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[{"type":"text","text":"How many paper plates does it take to stop a bullet??"}]

Firearms 7 2 26

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

<title>Today In Firearms: Thursday, July 2, 2026 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

How many paper plates does it take to stop a bullet??

Today In Firearms: Thursday, July 2, 2026

 How many paper plates does it take to stop a bullet??

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

Clair McFarland

Government & Politics

Politics

Media outlets gasped last week at the socialist movement’s success in the New York congressional 

That success headed west Tuesday, to Wyoming’s southern neighbor of Colorado.

Democratic socialist Melat Kiros, 29, defeated 15-term incumbent U.S. House Rep. Diana DeGette in Tuesday evening’s primary election.

Colorado Public Radio called the ouster “a stunning blow to the Democratic establishment in Denver and continuing a run of leftist victories in major cities.”

Former Wyoming Gov. Mike Sullivan, a Dvemocrat, told Cowboy State Daily on Tuesday that he wasn’t surprised at the move by Denver voters, but he doubted the proximity of a House socialist – if Kiros wins the general election – will affect Wyoming much.

“We have our own issues, and we’re certainly more sensitive to certain issues than others,” Sullivan said. “And it doesn’t necessarily divide us or make us closer to anybody else.”

[{"type":"text","text":"Could Deepen 'Don't Colorado My Wyoming' Sentiment"}]

Liz Brimmer, longtime Wyoming politico, agreed in general, but said having a socialist congressional neighbor could galvanize Wyoming even harder into a tendency it already has: spurning anything that looks like Colorado governance.  

“I think Wyoming uniformly and strongly feels, you know, ‘Don’t Colorado my Wyoming',” Brimmer said. “And I think if anything, it deepens that sentiment.”

Brimmer said the ouster speaks of “these times, where there’s no doubt an anti-incumbent strain.” But no one will know all the reasons, nor should presume too much, until the voter data return, she said.

The Republicans saw the anti-incumbent strain surface differently, with newcomers ousting President Donald Trump’s foes in GOP primary elections.

State Rep. Landon Brown, R-Cheyenne, who is finishing off his final legislative term, voiced fascination with the election outcome.

Brown, a self-described political junkie, lives about 14 miles from the Colorado border.

He said the ouster shows Denver is increasingly dictating the rest of Colorado’s fate, and that the state is growing more polarized.

On the Republican gubernatorial primary side, The 

 a half-point lead for Victor Marx as of Wednesday.

“He’s just as crazy as a democratic socialist on the left,” said Brown.

As for DeGette’s defeat, it’s not as symptomatic as one would think, he added.

“She was running a ‘Hey, I’m the incumbent and I’ve been here 30 years’ (campaign),” he said.

That hurt her. As did a growing divide on the left over Israel’s approach to its many foes — and Congress’ funding of Israeli war and defense efforts, said Brown.

Israel was also a fulcrum in the May primary loss of libertarian-leaning incumbent Rep. Thomas Massie, of Kentucky. But the Republican voters took the inverse approach on that one, nominating the candidate who supports funding Israeli war efforts.

Jack Speight, the GOP strategist who helped Wyoming Gov. Stan Hathaway to victory in 1966, told Cowboy State Daily Kiros’ win is alarming.

Speight was a Democrat when he graduated from the University of Wyoming law school. But the allure of capitalism and the prevailing logic of his good friends pulled him to the Republican side, he said in another interview last month.

The socialist victories of 2026 are “sad for this country. It may well affect the results of this fall, and nationwide,” he said. He called it a shift of California transplants into the Rockies, and a symptom of a growing entitlement.

[{"type":"text","text":"Colorado isn’t the only Wyoming neighbor with socialist momentum."}]

Sam Forstag, a smoke jumper endorsed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, D-New York, won his primary bid for Montana’s U.S. House District 1 on June 2.

Forstag may be less favored than Kiros going into the general election: No Democrat has won that Montana House district this century.

 a “test for left-leaning politicians” who have been arguing for a populist surge in the blue party.

