Wyoming

Much Of Wyoming May Be Safe If US Is Nuked, But Cheyenne Likely To Be Vaporized

Published

1 year ago

December 16, 2024

Much Of Wyoming May Be Safe If US Is Nuked, But Cheyenne Likely To Be Vaporized

The dynamics of nuclear tensions have changed since the Cold War, and Wyoming might not take a direct hit if the bombs fly. But it’s still best to keep putting the fear of God into the world’s despots, a retired top-tier military official said.

A FEMA map showing the places in the United States that would supposedly be the safest during a nuclear war leaves Wyoming pretty clear, but doesn’t tell the full story about how safe the Cowboy State would be in a nuclear war.

And while most of Wyoming is seemingly marked safe from being vaporized by hellfire, Cheyenne and the surrounding areas are pegged to be hammered into oblivion by multiple strikes.

Stay Strong

That might have been true decades ago, but things might go differently today. Wyoming might not get nuked at all, retired Air Force Col. Tucker Fagan told Cowboy State Daily.

That doesn’t mean it would be easy here in the aftermath of nuclear war, he said. It’s likely much of the country’s vital infrastructure and supply chains would be destroyed.

So, just as during the Cold War with the now-defunct Soviet Union, it’s best to keep letting the world’s despots know that they’d have nothing to gain and everything to lose by going nuclear, Fagan said.

“As long as we are strong and we can deter, and Russians and Chinese and North Koreans are afraid to die, that’s the essence of deterrence,” he said.

Fagan is the former head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Nuclear Section under President Ronald Reagan and the former Commander of F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne.

When it comes to the scenarios of nuclear war, Fagan is an expert. Along with his top-level military experience, he created the “nuclear football” for President Ronald Reagan.

Putin Would Probably Go After People, Not Silos

Fagan said he’s seen the map that supposedly shows the safest places in case of nuclear war, and others like it.

The problem is, they rely on the Old Cold War philosophy. Arms stockpiles peaked in the 1970s and ’80s, when each of the sides had more than enough weapons, more than 10,000 each, to lay waste to each other many times over.

Had a nuclear war erupted in those days, missile silos would have been a prime target. And Cheyenne, along with much of southeastern Wyoming has plenty of those.

Treaties have since cut the nuclear arsenals of the U.S. and Russia, down to about 1,500 warheads each, Fagan said.

But as Russian President Vladimir Putin has demonstrated in his country’s war against Ukraine,Fagan said, the primary target would probably be America’s people.

“What’s the Russian objective, what are they doing in Ukraine? Killing people,” he said. “They’re after the people, because they know the people will not be subjugated.”

Americans would similarly refuse to be subjugated, so Putin would try to kill as many as possible, Fagan said.

And to do that, he might not want to waste warheads on a sparsely populated places like Wyoming, he said.

Scare The Dictators Themselves

Despots like Putin don’t care about the lives of ordinary citizens, even those in their own countries, Fagan said.

That’s why it’s important for the U.S. to make sure the dictators themselves know they wouldn’t survive going nuclear.

“You need to let them know you have the ability to kill even them. They don’t want to die. Do you think those autocrats care about their people?” he said. “I’m talking about Putin, Xi Jinping (China) and Kim Jong Un (North Korea), they don’t want to die.”

If any of the despots launched, and Wyoming didn’t get hit directly, it would still be miserable here, Fagan added.

“We would still lose electricity, and supply chains would disappear,” he said.

Tucker Fagan (Cowboy State Daily Staff)

States Would Have To Band Together

There is a glimmer of hope in the case of major national disaster, nuclear war or otherwise, Wyoming All Hazards Association President LaRae Dobbs told Cowboy State Daily.

Each Wyoming county has an emergency plan, which dovetails in with state and regional plans, she said.

And those plans include what to do in case of a huge breakdown at the national level.

“It’s more focused on what are the cascading events that are being caused, rather than what was the event that caused it,” she said.

The first order of business would be making sure supplies of food, water and medicine kept flowing, as much as possible, she said.

Toward that end, Wyoming and surrounding states have strategic stockpiles, of such things, she said.

“We would immediately rely on the Wyoming Office of Homeland Security to coordinate with other surrounding states,” Dobbs said. “We have mutual aid agreements with the other states.”

Emergency coordinators at the county level are the key to making it all work, she added.

“We know each other by name and by sight, but the majority of our communities don’t even know we exist,” Dobbs said.

Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.

