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
The Brewster Brothers: 134 Years Of Cheyenne Frontier Days In Two Cowboy Hats
Cheyenne Frontier Days has 2,700 volunteers, many of them multigenerational. Among them are the Brewster brothers, who have 134 years of volunteering between them. "Our grandfather was on the Frontier Days parade in the '20s, so it’s family here.”
Renée JeanJuly 25, 2026
Lander's 'Mountain Man' Makes Daughter Give Public Apology For Ding-Dong Ditching
History Channel's "Mountain Men" star Josh Kirk wan't going to let his teen daughter get away with ding-dong ditching homes in Lander, so he made her own up to her actions and issue a public apology. “Even though it was peer pressure, that’s not an excuse,” she said.
Renée JeanJuly 25, 2026
A Head Injury Nearly Killed Her, Now She’s Competing At Cheyenne Frontier Days
After a devastating head injury nearly ended her life, barrel racer Anita Ellis is on an inspiring comeback trail that runs through Cheyenne Frontier Days. “I don’t really get intense or worry about stuff now. It’s in God’s hands,” she said.
Renée JeanJuly 25, 2026
Cowboys, Crap And 1,900 Pounds Of Laundry: The Dirty Side Of Cheyenne Frontier Days
Behind the scenes, Cheyenne's Courtney Shillenn and her Drop N Dash laundry crew are washing away the dust, the mud, the blood, and the poop at Cheyenne Frontier Days. A half-month's worth of dirty clothes have spun through their machines in five days.
Renée JeanJuly 24, 2026
Meet The Cheyenne Leatherman Repairing Heirlooms — And Reviving A Lost Skill
In an era of mass-produced, throwaway goods, Cheyenne craftsman Rob Underwood is different. Amid a surge in western culture popularity, he demonstrated old-world leatherman skills during Cheyenne Frontier Days, hoping to keep a dying trade alive.
Renée JeanJuly 24, 2026
2,000-Acre Wyoming Homestead On Market For First Time Ever At $59.5 Million
For the first time since it was homesteaded 138 years ago, the 2,000-acre Hoback River Homestead is on the market. The legacy Wyoming ranch has the largest privately owned stretch of the Hoback River and is listed at $59.5 million.
Renée JeanJuly 23, 2026
‘Bareback Jack’ Rides Again: Ned LeDoux Launching Tribute Tour For Dad In Cheyenne
Fifty years after Ned LeDoux’s dad, Chris, won the PRCA bareback championship, his son is launching the “Bareback Jack” Tribute tour in Cheyenne, the city that helped start both his dad’s rodeo and music careers. The tour starts Friday, July 24.
Renée JeanJuly 23, 2026
Cheyenne Frontier Days' New Skybox Delivers Luxury — And An Over The Top View
Soft seats, catered food, and a commanding view — Cheyenne Frontier Days’ premium skybox experience already has fans. “The view above Chute 9 is incredible,” one said. “I think it’s going to be harder and harder to get these as people find out.”
Renée JeanJuly 22, 2026
Fans Still Pack Buffalo For Longmire Days, Even 9 Years After Last TV Episode
Fans still pack Buffalo for Longmire Days even nine years after the last “Longmire” TV episode aired. Author Craig Johnson created Sheriff Walt Longmire, and said fans "expect Walt Longmire to come walking down the sidewalk and see them at any time."
Renée JeanJuly 20, 2026
Inside The ‘Cowboy Starship,’ A $7.95 Million Off-Grid Mansion In Remote Wyoming
A Dubois man is betting a remote 9,000-square-foot, $7.95 million off-grid mansion made from reclaimed wood can lure Jackson Hole-level buyers across the Teton County line to Fremont County. “I have more wildlife on my ranch than Yellowstone,” he said.