Melat Kiros Getty 7 1 26

<title>Win By Colorado Socialist Could Galvanize Wyoming Independence, Says Politico | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Fresh after socialist-backed candidates' success in New York's U.S. House primaries, Colorado Democrats nominated their own socialist House candidate Tuesday. Having a socialist neighbor could galvanize Wyoming's independence even more, one politico said. 

Win By Colorado Socialist Could Galvanize Wyoming Independence, Says Politico

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily reporter, Dale Killingbeck

Dale Killingbeck

A 17-year-old Lander homeschooler who beat out 8,000 other students in what was billed as an “Impossible Civics Test” won the nation’s Presidential 1776 Award, collected a $150,000 scholarship, and then stood beside President Donald Trump in the Oval Office where he gave her a challenge coin.

“I just thought it was really amazing to get to meet the president in the Oval Office, because it’s something that I never thought that I would be able to do,” Miriam Washut told Cowboy State Daily on Wednesday. “It’s just a once-in-a lifetime opportunity.”

To get there, Washut had to plow through more than 5,000 pages of books, foundational documents and biographies, as well as know the facts on 10 Revolutionary War battles. She then was tested at state and regional levels before the national finals competition at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

The finals competition was broadcast on CBS on Tuesday, but was taped a couple of weeks ago when 20 students gathered for the competition in the nation’s capital.

Washut is the daughter of Wyoming Catholic College President Kyle Washut and his wife, Erin. She said it was her dad who first saw on the competition announcement on social media, but she initially had only one week to prepare before testing for the state competition.

“I took the test the last day you could take it,” she said. “And then I had a month before regionals, so there was a little bit more time to get ready for that.”

Kyle Washut said his daughter has always been interested in history, and she was actually working as an intern during part of her study time this spring in the Wyoming Legislature where her grandfather, Art Washut, serves as a state representative for House District 36 in Casper.

The competition involved more than 8,000 students nationwide, and students took three 30-minute exams with a short break to qualify for the regionals. 

Miriam Washut said the exam questions became more difficult as she progressed through the “Impossible Civics Test.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Oval Office Handshake"}]

While in the Oval Office with the president during the short time they had with him, Trump asked her and the other students about their plans for the future, shook their hands, and then they posed for photos with him and Department of Education Secretary Linda McMahon, Miriam said. 

She enjoyed seeing a copy of the Declaration of Independence there as part of the event.

It also was not lost on her that she had traveled from Lander, Wyoming, to the seat of the nation’s executive power and government.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"“Yeah, it was really cool,” she said."}]

U.S. Rep. Harriet Hageman and Wyoming State Superintendent of Education Megan Degenfelder were among those congratulating Washut on her accomplishment Wednesday.

“She competed against students from all 50 states and came out on top. Wyoming is proud,” Hageman wrote in a statement.

Degenfelder praised the 17-year-old’s dedication to “understanding the nation’s foundational values.”

“In Wyoming, our students grow up with a love for America and civics education,” Degenfelder said. “Congratulations, Miriam.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Regionals In Dallas"}]

She was one of the top four Wyoming participants sent to a regional competition at the George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas. 

There, competitors had two rounds of questions on anything regarding the documents that made up the competition’s “library.”

Among the documents were the “Funeral Oration of Pericles Book II,” “Polybius, The Histories,” the Magna Carta, Declaration of Independence, U.S. Constitution, James Madison’s notes on the Constitutional Convention, Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense,” biographies on Washington, Crispus Attucks, Benedict Arnold, and much more.

She was among the top four who advanced from Dallas to the nationals at the Kennedy Center. 

While 20 students were part of the finals competition, those competitors were whittled to eight when it was shown on CBS.

Miriam said questions in the finals involved topics such as the Alien and Seditions Acts, and buzz rounds on the Declaration of Independence and Revolutionary War battles and the Constitution.

