It’s time to take a look at what’s happening around Wyoming for Friday, October 2nd. I’m Mac Watson.
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Major League Baseball's commissioner sent a letter to officials in Jackson on Thursday saying they have dropped the idea of staging a game in Grand Teton National Park. Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports the letter from Robert Manfred Jr, the Commissioner of Baseball, addressed to Teton County Commission Chair Mark Newcomb, Jackson Mayor Arne Jorgensen, and Jackson Hole Chamber of Commerce president Rick Howe, saying “It's become clear the community does not want us to continue.”
“The community was emphatic with lawmakers, county commissioners, other local officials. ‘Railing’ is not too strong a word, and so yeah, the commissioner of baseball on Thursday wrote an open letter to the heads of the chamber of commerce, or the head of the chamber of commerce, the Jackson mayor, the chair of the county commission, saying, "We can tell you don't want this, so we're not doing it. He said though he emphasized this was in the very very baby stages. ‘Naturally, we were going to get community input.’ I guess news coverage just gave them that community input a lot earlier than they planned.”
Manfred emphasized that the scouting operation was in the vein not only of the Field of Dreams games in Iowa, but other off-site venues, including the Little League World Series in Pennsylvania, Fort Bragg military base game in North Carolina, and Bristol Motor Speedway in Tennessee, among others.
Read the full story HERE.
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California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law Wednesday that adds environmental reviews that will slow progress on a planned coal terminal at the Port of Oakland. Cowboy State Daily’s Emma Jane Jackson reports Gov. Mark Gordon says Wyoming’s considering “all options” in response, including a legal fight.
“The bill was sponsored by an environmental group called Earth Justice, and they're citing a study that found that air pollution was worse along the route of an existing coal port in California, and they don't want to bring that kind of pollution to Oakland. Travis Deti, executive director of the Wyoming Mining Association, told Cowboy State Daily, “It's disappointing, but I don't think it's unexpected.’”
Newsom says the reviews are necessary to protect the environment and California residents, while Wyoming industry insiders say it’s a stall tactic to slow — or stymie altogether — any chances of coal ever moving through the port.
Read the full story HERE.
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When a thief stole packages from her mother’s porch in Cheyenne on Wednesday, Lindsey Carter posted a video of the crime. Cowboy State Daily’s Kolby Fedore reports that within hours, a suspect was arrested.
“Lindsey Carter learned on Wednesday afternoon that someone had stolen her mom's package off their doorstep. They reviewed the ring camera and quickly she. Posted it online, asking Cheyenne residents to help her figure out who the woman taking the packages was. Collectively, residents studied the woman's walk, her hair, her tattoos, and even an SUV parked in the background. Carter was then able to gather that information and give that to police officers, who then were able to identify and arrest Erica White hours later. The 37-year-old Cheyenne resident was booked into the Laramie County Detention center early Thursday morning. She is now facing three counts of misdemeanor theft.”
For Carter, it was the end of a whirlwind amateur investigation that began with stolen packages worth about $40, then she quickly recruited a sizable chunk of Cheyenne’s online community as her detective squad.
Read the full story HERE.
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Wyoming ranchers say they aren't surprised that a month after President Trump increased beef imports to bring down high U.S. prices, that hasn't happened. Cowboy State Daily’s Kate Meadows reports that one Crook County rancher says, “It does no good to say, 'I told you so.’”
“The beef that is coming into our country is actually lean beef trim, which is not the type of beef that you just go and buy at your grocery store. It's used to fatten up burgers or fast food chains. So this is meat that is going to be sold directly to the big meat packers, and so it's really the meat packers who are going to win out. That's why we haven't seen a drop in price at the grocery store when we go to buy ground beef. Karen Clark with the Wyoming Farm Bureau said they're not surprised. She referenced a study that the National Farm Bureau did that tracked beef prices across the country for the past two months, and they have seen no change, no change in price from before the imports went into effect, to after, and they actually asked for Trump's order to be repealed.”
