Episode Details

It's time to take a look at what's happening around Wyoming for Tuesday, October 28th. Bringing you headlines from the Cowboy State Daily news center, I'm Mac Watson. "Brought to you by the Wyoming Business Council. Wyoming youth are our future, but they're leaving the state at ALMOST TWICE the national average. What would bring them back home? Share your bold ideas with the Wyoming Business Council at wbc dot P U B forward slash story."

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In what could be the first step toward building a new coal-fired power plant in Gillette, Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon announced Monday that Basin Electric Power Cooperative will receive $4 million in state-matching money through the Wyoming Energy Authority to study building a second unit at the Dry Fork Station power plant. Cowboy State Daily's David Madison reports that coal advocates are saying this is a pivotal moment for American energy.

"This is pretty big news, because the last time anyone fired up a new coal fired plant, it was in 2013 down in Texas. The second most recent coal fired plant is the Dry Fork, is that initial original power generating station fueled by coal? And so now they're going to, you know, spend, you know, little over a year looking at, okay, can we pull this off feasibly and what's the latest."

This coal-fired plant will be the second additional one in Gillette, the first one opening in 2011.

Read the full story HERE.

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Reclusive Wyoming billionaire Timothy Mellon has been identified by The New York Times as the anonymous donor of $130 million to the military during the government shutdown. But as Cowboy State Daily's Scott Schwebke reports, last year, Mellon did fund an eye-catching, controversial billboard.

"In 2024 he put up a massive billboard on the Colorado Wyoming border,

alerting people driving into Colorado, they were getting ready to enter Venezuela, and that was part of a kind of a ton of tongue in cheek, kind of a warning regarding a partner complex in a war that was apparently taken over by Venezuela gang members…He's reclusive in that he doesn't come out and make public statements that he does, but he does make a lot of big donations. He gave $50 million to President Trump's campaign in…2024."

The 83-year-old Mellon lives in Saratoga, Wyoming, and is grandson of former U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Andrew Mellon and an heir to the Mellon banking fortune.

Read the full story HERE.

– Although Donald Trump didn't take up Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso's invitation to attend Saturday's Border War football game between the University of Wyoming and rival Colorado State University, the president did send a message. Cowboy State Daily's Jackson Walker reports the video was all about energy.

"This video was due in part to his invitation for Trump to actually attend the game in person. While Trump is traveling overseas this week, he was able to film a video message in which he touted Wyoming's coal industry, in which coincided with the university's blackout jerseys honoring Wyoming's coal industry."

This was the first time the Wyoming Cowboys wore something other than brown and gold. UW won in a 28 to zip shutout of the Rams in the 117th Border War game to claim the coveted Bronze Boot traveling trophy.

Read the full story HERE.

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An Evanston-based judge on Monday declined to dismi