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

Clair McFarland

Government & Politics

Politics

Four candidates are running for the Republican nomination to a legislative House seat in north-central Wyoming – and they all say they won’t join the Freedom Caucus.

That seat’s incumbent and outgoing Rep. John Winter, R-Thermopolis, is a founding member of the Wyoming Freedom Caucus.

But the four men vying to replace him in House District 28 all told Cowboy State Daily on Monday they don’t intend to join the group.

Those are Meeteetse rancher Allen Hogg, Otto rancher Carlin Jones, Thermopolis attorney and former Navy SEAL Marshall Keller, and 

 hot springs pool operator Roland Luehne.

“I don’t believe I should be taking orders from a caucus,” said Keller. “I believe I should be listening to my constituents, for one.”

The Wyoming Freedom Caucus is a controversial group of state House Republicans. Its proponents say it’s the true voice of the Wyoming right; its detractors accuse it of sloppy legislating and groupthink.

[{"type":"text","text":"It’s part of a larger national network of Freedom Caucus groups."}]

, its members have coordinated floor maneuvers in a group text with the state group’s director, 

“A lot of the stances in the Freedom Caucus, in my opinion, are more based on trying to get newspaper articles and time in front of social media and TV,” said Keller. “To pound their chests and say, ‘Look what I’m doing, and the courts and everybody else is against us.’ Instead of, looking at the Constitution and the laws we have and adjusting them based on what we can do.”

Keller, 54, said he’s an orthodox Christian and respects both the U.S. Constitution and Wyoming Constitution. He said he’ll follow the Wyoming Republican Party platform insofar as it doesn’t conflict with his faith or either constitution.

Jones, 33, said the caucus “muddies the waters” and it’s time for Republicans to unite around the state platform and curb division.

[{"type":"text","text":"The division is not always the caucus’ fault, said Jones."}]

“At this point it’s creating a division that is harmful,” he said. “I don’t know whether it’s justified or not. But it’s there.”

Jones emphasized in a later text message that he finds the caucus’ planks “logical and sound.”

Luehne, 62, said he’s willing to vote with the caucus at times but “won’t be owned by them.”

[{"type":"text","text":"“I don’t want to be owned by any interest groups,” said Luehne."}]

Hogg, 66, said he likes the caucus position on a lot of issues, but dislikes its methods. Secondly, he said, “they speak out of one side of their mouth when they say, ‘We want to maintain local control,’” but they counter that by voting to cut property taxes.

House District 28 covers all of Hot Springs County and parts of Park, Big Horn and Fremont counties. The primary election is Aug. 18. 

State Rep. John Bear, R-Gillette, said on behalf of the caucus, "The new representative for HD 28 has big shoes to fill."

[{"type":"text","text":"Winter has served in the House since 2019."}]

"At the end of the day," continued Bear, "there are only ever two votes: aye or nay."

Bear asserted that if people are voting with the Freedom Caucus, "they'll be voting for tax relief, parental rights, and smaller government."

The "smaller government" claim sits differently with different people. On the one hand, cutting property taxes cuts government. On the other hand, Hogg noted, it could prompt more state-controlled revenue structures and erode local governments' autonomy.

Bear added: "I find it curious how you characterized Carlin's response. We have a very different statement from him." 

[{"type":"text","text":"And There’s The Difference"}]

[{"type":"text","text":"All four men cast themselves as conservative."}]

Jones, Hogg and Keller said they’re pro-life. Luehne said he’s pro-life but up to about 90 days’ gestation,. “I like women to be able to choose,” he said.

They gave varying thoughts on the 50% residential property tax cut slated to appear on the November general election ballot.

[{"type":"text","text":"Here Keller and Hogg diverged from Luehne and Jones."}]

“I’m not a fan,” said Keller. He noted that the Legislature delivered a 25% residential property cut last year. Property taxes fund schools and local governments. Firefighters rely heavily on those revenues, as do other county services.

“We haven’t even had time to observe fully the effect of the current reduction in taxes,” said Keller, who’s a trustee for the Hot Springs County School Board. “We’re still figuring out how to deal with that.”

Hogg said he agreed with the 25% cut when it passed, but as he learns more about what property taxes fund, he’s opposed to the ballot initiative.

“That’s going to hit way too hard, especially on the smaller communities,” said Hogg. “It takes away from the local control.”

Hogg said shifting the state’s revenues onto other kinds of taxes also shifts power to the state government, away from county governments.

[{"type":"text","text":"Starting Point"}]

Jones favors the 50% proposed cut and said cutting residential property taxes altogether would be a good starting point in the broader war against property taxes. He cast property taxes as unjust.

