Andrew Rossi
Andrew Rossi is a features reporter for Cowboy State Daily based in northwest Wyoming. He covers everything from horrible weather and giant pumpkins to dinosaurs, astronomy, and the eccentricities of Yellowstone National Park.
Previously, Rossi was the News Director for Big Horn Basin Media in Cody. He earned several awards from the Wyoming Association of Broadcasters, including multiple awards for Best News Reporter and Best News Talk Show.
A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Rossi previously worked at the Wyoming Dinosaur Center in Thermopolis. He has collaborated with Disney/Pixar, the BBC, The Washington Post, the Wyoming Office of Tourism, and several other national and international media outlets. He is also a cofounder of The Cody Theatre Company in Cody.
Latest from Andrew Rossi
Wyoming Man Who Worked 15 Years To Free Leonard Peltier Calls Commutation “Bittersweet”
Joe Biden commuted the two consecutive life sentences of Leonard Peltier on Monday. Wyoming filmmaker Preston Randolph, who worked 15 years to free Peltier from prison, said he’s "happy but bittersweet” with the decision.
Andrew RossiJanuary 20, 2025
Subzero Arctic Blast Nowhere Close To Wyoming Record Low Of Minus 66
Temperatures ranged from minus 20 to 40 degrees across Wyoming between Sunday and Monday, but that's still nowhere close to the coldest day in Cowboy State history. That came in 1933 when it hit minus 66 at a Yellowstone ranger station.
Andrew RossiJanuary 20, 2025
3,600-Foot-Tall Undersea Volcano Expected To Blow This Year, But Nobody’s Worried
Axial Seamount is a young, 30 million-year-old undersea volcano in the Pacific Ocean off the U.S. coast, and it’s expected to blow this year. While “fascinating” and spectacular, nobody’s worried about it.
Andrew RossiJanuary 20, 2025
Ancient Ice Forests In Beartooth Mountains Give Up 6,000-Year-Old Secrets
Researchers are revealing the secrets of 6,000-year-old pine forests, preserved in ice patches in the Beartooth Mountains. These ice forests are giving up ancient secrets about the past — and future — of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.
Andrew RossiJanuary 19, 2025
Wyoming Braces For Dangerous Windchills Up To -45, Can Cause Frostbite In Minutes
Wyomingites will wake up to some serious cold Monday with windchills hitting anywhere from minus 15 to minus 45 around the state. That’s not only bone-chilling, it’s dangerous, and can cause frostbite in minutes.
Andrew RossiJanuary 19, 2025
Cody Filmmaker A Producer For Documentary Premiering At Sundance Film Festival
A Cody, Wyoming, filmmaker is a coproducer for the documentary “Free Leonard Peltier," which will debut next week at the Sundance Film Festival. The film examines the case of the American Indian activist convicted of killing two FBI agents in 1975.
Andrew RossiJanuary 19, 2025
Yellowstone’s Beryl Springs Is Super-Hot, Ornery And Turns Stuff Blue
Beryl Spring, located between Mammoth Hot Springs and Madison Junction in Yellowstone National Park, was named for the stunning blue color of its boiling water. It’s also super-hot, ornery and turns the nearby boardwalk posts blue.
Andrew RossiJanuary 19, 2025
88-Foot-Long Bronze Of Wyoming’s Famous Dippy The Dinosaur Goes Up In London
Dippy the Diplodocus, an 88-foot-long Wyoming dinosaur, is world famous and billed as “the most colossal animal ever on Earth.” Now it’s been cast in bronze — in life size — for a new outdoor exhibit at the Natural History Museum of London.
Andrew RossiJanuary 19, 2025
More Funerals Include Casket Branding, The Most Cowboy Way To Say Goodbye
A growing trend in Western funerals is for family and loved ones to put hot cattle brands to wooden caskets. It’s the most cowboy way for ranching families and others in the West to say goodbye.
Andrew RossiJanuary 18, 2025
Speedy, Beloved 24-Year-Old Yellowstone Sanctuary Bison, Dies
Speedy the bison died Thursday after spending 24 years as one of the best-known and beloved bison in the Greater Yellowstone Region. She was an animal ambassador at the Yellowstone Wildlife Sanctuary in Red Lodge, Montana, since 2005.
Andrew RossiJanuary 17, 2025
Subzero Surge To Bring Snow Squalls, Black Ice And Dangerous Wind Chills
Between Friday and Tuesday, Wyomingites will experience the coldest temperatures of the winter season so far. Don Day says to expect dangerously low wind chills, black ice and wind-driven snow squalls.
