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

No, The Town Of Shoshoni Is Not Closed Down Despite What Google And Apple Maps Say

Shoshoni Mayor Joel Highsmith is blaming AI for Google and Apple Maps telling travelers on Monday that the entire town is closed down. The messaging caused drivers to end up on isolated dirt roads which can be impassable for large trailers and campers.

Jackie DorothySeptember 28, 2026

Reba Teran is resurrecting a nearly forgotten Shoshone art that's often depicted wrong in Western art. The traditional saddles are made of wood, covered in rawhide, and warriors would be mortified if depicted riding women's saddles.

Wyoming People: Reba Teran Keeps Alive The Art Of Making Shoshone Woman’s Saddle

Reba Teran is resurrecting a nearly forgotten Shoshone art that's often depicted wrong in Western art. The traditional women's saddles are made of wood and covered in rawhide. Frederic Remington is one artist called out for putting male warriors in high-horned women’s saddles.

Jackie DorothySeptember 26, 2026

Paris, Wisconsin, was the first stop on Marvin and Ann Robinson's bucket list to hit every town in the United States named Paris. 61 years ago this October 8 the couple had eloped to Paris, Idaho as teenage runaways.

Casper Couple On A Mission To Visit Every Place Named ‘Paris’ In The U.S.

A Casper couple is on a mission to visit every place named “Paris” in the U.S. It’s a flashback 61 years to when as a young couple, they eloped to tiny Paris, Idaho, to get married. So far, “I probably enjoyed Paris, Illinois, the most," she said.

Jackie DorothySeptember 26, 2026

Wyoming History: Buffalo’s Stately 1880 Occidental Hotel Started As Frontier Tent

Buffalo's stately Occidental Hotel didn’t begin that way, starting as a frontier tent hosting early Wyoming miners. Eventually, the tent became a shack, then the two-story Occidental by 1880. For nearly 150 years, it’s been the social center of Buffalo.

Jackie DorothySeptember 26, 2026

Artist and historian Larry Edgar examines the mysterious 1811 stones from Pappy-Po Butte at Old Trail Town in Cody. Edgar and his brother Bob Edgar investigated the butte after the first inscribed stone was found in 1978. Bob believed that the weathered sandstone inscriptions provide tantalizing physical evidence behind a much older local story of a battle on the butte.

Mysterious 1811 Pitchfork Ranch Rocks Change Timeline Of White Men In Bighorn Basin

Pitchfork Ranch cowboys had long heard about the battle of "Pappy-Po Butte," and the legends were affirmed when sandstone grave markers etched with "1811" were found. It's proof white men were in the Bighorn Basin earlier than thought, historians say.

Jackie DorothySeptember 20, 2026

When Ben Arthur saw that his grandson could not play rough with his toys, he felt nostalgic for the toys his own grandpa had made him. These wooden toys could be thrown across the room and not lose a wheel or be pulled around for hours without falling apart.

Kirby’s ‘Grandpa Ben' Makes Old-School Wooden Toys Kids Can Beat The Crap Out Of

Ben Arthur of Kirby — aka ‘Grandpa Ben’ — has spent the past 40 years making colorful and Wyoming-tough old-school wooden toys that are meant for kids to beat the crap out of. “Kids today need to have toys like I had as a kid,” he said.

Jackie DorothySeptember 19, 2026

Wyoming Hall Of Fame Auctioneer Tom Harrow Has A Lifetime Of Cowboy History

Wyoming hall-of-fame auctioneer Tom Harrower has been building his collection of cowboy history, artifacts and collectibles since growing up on his family’s ranch near Kemmerer. “This is about preserving our stories before they are lost,” he said.

Jackie DorothySeptember 13, 2026

What began as Dwight Koehn's desperate attempt to help feed his cattle nearly a decade ago by growing hydroponic lettuce has ballooned into a new business. Now Greybull Valley Produce sells its produce to stores, restaurants and schools.

