Writer

Jackie Dorothy

Jackie Dorothy is a reporter for Cowboy State Daily based in central Wyoming.

Over the past 20 years, Jackie has worked in television, radio and print across Wyoming. In this role, she has won numerous writing and history awards including the Wyoming Governor’s Journalist of the Year and SBA Journalist of the Year.

Jackie is also the podcast host of ‘Pioneers of Outlaw Country’ that explores little known historical stories of Wyoming with entertaining narrative.

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Latest from Jackie Dorothy

The National Truck Driving and Step Van Driving Championships was held last weekend in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Wyoming was represented by several drivers including Jessica Smith of Shoshoni. The competition is intense and drivers amp up their skills as the prepare to show off their truck driving savvy.

Wyoming Truck Drivers Among The Best In The Nation

A team of Wyoming commercial truck drivers showed why they’re among the best in the nation over the weekend at the National Truck Driving and Step Van Driving Championship in Minnesota.

Jackie DorothyAugust 26, 2025

Wyoming History: That Time Bandits Robbed ‘Humpy The Boar-Ape’

The lanky Wyoming cowboy known as Irish Tom by some, and Humpy the Boar Ape by others, was robbed of a payroll stash in the late 1800s. But his recollection of the holdup didn’t quite fit the actual real robbery.

Jackie DorothyAugust 24, 2025

Pilot Nick Dew drops a load of retardant on a wildfire in Wyoming from his Tanker 837.

Former Air Force Pilot Trades Military Missions For Slurry-Bombing Wildfires

Wyoming’s exploding wildfire season has multiple aircraft running from sunrise to sundown dropping huge volumes of retardant on them. Nick Dew is one of them, a retired Air Force pilot who now runs missions slurry-bombing wildfires.

Jackie DorothyAugust 24, 2025

In 1899, a Freemason murdered a coal miner in Glenrock, Wyoming. That fueled mob of 400 miners who went vigilante, marching on Douglas to break the Freemason out of jail and hang him.

Wyoming History: That Time When 400 Coal Miners Went Vigilante To Hang A Man

In 1899, a Freemason murdered a coal miner in Glenrock, Wyoming. That fueled a mob of 400 miners who went vigilante, marched down the streets of Douglas to break the Freemason out of jail and then hung him.

Jackie DorothyAugust 23, 2025

Elk Fire fire bug Chad Flanagan 1 8 23 25

Sidelined By Smoke-Damaged Lungs, Career Wildland Firefighter Now Reports Fires

Forced to retire because of his smoke-damaged lungs, Darren Clifford of Lander now keeps people informed about wildfires. Clifford, who needs a lung transplant, created a popular Facebook page called "Caught The Fire Bug" which reports up-to-date information available about large wildfires in Wyoming and across the West.

Jackie DorothyAugust 23, 2025

Ranchers move their cattle off their rangeland as the smoke and flames ate up the pasture around them.

Red Canyon Fire Burns Up Winter Forage, Leaving Ranchers Devastated

Ranchers in the path of the huge Red Canyon fire are watching helplessly as their winter forage burns up. That leaves them devastated and having to make heartbreaking decisions, like selling off their herds rather than watch them starve.

Jackie DorothyAugust 21, 2025

Hundreds piled into the gym at Hot Springs County High School on Monday for their first meeting with officials fighting the 110,000-acre Red Canyon Fire. It was emotional, as locals related how their ranches and livelihoods have been devastated.

114,000-Acre Red Canyon Fire Has Devastated Ranches, Livelihoods, Locals Say

Hundreds piled into the auditorium at Hot Springs County High School on Monday for their first meeting with officials fighting the 114,000-acre Red Canyon Fire. It was emotional, as locals related how their ranches and livelihoods have been devastated.

Jackie DorothyAugust 19, 2025

Ranchers and the local Thermopolis volunteer firefighters were the first line of defense against the Red Canyon fire that has gobbled up more than 100,000 acres of rangeland in rural Hot Springs County.

‘Pretty Damn Helpless’: Ranchers Work To Save Cattle, Land From Red Canyon Fire

The Red Canyon Fire burning east of Thermopolis has already consumed more than 100,000 acres. Generational ranchers in the path of the fire are working together to save their homes and cattle, even if it seems “pretty damn helpless” to stop it.

Jackie DorothyAugust 18, 2025

Caitee Cooper is eager to partner with Wyoming artisans, such as soap and candle makers, to create a unique niche for her contemporary fantasy trilogy, the Portlock series. She said she is inspired by the outdoors and legends to write her stories.

Bigfoot, Alaska And Evil: Wyoming Author Channels Depression Into A Wild Trilogy

Caitee Cooper grew up in the Wyoming outdoors, which she draws on to build her fantasy novels inspired by bigfoot, Alaska, evil, and a pretty wild imagination. But it was her depression that gave Cooper the courage to start writing.

Jackie DorothyAugust 17, 2025

Surface buildings of the Carissa Mine at South Pass City in Wyoming.

Wyoming History: The Miners' Cure For Laziness At South Pass City

When a miner in 1868 tried to avoid working a claim in South Pass, his partners came up with a cure for his laziness. Getting him back to work involved a loaded rifle and the threat of Indian raids.

Jackie DorothyAugust 17, 2025

Heather Hossack of Heritage Quilts & Fabric Shoppe in Riverton, Wyoming, is a quilter that loves to create uniquely Wyoming patterns of rodeo life and wildlife.

