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Presley Whitaker during her recovery in a Salt Lake City hospital after having her hand taken off in an accident with a rodeo horse.

Montana Woman Loses Hand In Rodeo Accident: 'I Thought She Was Going To Die'

A Bozeman woman is home following a 24-day hospital stay after her hand was ripped off in a terrifying horse accident at the Montana State University rodeo practice arena. “The boys, they had to go find her hand,” said her husband and MSU rodeo coach.

Kate MeadowsJune 02, 2026

Tim Meadows tells Cowboy State Daily he’s about to do something he’s never done in 40 years as a comedian — perform in Wyoming. “I try to punch up,” Meadows said about his style. “I don’t really like to punch down at people or issues."

'Saturday Night Live' Legend Tim Meadows To Perform In Wyoming For First Time

Tim Meadows told Cowboy State Daily he’s about to do something he’s never done in 40 years as a comedian — perform in Wyoming. Meadows, who appeared on Saturday Night Live for 10 seasons as The Ladies Man and other comedic characters, will do four live sets in June.

Renée JeanMay 31, 2026

Lola West, who ran the Black and Tan Cafe in Cheyenne in the 1940s, was a key figure in prosecuting the city's mayor and police chief for shaking down Black businesses and promoting prostitution. Her former club is still standing at 901 W. 18th St. at the intersection of Snyder Avenue.

Wyoming History: Cheyenne's Mayor, Police Chief Convicted Of Extorting Black Bar Owners

It was 80 years ago that Cheyenne’s mayor and police chief were convicted of running a protection racket and extorting black bar owners. "You have to pay us. If you don’t pay us we are going to shut down your business,” federal agents recorded them saying.

Dale KillingbeckMay 31, 2026

It’s turned heads for decades in the Medicine Bow range, a squat observation deck that looks like a Medieval castle ruin. "Your mind kind of starts making up some fancy histories about it,” said a photographer about the Libby Flats Observation Tower.

What The Heck … Is That Medieval Castle-Looking Thing On The Snowy Range Byway?

The observation deck that looks like a Medieval castle ruin has turned heads for decades in the Medicine Bow range. For Laramie photographer David Peel, the 11,000-foot elevation and lack of light pollution make it a great place for astrophotography.

Kolby FedoreMay 31, 2026

For 30 years, Miner’s Delight in Atlantic City drew the rich and famous for French food in the middle of nowhere. “One patron said it was the only place where she was willing to wear heels through cow manure to get in,” said the local historical society.

For Upscale French Cuisine, ‘Miner’s Delight’ in Atlantic City, Wyoming, Was Tops

For 30 years, the Miner's Delight restaurant in remote Atlantic City, Wyoming, was the place to go in the Cowboy State. Started by an advertising executive from New York, the upscale French cuisine attracted diners from hundreds of miles away.

Jackie DorothyMay 31, 2026

Six years after a huge sinkhole opened up in a subdivision near Black Hawk, South Dakota, victims still waiting for relief. The disaster highlights the difference between Wyoming’s abandoned mine safeguards and South Dakota’s limited protections.

Six Years Later, Black Hills Sinkhole Victims Still Waiting For Relief

Six years after a massive 85-foot-deep sinkhole opened in a residential neighborhood in the Black Hills, homeowners live in financial limbo. Dozens of homes have sat abandoned and deteriorating while property owners wait for answers, compensation and accountability.

Kate MeadowsMay 31, 2026

When HGTV’s “Rehab Addict” filmed a historic home renovation in Evanston, Wyoming, it was the over-the-top Halloween “Clown House” across the street that kept photobombing the episode. Now fans won’t leave the homeowner alone.

Evanston Man’s Clown House’ Photobombs HGTV's "Rehab Addict" TV Show

When an episode of HGTV’s “Rehab Addict” was being filmed in Evanston, Wyoming, the creepy “Clown House” across the street inadvertently photobombed the shoot and was all its viewers were talking about. Now fans won't leave the house alone.

Renée JeanMay 31, 2026

It’s been 50 years since “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” was filmed at Devils Tower. “It’s the longest-running movie in a single location ever,” says Ogden Driskill about the movie, which has been shown there every summer night for 40 years.

50 Years Later, Sci-Fi Fans Still Find Their ‘Close Encounters’ At Devils Tower

Fifty years ago, the cameras rolled on “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” at Devils Tower after a handshake between a then-unknown Steven Spielberg and rancher Jesse Thomas Driskill. It would go on to completely reshape tourism in northeast Wyoming.

