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

Maria Vargas styles hair at her salon on North Cache in Jackson. Vargas had to move out Monday because of a new hotel and residences project.

Jackson Hair Stylist Gets Booted For Gigantic 309,000-Square-Foot Hotel Project

Maria Vargas was exhausted and crying as she dismantled her hair salon stations in downtown Jackson on Monday. She was among a handful of remaining business owners who had a deadline to move out for an incoming 309,000 square-foot hotel project.

Renée JeanSeptember 01, 2026

The finish line is in place for what will be Wyoming's first 1-mile, horse racetrack.

Wyoming’s First 1-Mile Horse Track Sprinting Toward October Opening In Cheyenne

Crews are working around-the-clock to meet a Tuesday deadline that will determine whether Wyoming’s first 1-mile oval track will be up and running for an October debut at Cheyenne Park. The 16-day horse racing season could have $100,000 purses per day.

Renée JeanAugust 30, 2026

A Stargazer’s Retreat With Two Geodesic Domes Lists Near Hartville For $3.5 Million

Cedar Lights Retreat is a three-story, five-bedroom, four-bath almost-mansion tucked into 446 private acres bordering Guernsey State Park. The property, which comes with three of Wyoming’s top-rated Airbnbs (including two geodesic domes), is on the market for $3.499 million.

Renée JeanAugust 28, 2026

Tymber Cozzens races downfield during a Little Snake River 6-Man game last year.

From Baggs To Canada: Wyoming 6-Man Champs Fly To Saskatchewan For Season Opener

The Little Snake River Valley Rattlers raised thousands of dollars in the Baggs community to send its 6-Man football team to Canada for a preseason matchup Friday. It's only the second time a Wyoming high school team will play north of the border.

Renée JeanAugust 28, 2026

400 Southwest Wyoming Trona Mining Jobs On Hold As China Floods Soda Ash Market

About 400 jobs are on hold as Pacific Soda seeks to push back the start of its proposed $6 billion Dry Creek Trona Project in southwest Wyoming a year. The company is blaming China's flooding of the soda ash market and permit delays.

Renée JeanAugust 27, 2026

Ranch Eats owner Troy Strand said filling up his food truck Wednesday morning cost upwards of $265.

High Rates And $265 Fill-Ups: What Wyoming Businesses Want New Fed Chair To Know

As central bank bigwigs gather beneath the Tetons for their annual economy summit, Wyoming business owners want the new Fed chair to understand the economic tug-of-war they're facing amid $265 fill-ups for food trucks and inflated housing costs.

Renée JeanAugust 26, 2026

Trenton Thornock answers questions from a packed house in Evanston, where Prometheus Hyperscale held a meeting to answer the public's questions about a data center he's proposed on his family's ranch land

Prometheus Pushes Ahead On $32B Wyoming Data Centers As Legal Challenge Fades

Prometheus Hyperscale is pressing ahead with a massive data center near Evanston after a judge tossed opponents’ bid for an administrative review. Company officials say the $32 billion investment could boost county tax revenues by about 70%.

Renée JeanAugust 25, 2026

Needs Inc. Executive Director Kristen-Erin Balderas was happy to see the 42,700 pounds of potatoes they were delivered disappearing quickly into the hands of the community. There were no stipulations or donations required to take the potatoes. Just a willingness to ensure no food goes to waste.

What A Mountain Of Free Potatoes Says About The Economy

A 42,700-pound pile of free Idaho potatoes outside a Cheyenne food pantry drew retirees, union workers, young families and Good Samaritans. It offered a snapshot of how inflation is squeezing almost everyone.

Renée JeanAugust 24, 2026

One of six hot springs pools for soaking at Astoria Hot Springs Park in Jackson Hole.

Jackson's Astoria Hot Springs Offers Soak And Million-Dollar Views For Under $30

The collective charms of Astoria Hot Springs Park include milky turquoise water, wildlife sightings, and million-dollar mountain views along the Snake River. And because it's run by a nonprofit, the fee is less than $30, a bargain for Jackson Hole.

Renée JeanAugust 23, 2026

In America’s golden age of big bands and jazz, the tiny out-of-the-way Garden Spot Pavilion in Elk Mountain, Wyoming, drew the biggest names of the day. Louis Armstrong, Tommy Dorsey and Lawrence Welk were among the stars to play the Pavilion.

Louis Armstrong, Tommy Dorsey Among Big Names To Play Elk Mountain’s Garden Spot

In America’s golden age of big bands, the tiny out-of-the-way Garden Spot Pavilion in Elk Mountain drew the biggest names of the day. Louis Armstrong, Tommy Dorsey and others were on regular rotation to play to raucous, alcohol-fueled crowds until 4 a.m.

Renée JeanAugust 23, 2026

Sarah Kelly, from Pennsylvania, and Iyonna Young, from Maryland, learned firsthand Wyoming operates on its own level after they landed in Teton County armed with a color-coded schedule aimed at diving deep into their idea of an ideal Western getaway.

