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

The historic and uniquely Wyoming Occidental Hotel in Buffalo.

Buffalo’s Occidental Hotel: A Western Wyoming Original, Bullet Holes And All

The Occidental Hotel is a registered museum where guests sleep in themed rooms with period Old West furniture. The adjacent saloon still has bullet holes and its original backbar imported from Scotland.

Renée JeanSeptember 30, 2023

The historic Sheridan Inn is considered one of Wyoming's most haunted hotels.

UW Researcher Takes Scientific Approach To Studying Wyoming’s Haunted Hotels

Debbie Cobb has long had a fascination with ghost stories. Now the University of Wyoming researcher is putting that fascination to work on a study of Wyoming’s most haunted hotels.

Renée JeanSeptember 24, 2023

True Wyoming Mountain Man Jim Baker Beat Impossible Odds On Battle Mountain

Wyoming’s own “Honest” Jim Baker has never been featured in a movie like Kit Carson, but even Carson would often tell of the mountain man's ingenuity and bravery on Battle Mountain.

Renée JeanSeptember 23, 2023

The Ferris Mansion at 607 W. Maple St. in Rawlins, Wyoming.

From Ruin To Regal, A Wyoming Family’s Mission To Save The Ferris Mansion

A showpiece when it was built in 1903, the Ferris Mansion in Rawlins had fallen into ruin when the Lubber family bought it in 1979. It took 25 years to restore it to its regal roots.

Renée JeanSeptember 23, 2023

The old railroad depot is one of the jewels of downtown Rawlins, Wyoming.

Rawlins Residents Scoff At YouTuber's Criticism Of Town

Rawlins' residents rolled their collective eyes at a so-called YouTube "influencer" and his criticism of their town in his video entitled, "I went to the worst place to live in Wyoming." They all know a town that is a great place to raise a family and comes together to help those in need.

Renée JeanSeptember 23, 2023

Of the 413 stores Kroger and Albertsons plans to sell to C&S Wholesale Grocers are 12 Wyoming Albertsons outlets.

Who Is C&S Grocers, Which Is Buying 413 Stores Across US, 12 In Wyoming?

C&S Wholesale Grocers, buying 413 stores as part of a proposed $25 billion merger between Kroger and Albertsons — including 12 in Wyoming — is one of the largest grocery wholesalers in the U.S.

Renée JeanSeptember 20, 2023

The Herbert Hoover couch looks like it should be sitting on a curb as trash instead of having an honored place in the historic Occidental Hotel. It was once owned by President Herbert Hoover, and popular lore has it the rips and tears in it were caused by fishhooks Hoover would keep in his pockets.

That Old, Ripped Couch At Buffalo’s Occidental Hotel Was Herbert Hoover’s

That worn-out and ripped couch in the Occidental Hotel’s library will never be repaired or replaced. It was owned by President Hoover, and legend has it the rips were caused by fishing hooks in his pockets.

Renée JeanSeptember 17, 2023

Savery, A Speck On Wyoming’s Map, Throws One Heck Of A Big End-Of-Summer Barbecue

Ringed by mountains just north of Wyoming’s border with Colorado, Savery boasts only a few locals, but draws many times that to its legendary annual summer barbecue.

Renée JeanSeptember 17, 2023

The rifle given to Jesse Galloway by Harry Alonzo Longabaugh, aka the Sundance Kid, after Galloway tried to help clear Longabaugh's name in a robbery in South Dakota. He may have been in Colorado and Wyoming working on ranches at the time.

Rifle In Wyoming Museum May Show Outlaw Sundance Kid Didn't Rob Bank

An intriguing trail of evidence at the Little Snake River Museum in Savery, Wyoming, suggests the Sundance Kid couldn’t have been involved in a bungled 1897 robbery of a South Dakota bank.

Renée JeanSeptember 17, 2023

Gregory Gadson talks to people at Don King Days in Sheridan.

Col. Gregory Gadson Lost Both Legs In Iraq, Now He's Helping Veterans Heal

Wounded warrior and retired Army colonel Greg Gadson was in Wyoming for the WYO West Warrior Foundation, which puts on an retreat for veterans every year in Sheridan. Gadson was nearly killed by a roadside bomb in 2007.

Renée JeanSeptember 16, 2023

The lobby at the Occidental Hotel in Buffalo, Wyoming, is eclectic, elegant and 100% Old West Wyoming.

At Wyoming’s Historic Occidental Hotel, The Ghost Gets Into Bed With You

Those who work at the historic Occidental Hotel in Buffalo have heard guests tell a lot of spooky stories about their stay, and not just its famous ghost child Emily. There's one ghost who gets into the bed while you're sleeping.