Andrew RossiJanuary 16, 2025
Supreme Court Won't Hear Utah's Case To Get Control Of Federal Lands
The U.S. Supreme Court announced Monday it won't take up Utah's case to get control of federal lands in that state, a push Wyoming supported. Gov. Mark Gordon says he's "disappointed but not surprised."
Andrew RossiJanuary 13, 2025
Get Ready To Shiver — Cold Wave To Plunge Wyoming Below Zero This Week
A surge of polar air from Canada will move into Wyoming by the end of the week, plunging much of the state into below zero temperatures. It’s the start of what could be a prolonged period of serious cold.
Andrew RossiJanuary 13, 2025
That Time Bugs Bunny Tormented Elmer Fudd While Camping In Yellowstone
The 1941 cartoon "Wabbit Twouble" had Bugs Bunny antagonizing Elmer Fudd in Jellostone National Park, aka Yellowstone. The cartoon was a crucial step for the iconic characters while also providing one of the internet's favorite memes: Big Chungus.
Andrew RossiJanuary 12, 2025
Fossils Of 47 Million-Year-Old "Alien Plant" Raise More Questions Than Answers
Researchers have found nearly every plant part they need to trace the prehistoric history of a 47 million-year-old "alien plant" from Utah. That’s why it's baffling that it remains so elusive and unlike anything else ever found on the planet.
Andrew RossiJanuary 12, 2025
Perfect Weather Conditions Can Create Stunning Light Pillars Across Wyoming
Light pillars aren't rare or hard to see in Wyoming, but they require perfect weather conditions to create their stunning columns of color streaking into the night sky. It has to be freezing out and have hexagonal ice crystals to reflect the light.
Andrew RossiJanuary 12, 2025
North America's Earliest Dinosaur Is A 230-Million-Year-Old Chicken-Sized Wyomingite
Paleontologists released a new report last week showing that the earliest dinosaur ever discovered in North America is from Wyoming. It's a small, chicken-sized dino found in the Wind River Mountains.
Andrew RossiJanuary 11, 2025
If You Like 8:30 a.m. Sunrises In Winter, You'll Like Permanent Daylight Saving Time
If Congress passes the Sunshine Protection Act, which was introduced earlier this week, daylight saving time would be permanent. That means later sunrises and sunsets in Wyoming and no changing of the clock.
Andrew RossiJanuary 11, 2025
Moose Butt Wins Contest To Guess What Shattered A BMW Windshield Near Afton
A Cody auto glass company decided to have some fun by hosting a contest to guess what shattered the windshield of a BMW while driving near Afton, Wyoming. The winning guess? Moose butt at 9 mph.
Andrew RossiJanuary 10, 2025
Campbell County Uses Tacos To Explain Difference Between Winter Storm Watch And Warning
Campbell County is trying to help Wyomingites understand winter weather better by comparing the various alerts to tacos. It can be an appetizing and appropriate analogy — depending on the ingredients and how they come together.
Andrew RossiJanuary 10, 2025
C.J. Box Going On Book Tour For New Joe Pickett Novel, Which Drops In February
Wyoming author C.J. Box will travel across the country to promote “Battle Mountain,” the latest novel in his popular Joe Pickett series, which goes on sale Feb. 25. In it, Pickett spans Wyoming in search of missing elk hunters.
Andrew RossiJanuary 07, 2025
Driver Totals WYDOT Snowplow Blade By Plowing Into It
A driver who plowed into a WYDOT snowplow on U.S. Highway 14 near Dayton on Friday got minor injuries and a ticket from the Highway Patrol. The driver’s insurance company will get a call about the $26,000 it will cost to replace the destroyed blade.
Andrew RossiJanuary 06, 2025
2024 Will Go Down As The “Year Of The Explosion” At Yellowstone National Park
The spectacular explosion of Black Diamond Pool was the most dramatic event of 2024 in Yellowstone National Park. Elsewhere, it was a pretty average year with nearly 1,200 earthquakes, 300-foot eruptions of Steamboat Geyser and Abyss Pool getting hotter.
Andrew RossiJanuary 06, 2025
Total Eclipse, Meteors And Space Probes — A Lot’s Going On Over Wyoming In 2025
From a total lunar eclipse to meteor showers to space probes, 2025 will be stellar for celestial viewing. Those and more will keep Wyoming stargazers looking up this next year.
Andrew RossiJanuary 05, 2025
A Young Jimmy Carter Wasn't Pleased His First Navy Assignment Was The USS Wyoming
In 1946, Ensign Jimmy Carter was assigned to serve on a by-then aging and broken-down USS Wyoming after graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy. The future president wasn't pleased to draw the Wyoming as his first posting.