Renée JeanMay 31, 2026

Saving and restoring the historic Evanston Roundhouse has been the most extensive reclamation project in the city's history.

Evanston Has Spent Decades, And $28M, Restoring Its Historic Railroad Roundhouse

A century after Union Pacific stopped using it, decades of work has saved and restored Evanston’s historic Roundhouse and Railyards. The $28 million spent so far has made it one of the rare roundhouses in the U.S. that’s still completely operational. 

Renée JeanMay 31, 2026

Rusty Rawson and his son Sterling, now 14, were living homeless lives surrounded by violence, drugs and gangs in Las Vegas when Rusty made the best decision he could have as a parent — he askeds his young son what to do. "Dad, everything will be OK if we go back to Casper,” was the answer.

How A Casper Father And Son Saved Each Other From Lives Of Gangs And Drugs

Living homeless in a Las Vegas wash, hooked on meth, and surviving by the reflexes of his past gang life, Rusty Rawson turned to his adolescent son for guidance. The answer brought them back to Casper and toward a life that seemed out of reach.

Zakary SonntagMay 31, 2026

An egraving depicting Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer's last stand at the Battle of The Little Bighorn in 1876.

Wyoming History: The Courier Who Carried First Dispatch From Custer’s Last Stand

John “Josh” Deane came West looking for adventure — and got more than he bargained for when he took a job as a military dispatch rider. It was 150 years ago that he found himself carrying the first message about Custer’s last stand to Wyoming’s Fort Brown.  

Jackie DorothyMay 31, 2026

FBI files from 1933 reveal that a substantial portion of $90,000 in ransom loot stuffed in a suitcase ended up buried somewhere around Cheyenne. The plot was carried out by George "Machine Gun" Kelly, right, and Albert Bates. Whether all the loot was ever recovered remains a question.

$25,000 From 1933 Kidnapping Ransom Could Still Be Buried Somewhere In Cheyenne

FBI files from 1933 reveal that $90,000 in ransom loot from a Machine Gun Kelly kidnapping scheme ended up buried somewhere around Cheyenne. Whether all the loot was ever recovered remains a question with about $25,000 still unaccounted for.

Dale KillingbeckMay 30, 2026

Someone has stolen a massive, 60-million-year-old piece of petrified wood from a storage unit in Powell. “My dad was always afraid someone would steal it,” said the daughter of the WWII pilot who treasured the artifact, which had become a family heirloom.

Huge 60-Million-Year-Old Petrified Log Stolen From Powell Family's Storage Unit

Someone has stolen a massive, 60-million-year-old piece of petrified wood from a storage unit in Powell. “My dad was always afraid someone would steal it,” said the daughter of the WWII pilot who treasured the artifact, which had become a family heirloom.

Andrew RossiMay 30, 2026

For decades, motorists speeding down Interstate 90 in west-central South Dakota have done double takes at a towering human skeleton leading a T. rex on a leash. It’s a quirky prairie creation born from one man’s lifelong dream to build his own dinosaur.

Near Wyoming: The Skeleton Who Walks A Giant T-Rex On A Leash In South Dakota

For decades, motorists speeding down Interstate 90 in west-central South Dakota have done double takes at a towering human skeleton leading a T. rex on a leash. It’s a quirky prairie creation born from one man’s lifelong dream to build his own dinosaur.

Kate MeadowsMay 30, 2026

A 75-year-old Coldspot refrigerator from the 1950s still works, and is still keeping 30-year-old cans of Schlitz beer cold. More than a year after a Casper woman died, her daughters found the fridge still running in her basement.

75 Years Later, a Casper Woman’s Fridge Is Still Running, Cold Schlitz Inside

More than a year after a Casper woman died, her daughters found a 75-year-old Coldspot refrigerator, hidden by cobwebs and insulation, humming with life. In fact, the fridge from the 1950s, was keeping 30-year-old cans of Schlitz ice-cold.

Kolby FedoreMay 30, 2026

Halle Crozier of Buffalo is inspiring Wyoming’s high school rodeo community as she fights to recover from a vaccine reaction that destroyed her body. “I could choose to not get better, or choose to be positive and work hard to get better,” she said.

How Rodeo Is Healing A Wyoming Teen After Vaccine Reaction Destroyed Her Body

Halle Crozier of Buffalo is inspiring Wyoming’s high school rodeo community as she fights to recover from a vaccine reaction that destroyed her body. “I could choose to not get better, or choose to be positive and work hard to get better,” she said.

