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
Prosecutor Disputes Wyoming Hunter's Claim Friend's Shooting Death Was Accident
A 20-year-old Wyoming hunter says the gunshot that killed his best friend while duck hunting was an accident. But a prosecutor responded this week saying the death was the result of recklessness and the case against the hunter should move forward.
Clair McFarlandNovember 07, 2024
Gillette Woman Charged With Domestic Abuse Claims Boyfriend Punched Himself
A Gillette, Wyoming, woman charged with beating up her boyfriend told police he punched himself in the face Monday night. Police say her fists, not his, were scuffed.
Clair McFarlandNovember 07, 2024
Clair McFarland: Trying To Vote While Mom's Threatening To Make Campaign Signs
Clair McFarland writes: “'Absolutely do not post ANY photos of my kids holding campaign signs,'” I pleaded. My mom, ever the pink boa to my black suit, chirped back 'Oh silly, it’s for the class presidency.'"
Clair McFarlandNovember 06, 2024
Wyoming Woman Says She Was Too Patient With Husband Accused Of Shooting At Her
A woman whose estranged husband is facing felony charges, on claims that he leveled a shotgun at her and fired it as she fled, says she wishes she hadn’t been so nice for so long.
Clair McFarlandNovember 06, 2024
Riverton School Board Candidate Gets Votes Even After Molestation Case Went Public
Riverton school board candidate Hunter DeVries received at least 509 votes Tuesday after his child-molestation case went public. Including absentee ballots and early voting, he won 1,016 total, which wasn’t enough to win the seat.
Clair McFarlandNovember 06, 2024
Fremont County Defeats Half-Percent Tax For Economic Development
Fremont County voters defeated the proposed renewal of a half-percent tax for economic development. The tax funds air and ground transportation, and numerous grants to private businesses and groups.
Clair McFarlandNovember 06, 2024
Tribal Leader Ivan Posey, D, Upends Penn To Win Wyoming Reservation District
Ivan Posey will be the only enrolled tribal member serving on the Wyoming Legislature after his victory Tuesday for House District 33 over incumbent Sarah Penn.
Clair McFarlandNovember 06, 2024
Sheridan Man Accused Of Shooting At Wife, Threatening Man Who Drove Her Home
A man from Sheridan County is facing arraignment Thursday on claims that he fired a shotgun toward his wife as she ran away on foot last month. He's also accused of pointing the shotgun at a man who drove his wife home.
Clair McFarlandNovember 06, 2024
Nationally Notorious Serial Graffiti Vandal “Ciga” Targets Cody
A serial graffiti artist who lives in Wyoming and has been spray-painting “Ciga” onto public and private property across the country for a decade is wanted again, this time in Cody, court records show.
Clair McFarlandNovember 05, 2024
Gillette Library's 'Books Of Shame' Headed To Adult Section
The Campbell County Public Library system's board voted last week to disband its "new adult" section. Many visitors took that to mean new books for adults, but the section actually shelved controversial books for a younger audience.
Clair McFarlandNovember 04, 2024
Wyoming Duck Hunter Says Fatal Shooting Was Accident, Not Crime
Gaige Zook, 20, is asking a judge to dismiss an involuntary manslaughter charge in the fatal shooting of a 19-year-old. He says the gun fired accidentally while both he and the victim were on a duck hunt.
Clair McFarlandNovember 04, 2024
'Wish They Would Stop': False Threats Prompt Lockdowns At Schools Across Wyoming
School shooting threats at multiple Wyoming schools, including in Cheyenne, Gillette and Riverton, prompted lockdowns and police searches Monday. The threats were unfounded, authorities have said, adding they “wish they would stop.”
Clair McFarlandNovember 04, 2024
'Can't Even Imagine Life Without Her': Lander Baby Survives 27 Surgeries
A doctor urged Tasha Anderson to get an abortion when she was pregnant with Jamesyn, whose heart is on the wrong side of her body. Now 18 months and 27 surgeries later, Anderson and her husband Sam say they "can't even imagine life without her."
Clair McFarlandNovember 03, 2024
When Encampment Hunter James Johnson Got Lost, He Kept His Head & Built A Fire
James Johnson is an avid hunter and it's not like him to get lost. But when he did last Wednesday, he had two choices: keep searching to find his truck or use the fleeting sunlight to build a shelter and fire. He chose the latter and was found the next day.
Clair McFarlandNovember 02, 2024
Remembering Bud Daley, Yankees World Series Champ Who Called Wyoming Home For 49 Years
Bud Daley, a Fremont County resident for 49 years, overcame a withered arm disability and went on to pitch the final game of the Yankees' 1961 World Series win. A steady family man, Daley, 92, died last month in Riverton.
Clair McFarlandNovember 02, 2024
Truck Plows Into Rock Springs Gas Station, Burying Woman In Debris
A truck plowed into a Maverik gas station in Rock Springs on Thursday burying a South Dakota woman in debris. The woman she hit her head on the floor and then a food shelf fell on top of her.
Clair McFarlandNovember 01, 2024
Gillette Mother's 'Weird Feeling' Leads To Arrest Of Peeper, Police Say
A Gillette mother's strange gut feeling led her to check her home camera just in time to spot a 48-year-old man crawling outside her 12-year-old daughter's window, police say. Court documents say police found videos of the girl on the man's phone.
Clair McFarlandNovember 01, 2024
Fort Washakie Man Who Killed Man In Front Of Carload Of Witnesses Gets 16 Years
A Fort Washakie, Wyoming, man was sentenced Thursday to 16 years in prison for second-degree murder for stabbing and killing a 20-year-old man. He stabbed the man along a road in front of a carload of witnesses.
Clair McFarlandNovember 01, 2024
3 Found Dead In Carbon Monoxide Leak In Riverton Home, Faulty Water Heater Suspected
Riverton police suspect a faulty water heater may have caused the carbon monoxide leak in which two women and a toddler were found dead early Thursday morning. They were discovered when someone did a welfare check at the home.
Clair McFarlandNovember 01, 2024
Family Of Missing Wyoming Hunter Overjoyed At His Rescue
A man from Encampment went missing overnight Wednesday while hunting elk in the Medicine Bow National Forest, but was found alive around 3:45 p.m. Thursday. His family was overjoyed with the news.
Clair McFarlandOctober 31, 2024
Sheridan Woman Who Drove Car Into River Says She Passed Out
A Sheridan, Wyoming, woman remains hospitalized after her car went down an embankment and into Little Goose Creek on Wednesday. She told Cowboy State Daily on Thursday that she passed out and woke behind a deployed airbag with water rushing into her car.
Clair McFarlandOctober 31, 2024