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[{"type":"text","text":"Never underestimate the power of Wham!......"}]

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<title>Today In Wham!: Monday, June 29, 2026 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Never underestimate the power of Wham!......

Today In Wham!: Monday, June 29, 2026

 Never underestimate the power of Wham!......

Employee kate meadows cropped

Kate Meadows

Government & Politics

Dozens of residents packed the meeting room and hallway at a meeting of the Platte County Planning and Zoning Commission on Tuesday night, their voices often rising as they shared their concerns about a massive data center project.

a data center and power generation complex was proposed

 for 5,344 acres of ranchland northeast of Wheatland in Platte County near the Goshen County line.

More than 70 people attended, with the majority standing in the hallway because of limited space. It was contentious from the beginning over cell towers, the data center project, and even whether the meeting was legal.

All that came after Commission Chairman Marty Shepard pointed out that the meeting wasn’t open for public comment because it was about a regulatory change.

The Planning and Zoning Commission is considering changes to Platte County’s land-use rules and regulations that would bring data centers under the county’s regulatory framework, potentially requiring developers to obtain a special-use permit.

Board members stressed Tuesday that the discussion was about how to regulate data centers, not whether the county should allow them.

“We are here to make sure the projects come in front of us meet our regulations,” board member Bill Klein said.

Shepard said the county wants to make sure it has the ability to place restrictions on future data center developments rather than giving developers broad authority to proceed without additional county oversight.

“If we rezone to commercial industrial and we give these companies free rein, we’re not in favor of that,” Shepard said. “We’re looking at special-use permit instead of giving them carte blanche.”

Amid wide public pushback, the commission unanimously voted to move forward with proposed changes to rules and regulations that would require a special-use permit for data centers.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Saving Most Contentious For Last"}]

The commission closed the evening with the issue that had drawn most of the crowd: How to incorporate data centers into the county’s land-use regulations.

County planner Laura Bookout told the commission that commissioners “would like to incorporate some form of data centers into our current regulations.”

She said they believe there might be loopholes in existing rules that could be addressed by requiring a special-use permit.

Shepard said updating the regulations would give the county more authority over future projects and allow officials to negotiate protections with developers.

“If we are good negotiators, we negotiate to the developer, this is what we want to protect our county,” he said. “If the developer is OK with paying for it up front, there’s no risk to Platte County. I think that is the gist of this meeting. I don’t think the taxpayers of Platte County (should) front the bill." 

Resident Josh Martinez, who had previously presented the commission with his concerns and proposed regulations, pressed board members for more information about the county’s approach.

“There’s not a lot of data,” Martinez said. “This community wants to know a lot of stuff, and nobody is saying nothing.”

Board member Bonnie Lockhart pointed out the commission has not received an actual data center application.

Martinez accused county commissioners of failing to do their due diligence.

“You’re in this position to look out for us, not the companies and the money,” he said. “Do what the people ask, because it comes from our tax dollars.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Tax Revenue, Exemptions And Water"}]

The debate also turned toward the potential financial benefits and costs of data centers.

Shepard pushed back against what he described as a persistent claim that data centers are tax exempt.

He said a data center could generate as much as $20 million in property tax revenue for Platte County.

Shepard said the exemption applies to equipment installed inside data center buildings rather than the buildings and property.

[{"type":"text","text":"The explanation prompted shouting from the audience."}]

“So are they tax exempt or not?” someone off camera shouted. “You just said they have an exemption on equipment that they put in their building.”

[{"type":"text","text":"“Is it public comment now?” a woman asked."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Shepard leaned back in his chair, visibly frustrated."}]

“I’m not going to argue with you. $20 million is a lot for this county,” he said.

[{"type":"text","text":"He claimed everyone in attendance voted to gut property taxes."}]

“Where is the money going to come from that keeps our county alive?” he asked.

Shepard said he has toured data centers and spoken with people involved in the industry.

[{"type":"text","text":"“Was I skeptical up front? Sure was. I’m not now,” he said."}]

He also challenged what he described as exaggerated claims about the amount of water data centers consume.

[{"type":"text","text":"“A million gallons of water is a thimble. A thimble,” he said."}]

When Shepard was asked to share the information he had gathered during his tour, he said, “I didn’t take any notes. It’s stored right here.”

