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
Biden Ends Covid Emergency; Wyoming Legislators Say "It's About Time"
President Joe Biden announced on Monday evening that the COVID-19 pandemic is officially no longer a national health emergency. Wyoming lawmakers say he's only about three years late.
Clair McFarlandApril 11, 2023
Gillette Man Accused Of Shooting Brother Pleads Not Guilty
A Gillette man accused of shooting his brother in the arm after a heated argument has pleaded not guilty to attempted second-degree murder, a charge punishable by between 20 years and life in prison.
Clair McFarlandApril 10, 2023
Citing Violence Against Swimmer Riley Gaines, University Of Wyoming Sorority Members Ask Judge To Reconsider Anonymity
Citing violence against women's rights activist Riley Gaines, members of a University of Wyoming sorority on Friday asked a federal judge to reconsider their request for anonymity in a lawsuit against the sorority for admitting a transgender woman.
Clair McFarlandApril 08, 2023
Wind River Reservation Man Accused Of Double Murder Pleads Not Guilty
Brandon Monroe, who was 16 when Jocelyn Watt and Rudy Perez died of gunshot wounds on Watt's bedroom floor, pleaded not guilty Friday to murder, while also evoking a mental incompetency plea.
Clair McFarlandApril 07, 2023
Kemmerer Mom Sentenced To Probation, Babysitter Still Facing Murder Charge For 5-Year-Old's Death
Kayla Kartchner, who was arrested for drug possession after a babysitter allegedly murdered her five-year-old last November, received a probation sentence this week.
Clair McFarlandApril 07, 2023
Judge Denies University of Wyoming Sorority Women, Transgender Member Anonymity In Lawsuit
The seven women suing Kappa Kappa Gamma for inducting a transgender woman into its Wyoming chapter have until April 20 to reveal their true names in open court, a federal judge ruled Thursday.
Clair McFarlandApril 07, 2023
Wyoming Bars Report No Sales Change For Bud Light So Far
So far, bars throughout major Wyoming towns reported no discernible changes in Bud Light sales - up or down - since the company last week sponsored transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney
Clair McFarlandApril 06, 2023
If You Can't Defeat Your Foes, Confuse Their Children To Death With Rubik's Cubes
Clair McFarland writes: Back in the pre-Youtube days, which I keenly remember, thugs and warlords would give Rubik’s Cubes to children as a psychological attack meant to cripple the nation.
Clair McFarlandApril 06, 2023
Sundance Man Faces Decades In Prison For Slamming Children Against Bath Tubs And Walls
Joshua Idler faces up to 42 years in prison if convicted on all counts of child abuse and assault relating to allegations that he choked, hit, threw and kicked his children, and tried to push his pregnant wife out of a moving van.
Clair McFarlandApril 06, 2023
Wyoming Attorney General Appoints New DCI Director From Within The Agency
Wyoming Attorney General Bridget Hill on Wednesday afternoon appointed Ronnie Jones, a top commander for the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation, to head the agency in May upon the retirement of current director Forrest Williams.
Clair McFarlandApril 06, 2023
Double Jeopardy Doesn't Spare Man Convicted Of Stomping On Woman's Head
Double jeopardy doesn’t apply in the case of the Ethete man who was convicted of charges in tribal court for stomping on a woman's head, and now is being charged again on the federal level.
Clair McFarlandApril 05, 2023
Bus Topples Near Wheatland, Injuring 11 Texas Farm Workers Headed To Washington
When the driver failed to navigate a curve on I-25, a 40-person bus full of contract farmers headed from Texas to Washington toppled outside of Wheatland, injuring 11 people.
Clair McFarlandApril 05, 2023
University of Wyoming Professor Urges Supreme Court To Rule In Favor Of NRA
George Mocsary, a University of Wyoming law professor who advised the U.S. Supreme Court in a 2022 landmark gun-rights case, now has submitted a document urging the high court to uphold the NRA's ability to do business with banks and insurance companies.
Clair McFarlandApril 05, 2023
Son Recalls How Wamsutter Tow Truck Driver Who Died In I-80 Crash 'Taught Me About Being A Man'
Kirby Lugg died early Monday when an 18-wheeler hit him as he tried to winch a car out of the barrow ditch between Interstate lanes, but he leaves behind a grateful family and a legacy of fatherhood.
Clair McFarlandApril 04, 2023
Atheist Sues Gillette For $24 Million Because Christian Prayers At City Council "Mock His Beliefs"
Bruce Williams, an atheist, is suing his town of Gillette, saying city leaders let Christian groups determine who says invocations at government meetings. This creates "a mockery of my Atheist beliefs through its deliberate preference for Christianity," he said.
Clair McFarlandApril 04, 2023
Park County Defends Denial Of California Cellphone Tower, Says Worries Over Health, Property Values Valid
Responding to a California cellphone tower company's lawsuit against it, the Park County Commission says it has every right to deny a building permit for a new cellphone tower in light of residents' health and property concerns.
Clair McFarlandApril 04, 2023
Wyoming Schools Go On Lockdown After False Active-Shooter Calls
Perhaps in response to a TikTok challenge, multiple schools in Wyoming were locked down Monday morning as threats of active shooters and school violence were called in. All the threats were bogus and law enforcement has cleared the schools to end their lockdowns.
Clair McFarlandApril 03, 2023
Wyoming Man Accused Of Pistol-Whipping, Threatening To Kill Another Pleads Not Guilty, Bonds Out Of Jail
Accused of pistol-whipping and warning a man against ever hurting his father, Logan James Savage of Arapahoe pleaded not guilty to an assault charge Monday and was released from jail on an unsecured bond.
Clair McFarlandApril 03, 2023
Freedom Caucus Denounces Rep. Provenza’s Meme Showing Woman With Rifle To “Protect Trans Folks”
The Wyoming Freedom Caucus on Sunday denounced Wyoming Minority Whip Karlee Provenza's meme showing an older woman using a rifle to "protect trans folks." Rep. John Bear said he believes the post was a "call to violence."
Clair McFarlandApril 02, 2023
Powell Woman Facing State And Federal Charges In Delivery Of 10,000 Fentanyl Pills
A Powell woman implicated in a 10,000-pill fentanyl mail delivery worth about $600,000 now faces federal as well as state drug charges. She faces up to 39 years in prison.
Clair McFarlandMarch 31, 2023
Reservation Murder Suspect Charged For Shooting Neighbor In The Back Of The Head
Francis James Acebo is accused of shooting Derek Redstar Pappan in the back of the head while Pappan searched for a cellphone charger early Saturday, then telling his children goodbye and turning himself in.
Clair McFarlandMarch 31, 2023