Wyoming Life | Cowboy State Daily

Rodeo cowboys voted Summit’s elite bareback mare Game Trail as the second best bareback horse in the nation.

Cowboys Who Ride Them Say These Wyoming Rodeo Horses Are The Nation's Best

Summit Pro Rodeo, a professional rodeo stock contractor company in Centennial, has some of the best rodeo horses in the nation including the PRCA's Saddle Bronc Horse of the Year. They have four of the nation's highest ranked horses and will be at the NFR.

Renée JeanOctober 25, 2026

Before moving to Thermopolis, Cozette Medill-Matthews grew up on a quiet street in Denver. When she was 9 years old, that was all changed when Interstate 25, then known as “Valley Highway” was built literally in her backyard. Her neighborhood was condemned and promptly demolished to make way for the highway.

Thermopolis Woman Remembers When Her Denver Neighborhood Was Flattened For I-25

Thermopolis resident Cozette Medill-Matthews was 9 when her family's Denver neighborhood and many others were flattened to build what is now I-25, displacing 15,000 people. She remembers when men arrived to tell them their lives were about to change.

Jackie DorothyOctober 24, 2026

Casper College custodial worker Dawn Francis stands beside a towering polar bear at the Werner Wildlife Museum. Francis has spent years cleaning the museum after hours, alone among its hundreds of taxidermied residents.

Hundreds Of Eyes: Alone After Dark With 450 Dead Animals At Casper Wildlife Museum

When the lights go out at Casper’s Werner Wildlife Museum, hundreds of glassy eyes remain open — and the night janitor is left alone with 450 dead animals. As Dawn Francis puts it, “It almost feels like the whole building then can breathe.”

Kolby FedoreOctober 24, 2026

Ben and Kara Hoang were married in June.

2 Months After Wife Has Emergency Spine Surgery, Gillette Cop In ICU For Heart

A Gillette police officer, his newlywed wife and their five children have seen their lives upended by back-to-back health emergencies. He's in a Billings Intensive Care Unit after aortic artery surgery eight weeks after she had spinal surgery.

Dale KillingbeckOctober 24, 2026

The C-119 currently has propellers that don’t match — a three-blade version and four-blade version.

Vintage C-119 Warbird At Greybull Airport Could Be The Last Of Its Kind To Fly

A 1954 C-119 “Flying Boxcar” sitting at the Greybull Airport could be the last of its kind to fly if its owner, a United Airlines pilot, can make it work. “It’s like driving an old car,” he says. “It vibrates and shakes, and you get the smell of exhaust.”

Dale KillingbeckOctober 24, 2026

As Cheyenne sleeps, it's easy to see why the 126-year-old Hynds Building on the corner of Lincolnway and Capital Avenue in the city's historic downtown district has for decades convinced even skeptics that it's haunted.

'Holy Crap!’: Skeptic Can’t Explain Voice In Cheyenne’s Cursed Hynds Building

Videographer John Ferrara didn’t go looking for a ghost at the Hynds Building in Cheyenne. But he found one anyway. The building is cursed. Or people say it is. It's bad history includes an electrocution to fires to one person who was crushed to death.

Kerry DrakeOctober 24, 2026

Cowboy State Daily's own Bill Sniffin loves his self-driving Tesla, but the 80-year-old admits he was reluctant to let it drive his recent 3,000-mile road trip.

I'm 80-Years-Old And I Bought A Tesla. Then I Let It Drive Me For 3,000 Miles.

Cowboy State Daily's Bill Sniffin just bought a Tesla because he loved the idea of the car driving him. In fact, the 80-year-old let the car drive for nearly all of his recent 3,000-mile trip. Although he had some anxiety, he concludes: "I love this car."

Bill SniffinOctober 24, 2026

Clair McFarland makes feetloaf for the family on Friday — a gruesomely awsome abomination of culinary science.

I Made Feetloaf On Friday, A Gruesome Abomination Of Culinary Science

Clair McFarland writes: “I made feetloaf on Friday — a gruesome abomination of culinary science — as a Halloween prank. Joke’s on me, though, because my four teen boys and husband loved eating severed feet for dinner."

