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The difference between drinking coffee and tea.....

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Daily Smile: Thursday, April 16, 2026

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Daily Smile: Wednesday, April 15, 2026

Dog honking the horn makes CBS News......

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Daily Smile: Tuesday, April 14, 2026

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Daily Smile: Monday, April 13, 2026

Warning: dog attacks baby (with kisses).....

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Daily Smile: Sunday, April 12, 2026

Golden Retriever wearing a hat went viral devouring a full hot dog at the ballpark....

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Daily Smile: Saturday, April 11, 2026

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Daily Smile: Friday, April 10, 2026

We will never tire of these comparisons....

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Daily Smile: Thursday, April 9, 2026

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Daily Smile: Wednesday, April 8, 2026

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

Greg Johnson

Crime & Courts

Law Enforcement

Editor's note: Cowboy State Daily managing editor Greg Johnson is in Baggs and will update the story when new information is available.

— It was a busier-than-usual Monday at the Cowboy Inn Restaurant, Bar and Motel along Wyoming Highway 789 near the southern edge of town, which in this hamlet of 411 people near the Colorado border is about a two-minute drive from the northern end.

Across the highway, more than a dozen law enforcement vehicles were parked on the shoulder of the southbound lane. They represented nearly as many agencies from across central and southern Wyoming and northern Colorado.

They’ve all responded to a small, faded yellow, two-story apartment building that’s cordoned off with crime scene tape, along with a couple of nearby houses.

They’d been there since about noon, responding to reports of an 

 and a brief search for the suspect, according to a “shelter in place” order sent to area residents that said authorities were looking for an “active assailant.”

Before the Carbon County emergency services scanner went dark Monday, law enforcement personnel described the active shooter incident and manhunt, where at least one law enforcement officer was injured and a trooper’s car was “shot up.”

For Baggs Mayor Matthew Howell, that was the beginning of a long waiting game. He told Cowboy State Daily at about 7:15 p.m. Monday that his home is near the apartment building and that he wasn’t yet allowed back.

Earlier in the day, he described the situation to Cowboy State Daily simply as “it’s not good,” and declined to comment further, saying he wanted to wait until the initial investigation was over to know just what went down before possibly talking out of turn.

He reiterated that response later in the day and deferred further questions to investigators.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"Hanging Out"}]

Howell was one of dozens hanging out near and in the Cowboy Inn parking lot throughout Monday afternoon and evening.

There was only one topic of conversation: whatever happened in that apartment and how unusual it is for a law enforcement response this heavy in their quiet, small town.

“Oh yeah, this is for sure the most exciting thing that’s happened in … I can’t remember,” said one longtime resident eating a burger and fries from the tailgate of a pickup.

Like most people Cowboy State Daily spoke with, she declined to give and name, but was friendly and upbeat while gazing across the highway with concern.

At about 7 p.m., the parade of law enforcement vehicles cordoning off the apartment property from the highway parted to make way for a large trailer with “Sweetwater County Bomb Squad” printed on it.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"Initial Response"}]

By 9 p.m., there still hadn’t been any official reports about what happened or confirmation of the earlier emergency scanner traffic that reported an injured law officer.

That scanner traffic erupted at about 12:55 p.m. when a female dispatcher informed units that a “lady” had called to report a man emerged from a home near or about 49 West Cedar Street.

“He came out of the house with a long gun, fired a shot, and now he’s walking around trying to get into an apartment,” the female dispatcher related from the caller’s report. “RP (reporting party) says he has tactical equipment on.”

The male had red hair, a mustache, no shirt, and green camo pants, the dispatcher related. She’d later add from a secondhand description that he had a fanny pack containing ammunition.

A Wyoming Highway Patrol trooper who called himself “132” said he was on his way.

“He’s gone into apartment No. 1, and now he came out and he’s heading back upstairs,” the dispatcher narrated.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"The man still had a gun, she added."}]

The reports continued, relating that the man fled north in a pickup and at one point was “now shooting at the patrol vehicle.”

In the meantime, the bar at the Cowboy Inn was lively with chatter about the “active assailant” incident, mostly starting with, “I heard …” as officers and personnel from various sheriff’s and police departments filtered in and out.

By closing time — which in Baggs comes at 8:30 — the scene across the road hadn’t changed much.

Baggs Sweetwater County Bomb Squad arrives 6 8 26

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

<title>‘Active Assailant’ And Officer Shot Reports Has Baggs On Edge | Cowboy State Daily</title>

It was a busier-than-usual Monday at the Cowboy Inn along Wyoming Highway 789 near the southern edge of Baggs. Across the road is an apartment building where an “active assailant” incident began that included reports of an officer being shot.

‘Active Assailant’ And Officer Shot Reports Has Baggs On Edge

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily's general assignment reporter, Clair McFarland.

