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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Former Sheridan broadcast pioneer and business owner Kim Love died Saturday. Friends and family recall him as outspoken, never afraid to say what was on his mind, and a stalwart economic and civic backer of Sheridan known as a “genius at” philanthropy.

Sheridan Mourns Kim Love, Broadcast Pioneer And Philanthropist

Sheridan broadcast pioneer and business owner Kim Love died Saturday. Friends and family recall him as outspoken, never afraid to say what was on his mind, and a stalwart economic and civic backer of Sheridan known as a “genius at” philanthropy.

Renée JeanMay 26, 2025

Chad Brown poses in front of a section of about 480 barrels in the backrooms of Pine Bluffs Distillery.

Pine Bluffs Distilling Wins International Award With Wyoming-Grown Whiskey

Pine Bluffs Distilling’s straight rye whiskey won a prestigious double-gold medal at an American Distilling Institute international competition. It’s a big win for a small-town craft distillery that makes whiskey with Wyoming-grown ingredients.

Renée JeanMay 26, 2025

Artifacts that date back to 16,000 years ago have been recently found in Sunrise, Wyoming, older than the site’s previous 14,000-year-old find. That’s the oldest yet evidence of people in the Western High Plains.

Wyoming Ghost Town Site Gives Up Evidence Of People From 16,000 Years Ago

Artifacts that date back to 16,000 years ago have been recently found at the ghost town site of Sunrise, Wyoming — older than the site’s previous 14,000-year-old find. That’s the oldest evidence yet of people in the Western High Plains.

Renée JeanMay 26, 2025

Kevin Deneen poses outside the Eishenhower Building in Washington, D.C., before a forum on artificial intelligence with Trump White House policymakers.

Wyoming Businessman Talks Artificial Intelligence Policy With Trump White House

Jackson businessman Kevin Deneen is cofounder of Moterra Campervans. He’s one of five small business owners from across America tapped to discuss artificial intelligence policy with Vice President JD Vance and the Trump White House.

Renée JeanMay 26, 2025

Rock Springs Teacher’s Crazy Costumes Make A Serious Point — Laughter Is Learning

Not all learning comes from a textbook — some of it comes from laughter. That’s inspired Rock Springs teacher Weston Lamb-Costantino to wear a lot of silly costumes to school, which his students love.

Renée JeanMay 25, 2025

An expanding greenhouse in Sublette County takes its name, Silver Stream Farm, from a Grateful Dead song written on a Wyoming ranch in Cora, just 15 miles away.

Huge Wyoming-Grown Greenhouse Embraces Grateful Dead Connection

The Grateful Dead and fresh produce might not sound like they go together, but they do at Silver Stream Farm northwest of Pinedale. The huge 25,000-square-foot greenhouse takes its name from a Grateful Dead song reportedly written in Wyoming.

Renée JeanMay 25, 2025

Cheyenne Botanic Gardens buys tulip bulbs by the thousands. They do well in Cheyenne, which has similar climate and geology as their ancestral region in Central Asia and the Mediterranean, where they typically grow on mountain slopes and steppes.

Cheyenne Botanic Gardens Buys Tulips By The Thousands, And They Last For Years

Holland may be famous for its tulips, but they’re all over Cheyenne as well each summer. The Cheyenne Botanic Gardens buys them by the thousands, and they thrive in southeast Wyoming, some lasting for a decade.

Renée JeanMay 25, 2025

Wyoming’s Popular Crazy Woman Canyon Unexpectedly Closed For The Summer

Crazy Woman Canyon is a draw for Wyomingites and visitors to Johnson County, but it’s been unexpectedly closed for the summer. It’s a blow for tourism and locals who count the canyon as a favorite outdoors getaway.

Renée JeanMay 25, 2025

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1.2-GW Wyoming Data Center To Help Pioneer New Battery Less Likely To Catch Fire

A new battery system could solve the runaway thermal problem that makes lithium batteries burst into flames. A 1.2-gigawatt data center near Evanston, Wyoming, is going to help a startup prove its new battery system.

Renée JeanMay 23, 2025

An email obtained by Cowboy State Daily confirms that Wyoming Office of Tourism Director Diane Shober plans to retire at the end of 2025. Former Gov. Dave Freudenthal says she was perfect for the job — an “unbearably happy human being.”

Longtime Wyoming Tourism Director Diane Shober To Retire After 22 Years

Longtime Wyoming Tourism Director Diane Shober announced she’s retiring at the end of 2025. Author CJ Box says she’s the best in the business and former Gov. Dave Freudenthal says she was perfect for the job — an “unbearably happy human being.”

Renée JeanMay 22, 2025

Sam, working a busy bar scene at Cheyenne's Uncle Charlie's Package Liquor, Grill & Tavern, is in wait and see mode on the No Tax on Tips bill that cleared the Senate unanimously on Tuesday.