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Wyoming

University of Wyoming sues former energy research partner for $2.5M – WyoFile

Published

7 hours ago

December 17, 2025

Press Room

University of Wyoming sues former energy research partner for .5M – WyoFile

The University of Wyoming filed a lawsuit this week seeking $2.5 million from an energy company it partnered with to research enhanced oil recovery.

The university in 2024 signed a contract with Houston-based ACU Energy to advance research at the university’s Center of Innovation for Flow Through Porous Media, according to the university’s complaint filed Monday in Wyoming’s U.S. District Court. ACU Energy agreed to pay the university $15 million over the six-year research period. The company, according to the complaint, was to pay the university $2.5 million annually with two payments each year.

While the university kept up its end of the bargain — by assembling a research team, training research members and incurring costs to modify laboratory space — ACU Energy “failed to pay the University even a cent owed under the Agreement, leaving $2,500,000 outstanding in unpaid invoices,” the complaint alleges.

ACU Energy did not respond to a WyoFile request for comment before publication.

Old Main, the University of Wyoming’s oldest building, is home to administrative offices. (Tennessee Watson/WyoFile)

The company notified the university in February that it was terminating the contract, and the university notified ACU Energy in May of its breach of contract, according to court filings. The university asked the court for a jury trial.

Enhanced oil recovery refers to methods used to squeeze more crude from reservoirs that have already been tapped for primary production, extending the life of an oilfield.

The university commonly accepts money from private businesses in return for lending resources and expertise to advance research. The Center of Innovation for Flow Through Porous Media is part of the university’s Research Centers of Excellence in the College of Engineering and Physical Sciences.

The Center of Innovation for Flow Through Porous Media, led by Mohammad Piri, a professor of petroleum engineering, bills itself as “the most advanced oil and gas research facility in the world.” The center conducts research at the university’s High Bay Research facility, which “is funded by $37.2 million in state dollars and $16.3 million in private contributions, with an additional $9.2 million in private gifts for research equipment,” according to the center’s website.

The center has received donations from oil industry heavyweights like ExxonMobil, Halliburton and Baker Hughes.

Piri was tapped to serve as “principal investigator” for the UW-ACU Energy partnership, according to the university’s complaint. As of press time, ACU Energy had not filed a response to the lawsuit.

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Wyoming

Search for fugitive wanted for child-sex crimes leaves Wyoming town on alert

Published

19 hours ago

December 16, 2025

Press Room

Search for fugitive wanted for child-sex crimes leaves Wyoming town on alert

With a population under 600, Byron, Wyo., is generally a quiet town. In recent weeks, streets have been even quieter as both local and federal law enforcement search for 39-year-old fugitive Anthony Pease, who is wanted for six counts of sexual assault involving a minor.

Authorities have been searching the area for weeks, and a reward for information leading to an arrest now sits at $2,000.

See how the search impacts the town:

Search for fugitive wanted for child sex crimes leaves Wyoming town on alert

Saturday morning, law enforcement shared there was a confirmed sighting of Pease near town and reminded residents to remain vigilant by locking their doors and reporting suspicious activity. According to Wyoming’s Big Horn County Sheriff’s Office, before the weekend sighting, Pease hasn’t been seen since Nov. 1.

The Big Horn County Schools Superintendent, Matt Davidson, told MTN News a school resource officer on staff stays up to date with the latest on search efforts, and some parents say they’ve been keeping their kids indoors when they’re not at school.

As the search continues, the mayor as well as some residents, say they are taking law enforcement’s advice while keeping a watchful eye.

“I never used to lock my house during the day. I didn’t even lock my vehicles at night. In fact, a lot of the time I’d leave the keys in them. I’ve talked to other people and there is quite a few people that are nervous. I would hope that a lot of us are nervous because this is a bad thing,” said Byron Mayor Allan Clark.

In fact, investigators could be seen around Byron knocking on doors and scanning land outside of town.

“There’s just so much area and a low population, so much area for him to hide and seek shelter,” Clark said.

With so many wide-open spaces and abandoned buildings in the area, Clark understands why the search has gone on so long.

According to the US Marshals Service, Pease is 5 feet 11 inches tall and may also be going by the name Abraham. They also ask that anyone nearby who has a collection of silver dollars to ensure they are still there, and if not, to report to authorities.

Marshals say Pease is considered dangerous, and the public is told to not approach him and instead call 9-1-1. As the search has stretched over six weeks, many residents hope a capture will bring life back to normal.

“I hope that they capture him soon, and I hope that us as community members and around the area keep our eyes open and report anything suspicious,” said Clark.

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