JACKSON HOLE, WYO – When compiling a list of the year’s top stories, Buckrail employed a mix of metrics and memory. When a story scored high in both our in-house analytics and was something we easily recalled being impactful to the community, we knew that was big deal.
Mark Uptain’s death
A life was lost—a father, husband, and community member taken from us. Mark Uptain’s death also came in an unimaginable manner. A grizzly bear attack in Wyoming has become more commonplace in recent years but a fatal mauling remains quite rare.
As the story unfolded from the breaking news that an outfitter was missing after a reported grizzly attack, to the search and rescue mission, to the eventual tragic news that Uptain’s body was found.
The story continued in the months after Uptain’s death as a GoFundMe account raised $209,056 in three months from 2,000 unique donors.
Roosevelt Fire
Again, serial stories—ongoing sagas that play out for days and weeks—fall right into Buckrail’s wheelhouse. The nimble digital news source puts breaking news stories and updates right into the hands of readers wherever they are—even (especially) if it’s in the path of a raging inferno.
Readers clung to their smartphones to learn the latest twists and turns of a 61,511-acre wildfire that tore through Sublette County, engulfed Hoback Ranches, and threatened to jump Highway 191.
At its peak, Roosevelt was the top priority wildfire in the nation with a Type 1 team called in to coax it into submission. The loss was devastating—55 homes burned and a federal bill of $23.3M.
Schools, schools, and more schools
Schools of all sorts were in the news in 2018 beginning with the christening of the new Mercill Early Childhood Learning Center, which began serving the community January 22, 2018.
Munger Mountain Elementary opened its doors in September to begin the 2018-19 academic season. The new public school south of town in Hogs Island broke ground April 2017 and was ready to go just 18 months later.
The Children’s Museum also announced in September it had found a temporary place to land and it was ousted from N. King for a town-owned housing project.
At year’s end, a new proposed campus in South Park for the Jackson Hole Classical Academy started making headlines. Its fate will be decided early in 2019.
Just as controversial is a Jackson campus for Central Wyoming College on Veronica Lane. After securing $3.82M in 2017 via SPET, CWC hoped to break ground in spring 2018 and move in to a new facility by fall 2019. Then they ran into the molasses-like development process in Teton County filled with red tape and reluctant neighbors.
Snow King
Snow King Mountain Resort found itself in headlines all year long. The resort is pushing for approval of Phase 2 of its master plan. In doing so, resort owners are updating an old plan, working through the required EA process with the Forest Service, and sitting down to the bargaining table with town authorities to get a feel for what they and the people of Jackson want to see at the ‘town hill.’
Not much was settled in 2018 but the saga is just heating up and promises to always be something Jacksonites are keenly interested in.
Wild, Wildlife
Wildlife is another ongoing newsmaker in Wyoming and especially in Jackson Hole.
Grizzlies dominated the year in headlines as the state prepared the first trophy hunt in decades for the formerly endangered species. With just days leading up to the start of the season, a federal judge yanked the bear from Wyoming’s management, putting the grizzly back under federal protection.
Meanwhile, Game and Fish was kept busy for months, relocating several grizzly—mostly from the Cody and Upper Green River areas to somewhere on Togwotee Pass.
A lottery draw for the grizzly hunt that never happened included a “Shoot ‘em with a camera” campaign organized by nonhunters to snag permits guaranteed to result in no bagged game.
At least three black bears were euthanized by the authorities in 2018. A black bear family was displaced after receiving numerous food rewards from tourists in Grand Teton NP; the mother was put down and the cubs shipped off to a sanctuary in Michigan. Another large sow was captured and killed after it made appearances too close to school grounds. And a nuisance bear that made a habit of raiding campsites near String and Leigh lakes was removed as well.
As wolf hunts continued in Wyoming, opponents rallied again and again to urge state leaders to reconsider the wolf’s benefit to the economy if it was kept alive rather than hunted.
CWD made it’s way to Teton County for the first time. The implications are disconcerting considering the thousands of elk that gather at more than a dozen area feedgrounds in winter.
New research presented in 2018 on mule deer migration was eye-opening to most, and good news for a species hit hard by the 2016-17 winter.
Moose kills on Highway 390 again plagued the West Bank community still searching for a way to make that stretch of road safer for all.
Yellowstone and Grand Teton
Both national parks were among 17 being considered for a significant increase in entrance fees. NPS backed off the idea after hearing a lot of pushback.
When the reclusive Steamboat geyser awoke in March for its first eruption in nearly four years, it was big news in itself. But by year’s end (and still counting) who could have predicted the world’s tallest active geyser would go off a record 31 times?
By summer, Yellowstone again entertained huge crowds and plenty of odd behavior that is fast becoming the norm at the nation’s oldest park.
In August, Raymond Reinke admitted to using Yellowstone and Grand Teton as a venue for one last bender before he returned to rehab. His 15 minutes of fame included a matador routine with a pissed off bison in the middle of the road in Yellowstone caught by a tourist and used as evidence against him at a his trial.
