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
Wyoming House Will Hear Bill To Investigate How Data Centers Impact Water Supply
A Wyoming House committee advanced a bill Thursday that would provide funding for a study on how data centers, carbon capture, or other large-scale industrial projects might sap or impact the state's water supply.
Clair McFarlandFebruary 12, 2026
Teton County GOP Leader Handed Out Checks To Lawmakers On House Floor
Teton County Republican Party leader Rebecca Bextel handed out checks to lawmakers on the Wyoming House floor Monday, according to interviews, a photograph and her own later statement. She said there was "nothing wrong" with the maneuver.
Clair McFarlandFebruary 12, 2026
Wyoming Senate Kills Bill To Revamp Courts - Three More Still Alive
One piece of Wyoming legislation aimed at changing the way Wyoming chooses judges and structures courts failed its introductory vote Wednesday in the state Senate — but at least three more reform bills remained viable.
Clair McFarlandFebruary 11, 2026
Wyoming Lawmakers Look To Fix Grooming Bill, Which Had Worse Penalties Than Murder
What Elon Musk may not have known when he shared a post calling out Wyoming lawmakers who voted against an anti-child-grooming bill is that the initial version had harsher penalties for grooming than those Wyoming imposes for some murder cases.
Clair McFarlandFebruary 11, 2026
Rep. Mike Yin Claims Jackson GOP Leader 'Handed Out' Checks On Floor Of Legislature
Rep. Mike Yin claimed Wednesday that Teton County GOP leader Rebecca Bextel "handed out" checks on the floor of the state legislature. The accusation prompted outrage and a formal protest. Bextel countered, "I have not written any campaign checks this year so far."
Clair McFarlandFebruary 11, 2026
Supreme Court Grills Wyoming Education Association Over Challenge To School Choice Program
Three Wyoming Supreme Court justices grilled the Wyoming Education Association on Tuesday after the advocacy group called Wyoming’s school-choice scholarship program unconstitutional and harmful.
Clair McFarlandFebruary 11, 2026
Wyoming House Kills Bill To Make Counties Pay Costs For Self-Defense Acquittals
The Wyoming House killed a bill Tuesday that would have made counties reimburse “all reasonable costs” for people found not guilty for using force in self-defense.
Clair McFarlandFebruary 11, 2026
Gordon: It's Refreshing To See So Many Bills Die Because It's A Budget Session, After All
At a press conference Tuesday, Gov. Mark Gordon said it was refreshing to see so many bills die. He said he sees that as a sign that lawmakers are respecting their higher priority of passing a two-year state budget - and doing so within about 20 days.
Clair McFarlandFebruary 11, 2026
Bill Letting All Wyoming Law Officers Cite Non-English-Speaking Truckers Advances
A bill giving all Wyoming law enforcement officers the authority to cite non-English-proficient commercial truck drivers advanced Tuesday by a unanimous vote. Violators would be banned from driving until they could demonstrate English language proficiency.
Clair McFarlandFebruary 10, 2026
Undocumented Immigrant Trucker Claims Unlawful Detention After Arrest In Green River
An undocumented trucker arrested in Green River says he’s being held illegally after reporting a broken mirror. His lawyers argue a new DHS policy is illegally keeping him in ICE custody. The sheriff's office says he didn’t provide necessary documentation.
Clair McFarlandFebruary 10, 2026
Wyoming Senate Saves Business Council From Dismantling By 2-1 Vote
The Wyoming Business Council on Monday survived being dismantled, as the state Senate voted down a bill that would have purged it from state law, 21-10. But the agency is still facing a viable budget amendment that would defund it.
Clair McFarlandFebruary 10, 2026
Wyoming House Kills Bill To Change How Schools Get Money, Senate Could Save It
A narrow one-third minority of Wyoming state House representatives voted Monday to block the state’s new proposed method of funding public K-12 schools. But the state Senate has its own version, which could still rescue the proposal.
Clair McFarlandFebruary 09, 2026
Gordon Clashes With Freedom Caucus As Wyoming Budget Fight Intensifies
Gov. Mark Gordon urged Wyoming lawmakers to restore his budget priorities, protect state workers’ raises and keep investing in education and development. He also pushed for an abortion-limiting constitutional amendment and took a veiled shot at the Freedom Caucus.
Clair McFarlandFebruary 09, 2026
Wyoming Chief Justice Urges Legislature Not To Revamp Courts Over Abortion Ruling
The chief justice of the Wyoming Supreme Court urged the Legislature Monday not to revamp the state’s courts based on the high court’s opinion declaring abortion a fundamental health care right. Early in her speech, the Freedom Caucus chair walked out.
Clair McFarlandFebruary 09, 2026
'No-Nuclear’ State Rep. Bill Allemand Has Challenger For House Seat
One of Wyoming state Rep. Bill Allemand’s biggest critics, Bar Nunn Mayor Peter Boyer, is running for Allemand's seat in the Legislature. Allemand has made headlines as an opponent of nuclear storage facilities, including one near Casper.
Clair McFarlandFebruary 07, 2026
Wyoming Business Council Launches 'Myth-Busting' Campaign In Effort To Save Itself
Wyoming Business Council CEO Josh Dorrell told Cowboy State Daily on Friday that it's launched a myth-busting campaign to save the agency from potential destruction. "I was hoping to give a little bit of a reality check," he said.
Clair McFarlandFebruary 07, 2026
Supreme Court Rejects Sheridan Man's Self-Defense Claim In Hockey Coach's Death
A Sheridan man who fatally punched a local hockey coach during a 2024 fight will not have his four-to-six-year prison sentence overturned, since the Wyoming Supreme Court concluded Thursday that he failed to show he acted with self-defense.
Clair McFarlandFebruary 06, 2026
State Sen. Retracts Statement Accusing Freedom Caucus Of Rewarding Votes
State Sen. Ed Cooper is retracting a statement he made last week, accusing the national Freedom Caucus network of hinging campaign donations to its local members on their voting records. "I spoke incorrectly on that because I can’t substantiate it," he said.
Clair McFarlandFebruary 06, 2026
Joint Approps Committee Votes To Protect Two More Institutions From UW Budget Cuts
The Joint Appropriations Committee on Thursday voted to shield two more institutions from its proposed $40 million budget cut to the University of Wyoming. One of those institutions shares a financial backer with the campaign arm of the Freedom Caucus.
Clair McFarlandFebruary 06, 2026
By 3-2 Margin, Wyoming Top Officials Vote For Process To Halt Wind Leases
The State Land Board on Thursday voted 3-2 to begin a legal process that could cancel two controversial state wind leases in Converse and Niobrara counties. Secretary Chuck Gray, Superintendent Megan Degenfelder, and Auditor Kristi Racines all voted in favor while Gov. Gordon and Treasurer Meier voted against.
Clair McFarlandFebruary 05, 2026
$25M Lawsuit Against Jackson Newspaper Settled: "Should Have Never Been Published"
An Arizona man settled what was originally a $25M defamation suit vs. the Jackson Hole News & Guide over the paper claiming he'd abused his son. The paper wrote, "We acknowledge, plainly and without qualification, that this article should never have been published."
Clair McFarlandFebruary 04, 2026