It’s time to take a look at what’s happening around Wyoming for Thursday, November 12th. I’m Mac Watson.
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A suspect was shot and killed during an encounter with Laramie County sheriff’s deputies Wednesday afternoon along I-80 east of Cheyenne. Cowboy State Daily’s Kolby Fedore reports the shooting brought a large police response to the highway, where officers worked to control traffic while emergency crews rushed to the scene.
“The investigation has been taken over by the Division of Criminal Investigations, where they will find out exactly what happened. Just minutes after the shooting, radio traffic captured deputies talking with first responders, asking for medical emergency services. I spoke with Austin Lawrence, who was driving from a doctor's appointment when he witnessed the aftermath, and he videoed it. He said it looked like a very stressful situation, and he prayed that everyone was okay.”
The shooting happened around 1:42 p.m. near mile marker 377, close to the Hillsdale exit, about 15 miles east of Cheyenne. Police haven't yet released the suspect's name or what led to the deadly encounter.
Read the full story HERE.
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Incoming Republican Gov. Eric Barlow has chosen Walter Eggers, a Democrat, as his attorney general. Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports that three former Wyoming AGs say party affiliation does not matter for the non-political position.
“I asked three former attorneys general, a Republican, a Democrat, and then a Democrat who served a Republican, and they all said no. This position is about the rule of law. And then I asked Senator Charlie Scott, a Republican, the longest-serving senator, state senator in Wyoming, who has overseen multiple AG confirmations, and he didn't think it mattered. One thing that is notable about Walter Eggers' record is he represented oil, gas, coal companies for like 24 years. And I asked him about that. I said, ‘Did you have to reconcile that with being a Democrat?’ And he said, ‘No,’ that he was proud to have represented those, and still believes that those industries are the lifeblood of Wyoming.”
In a phone interview with Cowboy State Daily, Eggers says he’s married to a registered Republican, and noted the difference between Democrats and Republicans in Wyoming isn’t as great as many people suggest. In his experience, he believes both seek the good of the state.
Read the full story HERE.
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With seven weeks to go, the National Weather Service says 2026 will be the warmest year in Wyoming's recorded history. Cowboy State Daily’s Andrew Rossi reports photographers say the fall colors in southern and western Wyoming is the best they've ever seen.
“According to the National Weather Service office in Riverton, nearly all the locations that they keep records of, some of those records going back to 1892, it's the warmest year in Wyoming's recorded history. The fall colors seem to have been fantastic. I heard it was some of the best in recent memory. This will probably be the warmest year in Wyoming's recorded history, and that led into a fall that was above average temperature-wise and below average precipitation-wise for a majority of Wyoming, but we're already seeing signs of what could be coming in terms of the polar vortex reaching us, an influx of air from Greenland, and the Super El Nino. That's all going to come to a head sometime in late November.”
Day and many other meteorologists are still processing the mea culpa they had to endure after their winter weather forecasts fell through last year. Because of a relentless series of “logjams” in the Arctic Circle, the predicted snowy, colder winter turned into one of the warmest, driest winters on record for Wyoming and the Rocky Mountain region.
Read the full story HERE.
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Levi Johnson had to do some detective work when his baby’s medicine failed to show up in his Burns mailbox. Cowboy State Daily’s Renee Jean reports that when it finally arrived, he found four baskets of mail left beside the road.
“He picked it up and took it home to make sure nobody could steal any of the mail. And then he took it into the postal service the next day because he wanted to make sure the postmaster knew what had happened. Evidently someone who identified themselves as the carrier texted them at 10:30 at night and said, ‘Oh, hey, you know, I need to come pick those up. Can I come pick those up?’ And they're like, ‘Yeah, we're in bed and we're just going to take it to the post office tomorrow.’ Several people in that area did report that they have missing mail and have had it for weeks now.”