One of the questions she tackled involved “why taxation without representation is the end of liberty,” she said.

The high school senior said she really enjoys history more than civics, but appreciates civics “when you get to put it in perspective.”

As a homeschooler, she has been reading a lot of American history and took an online class on the Declaration of Independence and Constitution.

Kyle Washut said his daughter has become a fellow at The Heritage Academy, which offers online students an understanding of the nation’s founding ideals.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Pottery And Drama"}]

Additionally, Miriam has enjoyed taking pottery and woodworking classes at Lander’s high school and was involved in a play on C.S. Lewis’s Narnia book “The Horse and His Boy” while preparing for the regional competition.

“I think I just had time to read everything through once and take some notes because there was so much material and I was also really busy with softball and the play,” she said. “I gave it as much time as I had.”

Current plans call for her to finish her senior year and then attend Wyoming Catholic College. Beyond that, there are no certain career goals, yet, she said.

While in Washington as part of the competition, she and her family were able to tour the war memorials, U.S. Capitol and visit the National Archives.

“They took us there as part of the national competition, which was neat to see the documents that we’ve been reading for months,” she said. “I was able to get a Library of Congress card which was something I kind of wanted to do.” 

Kyle Washut said the family also took time to swing through Philadelphia on the way home and visit Constitutional Hall and other sites there. 

As someone in higher education, he views the competition and the students who competed as “basically doing a graduate course in American civics.”

He said he’s obviously proud of his daughter’s accomplishment and that she among the students whose “lights” are shining as they embraced their national roots.

“Miriam revealed herself to be in the top high school students in the country with her grasp of America civics,” he said. “The hours of study and thousands of pages that she read, and her deep love for the country and knowledge of what it means to be an American should give us great hope for the future.”

Miriam Washut 736621873 27230431639918737 4588156401187251718 n 7 1 26

<title>Lander Homeschooler Wins ‘Ultimate Civics Showdown,’ $150,000 Scholarship | Cowboy State Daily</title>

A 17-year-old Lander homeschooler who beat out 8,000 other students in what was billed as the “Ultimate Civics Showdown” stood beside President Donald Trump in the Oval Office on national TV on Tuesday. Miriam Washut won a $150,000 scholarship in the effort.

Lander Homeschooler Wins ‘Ultimate Civics Showdown,’ $150,000 Scholarship

Kolby fedore

Kolby Fedore

Crime & Courts

A Cheyenne teen accused of firebombing the pickup of a rival for his ex-girlfriend with a Molotov cocktail built from a root beer bottle could get some serious prison time if convicted.

Court documents made publicly available Wednesday afternoon detail investigators' allegations that Seth S. Hayes, 18, threw the firebomb into another teenager's pickup after he began dating Hayes' former girlfriend.

Hayes is set for a Thursday preliminary hearing on a felony charge of third-degree arson. During his initial appearance in Laramie County Circuit Court late last week, a judge set his bond at $10,000 cash only.

An affidavit of probable cause filed in the case details how detectives spent weeks piecing together witness statements, surveillance video, social media activity and physical evidence before arresting Hayes nearly a month after the May 21 incendiary incident.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Black Rose "}]

Cheyenne Police Department investigators say the conflict that built up to the firebombing began months before the truck was set on fire.

According to the affidavit, Hayes and his girlfriend ended their relationship in January.

Police wrote that Hayes repeatedly contacted his ex-girlfriend after the breakup, leaving voicemails asking her to reconcile or insulting her when she refused.

"Seth often left things on (her) vehicle, including a pile of ashes and a black rose," the affidavit states.

Police also allege Hayes posted a video on social media showing himself and a friend burning one of her sweatshirts.

After she began dating another teenager, investigators say Hayes' attention shifted to him.

One of Hayes' coworkers told investigators Hayes had talked about wanting to "blow (his) truck up" several days before the fire.

