It’s time to take a look at what’s happening around Wyoming for Thursday, September 24th. I’m Mac Watson.
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Accused of starving his adopted teenage son almost to death last year, Darrick Mittlestadt of Cheyenne testified Wednesday that he didn’t see or talk to the boy for “three or four months” despite living in the same house. Cowboy State Daily’s Kerry Drake was in the courtroom and reports that at one point, Mittlestadt admitted, “I’m not a good dad.”
“Darrick Mittlestadt testified in his own defense on Wednesday and said basically that he trusted his wife to take care of their child and that he had no idea that he was in a life-threatening condition. Now yesterday, a doctor from Colorado Children's Hospital testified that when he examined the boy when he was brought there from Wyoming, that he looked like a concentration camp survivor.”
Whenever he was asked by either his own attorney or the prosecutor how he could be unaware of the child’s life-threatening medical condition — he weighed 50 pounds at age 13 — the former fire chief of Laramie County Fire District No. 1 repeated the same answer. His wife Angela told him that she had their son’s behavioral problems under control and he trusted that the boy was being fed.
Read the full story HERE.
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A Casper man had given up hope of ever seeing his beloved falcon, named Kevin, after the raptor went missing for a week. Cowboy State Daily’s Kolby Fedore reports Jim Osborne was “practically in tears” reuniting with the bird when Kevin turned up at a local hospital.
“Someone at the hospital reported a hungry falcon that was going after pigeons nearby the building, and so they called Osborne. When Osborne arrived, there were about 10 people who had gathered outside the hospital. When he stuck his arm out, a hospital staff member named Veronica Bates said the bird immediately flew to him, and Jim had tears in his eyes.”
Osborne tells Cowboy State Daily that right now his priority is going to be nursing Kevin the bird back to health, and they will begin training in about a month.
Read the full story HERE.
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Hot Springs County Commission Chair Bob Aguiar has switched from Republican to Constitution Party, as did his wife, a top staffer for unsuccessful gubernatorial candidate Brent Bien. Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports the move comes as the Constitution Party fields Rebecca Bextel for governor.
“What's interesting is because they both held, the Aguiars both held leadership positions in the local Republican Party, right? As precinct and state committee people, and they were upon you know those vacancies happening by them leaving the party. They were replaced by another married couple that is pretty much always at odds with them within the Republican Party, the Scheels, and so that was an interesting change. And then Phil Scheel called it disappointing and theorized that AGR could not have won the commission seat two years ago had he run as a third party candidate.”
Cheryl Aguiar was the state committeewoman for the party, meaning she represented it at State Central Committee meetings. And Bob Aguiar held a precinct committeeman position, which is a local voting role.
Read the full story HERE.
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Wyoming industry leaders and U.S. Sen. Cynthia Lummis oppose a 90-day ban on diesel exports reportedly proposed by Trump’s White House. Cowboy State Daily’s Emma Jane Jackson reports that critics fear cutting off the supply could backfire and drive fuel prices even higher.
“Wyoming leaders are pushing back with Trump-endorsed Cynthia Lummis, Wyoming senator, telling Cowboy State Daily that she opposes a ban, and the Petroleum Association of Wyoming signing on to a joint letter urging the White House not to do it and warning that it could have global ramifications. The proposed ban is an effort to bring down these sky high diesel prices, which have hit the whole nation hard, including Wyoming. I talked to Tom Haygood, a service writer at a semi-auto repair shop in Rock Springs, and he said that not only is it hitting trucking companies hard, it's also kind of rippling down to the shops because as the companies are spending more money on fuel, they're putting less money into vehicle maintenance, and the shops are getting less business.”
Chris Wright, the U.S. Secretary of Energy, has since denied the report, saying that the administration is pursuing a voluntary approach instead.
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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A Mills, Wyoming, couple were in court this week facing felony child endangerment charges after a cracked meth pipe was found in a baby’s crib and two guns under a bed. Cowboy State Daily’s Kolby Fedore reports the mom told police all the drug stuff was “at least 2 feet away.”
“Megan Pfrimmer and Aaron Young, both ages 22, are now being charged with two counts of child endangerment, as well as five counts of possession of a controlled substance for having meth, fentanyl, and marijuana in their house. What began as reports of a threat and a bicycle theft led officers to seek a warrant for the residence. And when they went inside, they found drug paraphernalia as well as fentanyl tablets throughout the house, including in the baby's crib and near the baby's food.”
If convicted, each defendant faces up to 15 years in prison. Pfrimer had a preliminary hearing this week and was bound over to district court. Young has a preliminary hearing later in the week.
Read the full story HERE.
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An Oregon man who fished without a license in Yellowstone National Park lost an argument that the superintendent wields crime enforcement power unconstitutionally. Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports that Tate Pulliam then pleaded guilty and was fined $500 last week.
“Tate Pulliam of Oregon, who was charged with some fishing, some travel violations in Yellowstone, said no, he wasn't confirmed by the Senate. We have this clause in the Constitution. This is quite a bit of power. This case is unlawful under his unconstitutional authority. Well, the judge didn't go for it, saying, ‘Hey, the Constitution and courts over time have made provisions for federal employees, lesser officers, people who don't wield as much power as, say, the Department of the Interior, to be chosen by other means.’”
Court documents say Pulliam pleaded guilty to the fishing-without-a-license charge and the government dismissed the other two charges.
Read the full story HERE.
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A former Gillette baseball coach is charged with lying about his residency to get hunting tags in Montana and killing a black bear, mountain lion, and white-tailed deer buck. Outdoors Reporter Mark Heinz reports that if convicted, Connor Anthony Brown could lose hunting privileges in all 50 states for life.
“Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks alleges that he basically fudged his Montana residency to get Montana resident hunting tags. did talk to a retired game and fish game warden who says yes, this is a common thing that people do with common wildlife crime. The potential maximum penalty includes a lifetime loss of hunting and fishing privileges in Montana. And the kicker there is all 50 states now, every state of the United States is part of what they call the Interstate Wildlife Violators Compact, and so a loss of privileges in one state can potentially translate into a loss of privileges in all 50 states. So if this goes as badly as it could, he could lose hunting privileges for life in every state in the United States.”
Retired Wyoming Game and Fish Department game warden Duane Kerr of Green River tells Cowboy State Daily that falsely claiming residency in a state to buy resident hunting tags is a common offense.
Read the full story HERE.
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The Teton County Republican Party corrected itself this week after telling people how to donate above the legal limit for candidates. Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports that local elections attorney said he finds it "refreshing" that the party chair took accountability.
“Teton County GOP this week dispatched a fundraising email saying, ‘Hey, you can write a candidate's name in the subject line of a check, the memo line of a check, and exceed the campaign donation limit of $1,500 for non-statewide candidates by donating to the party.’ So it was basically a call to, ‘Hey, you can donate more than the legal limit to a party and just tag the candidate that you want to donate to in the memo line.’ Well, Wyoming law actually bars that workaround as well, so you can only donate 1500 to a non-statewide candidate, and also the law says you can't earmark donations to the party with a candidate's name.”
Teton County GOP Chair Kat Rueckert told Cowboy State Daily in a phone interview that a local Democrat who follows the party’s email blasts alerted her to the problem. Rueckert said she was “very appreciative” for the heads-up, and promised to make a correction.
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.
