Episodes

  • 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
  • Cowboy State Daily Video News: Thursday, April 30, 2026

    Cowboy State Daily Video News: Thursday, April 30, 2026
    Apr 30 2026
    It's time to take a look at what's happening around Wyoming for Thursday, April 30th. I'm Mac Watson. – The horse that made international headlines after he was rescued after seven months in the Wind River Mountains has made a complete recovery. Cowboy State Daily's Andrew Rossi reports that the owner of Mouse the horse says he's made it from walking death back to full condition. "His owner said even his muscle mass that he lost during his long survival journey in the mountains has recovered thanks to this incredible supplement he got from extreme equine supplements, a family company out of Oregon. The story of this horse went worldwide. A lot of people connected with it. They were happy that he was found and he was rescued, and now he's made a full recovery, and he'll be back in the mountains where he got lost later this summer." Mouse got lost during a backcountry packing trip in July 2025. The horse simply walked away from the rest of the group near Moon Lake Union Pass in the middle of the night. Read the full story HERE. – Two breaks in the 100-year-old Rawlins city water system this week leaves residents in a familiar spot — on notice they may lose water. Cowboy State Daily's Kate Meadows reports that the former mayor estimates the cost to fix the system at between $50 - $60 million, which is money the city doesn't have. "The former mayor of Rawlins said that water line breaks happen more often in Rollins than in any other place that he's been. So this speaks to a water system, a water infrastructure that is over 100 years old in the Rawline area and the city simply doesn't have the money to fix the whole thing. So over the years, they've just been making small fix after small fix as emergencies come up. City leaders are aware that people want answers,so they are relying on the state and on grant monies to help with these necessary fixes. But even those grant monies aren't enough." Although there has been a lot of public scrutiny on Rawlins' water situation since catastrophic failure in 2022, current mayor, Jacquelin Wells, tells Cowboy State Daily that water line breaks are common in communities. Read the full story HERE. – The Casper City Council on Tuesday agreed to move toward a 180-day moratorium on gambling expansion in the city. Cowboy State Daily's Dale Killingbeck reports that City councilman Kyle Gamroth said constituents have reached out to him about "over-saturation of that industry in our community." "The discussion kind of brought up some of the concerns that people have been bringing to council. They've heard from constituents that there seems to be an increase in the number of gaming opportunities in the city. And so the city manager talked about how that can affect the city in different ways, in zoning, etc, in new opportunities from other businesses outside of gaming to come into certain areas. So they're talking about establishing districts, possibly for that." During the conversation at least three council members spoke of concerns about the number of gambling opportunities expanding in the community. Read the full story HERE. – A legislator says that as Wyoming's data center industry continues to boom, who gets the money generated by them is something the state needs to figure out. Cowboy State Daily's Kate Meadows reports that one lawmaker wants answers. "Senator Cale Case of Lander spoke with Jake Nichols on the Cowboy State Daily Show Wednesday, and asked, 'Are we getting enough taxes from these data centers, and where do these taxes go?' Case is helping with legislation to possibly change the sales tax structure for data centers so that the taxes that data centers pay on the electricity would be distributed to communities throughout Wyoming rather than stay in the communities like Cheyenne, where the data centers are located." Case spoke from Milwaukee, where he's attending a U.S. Department of Energy conference focused on protecting the nation's electrical grid from cyber threats. 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… – Scientists for the first time have determined how much water Old Faithful spews when it erupts. Cowboy State Daily's Andrew Rossi reports that new research shows an average of 7,300 gallons of liquid water, along with steam, are forced out of Yellowstone National Park's most famous geyser. "What they did was they measured the water flowing out of one of the out channels of Old Faithful after 45 eruptions in April 2025 and then they used high they use high speed thermal cameras to record the eruptions and then get an idea of how much steam was erupted, which gave them an idea of how much liquid water was needed to produce that steam. What they can do with this data is use that, not only to monitor other geysers, they can see how old faithful changes over time. So there's a lot of potential applications beyond just the purely ...
