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 Committee Kills 'Sweeping And Almost Vindictive' Anti-Obscenity Law
A Wyoming Legislative committee killed a broad anti-obscenity bill on Friday. Republican Rep. Tom Kelly said lawmakers shouldn't lose sight of the real problem of sexually-graphic books in kids' library sections, but the solution isn't to advance a “sweeping and almost vindictive law."
Clair McFarlandFebruary 08, 2025
Appropriations Committee Advances Sweeping Immigration Bill That Would Make It Felony To Harbor Illegals
A Wyoming immigration bill that would levy state-level felony charges against people who harbor or transport illegal immigrants kept its $1 million price tag Friday, when the Senate Appropriations Committee approved it. The state Senate will debate the bill next.
Clair McFarlandFebruary 07, 2025
Death Penalty On The Table In Bow And Arrow Death; Prosecutor Says Man Was 'Impaled'
Sublette County Attorney Clayton Melinkovich said he hasn’t ruled out seeking the death penalty for two Big Piney men charged Friday with first-degree murder, in the death of a man investigators say was killed by a bow and arrow. The victim was "impaled" by a man who later bragged about the act to friends, Melinkovich alleged in court.
Clair McFarlandFebruary 07, 2025
No Charges For Thermopolis Officer, Deputy Who Shot Baseball Bat Attacker
There will be no criminal charges filed against the police officer and sheriff's deputy who shot and killed a Thermopolis man who charged them with a metal baseball bat. The special prosecutor on Friday said the agents acted within Wyoming's self-defense laws,
Clair McFarlandFebruary 07, 2025
Two Big Piney Men, 18 and 19, Charged With First-Degree Murder In Bow And Arrow Death
Sublette County sheriff's investigators found a 23-year-old man dead of apparent arrow wounds Wednesday in a Big Piney home. Two men aged 18 and 19 were charged with variations of first-degree murder Friday morning.
Clair McFarlandFebruary 07, 2025
University of Wyoming 'Will Have No Problem Complying' With NCAA Transgender Sports Ban
The NCAA on Thursday barred males from participating in women's sports. The University of Wyoming, which forfeited two women's volleyball matches last fall against a team with a trans player, said it will have “no problem complying.”
Clair McFarlandFebruary 07, 2025
Teen Girl Accused In Reliance Bonfire Shooting Charged As Adult
A 16-year-old Rock Springs girl has been charged as an adult after Sweetwater County Sheriff’s investigators say she shot two men who were in a fight with her boyfriend. The shooting happened late Saturday near a bonfire party spot outside Reliance.
Clair McFarlandFebruary 06, 2025
Fremont County Library Director Publicly Scolded After Speaking Against Obscenity Bill
The library director for Fremont County was scolded Thursday for not clarifying she was speaking personally, when she criticized a proposed state law seeking to punish librarians for exposing kids to obscenity. Anita Marple said she'd clarify her position, and learn from the experience.
Clair McFarlandFebruary 06, 2025
Judge Won’t Dismiss Sheridan Man’s “Sucker-Punch” Manslaughter Case Early
A judge declined Tuesday to dismiss the case of a man accused of killing a Sheridan hockey coach with a blow the coach's girlfriend called a "sucker punch." Cody McCalla claimed he acted in self-defense after getting into a fight with the victim.
Clair McFarlandFebruary 06, 2025
In Brief: Man In Big Piney Home Found Dead, Other Man Questioned
A man was found dead of "significant injuries" Wednesday in a home in Big Piney, the Sublette County Sheriff's Office reports. Another adult male was detained for questioning.
Clair McFarlandFebruary 06, 2025
Wyoming Delegation Applauds Trump's Trans Athlete Ban
Wyoming's congressional delegation cheered President Donald Trump's Wednesday executive order defunding schools that let males play female-only sports. ”The far left’s attack on female athletes is the women’s rights issue of our time,” Sen. Lummis said.
Sean Barry & Clair McFarlandFebruary 05, 2025
Governor, AG Say Judge Misapplied Law When Striking Down Abortion Bans
The Wyoming Attorney General’s Office argued this week that a judge misapplied the law when she struck down two abortion bans in November. The AG claims in a filing that the judge leaned on an abortion-friendly doctors' testimony when proclaiming abortion "health care."
Clair McFarlandFebruary 05, 2025
Huge Immigration Bill Gets A Makeover; Wyoming Sheriffs Still Hesitant
A Senate committee proposed changes Tuesday to a massive Wyoming immigration bill that would make sheltering or transporting illegal immigrant a felony, among other mandates. The state's law enforcers can work within the new version, but they'd "hesitate" to say they support it, their lobbyist said.
Clair McFarlandFebruary 05, 2025
Evanston Snowmobiler Killed In Avalanche; Friends Say Man Was 'Too Good For This Earth'
Scott Wright, 37, of Evanston, Wyoming, was killed in an avalanche in Utah on Monday, authorities say. A friend of his told Cowboy State Daily that Wright was an avid snowmobiler who loved working on the machines and building them.
Clair McFarlandFebruary 05, 2025
Degenfelder Hopes Trump Will Eliminate U.S. Dept Of Education
Wyoming Superintendent Of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder told Cowboy State Daily on Tuesday that she hopes President Trump eliminates the U.S. Dept of Education. States should determine their own rules for federal funding, she said.
Clair McFarlandFebruary 05, 2025
Former Riverton School Board Candidate Gets 25-30 Years For Molesting Child
Hunter DeVries, 23, was sentenced Tuesday to 25-30 years in prison for molesting a child over the course of several months. He ran for the local school board last year, and despite showing remorse, deserves a “lengthy prison sentence,” the judge said.
Clair McFarlandFebruary 04, 2025
Bill Banning Suspicious Drones Over Critical Wyoming Infrastructure Advances
The Wyoming Senate is considering a bill criminalizing drone operators from loitering and photographing over critical infrastructure. A legislative committee voted unanimously Tuesday to send the bill to the Senate floor.
Clair McFarlandFebruary 04, 2025
Woman Accused Of Leading Five Law Enforcement Agencies On Wild Riverton Chase, Crashing Into Deputy
A woman charged Friday is accused of leading at least five police agencies on a chase in Riverton, Wyoming. She sped over spike strips, pulled a U-turn on the highway and rammed a deputy's truck while drinking from a bottle of alcohol, court documents say.
Clair McFarlandFebruary 04, 2025
Two Proposed Wyoming Transgender Sports Bans Advance In State House
The Wyoming House on Monday sent a proposed transgender sports ban to the state Senate. It would expand the current law from seventh to 12th grades, to kindergarten through college. Another similar bill focusing just on college also advanced.
Clair McFarlandFebruary 03, 2025
Clair McFarland: Writing Up A Test For Real ’Muricans
Clair McFarland writes: "'I think Americans ought to be able to eat 20 hot dogs in a minute!' said Little-Feisty. I choked on my tea. 'And I think,' blustered Big-Sweet, 'you gotta know who Mike Tyson is!'”
Clair McFarlandFebruary 03, 2025
Juvenile Suspected Of Shooting Two At Sweetwater County Bonfire Party
No one was in custody Monday for a shooting in which two young adults were hurt at a Saturday bonfire party outside Reliance, Wyoming. Two people were hospitalized, and the suspected shooter is a juvenile, the Sweetwater County Sheriff's Office says.
Clair McFarlandFebruary 03, 2025