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
Man Videos Himself After Being Shot On Wind River Indian Reservation
A man working a mobile food booth on the Wind River Indian Reservation on Thursday was reportedly shot. The victim posted several videos, including one immediately after the shooting proclaiming, “I just got shot by this f***ing racist.”
Clair McFarlandSeptember 29, 2023
Sweetwater County Confirms First Rabid Bat In 16 Years
A bat found in the yard of a Rock Springs homeowner has been confirmed to be rabid, the Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office reported Friday. It’s the county’s first rabid bat since 2007.
Clair McFarlandSeptember 29, 2023
Wyoming Ranchers Accused Of Bleaching Penis Shapes Onto Neighbor’s Cows
A feud between Wyoming ranchers boiled over when a father and son allegedly marked a neighbor's errant cows with bleach, including drawing penis shapes on some of them.
Clair McFarlandSeptember 29, 2023
Ousted Gillette Librarian Sues, Claims Local Family Conspired Against, Defamed Her
Terri Lesley, the former Campbell County Public Library director whom the library board fired in July, launched a lawsuit Wednesday against a Gillette family that accused her of peddling pornography to kids through sexually explicit library books.
Clair McFarlandSeptember 28, 2023
Indictment: Reservation Man Spent $26K Of Health Clinic Money On Furniture, Food, Guns
A Fort Washakie man who worked as finance director for a health clinic for American Indians is accused of embezzling more than $26,000 and spending the money on furniture, groceries and guns.
Clair McFarlandSeptember 28, 2023
Mother Of Slain Cheyenne Teen Gives Agonizing Statement At Shooter’s Sentencing
As a 20-year-old Cheyenne man was sentenced to 15-20 years for the accidental gunshot killing of a 16-year-old girl in January, her mother gave agonizing testimony how family now “is serving the ultimate sentence.”
Clair McFarlandSeptember 27, 2023
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