[{"type":"text","text":"He pointed to his head."}]

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"‘Tell Us How You Want Them To Come’"}]

Klein repeatedly emphasized that the commission was seeking input on regulations rather than a simple rejection of data centers.

“We can’t just say, no, they’re not coming,” he said. “But we can say how we want them to come and what stipulations we want and what help we want in the community.”

He grew frustrated with residents who were using the meeting primarily to argue against data centers.

“Don’t just come in here and read off a whole bunch of stuff telling us how bad they are and how they’re just going to use all of our water and how they’re just going to destroy our community, because that’s bullshit,” Klein said.

“They are not here to destroy Wheatland. But they are here … because there is opportunity here.”

A woman in the audience challenged the commission, asking, “Why can’t we just say we don’t want them in Platte County?”

[{"type":"text","text":"“Why would you say that, ma’am?” Shepard replied."}]

Another man asked why the county has no other commercial manufacturing operations comparable to the proposed data center development.

[{"type":"text","text":"More arguing followed."}]

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Public Comment A Point Of Contention"}]

As the commission attempted to move toward a vote, residents continued to ask when they would be allowed to formally comment on the proposed regulations.

“Do we need a motion to have a meeting on the 16th?” Shepard asked Bookout.

Off camera, someone said, “Didn’t they say they were going to open to public comment?”

[{"type":"text","text":"Then she spoke publicly."}]

“You said you were going to open it up to public comment so if we could start our public comment, that would be great,” she said.

“This meeting is not open,” Shepard replied. “This is not an application. This is a rule change.”

The woman argued that because the county was already discussing changes to its land-use rules, residents should be able to offer ideas, suggestions and questions.

[{"type":"text","text":"“On September 16th,” Shepard responded."}]

The woman pointed out that a Sept. 16 hearing comes after the commission’s upcoming meetings, when many decisions about the regulations might already have been made.

“Are we moving into these meetings with no rezoning and with no regulations and with no anything?” she asked.

Lockhart again noted that the county has not received an application for a data center.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Size Of Crowd Debated"}]

Klein said residents would have an opportunity to voice their opinions at the Aug. 26 rezoning meeting.

The commission then voted unanimously to move ahead with proposed changes to the county’s rules requiring data centers to obtain a special-use permit. Board member Jay Collins made the motion, and Lockhart seconded it.

Shepard said the commission would work on the specific regulations at its Sept. 16 meeting.

[{"type":"text","text":"The announcement prompted another round of shouting."}]

“If we include data centers within our regulations, then we can regulate them better if they come,” Lockhart said over the noise. “If we don’t have them in our regulations, then they’re going to do whatever they want.”

As the arguments continued, Klein reminded the crowd that the commission was hearing from a relatively small portion of the county.

[{"type":"text","text":"“You have to remember, there’s 32 of you here,” he said."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"“There is 75,” a woman corrected him from off camera."}]

Klein responded that Platte County has about 6,000 residents and said three men he spoke with at a grocery store the previous week supported data centers.

One man in the front row warned that the opposition could grow significantly if residents believe the county is moving toward approving a data center without adequate restrictions.

“I think once the word gets out to Platte County and Goshen County about regulations where this is definitely coming in and the permits have been approved, you’re going to have a hellstorm on your hands,” he said.

“We already do,” Lockhart replied. “And we haven’t even got an application yet.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"‘An Illegal Meeting?’"}]

[{"type":"text","text":"The meeting was contentious from the get-go."}]

Less than two minutes in, Rebecca Cohorn of Goshen County questioned whether the commission could proceed.

“I notice there is no period of time in which public comments is an agenda item and I believe that that would make this an illegal meeting,” Cohorn said.

Shepard responded that he did not believe public comment was required for the land-use regulation discussion.

“And that’s a problem. It doesn’t matter,” Cohorn interjected. “There is no public comment on anything.”

[{"type":"text","text":"Cohorn asked that the meeting be rescheduled in a larger room."}]

Shepard pointed out that the meeting was being livestreamed and recorded on YouTube before saying the commission would continue.

“No. We’re going to move forward. But thank you for your consideration,” he said.

