Cowboy State Daily Video News: Monday, July 28, 2025

It’s time to take a look at what’s happening around Wyoming for Monday, July 28th. I’m Charene Herrera, in for Wendy Corr, bringing you headlines from the Cowboy State Daily newsroom - Brought to you by Cheyenne Frontier Days, who thanks everyone for another record‑breaking year. Mark your calendar for July 17 to 26, 2026 for the 130th Daddy of ’em All, celebrating the Year of the American Indian.

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ICE officers arrested multiple foreign nationals in a coordinated early-morning operation across Western Wyoming last week. They also discussed what they may do with a massive funding increase.

Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland rode along with ICE units as they executed targeted arrests in Teton County, which she noted is much different than any other part of Wyoming. 

“They only visit Teton County for targeted operations like this a couple times a year. [A] couple times a week, they go and pick up detainees from the jail, people who have been incarcerated for things like DUI and then their fingerprints reveal illegal status. But for targeted operations like this, much rarer, and it's much different than operating in any other part of Wyoming, because, by and large, Teton county residents do not want them there. There's a sophisticated network, you know, where community members alert each other that they're there.”

ICE officers noted they could use the increase in funding to build more ICE offices in Wyoming, even in Teton County. State Representative Mike Yin said a satellite office in Teton County would likely make the officers “pariahs of the community.”

Read the full story HERE.

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The finishing touches are being put on the University of Wyoming’s new $289 million dormitories and dining hall. When UW students return this fall, they’ll be greeted by the gothic-style sandstone buildings.

Cowboy State Daily’s Dale Killingbeck got an inside look at the new buildings, which were based on the university’s older structures and their gothic style that originated in the 1880s.

“Students that have been on campus know all about it, but the freshmen will get to see this imposing, but really cool looking structure with sandstone on the outside… What I was told by the officials there is that they've been building buildings to last 100 years now, for the past maybe five, eight years. Their projects have all been this sandstone, and they're trying to go back to the original look of the campus.”

The new buildings also offer something none of the students’ old dorms could: Air conditioning.

Read the full story HERE.

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Anyone who has heard about the giant tree roots under Devils Tower, hundreds of cobras let loose on Interstate 25, or a woolly mammoth calf exposed by the explosion of Black Diamond Pool can thank Casper Planet. These stories and more have attracted international attention, as such stories should — if they were true.

Cowboy State Daily’s Andrew Rossi spoke with Casper Planet Founder Justin Hathaway, an oil field worker whose satirical page continues to outrage and fool people, which only fuels his desire to keep it going.

“The thing that I think a lot of people find interesting, is that there's really nothing in it for him. He doesn't make any money off of it. It's not a paid position… He gets a lot of hate on the internet because he posts these satirical stories that people don't think critically about, even for a moment, they just go off about these sort of things, but that's also what kind of keeps them going. It's a labor of love and it's a labor of laughter… He has no plans to stop. And his ideas are limitless. As far as he's concerned, he's got a long list that he hasn't touched yet.”

It often doesn’t matter if Hathaway labels the stories as satire, or how ridiculous the headlines are, there are people who still believe. He said people just need to read a little bit.

Read the full story HERE.

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After a decade-long hiatus, a 29-mile section of the Mormon Trail through Wyoming was recently fully reopened. That means members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints can make the trek their ancestors did in the 1800s.

Cowboy State Daily’s Mark Heinz says modern LDS members use the trek to reflect on the challenges their ancestors faced as they load up handcarts and push them while dressed in period clothing .  

“For about a decade, it wasn't necessarily closed, it just wasn't getting used that much. Because, I gather, there might have been some issues with some of the jurisdiction there, as well as five years ago we had the covid pandemic, and the church, you know, kind of wanted folks to stay safe and stay away from big crowds…That entire 29 mile stretch is fully open again, and we have people recreating the steps of their forebears along this section that runs near Lander. From a religious or a spiritual perspective, it's very profound for members of the Latter Day Saints Church.”

According to church members, the trek isn’t only for them, but anyone who would like to appreciate beautiful Wyoming scenery and experience pioneer history.

Read the full story HERE.