Wyoming Service Workers Optimistic Over Senate Passage Of No Tax On Tips Bill

In a surprise move, the U.S. Senate passed the No Tax on Tips bill unanimously. The reaction from Wyoming service employees ranged from cautious optimism to elation. “The blue-collar worker, what’s left of us, needs their tips to help ends meet,” one barber said.

Renée JeanMay 22, 2025

The National Weather Service Office in Cheyenne.

Short-Staffed Cheyenne National Weather Service Office Ends 24/7 Monitoring

The National Weather Service forecast office in Cheyenne is short staffed and has killed its overnight shift, ending the office's 24/7 monitoring. Meteorologist Don Day says that could mean less accurate forecasts and less timely warnings for southeast Wyoming.

Renée JeanMay 19, 2025

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Yavilet Saenz holds up a baby chick in the animal science class at Little Snake River Valley School District's newly completed Livestock Center.

Little Snake River Students Get Hands-On In New $1.7M Livestock Center

A new $1.7 million livestock center has opened a hands-on classroom for students interested in ag education at Little Snake River School in Baggs. It’s the realization of a dream by their teacher.

Renée JeanMay 19, 2025

Children try their hand at raking during Pioneer Day at at Little Snake River Valley Museum.

Pioneer Town At Little Snake River Museum In Savery Takes Students Back To Days Of Old

Snow still tops Baker Mountain looking down on Little Snake River Museum in this hamlet near the Wyoming - Colorado border east of Baggs, Wyoming. More than 100 children gathered at the museum to celebrate the annual Pioneer Day.

Renée JeanMay 18, 2025

America’s only ski resort that operates exclusively in summers, Beartooth Basin Summer Ski Area near Cody will be open for skiing this summer for the first time in three years. It’s also for sale.

Beartooth Basin Will Open For Summer Skiing For First Time In Three Years

Beartooth Basin near Cody is America’s only ski resort that operates exclusively in the summer. Unlike other ski resorts where summer skiing could happen, Beartooth Basin, which will open for the first time in three years, doesn’t open for the winter at all.

Renée JeanMay 18, 2025

Spectators gathered around Russell Ratti and an alpaca he calls Jay-Jay during a double header of alpaca shows in Cheyenne.

Why Alpacas Are So Popular In The Rocky Mountains

Alpacas are becoming more popular as a cash crop in Wyoming and the Rocky Mountain region. At the Great Western Alpaca Show in Cheyenne, producers said they prized for their soft, luxurious wool — and are great with kids.

Renée JeanMay 18, 2025

Brian Snyder looks over a set of rings to see how much they might be worth. That tiny pile of rings was worth about $500, according to a quick analysis of each items weight and gold purity, measured in karats.

Record Prices Have Triggered A New Kind Of Gold Rush — Jewelry Sales

Record gold prices have people around Wyoming cleaning out their jewelry drawers and hitting up gold buyers for cash in a new kind of gold rush. One gold buyer in Cheyenne estimates his traffic is up 50%.

Renée JeanMay 17, 2025

Duane Merz buys milk at the Lucky Buffalo Farm Stand, while Heidi Allman, front, and sister Katie Allman, back, look on.

Local Food Trend A Growing $24 Million Economic Force In Wyoming

The Lucky Buffalo Farm Stand near Burns is part of a growing local food trend in Wyoming. Already injecting $24 million a year into the state’s economy, local food venues have been a rising trend since Wyoming adopted the Food Freedom Act in 2015.

Renée JeanMay 17, 2025

In May 2010, Laszlo Hanyecz bought two pizzas with 10,000 bitcoin. At today's rate for the digital currency, those pies would be worth about $815 million now.

Two Pizzas Bought With Bitcoin In 2010 Would Be Worth $815 Million Today

In 2010, a Florida man bought two pizzas worth about $41 with 10,000 bitcoins. Today, those bitcoins would be worth $815 million. Wyoming crypto leaders say that demonstrates how far digital currency has come and, like it or not, is the future.

Renée JeanMay 17, 2025

The Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado.

Stanley Hotel Sold In $400 Million Deal That Will See Huge Film Center Built

The historic Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado, has sold in a $400 million deal that will build on its cult horror fame as the setting for “The Shining.” The deal includes building a huge film center.

Renée JeanMay 16, 2025

Walt Longmire actor Robert Taylor is a fixture at Longmire Days.

Sheriff Longmire Actor Turns Down Paying Gigs To Be At Longmire Days

Fans of the hit television show “Longmire” will soon flood Buffalo for two days in author Craig Johnson’s fictional Absaroka County. Sheriff Longmire actor Robert Taylor loves the franchise so much he turns down paying gigs to be at Longmire Days.

Renée JeanMay 14, 2025

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