“We have to take a serious look at government expenditures, a serious look at waste and overspending,” said Jones, adding that Wyoming doesn’t have a revenue problem but a spending problem.

“I’m not even sure it’d be necessary to issue an alternative tax,” he said.

Luehne told Cowboy State Daily on Monday that property taxes have gotten out of hand, and questioned why a person should still have to pay the government to live in a home once that home is paid off.

“I’d like to get rid of it if possible,” said Luehne of property taxes. “We need to cut it as far back as humanly possible.”

Like Jones, Luehne said the government should accommodate property tax cuts by downsizing.  

“If it means losing a few state jobs I think that might be the right thing to do,” he said. “I’m sure they can find money other places than just property taxes. I think we can be creative enough.”

When lawmakers considered a bill to eliminate property taxes altogether in November, analysts anticipated it would remove roughly $644 million per year from local governments and schools.

Each new “penny” or 1% sales tax brings the state about $237.5 million based on the 2025 distribution, Wyoming Department of Revenue Director Brett Fanning told lawmakers at the time.

So a 2% sales tax increase would bring the state $475 million “give or take,” he said.

 from the Wyoming Department of Audit says counties’ collective revenues outpaced expenditures by about $199.4 million in fiscal year 2025. Special districts’ revenue outpaced expense by about $55.3 million, reportedly.  

[{"type":"text","text":"The picture was bleaker for Hot Springs County."}]

 in revenues and more than $11 million in total costs.

 in total revenue and more than $6.9 million in total expenses in fiscal 2025.

Jones said he’s concerned about data centers and potential power rate and water utility rate hikes.

“They seem to promise the world and fall short,” said Jones. “Right now they have their eyes on Wyoming because we’re rich in energy. We have wide open spaces.”

Jones said he wants to protect Wyomingites from those potential cost fallouts and has concerns about “what data are they even processing?”

Keller, Jones, Luehne, and Hogg all indicated they want to end 

 for large data center projects. Keller called the break “a bunch of horse shit” and said he too wants to insulate power users and residents from unfair costs brought by data centers.

Keller said he wouldn’t take data center opposition so far as to violate private landowners’ rights, however.

“If you have a complete ban, that’s the ultimate regulation, in my opinion,” said Keller. “I believe it violates private property rights, of people that own the land that may want to do business with them.”

Hogg also said a total ban isn’t feasible. The businesses have already set up shop in Wyoming.

But, Hogg emphasized Wyoming’s state agencies should regulate data centers, and its local governments should vet them as they approach each community.

[{"type":"text","text":"Again, Hogg urged local control."}]

And beyond cutting the tax break, he said he’d like to find ways to lift more revenue off data centers.

Luehne said Wyoming should strike a balance between protecting citizens and reaping the economic benefits data centers can bring. 

[{"type":"text","text":"\"They key is making the right deal,\" said Luehne. "}]

Hogg and Keller both disagree with the Legislature’s new “silo” barring school districts from using a sizable influx of public money in areas besides classroom instruction, largely teacher pay.

That erodes the ability of school districts closest to the students to put money where needed, said Hogg.

[{"type":"text","text":"“Let the local boards decide where that goes,” said Hogg."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"For Keller, the silo was “probably the breaking straw.”"}]

“I didn’t see how it was fair to our bus drivers and custodians, and those type of people, to have them not be able to get a pay raise,” said Keller.

Teachers are slated for a roughly 12% pay raise under the silo system, while many schools are seeing other budget areas, and activities funding, drop.  

“You can’t tell me that doesn’t instantly create division,” Keller said.

[{"type":"text","text":"Economic Development"}]

Luehne told Cowboy State Daily he’s running to boost private sector jobs. His economic vision prioritizes jobs, then taking care of seniors, farmers and ranchers, he said.

As operator of Star Plunge, Luehne has been involved in a lengthy battle with the State of Wyoming, in which he’s accused of 

cheating his company out of a lease deal.

“I’ve had so many people ask me to run because of my situation in the Hot Springs State Park,” said Luehne. “I personally have seen how the executive branch has overstepped with land grabs. I want to make sure something like that never happens to somebody else.”

He said he wants to create things to help economic development of communities, especially by paring back rules and regulations.

Jones also lamented what he called executive-branch overreach. He said the state engineer’s office has put rigid restrictions on his ranch, which took him a year and a half to resolve.

Jones also decried the long-running battle between the Thermopolis owners of the Tipi Resort and an earlier iteration of the Hot Springs County Commission, whose permit denial persisted through court challenges.  

Hogg said he stands out from his opponents through his lengthy ranching experience. His grandparents settled in the Meeteetse area in 1918 and his family has ranched the land since, he said.

