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

True Wyoming Cowboys – On Horseback – Protected U.S. From Japanese Attack By Sea And Balloon During World War II
Cowboys from Wyoming — on horseback — were part of America’s strategy to stop balloon bombs. They were initially deployed to the West Coast to watch for invaders, but some also recall being told to watch for balloon Japan’s secret balloon bombs.
Renée JeanMarch 19, 2023

For More Than 150 Years, Arbuckles’ Has Been The Coffee That’s Won The West – And Wyoming
A Chugwater history buff has re-discovered the brand of coffee that all cowboys once drank, including those who worked for the Swan Land and Cattle Co. in Platte County. It’s called Arbuckles’ coffee, and Wyoming cowboys still drink it.
Renée JeanMarch 18, 2023

Wyoming Will Be First State In Nation With Its Own Digital Coin
The payday for Wyoming, if the DAO is successful in realizing its goal is enormous. If just 5 percent of the merchant’s transactions were to go through Wyoming’s stable tokens, the return for the state, is over $9 billion.
Renée JeanMarch 17, 2023

Opposition Builds to Albertsons-Kroger Mega Merger At Local, State and Federal Levels
A small coalition of customers sued over the mega merger of Albertsons and Kroger. That’s been followed by an even larger coalition of organizations banding together to fight it. The group contains a few strange bedfellows.
Renée JeanMarch 17, 2023

Lummis Draws Battle Lines For Future Of Wyoming’s Digital Asset Industries
Sen. Cynthia Lummis is getting ready to go to war over the state of things in the digital asset sector. Wyoming companies are having the door slammed in their face, despite complying with strict consumer protections written into Wyoming law.
Renée JeanMarch 17, 2023

Bank Crashes Have Wyomingites Moving Their Money Around, But Big Isn't Always Best
Americans, notoriously apathetic about moving money to find better interest rates, lost $42 billion in the last quarter of 2022 by keeping their money at big-five banks that pay almost no interest. The big five might be the safest banks around — but savvy shoppers can do much better, and still play it safe.
Renée JeanMarch 15, 2023

Musk Meme Highlights Dilemma For Wyomingites On Where Their Money Is Safest
Wall Street veteran and Wyoming resident Caitlin Long said people have "woken up and realized that the traditional system is not stable." She said people are not buying the White House's spin. "Everything is not fine and people know it," she said.
Renée JeanMarch 14, 2023
Here’s Why Wyoming Banks Aren’t Likely To Fail
Banks in Wyoming dont have large numbers of uninsured deposits, don't have the same exposure to the technology sector, and digital banks are required to hold 100% of the value of any digital assets on reserve.
Renée JeanMarch 13, 2023

Snowy Mountain Brewery In Saratoga May Be Tiny, But Could Be A Giant In Wyoming
Snowy Mountain is the third-oldest and once smallest brewery in Wyoming is maneuvering for a national footprint, including creating a can it hopes will serve as a calling card for the brewery and Saratoga tourism.
Renée JeanMarch 12, 2023

Apocalypse Jackson In ‘The Last Of Us’ Doesn’t Look At All Like Wyoming, Residents Say
While it might have been fun to see Jackson, Wyoming featured on the popular HBO TV series "The Last Of Us," residents cringed because they say the show did a poor job of presenting the town. But, it was filmed in Canada...
Renée JeanMarch 12, 2023

58 Experts Said Tear Down Cheyenne’s Iconic Central Plaza Hotel – They Saved It Anyway
Corey Lynn of Lynn Buys Houses in Cheyenne is known for saving houses not hotels, but she couldnt let the hotel she remembered from her youth fall apart. She and her business partner Carter Ward found a way to save it from the wrecking ball.
Renée JeanMarch 12, 2023

Nearly 90 Years Later, Mystery Of United Airlines Crash Near Cheyenne Still Motivates Wyoming Man
Kent Hargraves stumbled across the site of a 1935 United Airlines crash as a boy on his grandfathers ranch near Cheyenne, unveiling a mystery hes worked a lifetime to solve.
Renée JeanMarch 11, 2023

Wyoming’s American CryptoFed DAO Isn’t Worried About SEC Enforcement Action, Says It’s Moving Ahead With Its Plans
Wyomings first legal DAO is in the midst of an SEC enforcement action, but company officials say its just a temporary drama. Theyre hopeful, meanwhile, that Gordon will sign Wyomings stable token bill into law.
Renée JeanMarch 11, 2023

Average Home Price In Jackson, Wyoming Is $5 Million; New Record For Nation’s Wealthiest County
With an average cost for a single-family home hitting $5 million in 2022, Jackson has seen its housing prices nearly double from $2.6 million in 2019. Currently there are no homes on the market for under a million.
Renée JeanMarch 11, 2023

20 Calves Dropping In 24 Hours: Wyoming Ranchers Don’t Stop For Blizzards
It doesn't make any difference if the weather is bad or not, when it's calving season, Wyoming ranchers have to be ready. On the Tavegia Ranch near Osage, Wyoming, 20 calves were born over a 24-hour period right in the middle of a blizzard.
Renée JeanMarch 08, 2023

Laramie County Sheriff Removes School Resource Officer But Readjusts So More Cops Will Visit More Schools
Laramie County Sheriff Brian Kozak has revamped the school resource officer program to get more officers in more schools. Its likely the first of many changes to come, with an employee committee looking over all the departments procedures.
Renée JeanMarch 06, 2023

Albertsons Shoppers Sue To Block $25 Billion Grocery Mega-Merger; Wyoming Workers Still Wary
More than two dozen Albertsons customers are suing to stop a $25 billion merger between the largest grocery chains in the U.S. They also want to rewind a recent $4 billion dividend paid out to Albertsons shareholders.
Renée JeanMarch 06, 2023

Saratoga’s Hotel Wolf: 130 Years Of Wyoming History And Counting
The current owners of the Hotel Wolf in Saratoga bought the business on April Fools Day 45 years ago, likely saving it from the wrecking ball. Today, its a place where history continues to live, with memorabilia covering the walls from past owners and customers.
Renée JeanMarch 05, 2023

If Gov Gordon Signs Bill, Wyoming Will Be First State In Nation With Its Own Digital Coin
If approved, Wyoming would be the first state in the nation with a digital coin. That could set the Cowboy State up for a $9 billion payday, advocates say. But Gordon has already vetoed Wyomings stable token once before.
Renée JeanMarch 04, 2023

Wyomingites Are Flocking To Chicken Raising, But Is Raising Chickens As Easy A TikTok Video?
Wyoming chicken farmers like Melissa Hempken of Lander and Michael Jordan of Cheyenne say they do save money by raising their own chickens, but it's more difficult than how it's portrayed on social media.
Renée JeanMarch 04, 2023

With Time Running Out, Dockstader & Storer Led Successful Effort For Property Tax Reform
Maybe bipartisanship can work after all. Sen. Dan Dockstader, R-Afton, praised the efforts of Rep. Liz Storer, D-Jackson, for her "hard work and perseverance" to adapt his original tax reform bill to make it a more comprehensive solution. "We all worked together to make this happen," he said.
Renée JeanMarch 03, 2023