Trump announced in August that the United States would allow up to 300,000 metric tons — about 661 million pounds — of lean beef trimmings to enter the country over a 90-day period without the usual out-of-quota tariffs beginning Sept. 1.
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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Colorado's wolf population has leveled off at 45, half of them pups. Cowboy State Daily’s Mark Heinz reports that with no new wolves coming because states won't send them and Canada is no longer an option, the state says it will be more selective about killing wolves that attack cattle.
“I talked to one person from an environmental group, and of course, they are happy about that. They're saying, you know, with the wolves facing the challenges, they are taking that additional pressure of some of their members being shot for attacking cattle. Taking that pressure off will help. But I also talked to a rancher who said we feel betrayed because CBW from the get go has basically had an agreement with us that they would not let wolves get away with attacking our cattle. So now we feel like they're changing their policy because it's inconvenient for them, and we don't like that.”
The yearly survival rate for adult wolves dropped from the typical level of 75% to 61%, according to Colorado Parks and Wildlife. The decline might be due to a combination of disease and wolves being killed, mostly for attacking cattle.
Read the full story HERE.
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Federal agents say that a Casper man suspected of trafficking drugs took exit after exit on I-25, trying to evade being arrested. Cowboy State Daily’s Kolby Fedore reports that at one point, he started eating the drugs as agents closed in on him.
“DCI agents had been watching Robert Lawrence Johnson since April when he made what they believed was a drug run in June from Colorado to Wyoming. He zig-zagged his way along I-25, making several U-turns and loops in what investigators are calling a ‘burn run’. A confidential source told DCI that the network was bringing in up to 174 pounds of methamphetamine and 1000s of fentanyl pills at a time. Johnson is in custody. He has formally been charged with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. He now faces up to 40 years in prison and up to a $5 million fine.”
Johnson is the first defendant publicly tied to the investigation in a newly filed federal case, but Ryan Cox, Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation Central Enforcement Team commander, tells Cowboy State Daily they have identified other suspects and seized additional drugs during the ongoing operation.
Read the full story HERE.
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Legislators are hoping for success this time as they advance a bill to bring foreign-licensed doctors to Wyoming, to ease a severe shortage. Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports that the bill has died in two different legislative sessions, both times in the Majority Floor Leader Scott Heiner's drawer.
“It cleared the Senate one year and a House committee another year, and then both times stalled out in Representative Heiner's drawer. Sometimes there's a variety of reasons for that. It doesn't always signal animosity for the bill, but representatives in the Labor Health Committee on Thursday were like, "We got to get our arms around this doctor shortage. They were talking other things too, like bolstering the residency program, giving incentives for new doctors to stay here, but they pretty much just did a slight cleanup of the bill and then chose to adopt it as a committee, which gives it an edge going into the lawmaking session.”
The doctor shortage is projected to reach 124,000 nationally by 2034, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges.
Read the full story HERE.
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Registered EVs and hybrids have grown tenfold in Wyoming since 2024 in a state that once turned down federal charger money. Cowboy State Daily’s Emma Jane Jackson reports that one Cheyenne mom says she bought her daughter a Tesla because it “drives itself.”
“The Wyoming Department of Transportation told us that there are almost 2,500 all-electric vehicles registered in Wyoming, and more than 5,800 hybrids. Eric Secrist of Laramie bought his first Tesla in 2024, and he ended up turning it into a career, finding that he could drive Uber in his Tesla, and without the cost of gas or other maintenance, he was able to make as much as he was at his full-time job. Ron Downey, who just retired from the Ken Garff dealership in Cheyenne, said that he actually liked driving EVs around for test drives. They were a really nice ride, but he's not sure they're going to be taking over the roads in Wyoming. He said they're great for just going around town on a nice day, but when it's cold, you're going a long distance. You're running the heat and the defroster. It can really drain the battery quick.”
Cheyenne Realtor Mariah Jeffery has been driving electric longer than most in the state, having bought her first Tesla in 2018. She said she was floored by how fast and fun it was compared to the gas car she had, and that thrill became a routine she wouldn't trade.
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.
