Headshot of Cowboy State Daily reporter, Dale Killingbeck

Dale Killingbeck

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily reporter, Jackie Dorothy.

Jackie Dorothy

David Madison

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily's business and tourism reporter, Renée Jean

Renée Jean

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily political columnist, Rod Miller.

Rod Miller

Opinion

CSD Columnists

Alexis de Toqueville, a French observer during the formative years of our republic, called us “The great experiment in democracy.” 

He saw that our Founders didn’t create a stagnant system, but rather a dynamic nation that is always growing and changing as we try new ideas. 

Picking up on de Toqueville’s metaphor, Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis called America a “great laboratory” in which different experiments in self-government are tested, to see what succeeds and what doesn’t. 

Seen in that light, we are a nation of experimenters driven by a curiosity to find out what works best for us, and our history is record of the results of those experiments.

And I think it was Sigmund Freud, I’ll paraphrase, who offered the sage political advice that the definition of insanity is repeating the same experiment over and over, expecting a different result. 

While we’re on the subject of political experiments, imagine that we’re back in chemistry class and a mad scientist, dressed in a red blazer instead of a lab coat, is lecturing the class. 

He says, “Class, today we’re gonna do the Freedom Caucus experiment.”

He looks at his phone for instructions, then grabs a Wyoming-shaped test tube and starts tossing in ingredients from weird little vials and bottles. 

The mad scientist in the red coat tells us, “For this experiment, we’ll need a mixture of caustic populism, fake grassroots, some tincture of fear-mongering and a big dose of centralized control mixed with faux religious zeal. 

Then we’ll add some forced patriotism, political opportunism, and stir in some scorn for small communities and a whole bottle of distilled self-righteousness. 

To give it bite, we’ll add some acidic divisiveness, concentrated hubris and a dash of tribalism.

The rest of the ingredients are secret and available only from national Freedom Caucus bigwigs in Washington, D.C., and I’m sworn never to reveal what they are. Now, let’s see what happens when we heat if up!”

The redcoated mad scientist reads his texted instructions, stirs the mixture and cooks it over a bunsen burner. 

[{"type":"text","text":"The concoction begins to bubble and fizz. "}]

Finally it blows up with a loud plop, like an exploding skunk, and the lab is filled with a miasma of sulfurous yellow smoke that burns the eyes and smells like brimstone and buzzard puke.

The lab walls are dripping with a toxic goo that will take years to clean up. 

The mad scientist stands in front of the class, all his hair singed off and a look of shocked surprise coupled with glee on his bald face.

Evidence of the failed experiment litters the lab floor, still fizzing and bubbling – a scorched campaign check from the Checkgate scandal here, a pool of chemtrail paranoia there. 

Under the desk is a smoldering pile of UFO panic, still wearing a crumpled tinfoil Stetson. 

[{"type":"text","text":"Smoke rises from a proposal to sell state land for a dollar an acre."}]

The ashes of of the hopes of schools, small towns and counties coat the windowsills. 

[{"type":"text","text":"Books are blasted off the library shelves. "}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Shards of shattered civil liberties are scattered hither and yon. "}]

The carcass of a dead legislative agenda twitches in a dark corner of the lab. 

Election certificates of Freedom Caucus legislators are smeared with hilarious DUI bodycam videos, concealed felony convictions in Colorado and political flip-flops worthy of a contortionist in a snake oil show. 

The right-wing "media outlets" that serve as the pep squads for the Freedom Caucus carry the stench of the failed experiment, and their microscopic audience shrinks with every new scandal. 

Windows and doors are thrown open to air out the lab. Just then the bell rings, announcing a new election, and we want nothing more than to go home and shower off the residue of this experiment gone hideously awry. 

But before we can step carefully across the slippery floor toward the door, the mad scientist in the red blazer whines, “Hey, the people voted for this! Who wants to try this same experiment again on 8/18/26? Maybe we’ll get a different result.”

