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

Renée Jean

Energy

Robert Kissel moved from Denver to get away from noise, settling on a ranchette along Horse Creek Road northwest of Cheyenne. 

Until now, the historically rural, agricultural neighborhood has delivered on the promise of peace and quiet. It’s a place where nobody has to talk to anybody for days, if they don’t want to, Kissel likes to joke.

It seems that his reprieve from Colorado noise may be much more short-lived than hoped. 

Kissel has learned recently that Black Hills Energy has bought a 935-acre piece of land for what he described as a “huge” natural gas power plant with onsite battery storage, according to notices sent to adjacent landowners. 

The project will trigger a multi-year Wyoming Industrial Siting Division review process, even as Black Hills Energy pursues a multibillion-dollar merger with Northwestern Energy. 

Kissel learned of the project from a neighbor who received a notice from the company. The notices went out only to adjacent landowners, inviting them to an information forum.

Kissel himself didn’t receive one of the invitations, though he lives nearby. But he decided to go to the meeting anyway to learn what he could, as did several other landowners in the area who did not receive notices.

“It was a very contentious meeting,” Kissel said. “Not one of the 40 or so who came were in support.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Historic Ranch Community"}]

For decades, Horse Creek has been known as a historic agricultural community. Big land deals usually meant one rancher quietly buying another rancher’s pasture to grow more livestock.

Lately, however, Horse Creek has been attracting deals of a very different nature. 

Real estate agent Wendy Volk, who is a member of the historic Dereemer Ranch family, said even she has been shocked by the “magnitude of what’s coming to southeast Wyoming.” 

In 31 years of selling property, Volk said she’s never seen anything like it.

“Times are changing in a lot of places,” she said. “But boy, for being the least populated place, it feels like we have a target on our — I mean it feels like we’re just inviting people to come in and exploit our resources.”

Because large tracts of land are available, Horse Creek has become a nexus for some of these larger deals, Volk said.

Just recently, for example, the Laramie County Planning Commission and the Laramie County Board of County Commissioners approved a rock quarry expansion.

Then there was the Laramie Range Wind Project, which proposed building 170 wind turbines adjacent to Volk’s property. 

Volk has spoken publicly against the project, which she said has become part of a swath of wind turbines cutting across a 200-mile swath of Wyoming. 

Laramie County commissioners have so far denied the company’s application — though the company is appealing that decision. 

Before that, there was also a proposed bitcoin mining operation that tried to locate in the area, Kissel said. The community banded together and hired an attorney to fight that, too.

Volk worries that such large-scale industrial projects will permanently change the historic character of the Horse Creek neighborhood and price traditional ranchers and local builders out of the market for workable land.

“I’m not against economic development,” she said. “But I want to make sure we’re doing it wisely, that we’ve got a plan, and that this is part of a big-picture plan, because you know that somebody at these multinational companies has a plan.

"They’re looking at this at the 30,000-foot level.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Closed-Door Meeting"}]

Black Hills Energy did not respond to Cowboy State Daily’s requests for more information about the project, but said it’s committed to following all applicable regulatory requirements. 

"We are in the early stages of planning for a potential generation project and beginning to meet with landowners directly adjacent to the property,” an emailed statement said. "As a regulated public utility, we will follow all local and state requirements should the project advance. 

"We are committed to stewardship, transparency and public engagement and will provide more information as plans develop."

In the letter sent to Kissel’s neighbor, Black Hills said it “periodically” makes land purchases within its service territory so it can be “ready to serve the growing energy needs of our customers.”

The sale of this tract at 1720 Horse Creek Road was completed earlier in the year for a future power generation project.

“We are committed to being a good neighbor and wanted to take this opportunity to share our preliminary plans with you, so we can address any questions you may have” at an informational meeting Monday night. 

“This meeting is for neighboring landowners only, and will not be open to the public,” the letter added. “We will have members of our Black Hills Energy team on hand to discuss different aspects of our project, including the proposed natural gas generation and battery storage technologies under consideration for the site.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Lengthy Permitting Process"}]

Cowboy State Daily asked to attend the meeting but was denied. 