Struggling Greybull Cattle Rancher's Gamble On Hydroponic Lettuce Pays Off Big Time

What began as a Greybull rancher’s desperate attempt to help feed his cattle by growing hydroponic lettuce has ballooned into a new business. Now his company produces tons of greens every year and distributes them to stores, restaurants and schools.

Jackie DorothySeptember 13, 2026

Workers in the Lance Creek oil fields in Niobrara County feared during World War II they were on Adolf Hitler's hit list because 25% of Wyoming’s oil came from the area. Hitler never struck, and now about 50 people remain in a town that once had 5,000.

Wyoming History: Lance Creek Oil Workers Feared They Were On Hitler’s Hit List

Workers in the Lance Creek oil fields in Niobrara County during World War II feared during they were on Hitler's hit list because 25% of Wyoming’s oil came from the area. Hitler never struck, and now about 50 people remain in a town that once had 5,000.

Jackie DorothySeptember 13, 2026

What began as a few local bagpipers honoring the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks has become the Lander Bag Pipers, which has become a fixture in the town and memorializes the anniversiary of 9/11 each year since. Above, that first group performs a month after the attacks, as published in the Riverton Ranger/Lander Journal.

Lander Bagpipe Band Began 25 Years Ago As A Response To 9/11 Terrorist Attacks

The Lander Pipe Band began as a one-time performance in response to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Now 25 years later, it’s played at every local 9/11 memorial service and has become a fixture in the central Wyoming town.

Jackie DorothySeptember 10, 2026

Daisha Thomas, 15, competed in the Excel National Festival at nationals in Boston. Just before she was to compete, another skater ran into her and she ended up with stitches and a black eye. This did not deter the Wyoming skater to skate her best and become ranked 21 nationally at her level.

15-Year-Old Cody Girl Moving Up National U.S. Figure Skating Rankings

Wyoming isn’t built for competitive figure skating, with few ice rinks and elite coaching only available online. Even so, a 15-year-old Cody girl is ranked 21st nationally and the first ever from Wyoming to qualify for the U.S. Figure Skating Excel Series.

Jackie DorothySeptember 07, 2026

Many Native American tribes have legends of the "Thunder Bird," a giant bird that would soar high above the clouds. In 1890, a pair of cowboys claimed to have stumbled on a giant bird in the Arizona desert but skeptics now wonder if it was a hoax rather than a scientific discovery. Locals who claimed to have talked to these ranchers say that it was true though the creature only had a 30 foot wingspan, not 160 feet.

Wyoming History: Was Legend Rock Winged Monster Also Arizona’s ‘Thunderbird’?

Was the winged monster etched in sandstone at Legends Rock State Petroglyph Site in Wyoming also the "Thunderbird" seen in Arizona skies in 1890? A Tombstone newspaper reported it was, but there's no proof and today it lives on only in Plains Indian lore.

Jackie DorothySeptember 06, 2026

Other Authors

Melissa Hemkin has grown garlic for years in the Wind River Range near Lander. When she decided to expand her farm commercially, she said she chose her garlic strains not only for their flavor and ability to grow in the cooler climate, but for their backstory.

Lander Woman Grows 800 Pounds Of Heirloom Garlic, Including 400-Year-Old Variety

A Lander woman grows about 800 pounds of heirloom garlic a season in the Wind River Range, including a 400-year-old variety. Their similarity is they're all hardneck — garlic that prefers cold weather and high altitude — but range widely in taste and heat.

Jackie DorothySeptember 06, 2026

Aaron Vigil is an engineering student from University of Wyoming and grew up Worland. Although he was fascinated by space, he never thought he would work for NASA. Sunday morning, a telescope he has worked on for the past four years was launched into space.

Worland Engineer 'In Awe' Watching Sunday Launch Of NASA Telescope He Helped Build

Worland’s Aaron Vigil watched in awe Sunday as the powerful Roman telescope he helped build was launched successfully on a million-mile journey. The University of Wyoming grad spent four years helping to construct the telescope's Solar Array Sunshield.

