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.

Find Renée Jean

Latest from Renée Jean

Encampment Is Latest Wyoming Town To Wrestle With Airbnbs And Housing Shortage

Encampment is looking to a Jackson town ordinance as a model to regulate short-term rentals as it wrestles with a shortage of affordable homes. Critics question whether restrictions will create more housing for workers or leave vacation homes empty.

Renée JeanOctober 07, 2026

Riva Ridge Reserve, an 18,000-square-foot luxury estate on 117 acres on East Gros Ventre Butte in Jackson Hole, recently sold for close to $39.5 million.

117-Acre Jackson Hole Compound That Couldn’t Be Built Today Sells For $39.5M

A compound too large to build under today’s rules in Teton County has sold for $39.5 million. Spanning 117 acres, 70% of the land is protected by conservation easements. “Luxury at this level is increasingly about irreplaceability,” the broker said.

Renée JeanOctober 06, 2026

The Bearlodge Forest Products crew in 2024 to mark the Hulett sawmill's 45th anniversary.

‘Absolute Blow’: After Nearly 50 Years, Hulett Family Sawmill To Shut Down

After nearly 50 years of operating in Hulett, Bearlodge Forest Products has announced it will shut down after Oct. 31. “This is an absolute blow” to a community with deep ties to Wyoming’s timber industry, says Sen. Ogden Driskill.

Renée JeanOctober 05, 2026

Sheridan main street with renny mackay 10 5 26

Wyoming Industry Leaders Say Manufacturing Jobs Can Stop Youth From Leaving State

With 70% of Wyoming's graduates leaving by the time they're 30, industry leaders say manufacturing is the key to stopping the brain drain. Wyoming Business Alliance Dir. Renny McKay says Sheridan is an example of what a manufacturing center can look like.

Renée JeanOctober 05, 2026

At $7.7M, Centennial Ranch Offers Jackson Hole Luxury At About A Third The Price

Cross Creek Ranch is a 372-acre spread that offers Jackson Hole-level luxury in the Snowy Range near Centennial. It is publicly listed for the first time at $7.7 million, while comparable home in Jackson would run about $30 million, its agent says.

Renée JeanOctober 04, 2026

Western artist Bob Coronato at his Rogues Gallery in Hulett, where he sells a variety of western curios and art. Coronato believes he’s spotted a new high-dollar art scheme that uses AI to generate high-quality Western paintings.

Wyoming Artists Say AI Fakes And Asian Sweatshops Threaten Western Art Market

Prominent Wyoming artists say they're seeing a wave of AI fakes and Asian sweatshops producing fraudulent Western art posing as the real deal. “It takes like five minutes to generate 35 paintings” using a 99-cent app, said Hulett artist Bob Coronato.

Renée JeanOctober 03, 2026

NJ Pawely working in his Cody, Wyoming, blacksmith shop.

Cody Blacksmith N.J. Pawley Wasn’t An Artist — Until Robert Redford Told Him He Was

“Artist” wasn’t a word Cody blacksmith N.J. Pawley ever used for himself. He was a farrier and horse trainer who made things from steel so he could shoe horses. Then Robert Redford told him he was truly an artist. “He changed my whole damn life,” he said.

Renée JeanOctober 03, 2026

Cadaver dogs are helping Wyoming historians search for Oregon Trail graves that time, weather and development have nearly erased. The dogs can provide clues that are tested against dairies and other evidence to mark pioneer graves.

Cadaver Dogs Are Sniffing Out Lost Graves On Wyoming’s Oregon Trail Route

The Oregon Trail has been called the nation's longest graveyard. Cadaver dogs are helping Wyoming historians search for Oregon Trail graves that time, weather and development have nearly erased. “It’s a constant battle for preservation,” one historian said.

Renée JeanOctober 03, 2026

Centennial has endured 150 years of change, from timber and mining booms to tourism. Now residents of the Snowy Range town say short-term rentals make housing hard to find, squeeze local businesses and threaten its wild Wyoming spirit.

As It Turns 150, Centennial Is Growing But Not By People Who Plan To Live Here

Centennial has endured 150 years of change, from timber and mining booms to tourism. Now residents of the Snowy Range town say people buying homes and turning them into short-term rentals squeeze local businesses because employees can't afford to live here.

Renée JeanOctober 03, 2026

Billionaire Joe Ricketts Revives Plan To Build Bondurant Valley Resort

Billionaire Joe Ricketts has filed a permit application for a 94,141-square-foot resort called The Confluence at his ranch near Bondurant, reviving an idea he abandoned in 2024. The new resort would be 59% smaller than his previous Homestead Resort.

Renée JeanSeptember 29, 2026

The iconic Jackson Hole destination named Snow King Hotel since 1976 has been rebranded as Trailborn Jackson Hole.

After Nearly 90 Years, Snow King Resort Hotel No Longer Called Snow King

Since 1938, Snow King Mountain Resort has been one of Jackson Hole’s most recognizable ski destinations. Now after nearly 90 years, the hotel at its base has been rebranded as “Trailborn Jackson Hole.” The resort hotel has traded its 1970s chalet vibe for high-end boutique amenities and a new restaurant.