In a recording of a portion of the meeting obtained by Cowboy State Daily, a Black Hills Energy official says the company plans future open houses in October, at which time it will disclose additional work that will be happening at the site, as well as the different requirements of its permits. 

“That starts the clock ticking,” the representative is heard saying on the recording. “We have at least 60 days to collect comments, respond to comments, and then, eventually, after 60 days we have the option for sending in a permit application to the state.”

The state’s review process typically takes 20 days, after which the company will respond to comments as they arrive to the Department of Environmental Quality. 

“After that’s done, then we can start meeting with the Industrial Siting Committee after that … so it’s a very lengthy process,” the representative said.

Timeline wise, Black Hills Energy officials estimated it would be two years before the company could break ground on the project, assuming its permits are approved.

The battery storage is particularly concerning to Kissel. 

In his mind, he said that, “The only reason you’d do that is to put a data center there, to power it."

Black Hills Energy has not confirmed any data centers for the site. Battery storage is increasingly paired with many kinds of power generation, not just server farms. 

Still, the lack of detail about the project has unnerved Kissel and his neighbors, given the influx of between 43 to 70 potential data centers in Laramie County, depending on which estimates one uses.

Kissel said he and other residents were told the project is in preliminary stages, and thus too new to share any details, including the size and scope of the project.

Any future permit applications would have to outline water use, emissions, and other impacts in more detail.

In any case, Kissel feels that the Horse Creek neighborhood is an odd choice for either power generation or a data center.

“This is a rural residential area with many expensive homes with 5- to 40-acre parcels,” he said. “There are no commercially zoned sites for miles in any direction.”

There are also no natural gas wells anywhere nearby, he said. 

“Water for cooling would have to come from aquifers in such quantities it could affect domestic wells for many miles around,” he said, adding that areas south and east of town are closer to a suitable fiber optic trunk line.

“We’re a long ways from having a connection that powerful up here,” he said. “So it just doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, but they’re looking for big pieces of ground for cheap money.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Utility With Big Ambitions"}]

With Black Hills Energy in the midst of a $15.4 billion merger with Montana’s largest monopoly utility, Northwestern Energy, some Horse Creek residents worry that they’re no longer dealing with just a local utility company that they know well, but a much larger, multi-state corporation that is viewing their community as just another convenient spot on a regional power grid. 

The merger between the two companies has been proceeding on schedule so far, with shareholders approving the all-stock, tax-free merger deal in April. 

The expected closing is sometime in the latter half of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals.

The new combined company is to be named Bright Horizon Energy Corp. and will be headquartered in South Dakota.  Black Hills will own 56% of the new company, while Northwestern will own the remaining 44%. 

According to information on Northwestern Energy’s website about the merger, the combined company expects to serve 2.1 million customers across eight contiguous states. 

The size and scale of the new company is expected to help drive operating and cost optimization across the combined enterprise.

The investment plans for the combined company from 2025 to 2029 exceeds $7 billion, and will focus on growing critical infrastructure to meet rising energy demands, while ensuring competitive rates for customers. The target growth rate is between 5% to 7% — more than either company could do alone.

No single jurisdiction within the company’s combined territory, which includes Wyoming, will represent more than one-third of the company’s business.

Horse Creek Road Exit 6 10 26

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<title>Not In Our Backyard: Rural Cheyenne Residents Don’t Want Black Hills Gas Plant | Cowboy State Daily</title>

A rural neighborhood north of Cheyenne told Black Hills Energy it doesn't want a planned natural gas power plant during "a very contentious” local-only meeting this week. “The only reason you’d do that is to put a data center there,” said one resident.

Not In Our Backyard: Rural Cheyenne Residents Don’t Want Black Hills Gas Plant

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily's managing editor, Greg Johnson.

Greg Johnson

Crime & Courts

Courts

CHEYENNE — A 57-year-old woman charged with first-degree murder in the death of a newborn boy in early 1988 repeatedly told investigators she was never pregnant around that time, despite DNA testing showing it’s 1.97 million times more likely she’s the baby’s mother than anyone else.

