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

Tracy Carotta explains where he got his ideas for the unique pizzas listed on his menu.

Kemmerer’s Scroungy Moose Pizza Put Out 47,000 Creative Pizzas In 21 Years

Creativity is the calling card for Scroungy Moose Pizza in Kemmerer, which has produced 47,000 unique pies over the past 21 years. The Scroungy Cousteau is a favorite which combines oysters and artichokes on a bed of pesto sauce.

Renée JeanNovember 11, 2023

Members of Worland High School's Class of 1960, aka War Babies of Worland, look at a display about the class with photos and QR codes that lead to stories of some of the class members.

Worland ‘War Babies’ Were Raised By Wyoming’s Greatest And Silent Generations

Cathy Healy, a former editor for National Geographic, was amazed at the stories her classmates were telling as the Worland Class of 1960 was planning its high school reunion. Healy convinced 20 of her classmates to participate in her “War Babies of Worland” project.

Renée JeanNovember 11, 2023

Wyoming Public Service Commission Chair Mary Throne listens to testimony on Rocky Mountain Power's proposed 30% rate hike.

Wyomingites Say They Can’t Afford Rocky Mountain Power’s 30% Rate Hike

Affordability was a recurring theme during the Wyoming Public Service Commission’s marathon hearing about Rocky Mountain Power’s proposed 30% electricity rate hike.

Renée JeanNovember 11, 2023

No Longer Schwan’s, Yelloh Eliminates Trademark Truck Delivery In Wyoming, West

Yelloh, which had been Schwan's up until last year, is eliminating its trademark delivery service in all but 18 states on the East Coast. That means no more yellow freezer trucks in Wyoming and the West.

Renée JeanNovember 08, 2023

Cindy Miller asks a question about the timeline for the nuclear plant in Kemmerer.

Nuclear Regulators Talk Plant Timelines, Safety At Packed Kemmerer Meeting

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission had a full house in Kemmerer on Tuesday to open public discussions about its safety review of the proposed TerraPower nuclear plant.

Renée JeanNovember 08, 2023

The view is amazing at Granite Creek Ranch. The caretakers' residence appears small beside the mountains.

Rare Jackson Wilderness Inholding Hits The Market For $9 Million

It’s not every day someone can buy a slice of their own wilderness. Especially a wilderness that comes with a cinematic icon nearby. The Granite Creek Ranch is just downstream from where an iconic scene in the 1992 movie “A River Runs Through It” was filmed.

Renée JeanNovember 06, 2023

A Natrium nuclear power plant by TerraPower will replace the Naughton power plant near Kemmerer when it's decommissioned.

Nuclear Regulatory Commission In Kemmerer on Tuesday To Discuss New Nuclear Power Plant

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which is the federal agency charged with ensuring nuclear plants in the U.S. are safe, is coming to Kemmerer on Tuesday to explain how their particular process will unfold, as well as how the community can engage with the agency.

Renée JeanNovember 05, 2023

The National Championship Air Races are looking for a new home, and Casper is on the short list. It could mean a $100 million economic jolt for the area and Wyoming.

Landing National Championship Air Races Could Be $100M Coup For Wyoming

Casper is on the short list to land the famous National Championship Air Races after a 60-year run in Reno, Nevada. Landing the event would be a $100 million shot in the arm for the city and region.

Renée JeanNovember 05, 2023

The Atlas Theatre on Lincolnway in downtown Cheyenne.

Inside The Decades-Long Effort To Restore Cheyenne’s Iconic Atlas Theatre

The Atlas Theatre in downtown Cheyenne is one of the capital city’s oldest buildings, but it’s been surviving by its bootstraps for decades as efforts to restore it continue on.

Renée JeanNovember 05, 2023

Costco Really Does Have Everything, Even Gold Bars — And They’re Selling Out

Costco’s recent offering of 1-ounce gold bars turned quite a few heads. The gold bars sold out within a few hours of appearing on the website — faster than toilet paper in a pandemic.