Rod Miller can be reached at: RodsMillerWyo@yahoo.com

Rod miller headshot scaled

Cowboy State Daily is Wyoming’s largest newspaper with Wyoming’s most experienced journalists. 

<title>Rod Miller: The Wyoming Freedom Caucus – Our Failed Experiment | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Columnist Rod Miller writes, "Imagine that we’re back in chemistry class and a mad scientist, dressed in a red blazer instead of a lab coat, is lecturing the class. He says, 'Class, today we’re gonna do the Freedom Caucus experiment.'"

Rod Miller: The Wyoming Freedom Caucus – Our Failed Experiment

Guest Column

Guest Columnists

When the Wyoming Freedom Caucus took control of the House, its leaders promised big changes. Speaker Chip Neiman famously declared to Politico: “We have 42 of 62 votes. We’re going to do big things.”

Wyoming voters deserve to ask a simple question:

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"What were those big things?"}]

Leadership should be measured by results — not press releases, social media posts, or political rhetoric.

After two years of Freedom Caucus control, the record raises serious concerns.

The House budget proposed deep reductions to state government, including eliminating the Wyoming Business Council, cutting funding for the University of Wyoming, reducing support for Native American health care programs, denying market-based raises for state employees, killing fire relief funds and shifting costs to local communities. 

Many of these proposals were rejected or significantly changed by the Senate because legislators from both chambers believed they would do more harm than good.  

Speaker Neiman’s leadership team had to suspend the rules and add an extra day to cram 200 plus amendments ti the budget down house members throats. 

Pressure from the public forced them into the public’s will.  The Neiman led Confrence committee folded to the Senate position in less than 30 minutes.. 

The Freedom Caucus also opposed putting significant surplus revenue into Wyoming’s Permanent Mineral Trust Fund and other long-term savings. 

Wyoming has built its financial strength by saving during prosperous years to protect future generations during downturns. Choosing not to save when revenues are strong is a major departure from decades of conservative fiscal policy.

This Legislature also failed to pass a supplemental budget—the first time in decades Wyoming went without one. Instead of resolving issues collaboratively, legislative leaders allowed political gridlock to replace practical governance.

Education became another battleground. The recalibration process, led by Freedom Caucus leadership, drew criticism from school districts across Wyoming. 

Local officials warned about unintended consequences, reduced local flexibility, and funding formulas that ignored real operating costs. Rather than listening to those concerns, the Freedom Caucus led recalibration committee doubled down.  

Their actions significantly took local control away and consolidated the power in Cheyenne  

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"Economic development also suffered. "}]

Proposals to eliminate the Wyoming Business Council would have jeopardized programs that help recruit employers, expand existing businesses, and create jobs in rural Wyoming. Conservatives should always demand accountability, but eliminating an agency without a transition plan is not reform—it’s abandonment.

Throughout the session, the focus often seemed to be on ideological fights instead of solving Wyoming’s most pressing challenges: keeping communities strong, supporting local governments, maintaining infrastructure, improving health care access, diversifying the economy, and preparing for the next energy transition.

Conservatism has traditionally meant careful stewardship of taxpayer dollars, planning for the future, supporting private enterprise, and making government work efficiently. It has never meant governing through constant conflict or measuring success by the number of headlines generated.

Wyoming deserves leaders who ask not, “How much can we cut?” but “What produces the best value for taxpayers?” There is a difference.

The real measure of legislative leadership is whether Wyoming is stronger when you leave than when you arrived.

They also brought in one of the biggest scandals in Wyoming history — "Check Gate" — tarnishing the entire legislature — forcing even more rules.  

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"So the question remains:"}]

If the Freedom Caucus promised to do “big things,” are Wyoming families better off today? Are local governments stronger? Are schools better prepared? Is the economy more diversified? Have permanent savings increased? Has the Legislature become more productive?

