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Kolby fedore

Kolby Fedore

Crime & Courts

Courts

A Minnesota man says he was stunned to learn a stranger spent years building a life in Wyoming allegedly using his name — earning hundreds of thousands of dollars, fathering a child and leaving him to sort out the financial fallout with the IRS and owing child support.

Now, a Gillette welding worker is facing four felony identity theft charges after investigators say he used another man's name and Social Security number to obtain employment and official documents.

Jose Alfredo Guevara-Reyes, 45, made his initial appearance in Campbell County Circuit Court last week after being charged with four counts of unauthorized use of personal identifying information.

According to court documents, the case began June 8 when Gillette police received a handwritten letter from Martin Almendarez of Minneapolis saying that someone working in Gillette had been using his identity.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Child Support Surprise"}]

For Almendarez, the first signs of trouble didn't come from Wyoming law enforcement.

"I learned that the man who stole my identity had fathered a child," Almendarez said. 

Because the worker allegedly used Almendarez's Social Security number, the child's mother initially believed Almendarez was the father, he said.

The situation escalated when the state of Wyoming notified him that he was on the hook to financially support the child.

"I got a letter from the state of Wyoming saying that they were going to garnish my wages,” he told Cowboy State Daily.

Almendarez said even his employer questioned his identity as records tied to the alleged fraud surfaced. The Minnesota man said the ordeal was especially unsettling because he had never met the defendant.

[{"type":"text","text":"\"I don't even know him nor have I ever been to Wyoming,\" he said."}]

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Welding Shop Discovery"}]

An affidavit filed in the case by Gillette Police Detective Brendan Trujillo says investigators contacted MC Welding Services after receiving Almendarez's complaint.

The company provided employment paperwork associated with the worker, including a W-4 tax form, an I-9 employment eligibility form, a Social Security card and a Texas driver's license bearing Almendarez's name, the affidavit says.

Police determined the Texas driver's license number actually belonged to another person in Texas, according to the affidavit.

Investigators then visited MC Welding and spoke with the employee using the documents.

The man then identified himself with a New Mexico driver's license as Jose Alfredo Guevara-Reyes of Las Cruces, New Mexico.

Reyes admitted to obtaining documents from a person in Texas for employment purposes but declined to identify the person.

The detective told Reyes the person who supplied the documents had essentially "set you up for failure,” the affidavit says.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"$500,000 Question"}]

Court records estimate Reyes worked at the welding company for more than four years, and a company employee told investigators that Reyes typically worked three 12-hour shifts each week and earned roughly $30 per hour.

The affidavit says he earned well above the felony threshold while allegedly using Almendarez's identity.

Almendarez believes the damage done to him may extend far beyond employment records.

According to IRS records he reviewed, he said more than $500,000 in earnings had been reported under his name.

"I heard he bought cars and put them under his name, a business in fabrication and other things like credit cards," Almendarez said.

The alleged victim also said he even worries someone might have obtained a life insurance policy using his identity.

[{"type":"text","text":"“Truthfully, it scared me to think it has gone on this long,\" he said."}]

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Relief Call"}]

After years of trying to untangle the situation from hundreds of miles away, Almendarez decided to write directly to authorities in Gillette.

[{"type":"text","text":"The response came quickly."}]

"A week later they called me saying he was in jail, and I felt so relieved," he said.

Even with the arrest, Almendarez said he believes he still has a long road ahead clearing his name with government agencies and financial institutions.

[{"type":"text","text":"For now, though, he says he finally feels like someone is listening."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"\"I pray this turns out for the best,\" he said."}]

Reyes is being held at the Campbell County Detention Center on a $500,000 cash-only bond. 

He is expected to next appear in circuit court for a preliminary hearing on Thursday at 11:30 p.m.

Gillette police 5 31 23

Cowboy State Daily is Wyoming’s largest newspaper with Wyoming’s most experienced journalists. 

<title>Gillette Welder Accused Of Stealing Identity, Leaving Man Owing Child Support | Cowboy State Daily</title>

A Minnesota man says a stranger spent years building a life in Wyoming using his identity — earning more than $500,000, fathering a child and leaving the man owing child support. "I don't even know him nor have I ever been to Wyoming,” the man said.