Although Johnson’s family has received the medication and some other missing items, the family is still waiting for regular paper mail, including bank debit cards. The experience has left him questioning what training carriers receive.
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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Ranchers are getting nearly 20% less for cows used in ground beef since President Trump's 90-day plan to lower prices, according to a new report. Cowboy State Daily’s Kate Meadows reports meatpackers are paying less and consumers are seeing little savings at the grocery store.
“Trump enacted this 90-day plan to import more beef trim that took effect September 1st. Ranchers had a fit over it because they knew right away that they were not going to come out on top here. It was going to be the meat packers. That's because the beef trim is only purchased by the meat packers. It's not something that people buy in a grocery store. Sarah Carden is Farm Action's senior director of research and policy. She said that what is striking about these numbers is how much the price is falling on cattle producers, while the meat packers continue to benefit.”
In August, Trump announced a plan to allow an additional 300,000 metric tons of lean beef trimmings into the United States over 90 days at lower tariff rates. The plan took effect Sept. 1 and is scheduled to end Nov. 30.
Read the full story HERE.
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Cheyenne cops were called when someone spotted strangers around a neighbor’s house. Cowboy State Daily’s Kolby Fedore reports it turns out, they were putting up Christmas lights and calls like this happening everyday in the Cowboy State.
“Calls like this are happening all over Wyoming. Thousands of calls come in every year for some of Wyoming's larger cities, and a small percentage, 20% or less, actually result in criminal investigations. Even less result in convictions. I spoke with Alan Thompson, a former Sheridan County sheriff's deputy and he said that he's heard some crazy things over the years. Once someone called in Sheridan, and they said that an elk had escaped from the elk refuge and was located in town. When he arrived, it was just a very large deer, possibly the biggest deer he's ever seen. And then one that happens almost every year on the Fourth of July, someone will dial 911 reporting that they heard gunshots, and it turns out it's just fireworks.”
In Casper alone, false security alarms became such a headache that the police chief brought the issue before the City Council in 2022. At the time, officers were responding to around 1,200 private burglar alarms every year — and 99.2% were false.
Read the full story HERE.
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The historic Wagon Box restaurant in Story is listed for $3.195 million, but owner Paul McNiel isn’t “hellbent” on selling. Cowboy State Daily’s Renee Jean reports that McNiel is considering selling or seeking a financial partner.
“Just because it's being sold though doesn't mean the restaurant's closing. Doesn't mean the lodges aren't available. Everything is still open. Evidently, they do have a new chef coming, a guy named Julian Gagnon. He co-founded Washington DC's French Bistro Butterworths in 2024 with a chef named Bart Hutchins, and he's going to bring a little French flair to home-style cooking. Meatloaf and fried chicken, on up to duck breast and pierogies stuffed with duck confit. It sounds amazing. So he's planning to open mid-December if everything goes well, and he wants to try being open seven days a week.”
McNiel tells Cowboy State Daily that his goal remains the same — making the Wagon Box a destination for locals and travelers.
Read the full story HERE.
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A Laramie County woman said she’s at wit's end trying to combat a badger that “murdered my entire chicken flock” and has since evaded her efforts to trap it. Cowboy State Daily’s Mark Heinz reports Heather Nicklas says the lone badger is an "overachiever" and her livestock dogs haven't been any help.
“She reinforced her coop and put underground mesh wire and stuff to kind of badger-proof a little bit. That's worked so far this year. She hasn't lost any chickens, but she said the badger is still punching holes all over her property. Apparently, still trying to get into the chicken coop, and also she's worried about her bigger livestock, like her pony and her alpacas, things that might step in the badger holes and break their legs, and so, and she tried live-trapping it. That didn't work. She says she's only seen it once. It's pretty evasive.”
Retired biologist Franz Camenzind of Jackson tells Cowboy State Daily that he recommends that if Nicklas can live-trap it, the best thing to do would be “moving it at least a couple of miles away.” But, he admits, they are elusive.
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.
