Episode Details

It's time to take a look at what's happening around Wyoming for Monday, July 14th. I'm Wendy Corr, bringing you headlines from the Cowboy State Daily newsroom - Brought to you by Cheyenne Frontier Days. Ten days of rodeo thrills, Xtreme Bulls, live concerts, carnival rides, western heritage, and unforgettable cowboy spirit in Cheyenne, Wyoming! Don't miss the 129th Daddy of 'Em all July 18-27th.

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Controversy over unpopular proposed changes to Wyoming's landowner hunting tag policy could come to a head Tuesday when the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission meets in Casper.

At issue is whether the commission should vote to raise minimum property requirements from 160 acres to 640 acres. Cowboy State Daily's Mark Heinz reports that opponents of the changes estimate that hundreds of landowners could show up ready to push back against the changes, which some claim could cut as many as 60% to 70% of the current allotment of landowner tags.

"We reported earlier that the whole topic of the landowner tags, you know, changing to up the acreage, and up the ownership requirements, that kind of seemed to have died down or been settled. I'm hearing now that really isn't the case, and … I've heard speculation that there could be hundreds of people at that meeting in Casper, that it's going to be a doozy… Game and Fish Commissioners are really going to be on the hot seat Tuesday."

The agency recently recommended that the commission should reject the proposed changes. However, the decision isn't the agency's call. That authority rests solely with the commission.

Read the full story HERE.

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More than 40 years ago, a young bank robber shot a 26-year-old Wyoming Highway State Patrol Trooper and left him for dead.

Looking back today, the robber, Mark Corbett, and the Trooper, Steve Watt, recounted the events of that day to Cowboy State Daily's Jen Kocher, in what they now see as God's hand in bringing them both together in ways that drastically altered the course of their lives.

"He robbed a bank in Colorado… he encountered Steve watt, who was a Wyoming trooper. So the trooper pulled him over, and as soon as he started to get out of his car, Mark shot him… then Mark came back to his car and shot him four more times in the side and left him for dead. Steve, however, was able to get back, kind of fall out of his patrol car and get several shots off through that hit his car… but he was just being eaten alive by anger… he figured it was better to forgive him, because he couldn't live with himself anymore… And then he started advocating for Mark's release from prison."

Largely owing to Watt's forgiveness, Corbett is one of six inmates who have had their sentences commuted under Governor Mark Gordon since he took office in 2019. He had served 41 years in prison.

Read the full story HERE.

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High up in the Snowy Range Mountains — off grid, out of cellphone range and deep into black bear country at 9