Wyomingites are used to wild animals of all sorts wandering into their towns, and are generally tolerant of it. But when badgers start showing up on the streets, most folks draw the line.
“People don’t like them, which is understandable, because badgers have that reputation for being mean,” critter catcher Jerry Lewis of Casper told Cowboy State Daily.
“People just get nervous about badgers. It’s kind of like with bats, people get really nervous about bats, too,” added Lewis, who owns RKR Nuisance Wildlife Control.
But after catching a couple of these furry tanks in Casper, Lewis said he thinks badgers don’t really deserve their bad reputation.
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“In my opinion, a badger is as mean as you make it. A badger would just as soon run as be messed with,” he said.
Just don’t corner one, Lewis warned.
“Once they’re cornered, they’ll lay flat, and they’re just nothing but teeth and claws after that,” he said.
Rawlins Rocking With Badgers
Rawlins has had some urban badgers hanging out around town for several years now.
On social media chatter boards, residents will occasionally post news of sightings, along with warnings for people to watch out for their dogs, cats and kids — in case of badger aggression.
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Even so, resident Alana Engel said she doesn’t mind the badgers, which are big, burrowing members of the weasel family.
Engel said she’s aware of at least a couple of badgers that have taken up residence in a subdivision near the edge of town.
As far as she’s concerned, the badgers are doing a public service by trimming down the prairie dog population.
“It’s in an area right where you’d expect to see a badger,” she said. “I walk my dog up there, and I’ve seen badgers up there once in a while.”
While others seem worried about the badgers, Engel said she and her dog have never had a run-in with them, only encountering them at a distance.
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“There’s not any drama. If you leave them alone, they leave you alone,” she said. “There’s lots of prairie dogs for them to eat, so they’re getting enough food, they’re getting enough water.”
This badger was caught sleeping between and fence and a shed and Casper, trapped and relocated to a prairie dog town. (Courtesy Jerry Lewis, RKR Nuisance Wildlife Control)
Caught Snoozing
Lewis said one badger he caught in Casper “was really mellow.”
Some residents called him after they found a badger fast asleep in a tiny passageway between a shed and a fence.
It was an easy job, Lewis said. He just set a trap at one end, poked the badger with a pole to wake it up, and “he ran right into the trap, because he had nowhere else to go.”
Lewis doesn’t kill the animals he traps. He has a “catch-and-release” policy.
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So he took the badger a long way out of Casper to the edge of a prairie dog town and set it loose. He figured that it would be way too busy hunting and gobbling down prairie dogs to amble back toward Casper.
Another badger he caught was a bit more cantankerous.
When they feel threatened, badgers might try to escape by digging. And that’s just want this badger had done, trying to work its way under a privacy wall between two properties.
“When I got there, his butt was still out of the hole. So I hit him in the butt with my catch pole, and he turned around and hissed at me, and I was able to get the catch loop around him,” Lewis said.
“You’ve got to get that loop all the way over their front legs,” he added.
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As with the other badger, Lewis took the irritated critter out to the prairie dog town and set it loose.
‘I Get Stuck With The Fricken’ Skunks’
While badgers haven’t been active in Casper this year, “It’s been bumper year for racoons,” Lewis said.
“I don’t know why. Apparently, nothing has been killing them, and they’ve been having a lot of babies,” he said. “I’ve been pickup up whole family groups. They’ve been getting into people’s yards, tearing things up, tipping over bird baths. Just acting like brats.”
He’s been critter catching part-time since 2012, and hopes to eventually retire from his day job so he can go full-time in the nuisance wildlife business.
It’s a specialized skill, to the best of his knowledge, Lewis said, and there’s only one other certified critter catcher in Wyoming.
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It’s an important niche between city animal control and Game and Fish wildlife control, he added.
“Metro can’t deal with wild animals any more, for the most part,” he said. “And Game and Fish will only deal with the big animals,” he said. “They get the mountain lions and the bears, and I get stuck with the fricken’ skunks.”
Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.
When a clinic closes in Wyoming, it doesn’t just close a door; it can cut off access to care for entire communities.
For many residents, getting to a health care provider already means traveling long distances across multiple counties, and local clinics are often the only nearby option for basic health care. With one Title X Family Planning clinic in western Wyoming now closed, the challenge is becoming even more real for many people.
Reproductive and sexual health care is a key part of overall health, but it’s often one of the first services people lose access to when clinics close. Title X Family Planning is a federal program that helps people get essential preventive care, no matter their income. These clinics offer services like birth control, cancer screenings, STI and HIV testing, and care before pregnancy. They help people stay healthy, catch problems early, and plan for their futures.