Renée JeanSeptember 16, 2023

The historic 118-acre Gros Venture River Ranch in Teton County, Wyoming, is for sale, listing at $58 million.

Wyoming’s Historic Gros Ventre Ranch For Sale, Listing At $58 million

Another of Teton County, Wyoming’s, iconic and storied dude ranches encircled by the national forest land has hit the market. The Gros Ventre Ranch is for sale, listing for $58 million.

Renée JeanSeptember 13, 2023

Other Authors

A statue of James Cash Penney is put up in front of his first store in Kemmerer, Wyoming.

Push On For Postage Stamp Honoring Founder Of Wyoming-Born JCPenney Stores

James Cash Penney is an American legend who started his iconic JCPenney brand in Kemmerer, Wyoming. U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis is getting behind a grassroots group pushing to put Penney on a postage stamp.

Renée JeanSeptember 12, 2023

Many of the dozens of big screens in the Cheyenne Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant were tuned to ESPN networks Monday afternoon leading up to Monday Night Football. The channels are available to Wyoming Charter-Spectrum customers again after Disney and Charter reached a deal earlier in the day.

Charter, Disney Strike Deal Just In Time For Monday Night Football

Disney and Charter reached a deal at the last minute, lifting the ban on Disney-owned channels for Charter-owned Spectrum customers in Wyoming — including ESPN — just in time for Monday Night Football.

Renée JeanSeptember 11, 2023

Paul Vance poses for a photo with the chuck wagon he and friend Jack Schmidt found, an extension of the Wyoming cowboy dream he's been living for the past 15 years.

Kentucky Man Moved To Wyoming To Be Cowboy, Now He's Bought An Authentic Chuckwagon

Paul Vance always wanted to be a cowboy, and for the last 15 years has cowboying it up in Wyoming. Most recently he's been restoring a broken-down chuck wagon and outfitting with with historically authentic artifacts.

Renée JeanSeptember 10, 2023

Katie Shoemaker takes a turn around the starting gate area before its her turn. She became the first woman to compete in the steer roping event at Don King Days over Labor Day weekend in Sheridan.

Wyoming People: Kassandra Shoemaker First Woman In Wyoming Steer Roping Finals

University of Wyoming student Kassandra Shoemaker made history last weekend as the first woman to compete in the Wyoming Steer Roping Finals in Sheridan, earning Rookie of the Year from the Wyoming Steer Roping Association.

Renée JeanSeptember 10, 2023

The entrance to Fort Bridger was crawling with people for the annual rendezvous, an estimated 50,000 to 60,000 of them.

Fort Bridger Rendezvous At 50 Draws 60,000, Is One Of Largest In The US

An estimated 60,000+ people attended the Fort Bridger Rendezvous this year, its 50th. The celebration of all things frontier has grown to be one of the largest in the United States.

Renée JeanSeptember 10, 2023

Jeff Shelburg and "Hoot" the owl at the Sundance Film Festival - Atmosphere - Day 7 in Park City, Utah, United States.

Meet Hoot, A Wyoming Owl Who Is The Most Famous Owl In The World

A Farson, Wyoming, man owns an owl named Hoot that’s been in 124 movies and counting, including many Harry Potter films. The 25-year-old bird is probably the most famous owl on the planet.

Renée JeanSeptember 09, 2023

The original Buffalo Carnegie Library is now the entry to the Jim Gatchell Memorial Museum.

Buffalo Citizens Rally To Save Crumbling Carnegie Library

One of Wyoming’s 10 remaining Carnegie libraries is crumbling, and unless $600,000 can be found to make necessary repairs, the Carnegie Library in Buffalo — built in 1909 — may be lost.

Renée JeanSeptember 09, 2023

Kroger, Albertsons To Sell 413 Stores, Including 12 In Wyoming

Kroger anticipates the sale of 413 Albertsons stores, including 12 in Wyoming, will bullet-proof their proposed $25 billion merger, but a union representing 750 Wyoming workers worries it could cost jobs.

Renée JeanSeptember 09, 2023

The TVs at Ike's Bar and Grill in Cheyenne are tuned to ESPN, which isn't showing its regular sports content because of a dispute with Disney.

Angry Wyoming Spectrum Customers Dropping Disney, Cable During Dispute

Frustrated customers who are missing ESPN and other channels are tired of waiting for Disney and Charter to make a deal. So they're cutting the cord and signing up for YouTube TV and other streaming services.

Renée JeanSeptember 08, 2023

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