Clair McFarlandOctober 24, 2026

he Hulett Post Office has been the launching spot for Ione Spangler’s 66-mile mail route for many years.

After 54 Years Of Wind, Ice And Mud, Hulett Family Retires From 66-Mile Mail Route

After 54 years of delivering mail through wind, ice and mud on a 66-mile rural route around Hulett, Wyoming, the Spangler family is calling it quits. “I would probably have to finish it with a walker," Ione Spangler says about why she can't continue.

Dale KillingbeckOctober 24, 2026

Gary Medicine Cloud, a hunter from the Wind River Reservation, recounted his 2003 encounter with a silent, matte-black triangular object in the St. Lawrence area of the Wind River Range. Background image is a digital recreation based on recently declassified federal UAP incident reports illustrates a matte-black triangular craft observed executing low-altitude maneuvers over Western military airspace.

UFO Files Released Friday Match Wyoming Hunter’s Silent Black Triangle Encounter

Newly declassified federal UFO files released Friday detail silent black triangles matching a Wyoming hunter’s encounter. These dark craft are frequently described by witnesses as "floating fertility clinics," a professor and UFO expert says.

Emma Jane JacksonOctober 23, 2026

Two skeletons posed in a sex act are seen riding on a GMC SUV in Casper.

Casper Residents Divided Over Skeleton Sex Orgy On SUV

A skeleton sex orgy strapped to the roof of a Casper SUV has some residents angered and some shrugging. "To me this is no different than a couple having sex in public," said one outraged resident.

Kolby FedoreOctober 23, 2026

Trustee Michael Stedillie praised Midwest supporters’ “tenacity in action” during Friday’s meeting.

Midwest School Saved After Heated Meeting — At Least For Another Year

Midwest Schools, the birthplace of 'Friday Night Lights,' won a reprieve Friday after a heated meeting in which a school board member blamed the Freedom Caucus for the school closure proposal. The town was given a year to come up with alternatives.

Kolby FedoreOctober 23, 2026

The Midwest Oilers line up for the National Anthem.

Last Hurrah? Midwest Fans Show Up Big For What Could Be Final Home Football Game

Supporters of the Midwest Oilers football team packed their field Thursday night for what could be the final game at the birthplace of 'Friday Night Lights.' The town is bracing for the loss of grades 6-12 next week. "It's sad," many fans said.

Dale KillingbeckOctober 23, 2026

Diya, a stray dog, sits at the Split Rock Rest Area near Jeffrey City, where she spent over a month outsmarting rescue traps before being walked 90 miles to safety.

How The Uncatchable Wyoming Rest Area Dog Was Secretly Walked 90 Miles Home To Safety

A Lander man was convinced traditional traps would never capture the celebrity stray dog Diya at Split Rock Rest Area near Jeffrey City, so he secretly coaxed her to walk 90 miles to his home. “She followed me and my dog every step of the way,” the hiker said.

Emma Jane JacksonOctober 23, 2026

Former state House District 58 Rep. Pat Sweeney speaks during Wendesday's Midwest town hall meeting.

‘It’ll Kill The Community’: Midwest Rallies To Save Grades 6-12 From Chopping Block

More than 100 people packed into the Midwest Recreation Center on Wednesday to begin a full-court press to save grades 6-12 of their school from the chopping block. “I think it’ll kill the community," said a student who could lose becoming valedictorian.

Greg JohnsonOctober 22, 2026

The story of a giant 28-foot inflatable pumpkin rampaging more than 60 miles across southeastern Wyoming is being reported by legitimate news outlets as “breaking news.” It’s fake, another Casper Planet satire story picked up and reported as “real” news.

It's Fake! Giant Inflatable Pumpkin Blown Across Wyoming Reported As ‘Real’ News

The story of a giant 28-foot inflatable pumpkin rampaging more than 60 miles across southeastern Wyoming is being reported by news outlets as “breaking news.” It’s fake, another Casper Planet satire story picked up and reported as “real” news.

Greg JohnsonOctober 21, 2026

David Rollingcloud Jackson, center, is pictured with family members in a photo shared by his daughter-in-law, Danni Wong.

