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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Gov. Mark Gordon talks about the restoration of Wyoming's Liberty Bell. All 50 states have Liberty Bells, but not every state kept theirs. Wyoming's required significant restoration to save it for future generations.

Liberty Bell Rings Again In Wyoming Ahead of Nation’s 250th Anniversary

Wyoming rang its Liberty Bell and unveiled an amped-up tour of the restored state Capitol on Thursday. It was all part of a kickoff to the nation’s 250th anniversary next year — on the 135th for Wyoming statehood.

Renée JeanJuly 11, 2025

Wyoming Data Center Hires Public Service Commissioner Mary Throne

Prometheus Hyperscale, a new data center project in western Wyoming, has hired Wyoming Public Service Commissioner Mary Throne to help it navigate the regulatory environment. Throne starts Aug. 1 and will step down from her role at the PSC.

Renée JeanJuly 10, 2025

Broken Water fires at a target that is a thin silver chain, swinging in the wind.

You Can Walk In Jim Bridger’s Footsteps At 1838 Rendezvous In Riverton

The 1838 Mountain Man Rendezvous in Riverton isn’t just held near a historic rendezvous site, it’s the actual site. It's where Jim Bridger and Kit Carson walked when they met in 1838 for the annual end-of-season blowout.

Renée JeanJuly 06, 2025

Shoshoni’s former Town Hall is at one of Wyoming’s busiest crossroads for travelers, now it’s for sale to spur economic development. A cardiology clinic wants to buy the property for an operation that can serve a wide region of the state.

Town Of Shoshoni In Talks For State-Of-The-Art Cardiology Clinic

The town of Shoshoni has a population of less than 500 people but its town hall sits on one of the state's busiest crossroads. To attract economic development, the city offered it for sale. A cardiology clinic has proposed building a 7,620-square-foot clinic there.

Renée JeanJuly 06, 2025

Surging demand for electricians is filling up programs to train them, like this one at the Business, Agriculture and Tech Department of Laramie County Community College.

Employment Boom: Wyoming Unions Say Thousands Of Electricians Needed

Jerry Payne with International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 322 told Cowboy State Daily he has a project in Kemmerer that will need 540 electricians. His counterpart with Local IBEW 415, Truett Thompson, needs another 400 to 500 electricians. That's just the tip of the iceberg, they say.

Renée JeanJuly 06, 2025

Chef Petrina Peart talks about her journey on the "Yes Chef!" reality cooking series which featured Chef Jose Andres and Martha Stewart, during a Monday night watch party at Brownie's Tasting Bar in Cheyenne.

Wyoming Chef Petrina Peart Celebrates ‘Yes, Chef!’ Finale With Celebrity Chef T

Chef Petrina Peart celebrated the end of her “Yes, Chef!” television culinary competition with fellow contestant and celebrity, Chef T. The collaborative cook-off featuring Martha Stewart showcased Appalachian and Wyoming foods.

Renée JeanJuly 05, 2025

This yellow tank is a tiger tank, used in the Korean War, playing off of superstitions about such powerful symbols.

Dubois Cheers As 24 Vintage Military Tanks Rumble Through On The Fourth Of July

Dubois triples in size for the Fourth of July as thousands fill the tiny Wyoming town to celebrate. The main attraction is 24 vintage military tanks that rumble through, anchoring the annual parade as monuments to freedom in America.

Renée JeanJuly 05, 2025

Ian Munsick’s Line Of Western Accessories Sells Out In Nashville

Wyoming native Ian Munsick is one of country music’s fastest rising stars. He’ll headline Cheyenne Frontier Days for the first time this summer, and his new line of buckles, bolos and other Western accessories has sold out in Nashville.

Renée JeanJuly 04, 2025

The Historic Cato Ranch is a working Black Angus cattle ranch.

Historic Sheridan Rodeo Ranch, Now A Working Angus Operation, For Sale

The P.K. Ranch hosted a rodeo that went head-to-head with Cheyenne Frontier Days in 1928 and still attracted 17,000 people from 28 states. The historic property, today known as the Cato Ranch, is going up for sale.

Renée JeanJuly 04, 2025

Appearing In A C.J. Box Book Is Dicey, You Could End Up Dead Or A Serial Killer

Bestselling author C.J. Box is well-known for putting names of real Wyoming people in his novels, but many end up dead, a serial killer — or both. Meteorologist Don Day, who appeared as himself in Joe Pickett book is safe, for now. Box says he has no immediate plans to kill him off.

Renée JeanJuly 04, 2025

Residents living in a neighborhood just north of Cheyenne are lobbying the Laramie County Commission to reverse its approval of a 150-foot cell tower in the field to the left. They say there are health concerns and the tower will drop property values.