“I think compared to my competitors, especially, I think I’ve got a much better idea of the issues surrounding agriculture in Wyoming,” he said. “I think that’s one of my strong suits.”

[{"type":"text","text":"Hogg and Jones are both multi-generation Wyoming ranchers."}]

Keller moved to Gillette in 2011 and has remained in Wyoming since. That followed his military career, graduation from Montana Tech University and a boom-bust brush with gold mining in Nevada working as an exploration geologist.

[{"type":"text","text":"“I got tired of chasing the commodity cycles,” he said."}]

He pivoted and earned his law degree from the University of Wyoming in 2019, he said.

Cowboy State Daily has reviewed documents confirming Keller served as a Navy SEAL.

Jones said he’s a lifelong Wyoming resident and fourth-generation rancher.

[{"type":"text","text":"He said he hopes his youth brings fresh perspective."}]

“I feel that young energy paired with the wisdom of the other people in Cheyenne could be of great benefit to the people of Wyoming,” Jones said.

Luehne said he’s lived in Thermopolis since he was 10 years old, and has been helping to run the park since that time. He said he’s running to restore balance to the three branches of government and curb what he called the oversteps of the executive branch.

Hot Springs House Seat 7 28 26

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

<title>All Four Candidates For Hot Springs House Seat Say They Won't Join Freedom Caucus | Cowboy State Daily</title>

All four GOP candidates running for the state House seat spanning north-central Wyoming say they won't join the Freedom Caucus, though the incumbent was an early founder of it. “I don’t believe I should be taking orders from a caucus," one candidate said.

All Four Candidates For Hot Springs House Seat Say They Won't Join Freedom Caucus

In the roughly three hours after news broke Monday that a Uinta County brand inspector 

to helping people torture a moose, the brand inspector was fired, a public official says.

Also, Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon condemned the act by Justin Martin, who pleaded guilty June 17 to one count of accessory before the act to felony animal cruelty.

Martin has not been sentenced and he reserves the right to appeal how law enforcement pulled evidence from his phone. Court documents say Martin was featured in a cellphone video encouraging Kylan Platt, as the latter aggressively spurred a female moose in ill health at a Uinta County ranch.

“This is absolutely irresponsible behavior unbefitting a brand inspector,” said Gordon in a Monday afternoon statement to Cowboy State Daily. “I hold brand inspectors to a very high standard. Mr. Martin is no longer an employee of the state of Wyoming.”

Wyoming Livestock Board Director Steve True had confirmed to Cowboy State Daily at about 1:44 p.m. Monday that Martin remained a brand inspector.

Gordon’s statement that he is no longer employed by the state came at about 4:05 p.m.

Pressed for more particulars on who terminated Martin and when, Gordon’s spokeswoman Amy Edmonds referred Cowboy State Daily back to True.

[{"type":"text","text":"True said that he terminated Martin within that more-than-two-hour span."}]

“In that meantime, I have terminated him,” True said, adding that it was his own decision, and that Gordon did not influence that decision.

[{"type":"text","text":"“(It was) my determination,” said True."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"True declined to elaborate further on the personnel matter."}]

Cowboy State Daily reached out to Martin for comment via his attorney Joe Hampton, and will update this story should he comment on the termination.

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

The case began after Wyoming Game and Fish Department investigators seized Martin's cellphone during an unrelated investigation in 2022. While searching, investigators discovered videos and screenshots that ultimately launched the moose abuse case. 

After getting an additional search warrant specific to the wildlife investigation, officers recovered four videos tied to the May 2021 incidents, court documents say.

 the videos showed a cow moose that appeared emaciated, elderly or sick. She told the court one eye appeared sunken, suggesting the animal might have been blind. 

One video showed Kylan Platt climbing onto the moose's back and digging his spurs into the animal aggressively while smiling.

"He doesn't seem to have an issue in participating in this activity at all," Sterling said, comparing the scene to someone breaking a horse to ride. 

Investigators said ropes were placed around both the moose's neck and one of its hind legs.

Prosecutors said Martin can be heard on the video saying, "Spur that son of a bitch" as he laughed and encouraged Platt.

Sterling testified investigators found Martin had sent the video to more than 20 phone numbers. 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"'Done For The Sheer Joy' "}]

Another video, prosecutors said, showed Range Martin on horseback dragging the cow moose by a lariat through chest-high sagebrush until it fell while struggling to regain its footing. 

Evanston Circuit Court Judge Michael Greer ruled at the preliminary hearing that prosecutors had presented enough evidence for a jury to decide whether the men intended to torture or torment the animal.

