Wyoming Life
News
Crumbling Rural Campbell County Community Hall Fading Fast Despite Push To Save It
A rural building once was used by ranching families for church, dances, and school in southern Campbell County is fading fast despite efforts to save it. About 90 years old, it hasn't been used since a minister from Casper held a service there in 1976.
Dale KillingbeckSeptember 27, 2026

Wyoming History: Cody Man’s Romantic Rivals Were Murdered & His Story Became A Movie
Wyoming sheepherder and oil field worker Albert “Bert” Lampitt never got the girl. But when his romantic rivals got the girl, they got murdered. One by a rigged shotgun and the other through dynamite. He was never convicted and his story became a movie.
Dale KillingbeckSeptember 27, 2026

Who Knew? University Of Wyoming Has Original Script And Score For ‘Sound Of Music’
The original script and music score for the 1965 classic “The Sound Of Music” are part of the American Heritage Center’s collection at the University of Wyoming. That's because associate producer Saul Chaplin donated them to the university in 1972.
Dale KillingbeckSeptember 27, 2026

Auction Raises $100K After Artists Recreate Pronghorn Sculptures Smashed By Wind
After a truck full of painted pronghorn sculptures was demolished on a windy Wyoming highway last year, artists regrouped and recreated 10 more sculptures for a Gillette Rockpile Museum Association fundraiser. The auction earlier this month raised more than $100,000.
Jen KocherSeptember 27, 2026

Goat Yoga And High Tech Healing: Inside Wyoming's Booming Wellness Tourism Trend
Wyoming visitors are saying they want more than Yellowstone, skiing and roughing it in the outdoors. They want a reset, and that demand is fueling a booming health tourism industry with everything from goat yoga to high-tech thermal experiences.
Renée JeanSeptember 27, 2026

University Of Wyoming Trying To Save Lost Lakota Language Through Video Game
University of Wyoming developers and their Standing Rock Sioux tribal partners are trying to save the Lakota language, now spoken fluently by only about 2,000 people in North America. They hope a video game guided by a canine character will help.
Kerry DrakeSeptember 27, 2026

How A Trophy Bondurant Ranch Used Pre-Auction Panic To Force A $15 Million Sale
After 14 months without a buyer, a Bondurant ranch played a high-stakes game of real estate poker by putting the property up for a no-reserve auction. The resulting panic prompted a buyer to make a preemptive $15 million offer the ranch couldn’t refuse.
Renée JeanSeptember 27, 2026

Lucy Rose Was Lonely, So She Started A Road Trip And A Public Health Initiative
Lucy Rose is walking across 17 states, including Wyoming, to confront loneliness. The founder of a public health initiative to combat chronic loneliness, she says the condition is caustic to our health. “We lose years of our life when we don’t connect."
Renée JeanSeptember 27, 2026

Rising Gillette Rodeo Star Who Broke His Back During Bareback Ride Turns To Music
Gillette College bareback rider Cooper Filipek was a rising star when his career was abruptly interrupted in August after a horse rolled over him and broke his back during a bareback ride. Now he’s turning to his other passion — music — during his rehab.
Julie MankinSeptember 27, 2026

The Pumpkin Drop Is Back! 1,551-Pound Pumpkin Dropped From 200-Foot Crane Explodes
A tradition unlike any other. A 1,551-pound pumpkin led the way in getting dropped from a 200-foot crane in Worland on Saturday afternoon to the delight of a cheering crowd. More than five tons of pumpkins exploded at the annual Wyoming Pumpkin Drop.
Andrew RossiSeptember 27, 2026

Wyoming People: Reba Teran Keeps Alive The Art Of Making Shoshone Woman’s Saddle
Reba Teran is resurrecting a nearly forgotten Shoshone art that's often depicted wrong in Western art. The traditional women's saddles are made of wood and covered in rawhide. Frederic Remington is one artist called out for putting male warriors in high-horned women’s saddles.
Jackie DorothySeptember 26, 2026

Casper Couple On A Mission To Visit Every Place Named ‘Paris’ In The U.S.
A Casper couple is on a mission to visit every place named “Paris” in the U.S. It’s a flashback 61 years to when as a young couple, they eloped to tiny Paris, Idaho, to get married. So far, “I probably enjoyed Paris, Illinois, the most," she said.
Jackie DorothySeptember 26, 2026