Those are questions every voter should answer based on the record—not the rhetoric.

Because in Wyoming, results still matter more than slogans.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"Sen. Ogden Driskill"}]

Driskill represents Senate District 1 in Wyoming and lives in Devils Tower

Ogden driskill headshot 7 30 26

<title>Guest Column: What Has Wyoming’s Freedom Caucus Actually Accomplished? | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Sen. Ogden Driskill writes, "When the Wyoming Freedom Caucus took control of the House, its leaders promised big changes. Speaker Chip Neiman famously declared to Politico: 'We have 42 of 62 votes. We’re going to do big things.' What were those big things?

Guest Column: What Has Wyoming’s Freedom Caucus Actually Accomplished?

Kerry Drake

Crime & Courts

A Colorado man has been charged with aggravated vehicular homicide in the death of a 22-year-old passenger flung from his car after he crashed while trying to elude police at more than 100 mph on Clear Creek Parkway near Cheyenne. 

Both Colorado resident James K. Moore and another passenger from South Carolina were hospitalized. Christian Dawsey, 22, also from Colorado, was ejected from the vehicle and died at the scene, the Wyoming Highway Patrol reports.

In addition to aggravated vehicular homicide, which can carry up to a 20-year sentence, Moore was charged in Laramie County Circuit Court on Thursday with aggravated assault, property destruction and defacement, reckless driving and attempting to elude police.

WHP Trooper Brandon Todd initially noticed that Moore, 26, did not have functioning taillights as he drove near Exit 7 

 in Cheyenne just after 11 p.m. July 23. In an affidavit, Todd wrote that the car appeared to be pulling over after the trooper activated his emergency lights while leaving the median.

The incident escalated quickly when Moore’s white Hyundai IONIQ 5 instead exited at West College Drive and Clear Creek Parkway, then quickly accelerated to flee southbound. Todd wrote that the vehicle was traveling more than 100 mph in a 45 mph zone, and he eventually saw Moore's car crash.

Moore failed to navigate a sharp left turn and continued straight, exiting the roadway and becoming airborne, Todd wrote.

"I saw what looked like a small explosion from the vehicle," the affidavit says, adding that he found the wreckage in the parking lot of Simon, a business at 6215 Clear Creek Parkway.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Thrown From Car"}]

He approached and found Moore “unconscious and unresponsive." A passenger later identified as the man from South Carolina was semi-conscious and had severe bruising on the right side of his face, Todd wrote.

"I ran through the parking lot and made my way to the vehicle, where I made contact with the driver, who was unconscious and unresponsive," the affidavit says, adding that he was identified as Moore from his Colorado driver's license.

 twice told Todd that he and Moore were the only two people in the car, while “Moore began itching his nose and would not respond to verbal stimuli,” according to the affidavit.

It was when he was walking back to his patrol car that Todd says he found Dawsey's body, and it was apparent he had been killed.

"I began walking back to my patrol car through the debris field and the path the vehicle took as it crashed through the parking lot," Todd's affidavit says. "I located the third occupant of the vehicle, who was laying on his stomach, face down, and had sustained injuries in the crash that were not compatible with life."

Todd said he identified a strong odor of a flavored alcoholic beverage while he attempted to talk to Moore and the other passenger, and later found a small red-and-clear alcoholic beverage in the driver’s side door cup holder.

Todd wrote that he found empty beer cans and smaller alcoholic containers called “shooters” as he walked through the debris field.

Both Moore and the South Carolina man were extricated from the vehicle at the scene by emergency medical responders. A blood sample was taken from Moore and he was read Wyoming’s Implied Consent Advisement.

Moore was flown to Colorado via LifeFlight for further care. The surviving passenger was transported by ground ambulance to Cheyenne Regional Medical Center.

Dawsey died at the scene, Todd wrote, adding that he was not wearing a seat belt. 

During the investigation, Todd said Dawsey’s grandparents notified the WHP dispatch that they had received a crash notification from his phone. 

