Business and Tourism Reporter

Renée Jean

Renée Jean is the business and tourism reporter for Cowboy State Daily and is based in Cheyenne. Previously, Renée spent seven years covering energy and agriculture in North Dakota and Montana. She has won many writing awards over a 30-year career, and has written magazine articles for Guideposts.

Follow Renée Jean

Latest from Renée Jean

Wyoming-based Airloom Energy has developed novel wind energy technology that uses a "clothesline" model turbine to generate power. It's an example of a high-growth startup.

Figuring Out Why So Many High-Growth Business Startups Fail In Wyoming

Wyoming has an enviable overall success rate of up to 77% for startup businesses that are still active after one year. But that stat hides a big problem — high-impact, growth-oriented companies have a success rate that’s much lower

Renée JeanJune 01, 2025

The Secret Underground World Of F.E. Warren Air Force Base Murals

F.E. Warren Air Force Base has a secret underground world full of soldier-created artwork that most people have never seen. Set to disappear after the Minuteman III missiles are replaced, former missileer Jim Warner is determined to save them.

Renée JeanJune 01, 2025

A barn at the JO Ranch in Carbon County.

Carbon County's JO Ranch A Throwback To An Untamed Wyoming

Only the hardiest of souls ever lived at the now-abandoned JO Ranch in southern Carbon County. The ranch’s stone buildings, built in 1890, are as old as the state and still standing, a throwback to an untamed Wyoming.

Renée JeanMay 31, 2025

A Laramie couple sold their home and bought a cabin on board a luxury cruise ship. Now they’re spending four years cruising around the world for the same cost as their lifestyle in Wyoming. Here they're on deck of The Odyssey in Acapulco, Mexico.

Wyoming Couple Trade Home In Laramie For Four Years On Luxury Cruise Ship

A Laramie couple sold their home and bought a cabin on the luxury cruise ship Odyssey. Now they’re spending four years cruising around the world for the same cost as their lifestyle in Wyoming.

Renée JeanMay 31, 2025

The CK Gold Project about 20 miles west of Cheyenne in Laramie County is close to securing permitting, which comes at a good time with high gold prices.

At $3,300 An Ounce, Prices Prime For Southeast Wyoming’s CK Gold Project

With gold prices trading high at $3,300 an ounce, timing may be prime for the CK Gold Project in Southeast Wyoming. It’s completed most of its state permitting, with a Laramie County hearing for local permits next month.

Renée JeanMay 28, 2025

The newly unveiled Lincoln Locomotive 1616 and Big Boy 4014 will meet up twice this summer in Greeley, Colorado, for a whistle stop.

Union Pacific’s Big Boy Has A Date With Newly Unveiled Lincoln Locomotive

The newly unveiled Abraham Lincoln commemorative locomotive No. 1616 and Cheyenne's Big Boy No. 4014 will meet up twice this summer in Greeley for a whistle stop. Four cab rides will also be auctioned for rides on Big Boy between Cheyenne and Denver.

Renée JeanMay 28, 2025

Hot Springs County Rallies To Boost Tourism During Prolonged Star Plunge Closure

Hot Springs County is rallying to save its tourism season despite what’s become a prolonged closure of the popular Star Plunge hot springs pools. To do that, it’s putting the spotlight on attractions outside the park — fishing, new trails and more events.

Renée JeanMay 27, 2025

Former Sheridan broadcast pioneer and business owner Kim Love died Saturday. Friends and family recall him as outspoken, never afraid to say what was on his mind, and a stalwart economic and civic backer of Sheridan known as a “genius at” philanthropy.

Sheridan Mourns Kim Love, Broadcast Pioneer And Philanthropist

Sheridan broadcast pioneer and business owner Kim Love died Saturday. Friends and family recall him as outspoken, never afraid to say what was on his mind, and a stalwart economic and civic backer of Sheridan known as a “genius at” philanthropy.

Renée JeanMay 26, 2025

Chad Brown poses in front of a section of about 480 barrels in the backrooms of Pine Bluffs Distillery.

Pine Bluffs Distilling Wins International Award With Wyoming-Grown Whiskey

Pine Bluffs Distilling’s straight rye whiskey won a prestigious double-gold medal at an American Distilling Institute international competition. It’s a big win for a small-town craft distillery that makes whiskey with Wyoming-grown ingredients.

Renée JeanMay 26, 2025

Artifacts that date back to 16,000 years ago have been recently found in Sunrise, Wyoming, older than the site’s previous 14,000-year-old find. That’s the oldest yet evidence of people in the Western High Plains.

Wyoming Ghost Town Site Gives Up Evidence Of People From 16,000 Years Ago

Artifacts that date back to 16,000 years ago have been recently found at the ghost town site of Sunrise, Wyoming — older than the site’s previous 14,000-year-old find. That’s the oldest evidence yet of people in the Western High Plains.