"When I look at the context of what appears in the screenshots of the videos and the comments made by onlookers and the photographer there at the time, this was done for the sheer joy of dominating a wild animal who appeared to be already in poor health and possibly blind," Greer said in binding the case over to district court.

, Range Martin and Platt each accepted plea agreements, pleading guilty to felony cruelty to animals. In exchange, prosecutors dismissed wildlife misdemeanor charges.

As part of those agreements, both men acknowledged Justin Martin was the person filming the videos and making statements heard on the recordings. 

Their plea agreements recommend deferred felony sentences, three years of supervised probation, a $1,000 fine and a prohibition on hunting, trapping and fishing while on probation, although Judge Kaste will make the final decision at sentencing.

Justin Martin was the lone defendant preparing for trial until filing his conditional guilty plea.

His plea means every defendant charged in the case has now admitted guilt to at least one offense, avoiding what was expected to be a four-day jury trial next month.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Conditional Plea "}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Hampton said the guilty plea does not end the legal fight."}]

Instead, it preserves a single constitutional issue for appeal: whether Game and Fish investigators exceeded the scope of a search warrant when they discovered the cellphone videos.

Hampton said investigators obtained Martin's phone during an unrelated investigation under a warrant authorizing a search of data created between September 2021 and June 2022. 

Because the alleged moose abuse happened in May 2021, he argues investigators should not have been reviewing material outside the warrant's authorized date range.

"If we're successful in the appeal, then the case would be dismissed, and the conviction would be reversed," Hampton said. "If we're not successful, then the conviction sticks."

Hampton said Martin accepts responsibility for the accessory charge and regrets how the incident unfolded.

"They were just trying to get the moose off their property," Hampton said, explaining ranchers wanted to move cattle into the pasture. "Martin agrees that he didn't do it in the right way and regrets that."

Hampton said Martin has changed how he handles similar situations in the nearly five years since the incident.

He also said the negotiated plea calls for two years of supervised probation and that he does not anticipate prison time, though he acknowledged the judge is free to impose any lawful sentence.

Judge James Kaste accepted Martin's guilty plea but reserved ruling on the parties' sentencing recommendation until the Oct. 2 hearing.

Gordon true moose 2 7 27 26

<title>State Livestock Director Fires Brand Inspector After Guilty Plea In Moose Torture Case | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Just hours after news broke Monday that a Uinta County brand inspector had pleaded guilty to helping torture a moose, the state livestock director fired him. “This is absolutely irresponsible behavior unbefitting a brand inspector,” Gov. Gordon said.

State Livestock Director Fires Brand Inspector After Guilty Plea In Moose Torture Case

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily's Feature Reporter, Andrew Rossi.

Andrew Rossi

When a Jeep got stuck up to its axles in mud driving on the bottom of Palisades Reservoir on the Wyoming-Idaho border, a pair of trucks owned by family friends came to the rescue.

[{"type":"text","text":"Then they also got mired in muck up to their fenders."}]

That’s when Alpine’s Redneck Rescue responded to the call to somehow pull all three vehicles out of a multi-person rescue effort that had gone wrong twice already.

“The first vehicle, a Jeep, was driving across the lake bottom, noticed that it was getting soft, went to turn, and got buried,” 

 Nick Cummings said about the call he got about two weeks ago.

Once they realized their vehicle was stuck, the occupants called some family friends to help them out, he said. As their Chevy was on its way to rescue them, it also got stuck in the muddy bottom. Then came a black Ford F-150, which also became mired in the muck.

That’s when they called Redneck Rescue, which “goes to a lot of places the tow trucks don't want to go,” Cummings said.

With remote-controlled winches, a custom-built winch foot, and hundreds of feet of tow straps, Redneck Rescue is equipped to handle situations other tow trucks can't.

“This is a normal situation for us,” Cummings said. “Getting cars out of the mud is a pretty popular call in the summertime.”

Cummings was alerted to the incident by Palisades Towing, another local company that often sends more difficult calls to Redneck Rescue. The company frequently gets recommendations from local agencies when they know there’s a vehicle in a tough spot, he said.

Unlike the stranded drivers, Cummings knew exactly what they were getting into at Palisades Reservoir. It’s a notoriously muddy spot.

“We call it sand on peanut butter,” he said. “Once you break through that sand, you end up in the peanut butter, and you get stuck.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Anchoring And Angling"}]

Once Redneck Rescue reached the three stuck vehicles, Cummings “had to get creative.”

“That's one of the fun parts about this job,” he said. “We don't do any on-road stuff, so each call is its own challenge.”

