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

Lesleigh Ann Schaefer has put 100,000 miles on her 2019 Subaru exploring and photographing Wyoming from its rarely-traveled backroads. Now homebound with terminal cancer, her adopted home of Thermopolis has rallied to make her final days special.

Beloved Photographer Shares Beauty Of Wyoming Even As She Faces End Of Life

Lesleigh Ann Schaefer has put 100,000 miles on her 2019 Subaru photographing Wyoming from its rarely-traveled backroads. Now homebound with terminal cancer, she can only take photos from her backyard. Her adopted home of Thermopolis has rallied to make her final days special.

Jackie DorothyJune 29, 2025

In 1887, the wild man of Chugwater, dubbed Bud by the locals, roamed around Chugwater Valley, as it was known then, and alluded capture by cowboys and circus men.

Wyoming History: Chugwater Wild Man Was 7-12 Feet Tall And Faster Than A Horse

Newspapers reported the Wild Man of Chugwater was between 7 and 12 feet tall, covered in dark hair and could run faster than any horse. He even eluded a hunt in 1887 by a circus owner who wanted to put him in a cage for his freak show.

Jackie DorothyJune 28, 2025

Wyoming History: Thermopolis Was Founded By A Dashing Outlaw Bachelor

Ben Hanson was the founder of Thermopolis, Wyoming, and a well-respected businessman and cattleman. He also was a dashing outlaw bachelor who was quick with his gun and friends with the notorious Wild Bunch.

Jackie DorothyJune 23, 2025

Wyoming Rancher Was At The Birth Of Certified Angus Beef — Drinking Highballs

The Certified Angus Beef program was the first of its kind, and when Wyoming rancher Jack Schmidt first heard the idea over a highball, he thought it was silly. Then he watched the industry turn upside down as Black Angus became the breed of choice.

Jackie DorothyJune 21, 2025

Carl Dunrud, Wyoming cowboy and Yellowstone Park Ranger, lassoed this male polar bear cub in Baffin Bay. He successfully captured the 2-year-old during the Putnam Greenland Expedition of 1926 and brought it to New York to the Bronx Zoo.

Wyoming History: That Time A Yellowstone Park Ranger Lassoed Polar Bears

Carl Dunrud steadied himself against the small schooner. It was 1926 and the Yellowstone Park ranger and Wyoming cowboy had a lasso ready as he eyed his target. Looking back at him was a polar bear swimming in the cold Arctic Sea.

Jackie DorothyJune 21, 2025

Walter Punteney was a respected cowboy working for the Embar Ranch in Hot Springs County, Wyoming. After his former boss and friend, Jay Torrey, accused him of stealing cattle, Punteney fled to the Hole in the Wall Gang and became a lookout for the Wild Bunch known as Wat the Watcher. He is known to have rustled cattle and robbed at least one bank in Belle Fourche, South Dakota, although lawyers helped get the charges against him lifted. Here he's shown with the Hole in the Wall Gang cabin.

Wyoming History: Outlaw Walt Punteney Was Cattle Rustler, Bank Robber, Heck Of A Nice Guy

Walt Punteney was a well-known member of the notorious Wild Bunch outlaw gang. He rustled cattle, robbed banks and was cheerful and a heck of a nice guy. He also built a saloon which eventually became the popular Cowboy Bar in Pinedale.

Jackie DorothyJune 15, 2025

Kevin Costner Series Airs Long-Unrevealed Truth About Wyoming's Fetterman Fight

Kevin Costner will air a long-unrevealed truth about the famous 1866 Fetterman Fight — that Capt. William Fetterman wasn’t the arrogant buffoon he was made out to be. The episode of his new docuseries is based on research by a Wyoming historian.

Jackie DorothyJune 09, 2025

Artwork, wax figures and wildlife mounts are interspersed in the exhibits at the Wind River Heritage Center in Riverton, Wyoming. After the death of Jake Korell, the founder of the center, the future of the collection was uncertain. A new board has recently taken over and with partners such as the Wyoming Historical Society, are saving the collection and once more opening the museum to the public.

One-Of-A-Kind Wyoming Wax Figure Collection On Track To Be Sold, Saved Instead

After years with an uncertain future, a collection of one-of-a-kind Wyoming wax figures that was on track to be dismantled or sold off has been saved instead. Now volunteers and the Wyoming Historical Society plan to display them again.

Jackie DorothyJune 08, 2025

Henry P. Williams, nicknamed High Powered, tracked the Custer wolf for eight long months. The infamous wolf was finally trapped and shot on Oct. 11, 1920 in Custer County, South Dakota.

Wyoming History: How The Custer Wolf Got The Best Of A Famed Outlaw Hunter

Wyoming’s premier hunter “High Powered” Williams, who had once bested a Hole-in-the-Wall gang member, finally met his match in the 1920s. But it wasn’t another outlaw, it was the notorious Custer wolf that was terrorizing the countryside.

Jackie DorothyJune 08, 2025

Losing a pet is heartbreaking and most owners don’t want their animals to end up discarded in a landfill, while a shovel and a shoebox also won’t do. The New Hope Shelter in Worland, Wyoming, has a pet crematorium and cemetery for pets.

When A Shovel And A Shoebox Won’t Do, There’s The Worland Pet Cemetery

Losing a pet can be heartbreaking, and most owners don’t want their animals to end up discarded in a landfill. That's why people drive hundreds of miles to bring their deceased pets to Worland to use a specially designed pet crematorium chamber at the New Hope Shelter.

