It's time to take a look at what's happening around Wyoming for Tuesday, March 24th. I'm Mac Watson.

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Big Horn County's top prosecutor is asking for a trial date in the case of a man accused of force-feeding a 15-year-old girl Adderall before sexually assaulting her and evading law enforcement for two months. Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland reports that Anthony Pease faces four counts of first degree sexual assault and numerous other charges.

"It started as a manhunt. He was on the loose for more than two months after the whole garage clash episode and get-away. He's accused of force feeding this girl Adderall drugs throughout the day and then forcing her to perform sex acts in the evening in a garage. And the documents say that when he went outside to use the bathroom, she texted a 16-year-old boy that she's friends with, and he and his mother went to the garage to confront the man."

Pease faces two felony theft charges — each punishable by up to 10 years in prison and $10,000 in fines; plus four counts of first degree sexual assault (between five and 50 years in prison and up to $10,000 in fines), as well as other charges.

Read the full story HERE.

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Fire season has come early to Wyoming. All but one horse survived in Green River on Sunday as corrals were opened and horses let loose in the Scotts Bottom Fire. Cowboy State Daily's Kate Meadows also reports that a fire near Lovell continues to burn.

"The Scotts Bottom fire in Green River burned 40 acres. It burned overnight Saturday into Sunday, and was put out on Sunday. However, on Monday, firefighters were still putting out hot spots in the area the fires affected. Eight to 10 corrals, three structures received fire damage, and one horse died in the fires. The Kane Fire in Lovell started around the same time that the Scotts Bottom fire did on the other side of the state. It has burned over 1900 acres and is about 10% contained as of Monday afternoon, and that cause is still under investigation."

Burn restrictions were in place due to dry, warm and windy conditions in Big Horn County. A media post from the Big Horn County Fire Warden reads, "Please, no burning. Our firefighters are spread thin and are all tired."

Read the full story HERE.

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A 41-year-old Cheyenne-area man charged with first-degree murder in the death of a 10-month-old girl told a judge Monday that he couldn't afford a million-dollar bond. Cowboy State Daily's Greg Johnson reports that the district attorney had asked for $500,000, and the judge doubled that to $1 million.

"What was interesting about Monday's initial hearing was that number one, the district attorney showed up herself to this, but I guess it's not as surprising when it's a first degree murder charge, and when it came time to talk about bond. What should his bond be set at? She asked the judge for $500,000 cash bond. What that means is you got to put up $500,000 cash to make your bond. And when she said that, Mr. Haney kind of blurted out that, 'Hey, I can't, I can't afford that!' And the judge responded, 'Well, the bond, we don't set bond based on what people, what defendants, can afford.'"

If convicted of first-degree murder, John Haney could get life in prison. The death penalty isn't a consideration in this case because there's no evidence of premeditation, District Attorney Sylvia Hackl told Cowboy State Daily after Monday's initial appearance.

Read the full story HERE.

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Another consequence of Wyoming's abnormally warm winter is a much earlier tick season. Cowboy State Daily's Andrew Rossi reports that entomologist Mikenna Smith says not only are ticks out and about now but it's likely there will be a lot more of them this year.

"This has not been a normal year up to this point. So experts aren't confirming anything, because we don't know, but they're anticipating that tick season is going to reach its peak earlier. Usually, that happens in May. This year could happen as early as April, and they're expecting to possibly be a lot more of them out there, because there weren't as many killed off by the cold temperatures and snow we had over the winter, because we didn't have much of either of those."

Ticks have a highly cyclical life cycle. When it's consistently warm enough for them to emerge from hibernation, their population explodes as they rush to get their once-a-year meal of blood from whatever source they can find.

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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Wyoming U.S. House candidate Reid Rasner has sued a fifth person for defamation — this time in federal court. Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland reports that brings the total case count to four.

"It's the fifth civil defendant in a slew of four cases. It's the first one I've seen go federal, which happens when you have citizens of different states in a civil clash. That happens, and so they pretty much all of these lawsuits pretty much ratchet down to what Rasner has characterized as social media defamation campaigns and onslaughts."

Rasner is vying for the GOP nomination for Wyoming's lone U.S. House of Representatives seat, in a crowded field also comprising state Senate President Bo Biteman, former Superintendent of Public Instruction Jillian Balow, Secretary of State Chuck Gray and two Casper-based military veterans: David Giralt and Kevin Christensen.

Read the full story HERE.

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Game wardens sat in the dark for five nights in Cody waiting for a serial poacher to strike again. Cowboy State Daily's David Madison reports that it was on that fifth night, that authorities say they heard the sound of a compound bow and the science that followed tied one man to nine dead deer and a slaughtered cow.

"It was CSI for Game and Fish. They had this park staked out. They saw a suspect commit a crime, and then they tracked him and found evidence in his vehicle and in his home, where they were able to pull DNA samples and connect the dots on this not only deer poacher, but also apparently involved in the killing of a local cow. It's always fun when science solves a crime. This is a great example of Wyoming Game and Fish is going to use the technology available and really take all, all poaching cases seriously."

Joshua Tamirat Wielhouwer was to face trial in February of 2025, but before it began, prosecutors and the defense reached a plea deal: guilty on nine of the 18 misdemeanor charges, $18,000 in restitution for the deer and one full year in county jail.

Read the full story HERE.

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America's first extreme sport has roots going back 300 to 400 years. It's called Indian Relay and Cowboy State Daily's Renee Jean reports that the sport is moving its championship from Casper to Cheyenne Frontier Days' Park.

"It's a fistful of feathers for Cheyenne's cap lately, with all these things that they are attracting and bringing in, and the latest one being this Indian Relay, which is an exciting and thrilling race. CEO Tom Hersig said there's not many things that compare to Cheyenne Frontier Days rodeo, but this is one that he says actually does compare in the level of excitement. The race is in September. But if you want to see a preview, Tom told me they're going to do it like a certified race during Cheyenne Frontier Days."

Jamie Howard, a board member for the Horse Nation Indian Relay Championship Council, tells Cowboy State Daily the choice was such a no-brainer, organizers didn't even look at any other location when they decided it was time to seek a larger venue.

Read the full story HERE.

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Trying to convince a retired judge to add a fresh challenge against Wyoming's newest abortion ban into a case that's been ongoing for a year amounts to "judge shopping," a Wyoming Attorney General's deputy argued. Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland reports that Wyoming has been trying without success to ban most abortions since Roe v. Wade's overturn in 2022.

"It's nothing new for Wyoming to have abortion challenge after abortion challenge, but this time, the pro choice coalition that always gets Wyoming's abortion bans blocked did something unique. They filed their case in a case that's already a year old, asking the retired judge presiding over that action to loop in the new chall...