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

Chef Vincent Fiore was touring Wyoming filming for his new television series “Cookin With Cowboys” when he stumbled on the Wagon Box Inn in Story. Fiore will take the struggling restaurant over starting this month.

Story's Wagon Box Inn Lands Celebrity Chef Vincent Fiore

Celebrity Chef Vincent Fiore didn’t have Story, Wyoming, on the itinerary for his new "Cookin' With Cowboys" episodes, which stream on YouTube. But the Wise Guy Kitchen chef is always up for a new adventure - like taking over as chef at Wagon Box Inn.

Renée JeanJanuary 04, 2026

Jackson Hole buyers often have to choose between grand valley views or seclusion. This home on Trader Road is that rare exception, being secluded with views. It’s listing for $15.9 million.

Even In Jackson Hole, This $15.9 Million Home Stands Out — Secluded With Views

Jackson Hole buyers often have to choose between grand valley views or seclusion. A home on Trader Road is that rare exception, being secluded with views. It’s listing for $15.9 million.

Renée JeanDecember 31, 2025

This silver coin is a piece of eight, so-named because it could be cut into eight pieces for trading. The coin's collectible value is still worth more than its mere metal value. The silver is worth $70 or so dollars, but as a collectible, the coin is worth about $600.

Record Prices Have Wyoming Silver Owners On Alert As Global Demand Surges

With prices for silver hitting record highs as the year closes out, some in Wyoming are selling their silver. But other silver bugs are holding on, expecting prices to continue climbing.

Renée JeanDecember 30, 2025

Laramie band Winston Creek will be one of the Wyoming acts performing at the first Outlaw Music Festival in Kaycee. The event was created to fill the void left by the ending of the popular Chris LeDoux Days.

No More Chris LeDoux Days? No Problem. Kaycee’s Outlaw Music Fest Takes Its Place

For 15 years, Chris LeDoux Days in Kaycee was a mainstay of Wyoming's summer music scene. Now that it’s over, locals have organized a new Outlaw Music Festival to take its place.

Renée JeanDecember 27, 2025

The research happening at Wyoming’s supercomputer facility in Cheyenne is about much more than climate change. It’s led to fundamental breakthroughs that have made many pursuits safer, ranging from fighting wildfires to flying jets.

Researchers Fight To Keep Wyoming's NCAR Supercomputer Alive

Researchers, many of whom are Trump supporters, say the president is getting bad advice about defunding Wyoming's NCAR supercomputer. They say NCAR is responsible for breakthroughs that have made many things safer, ranging from fighting wildfires to flying jets.

Renée JeanDecember 27, 2025

Shawn Norby holds a sign explaining the Star Plunge water park and hot springs in Thermopolis was closed Jan. 14, 2025, a day earlier than expected, as a dispute continues between the state and the facility's owners/operators.

One Year Later, Star Plunge Hot Springs Still Closed As Legal Stalemate Continues

Almost a year after the popular Star Plunge at Hot Springs State Park abruptly closed, it remains shut. A legal stalemate over who will operate the attraction continues.

Renée JeanDecember 26, 2025

Renee Jean: Prison Gave Pete Bass A Second Chance In Life

Renee Jean writes, "Pete's lived a life that sounds like it came from a movie, and I was immediately hooked into listening. It starts with him running away from home to Hollywood, where he was almost raped. "That scared him back home, but didn’t scare him straight. Eventually, his drug addictions landed him in prison. "But remarkably, he’s not bitter about any of that. He sees that as God’s way of offering him a second chance in life. A chance that he embraced."

Renée JeanDecember 24, 2025

An investment broker is flooding Facebook with ads insinuating NVIDIA may be coming to Kemmerer and that the small Wyoming town is ground zero for minting the nation’s next millionaires. A Wyoming finance watchdog says don’t bet the farm on it.

Despite Aggressive Facebook Hype, No Evidence NVIDIA Is In Or Coming To Kemmerer

An investment broker is flooding Facebook with ads insinuating NVIDIA may be in or coming to Kemmerer and that the small Wyoming town is ground zero for minting the nation’s next millionaires. A Wyoming finance watchdog says don’t bet the farm on it.

Renée JeanDecember 24, 2025

Cheyenne’s Historic 1892 Pumphouse is getting a reprieve from the wrecking ball, with Cheyenne City Council replacing a resolution that called for its demolition with one that calls for restoring it to use again.

Cheyenne’s Historic 1892 Pumphouse Saved From The Wrecking Ball — For Now

Cheyenne’s Historic 1892 Pumphouse is getting a reprieve from the wrecking ball, with the Cheyenne City Council replacing a resolution that set a deadline for its demolition with one that calls for restoring it to use again.

