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
Riverton Man Faces Up To 10 Years In Prison For Shoplifting Tide Pods
A Riverton man accused of stealing a $13 pack of Tide Pods from the local Walmart on Wednesday could get up to 10 years in prison if convicted of a felony as a repeat offender.
Clair McFarlandFebruary 02, 2024
Prison For Wyoming Man Who Beat Kids, Tried To Push Pregnant Wife From Van
A Sundance, Wyoming man convicted of beating his children and trying to push his pregnant wife out of a moving van has been sentenced to between eight and 10 years in prison.
Clair McFarlandFebruary 01, 2024
UW May Be In Laramie, But Doesn’t Have To Follow City Water Rules, High Court Says
The city of Laramie has lost its battle to keep the University of Wyoming from using its own water well because the state Constitution says UW is special, the state Supreme Court said Wednesday.
Clair McFarlandFebruary 01, 2024
Sheriff, Police Investigate 'Active Assailant' Report At High School In Rawlins
Law enforcement isn’t releasing much information about an “active assailant” threat reported at Victory High School in Rawlins, Wyoming, on Tuesday, saying an investigation is ongoing and there is now no threat.
Clair McFarlandFebruary 01, 2024
Mother Of Laramie Man Killed By Deputy Wants More Evidence To Go Public
The mother of a Laramie man shot and killed by an Albany County deputy in 2018 says that although county paid $1.2 million to settle her lawsuit, there’s even more important evidence about her son’s death the public needs to know.
Clair McFarlandFebruary 01, 2024
Colorado Man Calls Wyoming Cops On Himself, Helps Them Find His Cocaine
Believing a friend had “bugged” his phone, wallet and eyeglasses, a Colorado man called Laramie County Sheriff’s office deputies on himself outside of Cheyenne, then helped them find his cocaine and marijuana.
Clair McFarlandJanuary 31, 2024
How Does The University Of Wyoming Rank Worse Than Harvard On Free Speech?
In a major free-speech advocacy group’s report on how well universities safeguarded students’ speech rights in 2023, the University of Wyoming ranked worse than Harvard, which has an "abysmal" record on free speech.
Clair McFarlandJanuary 31, 2024
Montana Couple Fears State Took Daughter To Wyoming For Gender Transition
A Montana couple is claiming their state’s child protection agency seized their daughter, who was suicidal and wanting to live as a boy, and placed her in a Wyoming facility, where there are no laws banning gender treatments for kids.
Clair McFarlandJanuary 30, 2024
Former Pinedale Teacher In Child-Predator Sting Video Never Charged With Crime
A teacher fired from a Pinedale school two years ago after he was the subject of a child-predator sting video in California was not charged with a crime, but is no longer licensed to teach in Wyoming.
Clair McFarlandJanuary 30, 2024
Man Accused Of Riverton Library Beating Says He Was Avenging Rape
A pair of Riverton brothers accused of brutally beating a man with a board outside the local library pleaded not guilty in the attack, which one brother reportedly told police was retaliation for an alleged rape of a family member.
Clair McFarlandJanuary 30, 2024
Man Dead After Early Morning Hit-And-Run On Reservation
The FBI is asking the public for information about an early morning hit-and-run that killed someone Monday on the Wind River Indian Reservation.
Clair McFarlandJanuary 29, 2024
Barrasso, Lummis Argue Bump Stocks Don’t Make Guns Automatic; ATF Should Stay Out Of It
Wyoming's two senators argued Friday to the U.S. Supreme Court that the ATF should not outlaw bump stocks, and said the ATF has no authority to craft criminal laws in the first place.
Clair McFarlandJanuary 29, 2024
Clair McFarland: Wyoming Should Move New Year's Day To February
Clair McFarland writes: "If the sage grouse sees his shadow, we’ll stop all development to save his species. If he doesn’t see his shadow, we’ll hunt him and eat him. It’s a complete toss-up."
Clair McFarlandJanuary 27, 2024
Jury Doesn't Need Proof That Wyoming Voyeur 'Looked At' Bathroom Videos
In a Wednesday ruling, the Wyoming Supreme Court didn’t buy the argument that a Sheridan man who had a hidden video camera in his bathroom shouldn’t have been convicted of voyeurism because it wasn’t proven he actually “looked” at the video.
Clair McFarlandJanuary 27, 2024
Wyoming Supreme Court Won't Make District Build School In Remote Albany County
The Wyoming Supreme Court sided with a lower court Friday in denying a rural family’s request for a new schoolhouse to be built near a remote family ranch near Garrett, Wyoming.
Clair McFarlandJanuary 26, 2024
Missing Wyoming Roan Stallion Found Dead, Another Mare Believed Stolen
Six weeks before a blue roan stallion vanished from a barn in Fort Bridger, Wyoming, a mare of the same color went missing from a pasture in Campbell County. The stallion was found dead this week, while the mare is still missing.
Clair McFarlandJanuary 26, 2024
Riverton Police Warn Residents Of Mountain Lion Spotted On Popular Walking Path
The Riverton Police Department is warning people to be on the lookout for a mountain lion spotted along the River Walk south of town Wednesday morning.
Clair McFarlandJanuary 25, 2024
Lander Man Mistakes Hot Spring For Parking Lot, Drives Into It
A “youngish” man from Lander, Wyoming, got an expensive wake-up call Sunday at Hot Springs State Park when he mistook a hot springs flow for a parking lot and drove into it.
Clair McFarlandJanuary 24, 2024
Wyoming Delegation Sides With Texas In Standoff With Federal Government
All three members of Wyoming’s congressional delegation say they side with Texas in its standoff with the Biden administration over border security. They say the federal government has failed its job and Texas has every right to secure its border.
Clair McFarlandJanuary 24, 2024
Degenfelder Unveils Curriculum Transparency Website
Saying parents have a right to know what their children are learning, Wyoming's education chief unveiled a curriculum transparency website on Tuesday where school districts will post what they teach. There are 8 districts in the pilot group.
Clair McFarlandJanuary 24, 2024
Laramie County Prosecutor Drops Case Charging Teacher For Child's Suicide
Saying there is not enough proof to bring it to a jury, a prosecutor dropped the case accusing a Carpenter, Wyoming, elementary school music teacher of enabling the suicide of an 11-year-old boy in a school bathroom.
Clair McFarlandJanuary 23, 2024