It's time to take a look at what's happening around Wyoming for Wednesday, September 24th. I'm Wendy Corr, bringing you headlines from the Cowboy State Daily newsroom… Brought to you by Wyoming Interventional and Vascular Associates. WIVA offers the best solution for treating tired, aching and swollen legs, at Wyoming's only IAC-accredited vein facility. With virtually no downtime and minimal risks, if you're ready for relief, see what WIVA can do for you. Schedule a consultation at Casper Medical Imaging dot net, forward slash WIVA.

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The mother of the Byron woman who fatally shot her four daughters and herself in February filed a wrongful death lawsuit Monday in Wyoming's federal court. Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland reports that Rhonda Coplen, mother of Tranyelle Harshman, filed a civil lawsuit against Cody-based Sage Psychiatry Services LLC, and against advanced practice registered nurse Krista Blough on claims that Blough sent Harshman home with ketamine.

"Ketamine is a dissociative drug that it can carry risks of hallucinations and other issues, and the lawsuit alleges that the standard of care is to do this in a medically controlled environment, to take this drug and work through your issues while someone is supervising you or you're you're someplace safe. So but of course, Tranyelle Harshman reportedly was taking the drug at home and then shot her four daughters and herself. The toxicology report did find it in her system following her autopsy. So I mean, according to her mother's lawsuit, she believes that this was not the safe or best way to prescribe and to send her with it, and she believes that it's a cause of Daniel's death and the little girl's deaths."

Harshman, 32, shot her four young daughters, called 911, then turned the gun on herself February 10th in her home in Byron.

Read the full story HERE.

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Concerns about a cross-dressing custodian at Crest Hill Elementary School in Casper came to a head Monday during a meeting of the Natrona County School District 1 Board of Trustees. Cowboy State Daily's Dale Killingbeck reports there were calls for resignations, a state legislator was escorted from the microphone, and an apology was issued as well.

"There was an apology by the board member, but the board chair also called out the state representative who initially spoke to the board…Two weeks ago, and that state rep said that the state rep did not reflect the situation correctly. The State Rep tried to correct that, and police showed up at the table where she sat trying to correct the board chair, and she was escorted away from the table."

Even after Vice Chair Dana Howie apologized and explained her social media post related to an elementary school parent's concerns about the custodian, Board Chair Kevin Christopherson complained about internet and media misinformation and urged people to avoid them and get "recentered." Natrona County Schools still contend the custodian isn't breaking any laws.

Read the full story HERE.

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Yellowstone National Park is Wyoming's top tourist destination, but it's also a mostly pristine habitat for wild animals. Cowboy State Daily's Andrew Rossi reports that means visitors will often see nature play out in all its glory and tragedy.

Such was the case earlier this month, when several grizzlies battled each other over an elk carcass until one bear used its brute strength to drag it out of a mud hole in Yellowstone, in clear view of visitors.

"It's just one of those incidents that so awesomely reminds everybody that Yellowstone National Park, it's a tourist trap in its own way, but it's also a natural environment. It's where bad things happen for no real reason. In this case, an elk got stuck in a muddy pond, couldn't get itself out. It could have been there for days suffering and slow, agonizing death. The National Park Service made the decision to intervene by euthanizing the elk, and then a bunch of bears saw it as an opportunity, and they became a combative carcass for them, so they were fighting over that as they're trying to get nutrients for the winter."

The scene unfolded at a spot called "No Moose Pond," in the eastern half of Yellowstone. Park rangers say that there's no way to save an elk in that situation because it would be dangerous for the people and the animal.

Read the full story HERE.

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Now that the debate over whether to pass more stringent restrictions on noisy vehicles in Cheyenne is finished, the focus shifts to how to enforce the city's controversial new ordinance. Cowboy State Daily's Jackson Walker reports that residents aired their opinions before the Cheyenne City Council on the new ordinance which passed on Monday. How exactly can the police department enforce an excessive sound law?

"The ordinance is intended to curb loud vehicles that tear through town at late hours of the night, such as crotch rockets or maybe very large trucks…presumably, police are going to be using some sort of technology to measure the decibels. Although this wasn't included in the ordinance, it will probably be left up to the Cheyenne Police Department, although there was some talk of sound equipped cameras that could come into use in the future."

Residents argued the ordinance could drive away young residents and could negatively impact car and motorcycle enthusiasts who modify the sound of their engines.

