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
Byron Mom In Murder-Suicide Had Depression, Anxiety Meds In System
The Byron, Wyoming, woman who fatally shot her four children then herself last month had depression and anti-anxiety medications in her system, according to a coroner’s investigation report released Thursday.
Clair McFarlandMarch 20, 2025
Report: Pickup Losing Control Leaving Green River Tunnel Started Fatal Crash
The National Transportation Safety Board on Wednesday released its preliminary report on the Green River Tunnel disaster. It says a pickup truck lost control as it exited the westbound tunnel and started the 26-vehicle, triple-fatality crash on February 14, 2025.
Clair McFarlandMarch 20, 2025
Woman Identified In Fatal Crash Outside Rawlins That Closed I-80 For Hours
Mary Couch, 70 of Alabama, was identified as the victim in Saturday’s I-80 crash outside Rawlins on Saturday that closed the interstate for hours. The driver accused of killing Couch was released from jail on a $20,000 cash bond.
Clair McFarlandMarch 20, 2025
Tow Truck Operator Responding To Crash Hit By Pickup On Icy I-80 Near Wamsutter
A tow truck operator recovering vehicles from night crash near Wamsutter along Interstate-80 was struck by a pickup Wednesday, the Wyoming Highway Patrol reports. The operator was life-flighted from the scene.
Clair McFarlandMarch 19, 2025
Wyoming Supports Trump's Plan To Deport Members Of Violent Venezuelan Gang
When 26 Republican-led states urged a court Tuesday to stop a judge's block on Trump's plan to deport Venezuelan gang members, Wyoming wasn't among them. But that's because of timing, not a lack of support, the Wyoming attorney general says.
Clair McFarlandMarch 19, 2025
Riverton Police Say They Caught Man Who Stole Car With Baby In It
The Riverton Police Department said Tuesday it caught a 28-year-old man accused of stealing a vehicle with a 3-month-old baby in it, then abandoning both the car and baby west of Riverton, Wyoming, last month.
Clair McFarlandMarch 18, 2025
Brief: Trucker Suspected Of Causing I-80 Crash That Killed Another Trucker
A Washington state trucker has been charged with homicide by vehicle after a Saturday crash on I-80 near Rawlins. He’s accused of crashing into another semitrailer, killing a person in the truck’s sleeper cab.
Clair McFarlandMarch 18, 2025
Gillette Man, 77, Accused Of Offering Sex Act To Teenage Boy
A 77-year-old Gillette man accused of soliciting a 15-year-old boy for sex could face between five and 12 years in prison. His case rose to felony-level court Thursday after a monthslong delay that included a mental fitness evaluation.
Clair McFarlandMarch 18, 2025
Former Jackson Hole Fire Chief Accused Of Sex Acts With Judge, Having Child Porn
Former Jackson Hole Fire Chief Ned Brady Hansen has been charged with aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor in Utah. Authorities there say he trafficked in child pornography and had a sexual encounter with the same judge who declined to keep him in jail.
Clair McFarlandMarch 18, 2025
Wyoming Health Dept Says Trump Not The Reason $8.4 Million For Vax Ads Ending
The Wyoming Dept of Health has spent about $8.4 million in federal public money on pro-vaccine advertising since mid-2020. It expects the last of those grants to expire this year, but not because of President Trump's new vaccine-skeptical health secretary.
Clair McFarlandMarch 17, 2025
Cheyenne Man Accused Of Pepper-Spraying Cops During Fight In Driveway
A Cheyenne man's case rose Friday to the felony-level court, on claims he pepper sprayed cops while interfering with a woman's traffic stop. The man reportedly also cursed and spat racial slurs at police as they investigated a DUI at his house.
Clair McFarlandMarch 17, 2025
State Trooper Arrests Suspected Illegal Immigrant With 18,000 Rounds Of Ammunition
An illegal immigrant was arrested Friday near Rawlins for carrying 18,000 rounds of rifle ammunition, according to the Wyoming Highway Patrol. Ricardo Paez-Quinones faces up to 15 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and/or deportation if convicted.
Clair McFarlandMarch 17, 2025
Riverton Man Accused Of Beating Friend To Death Strikes Plea Deal Before Trial
A Riverton man accused of beating his friend to death and leaving him for his parents to find has agreed to plead guilty. The agreement came just days before his manslaughter trial was to start Monday.
Clair McFarlandMarch 17, 2025
Clair McFarland: Mom Says No More Mountain Haggery On The Video News
Columnist Clair McFarland writes: "Mom wants me to look clean and polished on Cowboy State Daily’s video newscast. But I want to exude enough mountain haggery to terrify the out-of-staters."
Clair McFarlandMarch 15, 2025
Ski-Lift Accident Kills Montana Skier But Experts Say Fatalities Are Rare
A Billings skier died earlier this week after he fell out of a ski chair lift in Red Lodge, Montana. One expert told Cowboy State Daily that although accidents do happen, statistics show "chairlift fatalities are very, very, very rare."
Clair McFarlandMarch 14, 2025
'Bitcoin Billionaire' Wanted In All 50 States After Friend Pays, Loses $50K Bond
Investigators say a man who cast himself as a ‘bitcoin billionaire’ during a Jackson Hole spending spree was committing fraud. He skipped court this week - after convincing a friend to pay his $50,000 cash bond. Kevin Segal is now wanted in all 50 states.
Clair McFarlandMarch 14, 2025
AG's Office Says Gillette Judge Didn't Break Rules By Holding Public Defender In Contempt
The judge who fined a public defender $100 and ordered him to write an apology letter for being late says he followed the rules in doing so. The public defender quit after paying the fine and writing the letter.
Clair McFarlandMarch 14, 2025
Judge Orders Trump To Reinstate Fired National Park Service Employees
A federal judge issued a scathing rebuke Thursday and ordered the Trump administration to reinstate thousands of probationary employees fired last month, including 1,000 at the National Park Service. The White House called the order "absurd and unconstitutional."
Clair McFarlandMarch 14, 2025
Fort Washakie 18-Year-Old 'Allegedly' Jumped From Car To Her Death, Initial Report Says
A Wyoming Highway Patrol preliminary investigative report published this month says Stephanie Bearstail, an 18-year-old Fort Washakie student, "allegedly" jumped from a moving vehicle to her death March 4.
Clair McFarlandMarch 13, 2025
Former Sheridan Assistant Principal Gets 3-5 Years For Sex With 18-Year-Old Student
Former Sheridan High School Assistant Principal Jacob Meyer, 34, was sentenced Thursday to between three and five years in prison after being convicted of having sex with one of his students, who was 18 at the time.
Clair McFarlandMarch 13, 2025
Murder-For-Hire Trial On Hold While Cody Woman's Mental Health Tested
Two days before her trial on a murder-for-hire charge was set to begin, a Cody woman had it delayed by asking for a mental health test. Investigators say she tried hiring a hitman to kill her daughter’s boyfriend.
Clair McFarlandMarch 13, 2025