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 ice jam on March 10, 1929, flooded the town of Greybull and left behind ice chunks and four feet of standing water.

Wyoming History: That Time In 1929 When Santa Saved Greybull With Dynamite Bombs

History says Santa saved Greybull from a devastating flood when he tossed dynamite bombs out an airplane. That was George Scott, who bomb an ice jam that threatened to wash Greybull off the map. He would go on to be the town’s Santa for years.

Jackie DorothyDecember 21, 2024

Original glass globes are very rare to find and so Randy Nissen relies on reproductions on his restoration of old gas pumps. He does not restore the gas pumps to their original state and uses his imagination to come up with the design.

Discovery In Wyoming Weed Field Started Vintage Collection Of Restored Gas Pumps

A Worland, Wyoming, man is obsessed with antique gas pumps, finding them and restoring them to their former glory — or better. The obsession began 15 years ago when he found a rusted old pump in a field of weeds.

Jackie DorothyDecember 15, 2024

Willie LeClair dressed in his regalia and head dress as a culture ambassador and preserver of the sign language of the Plains.

Willie LeClair: Eastern Shoshone Spiritual Leader, Teacher And Storyteller

Eastern Shoshone tribe member Willie LeClair walked dual worlds as a cowboy and an American Indian in Wyoming. His legacy is as a spiritual leader, storyteller and teacher who also had a “wicked sense of humor.”

Jackie DorothyDecember 15, 2024

University of Wyoming Professor Emeritus Phil Roberts has a new fellowship named for him to continue his legacy of teaching Cowboy State history.

UW Fellowship Honors Phil Roberts, Who Taught Wyoming History To Thousands

Nobody knows Wyoming like Phil Roberts, the University of Wyoming professor emeritus who literally wrote the book on Cowboy State history. A new UW fellowship has been named for Roberts, who taught tens of thousands of students over the years.

Jackie DorothyDecember 15, 2024

Cows graze on a ranch near Kaycee, Wyoming, in this file photo.

Wyoming History: That Time In 1907 A Cow Ate 19 Sticks Of Dynamite And Exploded

It was 1907 when a cow wandered onto a mining claim in Birdseye, Wyoming, ate 19 sticks of dynamite and exploded. "What hurts is that we had to pay $45 for the cow," lamented the owner.

Jackie DorothyDecember 14, 2024

A very Charlie Brown-esque Christmas tree at the U.S. Forest Service Office in Greybull, Wyoming.

Wyoming Forest Rangers And Hotshots Spread Cheer With “Charlie Brown” Trees

U.S. Forest Service Rangers and Hotshot firefighters in Greybull, Wyoming, cut Christmas trees to donate around Big Horn County this past weekend. The “Charlie Brown” trees are lighting up homes and offices for the season.

Jackie DorothyDecember 09, 2024

Wyoming State Parks maintains small herds of semi-wild bison that roam freely across Hot Springs and Bear River state parks. To keep the herd at optimal size, the state is selling 15 to the highest bidders.

Want To Buy A Wild Bison? Wyoming State Parks Is Selling 15

For the person who has everything, Wyoming State Parks is selling 15 wild bison. They’re huge, healthy and as close to genetically pure wild bison as is possible. They’re also available to the highest bidders.

Jackie DorothyDecember 07, 2024

As proposed members of the future Trump administration consider making it legal to sell raw milk, it is already legal in several states, including Wyoming. Raw milk can be sold directly from the producer, like Little Acres Farm in Lovell, to the consumer who assumes the risk.

Wyoming Raw Milk Producers Part Of New Federal Mandate To Test For Bird Flu

A new federal mandate to test raw, unpasteurized milk for possible bird flu contamination goes into effect in less than two weeks. That’s news to some Wyoming producers who say they haven’t heard from federal officials about the new rule.

Jackie DorothyDecember 06, 2024

A horse with an infestation of screwworms on its back.

60 Years Ago, Wyoming Vet Helped Eradicate Devastating Flesh-Eating Screwworm

Wyoming Veterinarian Larry Friedman helped eradicate a devastating flesh-eating cattle parasite called screwworm in the 1960s. Now it's again a potential threat to Wyoming and U.S. ranchers.

Jackie DorothyDecember 05, 2024

A herd of cows lingers around a watering hole in Albany County.

Wyoming Ranchers Warned Of Devastating Screwworm Infestation In Mexico

The Wyoming Department of Agriculture is warning ranchers about a devastating threat to animals and people found in Mexico. The new world screwworm has been confirmed, prompting an immediate closure of the border to cattle imports.

Jackie DorothyDecember 03, 2024

Slim Coats and Oscar Taylor race in the whitewater race through the Wind River Canyon.

That Time Boaters Famously Rode The Dangerous Wind River Rapids In Rowboats

From 1948 to 1951, the Wind River Canyon White Water race was the most dangerous — and famous — river race in America. The Wyoming Memorial Day event featured racers navigating the rapids and rocks in rowboats.