Two Eastern Greenhorns Get A Crash Course In Wyoming’s Western Ways

There’s a moment when every first-time Cowboy State visitor realizes Wyoming does not operate by the same laws of physics, fashion, or hospitality as the rest of the world. That’s what a pair of Eastern greenhorns learned when they landed in Jackson Hole.

Renée JeanAugust 23, 2026

The only deeded residential property on the eastern shore of Lake De Smet is for sale and priced at $7.5 million. Texaco owned the property, but it became a retreat with views of the lake, Bighorn Mountains and the legendary "Smetty" lake monster.

Only Home On Lake De Smet's Eastern Shore Is Available For $7.5 Million

The only deeded residential property on the eastern shore of Lake De Smet is for sale and priced at $7.5 million. Texaco once owned the property, but it became a retreat with views of the lake, Bighorn Mountains and the legendary "Smetty" lake monster.

Renée JeanAugust 23, 2026

Other Authors

A power substation with wind turbines in the background in Wyoming.

Why America’s Energy Grid Has To Change — And What It Means For Wyoming

To the “tech bros,” the future is simple. Either America rebuilds its energy grid fast, or it will hand the coming AI revolution — and the billions in economic impact that comes with it — to foreign countries, some of whom aren’t America’s friends.

Renée JeanAugust 22, 2026

Wyoming pumpjacks Getty Images 829782338 11 7 24

Wyoming 'Future-Proofs' Oil And Gas Industry With Nation's First Bonding Pool

On the heels of a Biden administration proposal to raise oil and gas bonding requirements by 1,900%, Wyoming is creating the nation’s first state-backed bonding pool to shield independent producers. "We're not on defense now," an industry spokesman said.

Renée JeanAugust 21, 2026

Payward/Kraken’s Co-CEO Arjun Sethi, right, talks with Eleanor Terrett with Crypto in America about the challenges the company faces. Kraken is a Wyoming-based company, which relocated its headquarters to the Cowboy State.

Who’s Who Of Digital Finance In Jackson To Talk Future Of Virtual Economies

Speculative crypto is out and blockchain is in. That's the message from a who's who of digital finance CEOs in Jackson about the future of virtual economies. Digital finance is growing up and out of "our puberty phase," says an expert.

Renée JeanAugust 18, 2026

5,500-Acre Wyoming Ranch And Hunting Destination Hits Market For Nearly $30M

The 5,582-acre Steiner Ranch in northeast Wyoming, a premiere spot for hunting trophy bull elk and mule deer, has just been listed for sale at nearly $30 million. Last year, Martha Stewart was at the ranch to study its farm-to-fork ecosystem.

Renée JeanAugust 17, 2026

Llamas Are Becoming A Big Tourism Draw At Farm In Elk Mountain, Wyoming

What began as an Elk Mountain girl’s FFA project has grown into a herd of party-going, trail-hiking llamas that draw visitors for farm tours, selfies, and wackiness. "They look like something from a Dr. Seuss book," says owner Steve Priest.

Renée JeanAugust 16, 2026

How A Sheridan Woman Turned Her Closet Into A Funky Worldwide Fashion Business

Laid off from a corporate job, Kelli Tracy started selling clothes out of her closet on Instagram. Ten years later, she owns Sheridan’s Lil Bee’s Bohemian and ships her '70s-inspired designs to people all over the world from her Wyoming storefront.

Renée JeanAugust 16, 2026

Old-timers in remote Elk Mountain, Wyoming — like Powd Boles — tell wild stories of survival in a place where wind blew so hard men had to crawl to the next ridge.

Elk Mountain Old-Timers Keep Remote Town’s Wild History Alive One Story At A Time

To preserve the town's legacy, old-timers in remote Elk Mountain, Wyoming, are sharing their tales for a film project. The blizzards were so bad, they say, you had to trust your horse to get home.

Renée JeanAugust 16, 2026

Dime Horseshoe Bar owner Jess Jones does an exhibition burnout ride during the annual contest in Sundance held during Sturgis Rally week.

Why Sturgis Riders Have Packed Sundance, Wyoming, For 50 Years Of Its Annual Burnout

Sturgis Motorcycle Rally riders have packed Sundance, Wyoming, for its annual burnout for more than 50 years. Legend has it the burnout started inside the Dime Horseshoe Bar. “The bigger the cloud of smoke is, the better,” says one rider.

Renée JeanAugust 15, 2026

Little Snake River Museum Director Lela Emmons talks about restoring the Niland cabin in the Medcine Bow-Routt National Forest, which is being restored.

Leeches, Lambs And Log Walls: Race Is On To Save Medicine-Bow’s Niland Cabin

High up in the Medicine Bow National Forest, a log cabin that once anchored one of Wyoming’s old range-sheep operations was in danger of being lost forever until the Little Snake River Museum stepped up. "There will be nothing left if we don’t preserve this cabin," they say.

Renée JeanAugust 15, 2026