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RJ
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

A Cheyenne City Council committee on Monday advanced a measure that could put two multimillion-dollar Derby Club gaming establishments out of compliance with city rules. It would prohibit gaming centers from being within 500 feet of day care centers and schools.

Proposed Rules Could Block Two Cheyenne Gaming Locations From Renewing Permits

A Cheyenne City Council committee on Monday advanced a measure that could put two multimillion-dollar gaming establishments out of compliance with city rules. It would prohibit gaming centers from being within 500 feet of day care centers and schools.

Renée JeanJune 02, 2026

Tim Meadows tells Cowboy State Daily he’s about to do something he’s never done in 40 years as a comedian — perform in Wyoming. “I try to punch up,” Meadows said about his style. “I don’t really like to punch down at people or issues."

'Saturday Night Live' Legend Tim Meadows To Perform In Wyoming For First Time

Tim Meadows told Cowboy State Daily he’s about to do something he’s never done in 40 years as a comedian — perform in Wyoming. Meadows, who appeared on Saturday Night Live for 10 seasons as The Ladies Man and other comedic characters, will do four live sets in June.

Renée JeanMay 31, 2026

When HGTV’s “Rehab Addict” filmed a historic home renovation in Evanston, Wyoming, it was the over-the-top Halloween “Clown House” across the street that kept photobombing the episode. Now fans won’t leave the homeowner alone.

Evanston Man’s Clown House’ Photobombs HGTV's "Rehab Addict" TV Show

When an episode of HGTV’s “Rehab Addict” was being filmed in Evanston, Wyoming, the creepy “Clown House” across the street inadvertently photobombed the shoot and was all its viewers were talking about. Now fans won't leave the house alone.

Renée JeanMay 31, 2026

It’s been 50 years since “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” was filmed at Devils Tower. “It’s the longest-running movie in a single location ever,” says Ogden Driskill about the movie, which has been shown there every summer night for 40 years.

50 Years Later, Sci-Fi Fans Still Find Their ‘Close Encounters’ At Devils Tower

Fifty years ago, the cameras rolled on “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” at Devils Tower after a handshake between a then-unknown Steven Spielberg and rancher Jesse Thomas Driskill. It would go on to completely reshape tourism in northeast Wyoming.

Renée JeanMay 31, 2026

Saving and restoring the historic Evanston Roundhouse has been the most extensive reclamation project in the city's history.

Evanston Has Spent Decades, And $28M, Restoring Its Historic Railroad Roundhouse

A century after Union Pacific stopped using it, decades of work has saved and restored Evanston’s historic Roundhouse and Railyards. The $28 million spent so far has made it one of the rare roundhouses in the U.S. that’s still completely operational. 

Renée JeanMay 31, 2026

Cheyenne’s Bouquets Unlimited is closing its doors after 44 years. Owner Shareen Brendle says the shop can’t compete with cheap grocery-store bouquets, online “order gatherers,” and big box chains undercutting wholesale prices. “I’m broken-hearted about it,” she said.

Cheyenne Florist To Close After 44 Years, Can't Compete With Online Giant Flower Stores

Cheyenne’s Bouquets Unlimited is closing its doors after 44 years because they can't compete with the online giants. In 1992, there were 27,000 florist storefronts in America. Today, they number 11,750.  “I’m broken-hearted about it,” the owner said.

Renée JeanMay 30, 2026

Cheyenne and Evanston are hearing the same pitch from data centers — closed-loop cooling, big megawatts, and even bigger paychecks. But while Cheyenne has a petition going for a moratorium on data centers, opposition in Evanston is much more muted.

A Tale Of Two Towns: Cheyenne Pushes Back On Data Centers, Evanston Not So Much

Cheyenne and Evanston are hearing the same pitch from data centers — closed-loop cooling, big megawatts, and even bigger paychecks. But while Cheyenne has a petition going for a moratorium on data centers, opposition in Evanston is much more muted.

Renée JeanMay 30, 2026

Microsoft built Cheyenne’s first data center.

Weeks After Unveiling 3,200-Acre Data Center Expansion, Microsoft Adds Another 420

Just weeks after unveiling a 3,200-acre data center expansion around Cheyenne, Microsoft is adding two more parcels totaling 420 acres. The move comes amid a deepening debate over data centers, growth, and water.

Renée JeanMay 29, 2026

Uinta County resident Keaunna Archuleta came to Wednesday's Planning and Zoning Commission meeting with five notebooks filled with questions about the proposed Prometheus Hyperscale data center.

Uinta County Planners Give Unanimous OK To 1.25-Gigawatt Prometheus Data Center

Uinta County planners voted unanimously Wednesday to recommend permit approvals for a huge 1.25-gigawatt data center. “Officials need to do their research on data centers,” said one of the few people from the standing-room-only crowd to speak out.

Renée JeanMay 28, 2026

A packed house turned out in Evanston's Roundhouse to hear answers about Prometheus Hyperscale's proposed data center in Uinta County.

Prometheus Faces Skeptical Crowd In Evanston Over Huge 1.2GW Data Center

Fifth-generation Wyoming rancher Trenton Thornock pitched a huge 1.2 gigawatt data center on family land to a skeptical Evanston crowd on Tuesday. The project is facing a rising tide of opposition against data centers locally and across Wyoming.

Renée JeanMay 27, 2026

As Wyoming faces another tinderbox fire season, high-tech home fire systems are starting to catch on across the West. One of the fastest growing is a Jackson Hole, Wyoming, company that makes AI sprinklers that are saving homes from wildfires.

