Loads of Death Threats in Kuna Force the City to Cancel Rodeo

Mayor Joe Stear of Kuna, Idaho, has reportedly canceled upcoming rodeo plans due to local death threats regarding recent disputes. As reported by Idaho Press and KTVB, “The city of Kuna has pulled the plug on its rodeo due to city staff receiving death threats. The cancellation was announced Tuesday.”

Last week, there were multiple announcements made regarding Crooked 8 and the City of Kuna deciding to go their separate ways and create two competing rodeos. Upon those decisions being announced to the public, floods of negative emails and social media messages were received by the city staff, including death threats and angry citizens showing up at city council meetings.

KTVB reported, “Mayor Joe Stear said the threats were the tipping point. The cancellation was announced Tuesday. “I don't even know how to say anything about folks that want to make death threats over a rodeo. I don't even really know how to respond to that,” Stear told the Idaho Press. “When it gets to that point, I'm just not willing to put my staff out there for that kind of abuse.”

Last year (2022), Kuna held their first rodeo in decades, and that took place a Crooked 8. However, the City of Kuna has made it clear they would rather have a much larger, city-owned event space for rodeos and other events in the future. Neither party, Crooked 8 nor the City of Kuna, condone the violence that has since transpired from these announcements.

Owners of Crooked 8 said, “It is completely unacceptable,” Lini Chytka said. “That’s not the horseman way… we’re stewards of the land, we’re stewards of the animals, and we’re stewards of our relationships.”

Read here for more going on in Kuna or keep scrolling for a crazy reaction on Facebook about this whole rodeo thing 👇