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

Story’s Wagon Box Restaurant Listed For $3.195 Million, New Chef Plans Reopening

The historic Wagon Box restaurant in Story is listed for $3.195 million, but owner Paul McNiel isn’t “hellbent” on selling. A new chef from Washington, D.C., hopes to reopen the restaurant by mid-December as McNiel considers a sale or seeks a financial partner.

Renée JeanNovember 12, 2026

Levi Johnson was looking for his baby’s overdue medicine when he found four baskets of other people’s mail beside his neighborhood’s mailboxes. He says a postal carrier later acknowledged leaving them behind.

Wyoming Dad Searching For Baby’s Overdue Medicine Finds Boxes Of Mail Left On Road

Levi Johnson had to do some detective work when his baby’s medicine failed to show up in his Burns mailbox. When it finally arrived, he found four baskets of mail left beside the road. He says a postal carrier later acknowledged leaving them behind.

Renée JeanNovember 11, 2026

Dr. Charlotte Hawks delivered hundreds of babies in Green River, battled the deadly 1918 flu epidemic and helped build the town. “I had heard of other doctors who practiced in Green River, but I had just never heard of her,” says a local historian.

Forgotten Green River Doctor Delivered Hundreds Of Babies, Likely State's 2nd Female Doc

A Wyoming historian is piecing together the life of a pioneer physician whose accomplishments have largely vanished from memory. Dr. Charlotte Hawk delivered hundreds of babies, battled the 1918 flu epidemic and helped build the town of Green River.

Renée JeanNovember 08, 2026

Eric Carman-Murray, southwest Wyoming regional director for Manufacutring Works, is piloting domestic supply chain platform for Laramie startups. It's already helped one company return some of its manufacturing to Wyoming.

How A Laramie Startup Is Bringing Manufacturers Back To Wyoming And The U.S.

A Laramie startup has created a platform to help manufacturing companies explore returning to Wyoming and the United States. A Powell native says companies want to come here, but connecting the dots is a job too big for most.

Renée JeanNovember 08, 2026

Clayton Cundy parked his motorcycle after losing his health insurance, deeming it too risky to ride it anymore. He is one of thousands of Wyomingites who have lost health insurance. So far, he hasn't found a viable long-term replacement policy.

Wyoming Man Forced To Give Up Health Insurance After Premiums Take 350% Hike

When Clay Cundy's monthly health insurance premium jumped from $620 to $2,200, the Gillette man had to give up his health insurance. He’s also parked his beloved motorcycle to avoid risking an accident and is considering a lower-paying job with benefits.

Renée JeanNovember 08, 2026

A love for trains helped seal the deal for Park City, Utah, award-winning Alpine Distilling’s co-owners Sara and Rob Sergent to pull the trigger on moving its headquarters to the historic Evanston Roundhouse.

Acclaimed Park City Distillery Moving Its Headquarters To Evanston Roundhouse

Award-winning Alpine Distilling is moving its headquarters and most production from Park City, Utah, to the historic Roundhouse in Evanston, which underwent a decades-long $28 million renovation. The owners said a love for railroads helped seal the deal.

Renée JeanNovember 08, 2026

One of the world's most prolific gold prospectors sees an area near Encampment as having the potential for his company's next big strike.

World's Most Prolific Gold Prospector Seeking Next Big Strike Near Encampment

Bill Threlkeld, with Seabridge Gold, added more than 100 million ounces of gold to Seabridge’s portfolio over a 27-year tenure there. Now the career gold digger has his sights set on Encampment, Wyoming, as Seabridge's next big gold strike in the world.

Renée JeanNovember 07, 2026

Ned LeDoux plays a young Angela Ganter's Uncle in "Outriding the Devil."

‘Outriding The Devil’, Featuring Ned LeDoux, Picked Up By Hollywood Distributor

Wyoming filmmaker Raen LeVell didn't plan on entering his breakout rodeo docudrama, “Outriding the Devil” featuring Ned LeDoux, into a film festival. But the universe had a different idea and now it's been picked up by a major Hollywood distributor.

Renée JeanNovember 07, 2026

Craftco General Manager Brandan LeVee gestures in front of a large industrial press brake on the company's metal fabrication floor in Sheridan.

How Sheridan Built A Manufacturing Hub That Helps New Businesses Take Root

Manufacturing employment in Sheridan has doubled since 2018. Wendtland Machine Works is part of the much bigger story of how Sheridan built a manufacturing community that not only supports the next manufacturer, but encourages new ones to set up shop.

Renée JeanNovember 07, 2026

Mark Call has been waiting almost a year to get mail service started to his neighborhood. It's complicating financial transactions and deliveries.

As Some In Lincoln County Wait A Year For Mail Service, Another Post Office Closes

Mail troubles are brewing in the Afton area. A homeowner in a new subdivision has been waiting over a year to receive mail service, while nearby Grover residents must now travel to Afton to collect mail after their local postal services were closed.

