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
Here Come The Tourists! Wyoming Expecting Big Tourism Season With Taiwanese
International tourism to Wyoming has been slow to bounce back after the COVID-19 lockdown, but 2024 should be a good year. Two major airline routes are opening between the U.S. & Taiwan this summer and Wyoming will be a top destination.
Renée JeanMarch 17, 2024
Wyoming’s Historic 117-Year-Old Mountain View Hotel Cafe Is Open Again
Centennial’s Mountain View Historic Hotel & Cafe has been welcoming visitors to the Snowy Range town of Centennial for 117 years. Back then it was for gold miners and railroaders. Now the cafe is open again thanks to a woman and her three daughters.
Renée JeanMarch 17, 2024
Hedge Against Inflation? Alternative Currency "Goldbacks" Catching On In Wyoming
Wyoming wasn't the first state to get its own series of "goldbacks," but it's the tops in the nation for embracing them. The elaborate-looking currency, which has real gold in them, is traded in all 50 states and on every continent except Antarctica.
Renée JeanMarch 17, 2024
Wyoming Entrepreneurs Inspired By Reality TV Small Business Guru Amanda Brinkman
Wyoming small business owners say they’ve been inspired by Hulu reality TV guru Amanda Brinkman, who was in Wyoming touting the benefits of her mantra — do good to do well.
Renée JeanMarch 16, 2024
For Sale: Laramie’s Cowboy Saloon, Where Chancey Williams Was Launched
Famous for its live country music and helping launch the career of Chancey Williams, Laramie’s Cowboy Saloon & Dance Hall is up for sale. In fact, Chancey's annual White Trash Bash is set for April 6 at the Cowboy. The bar is listed for $3.4 million.
Renée JeanMarch 16, 2024
Operation Lone Star: Wyoming Ranchers Convoy Hay To Wildfire-Ravaged Texas
A convoy of six trucks loaded with hay and other items donated by ranchers in Hawk Springs, Torrington, and Chugwater are running to and from Texas to help ranchers there burned out by a 1.1 million-acre wildfire.
Renée JeanMarch 16, 2024
Eating Wyoming: R&B Breakfast Club, Where Elvis And Supersized Meals Are King
The R&B Breakfast Club in Cheyenne has a collection of Elvis memorabilia that took 20 years to collect. The popular diner also serves Elvis-sized portions for breakfast and lunch, including fried peanut butter banana sandwiches (upon request).
Renée JeanMarch 16, 2024
Trash To Treasure: Box Elders Could Drive A New Wyoming Maple Syrup Industry
Those blue buckets on box elder trees in Rawlins are part of a feasibility study to see if syrup from the trees can be commercialized. Food critics say the syrup from maples - which are difficult to grow in Wyoming - and box elders is indistinguishable.
Renée JeanMarch 16, 2024
Outdoors Is Driving Teton County’s Latest Nation-Leading Economic Boom
Not only is Teton County the wealthiest county in the nation with a whopping per capita income of $406,054 but leads the nation in a new type of economic model, the great outdoors. Out of the 10 wealthiest economic booms going on right now in the nation, Teton County is leading the pack.
Renée JeanMarch 10, 2024
Bob’s Diner & Bakery In Greybull On ‘America’s Best Restaurants’ Tour
“America’s Best Restaurants,” a popular streaming series, will feature Bob’s Diner & Bakery in Greybull on its tour of America’s unique independent restaurants. Road trippers rave about the Reuben at Bob’s, but locals love the “angry sauce” omelets and burgers.
Renée JeanMarch 10, 2024
Year-Round Produce: Wyoming Gardener Outsmarts Winter With Underground Greenhouse
Sara Ross loves gardening but lives in Daniel, Wyoming, where there are only 57 growing days a year. So she's outsmarted Wyoming’s brutal winters by building an underground Bolivian greenhouse called a walipini.
Renée JeanMarch 10, 2024
Jackson $4 million ‘Fixer-Upper’ Tied To Iconic Wort Hotel And Lynyrd Skynyrd
That 1,000 square-foot "fixer-upper" home in Jackson that's listed for $4 million has an interesting history. It was not only built by the founders of the Wort Hotel but was the home of Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist Gary Rossington.
Renée JeanMarch 09, 2024
Meet Ranger, The Wyoming Cowdog That Chases Grizzlies At Brooks Lake Lodge
Guides at Brooks Lake Lodge affectionately call this black-and-white pooch “Ranger Danger” — and with good reason. Ranger has proven himself time and again by fearlessly chasing off grizzly bears. It’s not what Hangin’ Tree dogs were bred for, but with him, it’s instinct.
Renée JeanMarch 09, 2024
Wyoming Company Will Sue If Gordon Signs Ban On Altered Hemp Derivatives
A law that seeks to close a loophole that has some entrepreneurs adding THC additives like Delta-8 is on Gov. Mark Gordon’s desk for his signature. At least one Wyoming company says it will sue if the bill becomes law.
Renée JeanMarch 06, 2024
A Decade In, Wyoming’s Food Freedom Law Opens Markets For Mom-And-Pop Producers
There are now 13 year-round farmer’s market-style stores in Wyoming since the state's Food Freedom law went into effect 10 years ago. Every one of them boasts dozens of producers, all with one-of-a-kind products that can’t be found anywhere else.
Renée JeanMarch 03, 2024
Swiss-Born Baker Taking Wyoming By Storm With Her Traditional Bread
A Swiss woman who lives in Carpenter, Wyoming, was feeling a bit nostalgic one day for the foods she grew up with. So she asked on Facebook: “Who wants some Swiss bread?” She got so many responses, she quit her job and became a full-time baker.
Renée JeanMarch 03, 2024
Drinking Wyoming: The Brooks Lake Lodge’s Insane Bloody Mary Changes Every Year
The bloody mary at Brooks Lake Lodge near Dubois changes every year. This year's version has a huge crab claw jutting unapologetically up out of it, along with a fist-sized, deep-fried Monte Cristo sandwich
Renée JeanMarch 03, 2024
Foodies Get 5-Star Cuisine In Middle Of Nowhere Wyoming’s Brooks Lake Lodge
Brooks Lake Lodge in remote Fremont County Wyoming might be in the middle of nowhere, but it is a foodie heaven thanks to longtime executive chef Whitney Hall, who creates a 5-star dining experience for guests.
Renée JeanMarch 02, 2024
Gillette Camporee Expected To Bring 60,000 People To Event This Summer
The International Pathfinders Camporee is expected to bring 60,000 people to Gillette this summer which will shatter the record attendance of a single event in Wyoming. Everything is sold-out in Gillette and rooms were going for $800 a night.
Renée JeanMarch 02, 2024
1,000-Square-Foot Jackson, Wyoming, Fixer-Upper Home Lists For $4 Million
There’s nothing particularly remarkable about the 1,000-square-foot home at 165 N. Gros Ventre St. in downtown Jackson -- except for the location. That's enough to give it a listing price of a whopping $4 million.
Renée JeanMarch 02, 2024
Casper One Of Three Finalists To Land National Air Championship Races
Casper has made the short list of three cities still in the running to become the new host for the National Championship Air Races, which could be a $100 million shot in the arm for the Cowboy State.
Renée JeanFebruary 29, 2024