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Cowboy State Daily is Wyoming’s largest newspaper with Wyoming’s most experienced journalists. 

<title>🚧 Daily Darwin: Tuesday, December 26, 2023 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Remember, you should never hire a professional when you can save money by doing it yourself...

Daily Darwin: Tuesday, December 26, 2023

 Remember, you should never hire a professional when you can save money by doing it yourself...

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Mark Heinz

Outdoors

Wildlife

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<title>🚧 Tiny Montana Towns Adjust To Prairie Grizzlies And Attacks On Livestock | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Grizzly bears continue to move back into prairie country in Montana. Near tiny rural communities, they’ve been attacking livestock and eating deer fawns. They've become so prevalent that "the cows didn't even seem to notice" them.

Tiny Montana Towns Adjust To Prairie Grizzlies And Attacks On Livestock

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Jen Kocher

Crime & Courts

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<title>🚧 Richard Pitt: Wyoming Pilot And Vietnam Vet Who Smuggled Drugs For Pablo Escobar | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Richard Pitt grew up in Thermopolis and lived a life straight out of 1980s drug-running movies like “Scarface.” Decades later, he’s coming clean while also divulging details of his sordid career smuggling for the likes of Pablo Escobar.

Richard Pitt: Wyoming Pilot And Vietnam Vet Who Smuggled Drugs For Pablo Escobar

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily's general assignment reporter, Clair McFarland.

Clair McFarland

Government & Politics

Legislature

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<title>🚧 Chuck Gray Supports 22 New Election-Reform Bills, Committee To Study 10 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Wyoming Secretary of State Chuck Gray expressed support for 22 election-reform bills during a meeting with legislators Thursday in Lander. The committee chose to take up 10 for study, ranging from requiring photo-identification to random hand counts.

Chuck Gray Supports 22 New Election-Reform Bills, Committee To Study 10

You Still Here

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<title>🚧 Steve Inman: Sunday, December 22, 2024 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

A very merry non-essential Christmas video, as narrated by MMA announcer Steve Inman.....

Steve Inman: Sunday, December 22, 2024

Wendy

Wendy Corr

Around Wyoming

<p>Dave Frietag&#x2019;s backyard near Lander is not landscaped in typical fashion.</p>
<p>Rather than trees and grass, Frietag has rows and rows of rocks. And not just any rocks, but boulders containing jade, a precious gemstone that is found throughout the Wyoming landscape, particularly in the central part of the state.</p>
<p>&#x201C;Wyoming jade is unlike any other jade in the world,&#x201D; Frietag told Cowboy State Daily. &#x201C;In fact, every other jade in the world is compared to Wyoming jade, because we have so many different flavors here of such great quality.&#x201D;</p>
<p>Wyoming&#x2019;s state gemstone is nephrite jade, which is considered high quality and durable, and is relatively abundant in the Cowboy State. Colors can range from white to black, but various shades of green are most common. </p><figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="576" src="https://csd-legacy-assets.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/2023/03/wyoming-jade-map-Wyoming-State-Geological-Survey-3.7.23-1024x576.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-36023" srcset="https://csd-legacy-assets.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/2023/03/wyoming-jade-map-Wyoming-State-Geological-Survey-3.7.23-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://csd-legacy-assets.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/2023/03/wyoming-jade-map-Wyoming-State-Geological-Survey-3.7.23-300x169.jpg 300w, https://csd-legacy-assets.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/2023/03/wyoming-jade-map-Wyoming-State-Geological-Survey-3.7.23-768x432.jpg 768w, https://csd-legacy-assets.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/2023/03/wyoming-jade-map-Wyoming-State-Geological-Survey-3.7.23-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://csd-legacy-assets.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/2023/03/wyoming-jade-map-Wyoming-State-Geological-Survey-3.7.23-480x270.jpg 480w, https://csd-legacy-assets.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/2023/03/wyoming-jade-map-Wyoming-State-Geological-Survey-3.7.23-889x500.jpg 889w, https://csd-legacy-assets.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/2023/03/wyoming-jade-map-Wyoming-State-Geological-Survey-3.7.23-600x338.jpg 600w, https://csd-legacy-assets.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/2023/03/wyoming-jade-map-Wyoming-State-Geological-Survey-3.7.23.jpg 1600w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">(Wyoming State Geological Survey)</figcaption></figure>

