Wyoming

Cowboy State Daily Video News: Friday, July 19, 2024

Published

2 years ago

July 19, 2024

It’s time to take a look at what’s happening around Wyoming, for Friday, July 19th. I’m Wendy Corr, bringing you headlines from the Cowboy State Daily newsroom – brought to you by Wyoming Senior Olympics, reminding you that this year’s Summer Olympics start July 31st in Cheyenne – and volunteers are needed! Become a volunteer today at Wyoming senior Olympics dot org.

U.S. Sen. John Barrasso chased down and confronted the head of the Secret Service during the Republican National Convention on Wednesday, demanding answers to security breakdowns that allowed an assassination attempt on former President Trump’s life during a political rally this weekend.

Politics reporter Leo Wolfson reports that Wyoming’s senior senator was uncharacteristically direct with Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle.

“Wyoming Senator John Barrasso is not known for being the most temperamental person in Congress by any stretch of the imagination. He’s usually very friendly even when he’s criticizing people… But this was not the John Barrasso that we saw on Wednesday night at the Republican National Convention. Him and Marsha Blackburn, the Republican from Tennessee, really kind of cornered the head of the Secret Service, Cheatle, and Barrasso basically started yelling point blank at her as she started to walk away from the senators and wouldn’t really address their concerns directly.”

The Department of Homeland Security has opened a second investigation into the U.S. Secret Service for its handling of the attempted assassination.

Read the full story HERE.

A large male grizzly bear that’s been smashing house windows, breaking into vehicles and raising Hell in the tiny Yellowstone gateway town of Gardiner, Montana, may have been killed by wildlife agents on Thursday.

Although the bear’s fate remained uncertain that afternoon, the consensus among locals who spoke with outdoors reporter Mark Heinz was that its behavior escalated to an unsafe point where it likely had to be put down.

“I talked to a lady… she was away from her home and got a text message from her neighbor. ‘Hey, the bear’s trying to break into your house, you better come home.’ So lady races home and she finds the bear hanging halfway in one of her windows. And so what she does is, she drives her car at it. That’s how she scared the bear away…there’s been stuff like this happening left and right with this particular bear.”

The Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks was not able to confirm the bear’s death as of press time, but one local with knowledge of the situation told Heinz that the bear was put down Thursday morning.

Read the full story HERE.

Nuclear technology innovator BWX Technologies agreed to work with the Wyoming Energy Authority to evaluate requirements on where to build a potential nuclear fuel factory in Wyoming.

Energy reporter Pat Maio Maio reports that hundreds of millions of dollars could be needed to build the kind of nuclear fuel fabrication factory necessary to power the commercial micro nuclear reactors being designed by BWX Technologies and others. “They’re gonna look at different sites, what makes sense, they’ll look at engineering costs, they’ll look at plant cost to build this thing… this is a big deal in the sense that we have this mining rush going on in the uranium industry… a new factory could run hundreds of millions of dollars in investment in the state of Wyoming.”

Maio spoke to some of the state’s nuclear insiders, who have been discussing for months whether the state has a shot at getting involved in a new business line in the US that could provide a potential source of fuel to compete alongside coal.

Read the full story HERE.

As voices and momentum urging President Joe Biden to end his reelection campaign grow, Wyoming Democrats say they understand the desire of many voters for a younger candidate but worry about the party’s chances of making a candidate switch so close to the election.

Politics reporter Leo Wolfson spoke to several members of the state Democratic party, whose opinions were mixed.

“Wyoming Democratic Party Chairman Joe Barbuto is fully behind Biden and said he totally supports him staying in the race… he sees no reason to walk away from them now. Cheyenne resident Marcy Kindred feels pretty much the opposite… she believes the party as a whole has abandoned rural America and she thinks that the Wyoming Democratic Party could really take a stand by distancing itself from the President at this time.”

An AP poll released on Wednesday showed that nearly two-thirds of Democrats want Biden to withdraw from the race.

Read the full story HERE.

Stay 25 yards away from bison in Yellowstone National Park. That’s the rule the National Park Service posts everywhere and so many tourists ignore.

