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

Renée Jean

Business & Tourism

Kelly Maher-Wolfensperger has just a few rules for the annual Ham and Jam party that happens in Hulett each year, when 30,000 or so bikes roll into town for a free pork sandwich and the fixings from Captain Ron’s Rodeo Bar.

“We do not mince, muddle, or blend,” she told Cowboy State Daily. “And we have no carbless and we have no Twisted Tea — so don’t ask.”

Her no-nonsense rules mean the bar doesn’t make Old Fashioneds, mojitos, or mules during the weeks of the Sturgis rally. 

“I’ve got people coming in here asking me for Chardonnay,” Wolfensperger added with a laugh. “I’m like, ‘What about this says we have wine?’ I mean, yeah, we have some really bad Cab, but this is not a wine bar.”

What she can make, besides the best Bloody Mary on the Hulett side of Sturgis, is a scene. 

“I live for chaos,” she said, spreading her arms wide to take in a classic small-town dive bar scene that is about to host hundreds of guests. “I’m born and ready for it. I’m an Aries, so, hell yeah, I’m ready for it.”

Sleep, coffee, ibuprofen and DripDrop — not necessarily in that order — are what she relies on to get her through August and the Sturgis Rally week.  

“My daughter is a dietician for a Big Ten football team and that’s what they use to keep their football players hydrated,” she said. 

With that, and 10 cute outfits complete with colorful boots, she’s ready — and rarin' — to go.

Wolfensperger and the town spend months preparing for the Ham and Jam.

“I think you start planning next year like the day it’s going on,” Tom Coronato told Cowboy State Daily. He is a co-owner of the Ponderosa Cafe. “I’m already planning for how I do it differently next year, because it’s not a one-day event. I mean Ham and Jam is one day, but if you prepare for one day you get one day. So we prepare for 21 days, because that’s when business is up in the Black Hills.”

The community works together on the broader logistics of drawing thousands of bikers. That includes a row of porta potties, as well as road crew and traffic crews, who keep the bikers going in the right direction and ensure cars aren’t driving into the middle of the Ham and Jam. 

“The mayor and the town council will do the budgets in advance, in anticipation of how many porta potties they need,” Coronato said. “What kind of staff they need, how many extra security people they need, like for police presence and stuff like that. The rest is just a wing and a prayer that you have good weather and good attendance.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"Things aren’t always smooth. "}]

“It’s a nightmare,” Brianna Gose told Cowboy State Daily with a chuckle and a sigh. “As usual. It’s just a lot of work, but I’ve got great employees.”

Gose said she will start cleaning out the beer garden at Captain Ron’s Rodeo Bar at least a month ahead of time.

“It’s just a lot of running to get ready and going places, picking up all the supplies,” she said. “We had to go to three stores to find beans this year. Sam’s Club didn’t have any big cans of beans this time.”

The bar, which started the Ham and Jam 37 or so years ago, will spend thousands on its signature, free pork sandwich with picnic sides.

Rain might fall, but nothing seems to keep people from coming back, year after year, to experience this scene in the Black Hills of Wyoming. 

Hugs were the order of the day up and down the street as Ham and Jam regulars bump into one another again during Wyoming Wednesday.

Their excitement, their reunions, feed into an already festive, party atmosphere. 

Royce Griebler, for example, has been coming to the Ham and Jam since the late '80s and remembers when it was a bit woolier. 

“It was pretty wild with the drag racing and a lot of other stuff,” he said. “I mean, it was fun. Probably more dangerous, but back then you were young and you didn’t care about the danger.”

In the beginning, Griebler rode with his brother.

“He doesn’t ride anymore, but my son and some other friends do,” he said. “I’m out here to go ride.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Topless Steer Riding "}]

Frank Lamb also remembers when things were a bit wilder.

“At the time it was called No Panties Wednesday,” he said with a chuckle. “That was in 2003. They were just changing over to Ham and Jam.”

