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

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Wyoming 'Future-Proofs' Oil And Gas Industry With Nation's First Bonding Pool

On the heels of a Biden administration proposal to raise oil and gas bonding requirements by 1,900%, Wyoming is creating the nation’s first state-backed bonding pool to shield independent producers. "We're not on defense now," an industry spokesman said.

Renée JeanAugust 21, 2026

Payward/Kraken’s Co-CEO Arjun Sethi, right, talks with Eleanor Terrett with Crypto in America about the challenges the company faces. Kraken is a Wyoming-based company, which relocated its headquarters to the Cowboy State.

Who’s Who Of Digital Finance In Jackson To Talk Future Of Virtual Economies

Speculative crypto is out and blockchain is in. That's the message from a who's who of digital finance CEOs in Jackson about the future of virtual economies. Digital finance is growing up and out of "our puberty phase," says an expert.

Renée JeanAugust 18, 2026

5,500-Acre Wyoming Ranch And Hunting Destination Hits Market For Nearly $30M

The 5,582-acre Steiner Ranch in northeast Wyoming, a premiere spot for hunting trophy bull elk and mule deer, has just been listed for sale at nearly $30 million. Last year, Martha Stewart was at the ranch to study its farm-to-fork ecosystem.

Renée JeanAugust 17, 2026

Llamas Are Becoming A Big Tourism Draw At Farm In Elk Mountain, Wyoming

What began as an Elk Mountain girl’s FFA project has grown into a herd of party-going, trail-hiking llamas that draw visitors for farm tours, selfies, and wackiness. "They look like something from a Dr. Seuss book," says owner Steve Priest.

Renée JeanAugust 16, 2026

How A Sheridan Woman Turned Her Closet Into A Funky Worldwide Fashion Business

Laid off from a corporate job, Kelli Tracy started selling clothes out of her closet on Instagram. Ten years later, she owns Sheridan’s Lil Bee’s Bohemian and ships her '70s-inspired designs to people all over the world from her Wyoming storefront.

Renée JeanAugust 16, 2026

Old-timers in remote Elk Mountain, Wyoming — like Powd Boles — tell wild stories of survival in a place where wind blew so hard men had to crawl to the next ridge.

Elk Mountain Old-Timers Keep Remote Town’s Wild History Alive One Story At A Time

To preserve the town's legacy, old-timers in remote Elk Mountain, Wyoming, are sharing their tales for a film project. The blizzards were so bad, they say, you had to trust your horse to get home.

Renée JeanAugust 16, 2026

Dime Horseshoe Bar owner Jess Jones does an exhibition burnout ride during the annual contest in Sundance held during Sturgis Rally week.

Why Sturgis Riders Have Packed Sundance, Wyoming, For 50 Years Of Its Annual Burnout

Sturgis Motorcycle Rally riders have packed Sundance, Wyoming, for its annual burnout for more than 50 years. Legend has it the burnout started inside the Dime Horseshoe Bar. “The bigger the cloud of smoke is, the better,” says one rider.

Renée JeanAugust 15, 2026

Little Snake River Museum Director Lela Emmons talks about restoring the Niland cabin in the Medcine Bow-Routt National Forest, which is being restored.

Leeches, Lambs And Log Walls: Race Is On To Save Medicine-Bow’s Niland Cabin

High up in the Medicine Bow National Forest, a log cabin that once anchored one of Wyoming’s old range-sheep operations was in danger of being lost forever until the Little Snake River Museum stepped up. "There will be nothing left if we don’t preserve this cabin," they say.

Renée JeanAugust 15, 2026

Elk Montain Hotel sits at the base of Elk Mountain near Medicine Bow river.

How Wyoming’s Elk Mountain Hotel Went From Money Pit To Historic Showplace

Built 120 years ago when an Overland Trail stage stop burned down, many warned its previous owner it would be a money pit to restore. He did it anyway, and now the Elk Mountain Hotel has become a showplace on the National Register of Historic Places.

Renée JeanAugust 15, 2026

Roy Griebler, Wisconsin, has been coming to Hulett's Ham and Jam since the 1980s. He remembers when it was a. bit wilder, but it's still a fun time.

Sturgis 2026: Hulett's Ham & Jam — The Detour Party That's Become A Destination

Hulett's Ham and Jam is supposed to be a one-day party. Ride in, have a Bloody Mary, eat a pork sandwich, and roar off into the distance toward Sturgis. But it's become such a popular event, the 30,000 bikers who visit every year have extended their stay.

Renée JeanAugust 13, 2026

Descendants of Jim Baker attending the rededication of the famous mountain man's cabin from left are Michael and Paul McAllister, Chilly Rollison, Cynthia Reschke Collyard, and James Neeley.

Jim Baker Descendants Celebrate Work To Save Forgotten Mountain Man’s Savery Home

Long before he built his cabin in Savery, Jim Baker led two dozen men in an 1841 fight that gave Battle Mountain its name. Now his far-flung descendants and a tiny museum are fighting time, money and rotten logs to save the frontier scout’s last home.

