It’s time to take a look at what’s happening around Wyoming! I’m Wendy Corr, bringing you headlines from the Cowboy State Daily newsroom, for Friday, May 31st.
Wyoming’s congressional delegation hasn’t changed their opinion about former President Donald Trump after he was convicted on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records on Thursday afternoon.
Wyoming’s congressional delegation and Gov. Mark Gordon blasted the conviction, according to politics reporter Leo Wolfson.
“Wyoming's congressional delegation blasted the decision that was returned by the 12 New York jurors. Senator John Barrasso said it's an example of Democrats trying to basically interfere in the upcoming election that involves Trump and President Joe Biden. He said elections are decided in voting booths, not the courtrooms and that Trump will keep fighting to get America back on track… there are various polling data out there to show that… very few people out there are basing their voting decision off the results of this conviction.”
Trump was convicted for falsifying records that could have derailed his ascent to the White House in 2016. He is the first American president to be declared a felon.
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The Caleco Foundry in Cody was gutted by an intense fire Wednesday morning that destroyed nearly everything inside the metal-frame structure.
The bronze art foundry, one of only two bronze foundries in Wyoming, has been an invaluable resource for Wyoming bronze artists for almost 50 years - and is now completely gone, according to Cowboy State Daily’s Andrew Rossi.
“The fire started late Tuesday night and raged until 5am Wednesday morning, and based on just the initial assessment, it's a complete loss - over $150,000 of equipment was destroyed, and millions of dollars worth of art. Because it's not so much the bronze sculptures that were lost, those bronzes are pretty hardy... But it's the molds of those bronze sculptures… and unfortunately, those molds didn't stand a chance in the inferno that consumed the foundry.”
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Jay Ostrem was a Gillette Police Department agent from 1982-2003 and retired at the rank of sergeant. But the 64 year old South Dakota resident is now facing three first-degree murder charges in that state, in what court documents describe as an attack on three young adult male neighbors, after Ostrem heard that one of them had made an unwanted sexual advance on his wife.
But Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports that while working for the Gillette Police Department, Ostrem had been involved in what was determined to be a justified shooting, in the line of duty.
“It turns out he was involved in a justified fatal shooting while a police officer - actually while a police sergeant in Gillette, and he was later sued over that. And the lawsuit was dropped because the judge was like, he didn't act unreasonably. In fact, the suspect was trying to hit police officers with his vehicle when Ostrem and others fired on him, ultimately killing him.”
Ostrem had his first court appearance Wednesday in the triple homicide case.
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As many as 100 people showed up at the Cheyenne National Cemetery on Monday – the only national cemetery in Wyoming – ahead of an advertised 11 a.m. Memorial Day observance to remember America’s fallen heroes and loved ones. But they were stood up - and Wyoming Sen. Cynthia Lummis has sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs asking the department to explain why the ball was dropped on a Memorial Day ceremony. That’s according to Cowboy State Daily’s Pat Maio.
“The cemetery is the only national cemetery in Wyoming. Wyoming on a percentage basis has a very high percentage of veterans in the state of Wyoming compared to other states. But yet, there was a snafu here. Nobody showed up to basically run a ceremony after people from all over the region quite literally traveled hundreds of miles to come to the cemetery expecting some sort of observance.”
Lummis said the cemetery was established as part of an initiative to expand cemeteries in rural areas.
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A Natrona County District Court judge sentenced a 42-year-old Casper man to 70 years to life in prison Thursday for the 2021 killing of a person he called his friend.
Cowboy State Daily’s Dale Killingbeck reports that Justin Marquez was convicted of second-degree murder for stabbing Ryan Schroeder more than two dozen times while he was a passenger in Marquez’s Hyundai Santa Fe.
“The family were there to speak, they spoke of the loss of their loved one, they spoke of not having him, and they asked the judge to impose the strongest sentence possible. The defendant asked for forgiveness from the family. And during the trial, he said that it was self defense, but the jury didn't buy that. And the judge reiterated today that he didn't buy it either.”
Schroeder was reported missing by his mother on July 6, 2021, and a Casper police investigation led to the discovery of his body in a creek nearly two months later.
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Grizzly 399 and her cub Spirit are making their rounds through Grand Teton National Park, followed by an ever-present flock of fans. But a recent incident observed by several enthusiasts reminded them that the celebrity bear isn't a giant, cuddly teddy bear -- she's an apex predator. Cowboy State Daily’s Andrew Rossi has the story.
“On Monday, Grizzly 399 killed two elk calves…And it's a demonstration that - I mean, it's 399. So she's going to do these things in public view. Lots of people can see them. It's a celebrity bear, even more so since the nature documentary ‘Grizzly 399, Queen of the Rockies’ was released just within the last month. But it's also a reminder that 399 is a Mama Grizzly, and they're among the most dangerous animals in the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem. And even though … she's one of the oldest Grizzlies ever recorded in that environment, she's still strong, she's still capable, and she's got all that predatory prowess that makes her an animal not to be trifled with.”
Mother grizzlies with cubs are among the most dangerous animals in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Wyoming’s first recorded grizzly attack of 2024 occurred on Signal Mountain in Grand Teton when a man was seriously injured by an attacking mother grizzly.
And that’s today’s news. Get your free digital subscription to Wyoming’s only statewide newspaper by hitting the subscribe button on cowboystatedaily.com. I’m Wendy Corr, for Cowboy State Daily.
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