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 Tribe's Law Firm One Of The Few Fighting Trump's Big-Law Orders
While nine law firms have made deals to avoid President Donald Trump’s orders targeting them, the one that works for Wyoming’s largest federally recognized Indian tribe is continuing to fight the federal government in court.
Clair McFarlandApril 18, 2025
Standoff Suspect Thrust Katana Sword Through Door, Pointed BB Pistol, Police Say
The Riverton man who barricaded himself inside home for 11 hours this week thrust a Samurai-style katana sword through a door at cops, police say. He also brandished a BB gun that looked like a Sig Sauer pistol.
Clair McFarlandApril 18, 2025
Oregon Man Charged With Assault Says Yellowstone Flagger Jumped In Front Of Jeep
An Oregon man faces the felony charge of attacking a government employee after authorities say he hit a Yellowstone National Park flagger with his Jeep. The man counters, saying the flagger jumped in front of his Jeep and tried to stop it with his hands.
Clair McFarlandApril 17, 2025
Clair McFarland: World’s Most Coddled Crime Reporter, Ready For Duty
Columnist Clair McFarland writes: "I have found after several years of covering crime, that where the capacity for violence is greatest, chivalry is also at its peak. It’s the most certain correlation I’ve found in this job."
Clair McFarlandApril 17, 2025
Brief: Gillette Man Didn’t Know Gun Was Loaded When He Shot Pet Cat Dead
A 19-year-old unintentionally killed an 8-year-old pet tabby cat while using it for what he thought was dry-fire, or unloaded, target practice inside a Gillette home Wednesday morning, police say.
Clair McFarlandApril 17, 2025
Riverton Standoff Suspect Was Supposed To Get Probation, Then Skipped Court
A Riverton man who prompted an 11-hour police standoff Wednesday and Thursday was wanted because he skipped a court hearing. At that hearing, he was supposed to receive probation on a felony-level charge for threatening to shoot up the local hospital.
Clair McFarlandApril 17, 2025
Wanted Riverton Man Tear-Gassed, Arrested To End 11-Hour Armed Standoff
A Riverton man wanted on a warrant for allegedly threatening to "shoot up" a hospital barricaded himself inside a house for about 11 hours before being tear-gassed and arrested just before 4 a.m. Thursday. He was armed with a knife and gun, police report.
Clair McFarland & Greg JohnsonApril 17, 2025
Wanted Riverton Man In Standoff With Law Enforcement
Riverton and Lander police officers and Fremont County Sheriff’s deputies have surrounded a Riverton home as of late Wednesday evening with their rifles out in an apparent standoff with a barricaded man wanted on a warrant.
Clair McFarlandApril 17, 2025
5 Teens From Wyoming Juvenile Facility Caught In Nebraska With Stolen Vehicles
Details remain sparse about five teens ages 14-17 who reportedly left a juvenile facility in Wyoming and fled through Nebraska in two stolen vehicles Sunday, then leading authorities on a foot chase.
Clair McFarlandApril 16, 2025
Wyoming Tanker Truck Explosion That Killed Driver Ruled Accidental
The death of a woman Saturday in a tanker explosion north of Wright, Wyoming, was accidental, according to the Campbell County coroner. The exact origin of the explosion of a tanker carrying hydrochloric acid is still under investigation.
Clair McFarlandApril 16, 2025
Future Of Abortion In Wyoming Now In Hands Of State Supreme Court
The Wyoming Supreme Court heard arguments Wednesday in a case that will determine the future of abortion in Wyoming. A pro-choice coalition argued women have a right to the procedure, while the state's attorney argued the Legislature can ban it.
Clair McFarlandApril 16, 2025
Former Firefighter Gets 7-12 Years For Groping Women While Giving Them Rides
A former Riverton firefighter received a prison sentence of 7-12 years Tuesday. Multiple women came forward during a monthslong investigation saying he offered them rides, then groped them.
Clair McFarlandApril 16, 2025
Jackson Man Could Be Deported For The Eighth Time If Convicted
Federal deportation authorities Monday arrested a Mexican national in Teton County, Wyoming, who has been removed from the United States seven times in the past 20 years, court documents say.
Clair McFarlandApril 15, 2025
New Top Prosecutor Named For One Of Wyoming’s Highest-Crime Counties
Fremont County has a new top prosecutor for one of the Wyoming’s most crime-riddled counties. Asked how they’d reduce crime, one of three finalists for the job said that “none of us were given a magic wand upon graduation from law school.”
Clair McFarlandApril 15, 2025
Nearly All Vedauwoo Volunteer Firefighters Resign, Upset With Board Actions
Nearly all members of the Vedauwoo Volunteer Fire Department resigned Thursday. Department leaders say the Albany County Fire District Board acted without transparency, while critics of the department say its members have been causing problems.
Clair McFarlandApril 15, 2025
Judge Says Ousted Gillette’s Librarian's Discrimination Lawsuit Can Go Forward
A fired Campbell County library director's lawsuit against the family that accused her of peddling pornography can go to forward, a federal judge ruled Friday. The judge said the civil suit can continue because the law protects LGBTQ advocates.
Clair McFarlandApril 14, 2025
Hageman Wants To Ditch Policy That Keeps Non-English-Speaking Truckers On The Road
U.S. Rep. Harriet Hageman wants the Dept of Transportation to reconsider a policy that allows non-English-speaking truckers on the road. The policy is a “major safety issue for all drivers," she said.
Clair McFarlandApril 12, 2025
Two Men Accused Of Drunken Rampage That Left Kinnear Post Office ‘Trashed’
Two Fremont County men in their 20s are accused of trashing the post office of tiny Kinnear, Wyoming, early Monday morning. They were found afterward, passed out in a running truck, court documents say.
Clair McFarland & Greg JohnsonApril 11, 2025
Sweetwater County Sheriff Building Local ICE Task Force
Sweetwater County Sheriff John Grossnickle on Thursday signed a memorandum of understanding with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. It will let the sheriff build an ICE task force with up to five of his own deputies.
Clair McFarlandApril 10, 2025
Abortion Case Reassigned To Retired Judge Voters Can’t Oust
A pro-choice coalition’s court challenge to Wyoming’s newest abortion restrictions has been reassigned to a retired judge. That means he’s not up for retention every six years and can’t be ousted by voters.
Clair McFarlandApril 10, 2025
Wyoming Man Who Says AI Driver Wrecked Train Settles With Union Pacific
A Pinedale, Wyoming, man secured a settlement against Union Pacific Railroad on Wednesday. He’d accused the railroad of making him work on a locomotive driven by an artificial intelligence system that caused a crash.
Clair McFarlandApril 10, 2025