But what happens when a bison decides to close the distance and get up close and personal? That’s what happened in the park earlier this month, according to Cowboy State Daily’s Andrew Rossi.

“A bison had just lost a rut and was angry and aggressive and charging. And it just decided to single out a family that was following the rules and enjoying their time in Yellowstone… and they acted in the best way they could. They tried to put a buffer between themselves and the bison… they weren’t being idiots in this case… that’s just the reality of Yellowstone National Park. It’s a wild environment and wild things can happen and sometimes the animals can be the instigators.”

The video was posted on the Yellowstone National Park: Invasion of the Idiots Facebook page. But the page’s owner, Jen Mignard, defended the afflicted family. She said they were lucky, in a bad situation that was out of their control.

Read the full story HERE.

The average American driver drives about 14,000 miles every year. That’s a lot of vehicle mileage – adding up to about 3.2 trillion miles per year.

But as Cowboy State Daily contributor Aaron Turpen discovered, the average Wyoming driver drives almost twice that.

“By the Federal Highway Administration’s numbers, people in Wyoming drive twice as much as the national average. It doesn’t surprise me terribly. But I was surprised also to see what other states were not on that list. None of our neighbors are on that list. They’re all pretty much average. So it’s just Wyoming, and then the next best one is a southern state, not even related to us.”

The next-closest state to Wyoming for most miles driven per driver is Mississippi at almost 20,000 per year. Americans collectively drive more miles than has been covered in all of NASA’s space exploration to date – even including Voyager.

Read the full story HERE.

Wild critters in Wyoming’s backcountry aren’t fond of any noise made by humans, but chatty hikers and mountain bikers might bother them the most.

Outdoors reporter Mark Heinz reviewed a recently-published study conducted in Wyoming’s Bridger-Teton National Forest that identified the effects of human noises on wildlife.

“They made recordings of recreational activities, like people driving ATVs, or groups of people hiking… they took speakers with these recordings, and they posted them at different sites in the middle of nowhere in the Bridger Teton National Forest… And then they have video of the animals’ reactions… They found actually, that elk and black bears were the most sensitive to the sound…. the lady sent me a really cool video of this black bear who’s kind of lumbering along, and then the sound kicks in, and I mean, he does a 180 and just hauls butt into the trees.”

The study hasn’t included grizzlies so far, but the group is continuing research and hopes to capture some footage of grizzlies’ reactions.

Read the full story HERE.

A Gillette woman was arrested for felony drug possession after police found her 60-year-old roommate dead next to an open safe with methamphetamines inside.

Micki Waldner faces one charge of felony possession of methamphetamine, and three misdemeanor charges of cocaine and marijuana possession and drug use. That’s according to crime and courts reporter Clair McFarland.

“It was actually the landlord that summoned police to the apartment in Gillette where they found the decedent half on-half off his bed next to an open safe containing methamphetamine and marijuana. According to the court documents. Now, Wallner was nearby in another room, she said she lived there, and said she had wiped some cocaine off the table earlier ahead of officers’ arrival because she was afraid.”

As of Thursday, the Campbell County Coroner had arranged an autopsy for Woods, but had not yet received toxicology results.

Read the full story HERE.

Despite the sweltering heatwave that has smothered Wyoming in record-breaking temperatures, there’s still snow and ice at some of the highest points in the Snowy Range in Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest.

That’s because – as Cowboy State Daily’s Andrew Rossi reports – there’s a reason they call it the Snowy Range.

“We’re too far south and not high enough up for snow to persist year round in large quantities. But there are small pockets where glaciers in the snowy range do exist, mostly because of the way they’re shaded and what side of the slope that they’re facing… And it’s not unusual to have even entire roads blocked by snow and ice in early and mid July… But Don Day, Cowboy State daily meteorologist, guaranteed that that snow and ice won’t be there by the time we reach the end of July.”

Long-range forecasts from the National Weather Service have anticipated above-average and possibly more record-breaking temperatures throughout Wyoming for this four-week period.

Read the full story HERE.

Casper police officers helped capture a 14-year-old suspect charged in a Denver murder, authorities say.