Renée JeanMay 26, 2025

Kevin Deneen poses outside the Eishenhower Building in Washington, D.C., before a forum on artificial intelligence with Trump White House policymakers.

Wyoming Businessman Talks Artificial Intelligence Policy With Trump White House

Jackson businessman Kevin Deneen is cofounder of Moterra Campervans. He’s one of five small business owners from across America tapped to discuss artificial intelligence policy with Vice President JD Vance and the Trump White House.

Renée JeanMay 26, 2025

Rock Springs Teacher’s Crazy Costumes Make A Serious Point — Laughter Is Learning

Not all learning comes from a textbook — some of it comes from laughter. That’s inspired Rock Springs teacher Weston Lamb-Costantino to wear a lot of silly costumes to school, which his students love.

Renée JeanMay 25, 2025

Other Authors

An expanding greenhouse in Sublette County takes its name, Silver Stream Farm, from a Grateful Dead song written on a Wyoming ranch in Cora, just 15 miles away.

Huge Wyoming-Grown Greenhouse Embraces Grateful Dead Connection

The Grateful Dead and fresh produce might not sound like they go together, but they do at Silver Stream Farm northwest of Pinedale. The huge 25,000-square-foot greenhouse takes its name from a Grateful Dead song reportedly written in Wyoming.

Renée JeanMay 25, 2025

Cheyenne Botanic Gardens buys tulip bulbs by the thousands. They do well in Cheyenne, which has similar climate and geology as their ancestral region in Central Asia and the Mediterranean, where they typically grow on mountain slopes and steppes.

Cheyenne Botanic Gardens Buys Tulips By The Thousands, And They Last For Years

Holland may be famous for its tulips, but they’re all over Cheyenne as well each summer. The Cheyenne Botanic Gardens buys them by the thousands, and they thrive in southeast Wyoming, some lasting for a decade.

Renée JeanMay 25, 2025

Wyoming’s Popular Crazy Woman Canyon Unexpectedly Closed For The Summer

Crazy Woman Canyon is a draw for Wyomingites and visitors to Johnson County, but it’s been unexpectedly closed for the summer. It’s a blow for tourism and locals who count the canyon as a favorite outdoors getaway.

Renée JeanMay 25, 2025

EV fires Electric Cars Battery Fires e1610573496913 6 24 23 jpg

1.2-GW Wyoming Data Center To Help Pioneer New Battery Less Likely To Catch Fire

A new battery system could solve the runaway thermal problem that makes lithium batteries burst into flames. A 1.2-gigawatt data center near Evanston, Wyoming, is going to help a startup prove its new battery system.

Renée JeanMay 23, 2025

An email obtained by Cowboy State Daily confirms that Wyoming Office of Tourism Director Diane Shober plans to retire at the end of 2025. Former Gov. Dave Freudenthal says she was perfect for the job — an “unbearably happy human being.”

Longtime Wyoming Tourism Director Diane Shober To Retire After 22 Years

Longtime Wyoming Tourism Director Diane Shober announced she’s retiring at the end of 2025. Author CJ Box says she’s the best in the business and former Gov. Dave Freudenthal says she was perfect for the job — an “unbearably happy human being.”

Renée JeanMay 22, 2025

Sam, working a busy bar scene at Cheyenne's Uncle Charlie's Package Liquor, Grill & Tavern, is in wait and see mode on the No Tax on Tips bill that cleared the Senate unanimously on Tuesday.

Wyoming Service Workers Optimistic Over Senate Passage Of No Tax On Tips Bill

In a surprise move, the U.S. Senate passed the No Tax on Tips bill unanimously. The reaction from Wyoming service employees ranged from cautious optimism to elation. “The blue-collar worker, what’s left of us, needs their tips to help ends meet,” one barber said.

Renée JeanMay 22, 2025

The National Weather Service Office in Cheyenne.

Short-Staffed Cheyenne National Weather Service Office Ends 24/7 Monitoring

The National Weather Service forecast office in Cheyenne is short staffed and has killed its overnight shift, ending the office's 24/7 monitoring. Meteorologist Don Day says that could mean less accurate forecasts and less timely warnings for southeast Wyoming.

Renée JeanMay 19, 2025

Yavilet Saenz holds up a baby chick in the animal science class at Little Snake River Valley School District's newly completed Livestock Center.

Little Snake River Students Get Hands-On In New $1.7M Livestock Center

A new $1.7 million livestock center has opened a hands-on classroom for students interested in ag education at Little Snake River School in Baggs. It’s the realization of a dream by their teacher.

Renée JeanMay 19, 2025

Children try their hand at raking during Pioneer Day at at Little Snake River Valley Museum.

Pioneer Town At Little Snake River Museum In Savery Takes Students Back To Days Of Old

Snow still tops Baker Mountain looking down on Little Snake River Museum in this hamlet near the Wyoming - Colorado border east of Baggs, Wyoming. More than 100 children gathered at the museum to celebrate the annual Pioneer Day.

Renée JeanMay 18, 2025