In those days, a PRCA rodeo capped the day, but the grand finale wasn’t bull riding. 

“It was topless steer riding,” Lamb said with a chuckle. “They don’t do that any more. So some things have calmed down quite a bit.”

DCI agents used to come to the event to help provide security, Lamb added. 

“One of them was a friend of mine, and it was horseback security,” he said. “So they had some horseback guys.”

Lamb doesn’t care that the event is a little tamer, nor did he care that rain clouds were gathering.

“I wouldn’t miss this,” he said. “I haven’t been able to come the last 10 years because of (work). But I”m not managing the racetrack anymore, so I can just go where I want.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Detour No More"}]

Ham and Jam is supposed to be a one-day party. Ride in, have a Bloody Mary, eat a pork sandwich, and roar off into the distance toward the next town on the Devils Tower loop’s “hydration station.”

But in Hulett, Wednesday’s spillover from Sturgis is so good it changes the script for some. They end up circling not just the date on their calendar but real estate listings, too.

Mike Romano, for example, first experienced the area as a child, then came back as an adult for rally week. Before he knew it, he was buying a ranch and changing his address.

“This place just speaks to me,” he said. “That might sound corny, but to some people that’s reality. I came here to unwind from two phones, two iPads, two laptops.”

Romano had been running a global company. But coming back to the rally as an adult showed him what his life was missing. 

“This helped me reconnect when I came back here,” he said. “So I gravitated to the Hulett side.”

Wolfensperger, as well, found herself drawn to Hulett. She first came in 2012, but had a motorcycle accident that year and had to go home early.

The next year, she and her husband were back. 

“We were staying out here with a friend and, well, we never left,” she said. “We saw the chaos that’s out there and so we just stayed here and people watched and fell in love with the town.”

The couple have five, six motorcycles. For them, the Sturgis Rally never really ends.  “When it’s not rally, we love riding the hills,” she said. “We ride the hills at least 300 to 400 miles every Sunday, which is not hard to do out here.”

Out-of-towners might think of Ham and Jam as a wild Wednesday detour for their Sturgis adventures. But for some, like Romano and Wolfensperger, the detour became the destination.

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

<title>Sturgis 2026: Hulett's Ham & Jam — The Detour Party That's Become A Destination | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Hulett's Ham and Jam is supposed to be a one-day party. Ride in, have a Bloody Mary, eat a pork sandwich, and roar off into the distance toward Sturgis. But it's become such a popular event, the 30,000 bikers who visit every year have extended their stay.

Sturgis 2026: Hulett's Ham & Jam — The Detour Party That's Become A Destination

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

Andrew Rossi

Tourism

Nobody should disobey the rules in Yellowstone National Park, established to prevent people from putting their lives at risk.

If someone does choose to do anything reckless or life-endangering, they probably shouldn’t post about it on social media.

That’s exactly what Instagram user pickupsports4u did when visiting the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone recently.

 perched above the 109-foot-tall summit of the Upper Falls, admitting he climbed “off-trail” to do it.

He included the hashtags #UpperFalls #YellowstoneRisk, #CanyonThrills, #WaterfallExtreme, and #OffTrailAdventure.

“Perched at Upper Falls’ roaring 109-foot edge off-trail, my heart pounded with the river,” he wrote. “This risky view rewarded pure adrenaline —Yellowstone’s raw power unleashed. Don’t try this alone!”

“We did not receive a report of this incident, but off-trail travel, which includes climbing, is prohibited in the Canyon area,” Yellowstone National Park spokesperson Linda Veress told Cowboy State Daily.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Stay On Trail"}]

Rock climbing isn’t strictly prohibited in Yellowstone, or any of the national parks, but going off-trail in sensitive areas is. The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone is one of those areas.

The exact language of the prohibition can be found in the 

Yellowstone Superintendent’s Compendium

, which is reviewed annually and updated as needed. Yellowstone superintendent Cam Sholly signed off on this year's compendium on Jan. 9.