Wyoming History: Buffalo’s Stately 1880 Occidental Hotel Started As Frontier Tent
Buffalo's stately Occidental Hotel didn’t begin that way, starting as a frontier tent hosting early Wyoming miners. Eventually, the tent became a shack, then the two-story Occidental by 1880. For nearly 150 years, it’s been the social center of Buffalo.
Jackie DorothySeptember 26, 2026

Popular Cooking With Congress Creator Hosts Cheyenne Presidential Dinner Party
The creator of the popular Cooking With Congress series that delves into American history through food hosted a recent Cheyenne presidential dinner party. Diners ate bison steak like Teddy Roosevelt, drank a Kennedy and nibbled jelly beans like Reagan.
Renée JeanSeptember 26, 2026

Wyoming's Newest Fossils Are Chunky Jurassic Squids And Named After Ten Sleep Man
Wyoming's newest fossils are chunky 160-million-year-old squids found in northern Wyoming and named after Cliff Linster of Ten Sleep, who discovered them, and died in June. "I'm honored to have an extinct giant squid bear our family name," his son said.
Andrew RossiSeptember 26, 2026

Lander Silver Star Hero Reunited With Sniper Rifle He Used In Iraq 22 Years Ago
A Lander Marine, Silver Star hero and Iraq War vet was reunited with the sniper rifle he used during the Second Battle of Fallujah in 2004. He said it was surreal to hold it again after losing the rifle when he was severely wounded by mortar rounds.
Dale KillingbeckSeptember 26, 2026
Wyoming Tough: Casper Vet Killed While Barrel Racing Remembered As ‘Human Tornado’
Well-known Casper veterinarian Gail Mahnke died earlier this month after a barrel racing accident in Gillette. For friends who had spent decades trying to keep up with her, she was known as "Wyoming Tough." “She was like a human tornado,” one friend said.
Kolby FedoreSeptember 26, 2026
Streak Over: Natrona Snaps Sheridan’s Historic 59-Game Run With 38-0 Shutout
Sheridan High School’s varsity football team experienced something it hasn’t for nearly five years Friday night in Casper — the Broncs lost. The longest football win streak in Wyoming high school athletics history ended with a 38-0 loss to Natrona County.
Leo WolfsonSeptember 26, 2026
Dolly Look-Alikes Take Over Downtown Casper To Say Wyoming Will Always Love You
Downtown Casper honored the late country music legend Dolly Parton on Friday evening. Buffie LaRocca, the woman behind Dolly Day, said it's because everyone loved her. "You might be the worst person in the world, but you still love Dolly," she said.
Kolby FedoreSeptember 26, 2026

Mystery Orbs Are Back Over Cody, And UFO Expert Can't Explain Them
A Cody man watched nearly two dozen glowing orbs rise over Cedar Mountain west of town every night last winter. Then they vanished for months. Now they're back, and Wyoming's Mutual UFO Network director says he has no explanation for the video.
Emma Jane JacksonSeptember 26, 2026

Meet Scrappy, Lander Family’s Hyperactive Pet Red Fox Who’s An Attention Hog
Lander resident Adrian Zuniga turns heads everywhere he goes when walking his 6-month-old pet red fox Scrappy, who’s a hyperactive attention hog that loves to be petted. And yes, it’s legal to have a fox as a pet in Wyoming — if your county allows it.
Andrew RossiSeptember 25, 2026

Daredevil Oil Field Worker Who Died At Hobo Hot Springs Remembered As 'A Legend’
A daredevil oil field worker who died at Saratoga’s Hobo Hot Springs while on a back-to-nature road trip is being remembered by family and friends as a legend. He was known for his "naked downward doggin'" and standing on his motorcycle seat at 80 mph.
Kolby FedoreSeptember 24, 2026

Sheridan's Record 59-Game Win Streak Faces Biggest Test At Natrona On Friday
Sheridan High’s 59-game football winning streak is the longest in Wyoming history and second longest current streak in the nation. But the Broncs’ five-year run faces its biggest test Friday at co-No. 1-ranked Natrona County.
Leo WolfsonSeptember 24, 2026

Beartooth Highway To Close For Season Oct. 13 — If Snow Doesn't Shut It First
The Beartooth Highway will close Oct. 13, though snow is likely to shut it down earlier than that, says Cowboy State Daily meteorologist Don Day. The summit would have snow already if it weren't for the Super El Niño.
Andrew RossiSeptember 24, 2026
