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
Election Day ‘Blood Moon,’ Lunar Eclipse May Get Snowed Out In Wyoming
Not only is next Tuesday election day, but a "blood moon" lunar eclipse will be visible in Wyoming as well. That is, if the weather cooperates and it's not looking good right now.
Clair McFarlandNovember 01, 2022
Gordon, Others Praise $85 Million Investment In Wyoming Special-Needs Health Care
Gov Mark Gordon joined Wyoming Resource Center employees, clients, and supporters in Lander to mark the facility's $85 million 2018 remodel.
Clair McFarlandOctober 31, 2022
Wyoming Legislators Optimistic, Cautious About Elon Musk’s Takeover Of Twitter
Wyoming State Sen. Cheri Steinmetz on Friday said she applauded anyone who will protect the arena of free speech and as long as Elon Musk does that, "it's a good thing."
Clair McFarlandOctober 28, 2022
After ‘Sexualization’ Controversy, Gillette Public Library Cuts Ties With American Library Association
Noting the presence of sexually graphic books in the children's and teens' sections of the public library, the Campbell County Library board voted to cut ties with the American Library Association. One of the contested books shows a cartoon character who is 8 1/2 years old, masturbating in a bathtub.
Clair McFarlandOctober 27, 2022
Wyoming Man Who Impregnated Business Partner’s Teen Daughter Loses Court Appeal
The Wyoming Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed the argument that the judge wouldnt hear testimony that the girl had slept with a grown man before, the parents condoned the pairs sexual relationship and the parents extorted money from the man after learning of the relationship.
Clair McFarlandOctober 26, 2022
Cheyenne Family, School Move On After Transgender Film Shown In High School Class
Mother of South High School student who felt uncomfortable with probing questions about transgender transitioning film in class frustrated with schools response to her concerns the material and quiz were akin to indoctrination.
Clair McFarlandOctober 25, 2022
Degenfelder Says Sexually-Explicit Books ‘Not Suitable For Minors’
Megan Degenfelder, the GOP nominee for Wyoming Superintendent of Public Instruction, publicly opposed two sexually graphic books in the Kelly Walsh High School library. She also said that they are an "inappropriate use of taxpayer funds."
Clair McFarlandOctober 25, 2022
London Woman Claims Jackson Bank Helped Multi-Millionaire Husband Move Money Without Consent
A London couples high-stakes divorce has found its way into U.S. District Court for Wyoming as wife claims Bank of Jackson Hole improperly allowed husband to move $700,000 in attempt to keep it from her.
Clair McFarlandOctober 24, 2022
Three Charged In Riverton Burning-Tire Murder
Three Wyoming residents were charged Friday in connection with the murder of a 31-year-old woman whom police found beaten and stabbed under a burning tire in a trailer house in Riverton.
Clair McFarlandOctober 21, 2022
Clair McFarland: I Am A Swamp Hag At The Brink Of Madness
Clair McFarland writes: "Reporting on brutal crimes and cultural controversies is just my pastime; plunging toilets while people wreck my kitchen is my day job."
Clair McFarlandOctober 21, 2022
CDC Says COVID Vax Should Be Required For All Public Schools, Wyoming Says No Way
Gov. Mark Gordon on Thursday said he will not take the CDC's recommendation to add the COVID-19 vaccine to its list of required shots to attend public school.
Clair McFarlandOctober 20, 2022
Mountain Lion Spotted Near Arapahoe School; Kids Ordered To Stay Inside
A "stay-put" alert was sent out campus-wide on Thursday morning when a mountain lion approached the Arapahoe School campus on the Wind River Indian Reservation.
Clair McFarlandOctober 20, 2022
Task Force Would Keep Wyoming Native Foster-Care Children With Native Families, Shoshone Chairman Says It’s Too Slow
The Legislatures Select Committee on Tribal Relations is trying to make a state law keeping American Indian children in tribal homes during foster-care situations, while the Eastern Shoshone Tribes leaders say the proposed law wont work fast enough.
Clair McFarlandOctober 20, 2022
Fearing More Scandals, Case Doesn’t Want To Fund St. Stephen’s Indian School
Saying he fears another abusive situation in a school without state oversight, Sen. Cale Case, R-Lander, announced Tuesday he doesn't want to fund St. Stephen's Indian School, whose top administrators were implicated in May in sexual and misconduct scandals.
Clair McFarlandOctober 19, 2022
Conservatives Declare War On “Sexualizing Children” At Rally In Cody
Spearheaded by Rep. Rachel Rodriguez-Williams, R-Cody, a group of conservative activists vowed to fight sexually-graphic materials in school libraries, both at the Capitol and their home communities.
Clair McFarlandOctober 18, 2022
PayPal Backtracks On Misinformation Policy; Wyoming Treasurer & Auditor Say They Don’t Use It Anyway
As PayPal backtracks on its policy that it would pull $2,500 from users' accounts for spreading 'misinformation,' Wyomings Treasurer and Auditor say they dont use the service anyway.
Clair McFarlandOctober 18, 2022
University of Wyoming Sorority Accepts First Transgender Member
Artemis Langford of Lander said being the University of Wyoming's first Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority transgender member feels like trailblazing.
Clair McFarlandOctober 17, 2022
Reservation House District Candidates Spar Over Fed Control Of Tribal Land, Abortion, Education
Incumbent Democratic House Rep. Andi LeBeau debated Republican challenger Sarah Penn on issues unique to the Wind River Indian Reservation, such as the federal governments control of the land, littered garbage heaps and a two-year mask mandate.
Clair McFarlandOctober 17, 2022
Riverton Woman Accused of Smuggling Fentanyl Into Jail Via Rectum, Then Sharing With Inmates
A female inmate in Riverton is facing 23 years in jail after allegedly smuggling fentanyl in her rectum and then sharing the pills with others in her jail pod.
Clair McFarlandOctober 14, 2022
Furor Over Sexually Explicit Books Misguided, Says LGBTQ Advocate And State House Candidate
Sara Burlingame, a top LGBTQ advocate for Wyoming, says Cowboy State Daily coverage of a pair of controversial books in a Casper school library has been unfair, and society should exercise more care towards transgender-affirming literature.
Clair McFarlandOctober 14, 2022
Appeal Denied For Wyoming Man Who Killed Girlfriend, Burned Down His Own Tattoo Parlor
A Torrington man who set his own tattoo parlor on fire and beat his girlfriend to death last year does not get to change his plea to not guilty nearly a year after he was sentenced to prison. He claims he didn't understand his plea.
Clair McFarlandOctober 13, 2022