Jimmy orr

Jimmy Orr

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

Renée Jean

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily reporter, Dale Killingbeck

Dale Killingbeck

Heinz mark

Mark Heinz

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily's Feature Reporter, Andrew Rossi.

Andrew Rossi

Public Safety

 numbers from northwest Wyoming are of increasing concern to the Wyoming Highway Patrol.

, the Beartooth Highway. It’s the seventh motorcycle accident on the Beartooth Highway and Wyoming Highway 296, or Chief Joseph Scenic Highway, this year.

“That doesn’t sound like a lot of paper, but it’s tied for the worst year on record for (U.S.) 212 and 296,” said Aaron Brown, Wyoming Highway Patrol (WHP) spokesman. “We have seven crashes (on the two highways) in 2004. We’re already at seven in 2026, and they've all happened in July." 

But that isn’t the total number of reported crashes between the two highways this year. Brown said WHP troopers have colloquially told him of 

 that other agencies in Wyoming and Montana responded to this summer.

“Anecdotally, my troopers are saying they're seeing as many as 18 crashes so far this year,” he said. “If that is true, that's more than the number of motorcycle crashes on 212 between 2021 and 2025 combined.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Navigating Reports"}]

There still isn’t much information on what happened to the motorcyclist who died on the Beartooth Highway Thursday.

The crash occurred near mile marker 21 on U.S. 212, between the Top of the World Store and the Island Lake Campground. Multiple agencies responded, including the WHP, First Flight of Wyoming, and Red Lodge Fire Rescue.

The official investigation is ongoing, but Brown said preliminary reports indicate there were only two likely causes: a medical emergency or operator inattention.

“The fatality we had yesterday wasn't even on a hairpin curve,” he said. “It was a very soft curve in a very beautiful area. The only things that make sense are either a medical situation or distraction, but we're still waiting for the official report.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Curves Ahead"}]

According to Brown, WHP troopers have interviewed several people who were injured in motorcycle accidents on 212 and 296. Many of them have shared similar narratives of what led to their crashes.

“When troopers have spoken to the riders, a lot of accidents occurred when they were coming around one of those tight hairpin turns,” he said. “A lot of times they were following that white line on the outside, called the fog line.”

As motorcyclists followed the fog line and came to a tight curve, they were going too fast for a safe turn, Brown said. As they attempted to navigate the turn, they overcorrected and, with little to no shoulder, drove off the road.

That scenario explains a majority of motorcycle crashes on 212 and 296, but it doesn’t account for what happened to the victim of Thursday’s accident.

For Brown, a contributing factor to these accidents isn’t the road, it’s the landscape.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"A View To Not Die For"}]

The Beartooth and Chief Joseph Scenic highways are among the most spectacular mountain highways in the United States. They’re renowned for their vistas, which would turn anyone’s head.

Motorcyclists can turn their heads more than most, which could easily be part of the problem, Brown said.

“When you're on a motorcycle or bike, the only limit on what you can see is how far you can turn your head. It's easy to get distracted if something catches your eye, like a hawk, other wildlife, or just the view.”

Just like the tight turns, many motorcyclists might not anticipate the sheer beauty of their surroundings. That would mean they’re also unprepared for the other hazards they could encounter.

“Things can happen on 212 and 296 that you won’t be ready for if you don’t anticipate them,” Brown said. “That's going to be weather. That's going to be wildlife popping out of nowhere. Another thing our troopers are learning from post-crash interviews is that it’s easy to get distracted up there.”

 on 216 and 296, but it’s especially dangerous for motorcycles following the fog line with no buffer between them, the side of the highway, and anything in front of them.

“There's already such a small margin for error on a motorcycle to begin with, and that margin’s even smaller on those roads,” Brown said.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Sturgis Surge"}]

One of the biggest annual events in the western U.S. could make the accident total even higher.

The 86th Sturgis Motorcycle Rally starts Aug. 7 in South Dakota. Thousands of motorcycle enthusiasts will be traveling there from across the country and often take a detour across the Beartooth and Chief Joseph highways on their route.

Brown said WHP troopers aren’t worried about or anticipating an increase in serious or fatal motorcycle accidents before and after Sturgis, but they hope everyone will be aware of the motorcyclists cruising through Wyoming. There was a 

“We're going to see a lot more coming through, going to and coming from Sturgis, all over the state,” he said. “Just because they come up Cheyenne, going up U.S. 85 to the Black Hills, doesn’t mean they won’t take a detour to see the beautiful Beartooth Highway.”

While 212 and 296 might be more prone to motorcycle accidents, Brown wanted to remind all drivers that Wyoming is a beautiful state.

