Wyoming Life
News

Wyoming’s Obsidian Trails A Roadmap Of Critical Ancient Trade Routes
Archaeologists use obsidian to determine how far people traveled on ancient trade routes across Wyoming. Each obsidian flake bears a unique volcanic fingerprint that points to its place of origin, which can be hundreds of miles away.
Jackie DorothyJuly 16, 2025

Mud And Rocks Washed From Elk Fire Area Close U.S. 14 Overnight, More Could Follow
It’s what WYDOT officials have expected since the Elk Fire burned nearly 100,000 acres in the Bighorn Mountains last fall. Heavy rain caused a mud and rockslide, closing a section of U.S. Highway 14 overnight Tuesday. More debris flows could follow.
Andrew RossiJuly 16, 2025

Pumpkin King Is So Serious His Greenhouse Has Air Conditioning — His Home Doesn’t
Worland’s “Pumpkin King” is serious about growing a 2,000-pound pumpkin. He’s pampering them with 500 gallons of water a day, sends his soil for lab testing and has installed air conditioning in his greenhouse, something his own house doesn’t have.
Andrew RossiJuly 15, 2025

Cyclists Say Exclusive Tour De Wyoming One Of Best Bike Tours In The Nation
The Tour de Wyoming rolled out for a loop trail around Sinks Canyon at about 6 a.m. Tuesday as the cyclists hit the event’s halfway point. Camped in Lander, riders in the exclusive 250-bike event say it’s one of the best in the nation.
Renée JeanJuly 15, 2025

Bear Spray Leaves 30 People On Jackson Tram ‘Choking, Coughing And Puking’
There were about 30 people on a Jackson Hole Mountain Resort enclosed tram Monday when a can of bear spray went off. A woman on the tram says it left people "choking, coughing, and puking.”
Andrew RossiJuly 15, 2025

Giant Utah ‘Fire Devil’ Is What Happens When Wildfire Makes Its Own Weather
Firefighters on the scene of the 10,000-acre Deer Creek Fire in southern Utah captured video of a massive vortex of fire and smoke swirling in the middle of the blaze. These dangerous "fire devils" are what can happen when wildfires make their own weather.
Andrew RossiJuly 15, 2025

Cheyenne’s Capitol Avenue Bronze Project Closes In On 100 Sculptures
For Cheyenne art dealer Harvey Deselms, dreams really do come true. He dreamed of bronze sculptures lining every corner of Capitol Avenue, and now the Capitol Avenue Bronze Project is closing in on its 100th installation.
Renée JeanJuly 14, 2025

Wyoming Rite Of Passage: 600 4-H Kids Show Out At State Shooting Competition
Learning to shoot is a Wyoming rite of passage and one of the fundamental programs of the state’s 4-H clubs. More than 600 4-H kids gathered in Douglas this past week to show out at the Wyoming State Shoot.
Jackie DorothyJuly 14, 2025

A Teen Driver Hit His Car, So Cheyenne Man Bought Her A New One
Someone slides through an icy intersection and collides with your car, what do you do? If you’re Bryan Pedersen, a Cheyenne financial advisor, you buy the other driver — who was at fault — a new car.
Greg JohnsonJuly 13, 2025

The Last Person To Explore The Hidden Tunnels In Ames Monument
The remote Ames Monument in southeastern Wyoming is a complete oddity. Although there are four levels of tunnels in the pyramidic structure, it's been sealed up for decades. It was unsealed, however, for one day in 2010 and a descendant of the Ames' family was allowed to explore it.
Zakary SonntagJuly 13, 2025

Kaboom! Since Explosion In 2020, Torrington Hasn’t Had Fourth Of July Fireworks
There were city fireworks displays all over Wyoming last week to celebrate the 4th of July. But not in Torrington. Ever since an accident set-off all the fireworks at once which blew the roof off a building, they've passed on an annual celebration.
Mark HeinzJuly 12, 2025

307 Safe As Wyoming’s Only Area Code For At Least Another 20 Years
Unlike Colorado, which just got its sixth area code, Wyoming's cherished 307 is safe as the state’s only area code for at least another 20 years. That’s good news for Wyomingites and the more than 900 businesses with names that start with “307.”
David MadisonJuly 12, 2025