Julie MankinMay 30, 2026

A Nebraska man told Cowboy State Daily he suffered a spine fracture in a fall climbing into the cab of the Big Boy 4014 locomotive on Thursday. “A boyhood dream got dashed as I fell 8 feet off of Big Boy 4014 before I got the ride of a lifetime,” he said.

Nebraska Man Fractures Spine After Falling Off Big Boy Locomotive At Whistle-Stop

A Nebraska man told Cowboy State Daily he suffered a spine fracture in a fall climbing into the cab of the Big Boy 4014 locomotive on Thursday. “A boyhood dream got dashed as I fell 8 feet off of Big Boy 4014 before I got the ride of a lifetime,” he said.

Kate MeadowsMay 29, 2026

Don and Green blob map 1 5 26 26

Meteorologist Don Day Skeptical About Forecast For Wetter-Than-Normal Summer

Wyoming meteorologist Don Day is skeptical about a popular weather forecasting website’s prediction of a wetter-than-normal summer. “Beware the green blob,” he says about the forecast map and a hopeful, giant green shape covering Wyoming.

Andrew RossiMay 26, 2026

For 45 years, Monsieur Philip Krass smoked cigars, fished the Big Horn Basin and would drive more than 100 miles for a game of bridge. “If you needed him for an emergency, you had to figure out who was hosting that night’s bridge game,” said Dee Arps, 108. Here, he's pictured with Iris Cavalli of Thermopolis, 90, who was the secretary and execultor of Krauss' estate and knew him well.

Wyoming History: Monsignor Philip Krass Loved Smoking Cigars And Playing Bridge

For 45 years, Monsignor Philip Krass smoked cigars, fished the Big Horn Basin and would drive more than 100 miles for a game of bridge. “If you needed him for an emergency, you had to figure out who was hosting that night’s bridge game,” said Dee Arps, 108.

Jackie DorothyMay 25, 2026

Mark Potter of the Wind River Canyon left the chaos of city life in Denver for a quieter life in Thermopolis. Potter was not expecting the isolation from the conveniences of modern life such as fast food and home improvement stores but has discovered that he loves being away from the busy social life he once led. He said that he has discovered the simple joys of mowing his lawn and taking care of his mom’s 15-year-old Chihuahuas he had inherited.

Wyoming People: Mark Potter Gives Up Big City Chaos To Live In Wind River Canyon

Mark Potter gave up a chaotic life in Denver to live in isolation in Wyoming’s Wind River Canyon with a pair of yappy dogs. He likely saved his neighbors May 16 when he called 911 to report a wildfire near the railroad tracks in the canyon.

Jackie DorothyMay 25, 2026

Memorial Day Cheyenne IMG 6348 5 25 copy

Wyoming Veterans Remember The True Military Heroes Who Never Came Back

On Memorial Day, Bill Parr remembers the men he served with during a 22-year career in the Navy who never came home, but he won’t talk about them. “The heroes are the ones that are underneath these stones,” he said Monday at the Cheyenne National Cemetery.

Greg JohnsonMay 25, 2026

Meteorologist Don Day says reports of a Super El Niño brewing in the Pacific Ocean are ludicrous. An El Niño is coming and that will likely be beneficial for Wyoming. But anything stronger is too far out to predict and, at this point, just clickbait.

Meteorologist Don Day Says Don’t Lose Your Mind Over Possible Super El Niño

Meteorologist Don Day says reports of a Super El Niño brewing in the Pacific Ocean are ludicrous. An El Niño is coming and that will likely be beneficial for Wyoming, but anything stronger is too far out to predict and, at this point, just clickbait.

Andrew RossiMay 25, 2026

Volunteers have revived the historic Red Shell School, once featured on the cover of national textbooks, turning it into a vacation rental, museum, and community hub.

Bell At Famous Red Shell Schoolhouse Rings Again After Decades Of Silence

The bell at the Red Shell School is ringing again after a decades-long effort to save the iconic 111-year-old one-room Wyoming schoolhouse. It’s so picturesque it became nationally famous for being featured on the cover of textbooks.

Renée JeanMay 25, 2026

The Soldier’s House of Fremont County in Riverton is dedicated to serving those who served in the military.

Riverton’s Soldier’s House A Headquarters Of Help For Veterans

A renovated farmhouse at a Riverton intersection began with a desire to serve those who served their country. The Soldier’s House of Fremont County has grown into a headquarters of help for veterans, serving those who served their country.

Dale KillingbeckMay 25, 2026

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