Read the full story HERE.

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I'll be back with more news, right after this.

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Once the headquarters of the Wyoming Tie and Timber Company, the Triangle C Ranch near Dubois has been a dude ranch for the last 93 years.

The property, which is entirely within the Shoshone National Forest, is now on the market, listing for $4.95 million dollars. And Cowboy State Daily's Renee Jean reports that this is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to own this slice of Wyoming history.

"This is just the latest in kind of a wave of legacy ranches that have come up for sale in Wyoming… There's the Wind River, the upper Wind River's right out basically your back door. You can go fish for cutthroat trout, brown trout… It's been operated by a pretty famous horseman from Australia, Christopher Cox… and given it really a name for horseback riding. But it's not just suitable for horseback riding. It's really suitable as a base camp of adventure in the Dubois area."

While there's no deeded land in the offering, the property includes all the buildings and equipment, as well as the Forest Service leases, making it a turnkey dude ranch opportunity for the right buyer.

Read the full story HERE.

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Fans of one of Yellowstone National Park's most popular wolves are mourning her death. The young female, 1479F, was reportedly shot legally by a hunter this month after straying out of the park and into Montana.

But the incident has caused controversy. Cowboy State Daily's Outdoors Reporter, Mark Heinz, says that there is a case to be made for both sides.

"I think, a substantive argument to be made about questioning hunting wolves right on, you know, just past the park boundary, because, you know, these folks are saying these wolves are basic. They're so used to being around people and people not being a threat. How fair is that? But on the other side, there's also a good substantive argument that, you know, the state's management policies are the state management policies. You can't expect the state, the states, to adhere to federal policies. How was that fair?"

Wolf 1479F was about 2 and a half years old and was reportedly killed by a hunter last week. Requests for confirmation and details of the wolf's death from Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks and the National Park Service weren't answered by publication time.

Read the full story HERE.

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During a meeting of the House Judiciary Committee last Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Harriet Hageman discussed with FBI Director Kash Patel recent efforts to make reservations, such as the Wind River Indian Reservation in Wyoming, a priority in the federal fight on drugs and crime.

Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland reports that the FBI Director said drug cartels are dropping their products from the air onto tribal reservations across the nation, and it's time for federal authorities to launch counter-drone operations.

"Kash Patel testified before a House committee last week, and they mostly grilled him about the Epstein client list, but representative Harriet Hegeman asked him about law enforcement on tribal reservations. Wyoming, of course, has the Wind River a sizable tribal reservation that's had some reported drug trafficking…In a Judiciary Subcommittee, experts testified that cartels have 1000s of drones, and they'll attack their foes with them. I think the counter drone activity that Kash Patel is asking for funding and support for is going to be more like a detection, a disabling sort of airborne tech wars."

Hageman pointed to the recent marshaling of around 100 agents to the Wind River Indian Reservation under interim U.S. Attorney for Wyoming Darin Smith, President Donald Trump's nominee for the seat.

Read the full story HERE.

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Two and a half weeks after the University of Wyoming's marching band had its big moment at Empower Field at Mile High canceled by lightning, the Denver Broncos are extending a new invitation to the band's seniors.

It won't, however, involve performing.

Cowboy State Daily's Justin George reports that on Tuesday, the Broncos invited the seniors from the UW Western Thunder Marching Band to attend the Oct. 19 game against the New York Giants as their special guests.

"It turned out the Broncos have all their half times booked already, as you would expect, many NFL teams too. So that was not a possibility… the Broncos sent the band director an email that said, you know, one, we are going to invite you back to perform next season. We just don't have any spots now. But then for the graduating seniors, they're not going to be able to do it… So what the Broncos did is they invited all the seniors in the band to the Giants game on October 19, gave them tickets and will provide transportation so they'll get a free, all expenses paid trip and ticket to the Broncos game."

Joseph Carver, director of the Western Thunder Marching Band, said the Broncos have gone out of their way to make students feel special.

Read the full story HERE.

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And that's today's news. Get your free digital subscription to Wyoming's only statewide newspaper by hitting the Daily Newsletter button on Cowboy State Daily Dot Com - and you can watch this newscast every day by clicking Subscribe on our YouTube channel, or listen to us on your favorite podcast app. Thanks for tuning in - I'm Wendy Corr, for Cowboy State Daily.

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