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    9 mins
  • Cowboy State Daily Video News: Wednesday, April 29, 2026

    Cowboy State Daily Video News: Wednesday, April 29, 2026
    Apr 29 2026
    It's time to take a look at what's happening around Wyoming for Wednesday, April 29th. I'm Mac Watson. – A Powell City councilman is suggesting on Facebook that Wyoming start "hanging bad judges" after a judge blocked the state's most recent abortion ban. Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland reports that multiple retired state judges and one retired Wyoming Supreme Court justice are outraged. "I talked to retired Wyoming Supreme Court justices, retired judges. Wyoming Supreme Court Justice Bill Hill said that this man is an idiot. The retired Chief Justice Kate Fox sought to remind everyone that people work in courts are real people taking care of their families and handling the issues. One said there's no faster way to get rid of your freedom than to attack or eliminate the judiciary. Powell Mayor John Wetzel said that he stands with the rule of law and didn't support the statement." Since the landmark case of Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022, Wyoming state judges have blocked all four of the Legislature's attempts to ban abortion, citing a section of the Wyoming Constitution that promises health care autonomy for competent adults. Read the full story HERE. – A driver caught towing a boat on I-25 near Wheatland at 104 mph got a ticket, but didn't go to jail. Cowboy State Daily's Kolby Fedore reports that the Wyoming highway patrol says there's no set threshold that triggers automatic jail for speeders, but towing a boat in triple digits could kill you. "He was ticketed. But Highway Patrol notes that he was lucky. This could have been catastrophic if he had blown a tire. Steve Stadelmaier, of Glendo, Wyoming, is a sales manager at Belmont Boats. He recently towed a boat over 1,200 miles from Texas to Glendo Wyoming, and he says that towing a boat over 100 miles per hour is just asking for trouble. Most tires, by the way, aren't rated to go over 80 miles per hour." The Wyoming Highway Patrol adds that the traffic stop likely added about 20 minutes to the trip and resulted in a $180 fine. Read the full story HERE. – A federal court has ruled that firearms parts without serial numbers could be protected under the Second Amendment. Cowboy State Daily's Mark Heinz reports that the decision is good news for Wyomingites who build or customize their own guns. "The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Second Amendment, in other words, your right to bear arms, extends to those parts. And basically, with the 10th Circuit Court, what they did was just affirm that a state can't, because what Colorado tried to do is they tried to pass a ban on any firearms parts that didn't have serial numbers on them." In June 2023, Colorado enacted a law prohibiting the purchase, sale, transfer, and possession of un-serialized firearms, firearm frames or receivers, and the like, according to 10th Circuit Court documents. Read the full story HERE. – In a sharply-worded letter to Cheyenne attorney George Powers, the Wyoming Attorney General's office says Sec. of State Chuck Gray doesn't have to release the legal advice he may have received before handing sensitive voter data to the federal government. Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland reports that Powers is pushing Gray what legal advice, if any, prompted him to hand voters' information to the federal government. "George Powers has long asserted that Gray waived attorney client privilege and that his communications with the AGs office should be public record because Gray has gone public about relying on the AG and has claimed that the AG approved the release of the unredacted voter rolls. The AGs office fired back on Monday, telling powers that his reading of the law is wrong, and then the cases rather support the notion that Gray retains his attorney client privilege." Last year, Gray gave the U.S. Department of Justice voter registration records for Wyomingites that include birth dates, driver's license numbers, or the last four digits of Social Security numbers, public records indicate. 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 former manager of a Rock Springs hotel accused of embezzling nearly $200,000 through fake guests and cash deals for long-term stays has been arrested. Cowboy State Daily's Greg Johnson reports that Melissa Fran Hutchison was bound over to felony court on Friday. "When the former owner of the hotel saw what was going on, the affidavit says he went in and he kicked all these guests out and fired Miss Hutchinson. According to law enforcement, she was also making up fake guests. She was using the same names, the same addresses, and some remote addresses, addresses from Alaska, things like that. They kept showing up over and over again." Hutchinson's April 20th arrest came nearly a month after a warrant was issued for her on allegations that she adjusted legitimate invoices at the Comfort Inn & Suites Hotel from 2023 through ...