Renée JeanJuly 19, 2026
Small Wyoming Towns Get Huge Economic Boost From Continental Divide Hikers
From burgers and ice cream in Atlantic City to showers in Lander to Thai food in Rawlins, hikers on the Continental Divide Trail are giving small Wyoming towns a big economic boost. “It’s put Atlantic City on the map,” said one local business owner.
Renée JeanJuly 19, 2026
National Geographic Profiles Wyoming’s Famous Hell’s Half Acre
National Geographic has raised the profile of Wyoming’s famous Hell’s Half Acre by featuring the alien landscape in its latest issue. It comes at a time when much of Hell’s Half Acre that had been inaccessible to the public for roughly 20 years is open again.
Renée JeanJuly 19, 2026
Opponents Of Massive Data Center In Uinta County Launch Petition For Court Review
Opponents of Prometheus Hyerpscale’s massive data center near Evanston are challenging permits and zoning for the project due to fears about water, energy, and land use. Supporters say the project is a rare lifeline for Uinta County’s struggling economy.
Renée JeanJuly 17, 2026
Why Microsoft Can Skip State Review For 3,500 More Data Center Acres In Cheyenne
Why can a project as massive as Microsoft’s planned 3,500-acre expansion avoid Wyoming’s Industrial Siting Council while wind farms and other major industrial facilities usually cannot? It’s not a loophole or a data-center-specific workaround. It's state law.
Renée JeanJuly 14, 2026
Gold Dust, Hoop Skirts And Cannon Booms: Gold Rush Days In South Pass City, Wyoming
Once a roaring gold capital, South Pass City, Wyoming, comes to life for one summer weekend every year for Gold Rush Days. There's cannon fire, gold panning, and guests who look the part in one of the West’s best-preserved Gold Rush towns.
Renée JeanJuly 14, 2026
Ranchlands Near Wheatland Eyed For $26 Billion 'Transformational' Data Center
A company called Site Layer 4 wants to rezone 5,344 acres of ranchland near Wheatland for a data center and power plant. The project, they say, adds 300 jobs and substantial tax revenue, but neighbors worry about water, wildlife and the viewshed.
Renée JeanJuly 13, 2026
Dubois Tootsie Roll Drop Remembers How Candy Saved ‘Frozen Chosin’ Marines In Korea
A candy drop at the National Museum of Military Vehicles in Dubois was more than just fun for kids. It honored the "Frozen Chosin" Marines who depended on Tootsie Rolls for calories, field repairs and sheer survival on minus-40 degree days in the Korean War.
Renée JeanJuly 12, 2026
From Wyoming Coal Miner’s Son To Closer: How Larry Morgan Achieved The American Dream
Born in a near ghost-town in Wyoming, Larry Morgan’s life is a rags to riches story that begins and ends in Wyoming. Yet he insists the real story isn’t about money so much as freedom — and he's got a best-selling book on Amazon that tells his tale.
Renée JeanJuly 12, 2026
Longtime Knifemaker Transforming Dubois' Outlaw Bar From Dive Into Destination
Dubois craftsman Ben Barto owns Bone Daddy Knives, a hobby turned big business that’s now bankrolling a transformation of Dubois' Outlaw Bar and giving the once-seedy watering hole a new vibe. “This was just a dump when we bought it,” Barto said.
Renée JeanJuly 12, 2026
America’s Longest Small Town: Why Route 66 Is The Quintessential American Experience
Historic U.S. Route 66 is America's longest small town — a 2,400-mile neighborhood that one historian calls the "quintessential American experience." 90-year-old Wayne Schell has driven the entire route dozens of times and continues to drive it today.
Renée JeanJuly 12, 2026
Cheyenne’s Habitat Fix Turns Eight Homes Into Affordable Housing For 12 Families
Two single moms shut out of Cheyenne’s starter-home market are among 12 families getting a chance at homeownership in a new Habitat for Humanity neighborhood. Once set for eight houses, it grew to 12 after Cheyenne rewrote building and zoning rules.
Renée JeanJuly 11, 2026