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Cowboy State Daily's The Roundup

Cowboy State Daily's The Roundup

Written by: Cowboy State Daily
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 The Roundup is a gathering of voices, opinions and perspectives from interesting people in the Cowboy State of Wyoming.2025 Politics & Government
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  • Cowboy State Daily Radio News: Tuesday, May 5, 2026

    Cowboy State Daily Radio News: Tuesday, May 5, 2026
    May 5 2026
    It's time to take a look at what's happening around Wyoming for Tuesday, May 5th. I'm Mac Watson. – Expecting up to 8 inches of snow, southeast and other parts of Wyoming will finally get a little bit of a late winter Tuesday and Wednesday. Cowboy State Daily's Andrew Rossi reports that meteorologists are saying snow will turn to freezing slush and that could be a problem. "It's actually a combination of two different weather systems that are going to collide somewhere over Southeast Wyoming, northern Colorado, and Western Nebraska, which is going to lead to wet, heavy snow. Enough to impair travel on I-80 and I-25 and it's going to be around one to two inches of water equivalent of snow, which could be upwards of one to two feet of snow in the mountains. This is going to be a statewide system in terms of temperature. We're going to see temperatures drop 30 degrees, some places closer to 40 degrees in just six hours or so. And there's going to be scattered snow, rain and thunderstorms throughout the state, but the bulk of it is going to be in the southeast corner." Up to 8 inches of heavy, wet snow could fall during that duration, accompanied by a huge drop in temperatures. Read the full story HERE. –– With dozens of Cheyenne-Area data centers in various stages of discussion, some residents want to hit the brakes. Cowboy State Daily's Renee Jean reports a petition is circulating, calling for a data center moratorium. "When you total the whole thing, it's like 70 of them all coming toward Cheyenne. It's like Cheyenne has become this data center magnet, right? And there's, you know, people who are saying, 'Wait, it's too many. It's too fast.' Senator Case is saying maybe a moratorium is not such a bad idea. We could use a little more time to figure out how we handle this at a state level too. You know, do we want to have the industrial siding commission look at cumulative impact?" The Cheyenne petition comes as other Mountain West counties and more than a dozen states weigh enacting temporary moratoriums on new data centers, reflecting a much wider national debate. Read the full story HERE. – Wyoming's political registration data isn't seeing huge changes yet, despite a push from some politicos to register Republican to participate in the generally more decisive GOP primary election. Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland reports that all Wyoming parties have shrunk in registered membership from January to May, but one party stands out. "Since January, from January to May, the registration numbers in the Wyoming Democratic Party have shrunk by more than 500 but all the other parties have also shrunk, and so these shrinking to different degrees have given the Republican Party more of a percentage of the whole. The Democratic Party lost the most in terms of percentage of the whole. Most people I talked with Monday said it doesn't sound like crossover voting. Doesn't sound like a big push to go from Democrat to Republican, but it's still early. The Wyoming Democratic Party told me the half of the people they lost from January to May either died or moved away. The other half, we don't know. Could be different." All parties saw steady decreases in the four months since, as voter registration dropped by 1,404 total. But the GOP gained in dominance in terms of percentage of the whole, up to 77.4%, while the Democratic Party lost the most percentage-wise, down to 11.4%. Read the full story HERE. – With the Wyoming Highway Patrol short 36 troopers and overtime restricted, local law enforcement can be left to pick up the slack to fill gaps. Cowboy State Daily's Kolby Fedore reports that one WHP dispatcher says more people are asking, "They're not here yet. Where are they?" "Wyoming Highway Patrol is facing a significant trooper shortage, with 36 unfilled trooper positions. The problem is they're over budget by about two-and-a-half-million dollars, so there is a hiring freeze until October, and no overtime for the troopers they do have. Local agencies like sheriff's offices are having to step it up. The problem is that pulls them away from the dirt roads and the local communities where they're needed. A Platte County sheriff's officer says that they are also understaffed, so this means longer wait times and troopers having to cover greater distances." Staff and budget shortages at the Wyoming Highway Patrol are stretching troopers thin across nearly 7,000 miles of state highways, slowing response times and straining local and county agencies to make up for the gaps in service. Read the full story HERE. – I'll be back with more news from Cowboy State Daily right after this. Cowboy State Daily news continues now… – A contractor filed a lawsuit Monday claiming the more than $100 million award to fix a catastrophic 2019 failure of the Wyoming-Nebraska tunnel system was done illegally "in secret." Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland reports that it also claims there was no competitive bidding...
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    9 mins
  • Cowboy State Daily Radio News: Monday, May 4, 2026

