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
Judge Tosses Wyoming Atheist’s $24 Million Lawsuit Over Prayers At Meetings
A lawsuit by a Gillette resident accusing city officials of suppressing his religion of atheism by not allowing enough atheist invocations before public meetings has failed.
Clair McFarlandAugust 30, 2023
WEA Claims State Trying To Set Precedent To Justify Underfunding Schools
The Wyoming Education Association claims in new court filings Tuesday that the state is trying to unravel 40 years of legal precedent to justify underfunding public schools.
Clair McFarlandAugust 30, 2023
Boyfriend Tells Police Mother Of 2-Year-Old Boy Swung Him ‘Like A Baseball Bat’
A Cheyenne woman and her boyfriend are charged with attempted murder for allegedly brutally beating her 2-year-old son, including swinging him “like a baseball bat.”
Clair McFarlandAugust 29, 2023
Colorado 7th Grader Kicked Out Of Class For “Don’t Tread On Me” Patch
A top free-speech advocacy group and Colorado Gov. Jared Polis derided a Colorado Springs school's decision to kick a seventh-grader out of class for having a “Don’t Tread On Me” flag patch on his backpack.
Clair McFarlandAugust 29, 2023
Cheyenne Transient Dies From Beating, Reward Offered
The Laramie County Sheriff's Office is investigating the beating homicide of Cheyenne transient Jason Mullen, 50, whose real name was Stacey Mullen, after Mullen died Sunday at a medical clinic.
Clair McFarlandAugust 29, 2023
Green River Man Charged After Infant Sex Torture Porn Found On Phone
A Green River Man who had recently moved to Casper has been charged after police found dozens of videos and thousands of images depicting disturbing sex torture of infants and toddlers.
Clair McFarlandAugust 29, 2023
10 Years In Prison For Wyoming Man Who Hurled Screwdriver At Child, Tortured Others
A Wyoming federal judge has sentenced a Fort Washakie, Wyoming, man to 10 years in prison for hurling a screwdriver at a child and committing other acts of abuse.
Clair McFarlandAugust 28, 2023
Gillette Men Accused In Scheme To Scam Woman, 87, Out Of More Than $300,000
Court documents outline an alleged scam by a pair of Gillette men to cheat an 87-year-old woman out of more than $300,000, including attempting to get a power of attorney over her.
Clair McFarlandAugust 28, 2023
Kansas City Man Who Shot At Trooper At Least 28 Times Denied A New Trial
A Kansas City man who led a Wyoming State Trooper on a high-speed chase at speeds reaching 100 mph and off-road while firing at the trooper at least 28 times won’t have a new trial, the Wyoming Supreme Court ruled.
Clair McFarlandAugust 28, 2023
Two Dead In Casper Murder-Suicide After Physical Fight
The Natrona County Sheriff's Office is investigating an apparent murder-suicide in which a 33-year-old Casper man fought with and shot a 58-year-old man, then shot himself.
Clair McFarlandAugust 28, 2023
Hageman Co-Sponsors Bill To Eliminate Federal Department Of Education By Dec. 31
U.S. Rep. Harriet Hageman has “proudly co-sponsored” legislation to eliminate the federal Department of Education by the end of the year.
Clair McFarlandAugust 26, 2023
Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Over Transgender UW Sorority Member
Saying private organizations can interpret their own rules — including how to define “woman” — a Wyoming federal judge on Friday dismissed a lawsuit six women brought challenging their sorority’s induction of a transgender member.
Clair McFarlandAugust 26, 2023
Cheyenne Man Accused Hitting Pedestrian, Then Driving Off With Him On Hood
A Cheyenne man is in jail on suspicion of ramming an adult male pedestrian and recklessly driving with the pedestrian on his hood, severely injuring him.
Clair McFarlandAugust 25, 2023
Feds Won’t Tell Public About Shooting Death On Wyoming Reservation
Cowboy State Daily has confirmed through three sources an Aug. 8 shooting death of an Arapahoe, Wyoming, man, but federal investigators won’t tell the public that a shooting happened.
Clair McFarlandAugust 25, 2023
Neighbor Recounts Helping Grandmother During ‘Insanely Scary’ Attack
When a 26-year-old Pine Bluffs man was allegedly assaulting his grandmother with a chair on Tuesday, a neighbor went to her rescue, pulling the woman out of harm’s way during a “really intense and just insanely scary” attack.
Clair McFarlandAugust 25, 2023
Clair McFarland: It's Not Easy Being The Man Of The House. It's Harder If You're 11
Clair McFarland writes: Middleborn leaned his BB gun against the wall, trudged to my bed and tucked in next to me, knowing he had to protect his useless unconscious mom.
Clair McFarlandAugust 24, 2023
Drunk Michigan Man Burned On Thermals Banned From Yellowstone, Faces Federal Charges
A Michigan man accused of being dangerously drunk and then getting burned after he walked through a thermal pool appeared in court on Wednesday. He has been banned from Yellowstone and faces federal charges.
Clair McFarlandAugust 24, 2023
Wyoming Has Spent $6.7 Million On Vax Advertising Since Mid-2020
The Wyoming Department of Health has spent $6.7 million in federal money trying to get people to be vaccinated since summer 2020 -- that included a TV commercial featuring an old west funeral where attendees lament the passing of “Wyatt,” who died of tetanus from shaving.
Clair McFarlandAugust 24, 2023
Trial Delayed For Kemmerer Babysitter Accused Of Killing 5-Year-Old Girl
The 52-year-old Kemmerer woman who allegedly admitted to “clapping” a 5-year-old girl’s head “five to 10 times” has had her first-degree murder trial delayed for health reasons.
Clair McFarlandAugust 23, 2023
Repeat Drunk Driver Denied Prison Credit For Days In Treatment
The case started seven years ago when a Rock Springs man drove on the wrong side of the road and almost hit a Sweetwater County Sheriff’s deputy head-on. It was his fourth DUI offense within 10 years, making it a felony.
Clair McFarlandAugust 23, 2023
Straight, White Male Who Sued UW For Discrimination Settles For $15,000
Saying the move cost less than taking the case to trial, the University of Wyoming has settled a claim by a former employee he was fired for being a straight, white, Christian man for $15,000, about 1.7% of the damages originally sought.
Clair McFarlandAugust 23, 2023