Jackie DorothyDecember 01, 2024

Pictured on the right is Jim Harrower, his daughter Jean, and son Jim Jr. Not pictured is his wife Alice and his youngest son, Bob, with the only real outside contact being the few ranches that existed in the area. A great kinship developed between the Harrower family and the surrounding ranch families as they relied on each other for such things as medical care and companionship.

Legacy Of 1920s Wyoming Park Rancher: Mountain Peaks, Red Desert Elk Herds, Mountain Man Museum

With his intimate knowledge of Wyoming trails, Jim Harrower lobbied to protect the Oregon Trail, immigrant graves and South Pass City. He helped found the Rendezvous pageant and the Museum of the Mountain Man, both in Pinedale.

Jackie DorothyDecember 01, 2024

Other Authors

The Barney Sweeney Ranch in Sweetwater County, 22 miles from Rock Springs.

Man Spends 30 Years Photographing Wyoming’s Disappearing Ranches

Larry Friedman began taking photos of the Sweetwater County homesteads he was visiting as a Wyoming veterinarian in 1977. For the next 30 years, he recorded a disappearing era, including the Sweeney family ranch in southwest Wyoming.

Jackie DorothyDecember 01, 2024

Climbing on cliffs over the ocean in Italy.

Car Crash Derails Wyoming Athlete’s Quest To Sail 7 Seas And Climb 7 Summits

Sara Hastreiter had set a goal to become the only female, and only the second human ever, to sail all seven seas and to climb all seven summits. She was more than halfway there when a serious car crash derailed her efforts.

Jackie DorothyNovember 30, 2024

Tate, Mike Miller's 3-year-old herding dog, was happy as all get-out herding sheep through Gillette on Saturday.

Wyoming Lamb Industry Is Losing To Australia, Which Has 70% Of The U.S. Market

The Wyoming Sheep Industry is facing stiff competition, with 70% of America’s lamb and sheep meat imported from Australia and New Zealand. Wyoming sheep herders are selling direct to consumers to try and gain market share.

Jackie DorothyNovember 30, 2024

Ranch A was once owned by a the Annenberg family and only the elite of the Black Hills were allowed on the property. Today, it is owned by the state of Wyoming and is available for rent for weddings and events.

Once The Playground Of The Rich, Wyoming’s Ranch A Makes A Comeback

Ranch A, located just south of Beulah, was founded by media mogul Moses Annenberg and became the center for the rich and elite. Years of opulence were followed by shady politics, eventually resulting in the once luxurious lodge falling into disrepair. But it's made a big comeback.

Jackie DorothyNovember 29, 2024

Tucker Bass has been hunting wild turkeys in Wyoming since he was 8 years old. He bagged this tom on Nowood river. His dad, John Bass, said that turkeys prefer creek and river bottoms.

Those Who Shoot Their Own Wild Turkeys Know They’re Nothing Like Store-Bought

Those who shoot their own Wyoming wild turkeys for their Thanksgiving table know two things. There are a lot of them out there, and they’re nothing like the mass-produced, flash-frozen birds from the supermarket.

Jackie DorothyNovember 27, 2024

On Nov. 10, 2024, the University of Wyoming Symphonic Band performed “Beyond Her Years,” a musical interpretation of Adelaide Bomberger’s story of dealing with cancer.

Cheyenne Teen’s Fight For Life Against Brain Cancer Inspires A Symphony

Adelaide Bomberger’s battle for life against a rare form of brain cancer has inspired a symphony by an L.A. composer and University of Wyoming band director. The 18-year-old from Cheyenne got to hear her story performed for the first time this month.

Jackie DorothyNovember 25, 2024

Lucy Barnard walked into Wyoming over the Continental Divide in October 2024. Her goal is to walk to Yellowstone National Park by December before she must return to Australia to renew her passport. She is walking the length of the earth and is gathering a group of women to join her on the last leg of the trip in Alaska.

Australian Woman Hiking Through Wyoming On Quest To Walk Length Of The Earth

Australian Lucy Barnard is walking 18,000 miles from the tip of South America to the top of North America to become the first woman to walk the length of the earth. She’s now in Wyoming, getting to Lander after hiking across the Red Desert.

Jackie DorothyNovember 24, 2024

Cathy Ringler and her horse Zigzag have had many adventures over the years. Zigzag was originally supposed to be a barrel horse; however, he did not enjoy performing and much preferred being out on the trail.

Wyoming People: Award-Winning Horseback Storyteller Cathy Ringler

Cathy Ringler is a Wyoming cowgirl who told stories to her daughters while they rode horseback in Park County. Those stories have become a series of award-winning books based on Ringler’s own experiences riding horses on the range and teaching school in a two-room schoolhouse.

Jackie DorothyNovember 24, 2024

Raw Milk Is Legal In Wyoming, And Trump Might Soon Make It Legal Everywhere

Raw milk is already legal in several states, including Wyoming, and the incoming Trump administration could make it legal nationwide.

Jackie DorothyNovember 18, 2024