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
Parents Claim Cheyenne Resource Officer Tackled, Bloodied Second Grader
Parents of a former Cheyenne second grader have filed a lawsuit claiming their son was unnecessarily roughed up, tackled and bloodied by a Laramie County Sheriff’s Office deputy at school last year.
Clair McFarlandNovember 29, 2023
Wyoming Man Accused Of Threatening To Kill Deputy So He Could Stay Warm In Jail
A Wyoming man who allegedly threatened to kill a deputy to get himself thrown in jail where it was warm could spend up to 11 years in prison if convicted of trying to harm a law enforcement officer.
Clair McFarlandNovember 29, 2023
Rock Springs Mayor, Police Department Refute Online Attack Of Police Officer
Saying it’s been “frustrating” dealing with the unsubstantiated claims by an online report accusing a Rock Springs police officer of malfeasance, the city has released bodycam footage that doesn’t support the opinionated and inflammatory reports.
Clair McFarlandNovember 29, 2023
Laramie Woman Accused Of Arson For Torching Landlord’s Door With Bear Spray
Suspected of torching her landlord's door with bear spray and stinking up the complex with an acrid, nauseating gas this month, a Laramie woman is charged with first-degree arson.
Clair McFarlandNovember 28, 2023
Douglas Man Accused Of Killing Cousin Says He Blacked Out, Pleads Mental Illness
A Douglas man claims he wasn't sane enough to comprehend his conduct as wrong or conform it to law enforcement when he allegedly shot and killed his cousin in September.
Clair McFarlandNovember 27, 2023
Colorado Man Wanted For Murder Arrested After 130 MPH Chase Near Lusk, Wyoming
James Neal, 23, is accused of shooting a 73-year-old dead in Lone Tree, Colorado. Wyoming authorities arrested Neal Wednesday morning after a state trooper nudged Neal into a spinout during a car chase outside Lusk, Wyoming.
Clair McFarlandNovember 27, 2023
Wyoming Man Helps Catch MMA Fighter Accused Of International Sex Trafficking
Tyler Schwab of Afton, Wyoming, and his international anti-sex trafficking organization last week helped bring down an MMA fighter accused of sexually abusing women and girls.
Clair McFarlandNovember 27, 2023
Charges Dismissed Against Wyoming Ranchers For Bleaching Penises Onto Cows
A Crook County, Wyoming, judge has dismissed property destruction charges against a pair of ranchers accused of bleaching penis shapes and other markings on their neighbor’s cows.
Clair McFarlandNovember 27, 2023
Family Of Casper Woman Missing For 9 Years Wonders If Red Desert Skull Is Hers
After a hunter found a human skull in Wyoming’s vast Red Desert on Nov. 11, the family of a Casper woman missing for nine years wonders if it’s her.
Clair McFarlandNovember 22, 2023
Cheyenne Transient Accused Of Sexually Attacking Hospital Nurse
A Cheyenne transient is accused of grabbing his hospital nurse’s breasts and hitting her in the face after she gave him minor pain medication.
Clair McFarlandNovember 22, 2023
Natrona Sheriff Warns To Lock Doors As Search On For Car Thieves, Possible Armed
Natrona County authorities continue to advise Antelope Hills residents to lock the doors of their homes and vehicles as two suspects in a vehicle theft and car chase are believed to be loose in the area on foot and potentially armed.
Clair McFarlandNovember 22, 2023
Ex-Boyfriend Of Missing Cody Woman Pleads Not Guilty To Federal Gun Charge
A Cody man suspected of involvement in his girlfriend’s bloody disappearance pleaded not guilty Tuesday in Casper — to a different felony. He pleaded not guilty to a federal firearms charge.
Clair McFarlandNovember 21, 2023
Prison Time Likely For Wyoming Man Who Punched Daughter Until She Wanted To Vomit
A Wyoming man who pleaded guilty to beating his children could get 10-16 years in prison. Case documents show the man would punch, smack or throw one daughter until she felt like vomiting and smacked a boy with a snow shovel.
Clair McFarlandNovember 21, 2023
Judge Orders Colorado To Put Trump On Ballot; Wyoming Challenge Next
With a lawyer for Donald Trump arguing that Liz Cheney's Jan. 6 evidence against him was warped by "personal animus," a Denver District Court Judge has ordered Colorado to put the former president on its 2024 ballot.
Clair McFarlandNovember 20, 2023
Family Of Missing Cody Woman Warns About Crowdfunding Effort
The stepmother and sister of Katie Ferguson of Cody, who has been missing for six weeks, warn that a GoFundMe campaign started by a family member “may not go to where you think they’re going to.”
Clair McFarlandNovember 20, 2023
Casper Man Accused Of Brawling His Way Through Walmart Employees With Stolen TV
Jeffery Leon Garner, 56, is accused of punching, elbowing, ramming and knocking down female Walmart employees who wanted to see a receipt for an allegedly stolen TV.
Clair McFarlandNovember 20, 2023
Clair McFarland: Only Idiots Get Lost (And I Got Lost)
Clair McFarland writes, "It’s gonna sting, but I have to tell this story. I wrote in an earlier column that if I did not beat my 13-year-old son in a 5-kilometer footrace three days later, I’d crumble into obscurity like an 8-track tape."
Clair McFarlandNovember 18, 2023
Adoptive Father Can’t Ignore Court-Ordered Visitation For Grandparents
A stepfather's adoption of his two boys doesn't cancel out a judge's earlier order letting the boys' grandparents stay in contact with them, the Wyoming Supreme Court ruled Thursday.
Clair McFarlandNovember 17, 2023
Parents Sue Wyoming School, Teacher Over Fifth Grader's Suicide
The parents of a Carpenter Elementary School fifth grader who was suicidal and hanged himself in a school bathroom have sued, claiming the school district, principal and a teacher could have prevented the tragic act.
Clair McFarlandNovember 17, 2023
Wyoming Sheep Shearer Guilty Of Manslaughter For Killing Fiancé
A Lincoln County jury on Friday didn’t buy a New Zealand sheep shearer’s claim she acted in self-defense when she stabbed and killed her fiancé, returning a guilty verdict of manslaughter.
Clair McFarlandNovember 17, 2023
Jury Out In Murder Trial Of Sheep Shearer Who Stabbed Abusive Boyfriend
A New Zealand sheep shearer working near Kemmerer, Wyoming, says it was self-defense when she stabbed and killed her boyfriend, who had reportedly been abusing her. After deliberating all day Thursday, a jury hasn’t yet returned a verdict.
Clair McFarlandNovember 17, 2023