[{"type":"text","text":"The first was deciding where to anchor and angle."}]

“When you get into situations in the mountains where you're trying to pull something from an angle where you can't park your vehicle to wench from, (the equipment) makes all the difference.”

Cummings parked his F-250 over 500 feet away from the Jeep. The Chevy was used as the anchor to get the Jeep out.

The Jeep was the easiest and didn’t have to drive far to find solid ground. Then, the attention turned to the Chevy and the F-150.

“That Chevy was stuck pretty good,” Cummings said. “Once we got the Jeep out, I went ahead and laid out 360 feet of Rhino straps to my vehicle, winched out the Chevy, and then pulled the F-150 out.”

With high-quality tools and creativity, all three vehicles were pulled out of the peanut butter of Palisades Reservoir in less than two hours, Cummings said.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Getting Creative"}]

Cummings knew getting his truck anywhere close to the stranded vehicles would result in another stuck truck. That’s why he came prepared.

“I've got the 30-foot-long, four-inch strap from Rhino USA,” he said. “Those are rated for around 30,000 pounds, and their soft shackles are rated for 44,000 pounds. I like to overdo my equipment versus the load.”

Cummings also has remote-controlled winches that make it safer to operate. Instead of being mounted to a vehicle, they’re receiver hitches attached to a clevis with an adapter, so they’re mobile and, in many situations, more useful because of it.

“Instead of having to put my winch into a receiver hitch, I can actually just hook it to rigging like a strap, a tree, or another vehicle that's stuck, and then use jumper cables that will power that winch off of any vehicle.”

But “the key to (Cumming’s) success” is the custom-built winch foot. On the front of his 1994 Ford F-250 “Miranda.”

“I built it to go in my plow mount,” he said. “That’s the anchor that transfers all the energy to the ground, as opposed to my vehicle. I can pull one-ton dually diesels that are out in the mud with my F-250, as long as I'm on solid ground.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Inevitably Unsuccessful "}]

Cummings noted that this wasn’t the first time he’d saved one of these vehicles.

“The black F-150 was a previous customer from last fall over in Bondurant,” he said. “I had to wench myself out of that situation for the first time ever because it was on a steep, snowy hill.”

Redneck Rescue has “yet to be unsuccessful” with any of its calls, Cummings said. He chalks a lot of that up to being over-prepared with the right equipment but anticipates the inevitable call that won’t go according to plan.

“I'm sure it'll happen one day, but it has yet to happen,” he said. “I would rather take a little bit of extra time and do extra rigging to make sure things don't go south.”

Every Redneck rescue is a learning experience that can be carried forward for future calls, Cummings added.

“Through these experiences, and getting to know different locations, you can really set yourself up for success,” he said. “Even if I'm not the answer, I like to have an answer for somebody because I want to help others out.”

Ultimately, Cummings wants Redneck Rescue to be the best call for people stuck in the mud in and around Alpine. It’s not only about being good at what you do, but respecting everyone and everything involved.

“We do pride ourselves on not damaging equipment and vehicles,” he said. “We rescue snowmobilers in the backcountry and off-road vehicles stuck in the mud, and we’re all about helping others (while) trying to keep it affordable. We treat your stuff like it was our own.”

Trucks in mud 7 27 26

<title>Wrecker Pulls 3 Trucks Stuck To Their Axles In Mud From Hundreds Of Feet Away | Cowboy State Daily</title>

How do you get vehicles stuck up to their axles in mud on the bottom of a lake bed? You call a tow company that has remote-controlled winches, a custom-built winch foot, and hundreds of feet of tow straps. “This is a normal situation for us,” the owner said.

Wrecker Pulls 3 Trucks Stuck To Their Axles In Mud From Hundreds Of Feet Away

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

Greg Johnson

Crime & Courts

Courts

Perhaps using a credit card stolen from his former landlord wasn’t the best decision for a 38-year-old Douglas man facing 72 felony charges related to allegations of sexual abuse of minors and child pornography.

That could be how law enforcement knew John Charles Smallbone, who is free from jail on his Wyoming charges after paying a $250,000 bond in cash, was in Colorado last week when he was picked up by law enforcement there on a fugitive warrant out of Converse County.

His former landlord reported to the Converse County Sheriff’s Office on July 20 that Smallbone was using his credit card without permission to run up a bill of more than $700 at a Fort Collins hotel, along with trying to order Uber rides with the same card.

Two days later on Wednesday, Larimer County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrested Smallbone.

Charges on a stolen credit card tracked a Wyoming man wanted on 72 child sex abuse charges to Colorado last week. “If you’re in town, why does the credit card say you’re in Colorado?” the man who owns the card asked John Smallbone in a text.

Ridge Theron Brown, 16