“It can happen anywhere in Wyoming,” he said. “If they’re heading to Sturgis, they’ll be in the Black Hills. Devils Tower is right there. Medicine Bow National Forest is a popular route. All kinds of things you can see and get distracted by.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Be Prepared And Aware"}]

We won’t know the extent of Wyoming’s 2026 road and highway accidents until 2027. That’s when all the incident reports from across the state will be compiled and analyzed.

From what he’s heard from WHP troopers, Brown is already anticipating more motorcycle accidents across Wyoming. On the same day as the fatal incident on the Beartooth Highway, another motorcycle fatality was reported in Casper.

According to the Casper Police Department, a single-vehicle motorcycle crash occurred near the intersection of King Boulevard and West 13th Street on Thursday morning. The driver, a 20-year-old Casper resident, died from the injuries.

[{"type":"text","text":"The cause of the accident is under investigation."}]

Brown and WHP troopers will be keeping a wary eye on the Beartooth and Chief Joseph highways. At least two months of good weather remain, and thousands of motorcycles could cruise through.

“We want our drivers, both visiting and local, to be aware of the increase in riders. Look twice, save a life,” Brown said.

According to Brown, the best way to avoid accidents is to think and act before burning rubber. Preventative actions, coupled with extra attention on the road, can go a long way during a long drive.  

“It comes down to personal choice,” he said. “Paying attention, buckling up, wearing a helmet, ignoring or getting rid of distractions, and focusing on the road are choices. Only you can make them.”

Brown had a specific message for anyone planning to travel along U.S. 212 and WY 296, especially if they’ll be on a motorcycle.

“If you’re going to do the Beartooth or Chief Joseph, ride within your skills and slow down,” he said. “It’s not a place you want to be crashing out on.”

Beartooth Highway Chris Howes via Alamy 7 31 26

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

<title>More Motorcycle Crashes On Beartooth Highway Than The Last Four Years Combined | Cowboy State Daily</title>

The Wyoming Highway Patrol has responded to more motorcycle crashes on the Beartooth Highway this year than the last four combined, including Thursday's fatality. With the Sturgis Rally looming, they're fearful of more crashes on the scenic mountain road.

More Motorcycle Crashes On Beartooth Highway Than The Last Four Years Combined

Kolby fedore

Kolby Fedore

Crime & Courts

A Colorado man wanted on 78 felony child exploitation charges was arrested Tuesday while working at a Saratoga sawmill, where authorities say he had been living and working for about five weeks before investigators tracked him to Carbon County.

Joshua Frasier, born in 1982, was taken into custody without incident after Saratoga Police Chief John Moore received a call from a Montrose County, Colorado, investigator around 12:30 p.m.

The investigator told Moore authorities received information that Frasier was working at Saratoga Forest Management, a sawmill on the south side of town.

Moore confirmed the felony warrant, obtained Frasier's driver's license photograph and asked a Carbon County Sheriff's Office deputy to assist with the arrest.

About 50 minutes later, the officers arrived at the mill and arrested Frasier while he was on the job.

[{"type":"text","text":"\"He was cooperative through the arrest,\" Moore told Cowboy State Daily."}]

Frasier was transported to the Carbon County Detention Center, where he was booked on the Colorado warrant.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Living At Campground"}]

[{"type":"text","text":"A warrant for Frasier's arrest was issued July 10 in Montrose County."}]

During the arrest, Frasier told officers he had been in the Saratoga area for about five weeks and had been staying at the Saratoga Lake Campground, Moore said.

Frasier also told officers they had previously gone to his parents' home in Montrose looking for him. According to Moore, Frasier said he believed that visit was related to a family-services matter and did not appear to know a warrant had been issued for his arrest.

According to court records, Frasier is charged with 50 counts of procurement of a child for sexual exploitation and 28 counts of sexual exploitation of a child.

Colorado law defines procurement of a child for sexual exploitation as "causing, inducing, enticing or permitting a child to engage in sexually exploitative conduct for the production of sexually exploitative material."

The charging documents filed in Wyoming do not describe the allegations supporting the case.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Waived Extradition"}]

Frasier appeared Wednesday in Carbon County Circuit Court, where he waived his extradition hearing.

By waiving extradition, Frasier agreed to return to Colorado without contesting the transfer in Wyoming court.

Colorado authorities now have 10 days to take custody of him and transport him back to Montrose County to face the charges.

Cowboy State Daily sought the arrest affidavit and other investigative records to learn more about the allegations in the Colorado case.

The Montrose County courthouse said the affidavit could only be obtained in person.

Ed Thompson, records supervisor for the Montrose County Sheriff's Office, declined to release investigative records, telling Cowboy State Daily the agency does not release documents that "may hinder a case getting prosecuted."

As a result, the allegations underlying the 78 felony charges were not immediately available Friday.

A comment from the Montrose County District Attorney's Office was not returned. 

