It’s time to take a look at what’s happening around Wyoming for Thursday, June 18th. I’m Mac Watson
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The Carbon County sheriff says the man who shot a deputy in Baggs last week was likely planning a ‘large scale act.’ Cowboy State Daily’s Greg Johnson reports that the sheriff described the gunman having a stockpile of ammunition.
“The sheriff said that hundreds of magazines for an AR 15 were found in his apartment. It seemed like he was preparing. He also added that he set his apartment on fire before he left and went on his other high speed chase that ultimately ended in him being shot by law enforcement, and inside were several, a number of propane tanks that would have really made that an explosive improvised explosive device.”
The identity of the suspect isn’t being released pending the completion of an investigation by the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation, Sheriff Bakken tells Cowboy State Daily.
Read the full story HERE.
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A semitruck carrying millions of honeybees flipped over on U.S. Highway 191 in Yellowstone National Park on Tuesday. Cowboy State Daily’s Andrew Rossi spoke with Cheyenne beekeeper Michael Jordan who calls the scene “a devastating loss.”
“A semi truck carrying dozens of beehives, which would account for many millions of bees, flipped over on the road going through Yellowstone National Park near the west entrance. So, obviously, we don't have a lot of information on exactly what happened, but I spoke to Michael Jordan, a beekeeper in Cheyenne, who's dealt with similar situations. and he said that it looked like only 50% of what was there was recoverable, maybe, and they have 48 hours to get on the scene and get new bee hives or honey boxes at the site, so the bees have a place to go, because if they take longer than 48 hours, the queen bees are going to migrate to a spot where they feel safe, and they're going to take their entire retinue with them.”
According to Jordan, an average honey box can hold between 75,000 and 125,000 bees. Each box costs around $500 and generates $2,000 in profit from honey production.
Read the full story HERE.
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Hoskinson Health & Wellness in Gillette, which envisioned itself as the "Mayo Clinic of the West" before announcing last month it would close, may have a buyer. Cowboy State Daily’s Renee Jean reports that the Hoskinson family announced Wednesday it's in talks to sell to a large hospital chain.
“This clinic, they had a worthy aim, they wanted to be the Mayo Clinic of the West. They wanted to bring cutting-edge, advanced medical care to rural America. They were going to start in Gillette, figure out a business model there, and then translate that to other rural communities. Unfortunately, you know, the healthcare business is brutal, as they, as they discovered, and I don't think these factors were new, necessarily, maybe new to the hot to Charles Hoskinson, who bankrolled this. there are just all kinds of issues with how the healthcare system works, and ultimately he found it was not workable.”
The sale could happen quickly, with an eye on maintaining continuity of patient care. Hoskinson Health announced in May that it would close July 31, citing months of multi-million-dollar financial losses.
Read the full story HERE.
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After Wyoming lawmakers grappled with the topic of UFOs last year, the Pentagon released a report of five U.S. Army service members who said they observed a giant translucent airborne potato-shaped UFO over the Cheyenne Mountains in 2022. Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports a young man and his dad saw an eerily similar object described in the report 35 years ago in Wyoming.
“So, Rich Barrett, who's an attorney in Wyoming, Dad was a federal judge. He had a sighting of a strange device like 35 years ago with his dad that they corroborated one with the other, so he said that the sighting of a strange potato-shaped flying object over Colorado Springs by five US Army soldiers three years ago, four years ago. He said, look, I don't expect answers for what me and my dad saw 35 years ago. but he did say it's hope inspiring that the Trump administration is trying for transparency.”
Now the government calls them unidentified anomalous phenomenon (UAP) as the modern term for UFO. Five U.S. Army service members observed a translucent, milky, shimmering, airborne object over the Cheyenne Mountains in February 2022, says the report.
Read the full story HERE.
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I’ll have more news from Cowboy State Daily right after this.
Cowboy State Daily News continues now….
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Drought and demand are pushing beef to record high prices, leaving Wyoming ranchers praying for rain even if Americans are willing to pay more. Cowboy State Daily’s Kate Meadows reports that ranchers have some tough decisions to make.
“The USDA is reporting that beef prices are high now, and they're expected to go even higher in 2027 because of a historic beef shortage. The cattle shortage is due to a number of factors. Todd Formstrom is a rancher and the president of Wyoming Farm Bureau, he told me that the decision he's making right now is when he's at an all-time high of selling calves, does he sell now and reinvest that money into his operation, or does he hold on to his calves? And he said ranchers are making those tough decisions across Wyoming.”
While the situation looks bleak now, Wyoming ranchers are optimistic — confident that herds will be rebuilt eventually and that, one of these days, it will rain.
Read the full story HERE.
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Residents are split over the proposed massive Prometheus Hyperscale data center, which Uinta County commissioners gave a green light on Tuesday. Cowboy State daily’s Renee Jean reports that one critic says, “Prometheus promises all of these things ... and we end up holding the bag.”
“They view a lot of these promises by companies as, you know, suspect. one of the people who spoke against, who's circulating a petition there, he mentioned how many times he's seen, you know, promises broken by various companies along the way. Prometheus hasn't asked for anything, they haven't asked anybody to rehab a space for them. They're not asking for any taxpayer funded grants or anything like that. There's no public money involved at all. It's all private equity.”
In a packed meeting house, public comments ran roughly 50-50 for and against the project.
Read the full story HERE.
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Opponents say the proposed 972-megawatt power project at Seminoe Reservoir in Carbon County threatens the state's most prized bighorn sheep herd and the "Miracle Mile" section of the North Platte River famed for its blue-ribbon trout fishing. Cowboy State Daily’s Mark Heinz reports that all eyes are on the BLM and a new study by the Federal Energy Regulation commission.
“The Federal Energy Regulation Commission just put out their environmental impact statement and recommended approving that project, recommending issuing a license. Now it still has several steps it’s going to have to go through. We don't know how the BLM is going to respond, because the BLM is actually being asked to waive some protections from wildlife that would pertain to the construction schedule. In other words, you can't do construction while the big bighorn sheep are on their wintering range, which is right next to the construction site. So, either the construction would have to be seasonal. The company says that would make the project just too darned expensive.”
In addition to concerns over bighorn sheep, opponents say they worry how the project could affect blue-ribbon trout fishing on the North Platte River’s Miracle Mile Section, and municipal water supplies.
Read the full story HERE.
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The Hot Springs County GOP rejected a party leader's bid Monday to nearly drain its bank account and send $4,000 to the state party. Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports that five people on the losing side of the question walked out, leaving not enough voters to pay their bills.
“Cheryl Aguiar told me that she and others did not want the new iteration of the county party to have that money, since some among them had backed a conflicting fundraising event, in her words, ‘sabotage’ the party's fundraising event. She said that, though, the walkout was kind of incidental, that she didn't mean for she didn't coordinate for everyone to walk out at once. The critics of the move dispute that, saying no, this walkout looked coordinated, and also the Charlie Kirk Memorial dinner only raised about $1,500 So, what's the rationale of sending 4000 to the state party.”
Delegate Aguiar said that for her part, she left the meeting Monday because the chair was letting attendees heckle and berate her – a claim Chair Joe Martinez disputes.
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.
