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.
Latest from Renée Jean
Pioneer Town At Little Snake River Museum In Savery Takes Students Back To Days Of Old
Snow still tops Baker Mountain looking down on Little Snake River Museum in this hamlet near the Wyoming - Colorado border east of Baggs, Wyoming. More than 100 children gathered at the museum to celebrate the annual Pioneer Day.
Renée JeanMay 18, 2025
Beartooth Basin Will Open For Summer Skiing For First Time In Three Years
Beartooth Basin near Cody is America’s only ski resort that operates exclusively in the summer. Unlike other ski resorts where summer skiing could happen, Beartooth Basin, which will open for the first time in three years, doesn’t open for the winter at all.
Renée JeanMay 18, 2025
Why Alpacas Are So Popular In The Rocky Mountains
Alpacas are becoming more popular as a cash crop in Wyoming and the Rocky Mountain region. At the Great Western Alpaca Show in Cheyenne, producers said they prized for their soft, luxurious wool — and are great with kids.
Renée JeanMay 18, 2025
Record Prices Have Triggered A New Kind Of Gold Rush — Jewelry Sales
Record gold prices have people around Wyoming cleaning out their jewelry drawers and hitting up gold buyers for cash in a new kind of gold rush. One gold buyer in Cheyenne estimates his traffic is up 50%.
Renée JeanMay 17, 2025
Local Food Trend A Growing $24 Million Economic Force In Wyoming
The Lucky Buffalo Farm Stand near Burns is part of a growing local food trend in Wyoming. Already injecting $24 million a year into the state’s economy, local food venues have been a rising trend since Wyoming adopted the Food Freedom Act in 2015.
Renée JeanMay 17, 2025
Two Pizzas Bought With Bitcoin In 2010 Would Be Worth $815 Million Today
In 2010, a Florida man bought two pizzas worth about $41 with 10,000 bitcoins. Today, those bitcoins would be worth $815 million. Wyoming crypto leaders say that demonstrates how far digital currency has come and, like it or not, is the future.
Renée JeanMay 17, 2025
Stanley Hotel Sold In $400 Million Deal That Will See Huge Film Center Built
The historic Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado, has sold in a $400 million deal that will build on its cult horror fame as the setting for “The Shining.” The deal includes building a huge film center.
Renée JeanMay 16, 2025
Sheriff Longmire Actor Turns Down Paying Gigs To Be At Longmire Days
Fans of the hit television show “Longmire” will soon flood Buffalo for two days in author Craig Johnson’s fictional Absaroka County. Sheriff Longmire actor Robert Taylor loves the franchise so much he turns down paying gigs to be at Longmire Days.
Renée JeanMay 14, 2025
Second Major Helium Plant Planned For Southwest Wyoming
Wyoming already produces 20% of the world’s Grade A helium supply from one plant east of Kemmerer. Now it’s about to get another major helium plant in southwest Wyoming.
Renée JeanMay 12, 2025
More Tourists Discovering Small, Rural Wyoming Counties
Wyoming has long had a goal of encouraging tourism in other parts of the state other Teton County. In 2024, more tourists discovered small, rural Wyoming areas, with Crook and Sublette counties showing the biggest boost.
Renée JeanMay 11, 2025
Federal Cuts Have Wyoming Museums Scrambling At Start Of Busy Summer Season
Several Wyoming museums say they were caught by surprise when federal grants were cut. That’s left some on the hook for thousands of dollars as they scramble at the start of the busy summer season.
Renée JeanMay 11, 2025
Can You Catch ‘Food Poisoning?’ It’s Not Common, But, Yes, And Here’s How
Food-borne illnesses are among the most common in America, sickening more than 48 million each year. But can it be passed on to others? The answer is yes -- as a Cheyenne couple recently found out.
Renée JeanMay 10, 2025
Famous Cheyenne Gunslingers To Be Homeless, Have To Move From Downtown Spot
The famous Cheyenne Gunslingers will have to find a new spot for its Wild West shootouts. The city has approved another historical attraction to take over their location and now the Gunslingers, who delight crowds every summer by shooting each other, have to find a new home.
Renée JeanMay 10, 2025
Canadian Company Says There’s Still Plenty Of Gold Near Former Boom Town
"Thar's gold in them thar hills!" That's what a Canadian company is saying about the area near the old Carissa Mine near South Pass City. Thousands of miners went there in 1867 but never found the mother lode. This company says they have the technology to find it.
Renée JeanMay 10, 2025
Wyoming Could Capture Bigger Piece Of US Nuclear Power Than Just Mining Uranium
A pair of the major U.S. players in nuclear power announce a partnership to develop the industry across America — and Wyoming could be ground zero. There's potential for the state do more than just mine uranium.
Renée JeanMay 07, 2025
Wyoming’s Booming $2.2 Billion Outdoor Rec Tourism Stressing Some Communities
Pinedale is poised to double in size by 2040, growth that Town Councilman Scott Kosiba believes is due in no small part to the strength of a rapidly growing outdoor recreation economy. Call it a new economic model for boom towns, one driven in part by wealthy remote workers who can locate where they like to play, instead of just where they work.
Renée JeanMay 04, 2025
Lummis Behind Bill To Force U.S. Mint To Stop Making Pennies
With a $36 trillion national debt, wasteful government spending has to stop, says U.S. Sen. Cynthia Lummis. She said that’s why she’s behind a bill to make the U.S. Mint stop making pennies, which cost more than 3 cents per penny to make.
Renée JeanMay 04, 2025
It’s Taken 2 Years, But Revival Of Vintage Greybull K-Bar Motel Nearly Finished
Two years after starting a monumental DYI effort to restore and revive the vintage K-Bar Motel in Greybull, Amanda McGrew is nearly finished. And the kitschy vibe is already turning heads.
Renée JeanMay 03, 2025
How Will UPS Cutting 20,000 Jobs Impact Already Slow Wyoming Deliveries?
UPS is laying off 20,000 workers and closing 73 facilities. That has rural Wyoming residents wondering if the already slow-arriving deliveries they rely on are ever going to get through.
Renée JeanMay 03, 2025
Colorado Congresswoman Wants To De-Fund Front Range Passenger Rail Project
Colorado congresswoman Lauren Boebert wants DOGE to kill funding for a Front Range passenger rail project that has a potential to extend into Wyoming. That won’t happen, because the project is state-funded, not federal.
Renée JeanApril 30, 2025
Thunderbirds Continue 70-Plus-Year Run At Cheyenne Frontier Days On New Night
The U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds’ popular Cheyenne Frontier Days air show is moving to Saturday, July 26, so more people can see it. The aerial demonstration has been held at CFD every year but two since 1953.
Renée JeanApril 29, 2025