 Cheyenne resident Eva Martinez was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of first-degree murder in the death of who has become known over the past 38 years as “Baby John Doe,” whose body was gruesomely discovered Feb. 28, 1988, near a culvert off a county road, according to court documents.

She made her first appearance in Laramie County Circuit Court on Wednesday morning, where was advised that first-degree murder carries penalties of life in prison or death.

Wearing solid dark-brown scrubs top and wide white-and-orange striped pants, she simply answered “yes” when Circuit Court Judge Antoinette Williams asked if she understood the charge against her, and again when asked if she wanted a public defender.

While the grisly discovery of the boy’s body happened more than 38 years ago, it wasn’t until 2021 that advanced DNA testing allowed investigators to advance the case and identify Martinez as the boy’s probable mother, according to an affidavit of probable cause written by Detective Sgt. Ryan Martinez of the LCSO (no relation).

When first interviewed by detectives on Dec. 22, 2025, Martinez “repeatedly denied knowing anything about Baby John Doe or having any children or pregnancies around that time frame,” the affidavit says.

It was during that interview that a sample of her DNA was taken, and when she was interviewed again months later after results showed the strong probability of her being Baby John Doe’s mother, she maintained her first story, according to the affidavit.

“She denied having any knowledge of Baby John Doe, having knowledge of anyone else who was responsible for Baby John Doe’s death, or why Baby John Doe’s body was placed in the culvert at Happy Jack Road and McKinney Drive,” the affidavit continues.

She claimed she wasn’t in Cheyenne around that timeframe, but investigators could not verify that information.

Martinez graduated from Cheyenne Central High School in 1987, and at some point afterward moved to Las Vegas, where she worked for about the next 20 years before returning to Cheyenne, the affidavit says.

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

Martinez would have been 18 on Feb. 28, 1988, when Laramie County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a call at Happy Jack Road and McKinney Drive just southwest of the boundary for F.E. Warren Air Force Base.

What they found was anything but routine, the affidavit says.

People who had been walking in the area discovered the dead baby near a culvert.

“Their juvenile son had initially noticed a dog chewing on something in the area, and they later realized it was a deceased baby,” the affidavit says. “It was determined that the deceased baby had initially been inside the culvert prior to the dog moving it.”

The baby was “abandoned, unclothed, deceased … discovered near the roadway,” according to an LCSO report announcing Martinez’s arrest.

“An autopsy concluded that the baby was a fully developed, full-term, 6.5-pound baby,” according to the report. “The autopsy found no evidence of significant injury, congenital anomaly, or disease.”

It also was determined that the baby was born alive and remained alive for “an amount of time due to air being in the baby’s lungs and stomach,” the report says.

However, at the time the cause and manner of the boy’s death were undetermined.

“The LCSO subsequently investigated a number of leads about the deceased baby,” the affidavit says. “All attempts to try and identify who the deceased baby boy was, the deceased boy’s parents, and why the baby was left along the road were unsuccessful.”

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In 2021, the LCSO partnered with Othram Inc., a Texas laboratory that specializes in forensic genetic genealogy.

Othram was able to identify two matches for possible close relatives to Baby John Doe, which led investigators to a son of Match 1, who tested 331 trillion times more likely to be the baby’s father than anyone else.

In interviews with the LCSO, that man admitted to having a relationship with Martinez around the time Baby John Doe was born and abandoned, but said Martinez told him at the time that the baby had been stillborn and that a doctor in Fort Collins “dissolved” the baby, the affidavit says.

That contradicts Martinez’s repeated statements that she was never pregnant at that time.

“He and Eva were in a serious relationship for several years and lived together for part of it,” according to the affidavit. “During their relationship, Eva had become pregnant. He was excited to have a baby and believed she was as well.”

That was until one day, he told investigators, when she went into labor and her water broke.

Eva and her older sister left and were gone for at least 24 hours, and when they came back told him about the stillbirth.

“He was suspicious of the story because there was never any funeral held for the baby he knew of,” the affidavit says.

