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.

Find Renée Jean

Latest from Renée Jean

The Rock Shop Inn in Fremont County, Wyoming.

The Rock Shop Inn: A Spectacular Spot In the Heart Of Nowhere, Wyoming

The Rock Shop Inn in the heart of nowhere, Wyoming, is a pristine 5-acre gateway to a bouldering hotspot and hundreds of miles of Shoshone National Forest trails. The cabins re-opened in 2019 and the refurbished saloon will be open this summer.

Renée JeanApril 13, 2024

$When Justin Loeffler saw how expensive machines to process hemp were, he worked with an engineer to design his own at a fraction of the cost. It's also a lot faster processing hemp, at 30 tons an hour.$

Hawk Springs Farmer Works To Scale Up State’s Hemp Industry

A farmer in Hawk Springs thinks Wyoming can be a hemp industry leader in research and production. When he saw how expensive machines to process hemp were, he worked with an engineer to design his own at a fraction of the cost

Renée JeanApril 07, 2024

Dave Stephens has many photographs, but the one he likes best is the life-sized Marlboro Man portrait of his friend, Darrell Winfield.

Sublette County Auctioneer’s 41-Year Collection Fills Up House And Two Garages

After 41 years of auctioneering, Dave Stephens of Sublette County has amassed an eclectic collection of curiosities and historic Wyoming artifacts that cuts a wide swath of Cowboy State history.

Renée JeanApril 07, 2024

How Saving Pinedale’s Historic Stockman’s Saloon Nearly Killed Its New Owner

Pinedale’s historic Stockman’s Saloon and Steakhouse was close to falling over when Buck Buchenroth bought it as his retirement project. But restoring the iconic local spot literally nearly killed him.

Renée JeanApril 07, 2024

Archaeologists from South America work in the deep test unit at the Powers II site in Wyoming where two artifacts dating 14,000 years old were found.

Ghost Town Of Sunrise, Wyoming, Poised To Become International Tourist Draw

The discovery of 14,000-year-old artifacts near the historic former mining town of Sunrise, Wyoming, has the area poised to become an archaeology tourism destination with a new field school to study them.

Renée JeanApril 06, 2024

In a secret Cheyenne warehouse dubbed "Area 51," thousands of Wyoming's new license plates are being made.

Wyoming’s New License Plates Made In A Secret Warehouse Called ‘Area 51’

In a plain-Jane secret warehouse in Cheyenne dubbed “Area 51,” Wyoming’s new dark, solid-colored license plates are coming off the press by the thousands. WYDOT insists the color of the plates is dark blue, not black.

Renée JeanApril 06, 2024

The Historic Grand View River Ranch, formerly the Gros Ventre Ranch, has sold. The pristine 118-acre ranch was listed for $58 million for the property situated along the Gros Ventre River adjacent to Grand Teton National Park.

Historic Wyoming Ranch In Teton County Listed For $58 Million Sold

One of Wyoming’s most expensive properties is off the market. The Grand View River Ranch, listed for $58 million, is one of those very rare inholdings that’s surrounded by Grand Teton National Park and the Bridger Teton National Forest.

Renée JeanApril 03, 2024

Caitlin Long is the founder and CEO for Wyoming-based Custodia Bank.

Wyoming-based Custodia Bank Loses Lawsuit Against Fed, May Appeal

Wyoming-based Custodia Bank has lost the first round of a court battle for access to the Federal Reserve’s services, which limits what it can offer customers. The company says it may appeal the ruling.

Renée JeanApril 02, 2024

The Virginian is as iconic Western Wyoming as any place in the Cowboy State. Author Owen Wister got the idea for his famous novel of the same name while sleeping across the street, which inspired naming the hotel.

Wyoming’s Iconic The Virginian Hotel Has New Out-Of-State Owners

A pair of out-of-state owners have bought Wyoming’s iconic The Virginian Hotel in Medicine Bow for an undisclosed price, and they plan to invest in the historic property to restore and preserve it for another 113 years.

Renée JeanApril 01, 2024

A pair of technicians lower a body into a cryonics vessel.

Science Behind Frozen Dead Guys Advancing Beyond Sci-Fi

The Alcor Life Extension Foundation in Scottsdale has 227 cryopreserved patients including the brain of Boston Red Sox icon Ted Williams. You can be frozen for $220,000 for whole-body preservation or $90,000 for just your brain.

Renée JeanMarch 31, 2024

The Haunting Of Cheyenne's Knights Of Pythias Building

Back in the 1990s, a caretaker found a skeleton in a coffin hidden under a stage. Authorities determined it was a 15-year-old girl and was there for more than 50 years. Although her skeleton has been removed, people say her spirit is still there.