While completing his inventory of the crash scene, Todd opened a backpack that contained a urine test and a sex toy.

On Monday, Todd noted that he had discovered from the Larimer County (Colorado) Probation Office that Moore was on probation for felony menacing with a real or simulated weapon and he was not allowed to come into Wyoming.

He also wrote that people on probation sometimes use fake urine for required drug testing.

High Speed crash WHP 7 30 26

<title>Colorado Man Charged In Death Of Passenger Thrown From His Car At 100 MPH | Cowboy State Daily</title>

A Colorado man is charged in the death of a man flung from his car when it crashed in a Cheyenne parking lot while running from troopers at 100 mph. The passenger “sustained injuries in the crash that were not compatible with life,” a trooper reports.

Colorado Man Charged In Death Of Passenger Thrown From His Car At 100 MPH

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily's managing editor, Greg Johnson.

Greg Johnson

Courts

Just because a Douglas man facing 72 child sex and pornography-related charges was a 

 on Tuesday doesn’t necessarily mean whoever put up $250,000 cash to bond him out of jail will lose all that money.

The Converse County Attorney’s Office could file a motion to revoke or forfeit all, some or none of Smallbone’s bond, said Steven Titus, a Gillette defense attorney.

Smallbone also could be ordered to pay for the costs of the Converse County Sheriff’s Office to go get him from San Francisco, where he was 

, four hours after he missed his court hearing.

And those costs could likely be pulled from that $250,000 bond, said Titus, adding that he’s referencing general options and not specifics about Smallbone’s case.

That said, he thinks Smallbone missing that hearing “was stupid,” and that it’s “very rare” for someone to not show up for court when a large amount of money or their home is on the line.

“I can’t remember the last time someone willingly missed court, knowingly missed court, with that kind of money on the line,” Titus said. “It’s really rare for something like this to happen.”

As of Thursday afternoon, Smallbone was still being held at the San Francisco County Jail on a fugitive warrant out of Wyoming.

He hasn’t yet been seen by a judge there and a hearing on his extradition to Wyoming hasn’t been set, according to the Superior Court of San Francisco.

When he does get back, Titus said he would be “shocked” if the judge in his case doesn’t revoke his bond altogether or raise it significantly.

“My guess is the judge will increase the bond, because if he wasn’t a flight risk before, he’s shown he is now,” Titus said.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Who Gets The Money?"}]

The Converse County Attorney’s Office so far hasn’t filed a motion to revoke or forfeit Smallbone’s bond, according to the public-facing court file in the case.

While he won’t comment on Smallbone’s case or circumstances, Converse County Deputy Prosecutor Nathan Shumway echoed Titus’ assessment that there are many things that can determine just how much — or little — bond is forfeited in a criminal case.

That process could include holding an evidentiary hearing to show someone “willfully violated a condition of their bond,” Shumway said in an email to Cowboy State Daily.

“In the instance of a failure to appear, what usually must be proven is that the failure to appear was willful, and not because of something outside the defendant’s control,” he said.

“If the State meets its burden, the Defendant’s bond is revoked and the process continues as if the person had admitted to violating their bond,” he added.

[{"type":"text","text":"If not, the bond is reinstated."}]

The $250,000 question some are asking now that Smallbone has been picked up for the second time within a week on a fugitive warrant in another state is: Where does that money go?

[{"type":"text","text":"It can be a variety of places, both Titus and Shumway said."}]

Some of the money can be used to repay costs associated with finding and apprehending someone on the run, and the court can implement penalties, Titus added.

[{"type":"text","text":"Whatever is left goes to local schools."}]

“When a bond is ordered forfeited by the court, the money is paid into the county treasury to the credit of the county’s public school fund, in accordance with Wyoming Statute 7-10-105,” Shumway said.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"How We Got Here"}]

Smallbone was released from jail June 24, when someone walked into the Converse County Detention Center with $250,000 cash.

