Episode Details

It's time to take a look at what's happening around Wyoming, for Monday, December 30th. I'm Reilly Strand, in for Wendy Corr, bringing you headlines from the Cowboy State Daily newsroom brought to you by the Cowboy State Daily Morning Show with Jake. From 6 a.m. to 10 a.m., Monday through Friday, Cowboy State Daily's Jake Nichols takes you deeper into the stories that matter - and keeps up with the news, weather and sports in your part of Wyoming. Just tune into Cowboy State Daily Dot Com and join the conversation.

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In the wake of bormer President Jimmy Carter's death on December 29, Wyoming leaders remembered him as affable and kind. Cowboy State Daily's Leo Wolfson spoke with former Governor Dave Freudenthal, former Wyoming Secretary of State Kathy Carpenter and bormer U.S. Senator Al Simpson about Carter's legacy.

"The takeaway on this story is that although Jimmy Carter left a lot to be desired with his presidential skills and some of the things that took place during his four years in office, he more than made up for it with his…charitable acts after he left the Oval Office…He made it count where he could make a big difference in people's lives, and really dedicated a lot of effort to really trying to…make that difference throughout his life."

Carter died at the age of 100.

Read the full story HERE.

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Tucked in the mountains near Meeteetse, Wyoming, a group of Carmelite monks are building a Gothic monastery with cutting edge technology. Cowboy State Daily's Renee Jean reports that these monks are challenging medieval stereotypes with adapted high-tech computerized machines that carve stone.

"This thing looks like it's thousands of years old, but they are building it from scratch….they are using modern technology to do it…it's really kind of a neat story… When they got here in Wyoming in 2003 they had like, 400 bucks to their name…They're supported just by coffee sales…They're not making a huge amount of money off of that…They came here with this dream of building this Gothic monastery, and they're working with architects….and the minimum bid was $80 million…So they figured out that they could use CNC machines to carve the stone….they have just basically self taught themselves….how to build this monastery."

It's unclear when the Carmelite monks will be finished with their monastery, but sources say it could be as soon as 2030.

Read the full story HERE.

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Yellowstone National Park's famous one-eyed wolf, 907F, died on Christmas Day after she succumbed to injuries she suffered in a fight with other wolves. Cowboy State Daily's Mark Heinz spoke with Wildlife Researcher Taylor Rabe who tracked 907F's final moments through a radio collar.

"She was nearly 12 years old, which is…more than triple the average wolf's lifespan…She was involved in a fight with some…wolves from a rival pack on December 22....lived for a few days…. then finally, perished from her wounds. I talked to…some people who'd been following her for years ... they said she was a remarkable animal, and it felt like a huge loss, especially right after we lost Grizzly 399 not that long ago."

Wildlife experts say wolves fighting among themselves is one of the leading natural causes of death for wolves in Yellowstone.

Read the full story HERE.

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From above, the aftermath of this fall's 98,352-acre Elk Creek Wildfire shows a barren