Episode Details

It's time to take a look at what's happening around Wyoming, for Thursday, August 1st. I'm Wendy Corr, bringing you headlines from the Cowboy State Daily newsroom - Brought to you by Wyoming Senior Olympics! Don't miss the action at this year's summer games from today through August 4th in Cheyenne, Wyoming. For more info and a schedule of events, visit Wyoming Senior Olympics dot org.

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The town of Hartville and the nearby Pleasant Valley subdivision southeast of Glendo State Park in southeastern Wyoming are bracing themselves against a fast-moving wildfire that ballooned overnight Tuesday, and has burned through more than 28,000 acres of grasslands in the region.

Firefighters are furiously battling flames, heat and rattlesnakes, but the fire remains 0% contained. The people who had to frantically get out of the way of the flames told Cowboy State Daily's Pat Maio that it was like being caught in a surreal, hellish nightmare.

"It's actually two wildfires that combined. One is called the Haystack fire which is north of here in Goshen County and then the one I'm at here, now, closest to me in Guernsey is called the Pleasant Valley Fire. Those two fires combined overnight, it's about 28,000 acres… I did speak to one woman who's really anxious. She's an older woman, and she's really anxious about what is left of her home, and she lives on Pleasant Valley. So she's got concerns about what that's going to look like when she does return."

Firefighting resources in the area have been limited because of the eruption of multiple wildfires across Wyoming and the Rocky Mountain region, including the nearby states of Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska and South Dakota.

Relief from some welcome rainstorms is on the way, but it won't get to much of Wyoming until next week. When it does arrive, it should give the Cowboy State a good soaking, reports Cowboy State Daily's Andrew Rossi.

"This is a cyclical pattern that we have to go through. There is relief coming, but it's going to come in waves and unfortunately, the fire season is just getting started and could get a lot worse."

Read the full stories HERE and HERE.

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A ballot initiative to lower property taxes in Wyoming is going back to the well.

Secretary of State Chuck Gray announced Monday that the "People's Initiative to Limit Property Tax in Wyoming Through a Homeowner's Property Exemption" didn't submit enough eligible signatures to qualify for the 2026 ballot.

Cowboy State Daily's Leo Wolfson reports that roughly 30% of the over 44,000 signatures submitted were determined invalid by the Secretary of State's Office.

"Now, it's worth noting they only fell about 1000 short and they have a lot of time to still get the signatures if they do so before the general election on November fifth, then they'll be all good and ready to go. But they technically even have till April 2025 to do so - however, they will be subject to higher requirements if they wait till then, as the signature requirements are based on election turnout, and presidential elections typically have higher turnout than non presidential elections."

The initiative, if approved for the ballot, proposes reducing residential property taxes by 50% in Wyoming.

Read the full story HERE.

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A sharp-eyed real estate agent saved a Casper Mountain landowner from a scammer trying to sell her land out from under her.

Cowboy State Daily's Da