Jake nichols 720

Jake Nichols

Radio

It's the Cowboy State Daily Morning Show With Jake. Weekday mornings 6 - 10 a.m.

[{"type":"text","text":"Catch up with the show on your favorite podcast platform!"}]

Jake in studio small

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

<title>Cowboy State Daily Show with Jake - Friday, July 17, 2026 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Jake in the 307. Weekday mornings 6-10 a.m.

Cowboy State Daily Show with Jake - Friday, July 17, 2026

 It's the Cowboy State Daily Morning Show With Jake. Weekday mornings 6 - 10 a.m. Catch up with the show on your favorite podcast platform!

Mac Watson

Daily Video News

It’s time to take a look at what’s happening around Wyoming for Friday, July 17th.  I’m Reece Cowan, filling in for Mac Watson

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

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

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"–"}]

A wall of water surged through East Thermopolis late Wednesday, stranding people and breaking a gas main after 4.5 inches of rain fell in an hour near the town. Cowboy State Daily’s Jackie Dorothy reports that one resident said he heard a roaring coming in his direction.

“It was a really intense two hours Wednesday night. It was clear skies. When at 10 o'clock a flash flood hit. One resident described it as a wall. He called 911, by the time he got a hold of dispatch, the wall of water had already hit his house. Another resident, she was actually trapped in her house. Morgan talked about going outside to rescue her dog. Once she got back in her house, Morgan said that she could feel it moving, and she really thought she was going to die. Chief Cornwall said that this is the worst flooding he has ever seen.”

Meteorologist Straub said that the thunderstorm that caused all the damage developed about 10 miles east of Thermopolis and just kind of sat there for about an hour and a half. 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"},{"type":"italic"}],"text":"–"}]

Megan Degenfelder’s campaign for Wyoming governor released a video early Thursday of President Donald Trump doubling down on his endorsement of her. Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports that the push comes with a month to go before Wyoming’s hotly contested Republican Primary election. 

“We've got a month before the primary election, which in Wyoming generally involves a huge standoff between Republicans of all stripes, and Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder garnered the Trump endorsement back in January. Well the president doubled down on Thursday, reiterating his endorsement. Trump varies on when he gives endorsements, Dagenfelder's is among the earliest that we've ever seen. Seven months before the primary election. She said that she was deeply honored to have the president's support and grateful that he took the time to speak directly to the people of Wyoming.”

Trump has not endorsed anyone in the hotly-contested U.S. House race, where 10 Republicans vie for the nomination. He also hasn’t endorsed in Wyoming’s Secretary of State race or for other top state executive-branch seats. 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"–"}]

Seven teens were arrested Wednesday in a sweeping western Nebraska raid over illegal machine guns and drugs. Cowboy State Daily’s Kolby Fedore reports that investigators say they found Instagram posts of the teens posing with and firing Glock-style guns equipped with illegal switches. 

“Federal authorities say that illegal Glock switches have become one of the fastest growing criminal trends that they're seeing in America, with a near 800% spike in the last few years, and that is reflected in a recent criminal case where seven teenagers in Western Nebraska were arrested on Wednesday for possessing these illegal machine guns as well as cocaine. All of the teenagers appeared for their initial hearing on Wednesday afternoon in Scottsbluff County Circuit Court. This criminal case came to light when investigators flagged suspicious activity on social media where they saw the stolen guns posted in videos and a series of pictures online. One of the defendants was even seen pointing it at another defendant.”

According to ATF, recoveries of suspected machine gun conversion devices traced by ATF increased from 658 in 2019 to 5,816 in 2023. Agency spokesperson Ashlee Sherrill tells Cowboy State Daily “they present a significant public safety concern." 

More than 23,000 birds and bats were killed by wind turbines in Wyoming in 2025, according to a report presented Wednesday to the state Game and Fish Commission. Cowboy State Daily’s Mark Heinz reports that according to an official “They’re flying around and they’re not paying attention to those blades.” 

“Game and Fish, they don't set the policy. It's the Industrial Siting Commission that really says yes or no. They're the ones that have the power over the licenses for these operations. What Game and Fish does is before the project is built, they come in and they work with the developer to kind of give them advice on how to mitigate or avoid conflicts with wildlife, and then after the fact, they will do some monitoring as well and maybe suggest some solutions. I also talked to an eagle advocate in Laramie, and she said, although she appreciates what the game and fish is doing or trying to do, she doesn't think it's enough.”

