Jennifer Kocher

Writer & editor with more than a decade of experience in feature, news, arts and lifestyle coverage for print and online media.

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The Teton Truth •

Is It Time for Wyoming to Raise Minimum Wage to Help Workers Survive? — The Teton Truth

GILLETTE – For the first time in years, Raphael Brown loves his job. The 42-year-old native Virginian and single dad works as a bartender and liquor store clerk at Creative Beverages in Gillette. Since arriving in Wyoming about eight years ago, Brown has held a handful of positions to make ends meet, working in the kitchen at a restaurant and deli, followed by a stint as an assistant manager at Family Dollar Store. Of all his jobs, Family Dollar paid the most in straight wages at $12 per hour. I
Douglas Budget •

In search of a rock: How two G&F agents pieced together the poaching case against reality TV stars thanks to a unique geographic feature

The case came to light in July 2015 after a viewer watched the “Hunting in the Sticks” episode “Western Redemption” in which Ricky Mills and Jimmy Duncan harvested two elk in Wyoming, claiming to be in Elk Area 51 (the extreme northwest corner of Wyoming, bordering on Yellowstone National Park). The caller pointed out the pine trees in the backdrop were indigenous to eastern Wyoming, not area 51. Investigators sent an email to Rod, who immediately recognized the landscape. Now, he just had to f
Douglas Budget •

Un-Broken: One man’s shocking return from death and rise from meth addiction

An apology would have probably fixed the mess, he conceded later. But he had his pride, he told himself. Instead of calling his boss to sort it out, he instead let himself fester in his anger. He needed to tune out. Alcohol had never been an option. He preferred to be up. A couple phone calls later, Jared was alone in his living room with two grams of meth. What the heck, he lied to himself; despite being clean for more than a year, if losing a job wasn’t excuse enough to fall off the wagon, w
Douglas Budget •

Beyond the bite marks: Brutally raped, Ryan turns horrific tragedy into a deeply personal tale of survival and a new direction

First, a trip to the hospital. Then fleeing Casper to a safe house in the small Wyoming town of Douglas. Her 8-year-old son wanted to know why he had been pulled out of school earlier that day. Why he could no longer go to the afternoon swimming lessons she taught? How could she tell her son about the purple, bite-mark bruises running down the length of her thighs and breasts? She could not bear the thought of the children in his swimming class looking at the wounds her bathing suit cannot cov
Douglas Budget •

The church that doesn’t do church

The eight-piece rock band playing on stage in a dimly lit corner only adds to the café flavor. Open mic night on a Sunday morning? A bit weird but not unbelievable, and maybe the waitress is just a bit slow. It’s only when the  patrons stand and join the band in singing praise that you begin to get a bit suspicious. When  Pastor Frank Wiederrecht picks up the microphone and settles onto a stool on stage and begins talking about God’s grace, it’s pretty obvious that this isn’t your average coffe
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