It's time to take a look at what's happening around Wyoming for Thursday, May 14th. I'm Mac Watson.

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Wyoming's largest livestock marketing company sold 9,000 head of cattle in a special drought sale on Wednesday when it typically sells 400-700 head a week. Cowboy State Daily's Kate Meadows reports that the owner of Torrington Livestock Markets says ranchers are "droughted out."

"Lander Nicodemus is a co-owner of the Torrington Livestock Markets, and he said that this is really a historic year for drought. The ranchers are selling off parts of their herds because they can't feed their cattle. There's no grass. The grass isn't growing, and with the conditions as dry as they are, they're really in a tight spot, and don't have any choice but to sell so that the cattle can either go to a feed lot early or go to somewhere else where there is pasture."

May is normally a slow season at Torrington Livestock Markets, Wyoming's largest livestock marketing company. But on Wednesday, a special drought sale pushed 6,500 head through the barn while showing another 2,500 head through its Cattle Country video auction platform.

Read the full story HERE.

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Secretary of State Chuck Gray is asking Fremont County commissioners to take "immediate" steps to eliminate a race-based county voting district. Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland reports Gray also sent a similar letter to Gov. Mark Gordon about Wyoming's lone race-based state House district.

"The planners of these districts were really emphasizing we got to concentrate a lot of Native Americans here because of the case law that reigned at that time. The Supreme Court did a little bit of a twist here last month, making it harder to justify race- based districts. And, you know, and so Secretary of State Chuck Gray went super bold in a letter and said these race-based districts are not allowed. They're unconstitutional."

Racial factors went into drawing the state Legislature's House District 33 in 2021. At that time, the relevant case law indicated a need to create a mostly Native American House district in the area of the Wind River Indian Reservation.

Read the full story HERE.

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A huge wind and solar project near Chugwater to generate 450 megawatts of wind and solar power was unanimously approved Wednesday by Platte County planners. Cowboy State Daily's Kate Meadows reports many residents showed up to express their opinions about the project.

"The chug water energy project in Platte County got a thumbs up on Wednesday, when the Platte County Planning and Zoning Commission voted to move the project forward. This is a major wind and solar project. It will cover up over 49,000 acres, and it will generate a combined 450 megawatts of electricity. Many landowners are in support of it. People also oppose it. Residents don't like their viewshed being messed with. They worry about contamination with, you know, solar panels and groundwater. But overall, the project did pass, and that's going to be a huge step for this energy company. NextEra in Wyoming."

Paul Norfleet, a sheep rancher who recently moved to Chugwater, who is in favor of the project, says NextEra's Chugwater Energy Project would allow his ranch to make some money. He added that revenue would go toward regenerating the land.

Read the full story HERE.

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Wyoming's congressional delegation is firmly behind the Trump administration's move to rescind the 2001 federal Roadless Rule. But Cowboy State Daily's Mark Heinz reports that one bear expert says doing away with the rule could have negative effects on grizzly bears.

"They did gather and had a brief press conference. Among them was Chris Servheen. He's from this area. He's from Missoula, Montana, but for more than for 35 years, he was like the Fish and Wildlife Service's head grizzly guy for this entire area. In addition to fragmenting habitat, he also argues that you start punching more roads into remote areas that just will probably up the number of Grizzlies getting killed, either people just illegally shooting them from roads, or perhaps even getting struck by vehicles. That could very well undermine the entire case for even delisting the bear."

The Roadless Rule protects roughly 59 million acres nationally, including about 4 million acres in Wyoming.

Read the full story HERE.

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I'll be back with more news from Cowboy State Daily right after this.

Cowboy State Daily news continues now…

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The Jackson woman who gained notoriety for passing out campaign donation checks on the state House floor is running for governor. Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland reports that Rebecca Bextel is running for the Wyoming Constitution Party's nomination to become governor, the party chair confirmed.

"It's an interesting strategy. There's always theories, accusations, finger pointing, like Democrats are infiltrating the primary election. Democratic candidates are winning when Republicans split the vote. Bextel's tagline is that she has an insurance policy against Eric Barlow she considers the most moderate candidate. She believes the other conservative Republicans will split the vote, and if they do, she would like to be on the general election ballot to take on Barlow as the Constitution nominee."

If Bextel wins the nomination, she'll face the winners of the Republican and Democratic primary elections, as well as the Libertarian Party nominee in the Nov. 2 general election.

Read the full story HERE.

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An argument over riding a bike too fast in a Cheyenne park escalated to a 70-year-old man allegedly punching a 12-year-old boy in the face on Monday. Cowboy State Daily's Kolby Fedore reports that Glenn Patterson told police the boy called him a gay slur, then they both ended up with black eyes.

"Patterson was accompanying his granddaughter at a park in Cheyenne when a 12-year-old boy zipped by on his bicycle. Patterson said he was going way too fast, and he confronted the boy. The boy responded with a homophobic slur. Witnesses, including his own granddaughter, say that Patterson grabbed the biker by his helmet, lifting him off the bike, and then the boy struck Patterson in his eye, resulting in a black eye that police documented, and then Patterson responded by punching the boy in the face. So, the 12-year old also sustained a black eye."

Patterson was formally charged with felony child abuse, according to the Laramie County Detention Center. Under Wyoming law, the charge carries a potential penalty of up to 10 years in prison.

Read the full story HERE.

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Wyoming state Rep. Bill Allemand, who was charged late last year with drunk driving, doesn't have to undergo court-ordered random alcohol testing while he's in Washington, D.C. Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland reports that a Buffalo-based magistrate made the decision.

"He's out on bond, but he's supposed to do random alcohol testing. He got permission to forego that alcohol testing for about five days in early June so that he could go to Washington, DC. He told me that the White House invited him and other lawmakers that they're going to talk with Cabinet members about policy things and what Wyoming needs."

Allemand has agreed to submit to breath testing before leaving and immediately upon return, the motion says.

Read the full story HERE.

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Bob Beck, the longtime voice and leader of Wyoming Public Radio, is returning on Saturday for the University of Wyoming to give him its highest accolade — an honorary doctoral degree. Cowboy State Daily's Executive Editor Jimmy Orr reports that Beck says he was surprised by the honor.

"There's a few people who have lasted decades in the media, Joan Barron for 50 plus years, and she's a columnist for us. Kerry Drake has been around for 40 plus years. And then there's Bob Beck, who was the voice of Wyoming public radio for 34 years. Everybody knows Bob. Everybody likes Bob. Really smart guy, gregarious person, a gentleman, and he just lent himself to an award like this because he was so well respected."

Beck, who led Wyoming Public Radio's media news team at the University of Wyoming for 34 years, retired in 2022 to move to Syracuse, New York.

Read the full story HERE.