    Cowboy State Daily Radio News: Monday, May 4, 2026
    May 4 2026
    It's time to take a look at what's happening around Wyoming for Monday, May 4th. I'm Mac Watson. – Multiple Wyoming lawmakers and a Cheyenne-based car dealer voiced concern Friday over a federal requirement for mandatory "kill switches" in 2027 model vehicles. Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland reports that one dealer calls it "Big Brother," while a state legislator says it's "draconian." "Representative Daniel Singh has been outspoken on this for a while, and he's called it satire, not policy. He was not alone, however, Representative Landon Brown, who chairs the Transportation Committee, voiced milder but similar versions of that same alarm and consternation. And Representative Mike Yin, a Democrat, told me it's the state's business if the state wants to hand down some kind of mandate like this, not the federal government. And he said, 'I don't know why the federal government's always trying always trying to tell us what to do.'" The requirement passed in the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, but it's about to become a reality as 2027 model year vehicles trickle into the market starting this year. Read the full story HERE. – Father Chad Ripperger is one of the Roman Catholic Church's most experienced and well-known exorcists. Cowboy State Daily's Zak Sonntag reports that originally from Casper, Ripperger speaks with a mechanic's calm about the discipline he never asked for — fighting demons. "He wanted to be a priest and an academic and really focus on Catholic academics. He was asked by the church to focus on exorcism. And this was at a time when the church was globally focusing on expanding exorcism institutionally, and that started in 1999 and it's just been building and building ever since." Father Ripperger tells Cowboy State Daily that he's gained visibility in recent years after successive popes have directed dioceses to expand the use of exorcism in response to what Ripperger says is a rise in diabolic influence. Read the full story HERE. – A California man who was killed by elephants while on safari in Africa was a frequent hunter in Wyoming and close friends with a Douglas outfitter. Cowboy State Daily's Mark Heinz reports that Dax McCarty says the media portrayal of his friend, California vineyard owner Ernie Dosio, is wrong. "He said, you know that those menial portrayals of him is just a rich guy that was over there killing things just for thrills, you know? He said, 'That's wrong. That's a misconception. That's not who this guy was.' And then I also talked to a couple Wyoming residents who have actually been on safari hunts in Africa and they said, Yeah, it's no joke over there, you have to have your stuff wound up tight. You have to have your head on a swivel." McCarty tells Cowboy State Daily that according to what he was told by Dosio's family, Dosio died almost instantly when he was gored by a female elephant, on April 17 in the central African country of Gabon. Read the full story HERE. – The maker of an AI-powered robot chef that will cook for you wants to move its manufacturing from China to Cheyenne. Cowboy State Daily's Renee Jean reports that Foodease CEO Kishore Kodru says once you load the robot with ingredients, it will drop them into the pan, stir and cook according to an app-driven recipe. "A lot of people conflate this or confusing this with a crock pot. It's not a crock pot, because with a crock pot, you dump all the ingredients in at once, and they all cook for the same amount of time. This is putting each ingredient in as needed. What Kishore would like to do, if he could get enough interest in this product, he'd like to move the manufacturer. To America. So that's kind of how that played out. It's not that this is a Chinese company locating in America. They'd like to move it to Cheyenne Wyoming instead." Kodru is normally a real estate developer and business owner in Cheyenne, but has lately become one of Foodease's primary beta testers. Read the full story HERE. – I'll be back with more news from Cowboy State Daily right after this. Cowboy State Daily news continues now… – A woman sex-trafficked by a Satanic cult still haunts — and motivates — former Converse County Undersheriff Justin Scott. Cowboy State Daily's Jen Kocher reports that although Scott was forced to medically retire from law enforcement, he's found a new mission to rescue human trafficking victims in Wyoming. "He started his nonprofit to basically dispel the misnomers about human trafficking and educate the community about what human trafficking is and what it looks like in Wyoming. And from there, he joined forces with another leading advocate of anti human trafficking, leader in the state. Terry Markham is the executive director and co-founder of uprising and Sheridan, and it is an anti human trafficking nonprofit that focuses on educating and training students, the community, law enforcement and other organizations and individuals." Scott tells ...
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    9 mins
  • Cowboy State Daily Video News: Friday, May 1, 2026

