Wyoming Life

Lander native Jake Kauffman may be the chillest dude in Wyoming, and now he's is chasing freedom in a VW van. His turning point came at age 14, when he flatlined after drowning in the water of ironically named Lucky Pond, then was saved by his brother.

Wyoming Artist Chases Freedom In A Van With Girlfriend, A Drifter & Welding Equipment

After drowning and later overdosing, Lander's Jake Kauffman tried conventional adulthood but it wasn't for him. So now the Wyoming artist is chasing freedom in a VW van with his girlfriend, a drifter he met in Oregon and his welding equipment.

Kolby FedoreMay 10, 2026

John Wold ran for the U.S. House the same year Richard Nixon was elected president in 1968. Here is a photo of Nixon and John Wold.

Wyoming People: ‘Man Of The Century’ John Wold Pioneered Modern U.S. Mining

John Wold’s impact on Wyoming's — and America’s — mining industry were so important he was dubbed the state’s “Man of the Century” when he died at age 100. He "revolutionized the way our nation extracts minerals today,” said U.S. Sen. John Barrasso.

Dale KillingbeckMay 10, 2026

Wyoming’s Kindness Ranch is rescuing 70 dogs and cats from a Colorado research lab this week. The nation’s only facility that exclusively saves lab animals has rescued thousands of beagles and cats.

Wyoming’s Kindness Ranch To Rescue 70 Cats And Dogs From Colorado Research Lab

Wyoming’s Kindness Ranch is rescuing 70 dogs and cats from a Colorado research lab this week — one of its largest rescues. The director believes this is the first of many closures as he's hearing it's longer financially feasible to use beagles and cats.

Jen KocherMay 10, 2026

Jerry Kinkade, now 91, was a kid 80 years ago when his dad tried to run a covered wagon camping trip from Wyoming to Montana. It didn't go well and they never did another one. But now decades later, a few photos from that trip have turned up in a thrift shop 1,200 miles away.

Photos From Lost Wyoming Covered Wagon Trip Found 1,200 Miles Away In Thrift Shop

A Wyoming family’s 80-year-old photos from a doomed covered wagon camping trip found their way to a thrift shop 1,200 miles away. Jerry Kinkade remembers it well, but says that now “I am 91, so I’m gonna go chase women and drink a lot of whiskey."

Jackie DorothyMay 10, 2026

Bugs Bunny raced Cecil Turtle through a fictional Yellowstone National Park in the 1947 Looney Tunes short “Rabbit Transit.” It was the third time Bugs and Cecil had replayed the ancient fable "The Tortoise and the Hare" — even though Cecil isn't a tortoise.

Wyoming In Cartoons: When Bugs Bunny Raced A Jet-Powered Turtle Through Yellowstone

The 1947 cartoon “Rabbit Transit” is another cartoon in the Looney Tunes franchise with an odd Wyoming connection. In this one, Bugs Bunny raced Cecil Turtle through Yellowstone. But the turtle had a secret weapon — jet engines under his shell.

Andrew RossiMay 10, 2026

Nelly Brown, left, gives Deanna Cotten a “joy” tattoo as part of a documentary about having joy while being diagnosed with a terminal illness.

Casper Tattoo Artist Wages Second Fight With Cancer With Help From Client With ALS

A Casper tattoo artist thought she’d already beaten cancer, but its back attacking another part of her body. She keeps working — and fighting — with the help of a client with Lou Gehrig’s Disease.

Dale KillingbeckMay 10, 2026

Vicky Kissack with Ziva, who ran away 10 years ago then stunned her Gillette-area family by returning a decade later.

Gillette Family Stunned When Dog That Ran Away 10 Years Ago Finds Her Way Home

A Gillette-area family was stunned when a photo of their dog Ziva, who ran away 10 years ago, was posted in a lost-and-found group on Facebook.“I was frantic,” Vicki Kissack said. “I replied, ‘That’s my dog that’s been missing for 10 years!’”

