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
Wheatland Men Accused Of Stealing Valuable Boulders From Albany County Ruby Mine
Two men who were recently living in Wheatland, Wyoming, are facing felony theft charges on claims they stole boulders from an Albany County ruby mining claim. The large rocks could contain rubies each worth up to $4,000.
Clair McFarlandOctober 28, 2024

Quick-Acting Staffers Save Moorcroft Student Who Overdosed At Volleyball Game
A Moorcroft Secondary School student who stopped breathing after a drug overdose at an Oct. 4 volleyball game was rescued by nurses and staffers. They used a swift dose of Narcan, the principal told Cowboy State Daily on Monday.
Clair McFarlandOctober 28, 2024

Supreme Court Rules Child Molester Can't Bash Child Victim At Trial
A Wyoming district court judge was right to not allow a molester to raise allegations of unrelated sexual misconduct against his child victim at trial, the Wyoming Supreme Court says in a Friday ruling.
Clair McFarlandOctober 28, 2024

Wyoming Coffee Klatch: Riverton’s Chandelle Group Talks, And Argues, Politics
Cowboy State Daily is visiting coffee klatches around the state to hear their top concerns before the election. Riverton's Chandelle Group has been meeting for years. They allow women to join, but tame the jokes when one does.
Clair McFarlandOctober 26, 2024

Fremont County Group Fights To Kill Tax Grants To Private Businesses
Fremont County residents and visitors have poured $14.7 million of their tax dollars into economic development and transportation services since April 2021. An “axe the tax” group is trying to kill the tax this election cycle.
Clair McFarlandOctober 26, 2024

Guilty Plea For Yellowstone Concession Worker Who Attacked Park Ranger
Chloe Lynn Tullis, a contract worker in Yellowstone, changed her plea from not guilty to guilty in the U.S. District Court for Wyoming on one charge of assaulting a federal police officer and another of interfering with one.
Clair McFarlandOctober 25, 2024
Brief: Fremont County Coroner Seeks Someone To Claim Body Of Washington Man
A 64-year-old Washington state man died Oct. 13 after rolling his Jeep in Dubois, Wyoming, with a 0.298% blood-alcohol concentration. Now the local coroner is seeking someone to claim his body.
Clair McFarlandOctober 25, 2024

Cheyenne PD Wants Dismissal Of Racism Claim From Red Light Traffic Stop
The Cheyenne Police Department is asking a federal judge to dismiss a Black man’s racial discrimination lawsuit, saying the man didn’t stay within the rules for making that claim.
Clair McFarlandOctober 24, 2024

Former Riverton Cop Busted With Mail-Order Steroids Gets Deal
A former Riverton Police Department officer accused of mail-ordering illegal steroids has signed a plea agreement that could keep a felony off his record. Logan Alley admitted to buying the illegal steroids for his own use, court documents say.
Clair McFarlandOctober 24, 2024

Thermopolis FFA Alumni Treasurer Accused Of Embezzling More Than $15,000
The treasurer of the Thermopolis, Wyoming, Future Farmers of America alumni committee is accused of embezzling more than $15,000 from the group. She allegedly admitted to police she took the money.
Clair McFarlandOctober 24, 2024

Casper Man Who Killed Alleged Child Molester Sues Over Toe Amputated In Prison
A Casper, Wyoming, man who killed his granddaughter’s alleged molester four years ago is suing a health care provider over his toe being amputated in prison. He claims the doctors didn't apply the right salve to a wound.
Clair McFarlandOctober 23, 2024

Douglas Woman Gets 14-23 Years In Prison For Abusing, Killing Mother
Edwina Leman was sentenced to between 14 and 23 years in prison for abusing her elderly mother and fatally injuring her. The prosecutor played videos in court, of Leman attacking and insulting her sickly mother. A defense attorney said Leman suffered from caretaker’s burnout.
Clair McFarlandOctober 23, 2024

In Brief: Appeals Court Upholds Order To Allow 195-Foot Wapiti Cell Tower
A federal appeals court Friday backed a lower court's order that the Park County Commission must OK the building of a 195-foot cellphone tower in Wapiti just outside Yellowstone National Park.
Clair McFarlandOctober 23, 2024

Woman Who Killed Ex By Running Him Down In SUV In Rock Springs Gets 45 To Life
A Utah woman who killed her ex-boyfriend by running him over in an SUV in a Rock Springs parking lot was sentenced Tuesday. Rene Daniels will serve between 45 years and life in prison.
Clair McFarlandOctober 22, 2024

Thermopolis Man Sues Cops, Deputies Over Break-In And Tasing
A Thermopolis man filed a federal lawsuit Monday against Thermopolis cops and local deputies. He claims he was tased and injured by officers when they illegally broke into his home.
Clair McFarlandOctober 22, 2024

Douglas Man Guilty Of Killing Cousin After Drinking Binge, Jury Finds
A Douglas man who had a long and sometimes traumatic Army career was found guilty of second-degree murder Friday. Mark Helms shot his cousin to death after a night of drinking in September 2023.
Clair McFarlandOctober 19, 2024

Wyoming Man Trying To Get Federal Machine Gun Ban Overturned
A Wapiti, Wyoming, man is trying to overturn the nation's general ban on machine guns, and on Friday took his case to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals. A firearms law experts says he makes a "respectable" argument, but a 2008 court ruling will likely block him.
Clair McFarlandOctober 19, 2024

Shoshoni Woman Pleads Guilty To Shooting Naked Boyfriend, But Not His Harley
A Shoshoni woman could get up to seven years in prison after admitting Tuesday that she shot her naked boyfriend in the foot while he was putting his pants on. She was also accused of shooting his Harley-Davidson but that charge was dropped.
Clair McFarlandOctober 18, 2024

Wyoming Man Caught In Child Sex Sting Video Pleads Not Guilty
A 57-year-old Hudson, Wyoming, man who was shown in a vigilante sex-crime YouTube video in Lander pleaded not guilty to a felony charge Thursday. He’s charged with attempted third-degree sexual abuse of a minor.
Clair McFarlandOctober 18, 2024

205-Acre Wind River Fire Started In Trash Barrel And Burned One Home
A fire near Riverton on the Wind River Indian Reservation on Wednesday started in a trash barrel and burned one home. The fire quickly blew up to more than 200 acres and jumped the river before firefighters knocked it down.
Clair McFarlandOctober 17, 2024

50-Person Search For Body Parts Near Cheyenne Got “All That We Could Find”
Laramie County officials have finished a 50-person search for human remains in a field south of Cheyenne, getting “all that we could find.” Now begins what could be a lengthy process of investigating who the person was.
Clair McFarlandOctober 17, 2024
