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
A Year After Deadly Shootout, Thermopolis Cop Has Plenty Of Local Support
Sunday is the 1-year anniversary of the day Thermopolis Police Sgt. Mike Mascorro illegally forced his way into a suspect’s home, sparking a shootout that left him wounded and the suspect dead. A year later, the officer has plenty of local support.
Clair McFarlandApril 27, 2024
Fremont County Tops In Homicides Despite Having Only 6.8% Of Population
A Cowboy State Daily survey of all 23 Wyoming county coroners shows that Fremont County has the highest number of homicides with 30% of the state's total despite having just 6.8% of the population.
Clair McFarlandApril 25, 2024
IRS, State Hit Wyoming School District With $46,000 In Fines
The school district serving Thermopolis and the rest of Hot Springs County has been charged nearly $46,000 in fines to account for failures to file payroll taxes and employing coaches who weren’t fully certified.
Clair McFarlandApril 25, 2024
Is TikTok Protected Speech Or Threat To Americans? Wyoming Legislators Split
With a potential United States ban on TikTok passing Wednesday, Wyoming legislators are split on whether that’s a blow to protected free speech or acting to suppress a serious security threat.
Clair McFarlandApril 25, 2024
Judge Tosses Wyoming Woman’s Claim Employer Tried To Have Her Committed
A federal judge has tossed the lawsuit of a Wyoming woman who claimed her employer, a hospital in Weston County, tried to have her involuntarily committed for being a whistleblower.
Clair McFarlandApril 24, 2024
Wyoming Man Claims Deputies Watched Him Have Seizure During Warrantless Arrest
A Wheatland man admits he unknowingly cashed a false check for a TikTok girlfriend, but is suing Platte County, its sheriff’s office and a pair of deputies for allegedly watching him have a traumatic seizure during a warrantless arrest.
Clair McFarlandApril 24, 2024
Wyoming Militia Member Denied Making His Own M16 Sues Feds — Again
A former U.S. Marine and Wyoming man who’s a member of a loose militia filed a lawsuit Monday challenging the federal government to be allowed to build his own machine gun. It’s his second lawsuit challenging the machine gun ban.
Clair McFarlandApril 23, 2024
BRIEF: Death Of Riverton-Area Teen Investigated As Suspicious
The Fremont County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the death of a 15-year-old boy found in a Riverton-area home Monday as suspicious.
Clair McFarlandApril 23, 2024
Riverton’s First Northern Arapaho Police Officer Claims Racist, Hostile Treatment
The first Northern Arapaho officer hired by the Riverton Police Department has quit, and filed a lawsuit Monday alleging a pattern of racist, hostile and retaliatory treatment by superiors and department officials.
Clair McFarlandApril 23, 2024
Accused Murderer From North Dakota Hid Out In Gillette For Months
A North Dakota man accused of killing a woman, deleting his home camera footage and fleeing last year was arrested Thursday in Gillette. Police believe he hid in Gillette for months before being discovered.
Clair McFarlandApril 22, 2024
Accused Wyoming Wife Beater Flees To Nebraska After Wife Stabs Him
A Moorcroft man accused of beating his wife bloody for hours before she managed to stab him was caught in Nebraska over the weekend.
Clair McFarlandApril 22, 2024
Wyoming Railroad Engineer Sues Union Pacific Over AI Train Driver
A Wyoming railroad engineer is suing Union Pacific, claiming he was hurt — maybe permanently — when an artificial intelligence-powered train driver malfunctioned causing a train wreck.
Clair McFarlandApril 22, 2024
Clair McFarland: Spring Keeps Spawning Neighbors
Clair McFarland writes, "Winter tests your body but spring tests your soul. Especially if you’re an introvert. The Husband has us scheduled for six barbecues and someone signed me up to keep score at little league games."
Clair McFarlandApril 21, 2024
Casper Woman's Property Overtaken By Six Squatters Who Trashed The Place
Wyoming isn’t immune to a property owner’s worst nightmare — squatters. Just ask a Casper woman who learned the hard way when her ousted tenant illegally leased out her home to six unwanted tenants, who trashed the property.
Clair McFarlandApril 20, 2024
Former US Sen. Malcolm Wallop: The Wyoming Rancher Who Helped Save Israel
While many praised former President Ronald Reagan this week for backing the program Israel used to defend itself again Iran, it was actually Wyoming U.S. Sen. Malcolm Wallop who started pushing "Star Wars" into existence before Reagan was even in office.
