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
Laramie Pair Accused Of Racking Up $5K On Stranger's True Value Account
A Laramie man and woman are accused of wracking up nearly $5,000 in charges on a stranger’s True Value hardware account when the woman convinced store workers she was the account holder’s daughter.
Clair McFarlandMay 22, 2024
Neighbors Got Jackson Hole Winery Shut Down With HOA Rules But Winery Fighting Back
A Jackson Hole couple that built a home-based winery into a $2 million a year business has been shut down after neighbors sued, saying the operation violated their homeowners association rules. The couple is fighting back to reopen their winery.
Clair McFarlandMay 21, 2024
Gillette Woman Says She Regrets Ramming Car Of Her Boyfriend's Mistress
A Gillette woman accused of “seeing red,” giving in to her rage and ramming into the car of her boyfriend’s mistress told Cowboy State Daily on Tuesday that she would like to apologize publicly for her actions. The other woman had reportedly asked the defendant to bring her a soda.
Clair McFarlandMay 21, 2024
Pair Of Accused iPhone Scammers From New York Caught In Wyoming
Attentive employees at a Sheridan Verizon store caught a pair of New York men allegedly winding through the region stealing identities and buying iPhones with people's phone account information. They’re both facing felony charges.
Clair McFarlandMay 20, 2024
After Guilty Plea For Abusing Woman, Wyoming Man Allegedly Stabbed Another To Death
Nine days after an Ethete, Wyoming, man pleaded guilty to abusing a woman, he allegedly stabbed a different woman to death. He was indicted last week on suspicion of first-degree murder.
Clair McFarlandMay 20, 2024
Clair McFarland: "Please Discuss Your Son’s Behavior With Him"
Clair McFarland writes: "My Middleborn son is teaching me about the wonderful world of lunch detention."
Clair McFarlandMay 19, 2024
Inside Wyoming’s State Crime Lab, Which Was Just Named One Of Best In Country
One of the Wyoming State Crime Lab’s most notorious busts was a 14-year cold case. DNA technology linked a body found in the North Platte to inmate Dale Wayne Eaton. The victim’s car was then unearthed from his yard in Moneta, Wyoming.
Clair McFarlandMay 18, 2024
Rocky Mountain Power Sues For Not Getting Full $140 Million Rate Hike
Rocky Mountain Power filed a federal lawsuit Thursday against the Wyoming Public Service Commission for not approving a massive 29.2% rate hike last year. The suit said the company lost millions because of the ruling.
Clair McFarlandMay 17, 2024
Boyfriend Of Missing Cody Woman Remains A Suspect, Has New Gun Charge
The boyfriend of Katie Ferguson, who vanished while driving back to Wyoming with him from another state last fall, remains a suspect in her disappearance. And he now faces a new gun charge that could double his potential sentence to 30 years.
Clair McFarlandMay 17, 2024
Neighbor Sends Hail Of Bullets Through Gillette Woman’s Home, But ‘I Survived’
The Gillette woman whose home was shot up with a hail of bullets said Friday that she has “to move forward” after the terrifying experience. “I’ve been to hell and back more times than anybody will ever know, and I survived,” she said.
Clair McFarlandMay 17, 2024
Wyoming 5th Lowest In The Country For Flu Vax Rates
Wyoming has the fifth-lowest percentage of residents vaccinated for influenza at 43%. Idaho is the least-vaccinated state for influenza at 38.2% while Massachusetts and Rhode Island are the most vaccinated states in the country for the flu.
Clair McFarlandMay 17, 2024
Riverton Police Department Denies Claims By Native Officer Of Racist Treatment
In a response filed last week to a lawsuit brought by its first enrolled Northern Arapaho officer, the Riverton Police Department denies his claims of hostile, racist treatment.
Clair McFarlandMay 16, 2024
Cheyenne Inmate Accused Of Stealing Cookies When Jailhouse Drug Deal Goes Bad
An inmate in the Laramie County jail faces felony-level charges for allegedly attacking an older inmate and stealing his cookies. The inmates had prior issues over coffee and refried beans. But things came to a head over the cookies.
Clair McFarlandMay 15, 2024
Denver Mayor Mad At Wyoming Sheriff For Billboard, Says Sign Is Inaccurate
Denver's mayor says Sheriff Brian Kozak's billboard in Denver is inaccurate. He says Denver hasn't defunded the police even though millions of dollars have been diverted. Kozak said more than 100 cops have reached out to him since the sign went up.
Clair McFarlandMay 15, 2024
Wrong-Way Driver To Plead Guilty To Causing Fiery Crash That Killed 5
A wrong-way driver accused of triggering a fiery chain-reaction crash on I-80 near Rawlins, which killed five students, in January 2023 has agreed to plead guilty to five counts of vehicular homicide. He could get 75-100 years in prison.
Clair McFarlandMay 15, 2024
Wyoming Man Accused Of Bashing Neighbor In Face With Bat Has To Face Trial
A Wright, Wyoming, man accused of bashing his neighbor’s face with a baseball bat during a two-family brawl last Fourth of July can’t avoid trial on a self-defense argument, a judge ruled Tuesday.
Clair McFarlandMay 14, 2024
Wyoming Sorority Sisters Argue Against Trans Membership In Appeals Court
Six Wyoming Kappa Kappa Gamma members argued in a Denver appeals court Tuesday that their sorority acted in bad faith when inducting a transgender member into their chapter. Women's-rights activist Riley Gaines joined sorority members at the hearing.
Clair McFarlandMay 14, 2024
Female Juvenile Dead In Casper Shooting Incident
A juvenile female died in residential Casper, in what police are calling an isolated shooting incident that happened Tuesday morning. The Casper Police Department asks people to avoid the area of Whispering Springs Road and Gila Bend.
Clair McFarlandMay 14, 2024
Gillette 16-Year-Old Hits 142 MPH In Cadillac Trying To Outrun Cops
A former race car driver and the Campbell County undersheriff say a 16-year-old boy who led police on a high-speed chase hitting 142 mph is lucky. Any slight mishap at that speed is probably not survivable, they said.
Clair McFarland & Jimmy OrrMay 13, 2024
Wyoming Prisons Will Pay New Health Provider $46 Million Over 2 Years
The Wyoming Department of Corrections will pay Alabama-based health care provider Naphcare about $46.2 million over the next two years for medical care according to a contract released on Monday. That’s about 16% more than the cost of DOC’s longtime, now-former provider YesCare.
Clair McFarlandMay 13, 2024
Wyoming Sheriff Uses Billboard To Attract Denver Cops After City Defunded Police
Laramie County Sheriff Brian Kozak put up a billboard in Denver to attract cops who may be "frustrated" after that city defunded its police by $8.4 million. The billboard also emphasizes that breaking the law is still illegal in Wyoming.
Clair McFarlandMay 13, 2024