Wyoming Game and Fish habitat protection program supervisor Will Schultz tells Cowboy State Daily that, in some cases, painting one blade of a wind turbine black helps birds see it before it’s too late, adding that hundreds of hours of work and research have gone into wind farm risk mitigation. 

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

Cowboy State Daily News continues now….

Park County officials say a Wednesday flash flood nearly destroyed a bridge over the Shoshone River and cut off access for some county residents. Cowboy State Daily’s Andrew Rossi reports that one witness said “We watched a wall of debris build up and surging muddy water begin to overflow the banks.”

“Monsoonal moisture is moving into western Wyoming. That manifested as several short-lived but intense thunderstorms on Wednesday afternoon, and a mudslide and just an intense amount of flash flooding that came out of the mountains along the South Fork of the Shoshone River took out a bridge that serves a number of people and residences on a county road that's pretty far removed from Cody. Without that bridge, they have no access to the rest of the world. I spoke to the Cowboys State Daily meteorologist Don Day, and he said that the risk of monsoonal moisture and flash flooding is going to extend into the next week at least.”

The Park County Public Works Department hoped to have a temporary bridge installed across Boulder Creek by the end of Thursday. Park County engineer Brian Edwards told Cowboy State Daily that the compromised wooden bridge had already been “high on our priority list for replacement.”  

Although manufacturers of AI software that uses surveillance cameras to search for guns say it makes people safer, gun rights activists are alarmed. Cowboy State Daily’s Mark Heinz reports that Buffalo's Mark Jones, of Gun Owners of America, says it violates the Second and Fourth Amendments.

“There's software that's it's been around for a few years. It's been used in schools. It's software that helps camera surveillance cameras, pick up guns, firearms that that have been drawn or the out of a holster. The the idea being at least in the school it can help maybe catch a school shooting earlier. Hobbs, New Mexico, has expanded this to a municipal application. They've got about 70 cameras at different points around the city that have this software. I reached out to some some Second Amendment advocates and also a gun control advocate, and none of them are really fans of it.”

The technology has potential to do good, but only within narrow parameters that protect gun owners’ rights, said George Mocsary, University of Wyoming law professor and co-founder of the UW Firearms Research Center. 

A magnitude 3.3 earthquake in Yellowstone on Thursday was felt by people as far as 30 miles away. Cowboy State Daily’s Andrew Rossi reports that it’s the largest earthquake of the year so far in the national park.

“A magnitude 3.3 earthquake was detected in Yellowstone National Park around 720 a.m. this morning. So Yellowstone, on average, experiences between 15 120 500 earthquakes every year. This is the largest earthquake detected in 2026 so far, but that's not even that big of an earthquake by Yellowstone standards. The largest earthquake last year was a 3.9 and even that wasn't very big. So while a lot of people get apocalyptic, while a lot of people get apocalyptic any time they hear something about something shaking in Yellowstone, earthquakes are an almost everyday occurrence, and a 3.3 is indicative of nothing to be alarmed about.”

What the earthquake doesn’t indicate is any significant change in Yellowstone’s volcanic systems. Even at a depth of 4 miles, Thursday morning’s quake was too shallow to indicate anything volcanic, which is true for most of Yellowstone’s earthquakes. 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"– "}]

The Galloping Horse is galloping again — or at least it will be when someone at The Wrangler turns the power on. Cowboy State Daily’s Greg Johnson reports that after years of being inoperable, the iconic 400-pound folk art cowboy was fixed, refurbished and put back in place Thursday morning. 

“The iconic galloping horse that for decades has sat over the entrance to the Wrangler Western Wire store in downtown Cheyenne hadn't been galloping for the last few years. A Cheyenne man who whose office is just across the road, finally decided, you know what, it needs to gallop again. So him and his brother and son got together and spent about 90 hours each, about almost 300 hours between them to restore this thing. They got a pretty prominent Cheyenne artist to paint it again to look pretty much original. And on Thursday morning, they put it up again, so they would be ready for Frontier Days.”

Thursday was a proud moment for Dennis, who explained he had the idea to get the Galloping Horse galloping again because he saw it every day and “every day I wished it was moving again.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"—"}]

And that’s today’s news. Get your free digital subscription to Wyoming's only statewide newspaper by hitting the Daily Newsletter button on 

 - and you can watch this newscast every day by clicking Subscribe on our 

 channel, or listen to us on your favorite podcast app.  Thanks for watching - I’m Reece Cowan, in for Mac Watson, for Cowboy State Daily.

