Crime and Courts Reporter

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.

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Latest from Clair McFarland

Court Orders Sinclair Billionaire Heiress To Pay Husband $200 Million In Divorce

After a Sinclair heiresses' husband filed for divorce, a Wyoming court sifted through more than a billion dollars in assets before ordering her to a pay $200 million settlement.

Clair McFarlandJanuary 31, 2023

Mental Health Bills Moving Thru Wyoming Legislature, But Where Is Money Coming From?

While philanthropy is one part of the complex mental health funding machine, lawmakers told Cowboy State Daily they dont factor it into their funding strategies at the Capitol.

Clair McFarlandJanuary 31, 2023

Wyoming Lawmakers Advance Bill Banning Biological Males From Female Sports Teams

If it passes the Legislature, Senate File 133 would bar biological males from competing on female sports teams. The sponsor called the bill fair while detractors labeled it extreme.

Clair McFarlandJanuary 30, 2023

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Abortion Foes Clash At Capitol On New Wyoming Abortion Ban

Proponents of House Bill 152 on Monday said Wyoming needs to cement its position as a firm right-to-life state, while opponents said legislators shouldn't have the authority to determine when life begins.

Clair McFarlandJanuary 30, 2023

Committee Passes On Bill Banning ‘Gummies,’ Other THC Products For Youth

A Wyoming legislative committee on Friday tabled a proposed law that was intended to penalize buying and selling of synthetic THC-derived products for people under 21.

Clair McFarlandJanuary 29, 2023

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Bill Criminalizing Child Sex Changes In Wyoming Squeaks Through Senate Committee

A proposed Wyoming law criminalizing transgender-related treatments for minors narrowly survived its first legislative committee vote Friday, passing on a 3-2 vote.

Clair McFarlandJanuary 27, 2023

Clair McFarland: Bigfoot Riding On Unicorn Cannot Take Me From Decorating My January Cake

Clair McFarland writes: "Even if Bigfoot burst from the Yellowstone wilds riding a unicorn through a lava flow and forced Governor Gordon to abdicate, it would not be enough to drive me from this kitchen..."

Clair McFarlandJanuary 27, 2023

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Bill Targeting Critical Race Theory In Wyoming Public Schools Sails Through To Senate Floor

Sen. Lynn Hutchings said she sponsored the anti-CRT bill because factions through the nation are spreading divisive and destructive, instruction to young people in a way that undermines gains made by Black people in America.

Clair McFarlandJanuary 26, 2023

“It’s A New Form Of Discrimination”: Foster Parents Dispute Native-First Custody Law

While some Wyoming legislators push to codify the Indian Child Welfare Act on a state level in case the federal law is overturned, several foster moms say the law discriminates against the very children it was designed to protect by denying them permanent homes.

Clair McFarlandJanuary 26, 2023

‘Hunting Rights Are Sacred’: Gordon Asks Legislature To Let Him Make Off-Reservation Hunting Agreements With Shoshone Tribes

During the Wyoming House Appropriations Committee meeting on Tuesday, legislators debated whether its appropriate to let Governor Gordon, rather than the Wyoming Legislature, set the terms of tribal hunting agreements.

Clair McFarlandJanuary 25, 2023

No New Trial For Admitted Pedophile, Wyoming Supreme Court Rules

A 57-year-old Gillette man serving life in prison for sexually abusing a 7-year-old boy claimed his jury convicted him because hes a pedophile, not for actually committing an act of sexual abuse.

Clair McFarlandJanuary 24, 2023

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Bouchard Introduces Bill That Would Ban Child Sex Change Surgeries In Wyoming

State Sen. Anthony Bouchard has introduced a bill that would make it illegal for doctors to perform sex change treatments on minors and insurance companies from covering them. "Chloe's Law," is named for a woman who transitioned to a man and now regrets it.

Clair McFarlandJanuary 23, 2023

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Bill That Forbids Teaching Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity In Wyoming Schools Advances

The "Wyoming Parental Rights in Education Act" advanced Friday to the Senate floor. Detractors say the bill squelches speech and marginalizes LGBTQ families, while proponents say the bill upholds everyones values by leaving the teaching of those topics at home with families.

Clair McFarlandJanuary 20, 2023

Bill: Wyoming Banks Can’t Be Sued For Freezing Accounts If Fraud Against Elderly, Disabled Suspected

If it passes the Wyoming Legislature, Senate File 24 would protect banks from being sued for freezing peoples assets briefly if they believe a vulnerable adult is being exploited.

Clair McFarlandJanuary 20, 2023

Wide-Ranging Anti-Abortion Bill Would Remove Exemptions For Rape, Incest

House Bill 152 would ban abortion altogether in Wyoming except in cases involving risks of death or serious injury, and it could prevent abortion providers from establishing private clinics on the Wind River Indian Reservation.

Clair McFarlandJanuary 20, 2023

Casper Attack: After Brutally Beating, Stabbing In-Laws, Accused Killer Went Home To Shower

Testimony at Thursday court hearing detail a brutal beating and attack on a cognitively-impaired elderly Casper couple. An 84-year-old woman survived with an "orbital blowout" of her eye socket and her 75-year-old husband died.