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

In her last Hollywood on-screen role, Martha Sleeper of Meeteetse, Wyoming, played the role of Patsy’s mother in “The Bells of St. Mary’s” with Bing Crosby and William Gargan.

How A Meeteetse Sheep Rancher’s Daughter Became A Hollywood Movie Starlet

The daughter of a Meeteetse, Wyoming, sheep rancher, Martha Sleeper became a Hollywood starlet from the 1920s to 1940s. Trading the ranch for big city, she shared movie screens with film giants like John Wayne, Bing Crosby and Randolph Scott.

Jackie DorothyMarch 02, 2026

Western Star Roy Rogers Preferred Plastic Saddles Made In Lusk, Wyoming

Roy Roger’s iconic red, white and blue saddle with its vibrant colors is not leather like many fans assume but a plastic saddle made in Lusk, Wyoming. The western star was so enthralled with them that he became a spokesman for the fledgling company.

Jackie DorothyMarch 01, 2026

Dorothy Pontillo of Cheyenne had just turned a year old when she was diagnosed with cancer. The tumor had been lurking undetected in her body since conception, and it took months of treatment to remove the cancer.

Victory: Cheyenne Toddler Born With Cancer Spent First 18 Months Fighting For Life

Born with cancer, toddler Dorothy Pontillo suffered months of pain before an MRI found a massive tumor. Her parents’ persistence and help from a group that helps families with medical bills helped Dorothy survive. Now she's happy and pain-free.

Jackie DorothyFebruary 23, 2026

How A Classically Trained Violinist From Casper Became Chancey Williams' Fiddler

Brooke Latka was born and raised in Casper and classically trained as a violinist, but was drawn to the personality of country fiddle. For the past 17 years, she's been the fiddler for country music star Chancey Williams and his band.

Jackie DorothyFebruary 22, 2026

Teamster Rick Edney of Nevada is training mules to pull several wagons to recreate the freight train that used to haul goods into the fledging town of Thermopolis, Wyoming in the late 1800s and early 1900s. He said that it is time consuming retraining his mules to a jerk line but is excited reenact the feats of Henry "16-Mule Team" Johnson.

Before Wyoming Became A Major Semitruck Route, 16-Mule Teams Hauled Freight

Rick Edney is training mules to pull several wagons to recreate the freight train that hauled goods into Thermopolis in the late 1800s. He said it's time consuming but is excited to reenact the feats of Henry "16-Mule Team" Johnson for 'Trailblazer Days.'

Jackie DorothyFebruary 22, 2026

Elise Johnson, 5, was killed in 2010 when a snowboarder hit her going 50 mph, who was also killed. Her mother suffered severe brain trauma. It was a preventable accident and her family has launched a campaign to keep the ski slopes safer with slogans such as “She was 5, You Were Going 50” and “Live To Ride Another Day.” Elise will forever be their snow angel as her parents preserve their daughter’s legacy by saving others.

Remembering Elise, The Wyoming 5-Year-Old Killed By A Snowboarder Going 50 MPH

It was a beautiful day at Hogadon Ski Resort in Casper when a speeding snowboarder killed himself and 5-year-old Elise Johnson. Now in her memory, Elise’s parents and siblings are on a mission to make the slopes safer to “live to ride another day."

Jackie DorothyFebruary 21, 2026

As unseasonably warm weather, dry winds and a lack of snow continue to plague most regions of Wyoming, people are watering their trees and fields as if it was spring or summer. Experts say it is vital to water in winter when temps soar above 40.

Arborists Say It's Vital To Water Trees, Fields In Unseasonably Warm Weather

As unseasonably warm weather, dry winds and a lack of snow continue to plague most regions of Wyoming, arborists say it's vital to water trees and fields as if it was spring or summer.

Jackie DorothyFebruary 16, 2026

Despite his reputation and prolific outlaw career, Butch Cassidy was only incarcerated once, from 1894-1896 in the Wyoming Territorial Prison in Laramie. He had been pinched for grand larceny for horse-stealing.

Wyoming History: The Prison That Launched Butch Cassidy’s Outlaw Legend

The only time Butch Cassidy was locked up, he served 18 months in the Wyoming Territorial Prison in Laramie. Far from being reformed, Cassidy vowed that if he was going to be treated like an outlaw, “he would show them what an outlaw was."

Jackie DorothyFebruary 15, 2026

Roller derby is making a comeback in Wyoming as women swap their mundane day jobs for hard-hitting action on skates. Teams across the state are rebuilding after the pandemic, embracing the sport’s mix of strength and strategy.

Roller Derby Is Back In Wyoming And Teachers Ain't Messing Around

At the Fremont County Fair Building in Riverton, teachers are transformed into hard-hitting racers as they practice for their next roller derby bout. The fast-paced, full-contact sport, which peaked in the 1970s, is growing in popularity around Wyoming.

Jackie DorothyFebruary 14, 2026

On the remote plains of Wyoming, a 3,200-pound red granite monument marks the grave of Mother Featherlegs, a rare stone tribute to a Wild West prostitute. She was known to stash stolen loot before being murdered by the outlaw “Dangerous Dick.”

Wyoming's 3,200-Pound Monument To Wild West Prostitute Mother Featherlegs

On the remote plains of eastern Wyoming, a 3,200-pound red granite monument marks the grave of Mother Featherlegs, a rare stone tribute to a Wild West prostitute. She was known to stash stolen loot before being murdered by the outlaw “Dangerous Dick.”

