Latest from Zakary Sonntag
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
Evansville Man Draws Swastikas Outside Town Hall To Protest Pride Flags
An Evansville man drew more than a dozen swastikas on walkways around city hall and the police station Tuesday to protest LGBTQ Pride flags planted outside the buildings. He then told the town council he’ll keep drawing them until the Pride flags are gone.
Zakary SonntagJune 11, 2025
Drinking Wyoming: At The Desert Bar In Wamsutter, You’re On Your Own
If you're looking for a fun place to grab drinks and mingle on a Saturday night in Wamsutter, population 193, here are two words for you: Good luck. There’s one option, the Desert Bar.
Zakary SonntagJune 08, 2025
Wamsutter, Wyoming: A Dusty Blip On I-80 Where Everyone Knows Your Business
Welcome to Wamsutter, Wyoming, a tiny blip along Interstate 80 where life runs through the Love’s truck stop and everyone knows your business. Like the truckers and travelers who undergird its economy, most citizens here have all blown in from elsewhere.
Zakary SonntagJune 07, 2025
Casper Gravel Pit Killed By State Land Board
The State Board of Land Commissioners on Thursday denied the renewal of six leases for a controversial gravel mining operation on state-owned land at the base of Casper Mountain. The vote is a victory for locals who waged a 14-month fight against the pit.
Zakary SonntagJune 06, 2025
Flesh-Eating Parasite Inches Closer To US Border And Wyoming Cattle
To say the New World Screwworm is a nasty parasite would be an understatement. The flesh-eating scourge that tortures cattle as it kills has been making its way toward the United States. Wyoming cattle ranchers are watching closely.
Zakary SonntagMay 31, 2025
Collar Of Duty: Training Police K-9s To Serve And Protect Is No Walk In The Park
Getting K-9 officers up to snuff is no walk in the park, as a new class of canine cadets training with the Casper Police Department is learning. These dogs have become an essential asset in the work of interdiction as narcotics hit communities across Wyoming.
Zakary SonntagMay 25, 2025
What The Heck … Are Those 30-Foot Beehive-Looking Things Off I-80 Near Evanston?
Less than 10 miles south of Interstate 80 east of Evanston is a cluster of 30-foot limestone beehive-looking things. Built in 1869, they’re the Piedmont Charcoal Kilns, remarkably preserved symbols of Wyoming’s early history.
Zakary SonntagMay 25, 2025
Wyoming Groups Lobby To Reverse $400 Million In Cuts To AmeriCorps
A number of Wyoming groups are lobbying the state’s congressional delegation to reverse $400 million in cuts to AmeriCorps. But, so far, they have expressed support for DOGE and its mission to cut wasteful spending.
Zakary SonntagMay 05, 2025
Wyoming-Made Honor Bears Give Strength To Gold Star Families
A Wyoming woman’s mission to help gold star military and first-responder families does more than give them renewed strength. Her Bears of Honor program uses their uniforms to make Teddy bears that keeps their service and honor alive.
Zakary SonntagMay 04, 2025
Wyoming’s Most Wish-Listed Vacation Rentals Are Remote Cabins And A Dome
Wyoming’s short term-rental market stands apart from the rest of the country. The state’s most wish-listed vacation rentals show people want to be in the middle of nowhere, but they don't necessarily want to rough it.
Zakary SonntagMay 03, 2025
Drinking Wyoming: Butch's Bar, Name It If You Can
Trying to label Butch’s Bar in Evansville is like trying to nail a Jell-O shot to the wall. It’s a dive bar that moonlights as a dance club. It’s a neighborhood bar that wands you for weapons at the door. It’s a biker bar where bikers don't like it when you call it a biker bar.
Zakary SonntagMay 03, 2025
Trucking Community Devastated By Fatal I-80 Hit-And-Run Near Rock Springs
Four days after a semitruck driver was killed while stopped on the shoulder of I-80 near Rock Springs, the Wyoming Highway Patrol is escalating its search for the hit-and-run driver. Industry insiders say they’re devastated by the “freak” incident.
Zakary SonntagApril 29, 2025
Wyoming Catholics React To Death Of Pope Francis With Eye To Future For Church
Wyoming Catholics are reacting to the death of Pope Francis with sorrow and hope. Even a self-described Casper “cafeteria Catholic” says it’s affected him emotionally, and he’s “excited to see who the new pope is” going to be.
Zakary SonntagApril 27, 2025
Tech Squeezes Millions More Barrels Of Oil From Wyoming Wells
Wyoming’s Enhanced Oil Recovery Institute is partnering with private companies to give aging oil fields a new lease on life. The technology is allowing millions more barrels of oil to be squeezed out of existing wells.
Zakary SonntagApril 13, 2025
Robot Horses Are Coming — Would A Real Wyoming Cowboy Ride One?
It’s not science fiction anymore — Kawasaki has unveiled it’s developing a futuristic, hydrogen-powered, fully-functional and rideable robot horse. Would Wyoming cowboys ever replace their real horses with robots?
Zakary SonntagApril 13, 2025
He Thought He Was Going To Die, Then He Killed Osama bin Laden
The man credited with killing the world’s most wanted terrorist tells Cowboy State Daily the May 2, 2011, mission to kill Osama bin Laden “went to hell” from the start. He thought he was going to die, then put three bullets into bin Laden’s head.
Zakary SonntagApril 12, 2025
With Wyoming Already The Least Populated State, Rural Counties In Decline
Rural populations in Wyoming are shrinking in more than half of the state's counties, recent Census data shows. Local officials and businesses in rural counties say fewer people makes it harder to thrive.
Zakary SonntagApril 07, 2025
Instantly More Collectible: No One Wants Pennies, Until They're Gone
President Donald Trump’s order in February to stop minting new pennies has many people saying good riddance. It’s also creating a buzz because pennies are now instantly more collectible.
Zakary SonntagApril 06, 2025
How Much Does It Cost To Die In Wyoming? It Can Be Nothing Or Tens Of Thousands
Dying in Wyoming can be expensive for those left behind, but how expensive depends on a wide range of choices. It could cost nothing, as it’s legal to bury someone in your backyard, or it could cost $7,000 to $12,000 — or more — through a funeral home.
Zakary SonntagMarch 30, 2025
Wyoming Tow Truck Crews Respond To All Calls On TV’s ‘Rocky Mountain Wreckers’
When a semi-trailer carrying 85,000 pounds of cow manure hit a patch of ice and went hurtling into a ditch, Cheyenne’s Big Al’s Towing was called — one of two Wyoming crews featured on the new TV show “Rocky Mountain Wreckers.”
Zakary SonntagMarch 23, 2025