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 Charged With Banging Girlfriend's Head On Bathroom Floor Gets Plea Deal
After accepting a plea deal, a Yellowstone concessionaire worker accused of repeatedly banging his girlfriend’s head on a bathroom floor now faces up to five years in prison rather than the 16-year sentence he originally faced.
Clair McFarlandAugust 15, 2023
Laramie Man Partially Disembowels Himself To Escape Child Rape Charges
To escape looming charges of molesting a young girl, a 79-year-old Laramie man locked himself in a bathroom, used a knife to partially disembowel himself, then begged police to “let me die.”
Clair McFarlandAugust 14, 2023
Wyoming Felon And Hunter Biden May Have Second Chance As Gun Law Found Unconstitutional
A Wyoming felon is arguing that he should be released from prison because some federal courts have found the gun law he violated unconstitutionally vague. Hunter Biden is accused under the same law.
Clair McFarlandAugust 14, 2023
Hageman Blasts White House For Demanding Facebook Delete COVID Meme
Rep. Harriet Hageman slammed the White House for demanding Facebook delete a humorous meme on COVID vaccinations. She further urged judges to keep an injunction in place to keep the Biden administration from pressuring social media companies.
Clair McFarlandAugust 14, 2023
With Attacker Still On The Loose, Wyoming Abuse Victim Tries To Find Healing
Wendy Bidstrup helped a man down on his luck in Laramie. He repaid her kindness with verbal explosions and a punch that shattered her face. And he's still on the run.
Clair McFarlandAugust 13, 2023
Hit-And-Run Kills Woman South Of Wind River Hotel & Casino
The FBI is asking the public for information about a deadly hit-and-run that killed a woman before 5 a.m. Saturday just south of the Wind River Hotel and Casino.
Clair McFarlandAugust 12, 2023
Viral Anti-Fed Overreach Song "Rich Men North of Richmond" Hits Wyoming
Oliver Anthony was just a Virginian belting a working-man folk ballad to his guitar and his dogs, until "Rich Men North of Richmond" went viral overnight, including in Wyoming.
Clair McFarlandAugust 12, 2023
Cody Woman Convicted Of Killing Toddler Wants Another Trial
A woman convicted in April of murdering her boyfriend’s toddler daughter is asking the judge who oversaw her jury trial to acquit her for lack of evidence and give her a new trial.
Clair McFarlandAugust 11, 2023
Clair McFarland: I Can't Watch The Barbie Movie (Not After What I Did To Her)
Clair McFarland writes, “My boisterous cousin Michael materialized out of nowhere and showed us how to pop off Barbie’s head and stick a firecracker into her neck. We lit the doll, threw her in the air and ran backwards."
Clair McFarlandAugust 11, 2023
Biden Lawyers Deny Coercion In Mafia-Like Demands To Censor Social Media
Lawyers for the Biden administration argued Thursday that government officials weren’t trying to coerce social media platforms, but a federal judge compared the messaging to menacing mafia overtones.
Clair McFarlandAugust 10, 2023
Wyoming Teacher Charged In Connection With Fifth Grader's Suicide Pleads Not Guilty
A Cheyenne teacher accused of leaving an 11-year-old boy unattended at school and contributing to his suicide pleaded not guilty to a charge of child endangerment.
Clair McFarlandAugust 10, 2023
Wyoming Student Arrested For Not Wearing Mask Sues, Says Free Speech Violated
Grace Smith, the Laramie High School student who was arrested in 2021 for refusing to wear a mask at school, is suing the Albany County School District, claiming her First Amendment right, and others, were violated.
Clair McFarlandAugust 10, 2023
Tightrope Walker Gave Pot To Kids In Riverton City Park, Witnesses Say
A Thayne, Wyoming man is accused of luring young kids at Riverton City Park on Monday by showing them how to use a tightrope and then gave them marijuana.
Clair McFarlandAugust 09, 2023
Wyoming Corrections Hasn’t Paid For Prisoner Sex Changes, But Will Give Hormones
The Wyoming Department of Corrections told Cowboy State Daily it hasn’t paid for any gender-reassignment surgeries for transgender inmates, but has provided hormones.
Clair McFarlandAugust 09, 2023
Rock Springs Man Charged With First-Degree Murder In Stabbing Of Girlfriend's Ex
The Sweetwater County Attorney’s Office on Tuesday announced a first-degree murder charge for a Rock Springs man who turned himself in after allegedly stabbing his girlfriend’s ex-boyfriend.
Clair McFarlandAugust 08, 2023
UW Leaders Fire Back, Say Banned Church Elder Isn’t A First Amendment Hero
University of Wyoming leaders say a Laramie Church elder’s "harassment" of a transgender student voids claims that his rights were violated by a yearlong ban from Student Union.
Clair McFarlandAugust 08, 2023
Pro-Lifers Ask Wyoming Supreme Court To Let Them Into Abortion Suit
A pair of Wyoming lawmakers who were denied their requests to intervene in a lawsuit challenging Wyoming’s abortion bans have appealed to the state Supreme Court.
Clair McFarlandAugust 07, 2023
Investigation Found Claims Of Discrimination, Hostility Against Crespo Unfounded
An independent investigator couldn't substantiate claims of discrimination and hostility leveled against Laramie County School District No. 1 former Superintendent Dr. Margaret Crespo, who resigned Friday.
Clair McFarlandAugust 07, 2023
Casper Man Accused Of Stabbing In-Laws Wants Second Opinion On Insanity Finding
A Casper man accused of stabbing his father-in-law to death in January, then beating and stabbing his mother-in-law nearly to death is asking for a second opinion about whether he was insane at the time of the crime.
Clair McFarlandAugust 07, 2023
Colorado Man Sues Cheyenne Hospital, Says ER Turned Him Away For Not Wearing Mask
A Colorado man is suing Cheyenne Regional Medical Center, saying the ER staff turned him away after a life-threatening car accident because he wouldn't wear a mask. He said he was having a hard time breathing but they tossed him out anyway.
Clair McFarlandAugust 07, 2023
Johnson County Trooper Nabs Mexican Immigrant Deported 11 Times
A Mexican immigrant caught speeding in Johnson County faces up to two years in federal prison if convicted of reentering the United States illegally after the government deported him 11 times in nine years.
Clair McFarlandAugust 07, 2023