According to the affidavit, the victim later told investigators he had heard Hayes make the same threat before his truck was destroyed.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"'Let It Burn' "}]

The teenager told investigators he woke around 2:30 a.m. May 21 to find his pickup engulfed in flames outside his Cheyenne home.

After speaking with officers, he said he drove past Hayes' residence "to see if his car was there."

When he arrived, he told investigators he saw a gas mask sitting on the hood of Hayes' vehicle, according to the affidavit.

Firefighters determined the blaze had been intentionally set and recovered what investigators believe was a Molotov cocktail made from a Sprecher's root beer bottle stuffed with a gasoline-soaked cloth.

Detectives traced the bottle to a Menards store, where investigators say surveillance video shows Hayes buying a four-pack of Sprecher root beer just days before the fire.

[{"type":"text","text":"Police also examined Hayes' social media activity."}]

About 25 minutes before the first 911 call reporting the blaze, investigators say Hayes posted Shaboozey's song "Let It Burn" on social media.

The affidavit states detectives combined surveillance video, witness statements, social media activity and physical evidence before concluding they had probable cause to arrest Hayes.

[{"type":"text","text":"Investigators estimated the pickup truck's value at about $10,000."}]

Hayes remains charged with third-degree arson. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for Thursday, when prosecutors must present enough evidence to show there is probable cause for the case to proceed to district court.

If convicted, he could get up to five years in prison, a fine of up to $5,000, or both.

Cheyenne police 5 30 22

<title>Cheyenne Teen Accused Of Firebombing Truck With Molotov Cocktail After Breakup | Cowboy State Daily</title>

An 18-year-old Cheyenne man is accused of using a root beer bottle Molotov cocktail to firebomb the truck of another teen dating his ex-girlfriend. He also "often left things on (her) vehicle, including a pile of ashes and a black rose," police say.

Cheyenne Teen Accused Of Firebombing Truck With Molotov Cocktail After Breakup

Heinz mark

Mark Heinz

Around Wyoming

Lake Powell, a key reservoir on the Colorado River, is shrinking toward "dead pool," which means water won't flow downriver anymore — and that could in turn pinch Wyoming’s municipal and industrial water supplies with more demand from Flaming Gorge Reservoir.

Lake Powell, on the Utah-Arizona state line, is in dire condition, 

By next spring, it’s expected to fall into “minimum power pool,” meaning having barely just enough water to generate hydroelectric power at Glen Canyon Dam.

If it falls even farther, that could put the reservoir at “dead pool,” or unable to generate hydroelectric power, according to reports.

That's despite roughly 1 million acre-feet expected to be 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"‘Paper Water Rights’"}]

Dead pool is considered only a worst-case scenario among water managers.

But if it happens, it could lead to some stark choices, said Wyoming state Sen. Larry Hicks, who served on the Legislature’s Select Water Committee.

In such a scenario, “power generation is subservient” to irrigation water rights, he told Cowboy State Daily.

“Power Generation is important, but it’s not as important as maintaining peoples’ livelihood,” Hicks said. 

The looming dilemmas over Colorado River water rest in the fact that water management is rooted in “paper water rights,” he said.

Many of those are tied to the 1922 Colorado River Compact, which includes seven states, Mexico and numerous Native American Tribes.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Just Not Enough Water"}]

In Wyoming, many farmers’ and ranchers’ water rights predate the 1922 Compact, going as far back as the 1880s.

That means if spats break out over Compact water rights as the river’s supply dwindles, farms and ranches along the Green and Little Snake rivers would be largely unaffected, Hicks said.

The Compact designates roughly 15 million acre-feet per year, supposedly evenly split at 7.5 million acre-feet between the Upper Basin and Lower Basin.

The Upper Basin states are Wyoming, Colorado, Utah and New Mexico. Arizona, Nevada and California comprise the Lower Basin.

River flows in recent years have been as low as about 10 million acre-feet, Hicks said.

