By Lisa Phelps

CASPER – The image of a bison burned into raw lumber and polished was chosen by Wyoming’s First Lady, Jennie Gordon, to be on display at the governor’s mansion for a year. The image was the handiwork of Wheatland High School art student Courtney Dumont. A wood burn of a bugling elk by Dumont also won a blue ribbon, along with a mixed media coffee and graphite drawing of a horse and calf called “Mud Ring.”
The Wyoming Art Symposium is an annual event showcasing the best artwork of students in schools across the state. It is one of the largest of its kind in the nation, with 4,721 entries by 67 schools. Twenty-five percent of artwork received blue ribbons, and the First Lady chose a selection of them to be displayed at her home at the governor’s mansion in Cheyenne for a year. The artists are invited to attend a luncheon and awards ceremony with Gordon at the mansion in June; the artwork will be returned to the artists at next year’s symposium.
Dumont says art is an important part of her life, and she especially appreciates seeing people’s reactions to her art. “I like seeing when my art means something to them,” she said.

Average gasoline prices in Wyoming have risen 1 cent per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.32 today, according to GasBuddy’s survey. Prices in Wyoming are 4.6 cents per gallon higher than a month ago and stand 13.3 cents per gallon lower than a year ago.

According to GasBuddy price reports, the cheapest station in Casper was priced at $3.01/g yesterday at both the Conoco and Sinclair on Second Street.

The national average price of gasoline has risen 1.2 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.56/g today.

The national average price of diesel has fallen 2.9 cents in the last week and stands at $3.82 per gallon.

“With the summer driving season now underway, average gas prices have seen ups in some areas and downs in others. Most states are seeing prices slightly below their 2024 peak thus far, with some refinery issues in the Great Lakes weighing on prices there, while other areas, like the West Coast, have seen notable relief with more coming,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy.

“June tends to be a month of smooth sailing, where we see gas prices decline in most areas, and that’s a trend that looks the most likely for drivers, barring unexpected refinery snags or a tropical storm developing. The national average over Memorial Day was down ever so slightly compared to last year—after adjusting for inflation, prices were down about 10 cents per gallon. Not a terrible way to kick off summer!”

Historical gasoline prices in Wyoming and the national average going back ten years:
May 28, 2023: $3.45/g (U.S. Average: $3.55/g)
May 28, 2022: $4.30/g (U.S. Average: $4.60/g)
May 28, 2021: $3.02/g (U.S. Average: $3.04/g)
May 28, 2020: $1.88/g (U.S. Average: $1.97/g)
May 28, 2019: $2.80/g (U.S. Average: $2.81/g)
May 28, 2018: $2.88/g (U.S. Average: $2.96/g)
May 28, 2017: $2.30/g (U.S. Average: $2.36/g)
May 28, 2016: $2.23/g (U.S. Average: $2.32/g)
May 28, 2015: $2.65/g (U.S. Average: $2.74/g)
May 28, 2014: $3.48/g (U.S. Average: $3.65/g)

Neighboring areas and their current gas prices:
Fort Collins- $3.22/g, down 7.1 cents per gallon from last week’s $3.29/g.
Ogden- $3.49/g, down 10.8 cents per gallon from last week’s $3.60/g.
Billings- $3.44/g, down 0.9 cents per gallon from last week’s $3.45/g.

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, May 28th.

As many as 100 people showed up at Cheyenne National Cemetery on Monday morning for an advertised Memorial Day service in honor of fallen heroes and loved ones.

But the VA never showed up to host the service, according to Cowboy State Daily’s Pat Maio. And the families, some of them driving in from out of state, are fighting mad.

“I talked to people who came from 120 miles away in Nebraska, 60 miles away in Colorado, I spoke to people who came from up past Cody, Rawlins area, but they all came down at 11 o’clock, thinking that there was going to be some sort of observation for their loved ones. And there wasn’t.” 

Meanwhile, the throng of 100 who did show up at 11 a.m. came with flags and flowers to push into the ground next to their loved ones, with tears rolling off their cheeks.

William Washington, the cemetery’s manager for the VA, told Cowboy State Daily that the snafu could have been caused by a failure to update the VA website in time for the event.

A half-hour documentary featuring the unique story of the Heart Mountain Eagles — the football team for the World War II Japanese internment camp between Cody and Powell — premieres on the NFL Network on Memorial Day.

The documentary “9066: Fear, Football, and the Theft of Freedom” tells the story of the Eagles, a high-school football team of Japanese Americans incarcerated at the Heart Mountain Relocation Center during World War II, according to Cowboy State Daily’s Andrew Rossi.

“The NFL found the story of the Heart Mountain Eagles, which was a team of high school students who were detained at the Heart Mountain … relocation center during World War Two, and they forged this team together. And they played other Wyoming high school football teams, and went undefeated in 1942.” 

The filmmakers enlisted a Cody production company, Cactus Productions, to assist with the documentary, which premiered on the NFL Network Monday. The film will also be available on all the NFL’s media channels.

https://youtu.be/Ad_YY1bHJ64

A Bracco Italiano dog who lives in Douglas won Best of Breed at the prestigious Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. 

Cowboy State Daily’s Dale Killingbeck reports that “Rowan” received a giant medallion for the win, and bragging rights that the best Bracco Italiano dog in the world lives in Wyoming.

“People can actually go on YouTube and watch Rowan performing, doing his thing, strutting around the ring, and showing how great of a pointer dog he is. His owner said that she’s not sure what his future is. But she hopes that he can just become a regular dog now. And for his reward, he got himself a nice plate of cooked chicken.”

Apparently, black bears don’t mind Black Sabbath.

At their wit’s end with a black bear that refused for hours to budge from a tree in Golden, Colorado, wildlife agents tried hazing it by blasting the heavy metal band Black Sabbath’s legendary anthem “Iron Man” from airborne drone speakers.

But as Cowboy State Daily’s Mark Heinz reports, the music didn’t faze the bear.

“They’d been waiting for hours, like, the bear would go up in a tree and fall asleep. And so the police department had a drone down there with speakers, and said, Well, let’s try blasting it with some music. So the CPW agent I talked to, she decided, hey, Iron Man by Black Sabbath, that’s a great song, that’ll scare the bear, that’ll get him to move. And she tried it and it didn’t work. Either the bear just didn’t care. Or maybe he even liked it.” 

A few hours later, the bear climbed down the tree and ambled off on its own, going exactly where Parks and Wildlife officials wanted it to go all along.

If the walls of Cowboy State Daily’s headquarters in Cheyenne could talk, they’d tell a tale that’s part history and all legend.

That’s because the restored historic brick building was once a horse barn belonging to C.B. Irwin, Cheyenne’s larger-than-life Wild West character and owner of the second most famous Wild West Show after Buffalo Bill Cody’s.

And Cowboy State Daily’s Renee Jean writes that the historic building once stabled two legendary horses – including the horse whose image appears on Wyoming’s license plates.

“ Irwin bought him because he knew what Steamboat was and what he could do with him. Well, Irwin was also very heavily involved in the racehorse industry. He even gave the horse trainer who eventually discovered and trained Seabiscuit his start, and I’m told by Annalise Wiederspahn, who actually owns the CB Irwin barn and restored it, that both of those horses from time to time passed through the CB Irwin barn here in town in Cheyenne.” 

The legendary horses that trailed through the C.B. Irwin Barn still inspire many Wyomingites to this day, and Steamboat is forever linked with the bucking bronc logo that appears on every state license plate.

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. And don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel! 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.