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Zakary Sonntag

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From a tiny, rural agency to a modernized force, the Shoshoni Police Department has changed — even if its infamous speed check and reliance on revenue from tickets haven’t. And don’t call it a “trap,” the chief says.

Shoshoni Police Write Thousands Of Speeding Tickets — But Don’t Call It A Trap

Although the town of Shoshoni has a reputation for having a speed trap, the chief of police disputes that. He says the reason 2,372 speeding tickets were issued last year is that people were a threat to public safety and without consequences, you can’t change behavior.

Zakary SonntagAugust 24, 2025

Cattle are detained in the pens of the Chihuahua Regional Livestock Union at the Jeronimo-Santa Teresa border crossing in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, on Nov. 27, 2024. The United States stops imports of Mexican cattle due to the presence of screwworm. After a case of screwworm was identified in the town of Catazaja, in Chiapas, the United States chose to temporarily suspend imports of live Mexican cattle.

Wyoming Rancher Still Has Nightmares About Flesh-Eating Screwworm As U.S. On Alert

As the threat of a nasty flesh-eating screwworm grows, cattle ranchers across the United States are on high alert. One rancher in Crook County, Wyoming, saw screwworms feast on her family’s cattle decades ago, and says it’s the stuff of nightmares.

Zakary SonntagAugust 23, 2025

When a pair of electricians from Casper found Bob Newman lying face-down along Wyoming Highway 28 on Monday, they thought he was dead. Then he groaned. While Newman's daughter calls the men heroes, they say they did what anyone would have.

They Thought The Biker Lying Face-Down By Wyoming Road Was Dead, Then He Groaned

When two electricians from Casper found a biker lying face-down along Wyoming Highway 28 on Monday, they thought he was dead. Then he groaned. "They're my dad's angels,” sobbed the man's daughter from an Intensive Care Unit at the University of Utah Hospital.

Zakary SonntagAugust 17, 2025

Jennifer Dyke with father and brother at Sturgis.

Sturgis In The Rear View Mirror: A Father’s Memory Lives On At The Annual Rally

Another Sturgis Motorcycle Rally has come and gone. For Jennifer Dyke, who has made the pilgrimage for decades, it's an annual honoring of her father’s passion for riding and preserves a family tradition shared by bikers from around the world.

Zakary SonntagAugust 16, 2025

Bikers, Journalists and even cops — everyone gets red at One Eyed Jack’s Saloon during the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. The only thing that kills the buzz is some guy named “Insufficient Funds.”

Drinking Sturgis : One Eyed Jack's Saloon Makes Everyone Blush

The main level of One Eyed Jack's is a vast, open-air layout with a dozen separate island bars. It feels kind of like a junior high cafeteria. That is, if in this junior high cafeteria women wear thongs, bartenders paddle patrons on the derriere and random dudes invite you to pet a 30-pound boa constrictor.

Zakary SonntagAugust 10, 2025

Special Officer Aaron Conner says working the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally is a bucket-list item for his career in law enforcement.

A Night In Sturgis Jail Isn't Pretty

When arrests at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally get too high, officials resort to an overflow jail, a quasi-retired 1950s era jailhouse. “When you have 50+ drunk individuals who aren’t happy to be there, haven’t showered in a few days, highly intoxicated, it gets thick back there,” a prison official said.

Zakary SonntagAugust 10, 2025

Bikers thunder through the Black Hills, turning roadways into a roaring spectacle for the 85th Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. As choppers, trikes and baggers rumble through the hills, the question remains: Does Sturgis still capture the spirit of rebellion?

Sturgis At 85: Does The Legendary Motorcycle Rally Still Have Its Edge?

As the 85th Sturgis Motorcycle Rally winds up this weekend, one biker said he misses the old days. He laments the presence of khaki shorts and tennis shoes. He bemoans the rally’s turn toward family friendliness, evidenced by the declining numbers of topless women.

Zakary SonntagAugust 09, 2025

Cody, Wyoming, native Megan Anderson is up before sunrise every day, researching the financial markets for her job as vice president of client relations for a real estate firm. Her office is a Ford Transit van she’s lived in for the better part of a year, along with her traveling companion, Snoop.

Living In A Van Down By The River: Why Cody Woman Loves Living In A Van

Cody native Megan Anderson is up before sunrise Friday, researching the financial markets for her job as vice president of client relations for a real estate firm. Her office is a Ford Transit van she’s lived in for the better part of a year.

Zakary SonntagAugust 03, 2025

A familiar voice across Wyoming airwaves for decades, Larry Proietti is fighting a disfiguring cancer that nearly silenced him for good. With resilience and grit, the veteran broadcaster continues to inspire on and off the mic.

Wyoming Radio Legend Overcoming Disfiguring Surgeries From Battles With Cancer

A familiar voice across Cheyenne airwaves for decades, Larry Proietti is still overcoming numerous cancer surgeries that has left him disfigured. With resilience and grit, the veteran broadcaster continues to inspire on and off the mic.

Zakary SonntagAugust 02, 2025

Tup Forge can’t believe she got the gold buckle at the Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo.

Women Bronc Riders Break All The Rodeo Stereotypes

From bruised riders to seasoned champions, women ranch bronc riders are breaking all the rodeo stereotypes. They compete in a dangerous sport, challenge decades of exclusion and prove they’re not costume cowgirls.

Zakary SonntagJuly 27, 2025

Young bull riders are redefining the image of the Western rodeo cowboy. Those like No. 1-ranked Wacey Schalla, 19, prove you don’t have to be grizzled and jaded to embody the grit and style of rodeo’s top athletes.

