It’s time to take a look at what’s happening around Wyoming for Thursday, August 27th. I’m Mac Watson.
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Rihanna Kelver, an outspoken transgender activist, asked a court Wednesday to drop the aggravated assault charge Kelver faces for pointing a gun at a man who’d shoved the activist to the ground outside of a Laramie bar. Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports that the 28-year old’s case has drawn national attention, including the New York Times.
“Today inside this courthouse, Rihanna Kelver, who's one of Wyoming's most outspoken transgender activists, went to court to say that the aggravated assault charge, 10-year felony that Kelver faces on reports that Kelver racked and pointed a gun at a man who had just shoved Kelver to the ground. Kelver is saying that that was self-defense. Albany County District Court Judge Misha Westby is going to take the case under advisement. She said she would have been ordered soon, determining whether Kelver acted in self-defense. Now, if this was self-defense, the case will be dismissed, and Kelver won't have the aggravated assault charge. If it wasn't self-defense, according to the judge, Kelver can still try to assert the self-defense argument in front of a jury at a later trial.”
Kelver faces the felony-level charge of aggravated assault in Albany County District Court. The charge is punishable by 10 years in prison, and describes threatening another person with a deadly weapon.
Read the full story HERE.
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Missing Missouri hiker Shaun Mackelprang was found dehydrated and disoriented Wednesday, five days after summiting Gannett Peak and three days after he was reported missing. Cowboy State Daily’s Kolby Fedore reports that the signed registry atop Wyoming's tallest peak helped searchers find him.
“Missouri Deputy Attorney Sean MacAlprang set out into the Wind River Range on August 20th, and he had not been seen or heard from for six days until on Wednesday morning, Tip Top Search and Rescue was able to locate him at a remote lake. He was disoriented and dehydrated, but they were able to get him into a helicopter and take him to a local hospital. Mackelprang’s older brother Romel, who lives in Salt Lake City, said that they had been in contact before he set out to reach Gannett Peak. He said his brother was on this quest to make it to the highest peak in every state, and Wyoming was number 45 on his list. When he didn't hear from him for a few days, he wasn't overly concerned. But by Tuesday, he was beginning to wonder what had happened.”
Romel tells Cowboy State Daily that a hiker who summited later photographed the register at the top of Gannett Peak. Mackelprang's name was there. Once rescuers knew Mackelprang had reached the summit and knew where his tent was, Romel says, they could concentrate on the country between the two rather than searching without knowing which direction he traveled.
Read the full story HERE.
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11-year-old Neeka Korn is on a ventilator and dialysis in a Salt Lake City hospital after she was pinned under her grandparents' RV on Teton Pass on Aug. 17. Cowboy State Daily’s Dale Killingbeck reports that a family friend says she is in critical condition and faces a long recovery but is responsive.
“Even though she's conscious now, she can communicate with a whiteboard and sign language. She still got a hard road ahead. Her lungs are still not fully functioning. She's got kidney issues and has to have dialysis. And so, her friend who started a GoFundMe for the family says that it's going to be a while before she's going to be able to go back and play third base on the softball team, like she enjoyed doing this past summer.”
Wyoming Highway Patrol spokesperson Aaron Brown tells Cowboy State Daily that he did not yet have a final report on the incident and it remains under investigation.
Read the full story HERE.
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After five agonizing days searching the Wyoming prairie for their missing 120-pound white livestock guard dog Tango, Kendra Green's family finally found him Wednesday morning in the BB Ranch area. Cowboy State Daily’s Kolby Fedore reports that Tango was skinny, scraped up and hungry — but alive.
“Tango was found early on Wednesday morning after the original owners, the Greens, got a text message from someone in the BB Ranch area in Natrona County saying they had seen the dog. At this point, they had traveled back and forth from Casper to Gillette at least five times, and they were starting to feel a little defeated, but they went back about four a.m. Wednesday morning, and he was found about 10 miles from a pin that this woman had sent them. Tango was in rough shape when they found him. His owner said that he was visibly quite skinny. He also had some scratches on his face and his body. It looks like he may have gotten into a fight with another animal. So they had already contacted their veterinarian in Gillette to get him some antibiotics and checked out.”