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    8 mins
  • Cowboy State Daily Radio News: Tuesday, April 28, 2026

    Cowboy State Daily Radio News: Tuesday, April 28, 2026
    Apr 28 2026
    It's time to take a look at what's happening around Wyoming for Tuesday, April 28th. I'm Mac Watson. – A woman went from house to house pleading for help early Sunday morning, telling neighbors her husband "has a gun." Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland reports that a neighbor said Monday that the man "sprayed" police cars with gunshots for around 20 minutes before being shot. "I talked to one of the neighbors, Elaine Kristiansen, who said a woman was outside sobbing, ringing her doorbell. Kristiansen rushed to the door. The woman had moved on to the next house, and the people in that home were calling the police. And then she said that she heard gunshots for around 20 minutes. She said this kind of tame statement from Sheridan PD, that shots had come from the home. She said that was an understatement. This was 20 minutes of pretty consistent fire, after which police shot him and he ended up hospitalized." Kristiansen declined to identify the man shot, or his wife, publicly. Read the full story HERE. – A FedEx driver will be in court Wednesday to face a charge of aggravated homicide, accused of slamming into a stalled truck on the shoulder of I-80. Cowboy State Daily's Kolby Fedore reports that one of two men trying to fix the truck was killed, while another suffered catastrophic injuries. "A 63-year-old FedEx driver from West Jordan, Utah, was arrested on Friday, April 24th as he was driving a FedEx delivery truck when authorities say he veered off to the right side of the road, striking two men who were fixing their pickup truck. This was in Sweetwater County, around mile-marker, 112. Authorities say a camera inside of the FedEx truck showed Chris Shepherd, sort of bouncing up and down. The Wyoming Highway Patrol listed driver fatigue as a possible contributing factor, although that has not yet been confirmed." Shepherd is now charged with multiple crimes, including aggravated homicide by vehicle — a felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. He also faces a charge of aggravated assault and battery, punishable by up to 10 years in prison. Read the full story HERE. – Amazon is spending $4 billion this year to expand its reach with same-day and next-day deliveries to some of America's most remote places, including in Wyoming. Cowboy State Daily's Renee Jean reports that for rural residents and small businesses, the fast deliveries are a game-changer. "They announced a $4 billion investment this year into rural delivery networks.in their press person that I talked to, one of the things she noted in the email she sent me is that 60% of their platform or small business owners using it to sell. It's helped a lot of entrepreneurs get started with their business ideas in a much less expensive fashion than they'd be able to otherwise do." People who live in the middle of nowhere are showing their appreciation for faster rural delivery service by baking cinnamon rolls to thank drivers. Read the full story HERE. – Opposition to Cheyenne data centers is growing as residents become more vocal and sign petitions against them. Cowboy State Daily's Kate Meadows reports that one councilman says development has happened so fast, it's "completely outstripped the ability of the county and the city to plan." "Councilman Lawrence Wolf said that he has heard there's a petition circulating that is calling for a temporary moratorium on data centers in the Cheyenne area. The argument they have is that data centers consume a lot of water, and there's concern about, you know, the coming water supply and the demand, there's concern that electricity costs will go up because data centers are coming in, and there's also concern about viewscapes being tarnished or destroyed." A meeting was held Monday night where the city council was considering a proposal to rezone acres of a former historic ranch. If they rezone it, it will be rezoned to a business park. 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… – John and Makayla Otto are bottle-feeding a belligerent baby bison on their ranch near Plaza, North Dakota. Cowboy State Daily's Andrew Rossi reports that the couple has become a viral sensation online as millions of people love watching the little guy bully John. "From the moment that John saw this baby bison, it's had a personal vendetta against him. So he decided to film his struggles and post the videos on social media, and the videos of him being bullied by this baby bison to the point that it head butts him and knocks him onto the ground have been viewed millions of times. So he figured, if he's going to struggle with this little hellion, he might as well put it out there for the entertainment of others." Otto decided to share his struggle with Georgie the bison on social media. As of Monday, his videos of being headbutted and knocked over by the baby bison have been viewed more than 6 ...