He was arrested July 22 on a fugitive warrant in Fort Collins, Colorado, after investigators learned he may have been trying to flee Wyoming.

 on a personal recognizance bond before Converse County officials could bring him back to Wyoming.

Smallbone then was a no-show for his Tuesday arraignment hearing in Douglas, then about four hours later was arrested again in San Francisco, Sheriff Clint Becker reported.

Siegel hadn’t responded by Thursday afternoon to an offer to explain what happened in her courtroom with Smallbone.

The result was frustrating for law enforcement in two states, with Converse County Undersheriff Chris Walsh calling the release “a surprising twist” that left him “shocked.”

The Larimer County District Attorney’s Office in Colorado also has questioned how an accused child sex abuser was released.

“Mr. Smallbone was taken into custody on a valid and active warrant out of Wyoming, which included dozens of allegations of sexual crimes against children,” agency spokesperson Kylie Masserman said in a Monday email to Cowboy State Daily. 

She said her office asked Magistrate Siegel to also issue a $250,000 cash-only bond for Smallbone. 

That’s because the objective was “to keep him in custody until he could be transferred back to Wyoming to face his charges,” she said in the statement. “This request was consistent with what the Wyoming authorities requested and consistent with our practices on cases of this severity.”

Masserman said that instead, the personal recognizance bond was issued “contrary to our request.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"The Hearing"}]

Meanwhile, Converse County officials were ready and waiting in case Smallbone did show up for his Tuesday hearing, or for any trouble that might ensue because of the nature of the allegations against him.

Sheriff Becker was leaning on a rail outside the justice center ahead of the scheduled hearing, flanked by five deputies. 

Three more deputies manned the security station just inside the front doors, and two Douglas cops were hanging out inside the courtroom.

While there were no emotional fireworks, Becker said he and his deputies were ready “just in case.”

It was the same inside the courtroom, which looked a bit like a shotgun wedding, with the 30 or so people watching from the gallery choosing to sit behind the prosecutor’s table.

[{"type":"text","text":"The hearing, scheduled to start at 3:30 p.m., was over by 3:35."}]

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"The Charges"}]

Smallbone’s charges relate to a trove of videos and child sexual abuse material (CSAM) allegedly found on his phone and electronic devices while Converse County investigators were looking into a report that he propositioned a young girl, according to a court affidavit.

The mother of an underage girl reported concerning interactions her daughter had with Smallbone on May 9.

The girl was in a vehicle with Smallbone and others when he allegedly typed “if you suck me, I’ll lick you” on his phone and showed it to the girl, according to an affidavit of probable cause written by Lt. Benjamin K.P. Peech of the Converse County Sheriff’s Office.

“He also mouthed the words, ‘I want to see you naked,’” the affidavit says.

Smallbone later denied mouthing anything or showing the girl any messages.

On those devices, investigators report that they found dozens of images and videos depicting prepubescent girls and boys performing a wide range of sex acts, the affidavit says. Many of the videos appear to have been created by Smallbone in rooms and spaces that are identifiable enough to connect them to alleged potential victims.

The most disturbing allegations stem from a series of at least seven videos that the affidavit reports allegedly show a young girl having her pants pulled down and being subjected to sex with a dog.

Along with the CSAM, investigators say they found “records indicating (his phone) had been used to connect to the Tor Browser, which is commonly used by subjects accessing CSAM to communicate within the Dark Web anonymously,” the affidavit says.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"He’s charged with:"}]

• 1 count of first-degree sexual abuse of a minor.

• 36 counts of possessing child pornography.

• 16 counts of using a video camera to record intimate areas of another person without consent.

• 18 counts of knowingly manufacturing, generating, or creating child pornography.

• 1 count of possessing more than 3 ounces of marijuana (1.3 pounds).

At Tuesday’s hearing, Shumway said his office intends to file new, expanded charges against Smallbone. Those weren’t available in the public court files as of Thursday afternoon.