If the Lower Basin states made an emergency “call on the river” for more access to the Upper Basin allocation, Wyoming’s farmers and ranchers wouldn't catch the brunt of it, he said.

“The Trona industry and big municipalities in Wyoming” would be most at risk of losing vital water, he said.

For instance, even though Cheyenne isn’t physically connected to the Colorado River system, it still depends upon of it because of water-exchange agreements on the North Platte River.

“Arizona is the state that’s most likely to litigate and say, ‘We’re entitled to this water; you need to send it to us’,” Hicks said.

The growing crisis on the Colorado River “is a concern for Cheyenne and our board of public utility,” Mayor Patrick Collins told Cowboy State Daily.

The city gets about “two-thirds of our water” from sources tied to the Colorado River water contract exchange agreements, he said.

Cheyenne has been preparing for potential water shortages, Collins said.

“If they make a call on the river, it’s going to take a while to take effect,” he said, adding that Cheyenne has a roughly four-year backup storage supply.

Cheyenne has been frugal with its water, typically using about half of its full allocation, Collins added.

Despite growth, the city is using about the same amount of water it was 10 years ago, he said.

In the long term, Cheyenne also hopes to break away from Colorado River dependency.

“We have good leads on replacement water from other areas,” he said, without going into detail.

“There is an irrigation district that we’ve been working with, and some industrial users on the Platte River,” Collins said.

Rock Springs mayor Max Mickelson said the city has some water rights dating to 1871, and is therefore immune to any effects tied to the 1922 Colorado River Compact.

“Our system has never overdrawn its allocation the way the Lower Basin has. The current diversion data our Joint Powers Water Board presented to council shows zero deficit under today's conditions. 11,011 acre-feet of annual demand against roughly 2,413 acre-feet available on average, showing no shortfall in any month,” he stated in an email to Cowboy State Daily.

“That's not luck. That's a century of municipal water management that lived within its means. While states downstream built entire metro economies on water that was never really there in average years.” 

The local economy has felt the effects of increasing pressure on Flaming Gorge from the Lower Basin, Mickelson said. The city doesn’t draw from it directly, but is tied to the recreation economy.

“Our recreation, fishing, and marinas economies will all take a hit,” he said. "Our exposure so far has been to the regional environment and economy, not to the water coming out of our faucets.” 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"‘It’s A Concern’"}]

If Lake Powell hits dead pool, that would be a concern for Rock Springs, Mickelson said, noting the federal response to the crisis at Lake Powell is to pull from Flaming Gorge.  

“The Bureau of Reclamation's own modeling, presented to council this May, shows a projected shortfall of 2.0 to 2.3 million acre-feet by March 2027,” Mickelson wrote.

“So, yes, it's a concern, but it is fundamentally about fairness. The Flaming Gorge Reservoir is filled by our river and is treated as insurance for a 1922 compact built on flow numbers that were too generous from the start. We watch Powell's elevation because every foot drop is another argument for draining more from our basin,” he said.

Rock Springs, and Wyoming in general, has been proactive, passing voluntary conservation legislation while keeping underlying water rights protected, Mickelson said.

The Upper Basin should continue in that vein, he added.

“Wyoming has a seat at the table and needs to demand a storage agreement that lets Upper Basin states bank conserved water. We need an explicit federally acknowledged agreement that Wyoming, Utah, and Colorado hold unused apportionment under the original compact. We did not overbuild its claim,” Mickelson wrote.  

Lake Powell Weather Channel 3 7 1 26

<title>Lake Powell Water Critically Low; Wyoming Expects More Demand On Flaming Gorge | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Already at critically low levels, Lake Powell is close to being "dead pool," which means water won't flow downriver anymore. That has Wyoming cities and industries worried that will mean more demand for water from Flaming Gorge Reservoir.

Lake Powell Water Critically Low; Wyoming Expects More Demand On Flaming Gorge

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

Renée Jean

Wyoming Life

“Ambitious” might be the only word big enough to describe Wyoming’s birthday party for America’s 250th. 