Clair McFarland

Before the Carbon County emergency services scanner went dark at around 3:30 p.m. Monday, the dispatchers, officers, deputies and troopers on it described an 

 and manhunt in which at least one law enforcement officer was injured and a Wyoming Highway Patrol Trooper’s car was “shot up.”

The saga ended with scanner reports saying the fleeing truck had come to a stop, and one person was dead inside it. 

Carbon County Sheriff Alex Bakken announced via press release late Monday evening that the shooter died on scene. 

"The subject opened fire on the initial responding deputy, striking him several times," the statement reads.

"The suspect fled the scene in a small truck.  Additional responding deputies and troopers with the Wyoming Highway Patrol engaged in a pursuit with the suspect vehicle on Highway 789 north of Baggs. 

"The suspect opened fire on law enforcement again before driving off the highway and coming to a stop. The suspect was declared deceased at the scene. 

"The wounded deputy was transported to a medical facility in Colorado by Intermountain Air Ambulance."

[{"type":"text","text":"How It Unfolded"}]

The public learned of the incident when Carbon County emergency services called for a shelter in place due to an active shooter situation around 1 p.m. 

Scanner traffic erupted at about that time, when a female dispatcher informed units that a “lady” had called to report a man emerged from a home near or about 49 West Cedar Street, Baggs. That's across the road from the mayor's home. 

The man "came out of the house with a long gun, fired a shot, and now he’s walking around trying to get into an apartment,” the female dispatcher related from the caller’s report. “RP (reporting party) says he has tactical equipment on.”

A Wyoming Highway Patrol Trooper who called himself “132” said he was on his way.

“He’s gone into apartment number one, and now he came out and he’s heading back upstairs,” the dispatcher narrated.

[{"type":"text","text":"The man still had a gun, she added."}]

“He’s getting into a small black truck at this time,” said the dispatcher. Male officers, troopers or deputies pressed the dispatcher for a better description of the truck, and after several minutes personnel said it was reportedly a Toyota Tacoma.

The man headed north through Baggs. The caller didn’t know his name or who he was, the dispatcher said.

One male law enforcement officer said one of the officers was stopping the vehicle.

“Subject is now shooting at the patrol vehicle,” said a male voice on the scanner.

Personnel called in night shift deputies or troopers. They asked for help from Moffat County Colorado, which reportedly later sent two drones along with other help. They asked for a special response team from the Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office.

“It appears one of the apartments is on fire,” said the dispatcher at about 1:18 p.m. Eyewitnesses in Baggs said the fire was related to the shooting and chase. 

Traffic indicated at some point the fleeing black truck turned back south. 

The town clerk told personnel, reportedly, that shooting sounds resounded “up on the hill south of Baggs,” said a male officer.

One man asked if law enforcement personnel had heard from a deputy called “66.”

[{"type":"text","text":"“That is negative,” answered the dispatcher."}]

Later someone on the scanner said that residents of the area were “applying aid to 66” and that “66 is down,” while the suspect had fled northward in the black Tacoma.

The sheriff’s evening statement says the suspect opened fire and struck the deputy several times. The deputy was flown to care in Colorado. 

[{"type":"text","text":"Multiple parties on the scanner coordinated medical personnel responses."}]

At 1:29 p.m. a male trooper or other officer shouted, “Shots fired! Shots fired! He’s shooting at – “

[{"type":"text","text":"“He’s right there,” an agent added after a brief silence. "}]

[{"type":"text","text":"What Trooper 132 Saw"}]

Around this time the scene was unfolding around mile marker 40 on Highway 789.

[{"type":"text","text":"“Shots fired!” said a male voice again."}]

“He hit my windshield,” said a male voice that sounded like the trooper called 132. “Getting water, he hit my tire.”

But 132 wasn’t done with the incident. He asked a deputy called “64” to pick him up and take him to the next part of the incident so he could keep helping.

A deputy called “68” reported, while catching his breath audibly, that personnel had a “barricaded suspect” just off a two-track or county road, headed west, but that by then, “we have no movement.”

The dispatcher said a special response team had been “activated.” That was about 1:40 p.m.

[{"type":"text","text":"Agents coordinated shutting the highway down."}]

“Sounds like he’s barricaded in the vehicle,” said a male. “I know he shot at 132.”

One agent asked if he should bring an “OIS Bag,” or officer-involved shooting kit.

[{"type":"text","text":"“I don’t know if 132 fired a round or not,” answered the male."}]

The Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation confirmed via email to Cowboy State Daily that it was asked Monday afternoon to respond to an officer-involved shooting south of Baggs.

At least one agent requested a “Bear Cat” armored vehicle. It’s unclear where that vehicle was coming from: agents mentioned both Sweetwater County and Casper.

Meanwhile, a “potential structure fire and chemical situation” reportedly progressed on Cedar Street.

