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

Horse racing in Gillette, Wyoming, is growing more popular as horses from around the nation are being entered and the Wyoming races are becoming known for their safety.

Wyoming’s Home-Grown Live Horse Racing Sparks Resurgence Of Industry

Jack Greer grew up on the racetrack, and the Gillette resident is now part of a home-grown movement that’s sparking a resurgence of live horse racing in Wyoming. That’s partly because he and others in the Cowboy State are racing their own horses.

Jackie DorothyMay 05, 2025

Patsy Dorman poses in front of her line of clear glass insulators. Her passion for collecting the glass relics began on a camping trip to Tough Creek. Lineman had tossed the insulators aside and she thought they were too pretty to abandon.

For Wyoming Collectors, Vintage Glass Power Line Insulators Are Prized Finds

Those funky glass blobs that used to hang on and around power lines are highly prized by Wyoming collectors. These vintage glass insulators are prized finds for those with a passion for them.

Jackie DorothyMay 04, 2025

Mark Jenkins of Laramie, Wyoming, credits his upbringing in the Cowboy State with his adventuring spirit. He has climbed peaks worldwide successfully but has failed to summit many times over. Five times, he attempted to climb Hkakabo Raz in Myanmar and failed each time but embraces the lessons he learned along the way.

Laramie Climber Wants Sixth Shot To Summit Highest Peak In Myanmar

Laramie's Mark Jenkins has tried five times to reach the highest peak in Myanmar. Although a successful summit has been elusive, if the political climate changes, the 66-year-old elite climber said he would try a sixth time “in a heartbeat.”

Jackie DorothyMay 03, 2025

Bill Dafoe was diagnosed with a fatal brain cancer and died last September, but his legacy continues. He had always encouraged and coached his sons, and now his oldest son Logan (center top) is heading to West Point. He was accepted just months after Bill passed away.

Thermopolis Teen Gets Into West Point Months After Dad Dies From Brain Tumor

Logan Dafoe’s dream of attending West Point came true this month. But it wasn’t complete, because the Thermopolis teen’s father, Bill, wasn’t there to see that dream come true. Bill died from a brain tumor months before his son’s acceptance came through.

Jackie DorothyApril 28, 2025

Isabel Jewell: Shoshoni, Wyoming’s Hard-Boiled, Tough-Talking Actress

Shoshoni, Wyoming's Isabel Jewell was usually typecast as a hard-boiled, tough-talking broad, gangster's moll, dumb blonde, prostitute, and is known for her poor "white trash" role as Emmy Slattery in “Gone with the Wind.”

Jackie DorothyApril 27, 2025

More Drawings By George Ostrom Found, Famous For Creating Wyoming’s Bucking Horse

Pioneer Artist George Ostrom sketched the scenes around him, including battles in World War I and wildlife in Wyoming. He’s famous for creating Wyoming’s bucking horse logo, and now his family is releasing Ostrom drawings discovered well after his death.

Jackie DorothyApril 27, 2025

Monte Bush believes it is a miracle that no one died the night he blacked out after drinking and ran head-on into another vehicle. He was charged with a DUI and is now nearly six years sober. He shares his story with the hope that he can save at least one life and prevent someone else from drinking and driving.

Extreme DUI Program Has 90% Success Rate For Those Who Have Destroyed Lives By Driving Drunk

Monte Bush woke up in the hospital, disoriented. He had been drinking and had no memory of getting in his truck and leaving the town of Greybull. He was horrified to learn that he had been in a head on collision at 55 mph and hurt four people badly in the wreck.

Jackie DorothyApril 26, 2025

The Sprout’s Greenhouse was founded in 1978 and is now owned and operated by son, Griff Sprout. He literally grew into the business and horticulture.

For Wyoming Greenhouse Operators, Spring Starts When The Snow Is Deep

Spring started in January for the Sprout family in Lander. They planted their seeds while snow was still deep now are climatizing their perennials to the Wyoming weather.

Jackie DorothyApril 25, 2025

The practice is for both rider and bull. Dalton Willis rides Stev, one of the family’s rodeo bulls that will compete at the Hell on Wheel Rodeo in Cheyenne and other rodeos across the season this year.

Wyoming Ranch Family Learns Raising Rodeo Bulls Nearly As Tough As Riding Them

Dallas Willis grew up in Wyoming around rodeo and was a bull rider through college. Now his family raises bulls for rodeo, and he’s learned that’s nearly as tough as riding them. And the best bulls don’t like people.

Jackie DorothyApril 20, 2025

There’s Something In Wyoming That Makes It Perfect To Grow Coors’ Special Barley

A special blend of barley has been grown by hundreds of farmers in Wyoming and three other Western states exclusively to brew Coors beer. That includes Jim Miller’s family near Worland, who thinks the crop is going to be “tremendous” this year.

Jackie DorothyApril 19, 2025

Visit To War Memorials Emotional For Casper Vet, 96, Who Served In WWII, Korea

It’s been decades since Casper resident Bob Cook served in the Army during World War II and Korean War. Now 96, he finally got to visit his memorials in Washington, D.C., a trip that was extremely emotional and meaningful.