    Cowboy State Daily Video News: Friday, May 1, 2026
    May 1 2026
    It's time to take a look at what's happening around Wyoming for Friday, May 1st. I'm Mac Watson. – The suspect in a Thursday morning shooting in a central Cheyenne neighborhood was in custody by early afternoon, so say detectives. Cowboy State Daily's Greg Johnson reports that police say Adrian Maggos also was once accused of attacking a man with brass knuckles. "The Cheyenne Police Department is reporting that, apparently, Maggos and this other person had a verbal argument that escalated and ended up with Magnus allegedly shooting him. We don't know where he was shot or his condition, although the injuries that he suffered were life threatening. And in a later update, we learned that he had reached out to the police in some way to inform them he wanted to turn himself in. He returned to the spot where the shooting happened, and that's where police and the US Marshal agent met him and took him into custody." Cheyenne PD tells Cowboy State Daily that the 27-year old Maggos faces an attempted first-degree murder charge. Read the full story HERE. – A judge on Thursday dismissed the defamation case of two legislators against the campaign arm of the Wyoming Freedom Caucus. Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland reports that in the judges ruling, he said "You can say pretty ludicrous stuff" in politics. "Judge Kaste on Thursday dismissed a defamation suit to Rock Springs lawmakers had filed against the WY Freedom PAC, which is the campaign arm of the Wyoming Freedom Caucus. Now the lawmakers were, you know, bothered by mailers sent out targeting them in the 2024 election, saying things like representative Wiley voted against keeping Trump on the ballot. There was no vote to keep Trump off the ballot at any point in the Wyoming Legislature. So the judge on Thursday, Judge Cassidy, he said, 'Yeah, some people say ludicrous things in politics, but the First Amendment is so protective you can say ludicrous things.'" Reacting to the ruling, Rep. John Bear of Gillette, tells Cowboy State Daily on Thursday, "I'm super excited that the First Amendment still exists in Wyoming." Read the full story HERE. – A Kemmerer couple faces multiple child endangerment charges, accused of having their four kids living in a home "covered in filth." Cowboy State Daily's Greg Johnson reports that authorities described the inside of the trailer as "disgusting." "When they opened the door to go in, he said it was just overwhelming – just hit him and he had trouble opening the door. He said there was just garbage and food and rotting food all over the place. Described all kinds of surfaces, you know, couches, chairs, tables, everything was covered with stuff." Samanta Dunn-Warren and Jeremyha Warren had their first court appearances on Wednesday and both have been charged with four counts of endangering a child, which is a misdemeanor. If convicted, they could face up to four years in prison. Read the full story HERE. – Some are concerned that gunfire from Wyoming's new $19.5 million shooting complex near Cody will drive eagles away from prime hunting and nesting grounds. Outdoors Reporter Mark Heinz reports that experts are saying that the presence of humans in their hunting territory will drive them away, not the gunshots. "The consensus with the biologists I spoke with is that's probably going to go away, because the Eagles, they're just not going to tolerate that much human presence and that much noise. The rabbit population is down, and for Golden Eagles, that's one of their main prey sources. And so it's nobody's saying that this is gonna, like cause mass Eagle death, or that they shouldn't build the complex, and just saying it's something we should be mindful of." Raptor researcher Chuck Preston tells Cowboy State Daily that he doesn't oppose the shooting complex being built, but it should be kept in mind that the project will come at a cost to raptors. Read the full story HERE. – I'll be back with more news from Cowboy State Daily right after this. Cowboy State Daily news continues now… – A Wednesday U.S. Supreme Court ruling declaring Louisiana's race-based congressional district unconstitutional could shake up Wyoming. Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland reports that Fremont County has a race-based legislative district and a race-based commission district. "This is all ringing bells in my head, because back in 2021 I called I covered our legislative redistricting. I remember Senator Cale Case emphasizing, at the time, the Wind River Reservation district needs to have a majority of Native American voters in it. We really need to work for this. Well, he was trying to honor the case law that was in place at the time, and so he told me that Thursday. He was like, 'Yep, we were doing our best to honor that case law, and things might look a little different in five years when we redistrict again.'" Ruling 6-3, the high court didn't overturn the Voting Rights Act's Section 2 or the framework earlier ...
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    8 mins
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