Jackie DorothyJune 08, 2025

The rodeo world is mourning the death of Hall of Fame bronc riding legend “Cody” Bill Smith at age 83. He loved Cody, Wyoming, so much he adopted it as his hometown and nickname.

Hall Of Fame Bronc Rider Bill 'Cody' Smith Remembered As Rodeo Legend

The rodeo world is mourning the death of Hall of Fame bronc riding legend Bill "Cody" Smith at age 83. A three-time Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association saddle bronc riding champion, he loved Cody so much he adopted it as his hometown and nickname.

Jackie DorothyJune 07, 2025

New York Judge Keeps Wind River Job Corps Open

After being ordered to close their doors by the Trump administration, a federal judge in New York issued a restraining order that will keep the Wind River Job Corps in Riverton, and others across the nation, open.

Jackie DorothyJune 05, 2025

Other Authors

Wind River Job Corp students Igor Pool, Joshuwa Begley and Joe R. Hodge protrst outside the school.

Riverton Job Corps Students, Staff Protest Putting Program On ‘Pause’

More than 100 students and staff protested outside the Riverton Job Corps offices Wednesday with the program on “pause” after cut from . The program will end by June 30 unless Congress intervenes.

Jackie DorothyJune 04, 2025

Kenzley Sims of Riverton, 10, loves barrel racing and wants to go to nationals. To help her reach that dream, her parents have enrolled her in the Cowboy State Virtual Academy in Sheridan. She will be able to do all her public school courses online around her schedule.

Online School Popular Choice For Wyoming Ranch And Rodeo Kids

Wyoming ranch kids have chores and rodeo that take up a lot of time. That's why Riverton's Kenzley Sims (pictured) and other Wyoming kids go to Sheridan’s Cowboy Virtual Academy. They can pursue rodeo while getting an education online.

Jackie DorothyJune 01, 2025

The famous photo of Desert Dust was originally a black-and-white photo that was hand-colorized by Verne Wood, and huge portraits hung in important buildings such as the Wyoming Capitol, London’s House of Commons and Canadian Parliament.

A Las Vegas Investigator’s Decades-Long Search For The Most Famous Wild Horse In America

For decades, Wyoming native and Las Vegas detective Gill Gillilan hunted for clues to the story behind Desert Dust, once the most famous wild horse in America. Photos of the Red Desert mustang had sold more than 1 million photos in the 1940s

Jackie DorothyMay 31, 2025

Team Last Call Heroes smoke ribs at the 2022 Wyoming State BBQ Championship and Bluegrass Festival.

Summer Of ’Cue: Worland’s State Championship The Ultimate Goal For Serious Smokers

For those serious about smoking meat, Memorial Day weekend is the start of barbecue season. In Wyoming, that means a summer of tweaking and attention to details to earn a spot at the Wyoming State BBQ Championship in Worland in August.

Jackie DorothyMay 26, 2025

Margo Keller, the daughter of a Navy veteran, placed flags this Memorial Day on the graves of soldiers, including those that were not on her original list such as George Odde who served in the Navy during World War II.

Thousands Of Flags Planted At Graves Of Veterans In Thermopolis And Across Wyoming

In cities and towns across Wyoming, volunteers have placed thousands of American flags at the graves of military veterans. In Thermopolis, the exercise is personal for veterans who remember comrades who paid the ultimate price for America’s freedom.

Jackie DorothyMay 26, 2025

Archaeologist Lawrence Loendorf and his team pioneered a new technique of tracing petroglyphs. When they learned that the tape they had been using would damage the rock surface, they engineered this set up using light tripods and tennis balls to hold their tracing paper in place. Loendorf published a book last month explaining the new technique.

New Discovery At Ancient Petroglyph Site Changes Timeline Of Early Wyoming Tribes

An archaeologist has found new evidence that changes the story behind ancient Wyoming petroglyphs found at Castle Gardens in remote Fremont County, Wyoming. That they were made by tribes previously thought to show up centuries later is “a very unexpected find."

Jackie DorothyMay 24, 2025

Norm Pape, 94, has been moving cattle on the family farm since he was a little kid in the 1930s. He has stepped back from many of his daily duties but still stays active on the family ranch in Daniel, Wyoming.

Sublette County Cowboy Norm Pape Is 94 And Still Active On The Family Ranch

It’s branding season and 94-year-old Norm Pape is still working the Sublette County ranch that’s been in his family for over 120 years. Cowboys don’t quit, Pape says, and they certainly don’t retire. "Our ranch is a working ranch," he said.

Jackie DorothyMay 24, 2025

A Leadership Wyoming visit to a coal mine.

25 Years And More Than 1,000 Graduates For Leadership Wyoming

For 25 years, Leadership Wyoming has promoted communities and the state through hands-on training and networking. From coal and trona mines to legacy ranches, more than 1,000 program graduates have gone on to become better bosses, workers and neighbors.

Jackie DorothyMay 20, 2025

For bird enthusiasts, the best part of spring in Wyoming is watching all the birds return. Spotting bald eagles is always a thrill, like these in Yellowstone National Park.

Wyoming Birders Live For Spring, And Spotting Something Rare Or Spectacular

For bird enthusiasts, the best part of spring is watching all the birds return. Wyoming is home to more than 400 species of birds and the migration peak is in May.

Jackie DorothyMay 18, 2025