<h2>Quality Of Wyoming Jade</h2><p>Freitag explained that jade is graded in varying degrees of quality.</p>
<p>&#x201C;There&#x2019;s 95% junk jade, we&#x2019;ll call it medium to low grade,&#x201D; he said. &#x201C;And there&#x2019;s only that upper echelon, or 5%, that is the quality jade that they like to make jewelry out of and other things.&#x201D;</p>
<p>But Freitag said that around 1% of the jade recovered from the Wyoming desert is the highest and rarest quality, worth thousands of dollars per pound.</p>
<p>&#x201C;That&#x2019;s the uncut, unhammered specimen that somebody found on the ground,&#x201D; he said. &#x201C;And through time – they didn&#x2019;t cut it, they didn&#x2019;t polish it, they just put it on the shelf and left it alone – some of these specimens now are going for $1,000 to $2,000 a pound simply because you can&#x2019;t find them.&#x201D; </p><h2>Wyoming Jade Vs. The World</h2><p>There are two types of jade that occur in nature — nephrite jade, which is found in Wyoming, and jadeite, which is only native to Myanmar. </p>
<p>Because of this, jadeite is considered more valuable (more valuable than gold, in some cases), but Wyoming apple-green nephrite jade is known around the world to be some of the finest in existence. </p>
<p>When it comes to determining the value of Wyoming jade, however, the market is vague. There isn&#x2019;t a comparison gauge, no &#x201C;jade index&#x201D; like there is for gold, because of the variations in jade types.</p><h2>Unique Jewelry </h2><p>Freitag said Wyoming jade is considered an &#x201C;amphibole&#x201D; mineral, which means it&#x2019;s a fibrous rock similar to asbestos that&#x2019;s easily carved for jewelry and other artistic designs.</p>
<p>&#x201C;Literally, you can carve jade down to a needle point, and the needle won&#x2019;t fall off,&#x201D; said Freitag.</p>
<p>Freitag pointed out that despite its carvability, jade is not soft. It is actually one of the hardest fibrous rocks in nature.</p>
<p>&#x201C;Because of its interlocking fibers, it&#x2019;s literally bulletproof,&#x201D; he said. </p>
<p>Ken Rhoads, a jeweler in Lander who specializes in jade, said the stone registers as a 6.5 on the Mohs Hardness Scale, meaning it is about as resistant to scratches and abrasions as a steel nail (for reference, diamonds register a 10, while fluorite or apatite register 4 and 5, respectively).</p><figure class="wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-105 is-layout-flex">
<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="576" data-id="36022"  src="https://csd-legacy-assets.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/2023/03/Jade-Souvenir-3.7.23-1024x576.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-36022" srcset="https://csd-legacy-assets.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/2023/03/Jade-Souvenir-3.7.23-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://csd-legacy-assets.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/2023/03/Jade-Souvenir-3.7.23-300x169.jpg 300w, https://csd-legacy-assets.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/2023/03/Jade-Souvenir-3.7.23-768x432.jpg 768w, https://csd-legacy-assets.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/2023/03/Jade-Souvenir-3.7.23-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://csd-legacy-assets.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/2023/03/Jade-Souvenir-3.7.23-480x270.jpg 480w, https://csd-legacy-assets.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/2023/03/Jade-Souvenir-3.7.23-889x500.jpg 889w, https://csd-legacy-assets.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/2023/03/Jade-Souvenir-3.7.23-600x338.jpg 600w, https://csd-legacy-assets.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/2023/03/Jade-Souvenir-3.7.23.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>
<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="576" data-id="36021"  src="https://csd-legacy-assets.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/2023/03/Jade-3.7.23-1024x576.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-36021" srcset="https://csd-legacy-assets.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/2023/03/Jade-3.7.23-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://csd-legacy-assets.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/2023/03/Jade-3.7.23-300x169.jpg 300w, https://csd-legacy-assets.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/2023/03/Jade-3.7.23-768x432.jpg 768w, https://csd-legacy-assets.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/2023/03/Jade-3.7.23-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://csd-legacy-assets.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/2023/03/Jade-3.7.23-480x270.jpg 480w, https://csd-legacy-assets.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/2023/03/Jade-3.7.23-889x500.jpg 889w, https://csd-legacy-assets.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/2023/03/Jade-3.7.23-600x338.jpg 600w, https://csd-legacy-assets.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/2023/03/Jade-3.7.23.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>
<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="576" data-id="36019"  src="https://csd-legacy-assets.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/2023/03/Dave-Frietag-Yard-3.7.23-1024x576.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-36019" srcset="https://csd-legacy-assets.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/2023/03/Dave-Frietag-Yard-3.7.23-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://csd-legacy-assets.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/2023/03/Dave-Frietag-Yard-3.7.23-300x169.jpg 300w, https://csd-legacy-assets.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/2023/03/Dave-Frietag-Yard-3.7.23-768x432.jpg 768w, https://csd-legacy-assets.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/2023/03/Dave-Frietag-Yard-3.7.23-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://csd-legacy-assets.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/2023/03/Dave-Frietag-Yard-3.7.23-480x270.jpg 480w, https://csd-legacy-assets.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/2023/03/Dave-Frietag-Yard-3.7.23-889x500.jpg 889w, https://csd-legacy-assets.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/2023/03/Dave-Frietag-Yard-3.7.23-600x338.jpg 600w, https://csd-legacy-assets.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/2023/03/Dave-Frietag-Yard-3.7.23.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>
<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="576" data-id="36025"  src="https://csd-legacy-assets.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/2023/03/Wyoming-jade-2-3.7.23-1024x576.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-36025" srcset="https://csd-legacy-assets.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/2023/03/Wyoming-jade-2-3.7.23-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://csd-legacy-assets.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/2023/03/Wyoming-jade-2-3.7.23-300x169.jpg 300w, https://csd-legacy-assets.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/2023/03/Wyoming-jade-2-3.7.23-768x432.jpg 768w, https://csd-legacy-assets.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/2023/03/Wyoming-jade-2-3.7.23-1536x863.jpg 1536w, https://csd-legacy-assets.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/2023/03/Wyoming-jade-2-3.7.23-480x270.jpg 480w, https://csd-legacy-assets.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/2023/03/Wyoming-jade-2-3.7.23-889x500.jpg 889w, https://csd-legacy-assets.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/2023/03/Wyoming-jade-2-3.7.23-600x337.jpg 600w, https://csd-legacy-assets.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/2023/03/Wyoming-jade-2-3.7.23.jpg 1601w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>
<figcaption class="blocks-gallery-caption wp-element-caption"><sup>(Courtesy Photos)</sup></figcaption></figure>