Wyoming Company Uses High-Tech AI Sprinklers To Save Homes From Wildfire

As Wyoming faces another tinderbox fire season, high-tech home fire systems are starting to catch on across the West. One of the fastest growing is a Jackson Hole, Wyoming, company that makes AI sprinklers that are saving homes from wildfires.

Renée JeanMay 25, 2026

Sitting Bull and Buffalo Bill Center of the West 5 25 26

Sitting Bull Contract With Buffalo Bill Museum Returns To Wyoming After $136,000 Sale

Longtime museum supporter Naoma Tate paid $136K to secure Buffalo Bill Cody’s contract with Sitting Bull for the Buffalo Bill Museum in Cody, keeping a rare piece of Wyoming history in the Cowboy State. “It’s just wonderful this is coming back,” she said.

Renée JeanMay 25, 2026

Other Authors

Volunteers have revived the historic Red Shell School, once featured on the cover of national textbooks, turning it into a vacation rental, museum, and community hub.

Bell At Famous Red Shell Schoolhouse Rings Again After Decades Of Silence

The bell at the Red Shell School is ringing again after a decades-long effort to save the iconic 111-year-old one-room Wyoming schoolhouse. It’s so picturesque it became nationally famous for being featured on the cover of textbooks.

Renée JeanMay 25, 2026

Wyoming’s looser liquor laws — and higher elevations — make for memorable nights and steady business in Evanston on the state line with Utah. It’s Utah’s “Sin City,” where people go for booze, to place bets and buy fireworks.

Evanston Is Utah’s ‘Sin City,’ Where They Can Get Booze, Gamble, And Buy Fireworks

Wyoming’s looser liquor laws — and higher elevations — make for memorable nights and steady business in Evanston on the state line with Utah. It’s Utah’s “Sin City,” where people go for booze, to place bets and buy fireworks.

Renée JeanMay 25, 2026

Opposition to data centers is growing more vocal in Cheyenne — and spreading across Wyoming to Evanston and Casper. "It’s very creepy what we put up with now that we said we’d never put up with,” Sen. Cale Case says about the impacts of AI and tech. Above, a small data center under construction in east Cheyenne.

Opposition And Pushback On Data Centers Spreads Beyond Cheyenne, Across Wyoming

Opposition to data centers is growing more vocal in Cheyenne — and spreading across Wyoming to Evanston and Casper. "It’s very creepy what we put up with now that we said we’d never put up with,” Sen. Cale Case said about the impacts of AI and tech.

Renée JeanMay 23, 2026

Charles Hoskinsons’ $250 million bid to put the “Mayo Clinic of the West” in Gillette, Wyoming, is ending, clinic leaders confirmed on Friday, with closure targeted for late summer. “The organization is no longer financially sustainable,” the clinic says.

Gillette’s Hoskinson Health Clinic To Close, 'No Longer Financially Sustainable'

Charles Hoskinson's plan to build the “Mayo Clinic of the West” in Gillette, Wyoming, is ending, clinic leaders confirmed on Friday, with closure targeted for late summer. “The organization is no longer financially sustainable,” the clinic says.

Renée JeanMay 22, 2026

Mason Stillman, right, talks to a colleague at Campbell County Health where he serves as a psychiatrist.

How Wyoming Is Bringing Doctors Back Home — And Keeping Them

A 30-year program is keeping Wyoming doctors in the Cowboy State, retaining up to 80% of its graduates. For a state that consistently ranks among the lowest in the nation for physicians per capita, that's a huge step forward.

Renée JeanMay 22, 2026

Wyoming regulators are cracking down on bar raffle games like Queen of Hearts and Music Bingo that raise money charities, saying they’re illegal gambling. Above, Brian "Alf" Grzegorczyk has helped raise more than $4.5 million for local charities through his Thankful Thursday events.

Charity Bar Games Getting Shut Down By Wyoming Gambling Crackdown

Wyoming regulators are cracking down on bar raffle games like Queen of Hearts and Music Bingo that raise money for charities, saying they’re illegal gambling. “Why is horse racing an exception, but not charity?” asks an event organizer. 

Renée JeanMay 21, 2026

Releases of up to 1 million acre-feet of water downriver from Flaming Gorge are gutting the gorge’s world-famous kokanee fishery and has marinas racing to survive. “This is like a holocaust for nature,” said one marina owner about the impact. Above, Buckboard Marina before last year's season. The water level is dramatically lower now, and getting lower.

Flaming Gorge Marinas Race To Survive As 1M Acre-Feet Of Water Sent Downriver

Releases of up to 1 million acre-feet of water downriver from Flaming Gorge are gutting the gorge’s world-famous kokanee fishery and has marinas racing to survive. “This is like a holocaust for nature,” said one marina owner about the impact.

Renée JeanMay 20, 2026

A long line of people formed on both sides of the room during an emotional, four-hour hearing before the Public Services Committee on a moratorium for new data centers.

Cheyenne City Committee Won’t Support — Or Reject — Data Center Moratorium

Cheyenne’s Public Service Committee didn’t endorse or reject a 12-month moratorium on new data centers after hours of emotional testimony Monday. State legislators say the clash exposes issues the Wyoming Legislature may need to address.

Renée JeanMay 19, 2026

Paul Hutton looking over items in the auction, and trying to decide if the Buffalo Bill Center of the West will bid on anything.

Wyoming Museums Can’t Afford Historic Wild West Items So They Go To Auction

A glass negative of Butch Cassidy’s prison photo and Sitting Bull’s contract to be in Buffalo Bill’s ‘Wild West Show’ are among the items in a Western auction. Authenticity questions and steep prices put them out of reach for most Wyoming museums.

Renée JeanMay 17, 2026

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