Episode Details

It's time to take a look at what's happening around Wyoming for Friday, March 6th. I'm Mac Watson.

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In a notorious case that made international headlines, Wyoming man Cody Roberts pleaded guilty Thursday to torturing a wolf and apologized publicly, telling the court he sincerely regrets his actions. Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland reports from Pinedale.

"He signed a plea agreement last month. Thursday, he gave his guilty plea in court, which was accompanied by a recitation of evidence from the prosecutor, Clayton Melinkovich, and an apology from Roberts himself. And the judge said, 'Well, I'm not sure if I'm going to accept this plea agreement. I want a pre-sentence investigation, which is a book report on your life, your history, an interview, more details about this crime, and then he will set sentencing,' If the judge rejects the plea agreement. Roberts can revert back to a not guilty plea and go to trial if he wishes."

If the judge accepts Roberts' plea agreement, he would spend 18 months on probation. Terms include bans hunting including shed hunting and fishing, plus a $1,000 fine. If he violates probation, Roberts could be sentenced to between 18 months and two years in prison and pay another $4,000 in fines.

Read the full story HERE.

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The Wyoming Highway Patrol is being audited after the agency blew past its annual overtime budget by more than $2.4 million last year. Cowboy State Daily's David Madison reports that legislators have really heard from the public responding to a social media campaign offering anecdotal evidence of low staffing and low pay.

"Now the Wyoming Department of Transportation is auditing the Wyoming highway patrol, looking at what went on here. There's a real surge in overtime. They ran way over budget by 226% and some say, look, it's because we're just trying to fill the gaps. This audit and an internal investigation is going to help both sides of this argument. According to the sources I have spoken to, all agree that the staffing level itself, even at full capacity, could be insufficient, given Wyoming's huge size."

Patrol Chief Col.Tim Cameron, who took control of the Highway Patrol in 2023, tells Cowboy State Daily the the roots of the problem can be traced to the COVID era, when the agency began using heavy overtime to fill staffing gaps, with spending above the baseline allocation going back to at least 2017.

Read the full story HERE.

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After the warmest winter in Wyoming's recorded history, the quality of snowpack ranges from "just okay" to "a new record low" to "nonexistent." Cowboy State Daily's Andrew Rossi reports that the state climate office isn't panicking but…

"When it comes to talking about the quality of the snow pack in Wyoming, it ranges from Okay, which means that it's at or above the median snow water equivalent for this time of year, or it's absolutely horrible. And that's quoting the Wyoming State climate office. Now it's not a problem yet, because December, January and February are historically the driest months of the year, but this has been the warmest and driest winter in many Wyoming communities in recorded history. So it's possible that we could be facing some problems already that are going to persist as we move into the spring and summer."

Snowpack is one of the American West's most important and unpredictable natural resources. The amount of snow retained in the mountains determines the quality of spring runoff, which has a significant impact on river flows, agricultural productivity,