Gillette Welder Accused Of Stealing Identity, Leaving Man Owing Child Support

Heinz mark

Mark Heinz

Outdoors

Hunting

A Wyoming man is apologizing for tossing, kicking and stabbing a coyote in a controversial video that went viral last week.

Aron Snyder posted a video statement on social media over the weekend in which he says the coyote video was taken in Texas in 2019 or 2020.

He said that he finished off the wounded coyote with a knife because he didn’t have a firearm with him at the time. He also admits that the video is "a very bad optic."

Snyder also confirmed that because of the video, his employment has been terminated, and that he accepts that decision.

 to Cowboy State Daily last week, saying that Snyder is from Riverton. The video and accompanying information were also sent to wildlife agencies and animal welfare groups in Wyoming and several other states.

There was no response to messages to cellphone numbers registered to Snyder.

Cowboy State Daily reached out to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD), asking if the department is investigating the incident depicted in the coyote-killing video, and if any reaction might result.

TPWD law enforcement spokeswoman Maggie Berger promptly responded with an email saying she would check into it, but was swamped early Monday.

“We are currently responding to service calls due to flooding and severe weather in multiple areas of the state as well as much time being dedicated to the new world screwworm response,” she stated.

There is concern in Texas that an emerging screwworm infestation in cattle will 

. There’s also worry that it could eventually hit big game herds in other states, including Wyoming.

Response to the coyote video has been overwhelmingly negative. Some hunters and animal welfare advocates have condemned the depicted actions as unethical and cruel.

However, some social media commenters have supported Snyder, saying the video shows him doing what he had to do to kill the coyote with the means he had at hand at the time.

In the video, Snyder is seen stabbing the coyote once in the shoulder area. Supporters have commented that indicates he was trying to puncture the coyote’s lungs and/or heart, which would have resulted in a quick death.

In his statement, Snyder said the video was taken during a coyote hunt “after an ice storm” in Texas.

“The coyotes were wreaking havoc on my buddy’s cattle, horses (and) dogs, as they do,” he said.

He said he drove an ATV to the location where the coyote in question was, but had left his gun behind in a pickup.

“When I got to it (the coyote), um, it wasn’t dead, it was still alive,” he said. "Pulled it out of a brush pile, um, kicked its legs out from under it, stabbed it, you know, it was growling at me, I kicked it again."

He also said he performed a “dead check” on the animal. That’s a term hunters use for checking to make sure an animal is dead.

Snyder said he recalled that he might have stabbed the coyote once more, although the video clip shows him stabbing it only once.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"‘Bad Optic’"}]

Regarding the video, Snyder admits that “it’s a very bad optic, I understand that, for the hunting community. That wasn’t my intention but even when I watched it, it looked bad."

He said that if one watches predators “tear apart” wildlife, dogs and livestock “you do lose value and respect for them (predators)."

“That’s not an excuse that’s just a fact of life, and my actions that day showed that,” Snyder said.

Snyder also said the fallout from the video could be a “blessing in disguise” because it gives him a reason to get off social media and simply enjoy being outdoors.

Paul Ulrich, president of the Wyoming Sportsmanship group, previously condemned what he saw in the video.

After seeing Snyder’s video on Monday, Ulrich told Cowboy State Daily that “it’s encouraging to see somebody admit they made a mistake.”

“He certainly notes that it’s ‘bad optics,’ and it is. But at its heart (what’s in the coyote video) is just bad behavior. It’s cruel and the antithesis of a clean kill,” Ulich said.

Wyoming Sportsmanship was instrumental in getting the so-called “Clean Kill Bill” passed by the state Legislature and signed into law.

It makes it illegal to deliberately prolong the suffering of predatory animals, such as coyotes, in Wyoming.

Ulrich noted that according to Snyder’s account of events, Snyder apparently wasn’t properly prepared “to make a clean kill,” because he left his firearm behind in a pickup.

Hunters should keep their rifles or shotguns, or a sidearm, at all times to quickly end wounded animals’ suffering, Ulrich said.

Although Snyder apparently killed the coyote in the video in Texas, Ulrich said that the incident can carry a universal message for hunters.

Ulrich said he appreciates Snyder acknowledging losing a value and respect for predators.

