Episode Details

It's time to take a look at what's happening around Wyoming, for Monday, January 27th. I'm Wendy Corr, bringing you headlines from the Cowboy State Daily newsroom - brought to you by Visit Casper. Visit Casper invites you to come enjoy the Casper International Film Festival, January 31 through February 2. A broad range of films from local and international filmmakers will be shown. Learn more and get your tickets at visitcasper.com.

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With President Donald Trump back in office — and his pick for Interior secretary openly favoring removing grizzly bears from the endangered list — supporters of delisting the apex predator in Wyoming are optimistic it will finally happen.

Outdoors reporter Mark Heinz spoke with Wyoming Representative Harriet Hageman, who told him that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's decision on January 8th to reject Wyoming and Montana's petitions to delist grizzlies was a violation of the Endangered Species Act.

"I talked personally to representative, our Congresswoman, Hageman. She said, Yes, I want to continue pushing for this. Senator Barrasso says, Yes, I want to keep pushing for it. So there are people in Wyoming that want to keep pushing for delisting, and at least from what we can tell so far, this incoming administration and the new Secretary of Interior might tip things back in favor. So the grizzly delisting seesaw, has gone from one direction to the other. We'll see if it goes back again, the the never ending saga."

The Wyoming Game and Fish Department does have plans in place for a grizzly hunting season, should the bears be delisted.

Read the full story HERE.

Chris McDonald isn't a guy who loves attention. As a commander for the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation and former undercover narcotics investigator, he's used to operating behind the scenes.

McDonald oversees what's arguably one of the most difficult roles in law enforcement: sexual crimes against children. Cowboy State Daily's Jen Kocher spoke to McDonald about his work.

"He described it as the most righteous mission ever, because every day… despite how hard it is, he said, when there's… a child connected to the crime, it just motivates you to keep doing the hard work… He wants to operate behind the scenes, but … he got outed by DCI director Ronnie Jones, who wanted to publicize the fact that Chris just returned from the FBI National Academy…. only 1% of senior law enforcement has the opportunity to attend, and that's from not just the US, but from, I think, 147 countries throughout the world… Lucky for Wyoming, he comes back with a wealth of knowledge."

McDonald says he and his team have saved hundreds of young victims from being exploited, including about 20 children last year alone. He said his co-workers are some of the most talented people in law enforcement, who show up every day to do the hard job of investigating these horrific crimes.

Read the full story HERE.

As a kid, Geno Stecks made jets with firecrackers and balsam wood. As a teen with his dad in Pine Bluffs, he bought a 1934 Hudson Terraplane and turned it into a rat rod.

As an adult, the Cheyenne resident told Cowboy State Daily's Dale Killingbeck that he's graduated to be a full-blown redneck engineer, making potato cannons, a meat smoker, and now his own moonshine with a tiny hobby still.

"He had watched his favorite show on TV, the Moonshiners, and had got inspired by them over the Christmas holiday, got himself a l