As the commission moved into its first agenda item, consideration of a special-use permit for a wireless communication tower on private land, Cohorn continued to object.

[{"type":"text","text":"“It’s an illegal meeting,” she shouted."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"The interruptions continued as the board attempted to proceed."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"“Shut the door,” Shepard said."}]

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Cell Tower Also Contentious"}]

 generally opens meetings to public comment, even when it is not specifically listed on the agenda.

“It may not be on the agenda, but I am always open in every meeting to public comment,” he said.

The tension continued as landowner Mary Meyer addressed the commission about opposition to a proposed cell tower on a neighboring property.

At one point, Shepard left his seat at the front of the room and addressed people gathered in the hallway.

“We are in a public hearing setting right now and it is very disruptive to the person who is trying to get her point across, whether you’re for it or against it,” he said. “You’re disturbing the lady who is trying to present her case. And she’s probably saying something you might want to hear.”

[{"type":"text","text":"Jeers came from the crowd."}]

“All I’m asking for is just a little peace so we can get through our meeting,” Shepard said. “If we can’t have it I’m going to have you removed.”

The crowd eventually quieted, but questions and objections continued as the meeting turned to the data center project.

 A special meeting to consider a major rezone application by the company proposing the data center, Site Layer 4, LLC, is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Aug. 26 at the Agriplex in Wheatland. A public hearing on the proposed land-use regulations is scheduled for Sept. 16 at 1 p.m. at the same location.

Wheatland data center 8 12 26

<title>Platte County Meeting Gets Contentious Over Proposed Data Center | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Dozens of residents packed the meeting room and hallway at a meeting of the Platte County Planning and Zoning Commission on Tuesday night, their voices often rising as they shared their concerns about a massive data center project.

Platte County Meeting Gets Contentious Over Proposed Data Center

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily's managing editor, Greg Johnson.

Greg Johnson

Politics

CHEYENNE — Using license plate reader technology to track down and arrest a Laramie County suspect on allegations of sexual abuse of a child has fanned an already smoldering debate over protecting the public at the expense of violating personal privacy.

The Cheyenne Police Department extolls the former position in a Tuesday statement announcing the arrest of an alleged child sex abuser.

“A detective with the Cheyenne Police Department was able to utilize a license plate reader in Northern Colorado to locate a person who was from Cheyenne and wanted on felony sexual abuse of a minor charges on a case originating with the Laramie County Sheriff’s Office.”

The CPD didn’t identify the suspect, citing Wyoming laws about releasing names of sex abuse suspects, but said that the license plate readers helped facilitate “the arrest of this dangerous individual.”

“Within 48 hours of the CPD detective looking for the suspect, conducting interviews, and utilizing license plate reader technology he was found and arrested,” the agency reports.

A vocal opponent of the use of Flock brand license plate readers in Cheyenne said that while getting dangerous people off the streets is always the best outcome, it shouldn’t happen at the cost of the personal rights of everyone.

“We will never argue the cameras don’t work,” said Ted Hanlon, chairman of the Laramie County Democratic Party and candidate for state Senate District 5.

Hanlon has led local pushback against the use of license plate readers, including presenting a petition with nearly 800 signatures opposing them to the Cheyenne City Council about six months ago.

The one thing supporters and opponents of the technology seem to agree upon is that license plate readers work.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"A ‘Conundrum’"}]

“Police departments across the nation like them because they do work,” Hanlon told Cowboy State Daily on Wednesday. “And that’s my reason for not using them.

“It seems particularly in Wyoming that this is a bad solution. We appreciate our individualism and freedom.”

Put simply, Hanlon said he thinks personal privacy rights trump public safety because in order to achieve that safety, it puts everyone under “Big Brother-like” surveillance.

“You’re always weighing personal freedom against safety, and that’s the law enforcement conundrum,” he said. “We can all give up personal freedoms in the name of safety, but where do you draw the line on that?

“I’ve thought about it a lot. The police department talks about Flock cameras in terms of if everything goes right with them, and I talk about them in terms of if something goes wrong.”

The chances of everything going right without anything going wrong “is almost zero,” Hanlon added.

Tuesday’s example helps prove both points of view, he said. It’s a great example of finding a suspect in less than 48 hours after being spotted by a license plate reader.