News image 7 17 26

<title>Cowboy State Daily Video Newscast: Friday, July 17, 2026 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Friday's headlines include

*Flood Wreaks Havoc In Thermopolis
*Trump Endorses Degenfelder For Second Time
*Teens Arrested For Machine Guns Near Wyo Border

Cowboy State Daily Video Newscast: Friday, July 17, 2026

Coy Knobel

Don Day Weather

Mostly sunny to sunny in Wyoming on Friday, with a chance of afternoon and evening rain in areas of northern and western Wyoming. Partly cloudy to mostly clear skies overnight. Highs in the 80s and 90s. Lows in the 50s and 60s.

 Sunny and breezy today with a high near 96 and wind gusts as high as 24 mph. Partly cloudy and breezy overnight with a low near 62 and wind gusts as high as 25 mph.

 Slight chance of rain after noon, otherwise mostly sunny today with a high near 92 and partly cloudy overnight with a slight chance of rain before 8 p.m. and a low near 62.

 Sunny and hot today with a high near 96 and wind gusts as high as 25 mph. Partly cloudy overnight with a low near 61 and wind gusts as high as 25 mph.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":" "}]

 Rain likely after noon, increasing clouds today with a high near 84 and partly cloudy overnight with a slight chance of rain before midnight and a low near 51.

  Increasing clouds today with a high near 91 and cloudy, gradually becoming partly cloudy overnight with a slight chance of rain before 8 p.m. and a low near 56.

Chance of rain mainly after 3 p.m., increasing clouds today with a high near 88 and partly cloudy overnight with a slight chance of rain before midnight and a low near 54.

 Slight chance of rain after noon, otherwise partly sunny today with a high near 85 and gradually becoming mostly clear overnight with a chance of rain and a low near 52.

 Rain likely, otherwise partly sunny today with a high near 87 and gradually becoming mostly clear overnight with a chance of rain mainly before midnight and a low near 51.

  Slight chance of rain after 1 p.m., increasing clouds today with a high near 86 and gradually becoming mostly clear overnight with a chance of rain mainly before 8 p.m. and a low near 52.

 Chance of rain, increasing clouds today with a high near 81 and cloudy, gradually becoming partly cloudy overnight with a chance of rain and a low near 52.

  Chance of rain, otherwise partly sunny today with a high near 89 and mostly cloudy overnight with rain likely mainly before 9 p.m. and a low near 52.

Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park

:  Chance of rain, otherwise partly sunny today with a high near 83 and gradually becoming mostly clear overnight with rain likely mainly before midnight and a low near 45.

Mostly sunny and hot today with a high near 97 and gradually becoming mostly clear overnight with a slight chance of rain before 8 p.m. and a low near 64.

:  Chance of rain mainly after 2 p.m., increasing clouds today with a high near 91 and cloudy, gradually becoming partly cloudy overnight with rain likely mainly before midnight and a low near 64.

  Increasing clouds and hot today with a high near 97 and cloudy, gradually becoming partly cloudy overnight with a chance of rain and a low near 63.

   Chance of rain mainly after 1 p.m., increasing clouds today with a high near 93 and mostly cloudy overnight with a slight chance of rain before 8 p.m. and a low near 67.

  Slight chance of rain after noon, increasing clouds and hot today with a high near 96 and mostly cloudy overnight with a slight chance of rain before 9 p.m. and a low near 61.

:  Chance of rain mainly after 4 p.m., increasing clouds and hot today with a high near 92 and cloudy overnight with a slight chance of rain before 9 p.m. and a low near 62.

Mostly sunny today with a high near 97 and wind gusts as high as 22 mph. Mostly cloudy overnight with a low near 66 and wind gusts as high as 23 mph.

   Slight chance of rain after noon, increasing clouds today with a high near 95 and wind gusts as high as 20 mph. Partly cloudy overnight with a low near 69 and wind gusts as high as 20 mph.

:   Chance of rain after noon, otherwise sunny today with a high near 89 and wind gusts as high as 18 mph. Mostly cloudy overnight with a low near 63 and wind gusts as high as 17 mph.

   Sunny and hot today with a high near 98 and mostly clear overnight with a low near 65.

  Sunny and hot today with a high near 96 and mostly clear overnight with a low near 61.

  Sunny and hot today with a high near 97 and mostly clear overnight with a low near 65.

