"His vote was one straw in a bale. HB1063 died, 12-1, in the committee hearing. But McKinley, D-Walsh, used the hearing to shine a lantern on the standoff that began last year between the agriculture department and Park County rancher Vern Wagner, 77.
Wagner contends that the seizure of 379 mature cattle and 82 calves from his 130,000-acre ranch near Hartsel during an animal cruelty and neglect investigation failed to take into account factors that any cattleman worth his salt would ponder."