It’s time to take a look at what’s happening around Wyoming for Friday, November 13th. I’m Mac Watson.
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The 27-year-old man who was killed by Laramie County sheriff's deputies along I-80 east of Cheyenne on Wednesday was “troubled” and “in and out of jail,” says a family member. Cowboy State Daily’s Kolby Fedore reports the sheriff's office says it’s still investigating the shooting.
“27-year-old Anthony Bryant was killed on I 80 near Cheyenne on Wednesday afternoon. I spoke with the sister of his fiance, and she said that he was a troubled person. He had been going through some things. She's devastated when she found out about the loss. She said she hadn't been on Facebook or seen any of the reports, so it was quite shocking to learn of how he died. Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation Director Ronnie Jones said that their team has been sent to investigate the incident to figure out exactly what happened, and when they're done, they'll send their findings over to the Laramie County District Attorney.”
The shooting happened around 1:42 p.m. Wednesday near mile marker 377, close to the Hillsdale exit, about 15 miles east of Cheyenne.
Read the full story HERE.
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After transgender protestor Rihanna Kelver was accused of pointing a gun at a man, Kelver's attorney subpoenaed the man's college files - as possible proof that the man is prone to anti-trans aggression. Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports the judge ruled Tuesday that those files aren't relevant to the case.
“So Rihanna Kelver's attorney Andrew Holcomb had told the judge, ‘Hey, let's get the alleged victim's college file in here because I'm seeing signs that there were disciplinary issues, that there were anti-LGBTQ gestures,’ and the judge said, ‘Okay, I will review this college file in my own chamber and decide if you lawyers can have it, decide if the public can see it, decide if it even needs to be out in the public trial,’ and so once Westby did that, Judge Westby reviewed the file and ultimately decided, no, this is not relevant to these claims of self-defense that Rihanna Kelver is.”
28-year-old Rihanna Kelver was charged in September 2025 with aggravated assault, and possession of a deadly weapon with unlawful intent and interference.
Read the full story HERE.
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A Utah mechanical contractor sped up its southwest Wyoming expansion plans after WE Soda announced 350 layoffs, signing with local unions to match mine-level wages and vacations. Cowboy State Daily’s Emma Jane Jackson reports the company president says, “We want to keep all the work in Wyoming.”
“I talked with Chad Hustad, the president of BCS Mechanical, a Utah-based company, and he said plans were in the works to expand into Wyoming about a month ago, but then with the We Soda layoffs announced last week, he said the company is moving up the timeline. He said his goal is to focus on training and job placement to find more work in Wyoming and to find workers in Wyoming to fill those jobs, especially now with the We Soda layoffs and the anxiety that's causing in Sweetwater County.”
Hustad says the expansion started about a month ago, when BCS Mechanical bid on a chiller project at a school in Green River. The company was awarded the bid Wednesday.
Read the full story HERE.
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Glenrock is mourning 17-year-old Kristian Martin, who died Tuesday in a car accident. Cowboy State Daily’s Kolby Fedore reports that Martin wrestled and played football for the Glenrock Herders and the Glenrock USA Wrestling Club remembers him as a special athlete.
“In a tribute, the Glenrock Wrestling USA Club said that he was the kind of kid that you genuinely wanted to have in the room. His personality, his heart, and his determination, along with the way he carried himself, made him truly special. To his family, he was known as Frodo. He was the youngest of six children and the only boy. He died on Tuesday in a vehicle wreck. The Wyoming Highway Patrol has not yet released more information about the details of that crash.”
Martin’s death has left Glenrock grieving, with coaches, classmates, friends and neighbors organizing memorial gatherings, collecting donations and sharing memories of the teenager. A celebration of his life is scheduled for Saturday at Glenrock High School.
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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Teton County is the only county in Wyoming with its own lobbyist. It just voted to renew the contract of Nick Agopian, and gave him a raise to $10,000 a month. Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports that one commissioner says it's a little steep, but added Agopian is “good at his job.”
“I talked to several people about why does Teton County need its own lobbyist when the counties collectively use the Wyoming County Commissioners Association, which lobbies for things like local control, local funding, and the resounding answer was it's because of the housing mitigation structure that Teton County has in place, where they will charge home builders a considerable fee to contribute to the workforce affordable price-capped housing that the daily grind workers live in in that very luxury community where homes are often unaffordable.”
Agopian has represented the county before the Wyoming Legislature since 2024.
Read the full story HERE.
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A Lander pediatrician is harshly critical of the local hospital’s new staffing program which he says replaces local doctors with traveling doctors. Cowboy State Daily’s Renee Jean reports Dr. Ryan Firth is comparing it to a school run entirely by substitute teachers.
“So what's happening here is a Lander pediatrician is saying that Sage West is going to go to what are known as locum tenems. The English version of that is travel doctors. Okay, you've heard of travel nurses. Well, they have travel doctors too. So they bring in a locum tenem to do that. But increasingly, hospitals are using locum tenems instead of local doctors. They're pushing out the existing local doctors in favor of doctors who might spend a week or two at the hospital and then leave, and a new doctor comes, and so we got a Lander pediatrician who's saying, ‘I don't think that's the best thing for continuity of care.’”
SageWest says its new partnership would strengthen its ability to treat patients with more complex medical needs and keep more patients close to home when clinically appropriate.
Read the full story HERE.
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Mollie's matriarch 1090F wolf turns 12.5-years-old this month, tying her for the oldest known wolf in Yellowstone since restoration in 1995. Outdoors Reporter Mark Heinz reports she has already exceeded the average lifespan by nearly a decade and observers say she appears healthy.
“She's been famous for a long time for being a very long-lived wolf. Wolves typically live maybe about five years in Yellowstone. You know, she hit you know a late 11, then 12, and as of this month, as of November 15, she will officially hit 12.5 years, which will at least tie her for the oldest wolf ever in Yellowstone National Park. There was one more female that they're pretty sure lived at 12.5 years and then died of old age, and there's been a couple of wolves outside the park that lived past 13. But if she lives even a month longer now, she will officially be the oldest wolf ever in Yellowstone National Park.”
Wolves in Yellowstone National Park typically live an average of 3.5-4 years, according to wildlife biologists.
Read the full story HERE.
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A Sasquatch statue in an unincorporated town named Garrett in Albany County has been ripped from the roadside tree where he's been lurking for years, and residents want him back. Cowboy State Daily’s Andrew Rossi reports one person is furious over the theft and how it was stolen, saying “The asshats left the screws in the tree.”
“For those of you who don't know where that is, it's in the northern part of Albany County, north of Laramie. It'd been screwed to the tree. Someone has to come up and just cross onto private property, ripped it off the tree, and made off with it. Nobody knows exactly who would have done it. And since it's a pretty isolated area, they don't have a lot of possibilities, but the people I spoke to thought it was probably someone from out of town because everyone in the community of Garrett loves that thing. It's kind of a local landmark, and they're happy to have a resident neighborhood Sasquatch.”
Garrett’s Sasquatch has been visibly lurking behind the same tree, right next to the road, since 2022. The wooden carving even has its own “Warning! Please Do Not Feed The Sasquatch” sign.
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.