   Sunny today with a high near 89 and mostly clear overnight with a low near 59.

  Sunny today with a high near 85 and mostly clear overnight with a low near 55.

   Sunny and hot today with a high near 91 and mostly clear overnight with a low near 61.

  Sunny today with a high near 89 and partly cloudy overnight with a low near 59 and wind gusts as high as 25 mph.

  Sunny today with a high near 88 and partly cloudy overnight with a low near 55.

   Sunny today with a high near 89 and partly cloudy overnight with a low near 54.

Daycap no play 7 17 26

<title>Don Day's Wyoming Weather Forecast: Friday, July 17, 2026 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Don Day's Wyoming Weather Forecast: Friday, July 17, 2026

Daily Darwin

[{"type":"text","text":"Calm, collected… guessing this is not the first time…"}]

Darwin no play 7 17 26

<title>Daily Darwin: Friday, July 17, 2026 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Calm, collected… guessing this is not the first time…

Daily Darwin: Friday, July 17, 2026

Heinz mark

Mark Heinz

Government & Politics

Politics

Manufacturers of AI software that uses surveillance cameras to search for guns say it makes people safer, but some gun rights activists told Cowboy State Daily they think that’s a brazen violation of Second Amendment and privacy rights.

Companies such as Volt for years has provided gun-detection software to schools, which the company claims helps stop school shootings.  

The city of Hobbs, New Mexico, has outfitted about 70 video cameras with software from another company, ZeroEyes.

ZeroEyes claims that the software helps cameras quickly detect drawn firearms, which are then verified at company facilities by human observers, who can alert local authorities.

Gun-detecting AI software doesn’t require dedicated cameras, it can be applied to existing surveillance, traffic and web cameras.

Firearms enthusiast Nic George of Sheridan told Cowboy State Daily that he understands the good intentions behind the software, but the broader implications of what gun surveillance might lead to are troubling.  

“Right now, it might not be a problem. But what’s the next step?” he said.

As things stand, programs like ZeroEyes raise murky questions when it comes to gun rights, George said.

“There’s nothing against that in our Constitution, but there’s nothing for it,” he said.  

George added that he doesn’t think AI gun surveillance systems will show up in Wyoming anytime soon, because there would be harsh public backlash.

Christopher Stone, director of state and local affairs for Gun Owners of America (GOA), said he doesn’t at all like the idea of AI snooping for guns.

He questions what might happen if a legal gun owner had to draw a gun in public for a legitimate purpose and got pegged by AI for “brandishing” a weapon.

A legal gun owner might draw a firearm in self-defense, and the sight of the gun could be enough to send an assailant running, Stone said.

But cameras might pick up only the person with the gun, he added.

“And now you have to prove your innocence?” he asked. "That, to us, is very scary and should cause alarm bells to go off.”

GOA National Director Mark Jones of Buffalo told Cowboy State Daily that as he sees it, AI gun surveillance violates the Second and Forth amendments (protection against unlawful searches and seizures).

“A very large percentage of Wyoming residents are carrying guns peacefully every day,” Jones said.

Devin Hughes, founder and president of the gun violence nonprofit GVPedia Inc., favors stricter gun laws, but said he doubts the effectiveness of AI gun monitoring.

“Most shootings are not preplanned affairs,” he said. “It’s often arguments that escalate. An argument escalating, guns being drawn, shot fired — that’s a matter of 5 to 10 seconds."

That’s not enough time for the AI detecting guns on camera to make any difference, he said.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Constitutional Parameters"}]

The technology has potential to do good, but only within narrow parameters that protect gun owners’ rights, said George Mocsary, University of Wyoming law professor and co-founder of the UW Firearms Research Center.

“From a Second Amendment perspective, the important distinction is between detecting a firearm and regulating or responding to the person carrying it,” he said in a text message to Cowboy State Daily. 

"ZeroEyes may provide valuable early warning when someone displays a gun as part of an attack, but a camera and an algorithm can't establish that carrying the gun is unlawful,” he added.

The U.S. Supreme Court has affirmed that citizens have the right to carry firearms for self-defense, he noted.

“Several federal appellate decisions have held that, where public carry is lawful, possession of a firearm alone does not automatically justify detaining and disarming the carrier,” he stated.

Programs like ZeroEyes should be deployed only with caveats regarding such things as open-carry regulations, private property owners’ rules regarding firearms and whether a firearm is properly holstered, or drawn and being pointed in a threatening manner, Mocsary stated.