The need is real. Wyoming’s Title X Family Planning network remains a critical part of the state’s health care system, helping bridge gaps in both access and affordability. With 9 clinics currently serving communities across the state, these providers cared for nearly 12,000 patients through more than 28,000 visits between 2022 and 2025. For many, these clinics are their only source of care: 49% of patients were uninsured, and nearly half were living at or below the federal poverty level.
In a state where distance and cost can both be barriers, affordable care is essential. About 14.6% of Wyoming women ages 19–44 are uninsured, higher than the national average. Title X clinics help meet this need by offering low- or no-cost care, while also connecting patients to referrals and additional health services when needed, ensuring more individuals can get the care they deserve.
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These clinics are also on the front lines of prevention. In recent years, they delivered more than 3,100 cervical cancer screenings and about 20,000 STI and HIV tests. Services like these support early detection and treatment, helping reduce the need for more serious and costly care down the line.
In rural states like Wyoming, once a clinic closes, it is very hard to bring it back. These clinics are more than buildings; they are part of the local health care system that keeps communities healthy.
The good news is that Title X Family Planning clinics are still open, working every day to serve their communities. The Wyoming Health Council supports this network of clinics and works to ensure that people across the state can access the care they need. Through partnerships, education, and community-based programs, the organization helps connect Wyoming residents to reproductive and sexual health services, no matter where they live.
In a state where distance, cost, and provider shortages all play a role, these clinics, and the work supporting them, are more than just a convenience. They are a lifeline.
To help sustain this work and protect access to care across Wyoming, consider making a donation to the Wyoming Health Council.
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Donation Link: givebutter.com/WYTitleX
Required Federal Funding statement: This project is supported by the Office of Populations Affairs (OPA) and the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Health (OASH) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award 1 FPHPA 006541-0-00 totaling $978,380 with 100 percent funded by OPA/OASH/HHS. The contents are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by OPA/OASH/HHS or the U.S. Government.
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CASPER, Wyo. — The Casper City Council voted Tuesday to approve on first reading a zoning change for a vacant 2.4-acre parcel located at 1530 SE Wyoming Boulevard, transitioning the property from residential to commercial use.
The ordinance reclassifies Lot 4 of the Methodist Church Addition from Residential Estate to General Business. Located between East 15th and East 18th streets, the irregular-shaped property has remained undeveloped since it was first platted in 1984.
While original plans for the subdivision envisioned a church and an associated preschool, Community Development Director Liz Becher reported those projects never materialized.
According to Becher, the applicant sought the rezoning to facilitate the potential installation of a cell tower or an off-premises sign. Under the new C-2 designation, a cell tower up to 130 feet in height is considered a permitted use by right, though any off-premises sign would still require a conditional use permit from the Planning and Zoning Commission. The applicant also owns the adjacent lot to the north, which the city rezoned to general business in 2021.
Becher said the change aligns with the “Employment Mixed Use” classification in the Generation Casper comprehensive land use plan. This designation typically supports civic, institutional and employment spaces.
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Despite the new zoning, the property remains subject to a subdivision agreement that limits traffic access. Entry and exit are restricted to right turns onto or from East 15th Street, and no access is permitted from East 18th Street.
The council will vote on two more readings of the ordinance before it is officially ratified.
SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — Two men were detained in Wyoming in connection with a fatal shooting at a downtown Salt Lake hotel that killed one man.
Carlos Chee, 23, and Chino Aguilar, 21, were both wanted for first-degree felony murder after the victim, identified as Christian Lee, 32, was found dead in a room at the Springhill Suites near 600 South and 300 West.
According to warrants issued for their arrest, Chee and Aguilar met with Lee and another woman at the hotel to sell marijuana. During the alleged drug deal, Aguilar allegedly shot and killed Lee after he tried to grab at his gun.
MORE | Shootings
Investigators said they found Lee dead in the room upon arrival, as well as a single shell casing on the floor and a small amount of marijuana on the television stand.
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The woman told investigators she had met Chee on a dating app and that he agreed to come to the hotel to sell her marijuana. She had been hanging out with him in the room, which Lee rented for her to use, when Lee asked them to leave. Lee was then shot and killed following a brief confrontation.
Chee and Aguilar allegedly fled the scene in a 2013 Toyota Camry with a Texas license plate that was later found outside of Rock Springs, Wyoming just a few hours later.
The two men were taken into custody and detained at the Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office.
