Wyoming
Cowboy State Daily Video News: Tuesday, April 23, 2024
It’s time to take a look at what’s happening around Wyoming! I’m Wendy Corr, bringing you headlines from the Cowboy State Daily newsroom, for Tuesday, April 23rd.
Wyoming’s Grizzly 399 is the most famous bear on the planet and has the world on edge each spring, wondering if and when she’ll emerge from hibernation — and she’s done it again.
Grizzly 399 was spotted late Sunday with her huge cub in tow, according to outdoors reporter Mark Heinz.
“This is remarkable. She is 28 years old, which is quite old for a grizzly, especially for a grizzly with a cub. But, you know, the cub, Spirit, has about a year before he’s ready to strike out on his own, and people seem pretty convinced that she seems to be healthy enough that she’s gonna live at least long enough to get that cub raise to maturity.”
Grizzly 399 gained fame and huge social media followings through her habit of taking her cubs to highly visible areas near roadsides in Grand Teton National Park.
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Before the story of a tormented wolf story flashed viral a few weeks ago — the one where a local man entered a local bar with a barely breathing wolf with its muzzle taped shut to show off how he had dropped it with a snowmobile — Daniel, Wyoming, was a sleepy place to get a hot dog and beer in the local bar.
Now it is dealing with international outrage, reports Cowboy State Daily’s Pat Maio, who visited the sleepy Sublette County town over the weekend.
“The purpose of my story was not to look at the the incident of this ugly event. My purpose was to paint a picture of what is Daniel, what is what is here. And, and the impression I got is that it’s a wonderful community. People love it… So yeah, the people up here are really torn. They’re, they’re upset. It’s a raw nerve, the whole issue and that this wolf incident has touched you and I feel for the people. There’s a lot of really super, super nice people, but they’re, they’re upset. They’re hurt. You know, they want it all to go away.”
Many wouldn’t speak to the press on the record, and are angry that they are having to defend the reputation of the Upper Green River Valley. He said the people who live in the area feel divided over the issue.
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A Pinedale railroad engineer is suing Union Pacific, claiming he was hurt — maybe permanently — when an artificial intelligence-powered train driver malfunctioned, causing a train wreck.
Now in a civil complaint filed Thursday in the U.S. District Court for Wyoming, 51-year-old Andrew Kirol is accusing the railroad of negligence, and of violating the federal Locomotive Inspection Act, according to crime and courts reporter Clair McFarland.
“he’s saying that he was forced under threat of discipline to man, this locomotive were at the very least the center locomotive in the train was powered by a computer that’s supposed to learn to navigate terrain by AI. But the the middle locomotive when faced with a hill decided to speed up whereas the front locomotive decided to slow down and he’s alleging that’s no competent human locomotive operator would have done it that way. And so the, the middle part of the train rear ended him he was in the front locomotive, he alleges that he was knocked around and has suffered ongoing injuries.”
The Union Pacific Railroad told Cowboy State Daily in response to a Monday request for comment that it will review this lawsuit once officially served with it.
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For Wyoming hunters, the good news is that the acquisition of a $2.3 million piece of the Mule Creek Ranch could get them better access to an area of Albany County teeming with elk.
The not-so-good news is that it’s about two hours from anywhere, in the far-flung northern reaches of the county. It’s a stretch of mind-boggling vastness that outdoors reporter Mark Heinz says locals call “Little Siberia.”
“It’s really one of the most remote places in Wyoming. People usually don’t think of Albany County as being that all remote, but you get North of Rock River and there’s really a whole lot enough and for quite a long ways… And the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission last week they went ahead and approved the sale of purchasing some land – the Rocky Mountain Elk foundation is going to sell land, they’re going to sell about half of it to the game and fish and half to private landowner. The private landowner is going to keep easements open for elk hunting.”
The acquisition should create a few more close-to-the road hunting opportunities for elderly hunters or those with mobility challenges, but the vast majority of it will be remote country.
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And folks in Sublette County don’t give a rat’s whisker about what that back-East groundhog has to say about the changing of the season, or even Wyoming’s prognosticating prairie dog Lander Lil.
That’s because people in the Pinedale area have Bob. Spring hasn’t arrived until Bob the barrel has reached the shores of Fremont Lake, according to Cowboy State Daily’s Andrew Rossi.
“It’s a long standing tradition that goes back to at least the 1980s. And it’s just a fun way for the pintail lions to earn a few more bucks for their Sublette county initiatives. … Every year after their annual fishing derby, they place this yellow barrel on the ice. And it just sits there until the ice melts, and eventually the barrel is going to drop through the ice and make its way, float to shore. And so they sell tickets and the person who guesses the correct date and the closest time wins $500.”
For now, Bob continues to sit patiently on the ice in the middle of the Lake. But once the ice has melted enough to allow the bright yellow steel barrel to finally float to shore, Bob’s work is done for another 11 months.
And that’s today’s news. Get your free digital subscription to Wyoming’s only statewide newspaper by hitting the subscribe button on cowboystatedaily.com. 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.
Since moving to Wyoming many years ago, and having lived in a few towns around the state, I find that some town and city rivalries must be addressed. Some are based on past conflicts that still cause pain to this day. Some are unexplained.
For example, to this day, all of Johnson County still does not trust Cheyenne after the Johnson County War of 1892. Cattlemen in Cheyenne sent a hit squad hired by the barons to invade Johnson County to eliminate alleged rustlers. A shootout that lasted several days ensued.