Julie MankinMay 09, 2026

The articulated skeleton of a small dinosaur found near Alpine, Wyoming. Professor and paleontologist L.J. Krumenacker said the shape of the leg, hip, and tail bones indicates this is the skeleton of Idaho's state dinosaur, Oryctodromeus, and might be the best of its kind ever found.

Wyoming Woman Discovers Perfectly Preserved Dinosaur Near Alpine

A paleontologist said Heather Zamora's discovery of a small dinosaur skeleton near Alpine, Wyoming, is one of the best fossils he's ever seen of the burrowing Oryctodromeus. “We usually don’t find them where all the bones are connected that way,” he said.

Andrew RossiMay 09, 2026

HistoriCorps staff and volunteers carrying a replacement sill log at Gillespie Place.

Saving The Forgotten 116-Year-Old Cabin Of Wyoming’s Copper Queen

The 116-year-old historic cabin of Sara Gillespie — aka Wyoming’s Copper Queen — was all but forgotten and crumbling until it was rediscovered in 2010. Now an urgent effort is underway to save what was known a century ago as “Gillespie Palace."

Renée JeanMay 09, 2026

Ted Turner on his Snowcrest Ranch south of Alder, Montana, in 2011.

Ted Turner Was Most At Home At His Flying D Ranch In Montana

Media mogul Ted Turner, who died Wednesday, once owned four ranches in Montana and the largest bison herd in North America. His friends say he was most at home at the Flying D Ranch and its 113,613 acres of wildness in the southwest part of the state.

Jeff WelschMay 08, 2026

A bride fell off a snowmobile during an adventurous wedding photography shoot near Smoot, Wyoming, in April 2025. Now a clip of that mishap that made “America’s Funniest Home Videos” lives on the internet forever.

Bride Falling Off A Snowmobile In Wyoming Stars On “America’s Funniest Home Videos”

A bride who fell off a snowmobile during a wedding photography shoot near Smoot, Wyoming has made "America's Funniest Home Videos." The clip, which shows the bride falling head over heels into the snow, was included in Episode 6 of the series' 36th season.

Andrew RossiMay 07, 2026

A life-sized protest sheep in Jackson Town Square.

Why PETA Put A Protest Sheep Statue In Jackson's Town Square

A life-sized protest sheep in Jackson’s Town Square is a statement about “wool cruelty” in Wyoming, the No. 1 state for wool production. If it’s cruel to shear sheep, then “it’s cruel for us humans to get haircuts,” says a lifelong sheep rancher.

Kate MeadowsMay 07, 2026

Vedauwoo, in between Cheyenne and Laramie.

Southeast Wyoming Just Got More Snow Than It Received All Winter

The last two days in southeast Wyoming were snowier than at any time during this past winter as Cheyenne officially received 9 inches of snow. “It was a nice, big event, but it's also pathetic that it took this long to get one,” says meteorologist Don Day.

Andrew RossiMay 07, 2026

James Morey, Jr. and Diana Gunderson hold up an identical battery pack (left) to the one that blew up and caught fire (upper right and lower right).

"It Just Blew Up": Wyoming Couple Jolted Awake When Lithium-Ion Battery Catches Fire

A lithium-ion battery caught fire at a Daniel couple’s home as they were waking up on Tuesday. “The flames, my God, I couldn’t believe it,” Jack Morey said. “It just blew up and shot flames I’d say about a foot up.”

Renée JeanMay 06, 2026

Several inches of wet, heavy snow are bending trees and bushes around Cheyenne on Tuesday, May 5, 2026, with more expected.

‘Million-Dollar Storm’: Snow Brings An Inch Of Water, Most In 24 Hours Since August

The heavy, wet snow that blanketed southeast Wyoming brought an inch of water to a parched part of the state Tuesday, the most in 24 hours since August. “It’s been a million-dollar storm, and it's not done yet,” says meteorologist Don Day.

Andrew RossiMay 06, 2026

Two Heads, One Calf: Ultra Rare, One-In-Millions Birth Stuns Utah Ranchers

A Utah ranch saw something Friday that’s never happened before in the nearly 155 years its been raising cattle — the birth of a two-headed calf. It brings back memories for Wyoming ranchers who once had a cow give birth to a similar ultra-rare calf.