Family Says Bus Driver For Popular Band Died Behind Wheel Before Rolling On I-25

The driver for a popular band died from a medical emergency before the tour bus he was operating crossed three lanes of Interstate 25 and rolled near Cheyenne, his family says. "It was a terrifying experience for everyone on board," said a band member.

Kolby FedoreOctober 20, 2026

Seven-year-old Octaveia “Tavey” Mindrum is cared for aboard an AirLife medical aircraft during her transfer from Gillette to Children’s Hospital Colorado after becoming severely ill with rhinovirus.

Common Cold Virus Leaves Healthy Gillette 7-Year-Old In Acute Respiratory Failure

An otherwise healthy 7-year-old Gillette girl was airlifted to Denver last week after a routine cold suddenly turned serious. Her blood-oxygen level had plummeted, her heart was racing above 150 beats per minute and needed continuous high-flow oxygen.

Kolby FedoreOctober 19, 2026

Park County Courthouse Isn’t Haunted — Unless You Count The Ghost Who Makes Toast

The 114-year-old Park County Courthouse in Cody doesn't seem to have any vengeful spirits, unless you count the ghost who makes toast on the second floor. “Whoever opens the courthouse will smell toast” when nobody’s there, said one staffer.

Andrew RossiOctober 18, 2026

Tosh Asano carries the ball during an inter-camp game.

Statistically, Heart Mountain Eagles Were Wyoming's Best High School Football Team

The Heart Mountain Eagles had an .857 winning percentage from 1943-1944, all of them inside a World War II internment camp. “The adversity these guys had to face is the kind of stuff that builds resilience, their accomplishments shouldn’t be forgotten," one historian said.

Leo Wolfson For Cowboy State DailyOctober 18, 2026

When a Pennsylvania couple saw photos of a big Bat-Signal lighting up a hillside over Afton, Wyoming, Emily and Justin Sweitzer drove 2,000 miles to see it. It was a tribute to their 7-year-old son Issac, a huge Batman fan, who died seven years ago in a car crash.

Grieving Parents Drive 2,000 Miles To See Afton Man's Bat-Signal On Hillside

When a Pennsylvania couple saw photos of a big Bat-Signal lighting up a hillside over Afton, Wyoming, they drove 2,000 miles to see it. It was a tribute to their 7-year-old son, a huge Batman fan, who died seven years ago in a car crash.

Renée JeanOctober 18, 2026

After fleeing the Chicago mafia, "Old Steve" Gorshum spent 20 years tending goats and living in a hand-built stone home in the Bighorns, telling his neighbors he was hiding from his past. Old Steve often shared tales of his mafia days with neighbors.

‘Old Steve’ Hid From Chicago Mob For 20 Years Raising Goats Near Buffalo, Wyoming

A former Chicago mobster known as “Old Steve” spent 20 years hiding out in a squat, home-built stone house outside of Buffalo raising goats. It was far removed from his former life in the mafia as a guy who knew where the bodies were buried — and didn’t want to join them.

Andrew RossiOctober 18, 2026

Bryan and Katie Mantle handle the daily operations at Mantle Ranch that involves meeting BLM requirements, hosting people who want to adopt horses, and all the spontaneity that 118 horses can deliver in a training process.

Meet The Wheatland Ranchers Who Tame Wild Mustangs Before They’re Adopted

A Wheatland ranch family has dedicated the past 30 years to taming about 2,000 wild Wyoming mustangs before they’re adopted. Getting them “gentled” and ready to ride requires a lot of patience and willingness to land in the dirt.

Dale KillingbeckOctober 18, 2026

In the mining camp of Hartville (pictured), men took the custom of sitting up all night next to a dead friend to the next level. While playing poker and enjoying a shot of whiskey, they’d make sure the dead man was included as part of his wake. Inset: Poker game from Wyoming State Archives

In Wyoming Mining Camps, Dead Men Would Play Poker And Smoke Cigars

In the event someone died at a mining camp — and out of fear that one could be buried alive — miners would stay up with their dead friend overnight. That included, sitting them up and playing poker. The corpse’s winnings would defray funeral expenses.

Jackie DorothyOctober 17, 2026