Wyoming Ranch Chef Brings Cowboy Cookin’ To National Audience With New TV Show
Celebrity Chef Vincent Fiore, creator of the award-winning cooking shows “The Wiseguy Kitchen” and “Coast to Coast,” is coming to Cody to highlight cowboy cuisine for a new show he’s hosting this fall on Roku called “Cookin’ With Cowboys.”
Renée JeanJuly 12, 2025

160 Years After It Was Lost, Treasure Hunters Still Search For Lost Cabin Gold Mine
Hidden away in the Bighorns is a mysterious drawing carved on the surface of a massive granite boulder. Dubbed the “Boot Map,” old-timers have theorized for decades that the drawing, which resembles a Spanish boot, is a map leading to the Lost Cabin Gold Mine.
Jackie DorothyJuly 12, 2025

Now Retired, Wyoming Sheriff Still Haunted 28 Years After Camper Went Missing
David Crouch, 27, went missing while camping in the Bridger-Teton National Forest in August 1997. He was last seen on the banks of Island Lake with a fishing rod in hand. His disappearance has haunted retired Sublette County Sheriff Hank Ruland for nearly three decades.
Jen KocherJuly 12, 2025

Two Old Guys Build A Cabin By Hand In Wyoming’s Snowy Range
High up in Wyoming's Snowy Range Mountains – off grid, out of cell range and deep into black bear country at 9,500 feet – two old timers are building a cabin. They first built one 44 years ago. They made a promise to do it again and are "working like dogs" to get it finished.
Zakary SonntagJuly 12, 2025

Liberty Bell Rings Again In Wyoming Ahead of Nation’s 250th Anniversary
Wyoming rang its Liberty Bell and unveiled an amped-up tour of the restored state Capitol on Thursday. It was all part of a kickoff to the nation’s 250th anniversary next year — on the 135th for Wyoming statehood.
Renée JeanJuly 11, 2025

ESPN’s Striewski Will Anchor Local TV Sportscast During Cheyenne Frontier Days
ESPN SportsCenter anchor Gary Striewski will sit in his old seat at KGWN-TV during his visit to Cheyenne Frontier Days on July 24. The broadcaster will anchor the local evening sportscasts during his coverage of the rodeo for ESPN.
Jimmy OrrJuly 09, 2025

Fire Destroys Glenrock Family Shop — And 4-H Supplies For Kids Week Before Fair
The Glenrock, Wyoming, community has rallied around two 4-H families left stunned after a Saturday fire burned a family’s shed to the ground. Everything in the shed was lost, including the feed and supplies for another family’s 4-H kids.
Dale KillingbeckJuly 08, 2025

Colorado’s Famous Larry The Camel Hit And Killed By Lightning
Larry the camel is a celebrity around northern Colorado, appearing in parades and at local schools and senior centers. Two days after visiting a group of seniors on the Fourth of July, Larry was hit by lightning and killed.
Andrew RossiJuly 08, 2025

Sheridan Couple Qualifies For North American Wife-Carrying Championships
Isaac and Mary Hayward of Sheridan not only won a seven-couple wife-carrying race in Ranchester on the Fourth of July, they also qualified for the North American Championships.
David MadisonJuly 07, 2025

Laramie 100-Year-Old Bought His First Car At 16 — A Model T Ford For $6
Everett Spackman of Laramie, Wyoming, has seen a lot over his 100 years of life. He served in two wars, and remembers the Great Depression, the moon landing and paying $6 for a beat-up Model T Ford when he turned 16.
Greg JohnsonJuly 06, 2025

12-Year-Old Chess Master Is First Wyoming Girl Invited To National Tournament
Kamari Barth is like most 12-year-old girls in Sheridan, Wyoming, but in one way she isn’t. Barth also is a chess master, and recently was the first Wyoming girl to compete in the national invitation-only Susan Polgar tournament.
Amber SteinmetzJuly 06, 2025

Modern Homesteading: Self-Sufficiency Doesn’t Mean Being A Loner
Homesteading doesn’t mean living like folks on “Little House on the Prairie.” A Cody woman teaches how homesteaders in Wyoming use technology and innovation to achieve self-sufficiency, and it doesn’t mean you have to be a loner.
Dale KillingbeckJuly 06, 2025

