Cowboy State Daily Video News: Friday, October 9, 2026

It's time to take a look at what's happening around Wyoming for Friday, October 9th.  I'm Mac Watson.

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With no zoning regulations, Fremont County is in the dark about a potential $66 billion data center plan and has little say in how it might take shape. Energy Reporter Emma Jane Jackson reports that one commissioner says, "It's mind boggling ... we can't have any involvement."

"Since Fremont County has no zoning whatsoever, there's really no role for the commissioners or the planning department to play here. It's going to go to the state, to the DEQ and the Industrial Siting Council. One of the county commissioners, Clarence Thomas told me that zoning has been a conversation over his 20 years on the county commission. For the most part, people don't want it, but they've also never had something like this happen. And what Thomas is now pushing for from the planning department is more clarity on the project and their options as far as if it's too late to zone now."

Aethel Energy is nearing completion on a small, 1-megawatt data center about 60 miles northeast of Riverton. The larger project would include several buildings, possibly phased in as separate campuses, and run on about 500 megawatts of natural gas power generated on site.

Read the full story HERE.

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A mother of nine in Clark, Wyoming, took matters into her own hands when a mountain lion was seen hanging around the family's popular corn maze and pumpkin patch. Outdoors Reporter Mark Heinz reports that Bridget Gallagher shot the mountain lion after one of her sons' hounds picked up its scent.

"They spotted it. Her son really quickly brought his hounds out, and they managed to hunt this mountain lion and get it in a tree and shoot it. And she's really happy with that. And her son is going to make a full body mount of the mountain lion for her, and the other cool thing is she's a mom of nine. That's her first mountain line that she's ever gotten. She said she's never even really seen one up close, but it was funny that her grandson, the son of her son, who's the houndsman, remarked, 'Gee, Grandma, that's an awful small cat.'"

The family runs Gallagher's Corn Maze & Pumpkin Patch, a p