Kolby FedoreMay 05, 2026

Baby Finches Hatch In Christmas Wreath Casper Family Left Up Way Too Long

A Casper family hasn’t used its front door in a month after discovering finches had built a nest and laid eggs in a Christmas wreath they forgot to take down. “I’d like to use my front door again,” the mom says as they watch the babies grow.

Kolby FedoreMay 04, 2026

Expecting up to 8 inches of wet, heavy snow, southeast and other parts of Wyoming will finally get a taste of winter Tuesday and Wednesday. The wet, freezing slush that creates is "going to be enough to be a problem” on roads, says meteorologist Don Day.

Better Late Than Never: 10+ Inches Of Snow Coming For Parts Of Wyoming

Expecting what could be 10+ inches of snow, southeast and other parts of Wyoming will finally get a little bit of a late winter Tuesday and Wednesday. The wet, freezing slush that creates is "going to be enough to be a problem” on roads, says meteorologist Don Day.

Andrew RossiMay 04, 2026

Keith Leithead, center, and Pete Baxendale at the summit of Lobouche East in the Himalayas.

Lovell Mountaineers Go To Everest On A Whim, Summit Nearby 20,000-Foot Peak

Two friends from Lovell decided to travel to Mount Everest on a whim, and ended up summiting a nearby 20,000-foot peak. They said the experience was life-changing. “More than the scenery, the people are amazing,” Kyle Leithead told Cowboy State Daily.

Dale KillingbeckMay 03, 2026

Urban Thistle doesn’t waste anything at its operation in a former north Casper elementary school. That includes the poop from the fish it raises, which becomes fertilizer that’s growing rows of “Jurassic” sized leafy greens.

Inside A Casper School Turned Farm That’s Growing Affordable Food With Fish Poop

Fish poop is key to the whole operation at an urban farm and food hub run through the Casper Housing Authority. It's a soil-free, closed-loop system that supports multiple edible plants. Aquaponics has gained acclaim as a way to produce affordable food.

Kolby FedoreMay 03, 2026

Bob Edgar had preserved the story of the Lady in Blue, a murdered prostitute from the town of Arland, and was given the opportunity to rescue Belle Drewry from an unmarked grave. She was exhumed from her grave in the ghost town of Arland on Oct. 12, 1986 and given a proper funeral and burial in the Old Trail Town the following spring.

Wyoming History: Digging Up The Bones Of A Notorious Old West Prostitute

A notorious Old West Wyoming prostitute known as the Lady in Blue was murdered in a revenge killing in 1897 near Meeteetse. Nearly 90 years later, her bones were dug up and reburied — and part of her dress was still her signature cobalt blue.

Jackie DorothyMay 03, 2026

The "American cheetah" chased after pronghorn at the end of the Ice Age in what would become Wyoming, but disappeared thousands of years ago. The best specimens of this big cat have been found 85 feet down in Wyoming’s Natural Trap Cave. Pictured is a contemporary African cheetah, along with fossilized specimens of American cheetahs found in Wyoming.

Scientists Say Pronghorn Got Their Speed Eluding American Cheetahs Across Wyoming

The pronghorn is the fastest land mammal in the Americas. At top speed, they can hit 55 mph. But what are they running from? Scientists say in their DNA, they're still trying to outrun the American cheetah, which disappeared 10,000 years ago.

Andrew RossiMay 03, 2026

Hayattville carpenter Kirk Odegaard builds basic, Old West coffins and caskets for those who want a Western funeral. "This is another service I can provide for people who just want to be put in a pine box,” he says. “It’s the way of the Old West."

Hyattville Man Builds Old West Coffins For Those Who Want A Simple, Western Funeral

Hyattville carpenter Kirk Odegaard builds basic, Old West coffins and caskets for those who want a Western funeral. "This is another service I can provide for people who just want to be put in a pine box,” he says. “It’s the way of the Old West."