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

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

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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

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

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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

Other Authors

Dennis Faerber, standing, watches archaelogists work at the Ladder Ranch during efforts to find the long-lost Jim Baker battle site. Inset is a portrait of Baker, circa 1876.

Savery Rancher Won’t Stop Searching For Jim Baker’s Long Lost 1841 Battle Site

Savery-area rancher Dennis Faerber has spent 18 years searching around the Little Snake River Valley for Jim Baker’s Long Lost 1841 battle site. He, and the Wyoming state archaeologist, believe they’re close to solving a 185-year-old mystery.

Renée JeanSeptember 20, 2026

Jackson Hole has never lacked for luxury, but Wyoming's newest $400 million private enclave takes stealth wealth to a whole new level at Teton Village, where memberships — on top of buying one of the 25 private club condos — start at $150,000 a year.

Inside The Exclusive $400 Million Hoback Club’s Ultra-Luxe Teton Village Homes

Jackson Hole has never lacked for luxury, but its newest $400 million private enclave takes stealth wealth to a whole new level at Teton Village. Cowboy State Daily scored a rare tour inside the Hoback Club’s 25 newly opened private club condos.

Renée JeanSeptember 19, 2026

Frontieras and Western Fuels are exploring a coal-to-products facility near Gillette that could employ 200 and be part of a $10 billion network.

Gillette Part Of $10B Plan To Make Products From Coal Instead Of Burning It

Gillette is part of a $10 billion plan to build a network of coal-to-products plants that a pair of companies say will do a lot more things with coal than just burning it. Wyoming is “a natural place to prove coal can be commercialized,” they say.

Renée JeanSeptember 18, 2026

Former Wagon Box restaurant celebrity chef Vincent Fiore, left, chats with owner Paul McNiel in a file photo.

Wagon Box Celebrity Chef Quits, Owner Says ‘Haters And Losers’ Pushed Him Out

The restaurant at the Wagon Box in Story, Wyoming, is closed after its celebrity chef abruptly quit amid an ongoing rift between ownership and some local residents. The owner says a contingent of “haters and losers” pushed the chef out.

Renée JeanSeptember 18, 2026

National High School Finals Rodeo Is Returning To Gillette Cam-Plex A Year Early

The National High School Finals Rodeo will be returning to Gillette in 2027, giving it three consecutive years before the event moves to Oklahoma in 2030. The NHSFR has a $25 million economic impact on Gillette, which has hosted it more than any city.

Renée JeanSeptember 15, 2026

The State of Wyoming paid $1.8 million for Star Plunge in Hot Springs State Park. Now it might need to spend $1 million to demolish it.

Wyoming Paid $1.8 Million For Star Plunge — And Might Spend $1 Million To Demolish

Wyoming spent two years and $1.8 million in public money to buy the historic Star Plunge water park in Hot Springs State Park. Now severe electrical problems and gas leaks mean it might have to spend another $1 million just to tear down the property.

Renée JeanSeptember 15, 2026

Camporee, Giant Youth Camping Event That Brought 60,000 To Gillette, Won't Return

International Pathfinder Camporee, a youth camping event that brought more than 60,000 people to Gillette in 2024, is headed back to its longtime home in Wisconsin, leaving a $1.6 million amphitheater and a $125,000 deposit behind.

Renée JeanSeptember 14, 2026

Modern X-ray technology has proven that a pair of rare Lewis and Clark peace medals in the Buffalo Bill Center of the West’s collection for decades are the real deal. One is one of only three of its size given out during the explorers’ 1804 expedition.

Buffalo Bill Center Confirms It Has Rare 1804 Lewis & Clark Expedition Peace Medals

Modern technology has confirmed that two rare Jefferson peace medals in the Buffalo Bill Center of the West collection are authentic artifacts from the 1804 Lewis and Clark expedition. "It’s a profoundly significant find," museum curators said.

Renée JeanSeptember 13, 2026

Calves are rounded up for branding just below the Wyoming border on the Ladder Ranch’s cattle operation. The ranch also runs extensive sheep grazing on generational land that straddles the Wyoming-Colorado border just down the road from Savery.

How Savery’s 145-Year-Old Ladder Ranch Is Beating The 'Third-Generation Curse’

Legacy ranches across Wyoming are folding, and many of those remaining struggle to survive the "third-generation curse." Then there's the historic 145-year-old Ladder Ranch in the Little Snake River Valley with its fifth and sixth generations lined up.

Renée JeanSeptember 13, 2026