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
Denied Making His Own M16, Wapiti Man Says Militia-Building Protected By Second Amendment
A Wapiti man suing for the right to make his own machine gun has fired back at the federal government after the feds asked the judge to dismiss his case. Jake DeWilde on Monday filed a new version of his lawsuit but this time focusing on the Second Amendment.
Clair McFarlandMarch 20, 2023
Wyoming Man Faces Life In Prison For Jail Death, Forced Anal Smuggling
A Laramie man accused of giving fentanyl to a fellow jail inmate, causing his death, and forcing another inmate to smuggle a pill in his anus faces life in prison because of harsher federal charging options not available to state prosecutors.
Clair McFarlandMarch 20, 2023
Under Pressure, Cheyenne Animal Shelter Reveals How It Spends Public Money – But Not To The Public
After being pressured by city and county officials for a line-item breakdown of how it increased spending from $320,000 to $800,000 per year in public funding and now wants $1 million per year, the Cheyenne Animal Shelter has finally complied. But the shelter won't release the information to the public.
Clair McFarlandMarch 18, 2023
Wyoming Becomes First State In The Nation To Ban Abortion Pills
Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon touted his “strong pro-life record” after signing a ban on chemical abortions and allowing a broader abortion ban to become law without his signature, saying it invites lawsuits and is a poor substitute for a change to the state Constitution.
Clair McFarlandMarch 18, 2023
‘Draconian And Discriminatory:’ Gordon Won’t Sign Transgender Sports Ban, Becomes Law Without Signature
Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon on Friday said banning biological males from competing in girls school sports is "draconian" and "discriminatory," but allowed the bill to go into law without signing it.
Clair McFarlandMarch 18, 2023
Cody Man Accused Of Beating His 2-Year-Old Daughter To Death Ruled Sane Enough For Trial
Moshe Bahja Williams' prosecution was paused for a mental health evaluation but a judge on Thursday said he's sane enough to stand trial. Williams and his girlfriend both are charged with first-degree murder after Williams' 2-year-old died of a "gut punch."
Clair McFarlandMarch 17, 2023
Police Used Cell Tower Location Data To Link Cheyenne Man “K Thuggin 2” To Fentanyl Drug Deals
A DEA agent used cell phone tower ping location data to link Kyle Rozell (who called himself 'K Thuggin 2') to one of his three fentanyl distribution charges. Rozell faces up to 80 years in federal prison and up to $7 million in fines.
Clair McFarlandMarch 17, 2023
Gordon Signs Bill Giving Guns Rights Back To Non-Violent Felons
Wyoming’s governor on Friday signed into law a bill, sponsored by Sen. Eric Barlow, restoring gun and other civil rights for non-violent felons five years after their sentences are complete.
Clair McFarlandMarch 17, 2023
Feds Say Wyoming Man Has No Right To Make His Own Machine Gun
Saying a federal ban on machine guns is unconstitutional under the Second Amendment, a Wapiti man is suing the ATF and the nation's top prosecutor, but the federal government says people have no right to build machine guns.
Clair McFarlandMarch 16, 2023
Casper Man Accused Of Stabbing Elderly Family Members Pleads Insanity
George Kevin Dickerson has evoked an insanity plea for allegedly stabbing and beating his in-laws until his stepfather-in-law died and his mother-in-law nearly died.
Clair McFarlandMarch 15, 2023
Cheyenne Teens Charged With Killing 16-Year-Old Girl Have Until March 30 To Reach Plea
Tirso Munguia, 19, has until March 30 to strike a plea deal for the alleged accidental shooting and killing of a 16-year-old girl, as does Cody Nicholson, 18, who faces an accessory charge for reportedly hiding the murder weapon.
Clair McFarlandMarch 15, 2023
Body Found In River Near Casper Was Photographer Who Vanished In January
Authorities have identified the Casper-area man found dead in the North Platte River on Sunday as Bruce Wayne Campbell, whose friends feared had ventured out onto the ice of a state park river in January to take photographs.
Clair McFarlandMarch 15, 2023
Texas Couple Sues Jackson Ski Resort, Rental Company For “Catastrophic” Crash
A Texas woman claims in a federal lawsuit that Jackson Hole Mountain Resort and Hoback Sports Inc. did not properly inspect the rental equipment that burst apart while she skied, causing her to hurtle down the mountain and suffer permanent injuries.
Clair McFarlandMarch 15, 2023
Man Faces Felony For Flashing Handgun, Challenging Everyone In Bar To Fight In Gillette
Eduardo Juarez was arrested in the early morning hours Saturday after reportedly flashing a 9 mm handgun at the Wyoming Downs in Gillette and challenging multiple men to fight him outside.
Clair McFarlandMarch 14, 2023
Wyoming Man Arrested In 2017 Killing Of Friend Who Was Scared To Go To Prison For Child Porn
Mark Dean Switzer, 71, is in a Cheyenne jail awaiting extradition for allegedly murdering a friend in 2017, who was facing up to 10 years in prison for possessing child pornography and had told others that he refused to go to prison.
Clair McFarlandMarch 14, 2023
Firefighters Pull Man’s Body From Casper-Area River
After someone found a body in the North Platte River on Sunday afternoon, firefighters arrived and pulled a man's body from the river, officials said. An ID is pending notification of next of kin.
Clair McFarlandMarch 14, 2023
West Virginia Begs Supreme Court To Enforce Transgender Sports Ban, Wyoming In Limbo
While Wyoming's ban on biological males in girls' school sports waits for Gov. Mark Gordon to accept or reject it, West Virginia and 19 other states have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to let them enforce their bans.
Clair McFarlandMarch 13, 2023
Wyoming Man Admits To Executing Two Friends, Pointing Gun At Eyewitness Near Casper Airport
By pleading guilty to a roadside execution of his two traveling companions, Luke Thomas Young will avoid facing the death penalty in an agreement with Natrona County prosecutors.
Clair McFarlandMarch 13, 2023
Cheyenne Woman Facing Up To 100 Years For Embezzlement Of $255,000 To Plead Guilty
A Cheyenne woman, who was facing up to 100 years in prison, for allegedly embezzling $255,000 from the Cheyenne Little Theater established a plea agreement Thursday in federal court and is scheduled to enter the plea this month.
Clair McFarlandMarch 11, 2023
Casper Mother Sobers Up, Tries To Get Meth-Riddled Baby Back But It’s Too Late, Supreme Court Says
Though she sobered up in the days leading up to her parental rights termination hearing, Robin Alcorn did not do enough to get her child back after police found the baby was strung out on meth, the Supreme Court ruled Friday.
Clair McFarlandMarch 10, 2023
California Cell Phone Tower Company Sues Park County For Denying Build Permit Of 195-Foot Tower
A California-based cellphone tower builder is suing the Park County Commission after it unanimously rejected its bid to build a 195-foot cell tower in the Cody area. The company said it has to right to build wherever it wants.
Clair McFarlandMarch 10, 2023