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RJ
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.

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Latest from Renée Jean

Charles Hoskinsons’ $250 million bid to put the “Mayo Clinic of the West” in Gillette, Wyoming, is ending, clinic leaders confirmed on Friday, with closure targeted for late summer. “The organization is no longer financially sustainable,” the clinic says.

Gillette’s Hoskinson Health Clinic To Close, 'No Longer Financially Sustainable'

Charles Hoskinson's plan to build the “Mayo Clinic of the West” in Gillette, Wyoming, is ending, clinic leaders confirmed on Friday, with closure targeted for late summer. “The organization is no longer financially sustainable,” the clinic says.

Renée JeanMay 22, 2026

Mason Stillman, right, talks to a colleague at Campbell County Health where he serves as a psychiatrist.

How Wyoming Is Bringing Doctors Back Home — And Keeping Them

A 30-year program is keeping Wyoming doctors in the Cowboy State, retaining up to 80% of its graduates. For a state that consistently ranks among the lowest in the nation for physicians per capita, that's a huge step forward.

Renée JeanMay 22, 2026

Wyoming regulators are cracking down on bar raffle games like Queen of Hearts and Music Bingo that raise money charities, saying they’re illegal gambling. Above, Brian "Alf" Grzegorczyk has helped raise more than $4.5 million for local charities through his Thankful Thursday events.

Charity Bar Games Getting Shut Down By Wyoming Gambling Crackdown

Wyoming regulators are cracking down on bar raffle games like Queen of Hearts and Music Bingo that raise money for charities, saying they’re illegal gambling. “Why is horse racing an exception, but not charity?” asks an event organizer. 

Renée JeanMay 21, 2026

Releases of up to 1 million acre-feet of water downriver from Flaming Gorge are gutting the gorge’s world-famous kokanee fishery and has marinas racing to survive. “This is like a holocaust for nature,” said one marina owner about the impact. Above, Buckboard Marina before last year's season. The water level is dramatically lower now, and getting lower.

Flaming Gorge Marinas Race To Survive As 1M Acre-Feet Of Water Sent Downriver

Releases of up to 1 million acre-feet of water downriver from Flaming Gorge are gutting the gorge’s world-famous kokanee fishery and has marinas racing to survive. “This is like a holocaust for nature,” said one marina owner about the impact.

Renée JeanMay 20, 2026

A long line of people formed on both sides of the room during an emotional, four-hour hearing before the Public Services Committee on a moratorium for new data centers.

Cheyenne City Committee Won’t Support — Or Reject — Data Center Moratorium

Cheyenne’s Public Service Committee didn’t endorse or reject a 12-month moratorium on new data centers after hours of emotional testimony Monday. State legislators say the clash exposes issues the Wyoming Legislature may need to address.

Renée JeanMay 19, 2026

Paul Hutton looking over items in the auction, and trying to decide if the Buffalo Bill Center of the West will bid on anything.

Wyoming Museums Can’t Afford Historic Wild West Items So They Go To Auction

A glass negative of Butch Cassidy’s prison photo and Sitting Bull’s contract to be in Buffalo Bill’s ‘Wild West Show’ are among the items in a Western auction. Authenticity questions and steep prices put them out of reach for most Wyoming museums.

Renée JeanMay 17, 2026

Eldon Hongo quit a six-figure career to do what he really loves — training bird dogs — and made just $12,000 his first year. Now the Cheyenne-area trainer’s resume includes 17 national champion bird dogs and a reputation as the best in the business.

Wyoming People: Eldon Hongo Traded 6-Figure Career To Train Champion Bird Dogs

Eldon Hongo quit a six-figure career to do what he really loves — training bird dogs — and made just $12,000 his first year. Now the Cheyenne-area trainer’s resume includes 17 national champion bird dogs and a reputation as the best in the business.

Renée JeanMay 17, 2026

Rather than a luxury expansion, the new owners of Meadowlark Ski Resort in Washakie County plan to keep it small. “There are going to be some skeptics” because “you have a group from Florida who came in and bought a mountain,” the new owner admits.

New Owner Of Meadowlark Ski Resort Says He Wants To Keep It Small

Rather than a luxury expansion, the new owners of Meadowlark Ski Resort in Washakie County plan to keep it small. “There are going to be some skeptics” because “you have a group from Florida who came in and bought a mountain,” the new owner said.

Renée JeanMay 15, 2026

Wyoming’s world-famous Fossil Cabin was built from more than 6,000 dinosaur bones, weighs 52 tons and was a target for vandals along U.S. Highway 30. It made a nail-biting, 7-mile crawl this week to a new permanent home at the Medicine Bow Museum.

Wyoming’s Fossil Cabin, ‘World’s Oldest Building,’ Moved To Medicine Bow Museum

Wyoming’s world-famous Fossil Cabin was built from more than 6,000 dinosaur bones, weighs 52 tons and was a target for vandals along U.S. Highway 30. It made a nail-biting, 7-mile crawl this week to a new permanent home at the Medicine Bow Museum.

Renée JeanMay 15, 2026

Russia’s state-run nuclear company owned Wyoming uranium assets until 2021. How that happened remains murky, wrapped in closed federal reviews. “No one knows how they got permits,” says the CEO of Uranium Energy Corp., which eventually bought out the Russians.

How Russia Controlled A Huge Chunk Of Wyoming Uranium, And How Wyoming Got It Back

Russia’s state-run nuclear company owned Wyoming uranium assets until 2021. How that happened remains murky, wrapped in closed federal reviews. “No one knows how they got permits,” says the CEO of the U.S. company that eventually bought out the Russians.