Jackie DorothyApril 19, 2025

Wyoming’s Huge Fossil Finds Inspire Artist To Recreate Its Ancient Landscapes

Wyoming has been giving up huge fossil finds for well over a century. Those discoveries have inspired an artist to recreate Wyoming’s ancient landscapes, which in many ways are nothing like they are today.

Jackie DorothyApril 18, 2025

Other Authors

The First National Bank of Meeteetse is listed on the National Historic Register and was once the richest bank in the Big Horn Basin.

That Time Robbers Only Got Away With $40 From Richest Bank In The Bighorn Basin

The First National Bank of Meeteetse, Wyoming, was never hit by the infamous Wild Bunch. It was the richest bank in the Bighorn Basin and a tempting target in 1958 when robbers used a crowbar to break into the vault. They only get away with $40.

Jackie DorothyApril 13, 2025

Willie LeClair dedicated much of his life teaching Plains Indian Sign Language.

Wyoming Humanities Shell-Shocked By Federal Cut, Loses 80% Of Its Budget

Wyoming Humanities has been shell-shocked by the federal government cutting a National Endowment for the Humanities grant. That money makes up 80% of its operating budget.

Jackie DorothyApril 11, 2025

Rancher Eddie Shumway built his lookout tower to enjoy the view above Owl Creek in Hot Springs County. He installed a solar light on his tower which can be seen for miles around.

Mischievous Rancher Behind Those Mysterious Lights In Rural Hot Springs County

The mysterious red, blue and green lights that flash in the middle of nowhere around Hot Springs County aren’t UFOs. They belong to Eddie Shumway, a mischievous rancher who likes giving people something to talk about.

Jackie DorothyApril 06, 2025

Public archaeologist Colin Ferriman with the Cultural Resource Analysts company surveys proposed project sites to look for potential historic and prehistoric artifacts that may need to be protected. Over the years, he and his team have discovered many interesting sites pertaining to Wyoming’s varied history including a mountain man trap and discarded bottles on the Oregon Trail.

Archeologists Have Only Begun Digging Up Wyoming’s Secrets Of The Past

Archaeologist Colin Ferriman travels around Wyoming and the region searching for historic artifacts at project sites for developing energy development. The Cowboy State has only begun giving up its secrets of the past.

Jackie DorothyApril 06, 2025

As spring approaches, ranchers in Wyoming are on the alert for the green shoots of larkspur. This beautiful wildflower is deadly to cattle.

Beautiful But Deadly, Larkspur Kills Wyoming Cattle And Frustrates Ranchers

As spring approaches, ranchers in Wyoming are on the alert for the green shoots of larkspur. This beautiful purple wildflower is deadly to cattle and frustrating for ranchers.

Jackie DorothyApril 05, 2025

Jack O'Rourke and Michael, his youngest son, several hundred miles off the coast of North Carolina as the sun goes down on a 1,200-mile sail south to the Virgin Islands.

How A Landlocked Wyoming Native Became A Sailor In The Virgin Islands

After a childhood of camping in the backcountry around Buffalo, Wyoming, Jack O’Rourke finds himself most at home living on a sailboat thousands of miles away. He says people ask all the time “how a boy from Wyoming ended up in the Virgin Islands.”

Jackie DorothyMarch 30, 2025

Truly in the middle of nowhere of southwest Wyoming, a historic Little America sign has been placed by Eddie Shumway. He found the treasure in his inherited junk pile and his daughter, Susie Brinkenhoff, painted it for him.

Long-Lost Little America Penguin Sign Rescued From Remote Wyoming Junk Pile

A historic metal Little America penguin sign was nearly rusted away, forgotten in a remote Wyoming junk pile, when rancher Eddie Shumway discovered it on his property in Hot Springs County. He has restored the iconic sign along an isolated highway.

Jackie DorothyMarch 29, 2025

Alfred Packer confessed to cannibalism for eating his five companions in the winter of 1874. He had been hired as their guide and instead got them lost in the San Juan mountains of Colorado during a blizzard. The spelling of his first name is wrong on this sign, a common mistake because Packer himself had a tattoo with his first name misspelled "Alfred."

A Wyoming Sheriff Caught Infamous Cannibal Alfred Packer, Brought Him To Justice

After eating his five traveling companions in the Colorado mountains in the winter of 1874, Alfred Packer eluded capture for nearly a decade. One of the most infamous cannibals in U.S. history was caught and brought to justice by a Wyoming sheriff.

Jackie DorothyMarch 29, 2025

Growing a garden in Wyoming’s climate can be difficult, especially when you plant the wrong seeds. A new company is helping Bighorn Basin gardeners find the right seeds for the Cowboy State’s unique climate.

How To Outsmart The Bighorn Basin Climate When Planting Your Garden

The Bighorn Basin has a long growing season, but it's very cool in the spring and very hot in the summer. If you pick the wrong seeds, you're doomed. A soil scientist in Worland says she has cracked the code and can un-doom your garden.

Jackie DorothyMarch 23, 2025