[{"type":"text","text":"A propane leak “appears to be there on purpose,” said a dispatcher."}]

The suspect’s vehicle was stationary. Agents weren’t sure if the suspect was still in the vehicle. The final shot was fired at about 1:08, an officer said.

[{"type":"text","text":"Someone called for a bomb squad. "}]

Cowboy State Daily asked the Carbon County Fire District to confirm whether, as scanner traffic indicated, propane tanks had exploded, and the department said it could not confirm.

The trooper known as 132 asked someone to shoot several photographs of his vehicle for the investigation.

“You can’t miss it, it’s a highway patrol car on the side of the road that’s shot up,” said 132.  

Officers wondered aloud if the suspect had fled on foot or was still in the vehicle. Multiple drones were on the way to confirm.

“One occupant deceased,” said an officer, adding a directive to notify the coroner. 

Bakken confirmed late in the evening that the shooter was dead on scene. It’s unclear how he died.

The Sweetwater County bomb squad responded to the apartment complex around 6:45 p.m. 

The Carbon County Sheriff's Office lifted its shelter in place notification for the town of Baggs at 7:48 p.m. - nearly seven hours after implementing it. 

[{"type":"text","text":"\"I Passed 17 Emergency Vehicles\""}]

Cory Overton, a Baggs resident, said he was headed home from his work in the Craig area when a Steamboat Springs, Colorado-based SWAT team passed him on the highway, also headed toward Baggs.

[{"type":"text","text":"He also saw a medical helicopter leaving the town, Overton said."}]

“I passed 17 emergency vehicles before I hit Craig,” he added. Overton said he and his son jumped into the car and headed north, then he took photographs of the aftermath of the incident.

One of the photographs Overton took shows a Carbon County Sheriff’s deputy vehicle with the window seemingly open.

It appeared to be shot by bullets, Overton said, adding that the deputy is a “local guy” known to the community.

Overton said he doesn’t know the shooter. Many people who work in Craig live in Baggs due to cheaper housing costs, he added.

Overton said he’s not sure if the apartment fire is related to the shooting incident. But when law enforcement personnel refer to “the apartment complex,” he said, only one comes to mind.

“That’s really the only apartments we have,” said Overton. That is, except for an old motel used for rent just north of town, he added.

Baggs standoff 6 8 26

<title>Deadly Shooting In Baggs, Wyoming: Deputy Injured, Shooter Dead | Cowboy State Daily</title>

An active shooter manhunt unfolded Monday in Baggs where one deputy was injured and the shooter died on scene, Carbon County Sheriff Alex Bakken confirmed late Monday. The sheriff said the suspect opened fire on law enforcement before driving off a highway.

Deadly Shooting In Baggs, Wyoming: Deputy Injured, Shooter Dead

Kolby fedore

Kolby Fedore

Public Safety

A second wildfire in less than a week has scorched ranchland in northeast Wyoming, leaving local ranching families worried that an already active fire season is just getting started.

The Raven Creek Fire, caused by a downed power line Saturday, has so far burned 3,789 acres across a mix of private, state and federal land and drew a targeted response from Weston, Crook and Campbell counties, as well as the Bureau of Land Management and Wyoming State Forestry Division.

The blaze was started just days after the nearby Shipwheel Fire was started by lightning and burned 456 acres in the same corner of the county.

Burning through brush and grass about 13 miles southeast of Moorcroft, the Raven Creek Fire threatened homes and energy infrastructure, the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) reports. No structures have been reported lost.

As of Monday morning, the blaze was exhibiting “minimal fire behavior with smoldering,” the NIFC reports. There are 125 firefighters and support personnel working the fire, along with 25 engines and a helicopter.

[{"type":"text","text":"The cost to fight so far is an estimated $500,000, according to the NIFC."}]

For Weston County Fire Warden Daniel Tysdal, the concern extends beyond the two fires themselves.

"We're experiencing late-summer fire weather conditions and fire behavior in the first part of June," Tysdal told Cowboy State Daily on Monday. "It's unprecedented fuel conditions right now."

Tysdal said wind-driven fires burning through drought-stressed fuels have created conditions firefighters do not typically expect this early in the season.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Neighbors Come Together"}]

"The first fire was earlier in the week,” resident Angie Morfeld said. "They had a lightning strike, I believe, earlier in the week, and lost about 500 acres."

While no livestock or structures have so far been lost in either fire, Morfeld said fencing was damaged and large amounts of grass were burned. 

Tysdal said firefighters were forced into structure protection operations as the Raven Creek Fire approached buildings on its northern flank, though crews ultimately prevented any losses.

[{"type":"text","text":"The fire has spread amid hot temperatures, wind and dry conditions."}]

Campbell County Fire Department warned Sunday that warm temperatures, strong winds and the potential for thunderstorms could create another active fire day across the region, even as crews continued suppressing existing fires and preparing for possible new starts.

