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
At $3,300 An Ounce, Prices Prime For Southeast Wyoming’s CK Gold Project
With gold prices trading high at $3,300 an ounce, timing may be prime for the CK Gold Project in Southeast Wyoming. It’s completed most of its state permitting, with a Laramie County hearing for local permits next month.
Renée JeanMay 28, 2025
Union Pacific’s Big Boy Has A Date With Newly Unveiled Lincoln Locomotive
The newly unveiled Abraham Lincoln commemorative locomotive No. 1616 and Cheyenne's Big Boy No. 4014 will meet up twice this summer in Greeley for a whistle stop. Four cab rides will also be auctioned for rides on Big Boy between Cheyenne and Denver.
Renée JeanMay 28, 2025
Hot Springs County Rallies To Boost Tourism During Prolonged Star Plunge Closure
Hot Springs County is rallying to save its tourism season despite what’s become a prolonged closure of the popular Star Plunge hot springs pools. To do that, it’s putting the spotlight on attractions outside the park — fishing, new trails and more events.
Renée JeanMay 27, 2025
Sheridan Mourns Kim Love, Broadcast Pioneer And Philanthropist
Sheridan broadcast pioneer and business owner Kim Love died Saturday. Friends and family recall him as outspoken, never afraid to say what was on his mind, and a stalwart economic and civic backer of Sheridan known as a “genius at” philanthropy.
Renée JeanMay 26, 2025
Pine Bluffs Distilling Wins International Award With Wyoming-Grown Whiskey
Pine Bluffs Distilling’s straight rye whiskey won a prestigious double-gold medal at an American Distilling Institute international competition. It’s a big win for a small-town craft distillery that makes whiskey with Wyoming-grown ingredients.
Renée JeanMay 26, 2025
Wyoming Ghost Town Site Gives Up Evidence Of People From 16,000 Years Ago
Artifacts that date back to 16,000 years ago have been recently found at the ghost town site of Sunrise, Wyoming — older than the site’s previous 14,000-year-old find. That’s the oldest evidence yet of people in the Western High Plains.
Renée JeanMay 26, 2025
Wyoming Businessman Talks Artificial Intelligence Policy With Trump White House
Jackson businessman Kevin Deneen is cofounder of Moterra Campervans. He’s one of five small business owners from across America tapped to discuss artificial intelligence policy with Vice President JD Vance and the Trump White House.
Renée JeanMay 26, 2025
Rock Springs Teacher’s Crazy Costumes Make A Serious Point — Laughter Is Learning
Not all learning comes from a textbook — some of it comes from laughter. That’s inspired Rock Springs teacher Weston Lamb-Costantino to wear a lot of silly costumes to school, which his students love.
Renée JeanMay 25, 2025
Huge Wyoming-Grown Greenhouse Embraces Grateful Dead Connection
The Grateful Dead and fresh produce might not sound like they go together, but they do at Silver Stream Farm northwest of Pinedale. The huge 25,000-square-foot greenhouse takes its name from a Grateful Dead song reportedly written in Wyoming.
Renée JeanMay 25, 2025
Cheyenne Botanic Gardens Buys Tulips By The Thousands, And They Last For Years
Holland may be famous for its tulips, but they’re all over Cheyenne as well each summer. The Cheyenne Botanic Gardens buys them by the thousands, and they thrive in southeast Wyoming, some lasting for a decade.
Renée JeanMay 25, 2025
Wyoming’s Popular Crazy Woman Canyon Unexpectedly Closed For The Summer
Crazy Woman Canyon is a draw for Wyomingites and visitors to Johnson County, but it’s been unexpectedly closed for the summer. It’s a blow for tourism and locals who count the canyon as a favorite outdoors getaway.
Renée JeanMay 25, 2025
1.2-GW Wyoming Data Center To Help Pioneer New Battery Less Likely To Catch Fire
A new battery system could solve the runaway thermal problem that makes lithium batteries burst into flames. A 1.2-gigawatt data center near Evanston, Wyoming, is going to help a startup prove its new battery system.
Renée JeanMay 23, 2025
Longtime Wyoming Tourism Director Diane Shober To Retire After 22 Years
Longtime Wyoming Tourism Director Diane Shober announced she’s retiring at the end of 2025. Author CJ Box says she’s the best in the business and former Gov. Dave Freudenthal says she was perfect for the job — an “unbearably happy human being.”
Renée JeanMay 22, 2025
Wyoming Service Workers Optimistic Over Senate Passage Of No Tax On Tips Bill
In a surprise move, the U.S. Senate passed the No Tax on Tips bill unanimously. The reaction from Wyoming service employees ranged from cautious optimism to elation. “The blue-collar worker, what’s left of us, needs their tips to help ends meet,” one barber said.
Renée JeanMay 22, 2025
Short-Staffed Cheyenne National Weather Service Office Ends 24/7 Monitoring
The National Weather Service forecast office in Cheyenne is short staffed and has killed its overnight shift, ending the office's 24/7 monitoring. Meteorologist Don Day says that could mean less accurate forecasts and less timely warnings for southeast Wyoming.
Renée JeanMay 19, 2025
Little Snake River Students Get Hands-On In New $1.7M Livestock Center
A new $1.7 million livestock center has opened a hands-on classroom for students interested in ag education at Little Snake River School in Baggs. It’s the realization of a dream by their teacher.
Renée JeanMay 19, 2025
Pioneer Town At Little Snake River Museum In Savery Takes Students Back To Days Of Old
Snow still tops Baker Mountain looking down on Little Snake River Museum in this hamlet near the Wyoming - Colorado border east of Baggs, Wyoming. More than 100 children gathered at the museum to celebrate the annual Pioneer Day.
Renée JeanMay 18, 2025
Beartooth Basin Will Open For Summer Skiing For First Time In Three Years
Beartooth Basin near Cody is America’s only ski resort that operates exclusively in the summer. Unlike other ski resorts where summer skiing could happen, Beartooth Basin, which will open for the first time in three years, doesn’t open for the winter at all.
Renée JeanMay 18, 2025
Why Alpacas Are So Popular In The Rocky Mountains
Alpacas are becoming more popular as a cash crop in Wyoming and the Rocky Mountain region. At the Great Western Alpaca Show in Cheyenne, producers said they prized for their soft, luxurious wool — and are great with kids.
Renée JeanMay 18, 2025
Record Prices Have Triggered A New Kind Of Gold Rush — Jewelry Sales
Record gold prices have people around Wyoming cleaning out their jewelry drawers and hitting up gold buyers for cash in a new kind of gold rush. One gold buyer in Cheyenne estimates his traffic is up 50%.
Renée JeanMay 17, 2025
Local Food Trend A Growing $24 Million Economic Force In Wyoming
The Lucky Buffalo Farm Stand near Burns is part of a growing local food trend in Wyoming. Already injecting $24 million a year into the state’s economy, local food venues have been a rising trend since Wyoming adopted the Food Freedom Act in 2015.
Renée JeanMay 17, 2025