Saratoga town sign 2 6 29 23

<title>Colorado Man Wanted On 78 Child Exploitation Charges Arrested At Saratoga Sawmill | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Colorado Man Wanted On 78 Child Exploitation Charges Arrested At Saratoga Sawmill

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

Greg Johnson

Courts

A Green River man who manipulated four underage children into performing sex acts on each other claims he didn’t entice the kids into “explicit sexual conduct” and that the 21-30 years he got in prison is cruel and unusual punishment.

The Wyoming Supreme Court disagrees in a Thursday ruling denying William J. Duncan’s appeal.

The justices didn’t buy Duncan’s legal arguments that even though he enticed the children to digitally penetrate and use sex toys on each other, that didn’t meet the legal standard for “explicit sexual conduct,” according to the ruling.

They also said, given that Duncan, 51, could have drawn a prison sentence of between 30 and 72 years, the 21-30 he got isn’t “cruel.”

“We therefore do not need to consider whether Mr. Duncan’s sentence shocks the moral sense of the people, and we decline his invitation to compare his sentence to those in other criminal cases,” the Thursday decision says.

A third prong of Duncan’s appeal also was denied by the high court — that the jury may not have been unanimous on some of his charges.

Duncan was convicted in July 2025 by a Sweetwater County jury of six counts of sexual exploitation of a child, two of endangering children, and one count of unlawful contact without bodily injury.

Because there were four child victims in the case, the county District Court judge imposed four sentences, to run consecutively. That includes three 7-to-10-year sentences and five years of supervised probation after prison.

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

The convictions stem from events that unfolded in about 2021 and 2022, when Duncan encouraged a pre-teen child into multiple sexual acts, some with an older teen and some with two other preteens, according to the Supreme Court’s ruling.

Duncan furnished sex toys and alcohol to at least one child as well, according to an evidentiary affidavit Sweetwater County Criminal Chief Deputy Attorney Micaela Lira compiled from the notes of Green River Police Department Detective Martha Holzgrafe and Sgt. Lars Nandrup.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"Duncan did not testify at his trial."}]

The jury deliberated four hours after the trial ended, Sweetwater County Attorney Daniel Erramouspe 

he charging mechanism in Duncan’s case was unique, Erramouspe added.

“We charged him the statute that’s usually applied to child pornography (cases),” he said, referring to child sexual exploitation. “But the facts of the case fit it.”

Wyoming doesn't have a "grooming" statute, though the Legislature discussed passing one earlier in 2025. 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Yes,  That Was ‘Explicit’"}]

The investigation started in January 2025, when a counselor alerted Green River Police Department investigators to potential criminal activity.

The victim spoke to police and gave a forensic interview that implicated Duncan in sexual enticement and grooming, and physical violence, the affidavit says.

Police also reviewed text messages between Duncan and the victim in which Duncan demanded the victim delete their communications.

Other text messages show the pair discussing alcohol and the child talking about being drunk; and others show Duncan discussing with the child the “practicing” of sexual acts, the document says.

The Wyoming Supreme Court justices also point out some of the specifics behind Duncan’s convictions, including how he groomed the child and tried to hide the behavior from other adults.

That’s included in what the court cites in dismissing Duncan’s argument that the acts the children performed on themselves weren’t “explicit” conduct, according to Wyoming law.

“Mr. Duncan’s conduct of encouraging the Minor Child to digitally penetrate and use sexual devices on (another minor child) constitutes ‘explicit sexual conduct,’ and the convictions … are supported by sufficient evidence,” Thursday’s opinion says.

Duncan also unsuccessfully argued in his appeal that there wasn’t enough evidence to support that he “enticed” minor children into sex acts, according to the opinion.

William Duncan and Green River 7 31 26

<title>Supreme Court Says 30 Years Green River Man Got For Exploiting Kids Isn't Cruel | Cowboy State Daily</title>

A Green River man who manipulated four underage children into performing sex acts on each other claims that the 21-30 years he got in prison is cruel and unusual punishment. The Wyoming Supreme Court disagrees in a Thursday denial of his appeal.

Supreme Court Says 30 Years Green River Man Got For Exploiting Kids Isn't Cruel

A Texas truck driver accused of going on an angry rampage near Greybull, cussing out a coworker, then trying to run down three men while giving them the finger out the window of his semitrailer, could face up to 30 years in prison.

William Eric Vauter, 58, remains in the Big Horn County Detention Center after being bound over to district court Wednesday to face three felony charges of aggravated assault and battery, according to court records.

Vauter, who is from Houston, Texas, had been in a crash on County Road 26 outside Greybull, Wyoming, two days before and was visibly angry and hostile to a coworker and tow truck driver who had responded to retrieve his damaged semi, reports Big Horn County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Nathan Kreider in an affidavit of probable cause to support the charges.

