It’s time to take a look at what’s happening around Wyoming for Tuesday, November 10th. I’m Mac Watson.
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The national State Freedom Caucus Network is still funding a state director for the Wyoming Freedom Caucus, despite most of its members losing their seats, the network president said Monday. Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports SFCN president Andy Roth “We love the members of the Wyoming Freedom Caucus.”
“As we know, the Freedom Caucus lost a lot of its lawmakers in the primary election, and so just a handful left, only one of them in House leadership remained. I asked Andy Roth, the national umbrella network president, like, is there a floor for when you will supply a state director to a legislature versus not? And he said, ‘No, it kind of depends on circumstances and members themselves.’ The caucus had posted in a statement a couple days after the election in 2027, ‘Our priorities will remain the same. We will head to Cheyenne, fewer in number, but still strong in our resolve to fight for Wyoming, America's last hope.’”
The Wyoming Freedom Caucus, which is a populist-right faction of the GOP, won control of the state House of Representatives in 2024, then weathered significant losses in this year’s primary election. House members who tried to ascend to the state Senate, treasurer, and secretary of state positions lost their bids. All but one WFC member in House leadership was ousted, as were numerous other caucus-aligned members.
Read the full story HERE.
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Blood samples taken from Yellowstone wolves are helping scientists understand why radiation from the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster might have turned wolves there into cancer-resistant mutants. Cowboy State Daily’s Mark Heinz reports that despite the disaster that initially killed 31 people, Chernobyl wolves have thrived for six generations.
“One of the first places they turned was to Yellowstone, because the Yellowstone wolves are some of the best known, best researched, most thoroughly studied wolves in the world. And they found some really cool stuff. Counter to what you might immediately think, these wolves in the Chernobyl zone are actually developing a resistance to tumor and a resistance to cancer, and they think they're not quite sure why it might have to be with basically the way radiation therapy helps some humans that have cancer. The researcher I spoke with at Princeton, she said there is some hope that this template that the Chernobyl wolves are showing us could possibly someday have applications for advancement and treatment for humans.”
Blood samples taken from Yellowstone wolves during the 2010s were used in a genetic database that helped researchers compare wolves continuously exposed to radiation in the Chernobyl exclusion zone in Ukraine with wolves from other populations.
Read the full story HERE.
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Planes twice circled the Foot Creek Fire and disrupted firefighters for more than an hour, causing safety concerns in the air and on the ground over the weekend. Cowboy State Daily’s Emma Jane Jackson reports that the Johnson County's airport manager said the behavior is consistent with “looky loo” flying.
“Sarah Evans Kirol, the public affairs specialist for the Bighorn National Forest, said that there were two incursions of unknown and unauthorized planes over a 683-acre wildfire this weekend. At the same time, the U.S. Forest Service has drones flying over the wildfire, doing mapping, and taking photos, trying to strategize the next step for putting it out. And she said that she's worried about a collision between any unauthorized planes and the Forest Service drones. This would be a big loss of equipment for the Forest Service. But she said it could be even worse for the planes. It would be potentially fatal for anyone on board, and it could also cause problems for homes and people on the ground.”
Evans Kirol tells Cowboy State Daily that a low-flying plane crashing into one of those drones would be a major financial loss for the agency, but she says that’s the least of its worries.
Read the full story HERE.
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The Wyoming Military Department's adjutant general told lawmakers Monday a task force is eyeing at least four “chunks” of public land for a new military base. Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports the state is participating in the Trump administration’s Next Great American Base contest.
“House Speaker Chip Neiman wrote to the governor urging participation along with other lawmakers saying that Wyoming is a good fit because of its patriotism. The F.E. Warren Air Force Base already brings economic advantages. Representative Landon Brown on Monday in committee voiced skepticism, asking essentially if this is something that won't get done. Brown did not elaborate on that, but some important context is that Trump has just two years in his term remaining, and Republicans lost the entirety of Congress on Tuesday.”
Wyoming’s adjutant general, Maj. Gen. Greg Porter, told the legislative Transportation, Highways and Military Affairs Committee on Monday that Wyoming has built a task force and it is eyeing federal and state lands for the project.
