Headlines

Explore a chronological display of Cowboy State Daily’s articles.

Aircraft continue to drop huge loads of fire retardant slurry around the Elk Fire to try and slow or halt it's spread and help establish fire lines.

Elk Fire Continues Its Southeast March, Grows Again To More Than 87,000 Acres

Like a column of soldiers, the Elk Fire in northern Wyoming continues its methodical — and at times seemingly relentless — march southeast. It’s grown again to more than 87,000 acres as of Sunday and a little less contained at 28%.

Greg JohnsonOctober 13, 2024

Be Cautious With QR Codes: The Latest Scams Are Ingenious

Wyoming cybersecurity experts warn about a growing threat going into the holiday season — scanning QR codes with your phone. If you’re not careful, they can be yet another way digital thieves can rob you blind.

Jen KocherOctober 13, 2024

Left, Leslie Lynch King, Gerald Ford’s father, in about 1900. Charles Henry King, right, was a pioneer businessman and entrepreneur in Wyoming in the late 1800s and early 1900s. He also was the grandfather of Gerald R. Ford.

Wyoming History: President Ford Came From Wyoming Roots He Never Really Knew

Before he was the 38th president of the United States, Gerald Ford was the grandson of a Wyoming business tycoon. But he never really knew him, or his father, who was spoiled and abusive.

Dale KillingbeckOctober 13, 2024

Bill Sniffin: We Love Our Pets – Three Good Ones Left Us This Year

Columnist Bill Sniffin writes, "What a sad year – so far in 2024, we have had to say good-bye to three of our grand-puppies. These are dogs that lived to be 12, 14, 14 years. They had become parts of our lives and were big personalities in the families of three of our children."

Bill SniffinOctober 13, 2024

Joan Barron: It’s “Save Weston County” Time

Columnist Joan Barron writes, "What colors this development is the support of the whole idea by the Wyoming Freedom Caucus. This is the group gaining power in Wyoming. That’s why I think it’s too early to dismiss this as sheer folly by a bunch of wackos."

Joan BarronOctober 13, 2024

The clown room is often cited as one of the scariest rooms to survive at the Shoshoni Haunted House, especially when a ghoul peeks around the corner, or is it “just” the Book Witch?

Inside Shoshoni's Haunted House: It Takes A Year To Build And Is Straight-Up Scary

The folks in Shoshoni, Wyoming, take Halloween seriously. Any doubt of that will be erased by a visit to its annual haunted house, which takes a year to build and is housed in an abandoned bowling alley which was closed nearly 40 years ago.

Jackie DorothyOctober 12, 2024

The Great Turtle Shield petroglyph that was carved out of the rock face at the Castle Gardens Petroglyph Site in Fremont County in 1940. It was surprisingly and mysteriously donated to the Wyoming State Museum a year later.

How Wyoming Ranchers Rescued A 1,500-Year-Old Petroglyph Vandals Chiseled Out Of Cliff Wall

The Great Turtle Shield, a priceless 1,500-year-old rock carving was chiseled away from Wyoming's Castle Garden Petroglyph Site in 1940. Furious ranchers let it be known if it wasn't found, "legs would be broken." Shortly thereafter, it was anonymously recovered.

Andrew RossiOctober 12, 2024

A firefighter picks up one of each type of lunch, vegetarian and non-vegetarian.

It Takes A Makeshift City To Support The Nearly 1,000 Elk Fire Firefighters

There are nearly 1,000 firefighters and support personnel assigned to the Rocky Mountain Area Complex Incident Management Team fighting the Elk Fire in northern Wyoming. It takes a makeshift city to support them all.

Renée JeanOctober 12, 2024

Bill and Nancy Sniffin made a 12-hour, 493-mile trip to get their Yellowstone National Park visit in this year.

Bill Sniffin Visits Yellowstone For 54th Year In A Row

Cowboy State Daily columnist Bill Sniffin could be Yellowstone National Park's biggest fan. He made his first trip there in October, 1970, and has visited the Park at least once every year for the past 54 years.

Dale KillingbeckOctober 12, 2024

Kassidy Thomas hit a deer on Highway 287 while returning to Laramie as a University of Wyoming student. She was stranded in the dark with a smashed car and no cellphone service.

Hit A Deer, Car Disabled, No Cell Service, Middle Of Nowhere: What Do You Do?

A Laramie woman hit a deer at night on a remote section of Wyoming highway without cellphone service. She was fortunate a good Samaritan happened along, but local officials say you can be prepared.

Dale KillingbeckOctober 12, 2024

Jim Miller arrives to the Wyoming Sugar Co. in Worland with his last sugar beet delivery of the day. By 10 a.m., the weather was too warm to haul more beets. If the piles get to warm, the sugar beets will spoil so ventilators are placed in several mountains of the sugar beets to push air into the depths of the piles.

Wyoming Grower Expects To Bring In 525,000 Tons Of Super-Sweet Sugar Beets

It’s harvest time for Wyoming’s sugar beet growers, and it looks like they’ve had a good season. For Worland-area grower Jim Miller, it’s been a good year. He expect to bring in about 525,000 tons of super-sweet sugar beets.