Steven Marquez had been on the run for a week after the July 10th killing of Todd Kidd, according to crime and courts reporter Clair McFarland.

“Everyone was a little tight lipped about exactly what role Casper Police Department played in the suspects arrest. But it’s clear that he was arrested in Casper after a week on the run from allegedly killing an adult male outside a bar in Denver. The man, Todd Kidd, was said to have intervened in a disturbance at a bar.”

Police have not released a motive for the killing of Kidd, also of Denver. Investigators said they are not releasing Marquez’s booking photo or arrest affidavit because he is a juvenile.

Read the full story HERE.

And that’s today’s news! For a deeper dive into the people and issues that affect Wyoming, check out The Roundup, conversations with the most interesting people in the Cowboy State. A new episode drops tomorrow, when I have a conversation with explorer, National Geographic correspondent and keynote speaker Mark Jenkins. You can find the link on our website, on our YouTube Channel, and wherever you get your podcasts. And of course, you’ll find it in our FREE daily newsletter!

Thanks for tuning in – I’m Wendy Corr, for Cowboy State Daily.

Radio Stations

The following radio stations are airing Cowboy State Daily Radio on weekday mornings, afternoons and evenings. More radio stations will be added soon.

KYDT 103.1 FM – Sundance

KBFS 1450 AM — Sundance

KYCN 1340 AM / 92.7 FM — Wheatland

KZEW 101.7 FM — Wheatland

KANT 104.1 FM — Guernsey

KZQL 105.5 FM — Casper

KMXW 92.5 FM — Casper

KBDY 102.1 FM — Saratoga

KTGA 99.3 FM — Saratoga

KJAX 93.5 FM — Jackson

KZWY 106.3 FM — Sheridan

KROE 930 AM / 103.9 FM — Sheridan

KWYO 1410 AM / 106.9 FM — Sheridan

KYOY 92.3 FM Hillsdale-Cheyenne / 106.9 FM Cheyenne

KRAE 1480 AM — Cheyenne

KDLY 97.5 FM — Lander

KOVE 1330 AM — Lander

KZMQ 100.3/102.3 FM — Cody, Powell, Medicine Wheel, Greybull, Basin, Meeteetse

KKLX 96.1 FM — Worland, Thermopolis, Ten Sleep, Greybull

KCGL 104.1 FM — Cody, Powell, Basin, Lovell, Clark, Red Lodge, MT

KTAG 97.9 FM — Cody, Powell, Basin

KCWB 92.1 FM — Cody, Powell, Basin

KVGL 105.7 FM — Worland, Thermopolis, Basin, Ten Sleep

KODI 1400 AM / 96.7 FM — Cody, Powell, Lovell, Basin, Clark, Red Lodge

KWOR 1340 AM / 104.7 FM — Worland, Thermopolis, Ten Sleep

KREO 93.5 FM — Sweetwater and Sublette Counties

KGOS 1490 AM — Goshen County

KERM 98.3 FM — Goshen County

Check with individual radio stations for airtime of the newscasts.

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Wyoming

Wyoming Reporter Now Facing An Additional 10 Felony Charges

Published

3 hours ago

March 27, 2026

Press Room

Wyoming Reporter Now Facing An Additional 10 Felony Charges

The Platte County Attorney’s Office has nearly doubled the possible penalties for a Wyoming reporter accused of forging exhibits in an environmental case tied to her staunch opposition to a wind farm.

The 10 new counts against April Marie Morganroth, also known as the Wyoming-based reporter Marie Hamilton, allege that she convinced her landlords that she’d been approved for a home loan to buy their property, and grants to upgrade it.

Hamilton was already facing 10 felony charges in a March 9 Wheatland Circuit Court case, as she’s accused of submitting forged documents and lying under oath before the Wyoming Industrial Siting Council.

That’s an environmental permitting panel that granted a permit to a NextEra Resources wind farm, which Hamilton has long opposed. She’s also reported on NextEra’s efforts and the community controversies surrounding those.