“Properly used, the technology can help respond to real attacks while respecting the rights of lawful gun owners,” he said.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"‘False Positives’"}]

Stone said he worries that monitoring software could be used to call the cops on law-abiding gun owners not doing anything wrong.

“What if you are legally carrying a concealed firearm, and you bend over to put groceries in your car, and one of these AI systems detects that you have a firearm in your waistband? Is that going to flag you for ‘brandishing?’” he said.

Hughes said surveillance software also raises a potential for “false positives.”

What if AI detects what it thinks is a gun, but then, “that’s actually a kid’s cellphone that he’s holding in a weird position,” he said.

Likewise for such things as squirt guns, Hughes said, adding that he can see the system leading to “racial profiling.”

AI surveillance systems are also expensive, Hughes said.

As he sees it, schools and municipalities could better spend the money on preventative measures, such as training educators and others to detect “red flags” that somebody might be planning a shooting.

Spending money on AI software for a camera network is “just a tax that lax gun laws put on the rest of society,” he said.

Mark jones camera 7 16 26

<title>Wyoming Gun Activists Increasingly Alarmed Over AI Cameras Searching For Guns | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Although manufacturers of AI software that uses surveillance cameras to search for guns say it makes people safer, gun rights activists are alarmed. Buffalo's Mark Jones, of Gun Owners of America, says it violates the Second and Fourth Amendments.

Wyoming Gun Activists Increasingly Alarmed Over AI Cameras Searching For Guns

Kolby fedore

Kolby Fedore

Crime & Courts

Courts

Federal authorities say illegal Glock "switches" have become one of the fastest-growing firearm threats in America, with recoveries of the tiny machine gun conversion devices soaring 784% nationwide in the last four years.

That national trend came into sharp focus not far beyond Wyoming’s eastern border this week when a monthslong western Nebraska investigation ended with seven arrests.

Investigators allegedly found Instagram photos and videos showing young men posing with — and in one case firing — Glock-style pistols equipped with the illegal devices, which modify semiautomatic handguns into fully automatic machine guns. 

The investigation culminated Wednesday morning when SWAT teams and dozens of officers served search and arrest warrants across Scottsbluff, Gering and Bayard, Nebraska. By the end of the operation, seven people — two adults and five juveniles — were in custody.

Authorities report that the Western Nebraska Intelligence & Narcotics Group (WING) began investigating after receiving information that adults and juveniles were allegedly involved in drug trafficking while possessing the modified fully automatic firearms.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Instagram Trail"}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Court records show law enforcement soon turned to social media."}]

Investigators secured a warrant for an Instagram account they believed belonged to Preston Torres, who is one of the adults arrested Wednesday. 

When Meta returned the account records, deputies say they found multiple photos and videos allegedly showing Torres holding and firing a Glock-style handgun equipped with an illegal switch. 

A second affidavit says investigators later searched another Instagram account and found a photograph showing Rochne Gukeisen, the other adult arrested, holding a similarly modified Glock pistol. 

The affidavit says the photo showed Gukeisen pointing the handgun at Torres, who deputies had already identified in other social media posts. 

Investigators wrote that based on their training and experience, the visible conversion devices transformed the pistols into machine guns under Nebraska law. 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Gang Allegation"}]

Investigators also asked a judge to temporarily seal the arrest warrants until they could be served, writing that both men were known members of the 308 BOYZ gang and that keeping the warrants confidential was necessary to safely apprehend them. 

Authorities arrested 18-year-old Torres-Isles and 19-year-old Gukeisen, each on suspicion of possessing a machine gun.

They also arrested five juveniles — three 17-year-olds, a 16-year-old and a 15-year-old.

Scottsbluff County Attorney Dave Eubanks said three of the juveniles also are accused of possessing machine guns, while two face allegations of distributing cocaine.

Sheriff Mark Overman told Cowboy State Daily the investigation remains active and declined to discuss additional evidence or whether more arrests are possible.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Tiny Device, Big Threat"}]

Although ATF was not involved in the Nebraska investigation, agency spokesperson Ashlee Sherrill said it has documented a dramatic rise in machine gun conversion devices nationwide.

Known as Glock switches or auto sears, the parts are small enough to fit in the palm of a hand. But once installed, they can allow a semiautomatic pistol to fire continuously with a single pull of the trigger.

Under federal law, the devices themselves are legally considered machine guns, even if they have not been attached to a firearm.

