues to have access to the care it deserves.”

Monument health, which operates five hospitals and more than 40 clinics and specialty centers in 14 communities across western South Dakota and eastern Wyoming, has direct access to Mayo Clinic expertise and resources, a connection that has now been extended to Gillette.

A finalized list of providers is being developed, the Hoskinson family added. They also encouraged patients to continue scheduling appointments as normal.

The clinic is staffed by 15 physicians and a full support team in a state-of-the-art facility. In joining Monument Health, it becomes part of a system that spans 31 specialties, five hospitals and more than 40 clinics and specialty centers across western South Dakota and eastern Wyoming.

“The people of Gillette deserve access to high-quality care close to home, and that is exactly what this clinic has provided,” Monument President and CEO Paulette Davidson said in a statement to Cowboy State Daily. “We are proud to expand our presence into eastern Wyoming and committed to making sure these patients continue to have a place to go for the care they need.”

The Hoskinson family posted on Facebook as well not long after announcement, emphasizing that Monument is “working to retain the care team, so the people who know you and our health history can still be here.”

Charles released a video hailing the agreement, and saying it’s something that “we worked on for a little while.”

“One of the things you learn in business and in life is that sometimes you’re not the best person for the job,” he said in the video. “You may have the vision, and you may have the ability to get it started, but sometimes other people need to finish it to get it done.”

Making that decision was “one of the hardest decisions we had to make.” 

“It’s a tough business, medicine,” Hoskinson said. “And so we said, ‘Let’s find a path where somebody with the same level of passion, enthusiasm, and wonderful track record can come on in and give the people at Gillette Wyoming the best health care in the entire state of Wyoming.'”

The negotiations were tough, he said, because Monument has some of the best people in the United States.

“(They’re) part of that broader Mayo network, and really there is nothing better on the planet,” he said. “So the clinic is not going to go dark. There will be a bit of a transition, but when those lights come back on, (it's) the same mission to make sure that everybody in Gillette Wyoming gets wonderful health care and take care of as many people as we can the best way we can.”

With a Mayo-networked affiliate arriving, that fulfills his original promise, Hoskinson added, to bring a Mayo clinic to the West.

“We never imagined that a Mayo affiliate would actually be the one doing it, but I can live with that,” he said. “And I think a lot of you can, too.”

Much of the artwork on the walls and the special equipment are staying put, Hoskinson said, meaning the “three-Tesla MRI is not going anywhere.”

The 3T MRI is one of the most advanced, widely used diagnostic imaging tools in medicine today.

“(Monument's) a great organization,” Hoskinson concluded. “And to the Monument family, let me be the first in Gillette to welcome you to Gillette... We’ll have more to say after this, and hopefully an open house for people to talk about transition.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Built By A Crypto Tycoon"}]

The move follows a rocky two-year arc for Hoskinson, a $200 million, 70,000-plus-square-foot facility bankrolled by cryptocurrency tycoon Charles Hoskinson. The family has said the facility is the largest family-run clinic in the United States. 

It offered dozens of specialties in addition to primary care, as well as research and regenerative medicine under one roof — all more commonly found in large, urban academic centers than in a small town of 30,000 on the High Plains. 

In a video released after the Hoskinson family announced it would close the clinic, Charles said the economics of American health care and the realities of operating in a small, remote market had killed the operation.

He said the clinic was losing millions every month, even after aggressive attempts to pare back and optimize operations.

Primary care, he argued, is fundamentally under-reimbursed, forcing providers to see 24 to 28 patients daily just to break even. That volume was incompatible with the slower, more thorough care model he wanted the clinic to provide.

“The Hoskinsons have been in medicine for over 70 years since the 1950s,” he said in the video. “They’ve watched the entire health-care industry transform and change from mostly rural and mostly solo practitioners or small groups — excluding cities — working basically with a direct relationship with the patient, direct financial relationship with the patient, to a system that’s become kind of a bureaucratic hellscape.”

Gillette’s clinic easily attracted 20,000 patients, yet still wasn’t close to breaking even, Hoskinson added. 

“I had aspirations to do something in regenerative medicine,” Hoskinson said. “I’m a big believer in network medicine.”

Some day, current medical knowledge and AI enhancements are going to combine and create a high degree of personalized medical care, he said. 

That’s “really going to change things so we can cure stuff,” Hoskinson said.

As the financial picture for the clinic worsened, patients and would-be employees felt caught in the middle.

In one case, a billing specialist who had accepted a role at the clinic, including a $20,000 relocation reimbursement, learned her offer had been abruptly withdrawn for “business” reasons. That left her without a job after she’d given notice and made plans to move.

Patients with complex conditions also began to worry about what it would mean for their care. 

Shawna Langdon, for example, diagnosed with aggressive rheumatoid arthritis after COVID, had come to depend on weekly visits to the clinic for injections, diagnostics and specialist care. Having multiple specialists under one roof so close to home had made it possible for her to manage a disease that otherwise meant frequent exhausting travel — so exhausting she sometimes was unable to make the trip.

Sarah Pierce, whose child has Beckwith-Wiedeman Syndrome, had needed frequent care in Philadelphia. While the clinic didn’t eliminate such travel, it did help to cut down on it by having a knowledgeable ENT in Gillette, making the family’s life significantly easier.

Langdon told Cowboy State Daily she was openly rooting for Monument to take over, knowing it would make her life easier. 

"It is very very welcoming news for me and gives me a lot more comfort knowing they're gonna still be right around the corner," she said Wednesday. " Not just for me either, but for the entire community. We need this."

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<title>Monument Health Takes Over Gillette’s Hoskinson Clinic, Which Was Losing Millions | Cowboy State Daily</title>

After a rocky, two-year run for Gillette’s $200 million state-of-the-art Hoskinson Health & Wellness Clinic, Monument Health has struck a deal to keep the facility open and plugging it into the Mayo Clinic Care Network. Hoskinson was losing millions every month.

Monument Health Takes Over Gillette’s Hoskinson Clinic, Which Was Losing Millions

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily's Feature Reporter, Andrew Rossi.

Andrew Rossi

Many relics from the age of the steam engine in Wyoming remain. Some are grandiose, like 

One of these relics is the Lusk Water Tower, a point of pride in eastern Wyoming. It’s one of the few structures of its kind remaining in the United States, still standing strong 140 years after it was built.

The redwood water tower in Lusk was built in 1886 to keep steam engines running between Wyoming and South Dakota. While the engines are gone, the tower endures 140 years after it was built and is one of six such relics still standing in the United States.

Daily Cartoon 1: Monday, June 15, 2026

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