Episode Details

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

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An abandoned saloon east of Casper has become the center of a dispute over profane anti-Trump and GOP messages, private property and a school bus stop where rural kids are picked up and dropped off each day. Cowboy State Daily's Kolby Fedore reports that now, the sheriff is investigating.

"The Lazy Eight sits in Natrona County, but that bus stop takes kids to Glenrock schools. So every day, parents are confronted with this messaging that includes explicit language that they don't want their children to see. I spoke with a man on Monday afternoon who claims to be the owner. He declined to give his identity, just describing himself as a mysterious Wyoming person. He was painting over some of the letters on Monday, saying that he has a right to express himself. I spoke with one parent who does the drop-offs Monday through Friday, and she said part of the. Frustration is that this person who lives behind the bar will come out and yell at the kids to get off his property, and this was corroborated by the director of Natrona County Planning and Development."

For months, the weathered Lazy 8 along U.S. Highway 20/26 has been splashed with messages attacking President Donald Trump and the Wyoming Republican Party, some in letters large enough to be read by passing motorists. One message painted across a metal door was more direct: "KILL THE RICH."

Read the Full story HERE.

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After nearly 50 years of operating in Hulett, Bearlodge Forest Products has announced it will shut down after Oct. 31. Cowboy State Daily's Renee Jean reports that state Sen. Ogden Driskill says, "This is an absolute blow" to a community with deep ties to Wyoming's timber industry.

"They didn't pinpoint any one thing. They said it's kind of the accumulation of many things. You have inflation. The inputs are costing more. Fuel costs more. They're not able to get as much money for pallets as they used to. So you know the value of their product has gone down. But the other big key issue that the lumber industry faces in Wyoming, you know, half of the land is owned by the federal government, and they have been cutting the amount of timber they will allow to flow out of the forest. Well, that's really put a hurt on these companies. They can't get enough wood to support their production."

The closure is a jolt to the community, whose identity and economy have long been tied to timber and agriculture. Mayor Brian Kennah estimated the closure leaves about 5% of Hulett's 349 people looking for work.

Read the full story HERE.

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A 50-seat SkyWest flight from Denver collided with a mule deer while landing in Sheridan last week. Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland reports that no passengers were hurt and the plane wasn't damaged, but the deer was killed.

"The deer, from the sounds of it, was hit hard. The airport director said that they had to clean him off the runway. It is extremely rare, and the airport director said he hadn't heard of such a collision at that airport, and also that Skywest sent people to inspect the plane for like seven to