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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Madison Barbee's phone rang at 7:28 a.m. Monday, just minutes after her 14-year-old niece had been hit by a vehicle while crossing a busy Cheyenne street on her way to school. Her mother was on the other end, frantic. Cowboy State Daily’s Kolby Fedore reports the girl was struck in a crosswalk.
“The grandmother, who has legal custody of the 14-year-old, immediately called her daughter to explain what happened, and then said they were on their way to the hospital. When they got there, it was discovered the girl had suffered from three broken ribs, as well as a broken collarbone and road rash all over most of her body. Coincidentally her aunt was struck at the exact same intersection 10 years ago when she was a student at Cheyenne High. The aunt did recover, but she is saying that she thinks it's ridiculous that they still don't have pedestrian signs. The city is working to make changes. This has come up before the council several times. There have been repeated crashes involving pedestrians and vehicles.”
Cheyenne Police Chief Mark Francisco is urging drivers to pay particular attention during the busy morning and afternoon hours when students are heading to and from school. Police did not say whether speed or distraction played a role in Monday's crash.
Read the full story HERE.
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Armed police searched Rock Springs High School with firearms drawn Monday after a caller threatened to bring a weapon and possibly a bomb to the school. Cowboy State Daily’s Kate Meadows reports no threat was found, but frightened parents say a lack of information was unnerving and concerning.
“Interim Superintendent Paul Grube told me that the Rock Springs High School received a call a little after 12:30 Monday afternoon from an anonymous person saying they had a weapon and possibly a bomb and were headed to the school. So that sent the school into the secure status. One parent, Kari Cochran, told me that the parents received a message from the school messaging app at 1:04 p.m. saying that the school was placed on secure status. Then at 1:26 p.m., they got the second notice that the secure status had been lifted, so it didn't last very long. But with a lack of information, it sent a lot of parents into a kind of panic mode, trying to reach their students, trying to figure out what was going on.”
A joint statement issued by the school district and police department confirmed that the high school had been placed on secure status because of a potential threat and that law enforcement had cleared the building.
It did not provide details about the nature of the threat.
Read the full story HERE.
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Someone went on a mailbox-smashing spree along a rural Johnson County road over the weekend, leaving as many as 15 mailboxes damaged or destroyed. Cowboy State Daily’s Kolby Fedore reports that letters and packages were scattered in ditches and residents are trying to piece their mailboxes back together.
“Resident Ashley Lane said that an entire row of mailboxes had been vandalized. Some of them were ripped out at the ground level and thrown over a fence. She said there were holes in the mailboxes and there was mail scattered everywhere. She said there were also holes in the mail itself. Johnson County Sheriff's Deputy Kerry Welch said that they are still investigating this. He said about 15 mailboxes were vandalized. He said that he can confirm they were not bullet holes. While this might just seem like a harmless prank, tampering with mail or mail boxes is a serious federal crime. It is a felony punishable by up to three years in prison, and in this case, there are 15 mailboxes that have been destroyed.”
Johnson County authorities are urging anyone whose mailbox was damaged to contact the department.
Read the full story HERE.
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Two breeding bulls in eastern Utah survived after being shot in the testicles late last week. Cowboy State Daily’s Kate Meadows reports that ranchers called it “pure malice" and was particularly cruel because it injures the animal and is one of the most valuable investments a cattle producer makes.
“Bulls provide a lot of value and income for ranchers over the span of their lifetime. So when one of them is shot and not able to function as it normally would, it messes with the whole business and it messes with the rancher's livelihood.Crook County Senator and rancher Ogden Driskill had very harsh words for this crime. He called it ‘malicious.’ He even likened it to attempted murder because you injure this animal and then it suffers. So you don't even just kill it and it dies. Captain John Crowley with the Duchesne County Sheriff's Office told me that an investigation is ongoing. However, they have zero leads.”
The bulls, owned by Duchesne County rancher Treven Jensen, were discovered injured after Jensen returned from a hunting trip Friday. It wasn't until a veterinarian examined the animals that Jensen learned they had been shot.
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.