Instead of a single day of fireworks and fanfare, the Cowboy State is building monuments, commissioning new music, and mapping out trail rides that will outlast the holiday itself. 

This year’s Fourth of July is less one-off party and more permanent invitation to explore the Cowboy State’s place in the American story, from one corner of Wyoming to the next. 

From Buffalo to Newcastle, Cody, Dubois, Evanston, Jackson, Gillette, Casper, Cheyenne and more, communities are finding wildly different ways to extend that invitation and have fun doing so.

Runners will wolf down hot dogs on every lap of a 1.776K in Buffalo, for example, while in Cody people can raise a beer stein to toast America with an America 250 Pale Ale. In Newcastle, crowds will gather at the Weston County Courthouse steps to hear President Teddy Roosevelt’s 1903 speech brought to life again. 

In Cheyenne, concertgoers will hear a symphony orchestra piece written just for Wyoming by Hollywood composer Jeff Lippencott, timed to a fireworks display over the Capitol’s golden dome. 

Just down the street, four bronze panels have just been installed to tell the state’s history for at least the next millennium. 

Two C-130 jets from the Wyoming Air National Guard’s 153rd Airlift Wing will take to the skies Saturday morning, each going in a different direction. They’ll pass over 16 communities at roughly 1,000 feet and 200 knots for a Fourth of July salute before reconvening in the middle and roaring back into Cheyenne at 1 p.m. for a Capitol flyover. 

In Dubois, the usual tank parade that draws thousands to this tiny mountain town is on, but it will be preceded Friday with some live vehicle demolitions and firepower demonstrations at the National Museum of Military Vehicles — a noisy day any true tank fan should adore. 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"We’re All Americans"}]

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"Not all of the plans are noisy. "}]

New Mexico transplant Khristin Kaske has come up with her own idea for Cheyenne’s celebration.

She’s repurposed an old archway once used for her wedding into a red, white and blue selfie station for America’s 250th and put the word out: “Hey, ya’ll come!”

“I love to craft, so the decorating corner is just fun,” she told Cowboy State Daily. 

The idea started in November with a fall setup followed by Thanksgiving and Christmas. Kaske enjoyed it so much, she took herself to Hobby Lobby for its big after-Christmas sale and stocked up on decorations for every season.

“Their Christmas is all different colors,” she said. “So I could get stuff for any upcoming holiday.”

She also watches for cool stuff from thrift stores and yard sales, as well as cruising craft-store aisles for clearance items. 

So far she’s done Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Easter, Mother’s Day and now, America’s 250th. Next up will be a selfie booth for Cheyenne Frontier Days.

Kaske isn’t home much in the daytime, but she knows the selfie booth is popular. 

“I see lots of footprints out there,” she said. “And when I’m home, I do see people coming over and taking pictures.”

She’s put up a shepherd’s hook with doggy bags so people can bring pets — and so far, her visitors have all been considerate guests, cleaning up after their pets and helping to take care of this free resource. 

That warms her heart, especially for the Fourth, because this is a time when she feels, no matter how crazy, we need to remember that we’re all Americans first, second, and last.

“We still have a lot to be thankful for in this country,” she said. “Doing things just like this, for example. Being able to have the freedom to put up decorations and expressions. I think it’s important to hang onto the reality that we still have a lot of freedoms.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Echoes In Bronze"}]

A similar sentiment has inspired Wyoming’s latest bronze installation, which will be the 99th in Cheyenne’s Capitol Avenue Bronze series.

Four new bronze panels will be placed on the corner of Capitol and 22nd Street, each telling a different chapter of Wyoming’s place in America’s 250 years, according to Cheyenne and Laramie County America 250 Chairman Nathaniel Trelease. 

From C-130 flyovers and tank parades to new monuments and a new state trail, Wyoming’s America 250 celebration isn’t a one-day bash. “We still have a lot to be thankful for in this country,” said one organizer about what's planned across the Cowboy State.

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