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

Members of the Elk Fire Burned Area Emergency Response Team assess the damage left by the wildfire and what will need to be done to repair or mitigate damages or other threats, like potential for invasive weeds, mudslides and debris flows.

Scientists Map Out How Badly Elk Fire Damaged The 98,000 Acres It Ravaged

With the Elk Fire 88% contained and growing cooler, the problems are just beginning for the 98,000 acres of land ravaged by the wildfire. Scientists are now mapping out how badly the fire damaged the land and how to repair it.

Renée JeanNovember 03, 2024

Sheridan has a hot new French-Western fusion upscale dining spot called Le Reve, French for “The Dream.”

Eating Wyoming: Sheridan’s Le Reve Brings French Fusion To Historic Western Spot

Sheridan has a hot new upscale dining spot called Le Reve, French for “The Dream.” It’s a one-of-a-kind journey of the senses, bringing French-Western fusion to one of Sheridan’s most historic buildings.

Renée JeanNovember 02, 2024

Deal To Move Dodgers From Brooklyn To LA Was Signed During Wyoming Antelope Hunt

The Los Angeles Dodgers are riding high off its World Series win over the Yankees this week. But the storied franchise has a secret Wyoming connection. The deal to move the Dodgers from Brooklyn to L.A. was signed during a Wyoming antelope hunt.

Renée JeanNovember 02, 2024

Upton’s China-Busting Rare Earths Demonstration Plant Is Officially Underway

Rare Element Resources has already started operations at its rare earths demonstration plant in Upton, Wyoming, with what’s known as a “shakedown.” The real shakedown will be perfecting a process that could help break China’s stranglehold on rare earths.

Renée JeanNovember 02, 2024

Wyoming Customers Getting Rate Fatigue Over Repeated RMP Increase Requests

Wyoming customers are getting rate fatigue over repeated Rocky Mountain Power increase requests. Secretary of State Chuck Gray says the company wants Wyoming to "foot the bill" for the "radical left-wing environmental policies of other states."

Renée JeanNovember 01, 2024

Retaining Wyoming talent to work in state after attending the University of Wyoming, and beyond, is the idea behind a new jobs board that identifies opportunities to work in or remotely from Wyoming.

Wyoming Has A New Jobs Board With Higher Than Average Salaries And Unusual Opportunities

The Wyoming Venture Capital jobs board lists some unusual positions, like Generative AI Product Manager and Machine Learning Engineer. The jobs are part of a new stream of startups setting up shop in the Cowboy State.

Renée JeanNovember 01, 2024

Bill Gates was in Kemmerer in June 2024 for a ceremonial groundbreaking for the TerraPower Natrium nuclear plant.

TerraPower Strikes Deal With South African Company For Steady Uranium Source

A stable source of uranium has been a big question mark for the TerraPower nuclear plant in Kemmerer. The company appears to have answered that question with a new agreement with a South African company.

Renée JeanOctober 31, 2024

Marty Perez had an unsettling experience the first year he did a paranormal investigation of this hallway at the CFD Museum of the West. The hallway was quiet this time.

Haunted Wyoming: Even Skeptics Admit Strange Things Happen At CFD Museum

Flying hats, explosive glass and dolls that just won’t leave the Cheyenne Frontier Days Old West Museum in Cheyenne. These are just a few of the strange things even skeptics admit they can’t quite explain.

Renée JeanOctober 30, 2024

Lukis Hill points out on Google Maps the location where he and his dad tried to pick up a Chinese woman who looked like she needed help. She screamed at them instead, and disappeared before their eyes.

Haunted Wyoming: Ghost Of China Mary Haunts Evanston Road Named For Her

The ghost of China Mary still haunts the road named after her in Evanston, Wyoming. But talking about her has been a taboo subject, and not many people know the real history behind Ah Yuen, who became known as China Mary.

Renée JeanOctober 30, 2024

A drilling rig near Pinedale, Wyoming, in this file photo.

$80 Million Bet Says Wyoming Can Unlock Secret To Getting More Oil From "Tight Rocks"

ThermoFisher Scientific is laying a $40 million bet, matched by $40 million from the Legislature, that Wyoming can get more oil from so-called "tight rocks." Squeezing even 1% more from those rocks is worth billions of dollars.

Renée JeanOctober 29, 2024

Wyoming Home Sales Strong Despite National Trend Approaching 30-Year Low

Wyoming overall is bucking a national trend that’s approaching a 30-year low for home sales. Casper and Jackson continue to see strong sales data, while cities like Cheyenne and Sheridan have seen some cooling in the marketplace.