"They present a significant public safety concern," Sherrill said, because they allow handguns to fire at rates comparable to fully automatic weapons, dramatically increasing the danger to people and responding officers.

According to ATF, recoveries of suspected machine gun conversion devices traced by the agency increased from 658 in 2019 to 5,816 in 2023.

As the devices have become more common, Sherrill said ATF has expanded training for federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to help officers identify the devices, understand trafficking trends and properly recover and trace them.

Nebraska machine gun arrests 7 16 26

<title>7 Teens Arrested In Western Nebraska SWAT Raid For Illegal Machine Guns, Drugs | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Seven teens were arrested Wednesday in a sweeping western Nebraska raid over illegal machine guns and drugs. Investigators say they found Instagram posts of the teens posing with and firing Glock-style guns equipped with illegal switches.

7 Teens Arrested In Western Nebraska SWAT Raid For Illegal Machine Guns, Drugs

Employee kate meadows cropped

Kate Meadows

Outdoors

A Wyoming hunter is on a mission to untangle confusion over public and private land boundaries after repeatedly encountering "Private Property" and "No Trespassing" signs where the public should legally be allowed to travel or recreate.

Cheyenne resident Jon Farris says the issue isn't about advocating for hunters to ignore private property rights. It's about making sure public lands remain accessible when they legally should be.

"I want other people to be able to enjoy public lands the same way I do," Farris told Cowboy State Daily.

To help, Farris has created an email address where hunters, anglers and other outdoors enthusiasts can report locations they believe may be incorrectly marked as private. 

He hopes to research each case using county records, state maps and conversations with local officials before forwarding legitimate concerns to the appropriate agencies.

"If we can streamline that process, maybe we can get some of these corrected," he said.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Signs That Sparked Questions"}]

Farris said his interest in the issue began in 2024 while traveling in Carbon County.

A county road led toward national forest land, but along the route he encountered a sign declaring the road was crossed and private property.

"That was really what got me started in wondering how often this type of thing occurs," he said.

Since then, he said he has noticed similar situations in Carbon, Goshen and Laramie counties.

One example, he said, involved state land in Laramie County that was eventually reposted as public after previously being marked private.

[{"type":"text","text":"\"Sometimes they won't be marked right,\" Farris said."}]

He said he also believes about 160 acres of state trust land within the historic Whitaker Ranch in Laramie County is marked in a way that could confuse visitors into believing it is entirely private.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Public Land Doesn't Always Mean Public Access"}]

Even when land is publicly owned, that doesn't necessarily mean the public can legally reach it.

That's one point emphasized by Rob Weppner of the Whitaker Ranch, where nearly 40,000 acres of ranchland include parcels of state trust land.

Weppner acknowledged there are "No Trespassing" and "No Hunting" signs throughout portions of the property.

"The disconnect that I see in our area — I talk to a lot of hunters — is that in various places there's state land," he said. "But to have state land (for hunting), you need to have public access to it."

Many state trust parcels are effectively landlocked, surrounded by private property that cannot legally be crossed without permission.

"Knowing which roads in this county are actually public is really challenging," Weppner said. "It's very difficult to know what's what, which roads actually have legal access and which roads don't."

A Wyoming hunter is on a mission to undo confusion after repeatedly encountering "Private Property" and "No Trespassing" signs where the public should legally be allowed. "Knowing which roads are actually public is really challenging,” said a landowner.

Cowboy State Daily Show with Jake - Friday, July 17, 2026

Catch up with the show on your favorite podcast platform!

In case you missed it

Jake Nichols

Features Reporter

More in Radio

Cowboy State Daily Show with Jake - Thursday, July 16, 2026

Cowboy State Daily Show with Jake - Wednesday, July 15, 2026

Cowboy State Daily Show with Jake - Tuesday, July 14, 2026

Cowboy State Daily Show with Jake - Monday, July 13, 2026

Most read

Cowboy State Daily Show with Jake - Friday, July 17, 2026

Catch up with the show on your favorite podcast platform!

In case you missed it

Authors

Jake Nichols

Features Reporter

More in Radio

Cowboy State Daily Show with Jake - Thursday, July 16, 2026

Cowboy State Daily Show with Jake - Wednesday, July 15, 2026

Cowboy State Daily Show with Jake - Tuesday, July 14, 2026

Cowboy State Daily Show with Jake - Monday, July 13, 2026

Most read