“Hopefully he finds that value and respect for all wildlife again someday,” Ulrich said.

“I hope this gives us all the opportunity to take a deep breath and realize our responsibility to respect all wildlife, including predators,” he added.

Snyder could also use his prominent position in the outdoor world to spread the message, Ulrich said.

“He has an opportunity, and I hope in some small way he takes advantage of an opportunity to do the right thing,” he said. “And perhaps the message for today is that we pass those values of respect for all wildlife on to the next generation."

Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy announced Monday that it was offering a $3,000 reward for information leading to a conviction for a felony cruelty to animals charge in connection with the events shown in the coyote-killing video.

After being sent a link to Snyder’s apology by Cowboy State Daily on Monday, the group’s president, Wayne Pacelle, said the reward offer still stands.

Although the alleged location and time frame of the Coyote killing were revealed by Snyder, Pacelle said new information might expand upon Snyder’s account or contradict elements of it.

“I’m not accusing him of that (falsifying details of the coyote incident). I just don’t want to make assumptions that these claims are true," Pacelle said.

If the coyote was killed in Texas as far back as 2019, that state’s statute of limitations for cruelty to animals charges might have run out, he said.

In that case, “he (Snyder) could escape prosecution for his malicious cruelty,” Pacelle said.

He added that he found Snyder’s apology lacking.

“He didn’t apologize so much as he excused it,” Pacelle said, and added that in the original video, Snyder appears to be unnecessarily cruel to the coyote “with relish.”

Pacelle also criticized Snyder’s apparent actions leading up to the coyote being wounded in the first place.

“There’s an ethic in hunting of knowing where you’re shooting and knowing how to deliver a killing shot,” he said.   

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Fired From Born Primitive"}]

After the video emerged, the Born Primitive Outdoor clothing and gear company announced that it had 

“Born Primitive Outdoor supports ethical hunting and holds itself and its partners to that standard,” the company says in the announcement. "The behavior shown in the video involving Aron Snyder does not align with that standard. 

"As a result, Aron Snyder is no longer an employee of Born Primitive,” 

A message requesting further comment from Born Primitive was not answered by publication time.

In his video statement, Snyder confirmed his termination from the company saying, “my actions are mine. Born Primitive should not be held responsible. I respect their decision.”

Editor's note: This story has been updated to include reacton to Snyder's apology video.

Aron Snyder inset 6 15 26

<title>‘A Very Bad Optic’: Wyoming Man Apologizes For Controversial Coyote Killing Video | Cowboy State Daily</title>

A Wyoming man named Aron Snyder confirms he’s the person seen tossing, kicking and stabbing a coyote in a video. The video is “a very bad optic,” he says while apologizing in a weekend social media post.

‘A Very Bad Optic’: Wyoming Man Apologizes For Controversial Coyote Killing Video

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily's business and tourism reporter, Renée Jean

Renée Jean

Business & Tourism

Business

CHEYENNE — America is in a digital arms race right now with other countries, Gov. Mark Gordon told construction workers during a tour of the 

data center site this past week, and Wyoming can be part of winning that race.

“We need to have AI, we need to own that property,” he said. “We need to make sure that our data is better, stronger, and more efficient than anywhere else. You all are the vanguard of that, and I say, God bless you.”

Wind gusts punctuated the governor’s hard-hat tour of Related Digital’s facility on Thursday, kicking up little dust devils as Gordon and Cheyenne Mayor Patrick Collins walked to and from the rapidly rising concrete walls for the data center. 

Work is nearing completion on the first 184,000-square-foot phase of the campus, which is expected to be finished in late 2026. 

The tour was an opportunity for an inside look at how this $1.2 billion data center will operate, as far as fire suppression, energy use, and water cooling. 

It was also a chance for Gordon and Collins to talk about things like affordable housing, worker training, and opportunities that can keep Wyoming youths at home.

Related’s Cheyenne campus will ultimately deliver up to 420 megawatts of computational capacity for its client, CoreWeave, and they claim will generate more than $250 million in tax revenue for Cheyenne over its first 15 years of operation. 

Gordon said Related Digital is offering a model for how data centers can and should be built in Wyoming. 