Renée JeanOctober 28, 2024

Mike Hennessy during a trip to Cheyenne, left, and the old storefront that used to be home to his great-great-granfather's grocery store.

History Come Alive: San Diego Man Discovers Documents About 140-Year-Old Cheyenne Building

A San Diego Man found a treasure trove of documents about a 140-year-old Cheyenne building. His great-great-grandfather ran a grocery store there that's now Bohemian Metals.

Renée JeanOctober 27, 2024

Other Authors

Weatherman Daryl Orr experiencing high winds in a live shot on Denver's Channel 7

Cheyenne Man’s Midlife Career Change: From TV Reporter To Truck Driver

When longtime Denver TV reporter Daryl Orr lost his job unexpectedly in midlife, he wasn’t worried — until everyone kept telling him he was overqualified. So the Cheyenne man decided to do something completely different: become a truck driver (and he loves it).

Renée JeanOctober 27, 2024

With a huge wildfire season in Wyoming this year, one question people ask is why isn't cloud seeding used to induce rain and snow to fall on the fires. The simple answer is you have to have clouds to do that.

Why Couldn't Wyoming Wildfires Be Put Out By Cloud Seeding?

With almost a million acres of land burned up in Wyoming this year by wildfire, why not use cloud seeding to help? For cloud seeding to even have a chance, a cloud is needed -- something Wyoming hasn't had much of lately.

Renée JeanOctober 27, 2024

Logan Wilson is a starting linebacker for the Cincinnati Bengals of the NFL.

NFL Star Logan Wilson Is Still A Casper Boy, Promoting His Hometown And Wyoming

Logan Wilson may be an NFL star, but he remains a Casper boy at heart, and isn’t shy about telling the world about it. He is partnering with Visit Casper to actively promote his hometown and the state of Wyoming.

Renée JeanOctober 26, 2024

The VTEM Plus AEM system from Geotech Ltd. is an example of a helicopter doing a aeromagnetic survey. Helicopters are used over mountainous terrain and fixed-wing aircraft for flat land.

Aerial Scans Happening For First Time In Wyoming To Find Valuable Minerals

They can do that? Scanning the earth’s crust 3,300 feet below ground from the air looking for minerals might sound far-fetched, but the science is real, and being used for the first time in Wyoming.

Renée JeanOctober 25, 2024

Wyoming Whiskey Hits No. 2 On USA Today List Of The Nation’s Best Whiskey

Wyoming Whiskey has hit No. 2 on USA Today’s annual list of the nation’s best whiskey. It’s a huge leap from its “horrible” first batch, in the words of its co-founder, to now selling $500 bottles of limited-edition whiskey to connoisseurs.

Renée JeanOctober 23, 2024

Billionaire Bill Gates took his turn at shoveling up some dirt in a groundbreaking ceremony for TerraPower’s nuclear reactor project in Kemmerer, Wyoming.

Construction Underway On Testing Facility At TerraPower’s Wyoming Nuclear Plant Site

Construction is happening in Kemmerer at the site of the future TerraPower nuclear plant site. But it’s not the actual plant that’s being built, it’s a test and fill facility, the first step of many before the plant finally opens in 2030.

Renée JeanOctober 22, 2024

In Teton County, Wyoming, people expect their homes to feature stunning views. And they pay stunning prices for those views.

Want A View Of The Tetons? Vacant Lot In Jackson Hole Will Cost You $5.5 Million

In 1992, a 1.5 acre vacant lot with a view of the Tetons in Jackson Hole cost $70,000. Today, the average price tag for single-family lots valley-wide is a whopping $5.57 million.

Renée JeanOctober 21, 2024

Improvements being made at the Rare Element Resources site in Upton, Wyoming. The company is waiting on one more federal OK to open its nearly completed $53 million rare earths processing plant.

Wyoming Rare Earths Producer Close To Completing $53 Million Processing Plant

Rare Element Resources needs one more thumbs-up from a federal agency to complete its $53 million rare earth demonstration plant in Upton. The rare earth refinery is billed as a game-changer not just for Wyoming, but America.

Renée JeanOctober 21, 2024

Extra tables had to be pulled from storage to expand the eating area at the Let it Rain Concert in Parkman, even as smoke from the nearby Elk Fire continues to linger in the air.

Parkman Bar Holds ‘Let It Rain’ Concert To Say 'Thank You' To Firefighters

Around 500 people showed up for the Parkman Bar and Grill’s “Let it Rain” concert Saturday to say thank you from the community to the firefighters battling the Elk Fire. Cars lined the highway for a couple of miles before and after the bar but attendees said it was worth the walk.

Renée JeanOctober 21, 2024

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