Episode Details

It's time to take a look at what's happening around Wyoming for Tuesday, July 28th. I'm Mac Watson.

This newscast is brought to you by the Wyoming State Fair. Wrap up your summer at the Wyoming State Fair, August 11th through the 15th in Douglas!

Rodeo, Demolition Derby, live music, entertainment and fair food await. Learn more at W-Y State Fair dot com. See you at the fair! This ad was paid for by Converse County Tourism.

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Just hours after news broke Monday that a Uinta County brand inspector had pleaded guilty to helping torture a moose, the state livestock director fired him. Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland reports that Gov. Gordon had strong words about the situation.

"Governor Gordon said this is absolutely irresponsible behavior unbefitting a brand inspector, and he said that Martin is no longer working for the state, and you know hours earlier, the Wyoming Livestock Board director Steve True had said that Martin was a brand inspector. So I called True back, and he said, "Yeah, in the couple hours since this story broke, I fired him. True said that it was his decision to fire Martin. The governor didn't influence that decision."

Martin has not been sentenced and he reserves the right to appeal how law enforcement pulled evidence from his phone. At the preliminary hearing, Evanston Circuit Court Michael Greer said, "this was done for the sheer joy of dominating a wild animal who appeared to be already in poor health and possibly blind."

Read the full story HERE.

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Retired Wyoming employees of Peabody Energy say they feel betrayed by its decision to end a medical retirement benefits program. Cowboy State Daily's Kate Meadows reports that the company says the program no longer fits "market competitive practices."

"Letters from Peabody Energy started showing up in mailboxes of retirees a couple weeks ago, announcing the termination of their retired medical program, and Peabody Energy is saying that they're doing this because they're terminating this program. Peabody Energy is saying that they're terminating this program because it no longer aligns with the market and the competition. They did not give any more specifics, nor did they answer our questions about how many retired employees does this affect?"

In 2020, the company cut health benefits and terminated life insurance for retirees older than 65 as part of a cost-cutting strategy. Retirees younger than 65 could maintain their coverage.

Read the full story HERE.

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Charges on a stolen credit card tracked a Wyoming man wanted on 72 child sex abuse charges to Colorado last week. Cowboy State Daily's Greg Johnson reports that his former landlord reported to the Converse County Sheriff's Office on July 20 that John Smallbone was using his credit card without permission.

"When a charge came through from Expedia for hotel rooms down in Colorado. The first thing that hit his mind is he running? Is he running from these charges? And he texted the guy and said, 'Hey, are you running?' And he says that the guy texted back to him and says, 'No, I'm I'm here in town.' This is what put Wyoming law enforcement on the radar that he wasn't in the state anymore, which is not allowed according to the $250,000 bond that he posted."

The $250,000 question now is will John Smallbone show up for his arraignment in Converse County District Court on Tuesday afternoon? A call to a phone number linked to Smallbone