At the time, he was young, didn’t pay attention to news and wasn’t aware of Baby John Doe.

He also thought Martinez had likely arranged to give the baby up for adoption for money. Their relationship ended soon after.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"What Martinez Said"}]

After talking to the father, investigators contacted the Larimer County Coroner’s Office in Fort Collins.

The coroner said he couldn’t find any record of Eva Martinez having given birth to a baby in that county or a record of a baby having died in a local medical facility, the affidavit says.

Along with claiming she was likely in Las Vegas at the time Baby John Doe was born and died, Martinez claimed the biological father could’ve had the baby with any number of women.

“Eva claimed that biological father had numerous girlfriends during that timeframe who could be the baby’s mother,” the affidavit says. “When asked what DNA testing would indicate, Eva said that it wouldn’t show anything as far as her relationship to Baby John Doe.”

Despite those results coming back showing a strong probability she was the baby’s mother, Martinez maintained she wasn’t.

“Eva claimed that the individual referred to as biological father is not credible,” the affidavit says. “Eva denied having any knowledge of biological father playing a role in Baby John Doe’s death or being left in the culvert.”

In the meantime, she remains in the Laramie County Detention Center on a $100,000 cash-only bond set by Judge Williams on Wednesday.

“The state does have some concern she may be a flight risk given the charges,” the prosecutor argued via closed-circuit video conferencing.

The judge set the bond, then scheduled a June 18 preliminary hearing for Martinez, where it will be determined if there’s enough evidence to support a first-degree murder charge.

Laramie County Sheriff Brian Kozak said the charge against Martinez is satisfying for his office and investigators who have worked for decades to get justice for Baby John Doe.

“I’m just so proud of Sgt. Martinez and everyone involved,” he told Cowboy State Daily on Wednesday. “We didn’t forget about an unknown baby, and I’m so happy for this.”

He also said the Wyoming State Crime Laboratory conducted the final DNA testing and was crucial to the investigation.

Eva Martinez and new sign 6 10 26

<title>Cheyenne Woman Says She Didn’t Abandon Newborn Boy To Die 38 Years Ago | Cowboy State Daily</title>

A 57-year-old woman who was arrested Tuesday and charged with first-degree murder in the death of a newborn boy in early 1988 repeatedly claimed the baby wasn’t hers. Investigators say DNA testing shows it’s 1.97 million times more likely she’s the baby’s mother than anyone else.

Cheyenne Woman Says She Didn’t Abandon Newborn Boy To Die 38 Years Ago

Law Enforcement

The Carbon County Sheriff’s Office deputy who was shot multiple times by a suspect in Baggs, Wyoming, on Monday remains in critical condition, but is improving, Sheriff Alex Bakken reports.

Sgt. Zach Burns was in the area Monday when dispatchers relayed information about a suspect in an active shooting incident, Bakken says in a Wednesday morning update on the event.

“Sergeant Burns located the suspect vehicle and initiated a traffic stop in front of a small apartment complex in Baggs,” Bakken says. “Upon coming to a stop, the suspect immediately exited his vehicle and opened fire on Sergeant Burns with a semiautomatic rifle.”

Burns took bullets to the neck, arm and hip, the sheriff says in the report.

The suspect — who so far has not been named by law enforcement but 

“The suspect proceeded to set fire to the apartment building before getting back in his vehicle and fleeing northbound on Highway 789,” Bakken wrote.

The sheriff also confirmed reports from Baggs residents who told Cowboy State Daily that neighbors of the apartment building rushed to help Burns.

“Residents of Baggs immediately rushed to provide aid to Sergeant Burns until EMS crews could arrive, providing cover and emergency wound treatment,” Bakken says in the report.

Burns was taken by helicopter ambulance “to a trauma center in Colorado, where he is expected to pull through,” the report says. “He remains in critical but improving condition.”

As for the suspect, he was “killed in a shootout with Carbon County deputies on Highway 789 after fleeing the scene,” the sheriff continued. “The investigation is ongoing and being conducted by the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation.”