The reunion brought tears for a family that had spent days imagining the worst. Green's children had even taken the morning off school to join the search that morning.
Read the full story HERE.
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I’ll have more news from Cowboy State Daily right after this.
Cowboy State Daily News continues now….
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Glenrock residents still aren't satisfied about why there are Flock cameras in the community, how they got there and what's done with the information collected. Cowboy State Daily’s Kate Meadows reports there was a standing-room only meeting Tuesday night but participants left frustrated.
“They went up quietly, and people are-they've been noticing, but they haven't really been publicly speaking out about it until recently, so the special meeting was organized by the town council to allow people to come in and ask questions. They packed the meeting room with standing room only, and there were a lot of questions asked. The people I talked to said they didn't get a lot of answers still. So there is still frustration from residents' points of view. The main concern from the people is that these cameras went up without public consent.”
The meeting was organized after a group of residents appeared at a regularly scheduled Glenrock Town Council meeting earlier this month with questions about the town’s Flock cameras.
Read the full story HERE.
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Reid Rasner, who placed fifth in last Tuesday’s Republican primary election for Wyoming’s lone U.S. House seat, is suing a sixth person for defamation. Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports this lawsuit is against a Missouri-based civil rights attorney whose Facebook page says he fights “on the side of righteousness and goodness.”
“Reid Rasner is suing now a sixth person. This is the first defamation lawsuit post-election. There were four with five different defendants before the election, and it's another one where Raisner is saying once again that this person, in this case, it's a Missouri civil rights attorney, has defamed him by putting false and inflammatory things on social media.”
The complaint accuses Kevin Baldwin of defamation “per se,” which comprises defamation so outrageous, the plaintiff doesn’t have to show specific harms.
Read the full story HERE.
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A Rock Springs Dollar Tree cashier faces a battery charge for pepper-spraying a customer, who happens to be her father's girlfriend, in the face. Cowboy State Daily’s Kolby Fedore reports that the girlfriend allegedly threatened to drag the cashier over the counter during a profanity-laced tirade.
“What seems more like the plot of a reality TV show actually happened in Rock Springs on June 11th. There are two sides to this story. Nevea Sanders told police that the woman came into the store and was being disrespectful. And when she asked her to change her behavior, the woman threatened to jump over the counter. And that's when Sanders says that she told her she had pepper spray, and also told police that the woman said, ‘I dare you.’ So she sprayed her in the face. Now the alleged victim in this story says that she walked up to the counter, she wasn't making threats, and that she was assaulted.”
18-year-old Neveah Sanders wasn't arrested. Instead, she was served Monday with a criminal summons, a court order directing her to appear and answer the charge. Battery carries a maximum penalty of six months in jail, a $750 fine or both under Wyoming law.
Read the full story HERE.
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An-almost full lunar eclipse will be visible over Wyoming on Thursday night, and most people will get to see the best of the blood-red spectacle before bedtime. Cowboy State Daily’s Andrew Rossi reports on what’s the best time and where to watch.
“I spoke to Cowboy State Daily meteorologist Don Day, and he said we are going to be contending with some clouds on Thursday night. So if you're in Southwest or North Central Wyoming, it could be more cloudy than the rest of the state. But there's going to be scattered clouds in the sky around 10:12 p.m. when the eclipse reaches its maximum point. which will cover 96.2 percent of the moon's surface. So where you can see it, you will see a blood red moon for the most part, with a tiny sliver of light on the edge. And we just hope that the clouds aren't too heavy that night.”
Pinedale photographer Dave Bell tells Cowboy State Daily that for anyone who wants to get photos of the eclipse, “It’s a little like watching grass grow, but watching the whole thing unfold is a great experience.”
Read the full story HERE.
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And that’s today’s news. Get your free digital subscription to Wyoming's only statewide newspaper by hitting the Daily Newsletter button on Cowboy State Daily Dot Com - and you can watch this newscast every day by clicking Subscribe on our YouTube channel, or listen to us on your favorite podcast app. Thanks for watching - I’m Mac Watson, for Cowboy State Daily.