Renée JeanDecember 24, 2025

Freddie Johnson entertaining folks during a tour of the Buffalo Trace Distillery in Kentucky. He will bring his shtick to Yellowstone National Park’s wilderness in a glass-walled tasting room where the buffalo roam.

Holding A Whiskey-Tasting In A Glass Box In The Middle Of The Wyoming Wilderness

Kentucky-based Buffalo Trace Distillery is holding a whiskey-tasting in a custom-built room with floor-to-ceiling glass walls in the Wyoming wilderness near Yellowstone this summer. They say the secret location will be in the middle of a bison herd.

Renée JeanDecember 21, 2025

Vince and Warren Meyer are making sure the Santa Go Pokes legend lives on for Christmas.

Go Pokes! Despite Death Of Steamboat's Owner, Lighted Wyoming Santa Rides On.

For more than two decades, thousands of people each year drive by a Cheyenne house to see a lighted 10-foot Santa riding Steamboat, Wyoming's iconic bucking bronco. Despite the death of its owner earlier this year, her family continues the "Santa Go Pokes!" tradition.

Renée JeanDecember 20, 2025

Wyoming Awards $100 Million To BWXT For Nuclear Fuel Plant In Gillette

Gov. Mark Gordon on Friday announced that $100 million in matching funds will be awarded to BWXT to build a nuclear fuel plant in Gillette. He said the award is about ensuring Wyoming is competitive with other states that are also vying for these projects.

Renée JeanDecember 20, 2025

Other Authors

With New Sublette County Helium Plant, Wyoming Will Supply 30% Of World's Helium

A new helium plant in Sublette County will boost Wyoming’s share of global helium output to about 30% and generate nearly $2 billion in taxes and royalties. The plant begins construction on May 1, 2026.

Renée JeanDecember 19, 2025

Five Wyoming Measles Cases Linked To Out-Of-State Travel

Wyoming health officials are urging people to protect vulnerable children and those who have compromised immune systems from the measles, following five new cases identified in Fremont County. The new cases were traced to out-of-state travel.

Renée JeanDecember 19, 2025

Wind-Whipped Fire Forces Cheyenne Families To Abandon Homes, Christmas Presents

Families scrambled to evacuate themselves and their pets after 70 mph winds sparked a fire south of Cheyenne on Wednesday evening threatening two subdivisions. More than 100 firefighters converged to put out the grassfires and 40 homes remained evacuated.

Renée JeanDecember 18, 2025

EPA Launches Final Cleanup Push at Laramie’s Long-Polluted Metals Site

Decades after arsenic contamination shut down the Nedlog and Williams Strategic Metals plant south of Laramie, the EPA is moving ahead with a plan to finally finish removing arsenic and mercury from the site.

Renée JeanDecember 17, 2025

Parishioners of Sts. Cyril and Methodius Catholic Church in Rock Springs are fighting to save a century-old church now slated for closure and sale to fund a new parish campus.

Historic Rock Springs Church Faces Closure After A Century Of Worship

A historic 100-year-old Catholic church in Rock Springs has been closed and is to be put up for sale to help fund a new parish campus. Parishioners have formed a nonprofit to try to buy and preserve it as a sacred, historic church.

Renée JeanDecember 17, 2025

Inside A Jackson Hole Family's Fight To Keep The Diamond Cross Ranch Going

A Wyoming family shares an inside view of their struggles to ranch in pricey Jackson Hole and pass their ranch on to the next generation. It’s part of a new eight-part Cowboy Channel documentary that started Sunday.

Renée JeanDecember 16, 2025

Wyoming’s infamous winter winds were in full force this week, leaving dozens of blown-over semitrailers littered across the state’s highways. Just off I-25 in Chugwater, it was even too windy to pour a cup of coffee.

Just Off I-25 In Chugwater, It’s Too Windy Even For A Cup Of Coffee

Wyoming’s infamous winter wind was in full force this week, leaving dozens of blown-over semitrailers littered across the state’s highways. Just off I-25 in Chugwater, it was too windy even to pour a cup of coffee.

Renée JeanDecember 13, 2025

Nebraska ranchers built a producer-owned beef plant that’s reviving North Platte’s shrinking economy. Wyoming ranchers like the idea but say it’s challenging to copy in the Cowboy State.

Cattle Ranchers Revive Nebraska Town With Bold Producer-Owned Beef Plant

Nebraska’s new producer-owned packing plant opened in May and is among the first to be built in America in a generation. It’s also an experiment that’s already rewriting the future for a small western town that was once the fastest shrinking community in Nebraska.

Renée JeanDecember 13, 2025

Longmire Author Craig Johnson Embarks On Annual Christmas Story Tour

A real-life skunk encounter inspired Wyoming author Craig Johnson’s annual ‘Longmire’ Christmas story this year. Johnson will read the story at libraries across Wyoming and Montana, a tradition more than 20 years old.

Renée JeanDecember 12, 2025

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