Renée JeanAugust 11, 2026

Colorado cowboy and journalist Will Grant rode all 2,000 miles of the Pony Express trail on horseback. His trip was inspired by the legacy of America’s pioneers, and he said their Code-of-the-West grit and hospitality is still alive, especially in Wyoming.

Cowboy Rides All 2,000 Miles Of Pony Express, Says Wyoming Weather Overwhelming

Cowboy and journalist Will Grant rode all 2,000 miles of the Pony Express trail on horseback. He said the trip gave him a newfound respect for Wyoming weather. Mosquitoes in Jeffrey City are bad, while South Pass can be freezing cold even in July.

Renée JeanAugust 09, 2026

Other Authors

When agriculture took a nosedive in the 1980s, five ranching families in the tiny town of Chugwater decided to do something about it. They formed a company called Chugwater Chili, and 40 years later the chili — and the town — are still going strong.

Chugwater Chili At 40: How Five Families Came Together And Saved Chugwater

When agriculture took a nosedive in the 1980s, five ranching families in tiny Chugwater, Wyoming, decided to do something about it. They formed a company called Chugwater Chili, and 40 years later the chili — and the town — are still going strong.

Renée JeanAugust 09, 2026

The grain elevator has an enormous footprint.

Cheyenne Woman Saving 1910-Era Grain Elevator Wants To Resurrect City’s West Side

The owner of T-Joe’s Steakhouse in Cheyenne just spent $850,000 on a cluster of 1910-era buildings that includes the old Ful-O-Pep grain elevator to resurrect the city’s west side. “It will take a little work, but it won’t take very long,” she said.

Renée JeanAugust 09, 2026

Tell Christopher Volzke he can’t grow something in Wyoming, and it’s game on. Volzke and his wife, Angie, started their Unlocked Vines winery in Casper after winning a silver medal from Winemaker Magazine with a wine made from their Wyoming-grown grapes.

Casper Couple Proves You Can Make Award-Winning Wine In Wyoming

Growing up on a fifth-generation ranch made Christopher Volzke confident, despite what everyone told him, that he could get grapes to grow in Wyoming. Not only was he right, but he and his wife, Angie, won a silver medal for their wine from Winemaker Magazine.

Renée JeanAugust 08, 2026

A bison walks past a throng of visitors who had just watched the eruption of Old Faithful Geyser in Yellowstone National Park in this file photo.

Bison Tosses, Tourons And Cowboys: Why Yellowstone Is No. 1 National Park Online

Yellowstone is America’s No. 1 national park on Google, passing the Grand Canyon. Bison tossing people and bad-behaving visitors help, as people can’t seem to get enough of would-be wildlife paparazzi crowding animals that only appear to be docile.

Renée JeanAugust 07, 2026

Wyoming’s First Nickel Discovery Heads Into High-Tech, High-Stakes Drilling Phase

Armed with new technology and a major mining partner, Visionary Metals is ready to probe just how big — and how valuable — a nickel discovery at Jeffrey City is. If realized, it will be a first of its kind in the Western U.S. since the 1940s.

Renée JeanAugust 06, 2026

Wallop Family’s Quarter Circle Lazy B Ranch For Sale After 135 Years For $24.5M

The Wallop family's legacy Quarter Circle Lazy B Ranch in Sheridan County is for sale for the first time in 135 years, listing for $24.5 million. It hosted Queen Elizabeth II, supplied cavalry horses to Britain and helped build Wyoming's polo scene.

Renée JeanAugust 06, 2026

Across the valley, luxury vacant land appreciated an average of 1,384% over 30 years, or about 14 times what buyers originally paid. Luxury condos and townhomes rose on average 858%, about 8.6 times higher than their 1990 values, while luxury single-family homes climbed 657%, or about 6.6 times.

Kaboom! Value Of Jackson Luxury Property Has Exploded In Value Since 1995

A new 30-year analysis shows longtime Jackson Hole luxury property values have absolutely exploded in value since 1995. One 5.43-acre property increased in value from $275,000 in 1995 to $5.45 million in 2025, a 1,981% gain.

Renée JeanAugust 05, 2026

New Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh will attend the Federal Reserve’s annual symposium in Jackson Hole

New Fed Chief Visits As Two Elite Summits Puts Wyoming At Center Of Money Fight

In the span of a week, Teton County will host a 500-person, invite-only, digital-asset “Davos.” That will be followed by the Federal Reserve’s elite annual retreat. Each event is another round in a high-stakes wrestling match over the future of money.

Renée JeanAugust 04, 2026

Ashlee Kintzler dreamed up the idea of Moonhitch Wagons because she's a chariot racer, and she felt like downtown Buffalo, with all its historic buildings, was just begging for a wagon to appear.

Wyoming Places: Buffalo’s Covered Wagon Tours A Nod To Town’s Old West Legacy

Tourists enjoying a warm summer evening in Buffalo get to see something uniquely Western that’s not seen much anymore — a covered wagon rolling down Main Street at a leisurely pace, a gentle clip-clop of hooves echoing off historic storefronts.

Renée JeanAugust 03, 2026