Wyoming’s Wildlife, Rodeo And The West Inspires Riverton Woman’s Quilt Art

Riverton's Heather Hossack has turned her passion for horses and wildlife into a career designing unique Wyoming quilt patterns. Quilters from all over the world have purchased her original patterns to create their own art with a distinctly Wyoming flair.

Jackie DorothyAugust 17, 2025

Red Canyon Fire Grows To Nearly 85,000 Acres, More Evacuations Ordered

A large, out-of-control wildfire “exhibiting extreme fire behavior” continues to grow in multiple directions about 11 miles east of Thermopolis. The Red Canyon Fire also has prompted more evacuations in its potential path.

Greg Johnson & Jackie DorothyAugust 17, 2025

Other Authors

Eli Bebout, from left, Ruby Calvert and Nick Bebout stand with a portrait of their mother, Dessie A. Bebout, during the dedication of the Shoshoni U. S. Post Office in their mother’s honor on Wednesday at the Shoshoni School.

Shoshoni Post Office Renamed For Dessie Bebout, Former Postmistress And WWII Vet

Dessie Bebout served in a special unit for women during World War II, was a devoted public servant and was the Shoshoni postmistress for 13 years. Now she will forever be with the local post office. It was officially named for her in a ceremony Wednesday.

Jackie DorothyAugust 13, 2025

After years of competing at the 4-H Dog Show and Showmanship at the Wyoming State Fair in Douglas, 4-H senior Karen Ulmer and her dog Keona walked away with the Grand Championship for Showmanship. Ulmer said it took 3 hours of grooming and $300 in grooming products to get her pup ready for the annual show and that the effort was well worth it with the win.

Dog Eat Dog: 4-H Competitions Hit Their Peak At Wyoming State Fair

The Wyoming State Fair is the big show for scores of Wyoming 4-H Club kids who spend a whole year raising and training animals. At Tuesday’s dog show, young competitors say the chaos of the state fair is the ultimate test of discipline and obedience.

Jackie DorothyAugust 13, 2025

U.S. Sen. John Barrasso, Diana Enzi, U.S. Sen. Cynthia Lummis, Catherine Allgor, Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon

Wyoming Leaders Meet To Ensure State Has Important Role With Smithsonian Women’s Museum

Wyoming leaders gathered in Jackson last week to make sure Wyoming has a prominent voice in the forthcoming American Women’s History Museum. The Smithsonian has already raised more than $55 million to build it.

Jackie DorothyAugust 10, 2025

In 1894, Alfred Slick Nard, one of the survivors of the Horse Thief Wars, ambushed and tried to kill a sheepherder. Mike Bell found the spot where the attempted murder took place just outside of Worland, Wyoming. He said, "The old road continues along the ridge to my left - your right. The ambush site is above my hat on the flats.”

Wyoming History: The Nearly Forgotten 1892 Horse Wars To Exterminate Thieves

A brutal campaign against horse thieves unfolded across Montana, Idaho and Wyoming in 1892, nabbing notorious outlaws like Butch Cassidy and Jack Bliss. The Horse Wars were nearly forgotten to history until recently uncovered by an English historian.

Jackie DorothyAugust 10, 2025

Fueled by chokecherry wine and a reputation for headbutting his way into trouble, a Danish prospector’s murderous rampage along Badwater Creek in 1932 became an infamous across Wyoming.

Wyoming History: The Butting Dane’s Drunken, Murderous Badwater Creek Rampage

Fueled by chokecherry wine and a reputation for headbutting his way into trouble, a prospector with the nickname the "Butting Dane" went on a drunken, murderous rampage along Badwater Creek in 1932 that became infamous across Wyoming.

Jackie DorothyAugust 09, 2025

Tom Neiwirth is the grandson of Deputy Sheriff Sam Swanner. When he was given his dad’s gun, he began to research the history and discovered it most likely once belonged to George Spencer, a 30-year-old horse thief, that had been gunned down in Idaho in 1892.

Wyoming Man Discovers Grandfather’s Colt .44 Is A Notorious Outlaw Gun

A Wyoming man has discovered a family heirloom — an ivory-handled Colt .44 revolver — is a part of Old West outlaw history thought to be lost. It was owned by a notorious horse thief who was killed in a shootout with his grandfather.

Jackie DorothyAugust 02, 2025

The cemetery below Roundtop Mountain was founded in the early 1900s, nearly 150 years after a battle is believed to have been fought on the summit of Roundtop.

Wyoming History: 250 Years Ago, Pivotal Battle Was Fought On Roundtop Mountain

Roundtop Mountain near Thermopolis, Wyoming, is now a popular hiking destination, but it’s also where the Shoshone are said to have gotten their first horses. That came from a pivotal battle fought there against settlers about 250 years ago.

Jackie DorothyJuly 27, 2025

Triton Fritz enjoyed the horse riding and playing with the camp dogs at Camp Courage, a camp devoted to kids like him who are fighting cancer and tumors.

At Camp Courage Wyoming, Kids Living With Cancer Can Just Be Kids

Kids living with cancer, tumors and other life-threatening ailments often have to grow up quickly to deal with some very adult things. At Camp Courage in Dubois, Wyoming, they get to put cancer on the back burner for awhile and just be kids.

Jackie DorothyJuly 27, 2025

Yoder Cowgirl Says National High School Rodeo Title A Testament To Her Rodeo Family

Hadley Thompson of Yoder, Wyoming, won the National High School Finals Rodeo women’s all-around title last weekend. She said her passion for the sport comes from hours of practice and a family dedicated to rodeo .

Jackie DorothyJuly 27, 2025