“My argument would be that if you can find this person in 48 hours using this tech, you can find anybody,” Hanlon said. “That is the privacy concern, that if you or I drive through Cheyenne right now, these license plate readers are going to take pictures of our cars, and theoretically we haven’t done anything wrong.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Not The Big Brother It’s Made Out To Be"}]

The Cheyenne Police Department said there’s some misinformation about the scope and nature of the agency’s use of license plate readers (LPRs).

Police don’t use them to do random sweeps and need a reason to be looking for specific vehicles tied to suspects or people of interest in potential crimes, CPD Sgt. Matt Coulson told Cowboy State Daily on Wednesday.

“Our agency uses them as an investigative tool, along with other investigative tools,” he said, adding that they don’t go on fishing expeditions.

“The LPRs give us an ability to locate vehicles identified as being associated to those individuals,” he said.

In this latest case, a warrant for the suspect’s arrest was issued two weeks prior and there were other attempts to locate him, Coulson said.

By using license plate readers, “we were able to narrow (where the suspect was) down to a specific city and an area of that city where he was frequently driving that car,” he said.

 to Hanlon and city officials during a February City Council meeting.

The cameras reading license plates aren’t new and have been in use for decades around the United States, he said. The Flock brand readers are relatively new, however.

Francisco said the concern over the cameras he hears most is about privacy issues and questions about whether the cameras violate the Fourth Amendment, which protects people against unreasonable search and seizure by the government and ensures rights to privacy.

“I understand where they’re coming from,” Francisco said. “We do live in a society now that everything you do and say is tracked.” 

But, he said, the cameras are not set up to do some of those things people fear that they do. The cameras are placed at public intersections and take still photos of vehicles and their license plates.

“None of these are in neighborhoods,” Francisco said. “The notion that these things could follow you from your home to your travel destination is just not accurate.”

Coulson agreed, saying that people who know they’re wanted will deliberately avoid areas with LPRs.

“People just hear we can locate anybody at any time, and that’s not true,” he said.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"‘Change The People’"}]

If the city won’t adjust or stop its use of license plate readers, Hanlon said people should elect public officials who will.

“We live in interesting times, right?” he said. “The problem I’ve had getting anywhere with the City Council is everything they’ve done the past six to eight months is so controversial, their meetings go to 1 or 2 o’clock in the morning.”

Without LPRs on the agenda, that means the issue of the readers is usually not discussed or brought up so late nobody is lucid enough to discuss it.

“We’ve made it clear to candidates that we’re supporting people who appreciate privacy issues,” Hanlon said. “If you can’t change the people, change the people.”

For his part, Chief Francisco said that everybody is being watched by cameras, and that privacy rights when out in public aren’t the same as in your house.

“As we all know, you give up some of your privacy rights when you’re in public,” he told the council. “Every store you go in is videotaping you.”

Francisco called the cameras one of the greatest technology advances in his 36-year law enforcement career. The primary purpose of the cameras, he said, is to double down on crime in Cheyenne.

They are fantastic for situations like Amber Alerts, missing people and wanted people associated with vehicles, he said.

“Crime these days is so mobile and transitory,” Francisco said. “Every day these cameras are helping us solve crime.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"It’s The ‘Perception’"}]

Councilman Pete Laybourne said he has “full faith” in the city’s police department and has no worries that it’s using Flock cameras in an underhanded way.

But because people have those doubts, the cameras aren’t worth losing “the trust of the public,” he told Cowboy State Daily.

“Our police department is not spying on people and is not misusing this system,” he added. “But I believe we should terminate the contract (with Flock) and acknowledge it’s not worth it.

“We’re losing the trust of the public in our police department, and I don’t think that’s really justified. But the belief is that we’re spying on them.”

Because there is a large outcry against LPRs, Laybourne said he believes that “it hasn’t worked out … because the belief is that we’re spying on them.”

Laybourne said his belief that the Flock contract shouldn’t be renewed has nothing to do with the CPD.

“We tried this technology, there was certainly success with it,” he said. “But I don’t believe those successes justify the continuation.

“That perception is poisonous and dangerous, and that’s why I think we ought to terminate that contract.”

