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
Town Of Cody Demolishing Two More 100-Year-Old Buildings
Cody is a town that loves its Western and Wyoming legacy, but it is about to lose two more of its 100-plus-year-old buildings within its historic district. The mayor says concerns about retaining the historic character are legitimate, but it's got to be balanced with the rights of property owners.
Renée JeanFebruary 18, 2024
How A Tenderfoot Wyoming Dentist Once Outdrank Butch Cassidy’s Wild Bunch To Survive
Sheridan dentist William Frackleton had no intention of ever meeting Butch Cassidy and his Wild Bunch gang in person. No sirree. But when he did and it started going downhill, he devised a plan to survive — outdrink them.
Renée JeanFebruary 18, 2024
How WyoTech Went From Near Oblivion To National Tech Education Powerhouse
Jim Mathis says he owes his adult life to what he learned at WyoTech. That's why when it was about to close for good, he started making calls to raise money to buy the school -- which he did. In two years, he returned it to profitability and made the Laramie school a national tech education powerhouse.
Renée JeanFebruary 17, 2024
Wyoming’s Legendary 100-Year-Old Brooks Lake Lodge Is ‘Where The West Begins’
It’s been re-invented and even resurrected a few times over the past 100 years, but at its core, Wyoming’s legendary Brooks Lake Lodge remains that one place historically proclaimed as “where the West begins.”
Renée JeanFebruary 17, 2024
Wyoming Outdoor Rec Fund Gets $6M Every Two Years, But No Way To Manage It
The Legislature is considering ways to pay out $6 million in grants for outdoor recreation and tourism. A Senate bill to do that failed by 3 votes Monday. Now it’s up to the House.
Renée JeanFebruary 14, 2024
Cheyenne Tow Truck Company "Big Al's" Featured On Weather Channel TV Series
The Weather Channel is putting together a new adventure docuseries that will feature the worst wrecks and most difficult extrications in America. Cheyenne, Wyoming's tow truck company Big Al’s is featured on the show.
Renée JeanFebruary 11, 2024
Ian Munsick’s Latest Album Comes With A Documentary Celebrating Wyoming
When Sheridan's Ian Munsick moved to Nashville 10 years ago and became immersed in a city with some of the world’s best songwriters, he made himself a promise. He was not going to forget his Wyoming roots.
Renée JeanFebruary 11, 2024
How Volunteers And Valentine’s Day Saved Hartville, Wyoming's Post Office
To save its post office, the tiny town of Hartville created a commemorative Valentine's Day stamp in 1996. The stamp has become so popular, collectors from around the world seek it out. The Pony Express joins in too with a Valentine's Day-themed ride to the town.
Renée JeanFebruary 11, 2024
Wyoming’s Only Pro Racing Team In Lead To Defend Endurance Cup Title
In only its third season, Wyoming’s only professional auto racing team has won one IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup and is in the lead for another. It all started 20 years ago when Herb Korthoff bought a $600,000 car to get things started.
Renée JeanFebruary 10, 2024
Jack In The Box, Del Taco To Open Soon In Wyoming
Jack in the Box has announced that it and Del Taco will build new stores in Wyoming, bringing two entirely new fast-food franchises to Wyoming. The expansions are riding on the coattails of what Jack in the Box says have been record profits in 2023.
Renée JeanFebruary 08, 2024
U.S. Postal Service Says Casper Mail Processing Should Move To Billings
The U.S. Postal Service has concluded that some of Casper’s mail processing should move to Billings, which means that along with a similar move in Cheyenne, Wyoming would be left without a major mail processing center.
Renée JeanFebruary 07, 2024
Wyoming Mourns Country Superstar Toby Keith, A Cheyenne Frontier Days Favorite
Wyomingites are remembering country music superstar Toby Keith, who died Monday. Country music star and Moorcroft native Chancey Williams said he'll never forget the time he got to sing “Should’ve Been a Cowboy” with Keith at Cheyenne Frontier Days.
Renée JeanFebruary 06, 2024
Jackson Hole Mountain Resort Remains Locally Owned As Sale Closes
After 32 years of building Jackson Hole Mountain Resort into a Wyoming showplace, Jay, Connie and Betty Kemmerer have sold it to a pair of Jackson Hole insiders, to assure it remains locally owned and independent.
Renée JeanFebruary 05, 2024
Wyoming Has 400 Miles Of Snow Fences To Help Keep Roads Open In Winter
Although the "lake effect" produces bad conditions in Michigan and New York, scientists say Wyoming is the epicenter of blowing snow. Other areas of the country get snow and get wind but Wyoming gets both like none other.
Renée JeanFebruary 04, 2024
Even Hard-Core Wyoming Carnivores Wowed By Chef’s 7-Course Veggie Showcase
Cheyenne chef Petrina Peart hosted a two-day popup restaurant with a surprise menu — a seven-course all-veggie showcase that wowed even hard-core Wyoming carnivores.
Renée JeanFebruary 03, 2024
From the Pillage People to Viking Festivals, Viking Culture Overtaking Wyoming
From the "Pillage People" Viking band in Gillette to a Viking musical in Jackson to a Viking-themed Fire and Ice Festival in Buffalo, you can't get away from Vikings in Wyoming. Vikings are everywhere.
Renée JeanFebruary 03, 2024
Jackson Hole Spec Homes Offer Luxury For Less — Only $10.5 Million If You Act Now
Jackson, Wyoming, has a few new spec homes coming online. And like most spec homes, they tend to offer some luxuries for less than a custom home. Like the Karns Hillside home, which is listing for $10.5 million.
Renée JeanFebruary 02, 2024
Nightmares Still Vivid In Cheyenne Neighborhood Destroyed By Broken Water Main
Cheyenne children and parents flooded out by a broken water main on Darnell Place say they continue to suffer vivid nightmares even as they struggle with the real-life nightmare of how to save their waterlogged homes.
Renée JeanFebruary 01, 2024
Cheyenne Rallies For Flooded-Out Families Left With Destroyed Homes
A Cheyenne man who calls himself a "middle class working stiff" has stepped up to lead the charge raising money for families whose homes were destroyed when a 12-inch city water main shattered last week and flooded them out.
Renée JeanJanuary 31, 2024
Cheyenne Families Have No Homes, Or Answers, After Catastrophic Water Main Break
Homeowners have been told their insurance won't cover damage from a catastrophic water main break that ruined several homes in Cheyenne last week because it's from a city water main. But they're getting few answers from the city.
Renée JeanJanuary 29, 2024
Powell Drone Maker Earns Coveted FAA Certification, One Of The First In U.S.
Drone companies that have successfully threaded the FAA’s certification needle are few and far between. But one of them is now located in Powell, and that could help speed lifesaving uses of drones for people in Wyoming.
Renée JeanJanuary 29, 2024