If convicted with maximum concurrent sentences, Smallbone could face up to 791 years in prison and fines of up to $710,000.

The most serious is the sexual abuse of a minor charge, which calls for a sentence of between 25 and 50 years.

Smallbone and courthouse 2 7 30 26

<title>What Happens To $250,000 Bond For Accused Sex Abuser Who No-Showed At Court | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Just because a Douglas man facing 72 child sex and pornography-related charges was a no-show for his arraignment hearing on Tuesday doesn’t necessarily mean whoever put up $250,000 cash to bond him out of jail will lose all that money.

What Happens To $250,000 Bond For Accused Sex Abuser Who No-Showed At Court

Employee kate meadows cropped

Kate Meadows

Agriculture

A sweeping class-action lawsuit accusing the nation's four largest meatpackers of conspiring to manipulate cattle and beef prices is moving forward after a federal judge in Minnesota certified several classes of plaintiffs earlier this month.

The lawsuit alleges that JBS, Tyson Foods, Cargill and National Beef coordinated to restrict beef supplies and inflate prices between June 2015 and February 2020, harming ranchers who sold cattle while forcing wholesalers, grocers, consumers, restaurants and caterers to pay more for beef.

Together, the four companies control more than 80% of the U.S-fed cattle processing market, giving them wide influence over cattle prices and the nation's beef supply.

[{"type":"text","text":"U.S. District Judge John Tunheim issued his ruling July 16."}]

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"From The Big 12 To The Big Four"}]

For Wyoming ranchers who have watched consolidation reshape the industry over decades, the lawsuit is about far more than the five-year period covered in the complaint.

"The packers have controlled the destiny of beef for decades upon decades," Crook County rancher Tyler Lindholm told Cowboy State Daily. "It's getting to the point where people are starting to push back."

State Sen. Ogden Driskill, R-Devils Tower, said the current market is the product of decades of declining competition.

"Our federal government has allowed our federal packing industry to go from the big 12 to the big 10 to now the big four," Driskill said.

With a dozen major packers competing, coordinating prices would have been far more difficult, he said. Today, with only four dominant players, ranchers are left with few options for selling cattle.

"It really is high time for the government to step in and say we have to get a process that treats everybody fairly," Driskill said. "We're not asking for an upper hand. We're looking for everyone to be treated fairly."

Driskill blamed what he called a "very, very failed federal bureaucracy" for allowing market concentration to reach its current level.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Not Every Rancher Is Convinced"}]

Not everyone in Wyoming's cattle industry believes the allegations will hold up.

Laramie County rancher Mark Eisele said he remains skeptical that the major packers have engaged in coordinated misconduct.

"I'm not sure how I feel about this lawsuit," Eisele told Cowboy State Daily. "I would like to see what comes from this."

After decades in the cattle business, Eisele said he has never seen evidence of retaliation or deliberate manipulation by the major packers.

[{"type":"text","text":"Court filings paint a different picture."}]

According to the plaintiffs, economic modeling shows ranchers were underpaid by nearly 7% during the period covered by the lawsuit because the packers coordinated slaughter schedules and managed beef inventories to suppress cattle prices while increasing wholesale beef prices.

Lindholm said he believes market behavior itself supports those allegations.

He pointed to the Trump administration's approval of roughly 2 million additional pounds of beef imports from Argentina, saying a significant increase in imported beef should have softened domestic prices if the market were functioning normally.

"By all expectations, having an insane amount of beef imported from a country should have moved the beef prices here. It did not," Lindholm said. "Some might call that a conspiracy. But the proof is there. You can see it in the market."

A federal judge has OK'd a class-action price-fixing lawsuit against the nation’s four largest meatpackers. "The packers have controlled the destiny of beef for decades," Crook County rancher Tyler Lindholm said. "People are starting to push back."

CSD Staff

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