CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — Many business owners in Wyoming's capital city were hopeful that an annual festival of rodeo and cowboy culture would go ahead this year despite the coronavirus.

Those hopes ended Wednesday when Gov. Mark Gordon and organizers of Cheyenne Frontier Days announced that the event couldn't safely go ahead for the first time in 124 years.

Each July, Frontier Days draws 140,000 people to Cheyenne, a city of 64,000. The event brings $28 million to the area, money that will be sorely missed as businesses struggle under COVID-19 restrictions. Business owners say they'll do their best to carry on.

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