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Explore a chronological display of Cowboy State Daily’s articles.
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Letter To The Editor: God Kept a Promise. We Must Keep Ours To Wyoming’s Children
Dear editor: The Freedom Caucus is preparing to defund our children's schools. Budget hearings began in Cheyenne this week, and public education is once again a target for huge funding cuts. Those decisions weigh on me as I move through my own preparations.
December 07, 2025

Wyoming History: Fans Saved A Destitute Calamity Jane On Her Last Ride Home
Destitute and convinced she was dying, Calamity Jane boarded a train in Billings, Montana, without a ticket. When she was about to be kicked off in Sheridan, Wyoming, sympathetic fans paid her way so she could get home to Deadwood.
Jackie DorothyDecember 07, 2025

Sheridan Man Builds Premium Fly-Fishing Rods — And Teaches Others To Make Them
Joey Puettman of Sheridan turned his passion for fly-fishing into a career building premium fly fishing rods. Over the past 20 years, Puettman has also taught more than 3,000 people how to fly fish and build their own rods.
Jackie DorothyDecember 07, 2025

What The Heck ... Are Those Contraptions That Look Like Medieval Torture Devices?
Those contraptions that can still be found in fields across Wyoming and the West look like Medieval torture devices. Turns out, the 30-foot rectangular gadgets are called beaver slides, and they have nothing to do with beavers.
Dale KillingbeckDecember 07, 2025

Joan Barron: No Fix Yet For Wyoming's Bumpy Highways
Columnist Joan Barron writes, “The need to do something about a $600 million deficit in the highway funding budget of the Wyoming Department of Transportation” may have to “wait until after the next election.”
Joan BarronDecember 07, 2025

Dude Dad, Internet Comedian Who Roasts Colorado, Is Coming To Wyoming
Taylor Calmus, aka Dude Dad, will kick off a new comedy series benefiting Wyoming nonprofits by bringing his “Parents Night Out” tour to Cheyenne and Laramie. He's grown a huge following poking fun of his home state of Colorado.
David MadisonDecember 07, 2025

Steamboat Geyser, The World’s Tallest, May Not Blast Off Again For Decades
There have been only two major eruptions of Yellowstone’s Steamboat Geyser in 2025, and it's been more than 200 days since its last eruption. Scientists have no idea when it will erupt again as it has stopped exhibiting one of its only predictable behaviors.
Andrew RossiDecember 07, 2025

Wyoming's Brush Creek Ranch Aims For Michelin Acclaim With New Chef
Brush Creek Ranch's new Chef Nicholas Pissare brought two Michelin Keys to a resort in Colorado, that state’s only such property. If he can do the same here, that would expand Wyoming’s Michelin footprint somewhere else besides Jackson Hole.
Renée JeanDecember 06, 2025

Utah Man's 2001 Subaru Is About to Hit 1 Million Miles
Marty Simonich has driven his white 2001 Subaru Legacy sedan nearly 1 million miles. He has driven through snowstorms, across the Bonneville Salt Flats at 120 mph, into at least four deer and through Jackson Hole, where the odometer turned 777,777.
David MadisonDecember 06, 2025

Hunter, 82, Still Bagging Wyoming Big Game With Rifle He Bought In 1968
Brian Gee started hunting in Wyoming in 1968 with a rifle he bought for $121 that year. Now nearly 82, Gee still hunts — and still bags big game with the same Remington BDL.
Mark HeinzDecember 06, 2025

Wyoming Freestyle Skier Won Silver In 2022 Olympics, Aims For Gold In 2026
Alta, Wyoming’s Jaelin Kauf is one of the world’s most decorated freestyle skiers and currently the “athlete to beat” in the upcoming 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Italy. She won a silver in 2022 and is aiming for the gold medal in February.
Zakary SonntagDecember 06, 2025

Last Call For Wyoming Highway Patrol Dispatcher After 35 Years Of Chaos And Crisis
After 35 years as a dispatcher with the Wyoming Highway Patrol, Chris McGuire has retired. Handling everything from domestic disputes to blizzards, long hours were a constant, she said. During one snowstorm, she worked 37 hours straight.
Jen KocherDecember 06, 2025