A Tuesday Cowboy State Daily message to the Carbon County Coroner’s Office requesting an identification and official cause of death for the suspect hasn’t been answered.

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During that shootout that ended in the death of the suspect, a Wyoming Highway Patrol trooper also took gunfire, but wasn’t injured, the agency reports.

“Our thoughts, prayers and hopes go out to the wounded Carbon County deputy who was struck in the shooting yesterday in Baggs,” says the WHP’s Tuesday report.

“While responding to the incident, one of our troopers was fired upon,” it continues. “The trooper’s patrol vehicle was struck, but the trooper was not injured. He is currently at home with family.”

It’s not clear how many deputies or other law enforcement officers were involved in the shootout with the suspect or how many times the suspect was hit.

Linda Fleming, a lifelong Baggs resident who was the town’s mayor for a time in the 1980s, called Monday’s deadly shootouts “something tragic” that also highlights the hero spirit of first responders.

 Baggs residents rushed in to help Burns, possibly saving his life.

“The most immediate (heroes) were the neighbors who rallied for that deputy,” she told Cowboy State Daily on Tuesday morning.

“It’s just what we do,” she continued. “We don’t have any local police, so people help and don’t give it a second thought.”

She also said that while violent episodes like Monday’s have become rare for Baggs, that wasn’t always the case.

“I was mayor in the ’80s when we had a pretty serious drug problem at that time,” Fleming said. “But we didn’t have anything like the shooting of a police officer.”

This is a developing story and will be updated as more information is available.

Zach Burns 6 10 26

<title>Deputy Who Took Multiple Bullets In Baggs Shootout Is Critical, Improving | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Sgt. Zach Burns has been identified as the Carbon County deputy who took multiple bullets in a shootout with a suspect in Baggs on Monday. He’s in critical condition but improving, the sheriff reported Wednesday.

Deputy Who Took Multiple Bullets In Baggs Shootout Is Critical, Improving

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily's general assignment reporter, Clair McFarland.

Clair McFarland

Government & Politics

Politics

Three of the Republicans hoping to become Wyoming’s next governor answered questions at a Tuesday forum in Cheyenne that were tailored to, and delivered in front of, a largely Christian audience.

Wyoming Family Alliance, an advocacy group that emphasizes Biblical principles and Christian ideals, also hosted U.S. House and U.S. Senate candidates at the forum.

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder, retired Marine Col. Brent Bien, and former state House Speaker and current Sen. Eric Barlow took the stage in the packed Metropolitan in downtown Cheyenne.

Wyoming Family Alliance president Nathan Winters posed questions about parental rights and autonomy, the role of faith in governance, education, abortion and religious freedom.

The governor’s candidates displayed minor policy and philosophical differences - yet greater disparities in tone.

Bien spoke in bold tones, pulled from his past experiences in active duty in Bagdad and elsewhere, and called for Wyomingites and every level of government to wage war on evil and usher in a revival of good.

Degenfelder, assertive in tone, pointed to what she cast as her own strong Christian faith, her studies of the Bible, her Wyoming roots and work as superintendent.

Barlow, the most conversational in tone, leaned on his work in the Legislature, spoke of his faith in personal terms as a matter of daily living, and brought an edge of pragmatism to the highly idealistic debate.

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A rare policy difference between the three candidates surfaced when Winters asked a question about whether abortion ends a human life, and whether the candidates would support any exemptions to an abortion ban.

All three candidates agreed that abortion ends a life. Degenfelder and Bien said they wouldn’t accept any exceptions.

“I can’t accept any exception when it comes to life,” said Degenfelder, adding that a Jan. 6 decision by the Wyoming Supreme Court - proclaiming that abortion is a health care right - “has gotten it wrong.”

Bien said, “I unequivocally support zero, no exceptions, all the way across the board.”

When serving in Iraq, said Bien, a 6-year-old child had been shot in the head. He and his fellow service members were trying to get the kid to Bagdad in the middle of the night, but he bled out, said Bien. He said he was pro-life before that, but, reflecting on how dependent even 6-year-olds are on their parents, he said, “something about that made me absolutely resolute.”