Renée JeanSeptember 28, 2026

Jackson safari Screenshot 2026 09 27 at 11 23 25 AM 9 27 26

Grand Teton National Park In Autumn: A Perfect Time For Wildlife-Watchers And Stargazers

For travelers who want to pair wildlife viewing with stargazing, autumn is hard to beat in Grand Teton National Park. Crowds are thinning, elk are in the rut, astronomical darkness comes earlier, and moonless evenings make the Milky Way easier to see.

Renée JeanSeptember 27, 2026

Other Authors

Yoga and goat yoga are among the wellness options that attract people to the Brush Creek Ranch near Saratoga looking for a Wyoming vacation while improving their health.

Goat Yoga And High Tech Healing: Inside Wyoming's Booming Wellness Tourism Trend

Wyoming visitors are saying they want more than Yellowstone, skiing and roughing it in the outdoors. They want a reset, and that demand is fueling a booming health tourism industry with everything from goat yoga to high-tech thermal experiences.

Renée JeanSeptember 27, 2026

After 14 months on the market, the 558-acre Miner Creek Ranch near Bondurant wasn't moving closer to a sale, even after dropping the listing price from $20 million to $15 million. When the ranch was scheduled for a no-reserve auction, that spurred a frenzy of interest that resulted in a preemptive offer to buy the ranch before the auction could be held.

How A Trophy Bondurant Ranch Used Pre-Auction Panic To Force A $15 Million Sale

After 14 months without a buyer, a Bondurant ranch played a high-stakes game of real estate poker by putting the property up for a no-reserve auction. The resulting panic prompted a buyer to make a preemptive $15 million offer the ranch couldn’t refuse.

Renée JeanSeptember 27, 2026

Many of those serving at F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne have something in common with Lucy Rose — they know what it’s like to be lonely. Rose was at the base this week on her cross-country trip to fight loneliness.

Lucy Rose Was Lonely, So She Started A Road Trip And A Public Health Initiative

Lucy Rose is walking across 17 states, including Wyoming, to confront loneliness. The founder of a public health initiative to combat chronic loneliness, she says the condition is caustic to our health. “We lose years of our life when we don’t connect."

Renée JeanSeptember 27, 2026

Cheyenne wasn’t on the itinerary for a British tour group traveling the American West recently on its way to an Alaska cruise. Then James Muessing said AI told them to hit Wyoming’s capital city and see one of its famous 1.2 million-pound Big Boy locomotives.

British Tour Company Raves About Cheyenne After AI Told Them To Visit

Cheyenne wasn’t on the itinerary for a British tour group recently on its way to an Alaska cruise. Then AI told them to hit Wyoming’s capital city. Now, the company is looking at making Cheyenne the starting city on its Wonders of the Wild West tour.

Renée JeanSeptember 26, 2026

Popular Cooking With Congress Creator Hosts Cheyenne Presidential Dinner Party

The creator of the popular Cooking With Congress series that delves into American history through food hosted a recent Cheyenne presidential dinner party. Diners ate bison steak like Teddy Roosevelt, drank a Kennedy and nibbled jelly beans like Reagan.

Renée JeanSeptember 26, 2026

Rich Wilson is greeted by one of the unadoptable wild mustangs who lives on the Deerwood Ranch. These older wild horses don't typically approach people, but many will watch from a distance.

Inside Centennial Valley’s Deerwood Ranch, First-Of-Its-Kind Wild Horse Sanctuary

Longtime Wyoming ranchers have converted their Centennial Valley spread into the nation’s only BLM-certified wild horse sanctuary on private land. Now the Deerwood Ranch and its 350 mustangs are a big draw for guided tours, weddings and Airbnb stays.

Renée JeanSeptember 26, 2026

Kevin Kolenda saratoga ice fishing 2 3 25

Connecticut Man Pleads Guilty To 2018 Saratoga Fishing Derby Scam, Faces 20 Years

A Connecticut man pleaded guilty last week to scamming the 2018 Saratoga Ice Fishing Derby. He sold an insurance policy against the derby’s $10,000 prize, and when someone caught the fish, he didn’t pay out. Kevin Kolenda faces up to 20 years in prison.

Renée JeanSeptember 21, 2026

Chancey Williams on horseback at the 2023 Cheyenne Frontier Days.

Country Music Star Chancey Williams Says Success Rooted In Wyoming

Moorcroft native Chancey Williams has shared stages with Toby Keith, played the Grand Ole Opry, and is in the Cheyenne Frontier Days Hall of Fame. Despite his rise as a country music star, he says he looks forward to coming home to Wyoming the most.

Renée JeanSeptember 20, 2026

Moving day for this autentic 1800s Chinese laundry and bath house, which now sits at the Pioneer Village in Lander.

Forgotten Lander Cabin Discovered To Be Historic 140-Year-Old Chinese Laundry

A forgotten cabin hiding behind a building on Lander’s Main Street was discovered to be the 140-year-old Chinese laundry of Sam Sing, an early and influential resident. The owner "was using the laundry as a storage shed,” said the local museum director.

Renée JeanSeptember 20, 2026