Episode Details

It's time to take a look at what's happening around Wyoming for Wednesday, July 30th. I'm Charene Herrera, in for Wendy Corr, bringing you headlines from the Cowboy State Daily newsroom - Brought to you by Cheyenne Frontier Days, who thanks everyone for another record‑breaking year. Mark your calendar for July 17 to 26, 2026 for the 130th Daddy of 'em All, celebrating the Year of the American Indian.

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A man was fatally wounded in an officer-involved shooting Monday evening after police say he fled a traffic stop in Cody. According to the Cody Police Department, the failure to yield prompted officers to chase the male driver through the city and east of it onto State Highway 14.

Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland reports the man was later identified as 22-year-old Lucas James-Erick Alvesteffer.

"The 22 year old was the subject of a traffic stop for not having proper registration, according to the police department, meaning either no license plate or not the right kind. And he didn't stick around… And an officer involved shooting followed and he was killed. There was one officer who fired, who's been placed on leave. And as is common practice, Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation has been called in to perform an independent investigation to look for justification or culpability in the officer involved"

No officers were injured during the incident. Cody Police Department Lieutenant Juston Wead declined to comment on if Alvesteffer brandished a weapon or was found with one after his death.

Read the full story HERE.

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Cheyenne is about to get its largest data center yet, with pipeline company Tallgrass and Texas-based digital-infrastructure company Crusoe announcing the construction of a 1.8-gigawatt artificial intelligence data center in southeast Wyoming.

Cowboy State Daily's Renee Jean reports that the two companies did not provide a precise location, but Mayor Patrick Collins confirmed that the data center will be in Cheyenne.

"One gigawatt is enough power to power up a million homes… Wyoming only has a population just over, like 587,000 right? So it's like twice the power need of Wyoming for this one data center that's going to scale up to 10 gigawatts. So the scale is just enormous…Communities vie for these big economic development things. But Cheyenne didn't do anything. This company came knocking on their door and it just goes to show the city's kind of reached this critical mass. Enough people know about it. Meta is here. Microsoft is here. Other companies are saying, Wow, they've got everything we need there"

Wyoming's weather and energy production make the state a great location for data centers. However, if the whole state wants to capitalize on the data center race, Jean reports more communities along Interstate 80 must scale up their power infrastructure.

Read the full story HERE.

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A 17-year-old tourist suffered "significant thermal burns" near the Lone Star Geyser in Yellowstone National Park on Monday.

Cowboy State Daily's Andrew Rossi reports the teenager was on a hike in the Lone Star Geyser Basin 3 miles southeast of Old Faithful on Monday morning. His foot broke through a thin crust at the edge of the thermal area and plunged into scalding water.

"So one of his feet and one of his ankles was scalded with significant thermal burns from the hot water. He was transported to a hospital for treatment. We don't know much more beyond that. And as to critique many people who have commented, w