Renée JeanNovember 04, 2023

That Time Elvis Had A Drink At The Virginian Bar In Medicine Bow, Wyoming

Margaret Parr started working at The Virginian Hotel in Medicine Bow when she was 11, including tending bar there before she was old enough to drink. One of her customers was a young Elvis Presley.

Renée JeanNovember 04, 2023

Rocky Mountain Power Gets Heat From Wyoming Legislature On Nearly 30% Rate Hike

In another day of marathon hearings on Rocky Mountain Power’s proposed rate hikes of nearly 30%, the company was questioned over heat its getting from the Wyoming Legislature.

Renée JeanOctober 31, 2023

Other Authors

An app on this cellphone shows what appears to be a ghost child dancing or walking around in front of the library's DVD section.

Built On An Old Graveyard, Sweetwater County Library Is Wyoming’s Most Haunted

Built on an old graveyard, the Sweetwater County Library in Green River embraces a haunted history that includes finding old bodies, reports of apparitions, moving objects, and other unexplained happenings.

Renée JeanOctober 30, 2023

Michael and Karmin Pace at Cheyenne Frontier Days

Why Michael And Karmin Pace Take 600 People To Cheyenne Frontier Days Every Year

A trip in his early 20s started a lifelong love affair with Wyoming and the West for Pace-O-Matic founder Michael Pace. That’s why his company flies 600 people to Wyoming every year for Cheyenne Frontier Days.

Renée JeanOctober 29, 2023

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.

The Virginian Hotel Has been A Wyoming And Western Icon For More Than A Century

The Virginian Hotel, inspired by the famous Owen Wister novel "The Virginian," is a Wyoming and Western Icon that’s been run by four generations of the same family for more than a century.

Renée JeanOctober 29, 2023

Hangin' out with Hoot, the most famous owl on the planet, at the Fort Bridger Rendezvous.

On The Road With Renee: An Epic 24,000-Mile, 100-Day Marathon Wyoming Road Trip

Now that the snow is flying, Cowboy State Daily writer Renée Jean’s epic 24,000-mile, 100-day summer road trip is over. She turned out dozens of uniquely-Wyoming stories featuring hundreds of local people.

Renée JeanOctober 29, 2023

Strange things have reportedly happened at The Main Bagel in Gillette.

Haunted Wyoming: Spirits At Gillette Bagel Shop Make Themselves Known In Loud And Obnoxious Ways

A pair of Gillette restauranteurs say strange things started happening at the bagel shop they owned after a family friend died, including unexplainable loud banging and a visible ghostly handprint.

Renée JeanOctober 28, 2023

Maggie Imman, a University of Wyoming student, attended Thursday's Wyoming Public Service Commission meeting in Cheyenne dressed as a bald eagle to comment on the costs of electricity in the state and the toll wind turbines take on eagles.

UW Student Dressed As Eagle Pleads For Birds During RMP Rate Hike Hearing

University of Wyoming student Maggie Immen showed up dressed as an eagle for Thursday’s Wyoming Public Service Commission meeting to draw attention to eagles and other birds that are killed by wind turbines.

Renée JeanOctober 27, 2023

BLM Backs Off Approval Of Albany County Wind Transmission Line

In response to a lawsuit claiming the agency didn’t give proper public notice of its plans to build a wind transmission line through Albany County, the BLM has backed off and agreed to give it a closer look.

Renée JeanOctober 26, 2023

State Sen. Cale Case testifies to the Wyoming Public Service Commission on Wednesday about proposed Rocky Mountain Power rate hikes that add up to nearly 30%.

Part Of Huge Electricity Rate Hike Is To Pay For Washington State Carbon Tax

The Wyoming Public Service Commission got an earful Wednesday that Cowboy State residents shouldn’t be on the hook to pay a state of Washington carbon tax on a gas-fired power plant.

Renée JeanOctober 26, 2023

Wyoming Could Still Meet Deadline To Issue Digital Stable Token By End Of Year

Wyoming Stable Token Commission’s new executive director recommends using Ethereum for initial development of its stable token as the race is on to issue at least one Wyoming stable token by the end of the year.

Renée JeanOctober 24, 2023

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