“Foot travel within Yellowstone Canyon between Chittenden Bridge and Upper Falls is restricted to designated trails and boardwalks due to public safety,” it reads. “Foot travel within the Yellowstone Canyon between Inspiration Point and Silver Cord Cascade is restricted to designated trails and boardwalks.”

That accounts for the entirety of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. Because climbing falls under foot travel in this instance, climbing anywhere around Upper Falls is prohibited.

That also means pickupsports4u could be charged and face significant fines or jail time. Park officials weren’t aware of what he did, but now they have indisputable evidence through his Instagram post.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Charged For Climbing For Clout?"}]

Greg Jackson, a former deputy chief for the U.S. Park Service’s Division of Law Enforcement, Security and Emergency Services, reviewed pickupsports4u’s video. After looking up the restrictions in the superintendent’s compendium, charging him seemed fairly straightforward.

“I’d want to know a little bit more about how that person got there, but if it’s designated as a closed area, it’s an obvious crime,” he said.

Jackson went on to say that there could be a case for charging the influencer under Title 36 of the Code of Federal Regulations regarding parks, forests, and public property.

 – Disorderly Conduct can be applied to anyone who is “knowingly or recklessly creating a risk” by creating or maintaining a hazardous or physically offensive condition.

Jackson said disorderly conduct could apply to anyone who decides to go off-trail in Yellowstone.

“It’s probably prohibited (to climb above the Upper Falls) because it’s hazardous,” he said. “The problem with stunts like this is it encourages other people to perform stunts like this. In addition to the charge for going off the trail, I’d say they could be charged with creating a hazardous condition under 36 CFR § 2.34.”

Jackson’s opinion hinged on how pickupsports4u didn’t discourage people from following his example. While he said nobody should “try this alone,” his post said, “this risky view rewarded pure adrenaline.”

That could be enough for someone to make a reckless decision that could easily lead to serious injury or death.

“This guy might have incredible skills, and the next person’s down at the bottom of the waterfall,” Jackson said. “That’s creating a hazardous condition.”

Jackson also had questions about posting the act on social media. That could be a violation of the National Park Service’s commercial filming restriction.

When the EXPLORE Act was signed into law, it eliminated permits and fees for commercial and non-commercial filming, still photography, and audio recording involving eight or fewer people.

However, that comes with the stipulation that projects must “occur in areas open to the public” and “do not adversely impact park resources, values, or other visitors.”

Once again, there’s a case to be made that pickupsports4u’s video was in violation of those regulations. It was filmed in a public but inaccessible area that could have impacted the resources around the Upper Falls.

“If you are filming in a closed area without a permit, and you’re doing it to make money off your platform, there may be a commercial filming violation,” Jackson said.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"We Can’t Have Nice Things"}]

Julie Argyle, a wildlife photographer and postmaster at Yellowstone’s Lake Village, had strong feelings when she saw pickupsports4u’s video. She said seeing incidents like this on social media is “pretty disheartening.”

“Just because you can do something doesn't mean you should do something,” she said. “It's about ethics, respecting the park, and respecting the boundaries. They’re there for a reason.”

, two women were seen walking all over on the delicate microbial mats surrounding Grand Prismatic Spring. 

 was seen doing the same thing in the same place in June.

Argyle knows that signs warning and prohibiting people from exploring certain areas of the park are plentiful, yet she’s seeing more and more people ignoring them at their peril.

Posting about their blatant disregard for park regulations, in her opinion, makes it worse, even if it serves as a reliable form of self-incrimination.

“We see things every day, all day long, of people breaking rules and doing things they shouldn't be doing. To put it on social media, almost encouraging people to do it, is a dangerous situation waiting to happen.”

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<title>Dimwitted Tourist Illegally Climbs Yellowstone's Upper Falls, Brags About 'Risky View' | Cowboy State Daily</title>

A dimwitted tourist posted a video of himself illegally climbing above the Upper Falls of the Grand Canyon in Yellowstone earlier this week. He bragged about the "risky view" and how it gave him adrenaline. The Instagram post could result in charges.