Wacey Schalla: What It's Like To Be The World's Top-Ranked Bull Rider

Bull riders have been coming to Cheyenne Frontier Days rodeo for close to a century. But they arrived this year in a moment when rodeo, and the wider Western culture, has never been cooler, as the entire nation appears enthralled with anything to do with the American West.

Zakary SonntagJuly 26, 2025

Michael and Sandra O'Hare are a pair of New Yorkers who say they love the Western culture shock that comes with being a visitor at Cheyenne Frontier Days.

New Yorkers Love The Western Culture Shock That Comes With Cheyenne Frontier Days

Cheyenne Frontier Days has officially busted out of the chute of its 129th year, bringing wall-to-wall cowboy culture to the masses. For city slickers from New York, they cite the cowboy fashion, the attention-deficit proof rodeo and western culture shock as reasons they keep coming back.

Zakary SonntagJuly 19, 2025

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Nate Janousek, whose company Fun Biz is the exclusive concessionaire for Cheyenne Frontier Days, shows off his pistachio goat cheese pizza drizzled with hot honey.

Eating Cheyenne Frontier Days: Bringing An Elevated Approach To So-Called Carnival Food

Rather than traffic in cheap thrills, Cheyenne Frontier Days' head concessionaire, Nate Janousek, brings an elevated approach to so-called carnival food. He's not above the traditions of fair food but seeks to marry gimmick with sophistication -- like his hot honey goat cheese pizza and his pineapple chicken bowl.

Zakary SonntagJuly 19, 2025

An ironic twist of fate put a Wyoming monument to railroad power brokers out of sight and mind. But that’s not the only thing out of sight with the Ames Monument — there are hidden tunnels inside. And they may never be opened again.

The Last Person To Explore The Hidden Tunnels In Ames Monument

The remote Ames Monument in southeastern Wyoming is a complete oddity. Although there are four levels of tunnels in the pyramidic structure, it's been sealed up for decades. It was unsealed, however, for one day in 2010 and a descendant of the Ames' family was allowed to explore it.

Zakary SonntagJuly 13, 2025

Dave Simpson and Larry Ash, both 74, worked together to build a cabin in Wyoming’s remote Snowy Range mountains 44 years ago and made a pact to build another. Decades later, the retirees are making good on that promise.

Two Old Guys Build A Cabin By Hand In Wyoming’s Snowy Range

High up in Wyoming's Snowy Range Mountains – off grid, out of cell range and deep into black bear country at 9,500 feet – two old timers are building a cabin. They first built one 44 years ago. They made a promise to do it again and are "working like dogs" to get it finished.

Zakary SonntagJuly 12, 2025

Her name was Florence, but everyone called her Flo, which had double meaning for a woman who lived life in constant motion. That’s how hundreds of people in Jackson remembered Florence McCall-Phillips on Saturday, June 28, 2025, a week after her sudden death.

Hundreds Mourn Jackson Photographer Killed By Suspected Drunk Driver

Hundreds of Jackson Hole residents turned out to remember beloved photographer Florence McCall-Phillips on Saturday, a week after she was killed by a suspected drunk driver.

Zakary SonntagJune 30, 2025

Bartender Steve Mullen catches some fresh air in the doorway of the Lucky 5 Lounge in Shoshoni, Wyoming.

Drinking Wyoming: Shoshoni’s Lucky 5 Is A Whisky And Beer Dive That Has Your Back

At the Lucky 5 Lounge in Shoshoni, the regulars can tell you’re an out-of-towner the second you walk through the door. “You’re not from around here, are you?” they ask when you order wine. This is a whisky and beer bar but they won't hold that wine order against you.

Zakary SonntagJune 28, 2025

A view of the Grand Tetons by Kelly Minor.

Popular Wyoming Facebook Group Decimated By Algorithm Revamp

Wyoming Through The Lens has nearly 465,000 members, making it one of the state’s largest Facebook communities. But a revamp of the platform’s algorithm has decimated its traffic, leaving its creator saddened. "It breaks my heart to see what’s happened to it,” Lorri Lang said.

Zakary SonntagJune 22, 2025

Joran Cochran smiles for a photo with his dog Apollo.

Wyoming Suicide: Rock Springs Teen Screamed He Wanted To Die, Then Made It Happen

The mother of a Rock Springs teen said she desperately tried to get help for her tormented son, even as he refused it. He would scream he wanted to die, until the day he made it happen.

Zakary SonntagJune 21, 2025

Alison Streeter organizes her road trip gear before hitting the road headed west in her Tesla.

Trump, Musk And The Politics Of Being A Tesla Owner In Wyoming

Tesla owners in Wyoming have been targets of vandalism, harassment and internal strife since Elon Musk joined the Trump administration. Now that the Trump-Musk alliance has hit the skids, Tesla owners are hoping all the drama just goes away.

Zakary SonntagJune 15, 2025

As the latest example in the growing trend of scams that impersonate state agencies, residents are being targeted by fraudsters posing as the Wyoming Department of Transportation. It’s a fake ticket scheme that highlights how hackers have gotten smarter.

Text Scammers Target Wyomingites Posing As State Agencies

As the latest example in a growing trend of text scams that impersonate state agencies, residents are being targeted by fraudsters posing as the Wyoming Department of Transportation. It’s a fake ticket scheme that highlights how hackers have gotten smarter.

Zakary SonntagJune 11, 2025