Clair McFarlandApril 20, 2024
Cheyenne Police Arrest Woman Who Tried To Stop Baton Beating Of Nephew
The aunt of a Cheyenne man who yelled at police and took video April 5 as they held down her nephew during a traffic stop and hit him repeatedly with a baton was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of interfering with officers.
Clair McFarlandApril 19, 2024
Wyoming Tribes May Be On Path To Get 60,000 Acres Of Federal Land
After about a century of managing about 60,000 acres in northern Fremont County, a federal agency is ready to give it to someone else. Top contenders are the Bureau of Land Management and Wyoming’s Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho tribes.
Clair McFarlandApril 18, 2024
BRIEF: Rock Springs Man Found Dead Under Bridge
A Rock Springs man was found dead under a bridge Thursday by what local authorities. An autopsy will be done to determine how he died.
Clair McFarlandApril 18, 2024
Wyoming Man Accused Of Killing Woman, Having Sex With Body Smart Enough For Trial
Multiple brain injuries and a low IQ won’t keep a Wyoming man from facing prosecution on claims that after murdering a woman and having sex with her body, he tried to hide her body in Park County, a judge has ruled.
Clair McFarlandApril 18, 2024
Under Threat Of Takeover, Fremont County Library Changes Sex Book Policies
Under pressure from county commissioners to change how it handles controversial and sexually-themed material or lose its board chair, the Fremont County Library Board approved a handful of changes Wednesday.
Clair McFarlandApril 18, 2024
Guilty Plea For Wyoming Man Accused Of Torturing And Starving Boy
A Wyoming man accused of torturing, starving and locking up his 13-year-old stepson has made a plea agreement, where he’ll spend at least 10 years in prison, or possibly life.
Clair McFarlandApril 17, 2024
Wyoming Ranch Denies Claims It Enslaved, Trafficked Troubled Boys
The Triangle Cross Ranch in Powell, Wyoming, denies in court filings it was a nightmare for a pair of teen boys housed there 10 years ago, who claim they were used as forced labor and trafficked.
Clair McFarlandApril 17, 2024
Mental Issues Don’t Keep Lander Man Accused Of Killing Drinking Buddy Out Of Court
Though he said one day earlier that he couldn’t understand his court hearings, a Lander man accused of killing his drinking buddy following an unwanted sexual advance said Tuesday he can handle it.
Clair McFarlandApril 16, 2024
BRIEF: One Person Arrested For Weekend Killing On Wyoming Reservation
The FBI has released little information about an unidentified suspect arrested in connection with a Sunday homicide on Wyoming’s Wind River Indian Reservation.
Clair McFarlandApril 16, 2024
Sheridan County Commissioner Arrested For DUI, Swerving ‘All Over The Road’
Sheridan County Commissioner Christine Haswell has pleaded not guilty to DUI and allegations she was intoxicated when people reported her allegedly swerving “all over the road” and leaving the scene of a collision with a brick structure.
Clair McFarlandApril 16, 2024
Lander Man Accused Of Killing Drinking Buddy For Making A Pass At Him
A Lander man accused of hitting a drinking buddy in the head with a metal pipe and killing him, allegedly told police he just tried to “knock him out” after the other man made a pass at him and wouldn’t leave.
Clair McFarlandApril 15, 2024
Riverton Man Pleads Not Guilty To Having Porn Featuring Baby, Toddler and Dog
A Riverton man has pleaded not guilty to felony charges he had and distributed child pornography, including videos featuring molestation of an infant and toddler, as well as a dog performing a sex act on a child.
Clair McFarlandApril 15, 2024
US Supreme Court Ruling Could ‘Have Significant Impacts’ On Jackson Housing Fees
Elected officials have to make sure they’re only charging impact fees that match up to the public’s goals, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously Friday. Otherwise, the fees amount to government extortion. This could significantly impact Teton County.
Clair McFarlandApril 14, 2024
Boston Woman Got Kidnapped Her First Day In Wyoming, But Built A Life Here Anyway
A Massachusetts woman who moved to Wyoming last May was kidnapped her first day in the state. She escaped her attacker, reported the incident to police, got a job on a ranch and fell in love with Wyoming anyway.
Clair McFarlandApril 13, 2024
Sheridan Man Arrested For Stash Of Printed Guns, Home-Grown Marijuana
A Sheridan man reportedly found with a cache of 3D-printed guns and home-grown marijuana now faces a dozen misdemeanor charges in Sheridan Circuit Court.
Clair McFarlandApril 12, 2024