Dimwitted Tourist Illegally Climbs Yellowstone's Upper Falls, Brags About 'Risky View'

Kolby fedore

Kolby Fedore

Crime & Courts

 who had been living in a sweltering, feces-filled Manderson camper have pleaded not guilty to seven total charges.

Travis Study, 57, the infant's grandfather, pleaded not guilty to five charges during his arraignment Tuesday in Big Horn County District Court. Destynie Study, 22, the baby's mother, pleaded not guilty to two charges in Big Horn County Circuit Court on July 8.

Travis Study faces one felony count of endangering a child through exposure to methamphetamine, along with four misdemeanor charges: Reckless endangerment, endangering a child, possession of methamphetamine and possession of marijuana.

Destynie Study faces misdemeanor charges of reckless endangering and endangering a child. Her next court appearance is a pretrial conference scheduled for 3 p.m. Nov. 25.

A four-day jury trial for Travis Study is expected to be scheduled within 180 days. He remains jailed on a $75,000 cash-only bond. 

The charges stem from conditions investigators say they discovered after the infant's death July 6. 

The family's camper had no running water, a broken air conditioner and sewage system, and measured about 95 degrees inside. Investigators reported human waste, urine and feces throughout the home, along with a urine-soaked crib and drug paraphernalia.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"The Morning The Baby Died"}]

The investigation began just after 10 a.m. July 6, when agents with the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation were notified of the suspicious, unattended death of an infant.

Destynie Study told investigators she fed and changed her 2-month-old daughter around 1:30 a.m., then put her back to sleep in a crib.

[{"type":"text","text":"She said she awakened around 9:45 a.m. and found the baby unresponsive."}]

Destynie grabbed the infant, got into her father's vehicle and started driving toward Three Rivers Hospital in Basin, calling 911 along the way.

By the time DCI Special Agent Anthony Giles arrived at the hospital, investigators were already documenting what they saw.

Dirt covered Destynie's arms, legs and clothing, according to an affidavit, and investigators reported what appeared to be lice eggs or significant dandruff near her scalp.

"An overwhelming smell of body odor, urine and feces was coming from her person and the room," Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation Special Agent Anthony Giles wrote.

Investigators reported finding dirt beneath the infant's fingernails. The same odor came from the baby's body.

[{"type":"text","text":"\"The infant's diaper was completely saturated in urine,\" Giles wrote."}]

Investigators also reported a small amount of feces and a live insect moving inside the diaper after it was removed.

The baby had lived in the Manderson camper with Destynie, Travis and another child who was just over 1 year old.

What investigators found later that day inside that camper became the foundation for the charges now moving through two Big Horn County courts.

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

Armed with a search warrant, DCI agents went to the camper that afternoon.

Several black garbage bags that investigators believed were recently placed there were sitting outside.

When agents opened the door, they reported being hit by the same overwhelming odor of urine, feces and body odor they had encountered at the hospital.

Investigators found a 5-gallon bucket containing human waste in the bathroom.

The crib where Destynie said the baby slept was damp and smelled strongly of urine.

Investigators reported finding urine-soaked bedding and a soiled diaper underneath the mattress. Liquid had pooled inside the crib's frame, and when investigators lifted it, more foul-smelling liquid drained from the support structure.

Garbage bags outside the camper contained baby food and a comforter investigators believed was heavily soiled with urine and feces.

The DCI affidavit says agents recovered more than 21 grams of suspected marijuana and a glass pipe containing white crystalline residue.

Both Travis and Destynie told investigators that Travis regularly helped care for the children when Destynie was away.

[{"type":"text","text":"Travis described what he did as \"normal grandpa stuff.\""}]

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"A Warning Over The Phone"}]

Investigators also documented a warning allegedly made by Travis while Destynie was at the hospital.