“What Related has done here is absolutely astounding,” Gordon said. “I used to work for an oil and gas company, and I have a ranch, and I’ve tried to bring that same philosophy to it, too.

“But you have demonstrated it here, and that’s do the right thing, do it the right way, and do it right away.”

One challenge Wyoming faces will be affordable housing.

“One of the things that’s really important is that if you’re going to get educated, and if you’re going to have a job, we want to make sure you have a place to live that you can afford,” Gordon said. “And that’s something I know that (Cheyenne) Mayor (Patrick Collins) has put a tremendous amount of effort into.”

For Gordon and Collins, the real test of projects like Related’s won’t be just the servers humming on the prairie, but whether the jobs and housing they help create give more Wyoming families a reason — and a way— to stay in Wyoming.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"How The Power Flows"}]

A member of the Related Digital team explained how power leaves the Black Hills substation, disappearing underground in buried lines that have been tucked safely away from the wind, before rising again into two massive switchboards that feed the front and back halves of the data halls. 

Traditionally, the electrical “guts” of a data center have been assembled on site, the employee added. 

But to speed the process along, Related’s gear was built off-site and shipped in fully formed blocks. That’s allowing contractors to set and wire everything more quickly.

Such speed-to-market tactics are what the market demands right now in the race to build out a massive surge in artificial intelligence and data centers.

Row upon row of batteries stand quiet but ready outside the building. They can provide about seven minutes of battery time.

If the power dips or there’s an outage, those batteries take the load instantly while it’s passed along to backup generators. 

This approach ensures a constant flow of power to Related’s servers, which are running 24-7. 

Black Hills Energy will deliver power to Related under Wyoming’s large-load tariff, which has been designed to ensure data center companies are paying 100% of their costs, including the infrastructure required to serve them.

From there the tour filed into the Related Digital Facility itself. 

A huge concrete wall swallowed tiny humans whole and the sound of blustery wind was replaced with the light and easy hum of machinery. 

Inside the facility, the tour stopped near a wall of fans and coils which are an integral part of keeping the facility at an even 73 degrees. 

“The racks are laid out kind of perpendicular to where we are,” a Related Digital employee explained. “Each of those racks has a chimney system taking the hot air out.”

The air chillers work in combination with a closed-loop, direct-to-chip, liquid cooling system, which soaks up heat directly at the source and moves it to a heat exchanger. 

“We use the environment of Cheyenne, which has some colder temperature throughout the year,” an employee explained. “The evolution of these (systems) has gotten significantly more energy-efficient. 

"That overall kind of allows us to build a closed system and run a highly efficient animal.”

As long as the closed-loop system is kept tight and filled, there’s essentially no ongoing makeup water required, he added. 

“It’s basically set as soon as this is put in place,” he said. “It’s like your car radiator. If it’s leaking, you have a problem. Otherwise, you’re set.”

Magnetic-bearing compressors help the chillers remain efficient even when temperatures outside climb above the optimal 70 degrees. 

Those compressors will work harder, but remain highly efficient, thanks to advanced technology.

Related’s approach is about four times more efficient than past approaches, which allows the company to run its server racks more densely, creating more computing power per square foot.

Fire Protection For Billion-Dollar Building

Fire safety is not an afterthought at a facility like a data center. The strategy there focuses heavily on mitigating risk, while avoiding water damage. 

“All of our systems are pre-action systems,” a fire protection expert explained, which will remain dry under normal conditions.

A box on the wall constantly sniffs at the air to detect smoke. Only when both air sampling detection and other triggers align will water finally surge into the pipes through sprinkler heads.

That helps prevent accidental deluges on millions of dollars of sensitive equipment. 

Separate pods throughout the facility, meanwhile, each have their own shutoff valves, so that an incident in one area doesn’t necessarily have to knock the entire building offline. 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Not Just Jobs, Careers"}]

It wasn’t all about the building during the tour. Gordon and Collins also had panel discussions with employees of various contractors to talk about how they came to be part of the project, as well as what kind of training was required.

One worker talked about bringing his son into the trade, and having him help with side projects and shop work, to help him learn a skill that could keep him in Wyoming.

That was a point that particularly interested both Gordon and Collins. 

Wyoming, Gordon said, has invested heavily in career and technical education (CTE), in an effort to give high school students and community college enrollees a head start on apprenticeships and technical credentials.