He repeatedly cursed at the other men — and Kreider, who had responded to the scene to provide traffic control — and was belligerent after he nearly ran down the three other men in a semi doing at least 60 mph while barreling through the accident recovery scene, Kreider says in his affidavit.

“I observed a semi, white in color, travelling southbound from the bentonite plant towards our recovery scene at a high rate of speed,” the deputy wrote. “I started waving down the truck to slow down through the recovery area.”

Kreider also set the scene, explaining the tow truck had its flashing lights on, cones were out in the road to section off the area of the recovery, along with his emergency vehicle with lights flashing. Also, Kreider was in the road attempting to direct traffic.

“I was in the middle of the southbound lane in clear view of the driver, waving my arms above my head to get his attention,” Kreider wrote. “The semi did not reduce speed and continued towards the scene at a high rate of speed.”

The deputy says he yelled at the other two men to get out of the way, as they also were in the path of the semi.

“I attempted again to slow the semi down, and he did not comply,” the affidavit continues. “By that time, the semi was well within our recovery scene. It appeared that the driver had complete disregard for the safety of myself and the recovery crew.”

That’s when Kreider noticed something else that indicated the driver allegedly deliberately tried to hit them.

“I quickly looked at the driver and observed his left hand out the driver’s window giving the recovery workers the middle finger,” he wrote.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Cussing And Middle Fingers"}]

The table was set for the apparent road rage tantrum two days prior on July 20, when Vauter was driving another semitrailer on County Road 26 and was involved in a crash, disabling his truck.

On July 22, a man from a tow recovery service and a coworker of Vauter's from his trucking company, Marquardt Skyway Transportation, were working to remove the damaged truck, Kreider wrote in his affidavit.

The coworker had hauled another truck with him for Vauter to drive back to South Dakota after the crashed semi was secured.

While the coworker and tow driver worked, Vauter was angry with his coworker for reasons not described in the affidavit.

The coworker told the deputy that Vauter “was cussing him out off and on while they were working on the semi,” the affidavit says. “(He) stated that Vauter was in the spare semi that he had hauled to the scene for Vauter to drive back to South Dakota.”

A little later, Kreider wrote that he “observed (the coworker) go to the white semi and tell Vauter he could hook up to a flatbed trailer. Vauter exited his truck and immediately started screaming, ‘f*** you, f*** you’ and giving (the coworker) the middle finger on both hands.”

Vauter did hook the flatbed trailer to the white semi he was driving that day, and he left the scene going northbound toward the nearby bentonite plant, the affidavit says.

For the next 20 minutes, the other men worked to get the crashed truck secured.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Still Mad"}]

Then all heck broke loose as a white semi came racing back toward them from the same direction Vauter had left, the affidavit says.

As the other two men dove to avoid being hit by the semi driven by Vauter, Kreider reports that it came within a foot of making him a hood ornament.

After twice trying to stop the semi, “I then attempted to get out of the way to the west side of the roadway as the semi sped through the scene at an estimated speed of 60 mph or higher,” he wrote. “The semi came within approximately 1 foot of hitting me.

“As the semi passed me, I was close enough to feel the heat coming off the semi and a wall of displaced air sucking me towards the passing semi.”

After making sure the other two men were OK, Kreider wrote that he got into his patrol vehicle and pursued the semi, finally catching up and stopping it about 1.5 miles down the highway.

“After the semi stopped, the driver got out of the cab and aggressively walked towards my patrol truck,” Kreider wrote. “I recognized the driver to be Vauter.”

He got out and met Vauter at the back of his trailer, where the Texas man continued to be agitated, the affidavit says.

“He was upset about the traffic stop and argued that he did not see the emergency vehicles and that he did not speed through the scene,” according to the affidavit. “He did state that he was ‘going the speed limit of 65 mph’ through the scene.”

That’s when Kreider says he informed Vauter that the speed limit on that road is 50 mph.

Vauter also “denied almost hitting myself as well as the two other recovery workers,” he wrote.

Vauter remains in jail on a $50,000 cash-only bond, and a date for his arraignment in Big Horn County District Court hasn’t yet been set.

Each of the three aggravated assault and battery charges is punishable by up to 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $10,000, or both.

That puts a potential maximum sentence, if convicted, at up to 30 years in prison and fines of up to $30,000.

William Eric Vautner 7 31 26

<title>Texas Trucker Accused Of Nearly Mowing Down 3 Men In Angry Rampage Near Greybull | Cowboy State Daily</title>

A Texas truck driver is accused of going on an angry rampage near Greybull and trying to run down three men. That includes a Big Horn County deputy, who “observed his left hand out the driver’s window giving the middle finger” as he nearly hit them.

Texas Trucker Accused Of Nearly Mowing Down 3 Men In Angry Rampage Near Greybull

Kerry Drake

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

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.

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."

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