<h2>Family Tradition</h2><p>Jade hunting is a family tradition for Rhoads. </p>
<p>His grandparents, Bert and Verla, were the first settlers in the area to find and identify the semi-precious stones and spent hundreds of hours in the 1930s and &#x2019;40s scouring the prairie in search of the green gems.</p>
<p>&#x201C;When I came to work with my father (in the 1970s), we marketed (jade jewelry) in the Rocky Mountain area,&#x201D; Rhoads told Cowboy State Daily. &#x201C;I was a traveling salesman for him, and I&#x2019;d come home on the weekends, and we&#x2019;d make the stuff up and send it back out again.&#x201D;</p>
<p>Rhoads said while he was working with his father in the 1970s, jade was in such high demand they couldn&#x2019;t keep up.</p>
<p>&#x201C;It was all we could do to fill those orders,&#x201D; he said. &#x201C;And we pretty well quit hunting jade. My grandmother had some claims filed out there in Jeffrey City, and we quit jade just to take care of the business.&#x201D;</p><h2>195-Pound Jade Boulder</h2><p>As popular as jade hunting was in decades past, Rhoads said interest in the jade trade is on the decline. </p>
<p>&#x201C;Like, my generation is interested in the old cars of the old days and the newer generations aren&#x2019;t,&#x201D; he said. &#x201C;I mean, it was there, and then it wasn&#x2019;t so much.&#x201D; </p>
<p>However, there are still treasures to be found. Freitag said one of his prized possessions is a 195-pound boulder that his wife found when the pair were out hiking north of Jeffrey City.</p>
<p>&#x201C;It was in a sand dune, and the sand had blown off the top just a little bit, uncovering maybe only a half inch where you see a little window, maybe 6 inches long,&#x201D; Freitag recalled. </p>
<p>The two dug out the boulder, which measured roughly 18 inches by 18 inches by 1 foot, but they weren&#x2019;t able to lift it out themselves then.</p>
<p>&#x201C;We had to come back another day with some friends, and it took three of us to pick it up and put it in the back of the pickup truck,&#x201D; he said.</p>
<p>That boulder has a home now in Freitag&#x2019;s backyard, along with nearly 30 pallets filled with other jade specimens.</p>
<p>&#x201C;We&#x2019;ve got jade, we&#x2019;ve got agates,&#x201D; he said. &#x201C;We buy Wyoming rock collections, so all these old-time collections, even if it&#x2019;s petrified wood, we buy that, and then we sort it into its appropriate piles, and people can fill up a 5-gallon bucket if they want.&#x201D;</p><figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<iframe loading="lazy" title="WYOMING STONE RANGER JADE TIN CUP JASPER WEST OF CASPER Rockhounding Rockhunting rock￼" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Ys8BUeCW5Oc?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>
</div></figure>

<h2>Wyoming Jade Festival</h2><p>Frietag said that the first Wyoming Jade Festival was held last year in Jeffrey City, and he and his wife took their best specimens to share with other gemstone enthusiasts.</p>
<p>&#x201C;We had people come in from as far as California, Washington, Utah,&#x201D; he said. &#x201C;We weren&#x2019;t sure how it was gonna pan out because Jeffrey city is kind of out there in the middle of nowhere.&#x201D;</p>
<p>Freitag was pleased with the attendance, however, and said there is considerable enthusiasm for this year&#x2019;s festival.</p>
<p>&#x201C;This year will be the second one. It&#x2019;s, like, Aug. 11th, 12th and 13th, in Jeffrey City at the fire hall,&#x201D; he said.</p>
<p>The location of the festival in Jeffrey City is significant, because it is central to the state&#x2019;s jade fields.</p>
<p>&#x201C;It is dead center,&#x201D; said Freitag. &#x201C;You can hunt south, you can hunt north, you can go as far east as Douglas if you want to.&#x201D;</p>

Dave Frietag Boulder 3 7 23

<title>🚧 Wyoming Is Home To One Of The Largest And Purest Troves Of Jade In The World | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Wyoming is home to one of the largest and purest troves of jade in the world, prompting jade to be named the state gemstone in 1967. Lander rockhound Dave Freitag has been collecting the precious stones for decades.

Wyoming Is Home To One Of The Largest And Purest Troves Of Jade In The World

Daily Darwin: Tuesday, December 26, 2023

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