Writer

Jackie Dorothy

Jackie Dorothy is a reporter for Cowboy State Daily based in central Wyoming.

Over the past 20 years, Jackie has worked in television, radio and print across Wyoming. In this role, she has won numerous writing and history awards including the Wyoming Governor’s Journalist of the Year and SBA Journalist of the Year.

Jackie is also the podcast host of ‘Pioneers of Outlaw Country’ that explores little known historical stories of Wyoming with entertaining narrative.

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Latest from Jackie Dorothy

Lucy Barnard walked into Wyoming over the Continental Divide in October 2024. Her goal is to walk to Yellowstone National Park by December before she must return to Australia to renew her passport. She is walking the length of the earth and is gathering a group of women to join her on the last leg of the trip in Alaska.

Australian Woman Hiking Through Wyoming On Quest To Walk Length Of The Earth

Australian Lucy Barnard is walking 18,000 miles from the tip of South America to the top of North America to become the first woman to walk the length of the earth. She’s now in Wyoming, getting to Lander after hiking across the Red Desert.

Jackie DorothyNovember 24, 2024

Cathy Ringler and her horse Zigzag have had many adventures over the years. Zigzag was originally supposed to be a barrel horse; however, he did not enjoy performing and much preferred being out on the trail.

Wyoming People: Award-Winning Horseback Storyteller Cathy Ringler

Cathy Ringler is a Wyoming cowgirl who told stories to her daughters while they rode horseback in Park County. Those stories have become a series of award-winning books based on Ringler’s own experiences riding horses on the range and teaching school in a two-room schoolhouse.

Jackie DorothyNovember 24, 2024

As proposed members of the future Trump administration consider making it legal to sell raw milk, it is already legal in several states, including Wyoming. Raw milk can be sold directly from the producer, like Little Acres Farm in Lovell, to the consumer who assumes the risk.

Raw Milk Is Legal In Wyoming, And Trump Might Soon Make It Legal Everywhere

Raw milk is already legal in several states, including Wyoming, and the incoming Trump administration could make it legal nationwide.

Jackie DorothyNovember 18, 2024

Roedy Farrell at the Texas Tech College Rodeo in Lubbock a couple of weeks ago.

Wyoming Bareback Rider Roedy Farrell Closes In On Pro Rodeo Dream

Thermopolis cowboy Roedy Farrell was born to be a rodeo star. The son of a National Finals Rodeo bull rider, Roedy competed in Cheyenne Frontier Days for the first time last summer. Now 19, bareback riding is his sport of choice and he's decided to go pro.

Jackie DorothyNovember 17, 2024

White Mountain and Pilot Butte near Rock Springs, Wyoming, viewed from a distance. The search for a missing 16-year-old boy in 1963 led to the formation of Sweetwater County Search and Rescue. But the boy, Edward Eskridge, was never found. That still haunts a now 90-year-old George Liska, who helped with the search for the teen.

The Boy Never Found Still Haunts Wyoming Searcher 61 Years Later

When a 16-year-old boy went missing in the Wyoming Wilderness in 1963, a desperate search was launched. More than 200 looked for Edward Eskridge, including the National Guard, but he was never found — and it still haunts one of those searchers, 90-year-old George Liska.

Jackie DorothyNovember 17, 2024

A painting of Big Nose George Parrott, a man who murder came naturally to, holding up the Deadwood stage, by Charles M. Russell.

The Dangerous Job Of Driving Stage In Wyoming: Robberies, Run-Away Horses And Rock Slides

Coal miner John Hulse discovered that driving a stagecoach in Wyoming was more dangerous than working in the mines. He survived hold-ups, run-away horses and rockslides before returning to the Gebo coal mines.

Jackie DorothyNovember 17, 2024

Drought and wildfires is forcing more Wyoming ranchers to sell off more of their cattle. At Torrington Livestock Markets on Friday, Nov. 15, 2024, it was the largest sale in at least a decade.

Drought, Wildfires Prompt Torrington’s Biggest Cattle Sale In A Decade

Drought and wildfires are prompting cattle ranchers in Wyoming and around the region to sell more of their cattle than ever. The Torrington Livestock market had its biggest cattle sale in a decade Friday, with 4,000 bovine sold.

Jackie DorothyNovember 15, 2024

Ava Cole is surrounded by rocks of all types and her jewelry at Ava’s Silver and Rock Shop in Thermopolis, Wyoming.

Wyoming Rockhounds Have Been Making Museum-Quality Jewelry And Art For 50 Years

If there’s something Wyoming has plenty of it’s rocks and minerals, but it takes true artists to turn them into something unique and valuable. That’s what Eddy and Ava Cole, from Thermopolis, have been doing for 50 years, turning out museum-quality jewelry and rock art.

Jackie DorothyNovember 10, 2024

"1st Battalion" is a sculpture at Mt. Pisgah Cemetery in Gillette, Wyoming, where hundreds of military veterans are buried.

The No-Longer-Forgotten Veterans Buried In Gillette’s Mount Pisgah Cemetery

There are more than 1,000 veterans buried in Mount Pisgah Cemetery in Gillette dating back to the Civil and Spanish American wars. But many of them have become forgotten. Two local historians are unearthing and sharing their stories.

Jackie DorothyNovember 10, 2024

Kathy Sorensen is a self-proclaimed advocate for all the things people hate. She nearly always has her camera ready to catch the bugs, reptiles and pests in action and will adopt the ones in need.