Barlow said in his heart, he would not want exceptions to an abortion ban- except possibly an exception to spare the life of a mother in a medical emergency. But he warned that the Legislature gets messy when crafting laws.

“I believe in life and I voted multiple times for life in the Wyoming Legislature,” he said.

Some of the many abortion bans and restrictions Wyoming has tried to pass since 2022 contained exemptions, like abortion allowances for women who’ve suffered rape or whose unborn children are a product of incest.

That’s because the Legislature is a collaboration between numerous people, Barlow said.

“Because in the legislative process, you actually have to bring people on board. You actually have to advance policy,” said Barlow.

The governor’s role on abortion policy is limited. He or she can sign, passively enact, or veto abortion legislation. But, more pivotal right now, he or she chooses the state Attorney General - who then defends Wyoming in abortion litigation from pro-choice groups.

The state has been facing - and losing - abortion lawsuits for about four years. It is taking a fresh start now under the leadership of Wyoming Attorney General Keith Kautz, who has said in court that his office seeks to bring evidence that a state ban on abortion is justified. It’s a high bar given the court’s broad protections of abortion, but technically not impossible under the legal definition of those protections. To overcome those protections, the government would have to show a compelling state interest for a ban, and that its ban is narrowly tailored to meet that interest. 

Deciding Who Leads The University Of Wyoming

Winters asked about how a governor should approaching choosing trustees to lead the University of Wyoming.

Minor differences between candidates emerged here as well.

Degenfelder said UW should return to its rightful mission of being a land-grant university and feeding the Wyoming economy and job demands in useful and meaningful ways, rather than educating people for “women’s studies” and “careers that don’t exist.”

It’s time to find efficiencies in the university’s workings as well, she indicated.

She talked of her work to help rid the institution of diversity equity and inclusion (DEI) practices, and her own time at UW and as a member of the College Republicans.

Barlow said people ask him the UW trustee question a lot while he’s on the road.

In choosing trustees he’d emphasize finding people of character, he said.

“People who actually have a heart, and an ear for Wyoming. Who will listen to the interests and needs of… Wyoming’s people,” he continued. “And who abide by the constitution” and work well with other people.

UW is so “foundational,” he added, the Wyoming Constitution carves out its existence.

Community colleges, the K-12 school system, and industries all work in conjunction with UW as well, he said.

“UW may be a culmination for many folks,” said Barlow. “But there are many other opportunities” outside of UW as well.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"Elect Them"}]

Bien said he’d like to see UW trustees face election, rather than the governor’s appointment process - but that that would require a change to the state Constitution.

He said he graduated from UW’s college of engineering in 1991.

“Since then, things have changed a lot, and I have not been pleased,” he said. Like Degenfelder, he expressed dislike toward the more modern-social-movement degrees available and urged UW to “get back to our roots.”

He’d appoint people who understand Wyoming’s job needs, show leadership, and “understand what this state is all about,” said Bien, adding that they should also be people of sound moral judgment.

He said he’d like to strive for UW to be a top institution in the nation.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"The American Library Association"}]

Winters asked a question about a decision that falls uniquely under the purview of the Wyoming governor: whether Wyoming’s state librarian should be in league with the American Library Association.

The Montana State Library cut ties in 2023 with the American Library Association over the ALA president of the time self-identifying as a Marxist.  

The group has also garnered controversy for touting and defending sexually explicit books that are marketed toward kids and youth.

Montana was the first state to break from the 147-year-old organization.  

Unlike Montana, Wyoming doesn’t have a state library board, rather, a state library director under the governor’s direction.

 when Cowboy State Daily pressed the state library director and the governor’s office on the issue after Montana’s break from the ALA.

Gubernatorial candidates Eric Barlow, Brent Bien, and Megan Degenfelder fielded questions on Tuesday at a forum in Cheyenne before a largely Christian audience. Policy differences emerged on abortion, university leadership, and library policy.

Mark Eugene Hillman, 82