Stuff like this doesn't surprise me at all since I grew up in Wyoming. In Cheyenne until I graduated HS then in Casper when I went to college. I didn't appreciate it as much when I lived there as I do now.
Yes, it's cold, and yes they have some nasty blizzards. But that's always been an aspect of frontier life, and it produces some tough, independent people. Wyoming wasn't settled by cowboys, it was settled by a much tougher breed of people..trappers, buffalo hunters, and the people that built the railroad across America.
For those asking about what it's like, the eastern side of the state is pretty barren, but starting in the center of the state (Casper) and moving toward the west and northwest it's one of the most beautiful areas in the country. Remember, Wyoming is where you find places like the Grand Tetons, Yellowstone, and Jackson Hole. Even living in one of the more desolate places like Cheyenne, you're never very far away from beautiful mountain country. Go 50 miles to the west and you're in the Snowy Range portion of the Rockies. Truly a beautiful and remarkable state.