[{"type":"text","text":"Travis remained on speakerphone while they interviewed his daughter."}]

When agents asked to take Destynie's cellphone as evidence to help establish a timeline, Travis allegedly said he didn't know what might happen if someone carrying a badge or gun showed up at his property.

[{"type":"text","text":"It would be \"a bad day for that individual,\" he allegedly said."}]

The conditions investigators documented July 6 weren't the first time authorities had concerns about the family.

Court records outline four contacts involving the Wyoming Department of Family Services and Manderson police beginning in April.

During one visit, officials investigating concerns about the family's living conditions were denied entry to the camper.

Another welfare check came after reports that Destynie had missed prenatal appointments during what investigators described as a high-risk pregnancy.

During another contact, a caseworker reported that the family's Jeep smelled strongly of cat urine and was filled with debris.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Access Denied"}]

By late May, DFS had received reports that the infant had lost 11% of her body weight and that Destynie had missed a medical appointment.

When caseworkers and police returned to the property, investigators say they were again denied access to the camper.

Travis allegedly told them to "get the f*** off his property and never come back."

Less than two months later, Destynie told investigators she awakened to find her daughter unresponsive in the crib.

The affidavit does not identify an official cause or manner of death, and neither Travis nor Destynie Study is charged with intentionally causing the infant's death.

[{"type":"text","text":"The investigation remains ongoing."}]

Manderson police and sign 7 9 26

<title>Mother, Grandfather Plead Not Guilty After Baby Dies In Hot, Feces-Filled Camper | Cowboy State Daily</title>

The mother and grandfather of a 2-month old baby found dead in a sweltering, feces-filled camper pleaded not guilty Tuesday to numerous charges surrounding the infant's death. Caseworkers say they were told to "get the f*** off the property" earlier in the year.

Mother, Grandfather Plead Not Guilty After Baby Dies In Hot, Feces-Filled Camper

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

Clair McFarland

Government & Politics

Politics

A new political action committee (PAC) has come out as the top spender -- at least on the state level -- in this year’s primary election cycle, outspending the last cycle’s top-spending groups Make Liberty Win and Americans for Prosperity.

Wyoming’s Turn PAC, which has targeted Sen. Eric Barlow with negative ads during his run for governor, has spent $1,448,385 in the state’s primary election, Wyoming Campaign Finance records show.

That’s nearly $1 million more than the $549,144 spent this year by the last cycle’s top spender Make Liberty Win.

 reports receiving $1,543,550 in contributions this year, meaning it has $95,165 remaining in the final week before Tuesday’s primary election.

Of that intake, 95.2% came from the federal-level Women For Responsible Government PAC, which federal 

 or connected with the Hageman Senate Fund supporting Rep. Harriet Hageman.  

Joe Milczewski, who incorporated Wyoming’s Turn PAC in Wyoming, said the PAC has “donors big and small who rallied to support Megan Degenfelder because they know she will protect and promote Wyoming’s energy workers.”

Milczewski said that’s a contrast to the “outside Super PAC” which he said is linked to an agent of the Barlow campaign, “that is currently attacking Megan for her previous work in Wyoming’s energy industry.”

Keep Wyoming Working, a PAC that has been attacking Degenfelder, spent $228,534. Its lone contributor is a Washington DC-based Group, Government That Works PAC, which in turn lists a number of PACs as its own contributors. Its money has filtered to Democratic candidates as well, like Maine's 

Both Degenfelder and Barlow deny involvement with the various PACs attacking the other. Links between Degenfelder and the PACs attacking Barlow – and links between Barlow and the PAC attacking Degenfelder – appear 

Hageman’s campaign spokesman declined to comment.

Hageman has been an outspoken proponent of Degenfelder’s campaign.

$326,397 altogether and gave 290,000 of that to Degenfelder’s campaign. It also donated to a number of other Republican candidates, all women, running for state government offices.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"Now About All These Other PACs"}]

Wyoming’s Turn, Keeping Wyoming Working and Fight Wyoming Fight differ from most high-profile, state-level PACs in that they do not appear to have a clear pro- or anti-Freedom Caucus direction.