Jackie DorothyAugust 31, 2026

The Bettis family of Danville, Virginia, has just biked through Wyoming on their 2,700-miles on the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route.

Mom, 8 Kids Nearly Caught In Wyoming Wildfire On 2,700-Mile Great Divide Bike Ride

A Virginia mom and eight of her 15 kids nearly got caught in a wildfire near Lander and a hit-and-run in Montana while on an epic ride of the 2,700-mile Great Divide Mountain Bike Route. She's doing it to help heal from the effects of domestic violence.

Jackie DorothyAugust 29, 2026

Harve Ray was a more notorious Hole-in-the-Wall outlaw than Butch Cassidy in the late 1800s, but no photo evidence of him existed until recently. A Wyoming historian has uncovered an 1897 photo that identifies him as part of a branding on Kirby Creek, seen above at right.

Wyoming Historian Uncovers Only Known Photo of Hole-in-the-Wall Outlaw Harve Ray

Wyoming historian Michael Bell has officially verified a photo of the notorious Hole-in-the-Wall outlaw Harve Ray who ran with Butch Cassidy in the late 1800s. The 1897 photo, the only known photo of the outlaw, shows him at a branding on Kirby Creek.

Jackie DorothyAugust 23, 2026

Wyoming History: Wagon, Whitewater Only Way To ‘Doc’ Barry’s Bighorn Dude Ranch

“Doc” Barry arrived in the Bighorn Canyon in the 1890s seeking gold, but after losing a fortune, he built a luxury dude ranch where guests could only get to via wagon or whitewater. All that remains today is a ghost camp infused with memories.

Jackie DorothyAugust 23, 2026

David Kolesky was one of the first male cheerleaders recruited to raise team and fan spirits at the Cowboy football games for the 1965 season. His best friend and fellow "yell king" Nick Vuko said that Kolesky was crazy and fun-loving.

How An Injured Football Player Became UW’s First Male Cheerleader 61 Years Ago

When Nick Vuko was sidelined with a football injury in 1965, the Wyoming tailback refused to stay off the field — returning with buddy David Kolesky as UW’s first male cheerleaders. It helped that they weren't afraid to make spectacles of themselves.

Jackie DorothyAugust 22, 2026

Longtime Meeteetse Rancher Allen Hogg Wins Four-Way Republican Primary for HD 28

Allen Hogg, whose family has ranched in the Meeteetse area since 1918, won the HD28 GOP primary over three other contenders with 49% of the vote. Hogg ran on his agricultural experience and supporting Wyoming's smaller communities.

Jackie DorothyAugust 19, 2026

Sawyer Wilson's daily chores included feeding his pigs and training them to show properly in the arena. The family had ended up with an "extra pig" and Marshmallow was drawn in the Fair to Fork lottery. He will be fattened up a bit more and then given to a charity of Sawyer's choice to help feed the hungry in his community in Hot Springs County.

Life Of A Wyoming Show Pig: Training, Tearful Goodbyes, And The Dinner Table

Raising show pigs is a huge commitment for Wyoming 4-H and FFA kids working toward the Wyoming State Fair. Then comes the bittersweet part — tearful goodbyes when the pigs are sold to become dinner for the less fortunate.

Jackie DorothyAugust 16, 2026

For 82 years, Lt. Col. John Clarke Goldtrap of Casper has been in a watery grave as a POW on the sunken wreck of the Japanese “hell ship” Oryoku Maru. Now his remains may finally be ID'd and brought home. Another Wyoming serviceman on the ship survived.

Wyoming POW On Sunken Japanese 'Hell Ship' May Be Close To Coming Home After 82 Years

For 82 years, Lt. Col. John Clarke Goldtrap of Casper has been in a watery grave as a POW on the sunken wreck of the brutal Japanese “hell ship” Oryoku Maru. Now his remains may finally be ID'd and brought home. Another Wyoming serviceman on the ship survived.

Jackie DorothyAugust 16, 2026