Jackie DorothyFebruary 09, 2026

Deloris “Dee” Arps of Worland is 108 years and 6 months old. She attributes her long life to hard work and determination. She kept going even when it was tough and personal tragedy came her way.

Meet Dee Arps: The 108-Year-Old Who Owned The First Drive-Thru Liquor Store In Wyoming

108-year-old Deloris “Dee” Arps of Worland owned the first drive-thru liquor store in Wyoming -- and had to work the legislature to make it legal. She arrived in Wyoming more than 80 years ago as a new bride with $25 and went straight to work.

Jackie DorothyFebruary 07, 2026

Mike “Moose” Dabich of Hudson was minding his own business 50 years ago when the 7-foot-tall former pro basketball player in a fur coat sparked a Bigfoot panic while fishing in Fremont County, Wyoming.

7-Foot Man In A Fur Coat Sparked A Bigfoot Panic In Wyoming 54 Years Ago

“Moose” Dabich of Hudson, a 7-foot-tall former pro basketball player, was fishing in a fur coat in 1972 when two boys reported they saw Bigfoot. It caused a panic but Dabich didn't clear it up because he was fishing without a license and didn't want to get in trouble.

Jackie DorothyFebruary 07, 2026

Other Authors

Looking Back At Weird Depression Era Foods From Tomato Soup Cake To Water Pie

During World War I and the Great Depression, regular staple pantry ingredients were scarce, so folks had to get creative. They came up with odd recipes such as tomato soup cake and water pie to stretch budgets and keep from starving.

Jackie DorothyFebruary 02, 2026

In the 1850s, members of Congress thought the stories about “Yellow Stone" were too fantastic to be true. Politicians scoffed at the idea of geysers, boiling mud and petrified forests and refused to believe any of it.

When Congress First Heard Of 'Yellow Stone,' They Didn’t Believe It

Although the area was already called "Yellow Stone," back in the 1850s members of Congress thought the stories about the area were too fantastic to be true. They scoffed at geysers, boiling mud and petrified forests and refused to believe any of it.

Jackie DorothyFebruary 01, 2026

Levi Kessler founded History Under The Pines to document and preserve the history of privately owned gold mines in the Black Hills that date back to the late 1800s.

Backyard Explorer Digs Deep Into Black Hills Ghost Towns And Mines

It was during Covid that Levi Kessler first started exploring historic underground mines in the Black Hills. Kessler only shared his findings with the promise to landowners that each location would retain anonymity to discourage trespassers.

Jackie DorothyJanuary 25, 2026

Volunteers at Niobrara County’s Stagecoach Museum are uncovering a lot of history in Wyoming's emptiest county, from gold rushes and madams to oil booms. They're saving artifacts and interviews before they’re lost.

Niobrara Gold Rushes And Oil Booms: Documenting History In Wyoming’s Emptiest County

Niobrara County is the least-populated county in the least-populated state of Wyoming but is rich in history from gold rushes to madams to oil booms. Volunteers at the Stagecoach Museum are saving artifacts and preserving interviews before they’re lost.

Jackie DorothyJanuary 25, 2026

Wildcat Sam was a trapper who lived his life in the mountains. He kept for pets a wolf and coyote and once survived a night listening to over one hundred wolves meeting in a strange council along Powder River.

The Time Wyoming's 'Wildcat Sam' Was Surrounded By Seven Packs Of Wolves

Although 'Wildcat Sam' was a beloved Old West storyteller in Wyoming, historians say not all of Sam's stories were tall tales. After he died, reporters discovered that some of his stories might be true, like the time he was surrounded by a "wolf council."

Jackie DorothyJanuary 25, 2026

Ryan Morris and 19-year-old Chase Walden operate the snowcats at Antelope Butte and say that the job is challenging, but rewarding. They get a different perspective of the mountain as they groom the trails and the steep inclines.

Meet The Teen Who Keeps The Ski Trails Groomed And Open At Antelope Butte

While others can't wait to hit the slopes on the ski trails at Antelope Butte resort in Wyoming's Bighorn Mountains, local teen Chase Walden dreams of grooming them. After years of training, he's now driving snowcats to keep the trails in tip-top shape.

Jackie DorothyJanuary 25, 2026

When historian and rancher Clay Gibbons saved the logs from an old cottonwood cabin, he was unaware that the rifle slots hand carved into the logs would have been protection against lawmen. The cabin was the temporary hideout for Teton Jackson, a notorious horse thief, who was captured in the cabin by Sheriff Frank Canton in 1885.

Wyoming Man Had No Idea His Pile Of Old Logs Was Outlaw’s 1885 Hideout Cabin

Historian Clay Gibbons unknowingly rescued a notorious outlaw's 1885 hideout cabin, complete with rifle slots from a sheriff’s raid. Gibbons discovered that not only had he stood in the cabin he was looking for, but the cabin was on Gibbons' own property.

Jackie DorothyJanuary 18, 2026

Wyoming People: Gene Baldwin Was The ‘Voice Of The Dogies’ For Newcastle Football

For decades, Gene Baldwin was known around Weston County as the “Voice of the Dogies” at Newcastle High School football games. He also was a rancher, teacher and cowboy poet. He died in December at age 99.

Jackie DorothyJanuary 11, 2026

Wyoming History: Meet Thornburgh, The Hero Dog Of Fort Bridger

Thornburgh, an orphaned pup from a 1879 Ute battle, became Fort Bridger’s hero dog by stopping thieves, saving soldiers from knives, and alerting soldiers to Indian raids. Thornburgh was so well-loved he was buried in a fenced grave with a headstone.

Jackie DorothyJanuary 11, 2026