You Can Walk In Jim Bridger’s Footsteps At 1838 Rendezvous In Riverton
The 1838 Mountain Man Rendezvous in Riverton isn’t just held near a historic rendezvous site, it’s the actual site. It's where Jim Bridger and Kit Carson walked when they met in 1838 for the annual end-of-season blowout.
Renée JeanJuly 06, 2025

Group On A Mission To Save Cheyenne’s Iconic, Now Abandoned, 1960s Airport
The Wyoming Aviation Heritage League is on a mission to save the iconic, and now abandoned, 1960s air terminal at Cheyenne Regional Airport. It wants to turn the building and its hyperbolic roof into a space for artists, retail shops, and an aviation museum.
Dale KillingbeckJuly 06, 2025

Nashville Musician Bobby Randall Grateful For Wyoming Hospitality During Storm
State Sen. Ed Cooper opened his garage to a group of Harley riders seeking shelter from a severe thunderstorm on Friday. One of the bikers was a very grateful Bobby Randall, a longtime Nashville musician who was a founding member of country group Sawyer Brown and guitarist for Confederate Railroad.
Wendy CorrJuly 06, 2025

Ned LeDoux Featured On Wyoming Singer-Songwriter’s Ode To Real Ranching
It may be great to fantasize about “Ranching Rich,” but that’s not real ranching in Wyoming, says Cody singer-songwriter Kalyn Beasley. His friend Ned LeDoux is featured in the new song, an ode to real ranching in the West.
Jackie DorothyJuly 05, 2025
Can't Run Off To Join The Circus? You Can Still Join Wyoming's Only Trapeze Club.
A couple in Big Horn, Wyoming, gives those seeking adventure and thrills an option beyond running off to join a circus. Trained by a Circus Ring of Fame trapeze artist, they now run Wyoming’s only trapeze club.
Dale KillingbeckJuly 05, 2025

Wyoming History: The Fascinating Life Of James Calvin ‘Kid’ Nichols
James Calvin “Kid” Nichols was a champion wrestler who was befriended by Buffalo Bill Cody, did boxing exhibitions with Milward Simpson and was a one-time outlaw. He also was a successful businessman who hobnobbed with Admiral Nimitz and Arthur Godfrey.
Dale KillingbeckJuly 05, 2025

Wyoming Chef Petrina Peart Celebrates ‘Yes, Chef!’ Finale With Celebrity Chef T
Chef Petrina Peart celebrated the end of her “Yes, Chef!” television culinary competition with fellow contestant and celebrity, Chef T. The collaborative cook-off featuring Martha Stewart showcased Appalachian and Wyoming foods.
Renée JeanJuly 05, 2025

Dubois Cheers As 24 Vintage Military Tanks Rumble Through On The Fourth Of July
Dubois triples in size for the Fourth of July as thousands fill the tiny Wyoming town to celebrate. The main attraction is 24 vintage military tanks that rumble through, anchoring the annual parade as monuments to freedom in America.
Renée JeanJuly 05, 2025

Underhanded Pitches, No Gloves And A Soft Ball: 1860s Baseball Nothing Like Today
America’s pastime and the Fourth of July go together like peanuts and Cracker Jacks, but the game in the 1860s was nothing like today. Vintage baseball was a highlight at Fort Laramie on Friday, where players didn’t have gloves and pitched underhanded.
Matthew ChristianJuly 05, 2025

Reporter's Notebook: What It's Like To Announce Cody's Famous Stampede Parade
Reporter Andrew Rossi writes, "Announcing the Cody Stampede from the rooftop porch of the Irma Hotel is a rare honor. It’s amazing a nerd like me gets to be one of the voices of the famous parade. How’d that happen? I wondered."
Andrew RossiJuly 05, 2025

Fort Laramie Rings In The 4th With Cannons, 38-Gun Salute
Historic Fort Laramie partied like it was 1876 on Friday, celebrating the Fourth of July as folks at the fort did nearly 150 years ago. The celebration was punctuated by cannon fire and a 38-gun salute, representing the 38 states in the Union then.
Matthew ChristianJuly 04, 2025
Xanax Helps, But No ‘Magic Bullet’ For Dogs Freaked Out Over Weekend Of Fireworks
While many people love the flash and fireworks that come with the Fourth of July, a lot of dogs don’t. For some of them, Xanax helps, but a veterinarian says drugs aren’t a “magic bullet” to ease their anxiety.
David MadisonJuly 04, 2025