Clair McFarland
Clair McFarland is a general assignment reporter for Cowboy State Daily and is based in Riverton, Wyoming. She specializes in crime and court reporting and social issues coverage. Clair also writes a twice-monthly column on motherhood and country living.
Previously, Clair wrote for The Ranger, the Lander Journal and the Wind River News. She is an award-winning journalist, columnist and poet, who joined Cowboy State Daily on Valentine's Day, 2022.
Latest from Clair McFarland
Jury Convicts Cody Stepmom In Toddler's Death, Dad's Trial Next
A Park County jury on Thursday convicted Carolyn Aune of a first-degree murder variation tied to child abuse for killing her boyfriend's toddler. Her boyfriend, also charged with murder, could go to trial next.
Clair McFarlandApril 29, 2023
Murder Transparency Group Says 35% Of Fremont County Murders Not Reported To The Public
Law enforcement agencies haven’t been telling the public about a sizable amount of Wyoming homicides they handle, which a murder watchdog group says is troubling.
Clair McFarlandApril 28, 2023
Neither Knife-Wielding Man Nor Shooting Officer To Be Charged In Rez Fight
Neither the man wielding a knife nor the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs agent who shot him will be charged with crimes in connection to the fight, federal prosecutors announced this week.
Clair McFarlandApril 28, 2023
Cheyenne Drive-By Shooter With Baby In Back Seat Remains In Jail, Faces Three Years
Gerald Lopez, 28, is in jail waiting for an arraignment hearing that's two months away for allegedly shooting up parts of Cheyenne from a Trailblazer with his baby in the back seat.
Clair McFarlandApril 27, 2023
Wyoming Governor, Attorney General Want To Block Chuck Gray From Abortion Ban In Court
Wyoming Secretary of State Chuck Gray has asked to help defend Wyoming's abortion ban in a lawsuit against it, but Gov. Mark Gordon and his Attorney General say this exceeds Gray's lawful duties and will "muddy the waters."
Clair McFarlandApril 27, 2023
Habitual Wife Beater From Rawlins Won’t Get Out Of Prison Early, Says Wyoming Supreme Court
The Wyoming Supreme Court denied habitual wife-beater Donald Michael Bulisco’s request to get out of prison early despite confusion about whether he was already a convicted felon before he punched his wife in the head and pulled her breast.
Clair McFarlandApril 27, 2023
Casper Family Asks Lawmakers To Let Them Divorce Their Mom, Who Has Dementia
After being denied by the Wyoming Supreme Court, a Casper family is asking state lawmakers to let them divorce their mother, who has Alzheimer's and dementia, from their father.
Clair McFarlandApril 26, 2023
Riverton Resident Finds Dead Body That Had Been Exposed For Weeks On Riverbank
A Riverton resident who spent Sunday morning outside discovered a man's body on the bank of the Wind River that has apparently been exposed to the elements for weeks or months.
Clair McFarlandApril 26, 2023
Citing Gang Violence, Wyoming Prisons Want To Conceal Investigative Documents
Saying gangs in prison can target ex-gang members and informants by reviewing prison investigation documents, the Wyoming Department of Corrections is asking for a law change to exempt its internal investigations from public review.
Clair McFarlandApril 26, 2023
DCI Wrong To Make Casper Man Register As Sex Offender, Wyoming Supreme Court Says
The Wyoming Supreme Court has ruled that the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation was wrong to use its authority and unproven allegations to make a Casper man register as a sex offender 20 years after his misdemeanor sexual battery conviction in Georgia.
Clair McFarlandApril 25, 2023
Animal Rights Group Asks Feds To Investigate University of Wyoming Researchers
An animal-rights group is asking the federal government to investigate the University of Wyoming’s research department in response to research misconduct by a former researcher. The complaint alleges that “many mice and sheep died” and their hearts were cut out.
Clair McFarlandApril 25, 2023
Sweetwater County School District: Claims Made In Transgender Student Lawsuit 'False' And 'Fabricated'
Sweetwater County School District No. 1 says the complaints two Rock Springs parents made that school officials kept them in the dark about counseling their child through a gender transition are “false” and “fabricated” with an aim to incite the public.
Clair McFarlandApril 25, 2023
Wyoming Lawmakers Urged To Draft Harsher Laws For Parents Who Steal Their Own Kids
A Cody couple wants harsher laws for parental abduction in Wyoming, telling the Joint Judiciary Committee on Monday how the father of their 2-year-old granddaughter hid her from her mother and only got “a good scolding from the judge.”
Clair McFarlandApril 25, 2023
Child Porn Tips In Wyoming Have Quadrupled Since 2018, DCI says
Despite a 100% conviction rate on cybercrimes against children, Wyoming law enforcement are in a constant race to keep up with technology and tactics used to lure kids into cybersex and pornography.
Clair McFarlandApril 24, 2023
Gillette Felon Faces 15 Years For Having Dead Man's Loaded Glock, Tons Of Drugs
Zachary Stott faces up to 15 years in federal prison for allegedly possessing a Glock and 13 rounds of 9mm ammunition he said he took from a Colorado man who got "hit.”
Clair McFarlandApril 21, 2023
Rock Springs Parents Suing School Board For Hiding Daughter's Transgender Identity
Sean and Ashley Willey are suing the Sweetwater County School District No. 1 board and some administrators for allegedly helping to gender-transition their daughter while actively hiding it from them, despite the girl's history of mental health issues.
Clair McFarlandApril 21, 2023
Six UW Sorority Members Suing Over Transgender Members Name Themselves To Continue Lawsuit
Six of the seven women suing over the induction of a transgender member in to the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority’s University of Wyoming chapter have complied with a judge’s order that they not be anonymous in their lawsuit.
Clair McFarlandApril 20, 2023
Cheyenne Woman Charged With Beating Stranger, 71, With Cane While He Slept
Accused of beating a 71-year-old stranger with his own cane as he slept, Gizelle Kellum, 54, faces up to 10 years in prison for aggravated assault.
Clair McFarlandApril 20, 2023
Search On For Driver Who Hit And Killed Man Walking On Reservation
The driver of a black sedan hit and killed Wilford Hill, 30, while he was walking on Ethete Road just after midnight Tuesday morning. The driver fled the scene, the Wyoming Highway Patrol reports.
Clair McFarlandApril 20, 2023
Clair McFarland: Don’t Mind Me, I’m Just Killing Off Your Treasures
Clair McFarland writes: “Normally the boys’ bedrooms resemble a text-message emoji war the little, feisty twin had Tuesday with my editor on my phone. … But the boys’ bedroom floors are magical when they’re clean.”
Clair McFarlandApril 20, 2023
Colorado's Transgender Treatment Sanctuary Law Could Interfere With Wyoming Custody Cases
A new Colorado law protecting transgender-treatment doctors from out-of-state scrutiny could interfere with a Wyoming Department of Family Services mandate to consider disfigurement as child abuse in custody cases.
Clair McFarlandApril 20, 2023