A month later, Gabriel Villalva topped that by soaking his feet in Beryl Springs and appearing to urinate into Old Faithful. He, too, was sentenced and told not to return to the park for five years.
In Grand Teton NP, a large fissure in a rock buttress above Hidden Falls visitor area at Jenny Lake caused a closure in July of the popular visitor area. It remained closed for a month and later, in November, finally did give way.
Porcupine Landslide
Greys River Ranger District was the focus of attention in 2018 beginning with the Porcupine Slide in February. The landslide wiped out a section of Greys River Road about 17 miles in from the Alpine trailhead and partially dammed the river, raising concerns it may give way and flood downriver assets.
It took almost all year but the Forest Service was able to contract out for repairs and Porcupine, along with a previous slide in Blind Bull, were both fixed and opened.
Election results
Elections are usually a big deal for Teton County where turnout is always among the highest in the nation. The 2018 midterm elections brought few surprises, statewide, as Senator John Barrasso-R retained his seat as did Representative Liz Cheney-R. A new governor was a guarantee with Matt Mead terming out. Local philanthropist Foster Friess made the race interesting but in the end it was a fairly predictable victory for Mark Gordon.
Closer to home, two new faces on town council and the board of county commissioners were voted in last November and will take their seats January 7.
Bill Resor child porn case
Small towns typically get embroiled with scandal and, as a soap opera saga goes, this one was a doozy. The issue of child porn, along with related sex trafficking and other sex offender categories, has become an increasingly heated topic in recent years.
When a notable local man with a rich family history was caught with thousands of photographs of underage children in overt sexual context. The news and ensuing trial was closely followed and much talked about in Jackson Hole. The sentence, according to many Buckrail readers was viewed as too lenient and potentially preferential.
Stearns not guilty
A story left over from 2017 ended in acquittal in February for outfitter Forest Stearns on charges of animal abuse for the killing of a horse in the summer of 2017. The decision did not sit well with many animal activists in the community who cried injustice and called for stiffer penalties for animal cruelty.
Suicide
Unfortunately, suicide is a, all-too-common occurrence in the Cowboy State and seems to rear its ugly head in the valley every year.
No such loss was more devastating to the community than the death of Candice Miller Kwiatkowski, 36. One half of the popular Miller Sisters and Mandatory Air bands, Kwiatowski’s drowning in Jackson Lake last July shocked the community.
Earlier in the year, Rachel Rafferty took her own life with a gun on Elk Refuge Road in April.
Mark Mol, 38, was found dead at the South Park Elk Feedground in October, a self-inflicted gunshot wound listed as the cause and manner of death.
The concert that wasn’t
Another big newsmaker for 2018 was the on-again, off-again rock concert featuring Dead & Company. The show’s promoters hoped to stage the two-day festival in South Park on Gill-owned land last August.
The show was expected to draw in the tens of thousands. The people wanted it—89% responded favorably in a Buckrail poll last March. Eventually, county commissioners said they wanted it, too, but it was too late when they decided. The show’s promoters said the band booked elsewhere while waiting.
Later in the year, concert organizers got a jump on a potential 2019 summer show but again, bogged by government red tape, promoters pulled the plug in November with another no go, no show of Dead & Co. for Jackson Hole.
Million-dollar year for the Cowboy Bar
Now only did the iconic western watering hole get a new lid when the rotating neon sign was refurbished, the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar reopened with new owners in May.
Bill Baxter, who also owns the neighboring Wort Hotel/Silver Dollar Bar, reached an agreement with Art and Carol Andersen in October 2017 and the deal was sealed in spring 2018.
Restaurant shuffle
Several developments in the Jackson Hole dining scene took place in 2018. It was a tumultuous year for restaurants as several moved locations or simply closed down.
At the base of Snow King, we saw one pub come in and another go out. StillWest Brewery and Grill opened in the summer. Not long after, at the end of October, The Lift closed its doors for good after the property was sold.
Elevated Grounds in the Aspens closed. Butter 2 opened nearby. Lotus moved then closed under a mountain of debt. Bon Appe Thai shuttered for a lack of workers.
New eateries filled the void as quickly as 86’d venues left. On the town square, Roadhouse Brewery opened its new pub in the old Rancher location. Jackson Drug was resurrected at its old spot on the northwest corner of the square.
Late in the year, The Phoenix and the Dragon is close to opening in Planet Palate’s spot and E. Leaven closed suddenly when a burst pipe flooded the restaurant.
Bitcoin, crypto-currency
Wyoming made international news when it became one of the first states to create a playing field for emerging blockchain technology. The legislative session wrapped up in March with three new bills that House Majority Floor Leader David Miller called a package of economic diversification that “will cost the state nothing while bolstering our technology industry, bringing new startups and established businesses to our state and putting Wyoming on the map as a global leader in one of the most exciting and cutting-edge fields in tech.”