Renée JeanNovember 05, 2026

Brothers Who Sold $264M Ski Empire To Vail Resorts Set To Buy Snowy Range Ski Area

Brothers who ran Peak Resorts before selling to Vail Resorts for $264 million in 2019 are now negotiating to buy Snowy Range Ski Area in southern Wyoming. "We love to ski, and we just miss being around it," said Jesse Boyd, one of the brothers.

Renée JeanNovember 04, 2026

Paul and Lynn Montoya still have few answers a week removed from being stranded in Cambodia when their cruise ship abruptly went bankrupt and kicked them off.

A Week After Cruise Ship Dumped Them In Cambodia, Wyoming Couple Has Few Answers

A Wyoming couple still has few answers a week removed from being stranded in Cambodia when their cruise ship abruptly went bankrupt and kicked them off. They’re now lugging suitcases around Kuala Lumpur and trying to regroup.

Renée JeanNovember 03, 2026

Other Authors

Roger Huckfeldt of Torrington was shocked to find his lilacs blooming in November.

Why The Heck … Are Wyoming Lilacs Still Blooming In November?

Roger Huckfeldt’s lilacs in Torrington are doing a strange thing. They are blooming out as if it were spring, leaving Huckfeldt to wonder if his longtime lilac shrubs are doomed. In the meantime, he's getting a lot of really bad advice....

Renée JeanNovember 02, 2026

Archaeologist Richard Adams stumbled across an ancient village high in the Wind River Range 20 years ago.

Wyoming’s Machu Picchu Is An Ancient 4,000-Year-Old Village Hidden In Wind River Range

A University of Wyoming archaeologist and his team discovered a sprawling ancient village high in the Wind River Range 20 years ago. The 4,000-year-old lodge sites, what they have called Wyoming's Machu Picchu, have helped redefine prehistoric life in the mountains.

Renée JeanNovember 02, 2026

A film crew moves in close for a shot of Clyde the Buffalo. Owner Clint Mortenson is kneeling.

Celebrity Bison Clyde Draws A Crowd While Filming TV Show In Downtown Sheridan

Nothing quite prepares someone for rounding a corner on Sheridan’s Main Street and coming face-to-face with Clyde, a 2,000-pound celebrity bison and literally Hollywood’s biggest star. The bad-ass bovine drew a crowd filming a TV show last weekend.

Renée JeanNovember 02, 2026

Mark Demple holds up a bottle of whiskey that one of his ancestors produced.

Sheridan’s PO News & Flagstaff Cafe Is Like Having Breakfast In A Time Capsule

Breakfast at the PO News & Flagstaff Cafe in Sheridan is a Twilight Zone experience. It's a time capsule from 1916, that has endured mostly unchanged for 110 years. "What it looks like today is what it looked like then," says co-owner Mark Demple.

Renée JeanNovember 01, 2026

The Average Sheridan Family Qualifies For $220,000 Less Than The Median Home Price

Sheridan’s housing market mirrors communities across Wyoming, where the average family only qualifies for about $220,000 less than the median home price of $585,000. That’s pricing out its “missing middle” — nurses, teachers, cops and blue-collar workers.

Renée JeanNovember 01, 2026

A dairy cow at Shumway Farms with the retail store in the background.

Afton’s Shumway Farms, Last Of Wyoming’s Star Valley Dairies, Stages Comeback

Afton's Shumway Farms is the last legacy dairy left in Star Valley, which was once known as America’s “Little Switzerland.” Now the western Wyoming dairy is staging a comeback that’s about to go national.

Renée JeanNovember 01, 2026

A Wyoming aviation group has begun repainting the giant yellow airstrip arrows that once guided airmail pilots across the state.

Wyoming’s Huge Arrows That Guided 1920s Airmail Repainted Original Bright Yellow

The giant concrete arrows across southern Wyoming that guided 1920s airmail pilots originally were bright yellow to make them stand out. Repainting them is a way an aviation group is keeping the arrows from fading away into history.

Renée JeanNovember 01, 2026

Aladdin's coal tipple is on its last legs. Wyoming preservation groups hope to save it. It's among the last wooden coal tipples still standing.

Race Is On To Save West's Last 19th-Century Wooden Coal Tipple In Aladdin

Leaning and close to collapse, the race is on to save the West’s last 19th-century wooden coal tipple in Aladdin, which has stood since 1895. One organizer of the rescue said every other wooden tipple in the U.S. built before 1900 has collapsed.

Renée JeanOctober 31, 2026

Paul and Lynn Montoya of Laramie, Wyoming, talk about abruptly being kicked off the cruise ship they were living on in Cambodia.

Wyoming Couple Who Sold Everything To Live On Cruise Ship Stranded In Cambodia

A Laramie couple who sold their home so they could live on a cruise ship is stranded in Cambodia after the company ran out of money for fuel. After spending $450,000 so far, Paul and Lynn Montoya are stuck. "I'm angry," Lynn Montoya said.

Renée JeanOctober 30, 2026