Sleepy Hollow Near Laramie Named Wyoming’s Wealthiest Town — But It Doesn’t Exist
Move over Jackson — two national business publications are claiming a place called Sleepy Hollow (allegedly near Laramie) is Wyoming’s richest small town. But the town doesn’t exist, sparking debate over whether faulty artificial intelligence is behind the ranking.
Renée JeanDecember 06, 2025

Jackson Man Agrees To 10-12 Years In Prison For DUI Crash That Killed Photographer
A Jackson man agreed to plead guilty to aggravated vehicular homicide and DUI for a June 21 crash that killed a photographer riding her bicycle near South Park Loop. Jody Utter faces 10-12 years in prison if the judge accepts the plea deal.
Clair McFarlandDecember 06, 2025

Judge Rules For Landowner, Stops Controversial Wind Lease In Converse County
A Converse County district judge has sided with a local rancher and reversed the State Board of Land Commissioners' approval of a wind energy lease. The judge said the project doesn't meet the state's own definition of wind energy leasing because it won't connect to the electrical grid.
David MadisonDecember 06, 2025

‘Human Hand’ Found In Park County Dump Turns Out To Be Skinned Bear Paw
A freaky-looking severed “human hand” reportedly found at the Park County dump turned out to be a skinned bear paw. Outdoorsman Owen Miller said it is an easy mistake to make because, when skinned, they can look so much like human hands it's "creepy."
Mark HeinzDecember 06, 2025

Laramie Teacher Surprised With $25,000 Milken Award — The 'Oscar Of Teaching’
Garrid Halsey, a STEM teacher at Laramie Middle School, received the Milken Educator Award in a surprise assembly Friday. Considered the “Oscar of teaching,” the award comes with an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C., and a $25,000 check.
Andrew RossiDecember 05, 2025

Legislators Grill Wyoming Business Council, Say It ‘Picks Winners And Losers’
The Wyoming Business Council was grilled by legislators this week over its $111.8 million budget request, while Gov. Mark Gordon recommends it receive about half that. At least one legislator wants to eliminate the agency.
Clair McFarlandDecember 05, 2025

Dennis Sun: It Takes Two to Engage
Ag columnist Dennis Sun writes, "The last convention of the year will be the WSGA Winter Roundup in Casper on Dec. 8-10 at the Ramkota Hotel. This winter meeting is a great place to engage, express opinions and learn about opportunities in the cattle industry. And, you can bet your voice will be heard."
Dennis SunDecember 05, 2025

Jonathan Lange: We Need a Realistic Approach to Teen Suicide
Columnist Jonathan Lange writes: “We have had a 500-percent spike in teen suicides that hardly anybody talks about. What happened? What accounts for such an alarming increase?”
Jonathan LangeDecember 05, 2025

Drivers Are Destroying Road Closure Gates By Racing Past Them Before They Lower
When bad weather hits and drivers see road closure gates lowering in Wyoming, some race to get past them before they’re down. In the process, many gates have been hit and destroyed. Not to mention, being on a closed road is a bad idea.
Andrew RossiDecember 05, 2025

Breakthrough: Idaho Lab Produces World’s First Molten Salt Fuel For Nuclear Reactors
Idaho National Laboratory announced a breakthrough this week that it’s created the world’s first molten salt fuel for nuclear reactors. That has Wyoming’s growing nuclear industry excited for its potential use in advanced nuclear power plants.
Kate MeadowsDecember 05, 2025

Polar Vortex Is About To Make Things A Lot Colder Across Wyoming
The Arctic polar vortex is expected to move south, which some say will lead to the coldest, harshest winter in years. Wyoming meteorologist Don Day plays down those dire predictions, even though he says the frigid air would make Wyoming colder.
Andrew RossiDecember 05, 2025

Why Does Gas Cost 70-80 Cents A Gallon Less In Denver Than Cheyenne?
An aggressive gas price war in the Denver metro area has prices there as low as $1.67 a gallon, while in Cheyenne the average is $2.45. Industry experts say there are several reason why motorists there are paying so much less.
Scott Schwebke & Greg JohnsonDecember 05, 2025