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I’ll be back with more news, right after this.

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Along Montana’s storied Big Hole River sits a ranch where a new golf course is nearly ready for play. It’s the kind of place Charles Kuralt might have stopped to profile for his iconic CBS series On the Road, which celebrated the curious corners of America and the people who live there. It’s also home to the so-called Mistress Cabin where Kuralt, the previous owner, spent time with his mistress and second family.

Cowboy State Daily’s David Madison spoke with new owner Buzz Warner, who’s gradually won over skeptics in the nearby town of Twin Bridges.

“A year ago... the talk of the town was this new golf course. It was going in next to the mistress cabin... And along comes Buzz Warner. He buys it... folks were kind of up in arms in twin bridges, but since then, they've softened. They've seen that it really is quite a low impact alternative to raising feed for cows... now that he's not doing that... there is a substantial amount of water that's staying in the Big Hole River, which is a good thing... it's a remarkable story about a guy who just loves golf, loves trout fishing, and transformed a ranch into a golf course and saved water for the river.”

Warner didn’t provide a specific open date, but said the course is nearing completion in a couple more weeks. The mistress cabin has been preserved on the property.

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Winning can be decided in less than a second in rodeo. For Hadley Thompson of Yoder her first-place finish at the National High School Finals Rodeo depended on less than a second in goat tying and breakaway roping. This earned the teen the coveted title of girls’ all-around champion at the 2025 NHSFR in Rock Springs last weekend.

Cowboy State Daily’s Jackie Dorothy spoke with Thompson, who said she devotes her time to practicing from early morning until dark.

“Hadley Thompson says rodeo is all about winning, and the way to win is hard work. She said it was her family, her faith, and a lot of coaches in her corner, and what she does to practice is a lot of goat tying, and a lot of times with her colts… And Salty, the horse that she rode to the championship is one that she actually even trained herself.”

Thompson said this is just the beginning of her rodeo career as she plans to go pro in the future.

Read the full story HERE.

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The 1945 Battle of Iwo Jima marks its 80th anniversary this year. The battle and its place in WWII history were highlighted by Wyoming’s National Museum of Military Vehicles this month. 

Cowboy State Daily’s Renee Jean says Dan Starks, the museum owner, is among a small number of Americans who have visited the island, which is only open one day a year for a Reunion of Honor Ceremony. 

“It's kind of a commemoration of that battle for everyone who died there, both Japanese and American…  Over the years, of course, we were losing all of our World War Two veterans, and so those flights have become open to people who had family members who were there, and Dan Starks was that's how he came to be on that flight. His father is among those who stood on Iwo Jima soil during World War Two.”

Starks retraced his father’s steps and reflected on what it was like to be on Iwo Jima. The battle over the tiny volcanic island was one of WWII’s bloodiest fights.

Read the full story HERE.

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And what do locals do at Cheyenne Frontier Days? Play CFD Bingo. It’s a popular annual pastime for locals that watch tens of thousands of out-of-staters flock to the Daddy of ‘Em All each year.

Cowboy State Daily’s Greg Johnson headed out to Cheyenne Frontier Days to see how many bingo squares he could mark off. Before the shuttle bus dropped him off, he spotted things like shorts with cowboy boots, a neck tattoo and both a man and woman with a mullet.

“I spent an hour at Frontier Days on the Midway to see how many of these boxes I could check off in an hour… The one I saw, by far the most was shorts with cowboy boots… Didn't see a fight, although I wasn't there late at night… I did run into a couple people who thought it didn't find it very funny. They thought it was making fun of Cheyenne and everything, but for the most part, most people, especially the locals, all liked it.”

Cheyenne residents also play another unofficial game: Spot the out-of-stater, which most locals say is very easy to do.

Read the full story HERE.

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And that’s today’s news. Get your free digital subscription to Wyoming's only statewide newspaper by hitting the Daily Newsletter button on Cowboy State Daily Dot Com - and you can watch this newscast every day by clicking Subscribe on our YouTube channel, or listen to us on your favorite podcast app.  Thanks for tuning in - I’m Charene Herrera, for Cowboy State Daily.