Wyoming Life

Headlines in Casper newspapers in the early 1930s were filled with reports about bank robberies.

‘The Casper Vigilantes’: A Secret Group Of Wyoming Prohibition-Era Crime Fighters

Bob David, a World War I veteran and businessman, got fed up with crime and corruption within law enforcement during Prohibition in Casper so he formed a secret group that called themselves "The Vigilantes." They took on an "epidemic" of bank robberies in the area.

Dale KillingbeckApril 27, 2024

Wyatt Morgan on his first day of first grade at Carpenter Elementary School, left, and in his hospital bed in Colorado.

Wyoming 8-Year-Old Shows Plenty Of Fight While Heart ‘Slowly Giving Up’

Wyatt Morgan, an 8-year-old first grader from Carpenter, Wyoming, remains hospitalized after battling a progressively worse ailment that was filling his lungs with fluid and had his heart “slowly giving up.”

Leo WolfsonApril 27, 2024

A man known as Lee The Horselogger was in Wyoming this week on a cross-country journey by horse-drawn wagon with an ultimate destination of Boston. He explained to Cowboy State Daily that he likes huge draft horses better than “little horses.”

Man Who’s Spent 18 Years In A Horse-Drawn Wagon Is Rolling Across Wyoming Again

A man calling himself Lee The Horselogger has lived on the road in a horse-drawn wagon for 18 years. He's making his way across Wyoming again on his fifth trip across America. Cowboy State Daily caught up with him near Hanna.

Mark HeinzApril 27, 2024

A train crosses the Dale Creek Bridge, the longest and highest bridge the Union Pacific Railroad constructed as part of the transcontinental railroad.

Wyoming History: The Incredible, And ‘Terrifying,’ Dale Creek Bridge

In 1868, the Union Pacific Railroad’s Dale Creek Bridge southeast of Laramie was an incredible engineering marvel that was 650 feet long and 150 feet high. Train engineers said it was so “terrifying to cross” that few would agree to do it.

Dale KillingbeckApril 27, 2024

This illustration generated by PhotoShop's artificial intelligence generator shows what it could look like if prehistoric wooly mammoths were introduced into Yellowstone National Park.

Woolly Mammoths In Yellowstone? Biotech Company Says It Has The Technology

Biotech company Colossal Biosciences has announced plans to bring back the extinct woolly mammoth by 2028. They think Yellowstone could be a good place for reintroduction as the environment is pristine and isolated enough for them to thrive.

Andrew RossiApril 27, 2024

Bullfighter Dusty Tuckness fights off a bull named Hangover as he tries to protect Brennon Eldred after he was thrown during the bull riding competition during the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo at NRG Stadium on March 13, 2015, in Houston.

Wyoming’s Dusty Tuckness Is The Best Rodeo Bullfighter In The History Of The Sport

Rodeo bullfighter Dusty Tuckness, from Meeteetse, has been fighting bulls for 25 years. With an unequaled 15 trips to the National Finals Rodeo and 10 times voted PRCA Bullfighter of the Year, his cowboy kin call him “Tuck,” and say there's none better.

Jake NicholsApril 26, 2024

This 1-ton hollowed out petrified log has been in Travis Smith's family for generations, but now it's for sale for $20,000.

Wyoming Man Selling Massive 1-Ton Petrified Hollow Log For $20,000

A massive 1-ton hollow petrified log found near Glenrock has been a Smith family heirloom for generations, but now it’s just in the way. It can be yours for $20,000.

Andrew RossiApril 24, 2024

Since 1980, people in and around Pinedale have been guessing when Bob, a bright yellow steel barrel, will finally fall through the ice in Fremont Lake and float to shore. Whoever has the closest guess wins $500.

Pinedale Waits On Bob, A Barrel In The Middle Of Fremont Lake, To Announce Spring

For 44 years, Pinedale residents have relied on Bob, a bright yellow steel barrel on the ice in the middle of Fremont Lake, to announce that spring has arrived. Whoever guesses when Bob breaks through the ice and floats to shore wins $500.

Andrew RossiApril 22, 2024

The Heart Mountain Institute is now as museum and interpretive center preserving the history of the Heart Mountain Relocation Center near Cody, Wyoming, during World War II.

Heart Mountain Chosen For Prestigious Smithsonian Partnership

Heart Mountain Relocation Center unjustly held more than 14,000 Japanese-Americans during World War II, and its legacy won’t be lost as its foundation is chosen for a prestigious Smithsonian partnership.

Andrew RossiApril 22, 2024

The story of a local man running a wolf down with a snowmobile, then taping its mouth shut and displaying it in a local bar before killing it has stirred global outrage and has put the small rural Wyoming town of Daniel in the crosshairs of a storm of anger and indignation.

Can Town Of Daniel Ever Regain Old Image Of Fishing And Hunters' Paradise?

Before the wolf abuse headline flashed across the world this winter, Daniel, Wyoming, was a sleepy place to get a hot dog and beer in the local bar. Now it is dealing with international outrage.

Pat MaioApril 22, 2024

Major Artists Make Creative Breakthroughs At Remote Ucross, Wyoming, Retreat

Filmmaker Damien Chazelle’s residency in Ucross led to the script for the 2016 film “La La Land," which won six Oscars, including Best Director. Much of the script and music for the 2017 film “The Greatest Showman” were also developed during a Ucross residency.

