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 Monday, June 3rd.

As Wyoming's grizzly population continues to grow, they've become common outside of Cody.

Famed outdoors writer Jim Zumbo told Cowboy State Daily's Mark Heinz that it's no big deal - he says going to an ATM in Denver is riskier than having a grizzly for a neighbor. But that's not the way it used to be when Heinz lived in Park County, a decade or so ago.

"When I was there, yeah, you'd occasionally see bears coming down around Wapiti, possibly there could be one down by the reservoir. It was pretty rare… the people I talked to, they said, you know, they just accept it as a fact of life. They're cautious, but they're not afraid. They keep their bear spray and/or a firearm with them at all times… the residents of the North Fork have apparently learned to adjust to live very well with grizzlies, and there's more there than ever."

The target population for grizzlies was set at around 700-800 bears in the entire Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. That includes the park and surrounding wild areas in Wyoming, Montana and Idaho. Official estimates now put the number of grizzlies at about 1,000 in the region.

Wyoming Horse Racing's new huge $25 million, 30,000-square-foot Horse Palace near the Colorado border will open sometime this summer and target customers from Colorado. Cowboy State Daily's Renee Jean says the new operation will feature parimutuel games, offtrack betting, and a lot more.

"right along the Colorado border. a $25 million dollar bet is being placed that Wyoming can attract thousands of Colorado tourists at the … swan ranch horse palace. And this is a gaming facility from Wyoming horse racing. It's about 45 minutes from Fort Collins. It's the closest option for about a million people living in Colorado. That's a huge demographic, it could bring millions in tourism dollars to Wyoming if they're successful."

To top it off, celebrity Chef Shawn Jackson - who has cooked for the likes of Oprah Winfrey and Maya Angelou - will lead the kitchen at the facility at Swan Ranch. One of his specialties is a 72 ounce porterhouse steak.

At its state convention Saturday, the Wyoming Democratic Party called the Freedom Caucus a "threat" to Wyoming.

Cowboy State Daily's Leo Wolfson was at the convention in Casper, where the participants say the Wyoming Freedom Caucus is a "dangerous" far right group that needs to be reined in.

"There was probably roughly about close to 200 people there, probably…there wasn't so much concern about Republicans in general, even State Representative Ken Chestik said, you know, normal Republicans don't bother him. But he's very concerned about the Freedom Caucus, calling them dangerous and a threat to Wyoming."

Wyoming Democratic Party Chair Joe Barbuto said he's also very concerned about the Freedom Caucus gaining more seats in, and possibly control of, the House of Representatives.

Downtown Cheyenne business owners say they're fed up with an aggressive 6-foot-4-inch man who calls himself "Wisdom," and brandishes a staff like a shaman. Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland reports that the man, whose real name is Joshua Hayden-Ali, claims he practices Voodoo, and then threatens to kill shopkeepers or burn their stores down.

"I spoke to multiple business owners Friday, and they just were saying, there's not much police can do. We're kind of getting weary of it. And a few of them, you know, they were concerned for their own safety. But they also were saying, one of these days when he's gesturing with his staff, like he's shooting people, he's gonna g