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
Clair McFarland: Women Are Not Three-Legged Dogs At A Race
Clair McFarland writes: "It's cringey when groups try to promote us to power purely on the basis of our sex. As if virtue and intelligence were strictly female traits, concentrated in our fickle uteruses like magic talismans."
Clair McFarlandMarch 23, 2024
Gordon Allows "Frivolous" And "Superfluous" Parental Rights Bills To Go Into Law Without Signature
Saying the bills undermine local control and don't add much to parental rights already enshrined in law, Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon allowed two parental rights bills regarding education to go into law without his signature.
Clair McFarlandMarch 23, 2024
Legislators Say University Of Wyoming 'Flipping The Bird' At People Of Wyoming
Rep. Jeanette Ward said the University of Wyoming is "flipping the bird" at the people of Wyoming by deciding to keep some diversity, equity, and inclusion programs at the school despite the legislature pulling funding for them.
Clair McFarlandMarch 22, 2024
Jackson Judge Asks Wyoming Supreme Court If Abortion Is Health Care
Perhaps a sign a ruling may be coming soon in a two-year court battle over abortion in Wyoming, a Jackson judge is asking the Wyoming Supreme Court if abortion is health care.
Clair McFarlandMarch 22, 2024
Gordon Signs Wyoming Ban On Gender Changes For Kids, But Calls It Intrusive
Although he feels it’s intrusive into the “personal affairs of families,” Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon on Friday signed a bill that bans gender-change treatments for children.
Clair McFarlandMarch 22, 2024
Hageman's Bill To Ban Trans Women In Olympics Clears Committee
Despite emotional attacks from detractors, a bill carried by Harriet Hageman to ban transgender women from competing in Olympics and other amateur spots cleared the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday.
Clair McFarlandMarch 22, 2024
Riverton Cuts Ties With Chamber Of Commerce Over Bungled Money
The Riverton City Council voted Tuesday to strip the Riverton Chamber of Commerce of its duty to distribute lodging tax money after the chamber reportedly overdrew its bank account by thousands of dollars.
Clair McFarlandMarch 21, 2024
Evanston Man Charged With Felony For Putting Signs In Yard That Scared Neighbor
An Evanston man put signs in his yard that his neighbor says left her feeling intimidated. He now faces a felony charge, on the claim he was trying to intimidate her after she reported him for having unattractive property.
Clair McFarlandMarch 21, 2024
Wyoming Attorney Withdraws Lawsuit To Keep Trump Off Ballot
A retired Laramie attorney who unsuccessfully tried to keep Donald Trump off future Wyoming election ballots has given up the push in the wake of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that states can’t disqualify federal office-holders.
Clair McFarlandMarch 21, 2024
Worried For Grizzlies, Judge Halts Year-Round Wolf Trapping In Idaho
A federal judge ruled Tuesday that conservation advocates proved Idaho's law letting people trap wolves year-round on private property could harm grizzly bears and blocked the practice.
Clair McFarlandMarch 20, 2024
Laramie Woman Charged With Stealing Thousands From Man With Dementia For Gambling
A Laramie woman is facing 10 years in prison for allegedly draining an elderly man's bank account and using the money to pay for gambling. She has been charged with one count of felony elderly abuse.
Clair McFarlandMarch 20, 2024
Wrong-Way Driver Accused Of Killing 5 On Wyoming Highway Sane Enough For Trial
Reportedly high on meth when he drove the wrong way on I-80 and triggered a fiery chain-reaction crash that killed five Bible college students last year, Arthur Nelson agreed Wednesday that he’s sane enough to stand trial.
Clair McFarlandMarch 20, 2024
BRIEF: Colorado Man Allegedly High On Pot Edibles Breaks Woman’s Legs In Head-On
A Colorado man had his court case elevated to felony court Monday on allegations he was high on cannabis edibles when he crashed head-on into a vehicle in Wyoming, breaking both femurs of a woman in the other car.
Clair McFarlandMarch 19, 2024
RFK Team In Wyoming, Needs 3,500 More Signatures To Get Him On The Ballot
Independent third-party presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s campaign is crossing Wyoming this week, gathering signatures to get him on the state’s presidential ballot.
Clair McFarlandMarch 19, 2024
Gillette Teens Bust Alleged Pedophile With Vigilante Snapchat
A 15-year-old teen who was allegedly stalked and sexted by an 18-year-old acquaintance set up a fake Snapchat account to catch the man in the act. Police say they've since found numerous potential young victims, and one bestiality video.
Clair McFarlandMarch 18, 2024
Brutal Reservation Rape Charges Dropped, Feds Not Saying Why
Charges of rape against a Wyoming man stemming from an alleged brutal attack and assault on a woman for hours was suddenly dropped Friday. Federal prosecutors and agents are refusing to talk to the press.
Clair McFarlandMarch 18, 2024
Central Wyoming College Swaps ‘Uggawugg’ Lyrics For Arapaho In ‘Peter Pan’
Central Wyoming College theater director Joey West got his colleague Ron Howard to rewrite the tribal “Uggawugg” song in the “Peter Pan” musical with real Arapaho lyrics and purge the 1954 play’s other Native American stereotypes.
Clair McFarlandMarch 15, 2024
After Graphic Details From Victim, Judge Gives Child Molester More Prison Time
A Pinedale grandfather and Sunday school teacher who molested little girls for years had a plea agreement. But when Judge Melissa Owens heard a graphic statement from his victim, she gave him even more prison time.
Clair McFarlandMarch 15, 2024
Town Of Hudson Rallies Around Family Who Lost Everything In Fire
It took nine fire trucks, four fire crews and nearly 50 firefighters to stop the blaze that took everything from the Watts family in Hudson, Wyoming. But the fire did not take their friends -- and strangers -- who have rallied to help them after the loss.
Clair McFarlandMarch 15, 2024
Wyoming Rancher Petitions Supreme Court On Anti-White COVID Relief Program
An Albany County woman petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday to weigh in on a federal COVID-era relief program that favored “socially disadvantaged” farmers and ranchers. The USDA read this to mean Black, Asian, Hispanic and Native producers.
Clair McFarlandMarch 14, 2024
4-Year-Old Wyoming Boy Who Nearly Starved To Death Was In House ‘Full Of Food’
A 4-year-old Wyoming boy who weighed only 18 pounds nearly starved in a house “full of food,” Greybull Police Chief Ken Blosser says in charging documents filed against the boyfriend of the boy’s mother, who was in court this week.
Clair McFarlandMarch 14, 2024