Episode Details

It's time to take a look at what's happening around Wyoming for Tuesday, August 5th. I'm Wendy Corr, bringing you headlines from the Cowboy State Daily newsroom - Brought to you by the Converse County Tourism Promotion Board! Discover Douglas and Glenrock in beautiful Wyoming, where rich history, outdoor adventure, and welcoming communities await. Feel the Energy of Converse County at www.ConverseCountyTourism.com.

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Wyoming's few remaining lumber mills have been struggling, but a shift in federal and state timber policy might herald a new era for the industry here.

Gov. Mark Gordon on Friday signed an executive order calling for an increase of active forest management in Wyoming. Cowboy State Daily's Mark Heinz reports that the order mirrors President Donald Trump's March 1 executive order for "immediate expansion of American timber production."

"That kind of clears the path for the more aggressive forestry management, which, just my understanding, it's going to result in more logging. And… there's really three big timber companies in Wyoming, and they told me that really, what they're looking forward to is hoping that this gives them more leeway and more of an affordable option to get in there and clear out dead timber first, because there's just loads and loads of dead timber everywhere."

Most of those trees were killed in previous pine beetle epidemics - and while all that dead timber is a fire hazard, industry experts say it might hold at least some value.

Read the full story HERE.

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Multiple agencies haven't given up searching for a Minnesota hiker missing for nearly a week in Wyoming's rugged Cloud Peak Wilderness.

Grant Gardner was in northern Wyoming for a planned three-day hike around the Misty Moon Lake area in the Bighorn Mountains. Cowboy State Daily's Greg Johnson reports that his goal was to summit the 13,166-foot Cloud Peak, the highest in the Bighorn Mountains. And he did that, according to a July 29 text message Gardner sent to his wife.

"He texted his wife from the top of Cloud Peak, saying, 'Hey, I made it.' He also texted her that it was pretty taxing and more strenuous than he thought it was going to be. But that was the last anybody's heard of him. Said he was going to go down and camp… They brought in helicopters, they brought in some kind of radar device. They have electronic tracking stuff. They had dogs. They've really been going out looking for the guy… They did find his vehicle at the parking area where he was to begin what he had planned to do. So you know, he didn't come down and get in his vehicle and drive off."

Although Gardner remains missing after many days and nights, Bighorn County Sheriff Ken Blackburn said the search for him will continue, and he's asking anyone who may have had contact with Gardner to call law enforcement.

Read the full story HERE.

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Peabody Energy's Powder River Basin mining operations were the standout success story for the coal giant during the first half of 2025, more than doubling profits - while the company's overall business struggled.

Cowboy State Daily's David Madison reports that the company's net income plummeted 95% in the first half of 2025 to just $12 million, amid collapsing international coal prices.

"It's a complicated picture, but there is some optimism around what's happening in Wyoming's Powder River Basin...one of the sources I spoke to called it a tr