For many ranching communities, the concern isn't just the acres burned over the weekend, but what the next several months might bring.

Morfeld said neighboring ranchers routinely come together when disaster strikes.

"All the ranchers that are neighboring ranchers, they all come together and help greatly," she said. "And then we have a lot of people in town, and when there's a call to action, they will donate to the fire departments and get supplies to them as needed."

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"'Pray For Rain'"}]

During the Raven Creek Fire, Morfeld said family members and volunteers delivered bottled water and assisted where they could while firefighters, heavy equipment operators and utility crews worked in difficult conditions.

She also urged people to remember the linemen restoring power in smoky, windy conditions.

"People get angry when they're out of power, but they forget about the guys on the ground doing the real work," she said.

"The volunteers just day in and day out show up every time there's a page," Tysdal added. "I don't think we could do it without our volunteer fire service."

As mop-up operations continue, Morfeld said her thoughts are with the ranchers who have already lost grass and face months of uncertainty.

"We need to pray for the rain," she said. "We need to pray for the ranchers that have been affected, that have lost a lot of grass, and I'm afraid it's going to be a long season for all of our ranchers in Wyoming."

Raven Creek Fire inset 6 8 26

<title>'Pray For Rain': Wildfire Burns 3,900 Acres, Has Northeast Wyoming Ranchers Worried | Cowboy State Daily</title>

A downed power line is believed responsible for the Raven Creek Fire which has burned 3,900 acres of land in northeast Wyoming. Weston County Fire Warden Daniel Tysdal said they're experiencing "late-summer fire weather conditions and fire behavior."

'Pray For Rain': Wildfire Burns 3,900 Acres, Has Northeast Wyoming Ranchers Worried

Bill Sniffin

Wyoming Life

Around Wyoming

ARLINGTON, Texas – There are not many Sunday afternoons when Wyoming feels like the center of the baseball universe.

Being down here in the big, air-conditioned comfort of the Texas Rangers’ ballpark on Sunday, it sure did.

I am writing after attending a big-league baseball game in Arlington, between Dallas and Fort Worth.

And if you are from Cheyenne, or anywhere in Wyoming for that matter, you would have been proud. It was fun wearing my gold Wyoming Cowboy hat to help celebrate our home-grown hero.

The Rangers celebrated their right fielder with a full-blown promotion with bobblehead dolls, a pregame ceremony, and a nod to a past that feels about as Wyoming as it gets.

The bobbleheads showed Nimmo not just as a ballplayer, but as a bull rider. That’s right. Before he was chasing down fly balls in right field, Nimmo perhaps dreamed of riding bulls.

That little detail tells you just about everything you need to know about the kid.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"First, Bull Riding"}]

He grew up in Cheyenne, where rodeo isn’t a hobby, it’s a way of life.

Like a lot of Wyoming boys, Nimmo probably spent his early years thinking about chutes and corrals, dreaming maybe someday he would also make his name at Cheyenne Frontier Days instead of a Major League ballpark.

He has said in prior interviews that his dream as a kid was to be a professional bull rider.

But along the way, baseball won out — and thank goodness for that, especially if you were in the stands here on Sunday.

The Rangers even had a rodeo clown walking around the stadium celebrating Brandon, rodeo, and Wyoming.

The Rangers honored Nimmo in a way that had to tug at his heart.

They brought his 90-year-old grandfather, Darrel Nimmo, out to throw the ceremonial first pitch. It was a moment that felt genuine and grounded, the kind of thing that cuts through all the noise of modern sports.

You could almost see the story in that one toss, from a Wyoming upbringing to the big leagues in Texas.

Nimmo has become, quietly but surely, Wyoming’s most prominent current Major League Baseball player.

That’s no small thing for a state that doesn’t exactly churn out big leaguers.

When one of ours makes it, we tend to follow closely. And when one of ours thrives, we take a little ownership in that success.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"Winning Play"}]

On this day, Nimmo gave folks plenty to cheer about.

Batting in the lineup and patrolling right field, he looked right at home.

He smacked a double, the kind of clean, confident swing that shows why the Rangers believe in him.

Out in the field, he made a couple of outstanding defensive plays, tracking balls, covering ground, doing the little things that don’t always make highlights but win ballgames.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"And win they did."}]

The Rangers rolled to a 10-0 victory over Cleveland, and while it was a total team effort, Nimmo was right in the middle of it.

It is not hard to see why the Rangers have embraced him. He plays the game the right way, no flash for the sake of flash. Just solid, dependable baseball.

There is a workmanlike quality to him that feels very Wyoming.

Wyoming's own Brandon Nimmo was honored by the Texas Rangers on Sunday with his own bobblehead night. Brandon's 90-year-old grandpa threw out the first pitch. "If you're from Wyoming, you would have been proud," writes Bill Sniffin, who attended the game.