Other town rivalries include:
Green River vs. Rock Springs: The two towns are close together and share one of the most intense and oldest community, cultural, and athletic rivalries in the state.
Lander vs. Riverton: Located in Fremont County, this rivalry dates back to 1922 and divides the area over high school football bragging rights. They talk a lot of smack about each other.
Cheyenne vs Casper: The towns just HATE each other. I’ve lived in both, and I can tell you that there is nothing wrong with either town. But I’ve come across people in both towns who talk about their hatred of the other.
There is not a lot of love across Wyoming for Jackson, mostly because of the mega-rich liberals who live there. Many of those mega-rich liberals look down on the rest of Wyoming.
Folks talk smack about Laramie, but in a very different way than people talk smack about Gillette.
Having traveled around Wyoming, I can tell you that most of this hate is just nonsense and a waste of time. In the end, we are all Wyomingites. Just one big bickering family who still have each other’s backs when it comes down to it.
The Charmingly Odd Town Of La Grange Wyoming
It is well worth the long drive to see one of the most interesting and quirky little towns in Wyoming.
Stay for lunch. You won’t regret it.
Gallery Credit: Glenn Woods
Jay Em, Wyoming, Frozen In Time
Jay Em, what an unusual name for a town.The few people who live there are proud of what their spot on earth once was, and they work to preserve it. They keep this little community frozen in time.
Gallery Credit: Glenn Woods
Wyoming
Hoping to draw Colorado interest, construction begins at $80M betting facility in Laramie County
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Foundation work is beginning this week on Wyoming’s next horse betting and gaming house.
The $80 million Wyoming Downs facility in Laramie County, one of two the company is investing in over the next couple of years, is poised to be one of the largest facilities of its kind in the state. The company is aiming for a spring 2027 opening.
The facility will host upwards of 600 historic horse racing machines, Wyoming’s largest TV wall, multiple dining options and more across 58,000 square feet. More land was bought for future hotel development. Commuters driving between Cheyenne and the Colorado border can see clearly from Interstate 25 the expansive development.
That placement along the travel corridor is purposeful, Wyoming Downs and 307 Horse Racing President Kyle Ridgeway said.
“I think that the targeted consumer for this is from Colorado or from the Front Range,” Ridgeway said. “I anticipate we’re going to have plenty of people from Cheyenne come down here to play and enjoy the amenities, but when you look at 600,000 people within a 30-minute drive, that’s what justifies this investment and brings all that tax revenue in from another state, which is fantastic.
“We don’t get the opportunity to do that in Wyoming very often.”
There is still plenty to offer Cheyenne residents besides the facility’s amenities. Ridgeway said in a speech to attendees at the project’s groundbreaking Tuesday, June 2, that more than 150 permanent jobs will be supported by the facility on top of the dozens supported by the companies’ corporate offices and the 400-plus involved in the project’s construction.
Groathouse Construction, a Wyoming business, is the project’s general contractor. Wyoming Downs said it believes putting the project in local hands also helps keep the project uniquely Wyoming-focused.
Ridgeway added the facilities have already proven themselves to be effective tax revenue generators for the local governments. The Wyoming Gaming Commission’s 2025 report, released in late May, shows bettors wagered $2.49 billion on historic horse racing machines last year, a jump from the $2.11 billion wagered in 2024.
Wyoming Downs facilities generate roughly $25 million in taxes annually across the state, and Ridgeway estimated after the ceremony that the upcoming $80 million facility alone will generate an additional $3 million for Laramie County once the property has been in operation for a few years.
Horse betting sites have been increasingly popping up across Wyoming this decade. The Wyoming Downs location will be Cheyenne’s second large-scale horse betting facility since 2024, when the 30,000-square-foot Horse Palace at Swan Ranch opened. Ridgeway said Wyoming Downs is still offering something fresh for tourists and residents.
“This’ll have amenities that Swan Ranch doesn’t have, including the largest TV wall in Wyoming and a pretty super-cool sports viewing area with a restaurant and just a level of finish and class that I don’t think Wyoming has quite seen yet with these types of properties,” he said.
Ridgeway said he thinks resident fatigue with these facilities isn’t as strong as it appears, especially given the tourism benefits of off-track betting.
“Wyoming’s been built on mineral extraction and tourism, and what this is is a touristic facility. I’m not aware of any particular pushback about this specific facility outside of — you see random social media comments where people say, ‘Oh, another gambling facility.’ But where this is located, I think people in Cheyenne have generally been supportive of,” he said.
The Laramie County facility will be just one part of a larger project Wyoming Downs is working on over the next few years. Construction will begin in early 2027 on a similar facility in Evanston looking to draw in Utah and western Colorado crowds.
Some of the company’s current facilities, notably in Casper, Cheyenne and Rock Springs, will see millions poured into renovations as well. New smaller-scale parlors will also go up in Gillette and Green River this year, according to an information packet provided by the company.
More details will come as the construction process develops, Ridgeway said. Details about amenities, such as what the complex’s dining options will look like, remain undisclosed, though Ridgeway promised that options will be “excellent.”
“We haven’t made final selections on what the options are, but we have a number of different options on the table that we’re considering for what we want to offer for the customers,” Ridgeway said. “You have to have something that’s high quality for where this is located. If somebody’s going to drive 25 or 35, or even 45 minutes to come here, they got to be able to sit down and have a quality meal.”
For more information as it becomes available and to learn more about Wyoming Downs facilities and 307 Horse Racing‘s events and offerings, see the companies’ websites. Renderings for the upcoming Cheyenne facility commissioned by the company are available for viewing below.
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