Episode Details

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 14th.

A Wyoming sheriff is trying to recruit deputies by posting a billboard in Denver, Colorado.

Laramie County Sheriff Brian Kozak told Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland that the billboard touts the whole state of Wyoming as a law-and-order state, and that people in the Cowboy State value law enforcement.

"The sign the Laramie County Sheriff's Department put up in downtown Denver says 'Work in Wyoming, where breaking the law is still illegal, and cops are still funded.' And so that's a little bit of a barb to the city of Denver last month, slashing its law enforcement budget by $8.4 million to contend with what they're calling the migrant crisis and influx of migrants due to a combination of factors among them."

Kozak said the goal isn't just to get warm bodies into uniforms - the hope is to get a high enough number of applications from which to choose exceptional candidates.

"So they're down 8 patrol positions and they have 17 detention positions yet to fill. And so that's after the hiring spree of last year, 72 people. I also talked to Sheridan police chief Travis Koltiska, who said they're down like eight positions. It's a recurring theme across the state. But Kozak is the one that decided to go ahead and advertise in downtown Denver."

Kozak said that his overtime costs from last year were over a million dollars, so the way he sees it, if he can get those positions filled, he can actually save money in the long run.

A 16-year-old boy led Campbell County Sheriff's deputies on a high-speed chase for more than 13 minutes Friday evening, rocketing up to 142 mph in a newly acquired black Cadillac.

Cowboy State Daily's Jimmy Orr explained that the story isn't just in the high speed chase - the story is the fact that the teenager and his 15 year old passenger survived the joyride.

"We spoke to Vince Bodiford, who's a former professional racecar driver, runs a site called The Weekend Drive. And as he points out, you know, the tires of a vehicle have to be rated to be able to go that fast. And if not, you can only go that fast for so long until something's gonna blow. And so had there been a problem with the tires at 142 miles an hour, it would have absolutely, as he said, destroyed the car. And so what he did was, as Vince said, was incredibly stupid. And he's really quite lucky to have been able to not have an accident going at that speed."

The teenage driver was still in jail as of press time Monday.

A few dozen Thermopolis-area residents peppered a Wyoming State Parks official Monday about their worries that a new operator will price out locals who enjoy Wyoming's most popular state park.

Cowboy State Daily's Renee Jean was in Thermopolis for a public meeting about the new concessionaire who will be taking over the attractions at Hot Springs State Park.

"The top concern I heard today was people are worried that the Park's not going to remain affordable. They've gone and they've looked at what Wyoming LLC is doing in other states. It's very expensive. It's like $120 a pop. That's not something anyone here wants to spend to go to the State Park in their backyard. I think currently, the fees, maybe 15 bucks a day or something like that… Big Horn district manager Jordan Brooks told Cowboy State daily that affordability is his is a top if not the very top concern as they're working out the details of their contract with Wyoming LLC."

Hot Springs State Park has long laid claim to being the world's largest mineral hot springs, and it is Wyoming's most popular state park.