Jackie DorothyOctober 12, 2024

"Mormon Ferry, first commercial ferry at Upper Crossing of N. Platte River in 1847"

The American West: A North Platte River Ferry Tale

For far longer than history records, the North Platte River Valley has been a thoroughfare through the American West. Crossing the river was sometimes impossible, often difficult, and always a challenge.

R.B. MillerOctober 12, 2024

Andrea and Scott warner pose with Dale during a visit to the Wyoming Honor Conservation Camp outside Newcastle. Now 20, Dale Warner was 14 when he took guns to school and threatened to kill people. He now says he deserves to be in prison, and that it's saved his life.

At 14, Dale Warner Threatened School Killings In Gillette; Now He Says Prison Saved His Life

Dale Warner was 14 when he brought two guns to a Wyoming junior high school and threatened to kill people. Now 20 and serving a 12- to 20-year sentence, he says prison saved his life.

Jen KocherOctober 12, 2024

Should You Put Winter Tires On Your Vehicle In Wyoming?

Should you get snow tires this winter? Automotive writer Aaron Turpen says it depends on where you live in Wyoming, how much winter driving you actually do, and what type of vehicle you’re going to be doing it in.

Aaron TurpenOctober 12, 2024

4. A cowboy overlooks several head of cattle earlier this month during the Hoback Basin cattle roundup in western Wyoming.

Fall Means Cowboys Are Out Rounding Up Cattle In Western Wyoming

The Hoback Basin Cattle Roundup is a month-long push to gather up 3,000 head of cattle that have been grazing all summer on public lands, separate them by brands and ranch and get them ready for sale. It’s a tradition spanning generations of Wyoming cowboys on horseback.

Joy UffordOctober 12, 2024

Two Ocean Creek in Wyoming's Teton Wilderness is the only body of water on the planet that splits and flows into both the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.

Wyoming's Two Ocean Creek Is Only Body Of Water That Flows Into Atlantic And Pacific

Parting of the Waters deep in the Teton Wilderness is a uniquely Wyoming wonder where Two Ocean Creek splits, flowing into both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. It’s the only body of water on the planet to do that.

Andrew RossiOctober 12, 2024

Firefighters on the ground do strategic burning to help gain control of the Elk Fire.

Stubborn Elk Fire Grows To Nearly 85,000 Acres, But Now 32% Contained

The huge Elk Fire in northern Wyoming continues to be a stubborn, dangerous event, growing to nearly 85,000 acres by Saturday. But firefighters are making significant progress, achieving 32% containment.

Greg JohnsonOctober 12, 2024

Former President Donald Trump singled out Wyoming U.S. Rep. Harriet Hageman and Secretary of State for praise during a rally in Aurora, Colorado, on Friday, Oct. 11, 2024.

Trump Shouts Out Harriet Hageman, Chuck Gray At Colorado Rally

Former President Donald Trump singled out a pair of Wyoming politicians during a Friday rally in Aurora, Colorado. He gave shoutouts to Harriet Hageman for beating Liz Cheney “so badly” and Chuck Gray for doing a “great job.”

Leo WolfsonOctober 12, 2024

The Roundup: A Conversation With the Writers of the American West Series

This week, Wendy Corr chats with three of the contributors to Cowboy State Daily's "American West" series. Candy Moulton, James Crutchfield and R.B. Miller talk about the characters and places that hold our imaginations through the decades, and the importance of keeping those stories alive.

Wendy CorrOctober 12, 2024

Tulio Garcia Salazar, aka Juan Carlos Garcia Salazar

Judge Wants Guatemalan Man Deported From Rock Springs After Fourth DUI

A Guatemalan man who smashed into a parked trailer in Rock Springs while drunk, leading to his fourth DUI arrest in the United States, was ordered to report for deportation this week.

Clair McFarlandOctober 11, 2024

Tom Hutchings of Cheyenne, center, recently met Matt Watts, left, and John Ysebaert, who stopped and saved Hutching's life after he suffered from cardiac arrest while driving on Interstate 25.

Jonathan Lange: Col. Thomas Hutchings Lived Purposefully

Columnist Jonathan Lange writes, "Soft-spoken and tender-hearted, Colonel Thomas C. Hutchings, USANG, Retired was a man like none other. Last week, we suddenly lost this Wyoming treasure. Cowboy State Daily readers might remember last summer’s headline, 'Miracle On I-25: Cheyenne Man Doesn't Know Who Saved His Life After Crash.' That was Tom."

Jonathan LangeOctober 11, 2024

Park County voters line up to cast their ballots at the Cody Rec Center for the Aug. 20, 2024, Wyoming primary election.

Wyoming Hunters And Gun Owners Buck National Trend Of Not Voting

Nationwide apathy and distrust of government has caused a drop in hunters and gun owners registering to vote, reports Vote4America. But not in Wyoming, where hunters and gun owners buck that trend, likely because they feel supported by conservatives.

Mark HeinzOctober 11, 2024

Sheridan Deputies Find Burglary Evidence All Over Suspects' Snapchat

Four young men face felony charges after at least one of them posted evidence to Snapchat of their alleged escapades robbing the Big Horn Y gas station in Sheridan, Wyoming. One suspect reportedly texted a Snapchat contact, “Yeah, We Robbed It.”