Then on Wednesday, Platte County Attorney Douglas Weaver filed 10 more felony charges: five alleging possession of forged writing, and five more alleging forgery.

The former is punishable by up to five years in prison and $5,000 in fines; the latter by up to 10 years in prison and up to $10,000 in fines.

Hamilton faces up to 65 years in prison if convicted of all charges in her March 9 case. The March 25 case would add up to 75 years more to that.

Both cases are ongoing.

Hamilton did not immediately respond to a voicemail request for comment left Thursday afternoon on her cellphone. She bonded out of jail earlier this month. The Platte County Detention Center said Thursday it does “not have her here.”

The Investigative Efforts Of Benjamin Peech

Converse County Sheriff’s Lt. Benjamin Peech investigated both cases at the request of Platte County authorities, court documents say.

When he was investigating evidence that Hamilton submitted forged documents and lied under oath for Industrial Siting Council proceedings, Peech also pursued Hamilton’s claim that she owned property on JJ Road, and that she’d bought it with a U.S. Department of Agriculture loan.

The property, however, is registered under Platte County’s mapping system to a couple surnamed Gillis, says a new affidavit Peech signed March 19, which was filed Wednesday.

Peech spoke with both husband and wife, and they said they had the home on the market to sell it, and Hamilton contacted them in about July of 2025.

Hamilton told the pair that she and her husband wished to buy the property and were pre-qualified for a USDA loan through Neighbor’s Bank, wrote Peech.

But the property didn’t meet the standard of the loan, Hamilton reportedly continued. Still, she’d been approved for a USDA grant to work on the problems with the property and bring it up to the standards to qualify for the loan, she allegedly told the homeowners.

Papers

Hamilton provided the couple and their realtor with letters from USDA showing her loan pre-approval and grant approvals, the affidavit says.

During the lease period that followed, Hamilton was late “often” with rent and didn’t provide the couple with work logs until pressed, Peech wrote.

In early 2026, the lieutenant continued, the homeowners became concerned and asked Hamilton about her progress improving the property.

Hamilton reportedly sent the homeowners two invoices from contractors, showing she’d paid for work to be done. She said the wind had delayed that work, wrote Peech.

The affidavit says the Gillis couple sent Peech the documents Hamilton had reportedly given them, along with supporting emails showing those had come from one of Hamilton’s email addresses.

The Loan approval documents showed the respective logos for USDA Rural Development and Neighbor’s Bank at the top of each page, the lieutenant wrote, adding that the documents assert that Hamilton and her husband had been approved for the loan.

“There was then a list of items that needed to be completed — 14 items — prior to Final Loan Approval,” related Peech in the affidavit.

A signature at the bottom reportedly read, “Sincerely, USDA Rural Development Neighbors Bank Joshua Harris Homebuying Specialist.”

Grant Document

The documents purporting Hamilton had received a grant also showed the USDA Rural Development logo at the top of each page, with the names of Hamilton and her husband, other boilerplate language and a description of a $35,000 home buyer’s grant.

The project was about 65% complete at the time of review, the document adds, according to Peech’s narrative.

Peech describes more documents: a January notice, an invoice bearing the logo and name of “Cowgirl Demolition and Excavation, LLC,” and another invoice bearing the logo and name of “Pete’s Builders Roofing and Restoration.”

Real Estate Agent

Peech spoke with the Gillises’ real estate agent, Kay Pope, and she said she’d tried to verify the USDA grant and pre-approval by calling Susan Allman, who was listed in the documents as the Casper-based USDA agent. Pope left several messages without response, the affidavit says.

Pope spoke with Hamilton’s real estate agent, and he said he’d spoken to Allman, and he gave Pope a phone number.

Cowboy State Daily has identified Hamilton’s real estate agent and tried to contact him for further clarification.

Pope called that number and left messages without response, wrote Peech.

Peech then called a USDA Rural Development office and spoke with a Janice Blare, deputy state director, he wrote.

Peech sent the three USDA letters to Blare and gave her “all of Hamilton’s names and aliases,” he added.

The lieutenant wrote that Blare later told him the USDA investigated the letters and determined no evidence existed to show the USDA had issued them.