Andrew RossiApril 21, 2024

Spielberg-Hanks TV Series "Masters Of The Air" Based On Casper World War II Pilot

Maj. Gale “Buck” Cleven of Casper is the main character of a true-life Apple TV series, which debuted earlier this year, titled "Masters of the Air" produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks that also features another Casper pilot.

Dale KillingbeckApril 21, 2024

Wyoming History: ‘Wildcat Sam’ Never Let The Truth Ruin A Good Story

Buffalo Bill Cody may be Wyoming’s best-known showman, but the storytelling of “Wildcat Sam” Abernathy was legendary — so much so he never had to buy his own beer in saloons. He went out with a bang too, getting struck by lightning near Meeteetse when he was 89.

Dale KillingbeckApril 21, 2024

Travis Halverson recovers after surviving an avalanche Jan. 12, 2024. He suffered 10 broken bones, but counts himself lucky.

Teton County Man Says Luck Saved Him When Caught In Avalanche

Although he has no memories of the avalanche Jan. 12, 2024, Travis Halverson was flung for about 600 vertical feet down a slope through snow and trees like a ball in a Plinko board. He managed to get out despite breaking 10 bones in his spine, ribs, sternum and jaw, as well as a concussion.

Leo WolfsonApril 21, 2024

File photo: Officer posts eviction notice

Casper Woman's Property Overtaken By Six Squatters Who Trashed The Place

Wyoming isn’t immune to a property owner’s worst nightmare — squatters. Just ask a Casper woman who learned the hard way when her ousted tenant illegally leased out her home to six unwanted tenants, who trashed the property.

Clair McFarlandApril 20, 2024

A horse takes a practice dive at Atlantic City's Steel Pier Park in 1978.

For 100 Years, Horse Diving Was A Thing, And Was Every Bit Crazy As It Sounds

For about a century, the novelty of horse diving from great heights into a tiny tank of water was all the rage in America. And was every bit crazy as it sounds.

Jake NicholsApril 20, 2024

Bobby Maher’s pallbearers, who included his brothers and friends, all word blue hooded sweatshirts with his name and baseball jersey number, “41," at his funeral.

Hundreds Turn Out For Funeral Of 14-Year-Old Casper Boy Bobby Maher

More than 200 people filled a Casper church Saturday to say a final goodbye and mourn Bobby Maher, a local 14-year-old boy who was killed by an “act of evil” while defending his girlfriend April 7.

Dale KillingbeckApril 20, 2024

It was Sept. 7, 1995, when a ragtag underdog group of climbers from Wyoming pioneered the now-famous Cowboy Direct route up Trango Towers in the Himalaya. They are, in no particular order, Todd Skinner, Mike Lilygren, Bobby Model and Jeff Bechtel.

How An Underdog Wyoming Team Was First To Climb Notorious Himalaya Route

On Sept. 7, 1995, a group of 4 rock climbers from Wyoming free-climbed their way to the summit of the Trango Towers in the southern region of the Himalaya. Just about anyone who knew of their expedition believed they had no business being there, let alone gave them any chance of success.

Mandy FabelApril 20, 2024

A memorial for Bobby Maher, the Casper 14-year-old who died after being stabbed outside Eastridge Mall on April 7, grows near the spot of the altercation. Maher's favorite color was blue.

In Wake Of Teen’s Stabbing Death, Casper Works To End ‘Culture Of Violence’

More than two weeks removed from the shocking stabbing death of a 14-year-old middle school student, the tragedy continues to tear at this central Wyoming city as it works to end a “culture of violence” with its youth.

Dale KillingbeckApril 17, 2024

The beginning of spring is typically the snowiest time for Wyoming.

Northwest Wyoming Can Expect Up To A Foot Of Wet, Heavy Spring Snow

A spring snowstorm will bring up to a foot of wet, heavy spring snow to northwest Wyoming with another month of typical whiplash winter to go.

Andrew RossiApril 16, 2024

Casper mountaineer Dr. Joe McGinley stands on top of Mount Vinson, in Antarctica, his sixth of seven summits of the tallest peaks on seven continents.

Wyoming Climber To Take On Everest’s North Face To Hit 7 Peaks On 7 Continents

Casper mountaineer Dr. Joe McGinley leaves Sunday to take on the north face of Mount Everest and achieve a bucket-list goal he’s been chasing for years — summitting the tallest peak on each of the seven continents on Earth.

Dale KillingbeckApril 16, 2024

Dino, a small brontosaurus sculpture, was stolen from a Cheyenne family's yard last week.

Where’s Dino? Someone Swipes One-Of-A-Kind Sculpture From Cheyenne Yard

A Cheyenne family is asking the community to be on the lookout for Dino, a one-of-a-kind brontosaurus sculpture stolen last week from their fenced-in yard.

April 15, 2024

Stewart Petersen as Billy in the movie 1974 movie “Where The Red Fern Grows.”

Former Teen Actor Gave Up Hollywood Hills For Wyoming Mountains

Stewart Petersen grew up in Cokeville but found fame as a teen actor in major movies like “Where the Red Fern Grows.” But he gave up acting, preferring Wyoming to Hollywood and has had successful roles as husband, father, building contractor and outfitter.

Dale KillingbeckApril 14, 2024

A photo of flight crews outside a hangar at Casper Army Air Base.

Wyoming History: Casper Air Base Was Last Stop For WWII Bomber Crews Heading To War

Built quickly in 1942, the Casper Army Air Base, was the last training stop for thousands of heavy bomber crews during World War II. In fact, it became the training ground for a dominant part of America’s fight for freedom from the air.