Citing RFK Jr., Residents Want Laramie County To Reverse OK Of 150-Foot Cell Tower

Residents living just north of Cheyenne are lobbying the Laramie County Commission to reverse approval of a 150-foot cell tower. Citing RFK Jr., they say there are health concerns with the tower and they worry property values will drop.

Renée JeanJuly 03, 2025

Smoke starts to pour out as ZamTrip warms up the crowd for the next band in the lineup at Flaming Gorge Days in Green River.

Flaming Gorge Days Makes Comeback After Embezzlement Scandal Nearly Killed It

Thousands of people turned out over the weekend for Flaming Gorge Days, a Green River party that’s been around for decades. But the event was almost killed two years ago when an embezzlement scandal canceled it in 2023 and threatened to end it forever.

Renée JeanJuly 01, 2025

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For the first time in a half-century, the historic Lost Creek Ranch in Teton County is for sale.

No Income Tax, Dynasty Trusts Draw Wealth To Wyoming — And Not Just Jackson

No income or capital gains taxes, 1,000-year dynasty trusts and Wyoming’s cowboy culture and national parks are drawing more wealth than ever to the state. And not just to Jackson Hole.

Renée JeanJune 29, 2025

Technicians work on a Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile in a silo in this U.S. Air Force file photo. Upgrading to Sentinel missiles will require building new silos.

$140 Billion F.E. Warren Sentinel Missile Upgrade At Full Speed Under Trump

The first months of President Trump’s second administration have focused on cutting government pork, but there’s one huge exception. The $140 billion upgrade from Minuteman III to Sentinel nuclear missiles is at full speed, and F.E. Warren is ground zero.

Renée JeanJune 28, 2025

Dave Belote, a retired U.S. Air Force colonel, is one of Airloom Energy's national advisors and has been helping the company ensure it's specs are in line for military service.

Laramie-Based Airloom Energy Gets Pentagon Thumbs Up For Innovative Turbine Tech

Laramie, Wyoming-based Airloom Energy already counts Bill Gates as an investor and believer in its innovative horizontal wind turbine technology. Now it also has an endorsement from the Trump administration’s Pentagon for military use.

Renée JeanJune 26, 2025

Crypto Whale Kraken Moves Headquarters To Wyoming From California

Kraken, a nearly $3 billion cryptocurrency exchange, announced that it has moved its headquarters to Cheyenne. The CEO told Cowboy State Daily they picked Wyoming because of its commitment to individual liberty, regulatory clarity and innovation.

Renée JeanJune 24, 2025

Strong Personalities Behind Rift Keeping Star Plunge Closed

A pair of state senators tried to broker a deal last month that would reopen the popular Star Plunge at Hot Springs State Park. It didn’t work, and strong personalities on both sides have opened a rift that’s keeping Star Plunge closed.

Renée JeanJune 23, 2025

Jim Robinson found this pair of mule-ear boots abandoned in an old attic in Cripple Creek, Colorado, back in the 1990s. He dates the books back to somewhere between 1890 and 1910, which made them close to a century or so old when he found them.

You’ve Seen This Casper Man Wearing Rare 130-Year-Old Mule-Ear Boots In Movies

Jim Robinson of Casper found a pair of rare mule-ear cowboy boots from the 1890s in a dusty old cabin in Colorado. You’ve likely seen him wearing the boots in several movies, including “Rough Riders.”

Renée JeanJune 23, 2025

Felix Santana talks about his Andalusian horse Romano after a performance during the final Chris LeDoux Days rodeo.

Majestic Andalusian War Horse Wows Wyoming Crowd

Watching the Spanish war horse Romano perform, one would never guess that this majestic Andalusian horse was thought to be untrainable. The beautiful stallion, who appeared at Chris LeDoux Days, danced in time to music like the spirit of some Spanish dancer lives inside him.

Renée JeanJune 22, 2025

Wyoming exports 15 times more energy than it consumes but is falling behind in providing power for its own economic development, like data centers.

Wyoming Exports 15 Times More Power Than It Uses, But Is Struggling With In-State Needs

Wyoming has long been one of the nation’s largest energy producers, exporting 15 times more power than it consumes. But the state is struggling to provide power for its own economic development.

Renée JeanJune 22, 2025

Honeybee operations in Wyoming have been scrambling to get ready for the honey to flow with unusually large colony losses earlier this year. The Honey House in Dubois says it’s ready — just barely — for a new tourism season.

Huge Honeybee Losses Have Wyoming Beekeepers Scrambling As Season Starts

It’s been a difficult year for the Honey House in Dubois. The bee farm that supports the store, located in Crowheart, lost 67% of its colonies this year. The loss was part of a wave of unusually large-scale honeybee losses throughout the Rocky Mountain and Midwest regions.

Renée JeanJune 22, 2025