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 Plagued With Vagrant Poop Problem, Town To Pass Anti-Defecation Ordinance
The problem of public defecation isn't limited to the big cities. In Riverton, Wyoming, the problem is so widespread, town officials are on the cusp of passing an anti-defecation ordinance.
Clair McFarlandSeptember 27, 2023
Casper Man Accused Of Buying Girl, 14, Sex Toy And Secretly Recording Her
Accused of buying a sex toy for a 14-year-old girl and installing a hidden camera in her bedroom, a Casper man originally from California faces up to 10 years in prison.
Clair McFarlandSeptember 27, 2023
Judge Dismisses Former Laramie High Schooler's Mask Mandate Lawsuit
A federal court Tuesday dismissed a former Laramie High School student’s lawsuit against the local school district over its 2021 mask mandate, saying Grace Smith hasn’t shown she suffered any actual harm.
Clair McFarlandSeptember 26, 2023
Despite Legal Setback, UW Keeps Fighting Transgender Speech Lawsuit
Top University of Wyoming officials continue a court fight, maintaining they acted properly in banning a Laramie church elder for calling out a transgender student at the Student Union despite a judge saying they’re likely to lose their case.
Clair McFarlandSeptember 26, 2023
Sorority Confident Sisters Who Sued Over Trans Member Will Lose Appeal
The Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority is applauding the dismissal of a lawsuit brought by six University of Wyoming chapter members challenging the induction of its first transgender member and is confident their appeal also will fail.
Clair McFarlandSeptember 26, 2023
Wyoming Sorority Sisters Appeal Dismissal Of Transgender Inductee Lawsuit
Six members of the University of Wyoming chapter of the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority are appealing the dismissal of their lawsuit challenging the induction of the chapter’s first transgender member.
Clair McFarlandSeptember 25, 2023
Mother, Boyfriend Accused Of Trying To Kill 2-Year-Old Boy Plead Not Guilty
A 20-year-old woman and her 21-year-old boyfriend have pleaded not guilty to attempted murder of her 2-year-old son, which includes allegations the boy was swung like a baseball bat.
Clair McFarlandSeptember 25, 2023
Federal Judge Orders Wyoming Tribes To Pay $13.1 Million To Energy Company
A federal judge in Wyoming has confirmed an arbitration panel's April order for the Northern Arapaho and Eastern Shoshone tribes to pay nearly $13.1 million to an oil company after the tribes cut the company's lease to work on their land.
Clair McFarlandSeptember 25, 2023
Fremont County OKs $1.8 Million Payout To Avert Ambulance Strike
Fremont County commissioners agreed Monday morning to increase the county’s annual payout to Frontier Ambulance by about $387,000 a year to about $1.8 million to head off a threatened strike by local Ambulance workers.
Clair McFarlandSeptember 25, 2023
Necrophilia Not Against The Law In Wyoming But That's Probably OK
Wyoming prosecutors say that while necrophilia isn’t specifically outlawed in Wyoming, there's no big push to make it a crime. That's because when it does happen, those accused of it usually face other, serious criminal charges.
Clair McFarlandSeptember 22, 2023
Albany County Fights To Keep Settlement In Fatal Deputy Shooting Secret
Despite a Wyoming Supreme Court ruling that a settlement involving public money should be public, Albany County is fighting to keep secret the details of a settlement with the mother of a man who was shot and killed by a sheriff’s deputy in 2018.
Clair McFarlandSeptember 22, 2023
Casper Teens Accused Of Nearly Severing Woman’s Leg With Bullet
Two Casper teens are facing felony charges on claims they nearly severed a woman’s leg with a bullet at the Central Wyoming Fair and Rodeo, then attempting to intimidate a witness by shooting up a local house.
Clair McFarlandSeptember 22, 2023
Wyoming Supreme Court Won’t Say (For Now) If School Funding A Fundamental Right
Though the state appealed, the Wyoming Supreme Court declined to interfere with a lower court's ruling that funding education in Wyoming is a fundamental right on par with free speech.
Clair McFarlandSeptember 21, 2023
Clair McFarland: The Burger King Of All Weirdos
Clair McFarland writes: "My upbringing was more of the try-to-survive type than the we-care-about-football type. I know there’s some magic that makes everyone put on matching shirts, crowd into a bowl and chant war songs together. But like a tourist tromping into a buzzing monastery, I tried too late to join the faith."
Clair McFarlandSeptember 21, 2023
Sinclair Heiress Pays $200 Million To Finish Wyoming’s Most Expensive Divorce
After appealing a judge’s ruling to pay her ex-husband more than $200 million in their divorce, a Sinclair family heiress reversed course and this week made the payout.
Clair McFarlandSeptember 21, 2023
Maryland Man Accused Of Beating Woman, Shoving Her Out Laramie Hotel Window
A Maryland man accused of trying to kill a woman by holding her underwater and shoving her out a second-story hotel window in Laramie, Wyoming, faces up to life in prison if convicted.
Clair McFarlandSeptember 20, 2023
Who Dropped Off At Least 15 Fremont County 'Inebriates' In Casper A Mystery
Casper's city manager and local homeless shelter confirmed somebody dropped off at least 15 "hardened inebriates" from Fremont County in Casper recently, but no one in Fremont County is owning up to it.
Clair McFarlandSeptember 20, 2023
Wyoming Law Already Bans CGI Child Porn, State Analyst Says
A legal analyst working for the Wyoming Legislature told lawmakers Tuesday that state law already bans computer-generated child pornography as law enforcement wants a stronger legal definition.
Clair McFarlandSeptember 20, 2023
She Was Groomed By A Sex Offender Who Moved To Wyo. And Doesn’t Have To Register
A West Virginia woman told Wyoming lawmakers Tuesday how the man convicted of grooming her when she was 12 now lives in Wyoming and is dodging registering as a sex offender. She wants them to close that loophole.
Clair McFarlandSeptember 19, 2023
Wyoming Appeals Court Might Toss Law Against Drug Users Having Guns
The 10th Circuit Court, which includes Wyoming, is considering the constitutionality of a federal law that bans drug users from owning guns, the same crime Hunter Biden is accused of violating.
Clair McFarlandSeptember 19, 2023
Riverton Child Molester Claims Saying ‘Rape’ During Trial Unfairly Swayed Jury
A Riverton convicted child molester will not get a new trial, after the Wyoming Supreme Court ruled Monday that prosecutors and witnesses using works like “rape” and “fellatio” didn’t unfairly inflame the jury.
Clair McFarlandSeptember 19, 2023