Renée JeanMarch 31, 2024

Snake River Roasting Company in Jackson, Wyoming.

Jackson Vacation Rental Mogul Now Roasts Specialty Coffee By The Ton

Mekki Jaidi owns the largest vacation rental company in Jackson and now wants to conquer the specialty coffee industry. Under his watch, Snake River Roasting Co. is going global, roasting 150,000 pounds of specialty coffee a year.

Renée JeanMarch 31, 2024

Other Authors

Austin Webster, aka the Evanston Mushroom Guy, stands in a grow room while making an instructional video on how to raise mushrooms.

Evanston Man Grows Gourmet Mushroom Business From The Ground Up

Austin Webster of Evanston always knew he wanted to grow a business, but it took awhile to realize that business would be growing things — premium gourmet mushrooms from his custom-built facility.

Renée JeanMarch 30, 2024

Visitors look at the solar eclipse at South Mike Sedar Park on Aug. 21, 2017, in Casper, Wyoming.

No Total Eclipse For Wyoming, But Still Plenty To See At 65%

Wyoming is not in the path of totality this time around for the April 8 eclipse, but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing to see. Our partial eclipse will be up to 65%, which is still pretty cool to view.

Renée JeanMarch 30, 2024

Bison graze in a field just below some of the mountain ranges that frame the sky at Joe Ricketts' ranch in Sublette County.

Locals In Bondurant, Wyoming, Angered By Push To Make It ‘Little Jackson Hole’

TD Ameritrade founder and Chicago Cubs owner Joe Ricketts’s push to rename Bondurant, Wyoming to Little Jackson Hole and build a swanky 230,000-square-foot resort is stirring fears in both Hoback Valley and Sublette County.

Renée JeanMarch 30, 2024

Customers line up in the U.S. Post Office on Converse Avenue in Cheyenne.

US Postal Service To Downsize Cheyenne Mail Center Against Objections

The Postal Service on Thursday announced that Cheyenne’s mail processing will move to Denver -- even for letters sent from one Cheyenne address to another. That’s going to mean letters take longer — but they say it will still be “on time.”

Renée JeanMarch 29, 2024

Dozens of huge, mature cottonwoods have come down in Cheyenne recently, replaced by saplings.

Clear-Cutting Cheyenne's Parks: 160+ Cottonwoods Chopped Down & More To Come

There aren’t many trees in Cheyenne. It’s hard to grow them. That’s what makes longtime Cheyenne resident Buck McVeigh so angry at the city for cutting down more than 160 cottonwoods and there’s more to come.

Renée JeanMarch 24, 2024

The smiling face of Bredo Morstol is among the first things visitors to the world's first International Cryonics Museum will see. The museum is set up at the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, just a couple hours south of Wyoming.

Stanley Hotel In Estes Park Opens World's First Cryonics Museum

A new spirit is haunting the famous Stanley Hotel in Estes Park. It’s Bredo, the Frozen Dead Guy, in the world's first International Cryonics Museum. Cryonics is the technique of deep-freezing a person just after death in the hope that scientific advances will one day allow that person to be revived.

Renée JeanMarch 24, 2024

Frozen Dead Guy Days' Blue Ball is held at the famous Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado.

Frozen Dead Guy Days -- Still A Great Party And Now In Estes Park

Frozen Dead Guy Days all started because the townspeope of Nederland, Colorado, wanted to celebrate the frozen body of Bredo, who was put on ice in a backyard shed. This year, Bredo was moved to the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, and the party came with him.

Renée JeanMarch 23, 2024

State-of-the-art ultrasound equipment is going to 143 health clinics across rural Wyoming thanks to a $13.9 million donation from the Helmsley Charitable Trust.

Huge $14M Donation Will Help Bring Much-Need Ultrasound Equipment To Rural Wyoming

Stating that geography should not be a barrier to quality health care, the CEO of One Health on Thursday announced that the Helmsley Charitable Trust has donated $14 million to purchase 143 cutting-edge ultrasound imaging devices across rural Wyoming.

Renée JeanMarch 21, 2024

Wyoming-Based Visionary Broadband Keeps Growing; Buys Colorado Internet Company

Visionary Broadband, an internet company that started in a Gillette basement with three-tech savvy friends, announced 15 new projects on Wednesday that are going to connect thousands of people in small communities like Centennial and Glendo to high-speed internet. It also just bought a Colorado internet provider to expand its regional reach.

Renée JeanMarch 21, 2024

Page 34