The other high-profile PACs often coalesce around opposing or supporting the Freedom Caucus. That rivalry has churned millions of dollars into campaign advertising, events and messaging.

 supporting Wyoming Freedom Caucus-aligned candidates and attacking some of their enemies. Its top target was Sen. Cale Case, R-Lander, whom it spent $14,177 opposing.

Americans for Prosperity (AFP), also of Virginia, aligned itself against Freedom Caucus candidates this year but said that move was merely incidental to its support for business- and energy-friendly policies.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"AFP spent $285,988, the filings show."}]

WY Freedom PAC, which is the Wyoming Freedom Caucus’ fundraising arm, spent $223,636.

The Prosperity and Commerce PAC, funded largely by Gov. Mark Gordon, appears to have stayed away from the governor’s race. Gordon gave the PAC $100,000 this year, which comprises 98.5% of its intake. But it also carried forward $216,668 from a prior report, and spent $210,272.

It gave donations ranging from $1,000 to $2,000 each to numerous hopeful and current legislators opposing Freedom Caucus-aligned candidates.  

The Civil Leadership PAC out of Gillette spent $199,990, mostly on non-Freedom Caucus Republicans out of the Gillette area, such as Barlow, state Senate hopeful Dwayne Dillinger and County Commission incumbents Scott Clem and Jim Ford. The group also backed Rep. Steve Harshman for superintendent of public instruction, and Robert Short for secretary of state.

The Defeating Communism PAC shelled out $172,648 largely on printing and advertising.

Common Sense Republicans for Wyoming, which two Casper-area attorneys started this year to combat the Freedom Caucus, spent $95,360.

School Freedom Fund spent $609,529, but appears to have spent none of that in Wyoming. Its expenses list out-of-state or national TV and digital advertising buys. Many other federal PACS listed large spending amounts, with caveats saying nearly all that expense consisted of “non-WY disbursements.”

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<title>Wyoming PAC Spends More Than $1.4 Million Attacking Barlow, Top PAC Spender in State | Cowboy State Daily</title>

The Wyoming's Turn PAC that has been attacking Sen. Eric Barlow in his run for governor is the state's biggest-spending PAC in the primary election, at $1.4 million. That’s nearly $1 million more than last cycle’s top spender.

Wyoming PAC Spends More Than $1.4 Million Attacking Barlow, Top PAC Spender in State

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily reporter, Dale Killingbeck

Dale Killingbeck

A Gillette man faces eight felony charges related to alleged sexual assaults and beatings he gave a woman, during which he reportedly called her his “little beat victim.”

Luke K. Busca is charged with five counts of sexual assault in the first degree and three counts of strangulation of a household member stemming from his alleged actions recently against a woman who had been living with him at his residence for a month, according to testimony at a preliminary hearing Tuesday before Gillette Circuit Court Judge Greg Steward.

Court officials released Busca's name late Wednesday after using his initials during the hearing.

The five sexual assault in the first degree charges all carry a penalty of not less than five years or more than 50 years in prison. The strangulation of a household member charges are punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Gillette Police Department Detective Sgt. Ryan Mahylis testified Tuesday that when police initially contacted the woman Aug. 1 at a friend’s residence they found her with a black eye on the right side of her face and injuries along her left jawline. She also had bite marks and bruises, and was complaining about pain to her abdomen and rib area.

Mahylis said the incident on the evening of July 31 started with an argument about incense burning in a sink. Busca told the woman that he was going to a friend’s home. When he returned around 2 a.m., he found the door locked and became angry.

A Gillette man who allegedly raped a woman and called her his “little beat victim” was charged Tuesday with eight felonies. Investigators say the woman had a black eye, bite marks, bruises, and rib and abdomen pain.

Western Wade "Gus" Thayer, 69