Renée JeanMay 14, 2026

Quality Technology Services data center Georgia Elijah Nouvelage Bloomberg via Getty Images 5 13 26

Georgia 30 Million Gallon Water Grab Puts Cheyenne Data Centers Under New Scrutiny

When a Georgia data center quietly drew 30 million gallons of water during a drought, no one noticed until residents’ water pressure dropped. This controversy is causing concern in Cheyenne where 70-some data centers are in various stages of discussion.

Renée JeanMay 14, 2026

Wyoming’s already hot nuclear sector just went global, with Taiwan and Wyoming signing an agreement on modular nuclear reactors to serve the island’s surging, AI-driven demand.

Wyoming Uranium Industry Could Boom With Taiwan's Embrace Of Nuclear

Wyoming’s already hot nuclear sector just went global, with Taiwan and Wyoming signing an agreement on modular nuclear reactors to serve the island’s surging, AI-driven demand. "This deal bodes well for Wyoming," said Wyoming mining honcho Travis Deti.

Renée JeanMay 12, 2026

Other Authors

Lithium ion fire recovery 5 12 26

Wyoming Man Hospitalized After Exposure To Fumes During Lithium-Ion Battery Fire

A Daniel, Wyoming man who narrowly averted a fire in his home last week after a lithium-ion battery spontaneously combusted, has landed in the hospital after inhaling fumes from the burning battery. "It literally blew up kind of in our faces," he said.

Renée JeanMay 12, 2026

A surge of as many as 70 proposed data centers converging on Cheyenne has prompted one councilman to propose a moratorium on new construction. However, “an outright moratorium or a ban, that’s not our way,” says Mayor Patrick Collins.

Cheyenne Residents Push For 12-Month Moratorium On Data Centers

A surge of as many as 70 proposed data centers converging on Cheyenne has rallied residents and a councilman to propose a 12-month moratorium on new construction. However, “an outright moratorium or a ban, that’s not our way,” says Mayor Patrick Collins.

Renée JeanMay 11, 2026

A dog named Charlie a Wyoming couple rescued from a California shelter running off with a whiteout blizzard on the way triggered a 24-hour search. It was a miracle, Charlie’s owners believe, that a newlywed couple in the middle of nowhere found him. 

Newlyweds On A Hike Find California Rescue Dog Lost In A Wyoming Whiteout

A couple in remote southeastern Wyoming thought they might never see their new rescue dog again after he disappeared in a spring snowstorm last week. But 24 hours later, a pair of newlyweds hiking through the area spotted the shivering dog and saved him.

Renée JeanMay 10, 2026

HistoriCorps staff and volunteers carrying a replacement sill log at Gillespie Place.

Saving The Forgotten 116-Year-Old Cabin Of Wyoming’s Copper Queen

The 116-year-old historic cabin of Sara Gillespie — aka Wyoming’s Copper Queen — was all but forgotten and crumbling until it was rediscovered in 2010. Now an urgent effort is underway to save what was known a century ago as “Gillespie Palace."

Renée JeanMay 09, 2026

As the state’s data center industry booms, Wyomingites want to know where the water is coming from. The  Select Water Committee dove into that Thursday, as critics clashed over property rights, supply, and impacts for one of the nation’s driest states. Above, work continues Friday, May 8, 2026, at the site of a Meta data center being built in south Cheyenne.

As Data Centers Boom, Wyomingites Want To Know Where The Water’s Coming From

As the state’s data center industry booms, Wyomingites want to know where the water is coming from. The  Select Water Committee dove into that Thursday, as critics clashed over property rights, supply, and impacts for one of the nation’s driest states.

Renée JeanMay 08, 2026

Tourism spending overall is up in Thermopolis, but short-term rental owners say the Star Plunge closure has gutted their bookings for a second summer. "We know it’s closed, so we’re just not going up there,” a potential visitor told a local Airbnb owner.

For Second Summer, Star Plunge Closure Kills Short-Term Bookings In Thermopolis

Tourism spending overall is up in Thermopolis, but short-term rental owners say the Star Plunge closure has gutted their bookings for a second summer. "We know it’s closed, so we’re just not going up there,” a potential visitor told a local Airbnb owner.

Renée JeanMay 07, 2026

Gas pipeline construction Jim Parkin via Alamy 5 6 26

Bridger Oil Pipeline Filling Fast, Has Commitments To Move 400,000 Barrels A Day

Bridger Pipeline says it already has commitments for around 400,000 barrels per day of crude oil. That’s roughly 89% of the volume the company has said it needs to green-light construction of the 650-mile pipeline which would terminate in Guernsey.

Renée JeanMay 07, 2026

James Morey, Jr. and Diana Gunderson hold up an identical battery pack (left) to the one that blew up and caught fire (upper right and lower right).

"It Just Blew Up": Wyoming Couple Jolted Awake When Lithium-Ion Battery Catches Fire

A lithium-ion battery caught fire at a Daniel couple’s home as they were waking up on Tuesday. “The flames, my God, I couldn’t believe it,” Jack Morey said. “It just blew up and shot flames I’d say about a foot up.” 

Renée JeanMay 06, 2026

BWXT has lined up a buyer as its first customer for the $500 million TRISO nuclear fuel plant it’s building in Gillette. “Once you have a licensed nuclear facility, it’s a very powerful asset,” a company official said about potential for more customers.

BWXT Has First Customer, Partner For Its $500 Million Nuclear Fuel Plant In Gillette

BWXT has lined up its first customer for the $500 million TRISO nuclear fuel plant it’s building in Gillette. “Once you have a licensed nuclear facility, it’s a very powerful asset,” a company official said about the potential for more customers.

Renée JeanMay 06, 2026

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