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    9 mins
  • Cowboy State Daily Radio News: Monday, April 27, 2026

    Cowboy State Daily Radio News: Monday, April 27, 2026
    Apr 27 2026
    It's time to take a look at what's happening around Wyoming for Monday, April 27th. I'm Mac Watson. – The Republican Party decided Saturday that political candidates will need to "strongly" support at least 80% of the Wyoming GOP platform if they want to run as a Republican. Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland reports that the party also declared its independence and will sue the state. "There's ongoing litigation where the Wyoming Republican Party leadership doesn't like that the state restricts it. It restricts who can choose delegates. It restricts whether they can financially back one Republican over another in the primary election. And so they've just for years there's been this tension, and now they've found what they call this series of persuasive cases where they say, 'Yeah, we as a private group have associational rights, and we're going to sort of indicate those. On the other hand, while this issue actually is ongoing in a state case right now and then the party is going to file a federal case soon, they say. They also have privileges under state law." Another theme of Saturday's final day was calling for unifying Wyoming Republicans during a time of overall political division and discord. Read the full story HERE. –– Nearly 50 years after a Wyoming man died in Vietnam, his family discovered reel-to-reel recordings he sent home. Cowboy State Daily's Zak Sonntag reports that Capt. William Graves' daughter says she has a new perspective of her dad she could never have appreciated as a child. "What makes it so interesting is that at the time, they're just recording it, almost like a conversation. So it's very candid, it's very intimate, it's very personal, and it gets put into a manila envelope, into a storage unit. And it is really powerful to consider what this felt like for them, and how much it has changed the way they think about their father and their upbringing and his role in their lives. After not hearing his voice for 47 years and being reminded, hey, this was somebody who cared a lot about us." Rhonda Jo McLean was 5 years old the last time she saw her father in 1967. She remembers watching out the window of the family station wagon as an airplane carried him to a faraway place called Vietnam. Her father died three months later while flying a reconnaissance mission for the U.S. Army. Read the full story HERE. – Cheyenne's real estate market is heating up, with homes between $800,000 to the low $1 millions becoming more commonplace. Cowboy State Daily's Renee Jean reports that real estate agents are crediting data centers for the surge. "I don't think this is something where Cheyenne is becoming Jackson Hole. But you know, data centers are bringing a lot of workers here who are going to be making higher than average salaries. Some of them are going to want better accommodations. One thing about that is, as people move up and take better housing, they leave behind more affordable, attainable housing that they're no longer in. And so it can still help ease the market somewhat." Realtor Mariah Jeffery with Coldwell Banker tells Cowboy State Daily that she's seeing a huge demand for industrial spaces, not just single-family houses. Read the full story HERE. – The latest Laramie County Truck Around and Find Out crackdown caught 46 illegal commercial drivers. Cowboy State Daily's Greg Johnson reports that brings the total number to 118 since November. "They're targeting overall truck safety, and they'll also stop cars. If they're driving unsafely around trucks, they'll stop trucks. It became so popular and kind of went national, they got national headlines for doing this. Their latest one, they got 46 illegal truckers that they turned over to ice." The crackdown in Laramie County includes an illegal driver who was still behind the wheel despite having his license revoked 13 times. 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… – Hull's Half Acre or, "Boathenge," gained notoriety when a row of half-buried boats appeared in the middle of nowhere outside Frannie, Wyoming, in 2020. Cowboy State Daily's Andrew Rossi reports that Riley Cooke, AKA Greg Wyoming, who put them there has a message for those who don't like it. "What Cook says to his detractors, is that if you don't like his art, go to hell. He was very blunt about that assessment, but he feels that he's speaking from his heart. He's doing what he wants with a parcel of land he owns outside of Franny, and he believes that his pieces shouldn't be taken just in the context of driving on the highway and looking out your window and taking them as they are. They need to be experienced with the words He's put there so people can understand what's informing his vision." Cooke tells Cowboy State Daily his half-buried boats have been a 20-year dream in the making. Read the full story HERE. – A side gig for a pair of ...
