Episode Details

It's time to take a look at what's happening around Wyoming, for Thursday, June 13th. I'm Wendy Corr, bringing you headlines from the Cowboy State Daily newsroom - Presented by Cheyenne Frontier Days - starting July 19th, from sun-up to sun-down - there's something for everyone! Check it out at C-F-D RODEO DOT COM!

The babysitter who beat a 5-year-old girl in her care to death about 18 months ago was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison without parole.

Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland was in the Kemmerer courtroom for the sentencing of 52 year old Cheri Marler, and reports that many of her family members tearfully begged the judge for an option of parole and claimed the woman was wrongly convicted.

"Her family really stood by her. They testified that they've known her to be gentle and non violent, and they said that the stairs in her home are dangerous, alluding to Marler's trial theory that the little girl could have fallen down those stairs and that could have caused her injuries. It was, however, a theory that medical professionals rebutted."

A jury convicted Marler on May 10 of first-degree murder and child abuse in the beating death of 5-year-old Annabelle Noles, who'd been in Marler's care for weeks in late 2022.

After Saturday's collapse of Highway 22 on Teton Pass, commuters who live in Idaho and work in Jackson report that the four-hour or longer round-trip detour through the Star Valley area is brutal.

But there's a secret route that people living in Idaho's Teton Valley all know about as a way to travel over to the wealthy enclave of Jackson to do their blue-collar work.

It's called Reclamation Road, and some locals told Cowboy State Daily's Pat Maio that it may be time to dust off — or grade with a heavy equipment scraper— this possible route for travel.

"Everybody around here seems to know about this alternative route that you can do, which is difficult, but it's doable, if you don't like traffic, which many people don't. It's called the Reclamation Road Route, and it takes you north of Jackson about 20 miles or so. But you know, when I try and go the whole route, because I don't have a high clearance vehicle, like a jeep, it could get a little dicey in some spots."

The loss of Teton Pass in Wyoming is a crushing blow to Idahoans. Tourism is feeling the slowdown on the Idaho side of the border, and pocketbooks are feeling lighter with the extra dollars that everyone is paying for gasoline at the pump.

A Gillette resident is accusing organizers of a recently submitted petition for a property tax initiative of illegally collecting signatures at post offices and county courthouses around Wyoming.

Cowboy State Daily's Leo Wolfson spoke with Secretary of State Chuck Gray, who says the complaint by Dale Janota is bogus.

"He said that it's actually rather disturbing that this complaint was made since they were fully legal to do what they did. Wyoming State law does not address the issue of where signatures can be gathered. It's important to note that Gray has been a big supporter of this property tax initiative, calling it a grassroots effort for the people."

Organizers of the petition say the group's volunteers received prior permission from staff to collect signatures at all the post offices and government buildings they worked at around the state, receiving denials at the post offices in Rock Springs and Casper.

The last board meeting of a school year is usually light and upbeat with the obligatory acknowledgements for teachers, staff and students.

But the murders of a pair of local teens this spring has cast a pall over the Casper community, and Cowboy State Daily's Dale Killingbeck report