Episode Details

EP 23 Mark Heinz

Wendy Corr:

Well, hey there, folks, welcome to The Roundup. We are a Cowboy State Daily podcast, and we focus on interesting people in the Cowboy State. Today is going to be so much fun. We're going to have a grand time talking to one of Cowboy State Daily's own reporters, who's got a fantastic history of his own. I'm so thrilled to be able to dive into into this background.

But first, first, I want to make sure that you all know about another fantastic podcast out there. It's called the Wyoming Business Alliance's 'Business from the Basement' podcast. If you are a business person in Wyoming, if you are a manager, if you're an owner, if you are interested in being a business person in Wyoming, the Wyoming Business Alliance 'Business from the Basement' podcast has resources.

It has really fantastic stuff for you to just get yourself prepared and in that brain space for being a successful Wyoming business person. The 'Business from the Basement' podcast, check it out, but check it out after.

Stay tuned to this podcast, because today, it's going to be a great time. Mark Heinz is my guest today on the Roundup. If you watch Cowboy State daily video news, you know who Mark Heinz is. If you have been a subscriber of Cowboy State Daily's news for any length of time, you know Mark's work.

Mark's beat is the outdoors. But there's a really good reason that Mark is our outdoors guy, because he has lived this lifestyle. So I'm going to say Hello, Mark Heinz, welcome to The Roundup - in a different capacity, because you were here a couple weeks ago.

Mark Heinz:

Yep, yep. I interviewed you. So it's nice to be on this side of the table.

Wendy Corr:

Yes. Well, this is usually where it is. Once a day, folks, I get to talk to Mark about the stories that he has done. Because, again, if you watch our newscast, you'll see Mark at least once a day for one story a day on our newscast, because all of the stories that Mark does for Cowboy State Daily, or, you know, the vast majority are outdoors, and Wyoming is an outdoors type of state.

Mark, tell us a little bit about - because we're going to get into some of the things that you're covering right now. But tell us a little bit about your interest in the outdoors, which started at a very young age.

Mark Heinz:

Well, yeah, I was essentially raised by Jeremiah Johnson, my dad. He's no longer with us. He passed in in 2012, but he was - you talk about a guy who was born in the wrong century. Absolutely. He had a career with the Forest Service, but he retired early. He was, gosh, he was at least 10 years younger than I am now when he retired, because he got up high enough in the ranks that he was getting stuck in desk jobs, and that just isn't what he wanted to do.

So, you know, I'm your typical weekend warrior when it comes to the outdoors. My dad was hardcore. In fact, when he retired from the forest service, he went up to BC, British Columbia, and worked for an outfitter friend of ours. For you know, you know, the serious, serious back country.

He had some incredible stories, like leading a horse pack train, and it came around a corner and and on a steep hillside, and they came around the corner, ran into a grizzly bear, and half the horses ended up rolling down the hill. That was just another day for my dad.

So, yeah, I credit him for you know, I mean they, my folks had us out - I was the youngest of five kids, and I remember being three, four years, three or four years old, and on, you know, back country trips. So that's where it came from. Came from my old man, from my dad.

Wendy Corr:

But your childhood, listening to