Andrew RossiJanuary 05, 2025
Where's The Snow? Cross-Country Skiers, Snowshoers Not Happy In Vedauwoo
There's not much snow at Vedauwoo in southeastern Wyoming, which is a drag for winter sports enthusiasts. But meteorologist Don Day says, if history is any guide, winter weather will soon bring snow to the area and the rest of the state.
Andrew RossiJanuary 05, 2025
New Study Shows Yellowstone Supervolcano Still Isn't Going To Blow Up Anytime Soon
A new study on the supervolcano percolating underneath Yellowstone National Park reaffirms it’s not about to blow and end humanity as we know it. It shows the magma deep underneath the park isn’t a very fluid situation.
Andrew RossiJanuary 04, 2025
Want To Get Rid Of That Christmas Tree? Goats Will Gobble Them Up
Is it time to get rid of that wilting, drying out and browning Christmas tree? Goats will gobble them up as the gift that keeps on giving. They do a great job, says Wind River Pack Goat Adventures in Boulder, Wyoming.
Andrew RossiJanuary 03, 2025
Rare NYE Aurora Could Be Sign 2025 Will Be Another Epic Year For Northern Lights
Wyoming photographer Dave Bell spent New Year’s Eve watching some of Mother Nature’s fireworks. He captured the stunning reds and greens of a rare New Year's Eve aurora over Wyoming, a sign that 2025 could be even better than last year for auroras.
Andrew RossiJanuary 02, 2025
Cheyenne Reports More UFO Sightings Than Anywhere Else in Wyoming
Although Devils Tower gets all the attention, the National UFO Center reports Cheyenne is tops in the state for UFO sightings. A UFO investigator says that's not surprising as it is the home of F.E. Warren Air Force Base.
Andrew RossiJanuary 01, 2025
No, Those Weren’t "Hell Portals" Opening Up On WYDOT's I-80 Webcams
WYDOT's webcams at Sinclair along Interstate 80 produced some strange, and potentially demonic, images during a Monday snowstorm. Light reflecting through ice buildup on the cameras made some people say the effect looked like “hell portals” opening.
Andrew RossiDecember 31, 2024
Wyoming Can Expect New Year To Begin Cold, Windy And Snowier
New Year's Day in Wyoming will be a cold, windy and snowier start to 2025 after a dry, relatively warm December. Don Day says all signs are that the first weeks of the new year will bring much-needed winter weather.
Andrew RossiDecember 30, 2024
From Above, Aftermath Of Devastating 100,000-Acre Elk Fire Looks Worse
The Elk Creek Fire burned nearly 100,000 acres across the eastern face of the Bighorn Mountains this fall, threatening several small Wyoming towns. While early evaluations suggest the damage is mostly superficial, from above it looks devastating.
Andrew RossiDecember 28, 2024
The Year Will End On A Black Moon — Are We All Doomed?
The year will end with a somewhat rare black moon having in the night sky over Wyoming. While that may sound like an ominous warning of impending doom, there’s nothing strange or mysterious about black moons.
Andrew RossiDecember 27, 2024
Pickup Plows Into Wyoming Highway Plow Truck In Ten Sleep Canyon
A slow-moving Ford Ranger plowed into the blade of a WYDOT plow truck in on U.S. Highway 16 in Ten Sleep Canyon on Thursday. The huge Wyoming state plow truck was undamaged. While the driver of the pickup was OK, his truck wasn’t so lucky.
Andrew RossiDecember 27, 2024
Two Yellowstone Snow Coaches Drive Off Road Near Mammoth Hot Springs
Two snow coaches traveling in Yellowstone National Park lost traction and drove off the same patch of road this week. The National Park Service and Xanterra, the park's hotel concessionaire, say both crashes were caused by icy conditions.
Andrew RossiDecember 26, 2024
What's More Wyoming Than A Christmas Eve Cattle Drive?
The Laramie County Sheriff's Office mounted up to help move 400 cattle to a greener pasture the day before Christmas. It’s a totally Wyoming way to celebrate the season and Western culture of the Cowboy State.
Andrew RossiDecember 26, 2024
Gigantic Dinosaur Sculpture Made Entirely Of Various Shoulder Blades
Wes Plummer collected shoulders from bison, elk, cattle and many other animals for three years until he had enough to build a prehistoric dinosaur from modern bones. The result is Windee, a giant Stegosaurus outside his business in Kalispell, Montana.
Andrew RossiDecember 25, 2024
Christmas In Yellowstone 2024: No Better Place To Celebrate
Cowboy State Daily's Andrew Rossi had the tough assignment of spending Christmas in Yellowstone. Without crowds and the park transformed by snow and winter, it’s become a holiday tradition for families seeking an unforgettable experience.
Andrew RossiDecember 24, 2024