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    9 mins
  • Cowboy State Daily Video News: Friday, April 24, 2026

    Cowboy State Daily Video News: Friday, April 24, 2026
    Apr 24 2026
    It's time to take a look at what's happening around Wyoming for Friday, April 24th. I'm Mac Watson. – The Wyoming State GOP convention started its convention on Thursday in Douglas with preliminary meetings vetting the numerous bylaw changes. Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland reports that many county party leaders are urging the party to throw off state laws and assert its autonomy. "The state party chair Brian Miller, opened the day with a big speech about how it is time for the party to assert its autonomy, its association of rights, and essentially throw off the state laws that govern it and restrict it. Scott Clem from Campbell County, kept saying, 'What are we doing? Are we trying to go to a caucus instead of a state run primary election? Are we prepared to pay for it if we're going to a caucus? What's the master plan here?' And Brian Miller came back up to the mic and said, 'Yeah, the master plan is to assert autonomy, and we are going to be filing a lawsuit to promote our rights in this vein.'" The full convention will have the chance to vote on the proposed changes Saturday. Read the full story HERE. –– Wyoming state Rep. Karlee Provenza and a Montana legislator posted video of themselves corner-crossing at the Carbon County spot that started a yearslong legal war. Cowboy State Daily's Mark Heinz reports that the lawmaker says she took the video to demonstrate the legality of corner-crossing in Wyoming. "This is a place where the four out of state hunters crossed in 2021 and they were first charged with criminal trespass, found not guilty of that. Then the landowners filed a civil suit against them, which went all the way to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, was ruled in the hunter's favor, and then they tried to kick it up to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court decided not to hear it, and so a lot of people took that to mean, okay, it's just de facto. It is legal to corner cross in Wyoming. So Provenza and this representative from Montana, went there earlier, I think about a week ago, and they crossed the corner, and they took video of it, and said, you know that we are demonstrating that it's legal to cross corners. This is your public land." A federal court's decision ruled corner crossing technically legal in Wyoming last year, although the Legislature this year stopped short of codifying it into Wyoming statute. Read the full story HERE. – Working as a first responder in the nation's richest county illustrates a complex problem: How does a sheriff's deputy who earns a starting salary of $70,000 live in a town where the median home price is $3 million? Cowboy State Daily's Kate Meadows reports that they don't. Only 2 of 30 live there. "That's really the problem that Sheriff Matt Carr brought up with the Teton county commissioners earlier this month. Sheriff Carr said that he's particularly concerned about this coming season, the wildfire season, this summer, and if there is, you know, an incident, or some sort of, you know, major danger, and they need more deputies to respond than what then who was on staff, How are they going to be able to do that when these deputies are commuting from so far away?" Sheriff's deputies are now allowed to take their vehicles home, even if they live in neighboring counties, so that if the need arises for them to respond to an emergency during otherwise off-duty time, they can respond directly. Read the full story HERE. – When a young student from a rural Nepali village with no running water finally found his way to America and Central Wyoming College in Riverton 30 years ago, it was a leap of faith. Cowboy State Daily's Renee Jean reports that Mohan Dangi was back Thursday to explore partnerships between Wyoming and Nepal. "So 30 years later, he's a very successful, world renowned expert in solid waste management, particularly for low income villages like the one he came from. Now, he wants to give back to Wyoming, this school that you know came and got it when he was lost and stranded and gave him a start in life. student exchanges, teacher exchanges for culture, but also long term kind of blending or strengthening each other's entrepreneurial ecosystem to kind of help their students. Who knew that the world comes to Riverton?" Dangi tells Cowboy State Daily he sees his effort to help start this partnership as giving back to a program that once gave him so much, when he was a young, 20-year-old seeing the world outside of Nepal for the very first time. 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… – Grizzly 610, one of Grand Teton National Park's most famous bears, has yet to emerge this year. Cowboy State Daily's Mark Heinz reports that her fans say that probably means she has new cubs of the year. "The big male Grizzlies might start coming out in February, and then they just kind of start filtering out. And the last ones to show ...
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