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
Police Arrest Man Suspected Of Trying To Burn Down Lander Bar
The Lander Police Department on Wednesday evening apprehended a 33-year-old Lander man suspected of trying to burn down the popular Lander Bar two days earlier.
Clair McFarlandDecember 12, 2024
Feds Deporting Three Illegal Immigrants Who Committed Crimes In Wyoming
Federal authorities are deporting three illegal immigrants out of Wyoming after one was caught with 170 pounds of marijuana and the other two were driving drunk.
Clair McFarlandDecember 12, 2024
Montana Supreme Court Keeps Child Sex Changes Legal During Lawsuit
The Montana Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld a lower court’s decision blocking a state ban on child sex-change treatments. Sex change treatments on children will remain legal while a lawsuit plays out.
Clair McFarlandDecember 11, 2024
Illinois Trucker Rams Gillette Man's Pickup Off The Road, Police Say
A semitruck driver from Illinois is accused of side-swiping a Gillette man's pickup so hard he crippled it and drove it off the road west of Gillette, Wyoming. His case rose to felony-level court Monday.
Clair McFarlandDecember 11, 2024
California Transient Who Called Machete Attack Self-Defense Gets Probation
A California man who was passing through Green River, Wyoming, when he had a fight with four transients and cut two of them with a machete was sentenced Friday to probation. He maintained during the case that he was acting in self-defense.
Clair McFarland & Hunter McDaniel for Cowboy State DailyDecember 11, 2024
Bureau Of Indian Affairs Agent In Crash On Reservation, Agency Not Talking
The U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs did not respond to questions Tuesday about one of its own agents involved in a car crash on the Wind River Indian Reservation early Sunday. The BIA is investigating the incident "internally," authorities say.
Clair McFarlandDecember 11, 2024
Police Seek Whoever Tried To Burn Down Lander Bar
Police are seeking help to identify who tried to burn down the popular Lander Bar in Lander, Wyoming, early Monday morning. The attempt failed, but the bar’s owner says the potential for a “catastrophic” result “was literally the flip of a coin.”
Clair McFarlandDecember 10, 2024
Cheyenne’s “Voodoo Man,” Known For Hexing Businesses, Has Felony Dismissed
Cheyenne’s “Voodoo Man,” known for terrorizing local businesses by throwing curses and threats at them, had a felony charge dropped Monday. He’ll instead face a lesser charge for charging through an election center from which he was banned.
Clair McFarlandDecember 10, 2024
Casper Police Searching For Source Of Shots Fired That Put Schools In Lockdown
Casper law enforcement agents are investigating shots fired near a handful of local schools Tuesday. The schools were put into lockdown for several hours as a precaution.
Clair McFarlandDecember 10, 2024
Wyoming Transgender Sorority Member’s Lawsuit Against Attorneys Headed To Trial
A transgender University of Wyoming sorority member’s lawsuit against two lawyers is headed to trial, a judge ordered Friday. The lawyers represented a group of Kappa Kappa Gamma sisters who protested Artemis Langford’s membership in the sorority.
Clair McFarlandDecember 10, 2024
Wyoming "Blue" Christmas Services Happening For People In Holiday Misery
Some Wyoming churches are hosting “Blue” Christmas services for people dealing with grief and sadness. Sometimes pretending to exude joy in December is almost as heavy as the weight of grief itself, one reverend explained.
Clair McFarlandDecember 10, 2024
Jelly Seller Accused Of Hauling 35 Pounds Of Drugs From Las Vegas To Shoshoni
Mary Renee Weymouth, a 63-year-old jam and jelly vendor form Lander, Wyoming, is accused of smuggling 35 pounds of drugs into the state. She allegedly hauled meth and pot from Las Vegas to Shoshoni.
Clair McFarlandDecember 09, 2024
Cheyenne Man Unfazed By Police Tasers During Rampage Faces New Charges
A Cheyenne man who was unfazed by tasers when he allegedly attacked local police with multiple weapons in April now faces a possible life sentence. New felony charges were filed against Ronald Andrew Romero on Friday.
Clair McFarlandDecember 09, 2024
Rawlins Boot-Waving Motorcycle Crash Survivor Marvels At Second Chance
With a motorcycle on top of him and trapped in a culvert, Phil Bollinger could only wave his boot into the air for help. Hours later someone finally spotted him, and although a severed artery nearly killed him, his survival has given him a positive outlook on life -- even when he got his car stolen in Denver last week.
Clair McFarlandDecember 07, 2024
Rock Springs Man Gives Grisly Account Of Stabbing Victim 30 Times
A Rock Springs, Wyoming, man gave a grisly confession Friday about stabbing a man more than 30 times, killing him, and dumping his body last year. He said it happened after a meth-fueled argument about a woman with whom they were both involved.
Clair McFarlandDecember 07, 2024
Wyoming Tops In The Nation For Cigarette Smuggling
Wyoming has the highest rate of outbound cigarette smuggling in the U.S., according to a study by the Tax Foundation. The group says 49.2% of Wyoming’s cigarette consumption goes to smugglers taking the product outside the state.
Clair McFarlandDecember 06, 2024
Man Who Held Woman Taken From Bloomberg Hostage At Cheyenne Motel Gets 22 Years
A Colorado man who held a woman hostage in a Cheyenne, Wyoming, motel after kidnapping her from Michael Bloomberg’s ranch was sentenced to 22 years in prison Thursday.
Clair McFarlandDecember 06, 2024
Housekeeper Accused Of Stealing $26K In Coins From Room In Historic Plains Hotel
The former head housekeeper of the historic Plains Hotel in downtown Cheyenne, Wyoming, is accused of stealing $26,000 worth of coins from a guest’s room. Court documents say she had other people sell them to coin dealers for cash.
Clair McFarlandDecember 05, 2024
Former Riverton Youth Pastor Found Not Guilty Of Molesting Child
A former Riverton, Wyoming, youth pastor accused of fondling a young girl last year was found not guilty by a Florida jury Tuesday. He allegedly told investigators that he’s addicted to porn and “gave in to temptation.”
Clair McFarlandDecember 05, 2024
Gillette Officer Faces Felony Charge For Alleged Sex With Woman On Probation
The Gillette Police Department officer arrested by his own department Monday faces an out-of-state felony charge. He's accused of having sex with a woman who was on felony probation while he was a cop in Utah, which is a felony in that state.
Clair McFarlandDecember 04, 2024
One More Rodeo: Unheard Chris LeDoux Song Released As Duet With Son
Wyoming country music star Chris LeDoux recorded a song before his 2005 death that had gone unheard for two decades. On Wednesday, "One Hand in the Riggin'" was released as a duet with LeDoux's son, Ned.
Clair McFarlandDecember 04, 2024