No records existed either, of Hamilton “using all her alias permutations” or her husband within either the USDA loan program or grant program, wrote Peech.

The USDA didn’t have an office at the address listed in two of the letters. The address pertains, rather, to a dirt lot. The USDA Rural Development office didn’t have a program titled “Rural Communities Home Buyer Program” as listed on two of the letters.

On Nov. 6, 2025, the date of the first letter purporting Hamilton had been approved for the grant program, all U.S. government offices including USDA were on furlough, noted Peech from his discussion with Blare.

A person named Susan Allman didn’t appear in USDA’s employee records, Blare reportedly added.

The Phone Call

Peech called the cellphone number one of the letters listed for Allman, “and this was disconnected,” he wrote.

The number Hamilton’s real estate agent had given was a voice over internet protocol number that Bandwidth LLC operates but is assigned to Google, added Peech.

Meanwhile, Converse County Investigator Amber Peterson spoke with the construction and roofing companies listed in the documents.

Chad Derenzo of Pete’s Roofing confirmed the logo and name listed on the documents were his company’s own — but said his company hadn’t issued the bid listed in those documents, according to the affidavit.

“Their company had never contracted to do work for Hamilton or at the… JJ Road address,” the document says.

The invoice also bore an address in Torrington, Wyoming, and his company doesn’t have a Torrington office, said Derenzo, reportedly.

Jessica Loge of Cowgirl Demolition and Excavation gave similar statements, saying the documents bore her logo, but her company hadn’t issued the bid or contracted with Hamilton.

Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.

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Wyoming

Wyoming State Parks announces pause on potential visitor center project at Sinks Canyon State Park

Published

15 hours ago

March 26, 2026

Press Room

Wyoming State Parks announces pause on potential visitor center project at Sinks Canyon State Park

(Lander, WY) – The Wyoming Department of State Parks and Cultural Resources (SPCR) is announcing a pause on a possible visitor center project at Sinks Canyon State Park following public engagement efforts conducted in late 2025. On Dec. 1, 2025, Wyoming State Parks, in partnership with Sinks Canyon WILD, hosted a public forum and gathered […]

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Wyoming

Coyote Flats Fire near containment as critical fire danger hits Black Hills, Wyoming counties

Published

1 day ago

March 26, 2026

Press Room

Coyote Flats Fire near containment as critical fire danger hits Black Hills, Wyoming counties

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) – The grass is starting to return in the Black Hills, but the damage left behind by last week’s wildfire is still visible beneath the surface. The Coyote Flats Fire is now almost completely contained, but fire officials say the work for crews who battled the flames is far from finished.

“It’s been a long week,” said Gail Schmidt, fire chief for the Rockerville Volunteer Fire Department. Schmidt said firefighters worked the Coyote Flats Fire for multiple days as the blaze forced hundreds of people to leave their homes.

Schmidt also warned the timing is concerning.

“It’s early,” she said. “It’s early — and that’s the more concerning part. We haven’t even hit summer yet.”

Some of the same crews, Schmidt said, have moved from the Black Hills to a second wildfire — the Qury (pronounced “Koo-RAY”) Fire. That fire has burned nearly 9,200 acres and was holding at 70% containment as of Monday.

Between multiple wildfires and routine emergency calls, Schmidt said the pace doesn’t slow down.

“The world does not stop just because there was a fire,” she said. “Life continues. We still have our day jobs that we need to go take care of.”

Another challenge arrives Wednesday, with critical fire danger forecast across the Black Hills and into parts of Wyoming, including Sheridan, Campbell, Crook and Weston counties. Forecast conditions include wind gusts up to 40 mph and humidity as low as 12%.

Schmidt said she believes fire lines are in good shape, but she’s watching the weather closely after recent high-wind events.

“Saturday night, 50 mile an hour winds — that was multiple days ago, and there’s been a lot of work done since,” she said. “I personally am pretty confident that we’re going to be able to hold this fire through today.”

While spring is typically the region’s wetter season — which can help reduce fire behavior — Schmidt urged residents not to become complacent as wildfire season ramps up.

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