Staffing the projects has been a challenge, a different employee noted but, those who do come to Cheyenne are often finding there’s plenty of work to keep them in Cheyenne long-term.

Brad Harless, for example, originally came to Cheyenne to work on Microsoft data centers.

“They kept sending me to Cheyenne for work,” he said.

So he just decided to move to the area and stay.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Miles Of Pipe"}]

Related Digital broke ground in October and has since installed about 80,000 feet of chiller pipes, 40,000 feet of medium-voltage conduits to feed the data center power, which is 111 football fields long, according to Related Companies CEO Jeff Blau. 

There’s another 21,000 linear feet of underground utility pipe going in, which is 90% complete.

All of that work has been done by Wyoming businesses and Wyoming workers. 

“That’s exactly why I feel good standing here with the governor and saying that I believe this project lives up to the principles you outlined in your executive order,” Blau said. 

“The governor laid out a vision for attracting investment and creating jobs, while protecting Wyoming’s water and natural resources, respecting local communities and ensuring growth creates lasting benefits to the state,” he added.

The closed-loop system and high-efficiency air chillers mean water use will be on the order of a standard office building, said Blau.

“We’re very proud of that responsible approach,” he said. “The executive order also talks about protecting ratepayers. This project pays the full cost of the energy infrastructure it requires and then some. 

"We’re investing more than $20 million to purchase a new transformer and expand the existing substation to service this data center.”

That investment bolsters the overall energy grid in the region, and will help protect ratepayers from future cost increases.

“Gov. Gordon’s order also talks about workforce growth and opportunity,” Blau said. “Just look around this tent. We have over 400 construction workers today, and we’ll have more than 700 at peak. 

"We’re going to need another tent. Continuing to invest in infrastructure and development enables workers to have careers, not just temporary jobs.”

Related is also going the extra mile, Blau added, by contributing to organizations like Wyoming food banks and supporting regional and cultural events like Cheyenne Frontier Days. 

They’ve also made a $3.5 million commitment for affordable housing in Cheyenne, something Blau said he’s particularly proud of doing. 

“Related is building and preserving a part of Cheyenne where there’s a true need for affordable housing,” he said. “Since the very beginning, Mayor Collins and the governor provided the leadership and partnership to make this project possible. 

"That’s not to say every step has been easy. They’ve held us accountable to make sure we live up to each of these promises.”

Related Digital 20260611 105807 6 12 26

<title>Inside The $1.2 Billion Data Center Campus Being Built In Cheyenne | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Work is nearing completion on the first 184,000-square-foot phase of the Related Digital data center campus in Cheyenne, which is expected to be finished in late 2026. The company says because of its closed-loop system, there’s no ongoing water required.

Inside The $1.2 Billion Data Center Campus Being Built In Cheyenne

Forget about e-bikes, ATVs and other wheeled vehicles. 

The latest powered outdoor trend is people strapping on devices called powered exoskeletons and becoming faster, stronger cyborg versions of themselves.

Battery-powered knee and hip-assistance devices have been around for a while. 

But some reviewers say products like one called the Vastnaut One 4x4 have taken things to a new level by supplying additional support and power to the hips and knees simultaneously.

The company claims that its contraption can boost the wearer’s climbing power by 30%.

Its rechargeable batteries last 4.5 hours, enough to cover about 12.5 miles, according to Vastnaut.

Prices for the devices run from about $1,000 to $2,000.

Seasoned hiker John Housel told Cowboy State Daily that at age 73, he’s had to slow down somewhat, but he’s not sure he’s ready to strap on a set of robot leg boosters.

“I’m a great believer in self-locomotion,” he said. "I would be hesitant about exploring that (using an exoskeleton) much further.

“I can see if I got to the point where I was wearing out before I got to the top of one of my favorite local mountains, I might look into that,” he added.

Even so, he can see drawbacks, such as the batteries wearing out or the contraption getting damaged.

Forget about e-bikes, ATVs and other wheeled vehicles. The latest powered outdoor trend is people strapping on powered exoskeletons and becoming faster, stronger cyborg versions of themselves. One company says it can boost climbing power by 30%.

Charles Lee Peart, 87