Wyoming is seeing a turnover of at least eight sheriffs since last year, which is more than a third among the state’s 23 counties.
Some of those retiring or leaving have about four decades of law enforcement experience each, like Big Horn County Sheriff Ken Blackburn and Campbell County Sheriff Scott Matheny.
Johnson County Sheriff Rod Odenbach and Sweetwater County Sheriff John Grossnickle were each at about 30 years’ law enforcement service when Odenbach decided not to run for reelection and Grossnickle switched jobs.
Departing Goshen County Sheriff Kory Fleenor is leaving after 26 years with his office; so too is Fremont County Sheriff Ryan Lee.
Sublette County Sheriff KC Lehr is retiring after what his office’s Lt. Travis Bingham estimated at about two decades of total law enforcement service; and Platte County Sheriff David Russell left the office last August after 13-and-a-half years in law enforcement.
The sheriffs who spoke to Cowboy State Daily on Friday about their decisions to leave the job cited a readiness, a weariness, immense gratitude, and a longing to spend time with family.
“I think it’s just time,” said Blackburn. “I’ve seen a lot, been through a lot. It’s taken its toll … and it was time to heal myself and take care of my family.”
He voiced gratitude for the people and experiences of the job, saying, “It’s a wonderful profession. It’s been wonderful for me.”
‘Used To Be The Good Guys'
But it hasn’t lacked trauma.
Blackburn responded in February 2025 to a scene in which a Byron mother had shot herself and her four young daughters in their home. The mother and daughters all died within a week.
That incident wasn’t the final straw, Blackburn said. A growing anti-law enforcement cynicism had accumulated much longer.
“It was the divisiveness of people and the degradation of civilized conversations,” he said. “There’s always been negativity toward law enforcement. But we did used to be the good guys.”
Blackburn said that frustration and the other downsides to the job still don’t outweigh his love for the people he served and worked with.
“And I walked out holding my head high,” he said. “I gave 110% to the state of Wyoming and the people of Big Horn County — and I’m so grateful for the opportunity I had to serve my fellow man.”
‘We’re Trying To Do The Right Thing'
Odenbach said he’s retiring so he and his wife can visit family members in their native South Dakota and spend time with their grandson.
It’s tough lobbying against “anti-law enforcement bills” too, Odenbach added.
“You know, just the constant we’re trying to do the right thing for public safety and our communities, and we have these out-of-state lobbyists that are trying to tell the people what’s best for Wyoming,” said Odenbach.
That was a reference to the narrowly-defeated Second Amendment Preservation Act of this year’s legislative session.
The bill sought to impose $50,000 civil penalties on Wyoming police agencies that help with federal gun-crime enforcement operations against "law-abiding" citizens, or hire former federal agents who’ve conducted those operations.
All 23 Wyoming sheriffs opposed it, saying it broad-brushed active and nuanced situations and would chill their ability to intervene in crises.
Odenbach said he’s proud of his department and believes its in a good place, including in its current relationship with the Johnson County Attorney’s Office. He described the coming year as a good time to leave it to someone else.
Adrian Keeler is running unopposed for that seat in the Republican primary election.
‘It’s Time'
Matheny said he’s retiring because, “It’s time to let somebody else be sheriff.”
Daniel Maul is running unopposed in the primary election.
Matheny said he loves his job and has made lots of friends. He spoke highly of his office, dispatch and county personnel.
“When I first pinned on the badge as a young man, I learned a deep respect for this office,” he said. “I didn’t know then just how much this role would shape my life.”
Matheny added: “God puts people in places that only he knows and I’ve learned to trust him and lean on him to guide me.”
Matheny said he doesn’t count sparring with the Legislature as a factor in his retirement. But he does consider it noteworthy.
Lawmakers in 2025 considered another bill that sheriffs universally opposed: it would have required all agencies to strike contracts with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Even sheriffs already working with ICE disliked the bill, saying it put them at a negotiation disadvantage by mandating them into contracts.
Others worried the ICE contracts would be too costly for small-town sheriffs.
“I don’t think (clashing with lawmakers) will ever change,” said Matheny. “You get new legislators … that want to come up with a new law, without thinking about the ramifications — especially on law enforcement.”
He added, “It seems like every year we’re down there telling them why this is not a good idea; or why this would be a good idea.”
He’s Dropped 12 Pounds
But Grossnickle liked that part, he said Friday.
“It wasn’t any more stressful than anything else,” said Grossnickle. “I actually enjoyed working with the Legislature. I enjoyed being able to have those conversations, and standing up for the right thing.”
Grossnickle said he left the job because “it was time,” and the stress was affecting his health.
His blood pressure has dropped from 138 over 90 to 118 over 72 since he left the department May 31 to take a job as executive director for Southwest Counseling Service.
He’s sleeping at night and he’s dropped 12 pounds, Grossnickle added.
Still, being in law enforcement was an “honorable career and I’m thankful for it,” he said.
In Platte County, Russell was at first silent about his reasons for leaving the post, but wrote in a September statement to the Platte County Sheriff’s Office’s Facebook page that the decision was “in the best interests of my mental health and family.”
He described an unhealthy and compulsive relationship with his work that took from his family.
Sheriff Tony Krotz, who was appointed to replace Russell, is running unopposed in the primary election.
Russell and Lee declined Friday to comment to Cowboy State Daily.
Lehr could not be reached for comment, but Bingham confirmed his decision to retire.
The Hot Races
Sweetwater, Fremont, Goshen, Big Horn and Sublette counties are seeing contested sheriff’s races after their incumbents’ departures or decisions not to run.
Six Republicans vie for the GOP nomination in Sweetwater County.
Those are: Grossnickle’s appointed replacement Rich Fischer, Ozzie Knezovich, Randall Tryzbiak, Matthew Wharton, Richard Kaumo and Amanda Buller.
Four Republicans seek the GOP nomination in Fremont County: Undersheriff Mike Hutchison, former Riverton police chief Erick Murphy, Ross Giles, and Deputy John Zerga.
In Sublette County, Bingham faces Thomas James Hatch, Klief Guenther, and Michael James Crosson in the primary election.
Bingham said Friday that Lehr has endorsed him.
George Mills and Herb Irons are vying for the GOP nomination in Goshen County primary election.
Jeff Angell, Travis Davis, Jason Beal and Craig Shidler seek the GOP nomination in Big Horn County.
Sure, But
Allen Thompson, a former sheriff himself and now director of the Wyoming Association of Sheriffs and Chiefs of Police, said the turnover “feels different” this time, but the number is not extraordinary.
Wyoming got seven new sheriffs in the last election cycle, said Thompson.
“I think it’s just the cycle,” he said. “Turnover is normal.”
Thompson said that despite the rise of anti-law enforcement sentiment on social media, Wyoming is still a great place to work.
“I feel like Wyoming is still a great place to serve in law enforcement, because you still have that relationship on the local level,” said Thompson.
Matheny said the sheriff is unlike any other law enforcer in the American legal system.
“We’re the only law enforcement officials that answer directly to the people,” he said. “We have direct accountability, through the election process. That’s who we answer to.”
Matheny said that tends to yield a bond and a trust, and a pride in protecting the peace “and the constitutional rights of every citizen in our jurisdiction.”
And in Wyoming in particular, said Matheny, every sheriff’s office is a trove of “amazing” history, similar to “if you were to walk through the hallways of a museum.”
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