Flock inset 2 8 12 26

<title>Supporters Say Cheyenne License Plate Readers Work; Opponents Say That’s The Problem | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Supporters of license plate readers in Wyoming say they work, and opponents agree — saying that’s the problem. Getting dangerous people off the streets is the best outcome, but it shouldn’t be at the cost of everyone's personal rights, says one opponent.

Supporters Say Cheyenne License Plate Readers Work; Opponents Say That’s The Problem

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily reporter, Dale Killingbeck

Dale Killingbeck

Crime & Courts

A 37-year-old Casper man faces potential prison time for allegedly driving a Polaris UTV side-by-side while intoxicated and causing serious injury to a passenger who fell off while sitting in the back on a cooler.

Michael Ray Watts is charged with driving under the influence with serious bodily injury after the incident Saturday evening in Alcova. A preliminary hearing on the charge is set for Aug. 27.

An arrest affidavit states that the victim as of Sunday was still on life support and had significant head injuries. Attempts to obtain an updated condition report Wednesday were unsuccessful.

Court records show Natrona County Sheriff’s deputies responded to the area of 24000 Lakeshore Drive about 8 p.m. Saturday for a report of a vehicle accident. They found a male on the ground bleeding from the face and head with significant injuries.

As two deputies administered first aid, they lost the victim’s pulse and began CPR.

“Soon after the CPR was administered the male regained consciousness,” the affidavit states. “Deputies continued to render aid until Natrona County fire personnel arrived and took over care of the patient.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Accelerated On Incline"}]

During an interview with Watts, he shared with a deputy that they was driving a 2021 Polaris RZR 1000 turbo when the victim came off the RZR. During the interview, the deputy could see that Watts eyes were bloodshot and glossy and he smelled of alcohol, the affidavit states.

Watts initially told the deputy that he two beers and a shot but later admitted to drinking two shots, four beers, and four or five Ranch Water cocktails.

Watts said he and two men and two women had been drinking at Alcova Lakeside Marina and just before 8 p.m. left with Watts driving the RZR. The victim and two women were sitting in the back on a cooler.

“Watts advised that he drove under the speed limit on Lakeshore Drive. When Watts turned into a trailer park … he stepped on the gas to go up an incline on the road,” the affidavit states. “Watts heard one of the females advise that (the victim) fell off.”

Watts told the deputy he stopped and got out to check on the man. Deputies arrived shortly after the incident.

Watts said one of the females told him the man slid off as he accelerated, but he did not see the man fall off.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Failed Field-Sobriety Test"}]

A field-sobriety test showed Watts could not maintain his balance, could not walk heel-to-toe, or walk a straight line. He also could not follow a direction to turn, swayed while trying to balance on one leg, hopped to balance, used his arms to balance and put his foot down — failing several field-sobriety tests.

Watts agreed to a chemical breath test at the Natrona County Detention Center at 10:16 p.m., two hours after the incident. He blew a .16% blood alcohol content, well above the legal limit of 0.08%.

The driving under the influence with serious bodily injury charge carries a potential penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of not less than $2,000 or more than $5,000 or both.

Watts is currently free on a $5,000 cash or surety bond.

Alcova michael watts 8 12 26

<title>Casper Man Charged With Driving UTV Drunk; Passenger On Life Support After Fall | Cowboy State Daily</title>

A Casper man faces prison time after authorities say he drove a side-by-side while intoxicated and caused a passenger to fall off a cooler in the back. The passenger is on life-support after sustaining head injuries in the fall at Alcova Reservoir.

Casper Man Charged With Driving UTV Drunk; Passenger On Life Support After Fall

Courts

A Tinder date gone horribly wrong ended with a Newcastle man dead with a hollow-point round in his chest and a South Dakota man facing a second-degree murder charge — and vastly different stories from the couple who had just met for a hook-up.

The woman Drake Alexander Ingalls of Belle Fourche, South Dakota, had driven nearly 90 minutes to meet this past weekend told investigators that Ingalls “did not need to shoot that gun at all.”

Ingalls, however, says he shot the other man in defense of his Tinder date after the woman screamed for “help” several times, according to an affidavit of probable cause written by Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation Agent Zack Miller.

Today In Wham!: Monday, June 29, 2026

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