Wyoming’s Critter Lady Loves All Those Creepy-Crawlies Others Hate

If it creeps, crawls or grosses you out, chances are Kathy Sorensen — aka Wyoming's critter lady — loves it. She's a self-proclaimed advocate for all the things other people hate, and does photo shoots with them.

Jackie DorothyNovember 10, 2024

Tom Skinner's Hole in the Wall Saloon in Thermopolis in 1908. The infamous outlaw gang wouldhang out there.

He Cowboyed With Outlaws Before Chasing Them As Bighorn Basin’s First Sheriff

Virgil Rice tracked horse thieves and had epic shootouts with notorious outlaws as the Bighorn Basin’s first sheriff. Before that, though, he cowboyed with future members of the Hole in the Wall Gang.

Jackie DorothyNovember 09, 2024

Jim Hicks, 89, has been in the Wyoming newspaper business for 60 years. He continues to write satire as “Sagebrush Sven” in the Buffalo Bulletin, the newspaper he once owned and now published by his son, a third-generation Wyoming newspaperman. Sagebrush Sven began as a non-humor column… until it was taken over by Jim Hicks who used the opportunity to share humorous observations from around his small town of Buffal. His wife, Mary Hicks, illustrated many of his columns.

Jim Hicks — And His Alter-Ego Sagebrush Sven — Have Made Wyoming Laugh For 60 Years

After 60 years as a Wyoming newspaperman, Jim Hicks is still writing his weekly humor column for the Buffalo Bulletin. He and his alter-ego Sagebrush Sven continue lampooning Buffalo, the Cowboy State and himself.

Jackie DorothyNovember 09, 2024

Other Authors

Wyoming Sheep Industry Cheers As Denver Voters Kill Slaughterhouse Ban

Denver voters killed an ordinance Tuesday that would have shuttered a large slaughterhouse that processed 20% of America’s lamb, and more than 50% of Wyoming's. Cowboy State ranchers are cheering the proposal’s defeat.

Jackie DorothyNovember 06, 2024

House District 47: Bob Davis, R, Keeps His Sweetwater County Seat

In District 47, Robert Davis, Republican incumbent, beat Democratic challenger James Wilson on Tuesday to continue serving in Wyoming’s House of Representatives.

Jackie DorothyNovember 06, 2024

House District 28: Winter, R, Wins Another Term in Wyoming House

Wyoming House District 28 went to incumbent Republican John Winter, who handily beat Democratic challenger Larry Alwin on Tuesday.

Jackie DorothyNovember 06, 2024

Candace Toledo dances in a jingle dress she created.

Wyoming Navajo Dressmaker’s Work Has Been In Movies, Powwows And Carnegie Hall

Navajo dressmaker Candace Toledo of Arapahoe, Wyoming, has found inspiration through creating traditional and modern Native American fashion. Her one-of-a-kind creations have been featured in a Disney movie, at powwows and at Carnegie Hall in New York.

Jackie DorothyNovember 03, 2024

Deputy Clark said they posted this photo of Williams Road to highlight the fall colors.

Find The Sheriff In Niobrara County -- A ‘Where’s Waldo’ Activity To Connect With Residents

In Niobrara County, locals are invited to guess where local deputies are every Friday. The department posts a photo of a Sheriff’s Office vehicle somewhere in the rural county and people somehow figure out where the deputy is.

Jackie DorothyNovember 03, 2024

The first block of Gillette Avenue is haunted, some say — every building.

Haunted Wyoming: Gillette Avenue May Be The Most Haunted Street In Wyoming

There are those who insist the ghosts come out after dark in downtown Gillette. From First to Second streets, “The entire first block of Gillette Avenue is haunted."

Jackie DorothyOctober 30, 2024

Young cowboy Levi Logan wanted his horse, Snip, to join him for Halloween trick or treating so the duo will be galloping from house to house as the Headless Horseman.

Like A True Woming Cowboy, 10-Year-Old Plans To Trick-Or-Treat On Horseback

When 10-year-old Levi Logan chose his Halloween costume, he wanted one that included his best friend — his horse, Snip. So Levi and Snip will trick-or-treat around Thermopolis, Wyoming, as the Headless Horseman.

Jackie DorothyOctober 30, 2024

Johnson County sheep rancher Mike Miller trails about 150 ewes and lambs down Echeta Road into Gillette in May 2024.

Proposed Slaughterhouse Ban Could Devastate Wyoming Sheep Ranchers

An animal rights group wants to shut down the only slaughterhouse in Denver city limits. Those who oppose a local ballot measure say it would cost thousands of jobs and could devastate sheep ranchers in Wyoming and throughout the U.S.

Jackie DorothyOctober 30, 2024

The Sweetwater County Library in Wyoming was built in 1979 on the site of a former cemetery. It was discovered during construction that not all the graves were reinterred up the hill at the new cemetery. Many of the library staff and patrons have witnessed unexplained occurrences that they believe are related to the disturbed graves of Green River’s former residents.

Haunted Wyoming: Sweetwater County Library Built On Pioneer Graves And Were Not Moved

If it sounds like the movie Poltergeist, there are similarities. The Sweetwater County Library was built on an old cemetery and the graves were supposed to have been moved. But not all of them were.

Jackie DorothyOctober 27, 2024

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