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
Prosecutor Says More Child Porn Found On Wyo. National Guard Sergeant's Phone
A federal prosecutor says more child porn was found on the cellphone of Wyoming National Guard Sgt. First Class Daniel Gene Gumm, who already faces up to 40 years in prison on child-porn distribution and possession charges.
Clair McFarlandJuly 25, 2023
Still No Word On What Caused 21-Car Train Derailment
Union Pacific is tight-lipped this week about what caused a 21-car train derailment that happened near Lusk earlier this month, saying it’s still under investigation.
Clair McFarlandJuly 25, 2023
Judge Won’t Dismiss Wyoming Sheep Shearer’s Murder Case As Self Defense
A Lincoln County District Court Judge declined to dismiss the second-degree murder charge as self-defense for a Wyoming sheep shearer who stabbed her boyfriend to death.
Clair McFarlandJuly 25, 2023
Should Misgendering People Be A Crime? Millennials Say Yes
A Newsweek poll says more millennials think that misgendering transgender people should be a crime than don't, but a top Wyoming free-speech attorney says criminalizing speech would backfire.
Clair McFarlandJuly 24, 2023
Rock Springs Hospital Denies Discrimination In Firing Of Black, Gay Doctor
Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County has denied a lawsuit that claims the hospital discriminated against Dr. Lex Auguiste, an obstetrician/gynecologist who is black and gay, when it fired him.
Clair McFarlandJuly 24, 2023
Man Twice Deported To Mexico Arrested For Drunk Driving In Cheyenne
A man twice deported from the United States to Mexico now faces an illegal immigration charge after Wyoming police arrested him on suspicion of drunk driving near Cheyenne.
Clair McFarlandJuly 24, 2023
Parents Double Down On Claims Wyoming School District Lied About Using Trans Pronouns
Parents of a Rock Springs high school student filed an amended lawsuit Thursday doubling down on claims Sweetwater County School District No. 1 hides kids’ transgender names and pronouns from parents.
Clair McFarlandJuly 21, 2023
Arapahoe School Reading Scores Nearly Doubled In 2011. Here's Why
Two veteran reading teachers moved to the Wind River Indian Reservation in 2011 to teach 145 kids literacy skills. Children's reading scores in some cases nearly doubled, but the intensive program only lasted one year. Now only 5% are proficient.
Clair McFarlandJuly 21, 2023
Casper Murder Suspect Caught In Vermont
A 36-year-old suspect in Casper murder was arrested in Vermont on Thursday and is being held there as a fugitive from justice.
Clair McFarlandJuly 21, 2023
Climber Who Died In Cirque Of The Towers Was Renowned Czech Skier, Climber
Jiří Pliska, a renowned Czech, climber and long-distance skier, died July 2 while climbing in Fremont County, according to a coroner's docket.
Clair McFarlandJuly 20, 2023
Reported Abortions Nearly Doubled In Wyoming Last Year
Documented abortions in Wyoming took a leap from 103 in 2021 to 200 last year, according to the Wyoming Department of Health's annual Induced Termination of Pregnancy report.
Clair McFarlandJuly 20, 2023
Cheyenne Man Accused Of Strangling Wife For Not Doing Chores
Accused of strangling his wife at their home on F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne when she refused to do chores, Jonathan Wandel faces two counts of felony strangulation in federal court.
Clair McFarlandJuly 20, 2023
Wyoming Judge Dismisses Wapiti Man's Lawsuit To Make His Own Machine Gun
Wyoming's chief federal judge has dismissed a Wapiti man's lawsuit against the federal government, challenging federal anti-machinegun laws under the Second Amendment in his effort to make his own M16 machine gun.
Clair McFarlandJuly 19, 2023
Lawmakers Question Tribal Prayer Training In State-Funded School
Sen. Cale Case, R-Lander, a veteran lawmaker representing the Wind River Indian Reservation, is urging his peers to study whether allowing Arapaho prayer training in a state-funded reservation school puts Wyoming at risk of a church-and-state lawsuit.
Clair McFarlandJuly 19, 2023
Arrest Made In Rash Of Bomb Threats To Casper Government Agencies, No Explosives Found
Multiple bomb threats in Casper on Wednesday morning interrupted a Gaming Commission meeting and forced hundreds of state employees to evacuate the Thyra Thomson building. Within two hours, an arrest was made.
Leo Wolfson & Clair McFarlandJuly 19, 2023
Poll Shows Americans Losing Confidence In Higher Education; Wyoming Leaders Agree
A Gallup poll shows Americans confidence in higher education has plummeted to only 36% in 2023. Sen. Charlie Scott, a Harvard grad, believes it’s due to the "very left-wing monoculture" on college campuses.
Clair McFarlandJuly 19, 2023
Wyoming Supreme Court Upholds Conviction Of Men Caught With 320 Pounds Of Pot
The Wyoming Supreme Court has rejected a claim made by a pair of men caught with 320 pounds of marijuana on I-80 that a state trooper stopped them because their car was too big and they were Hispanic.
Clair McFarlandJuly 19, 2023
Former Wyo Supreme Court Justice, Top Fed Prosecutor Appalled At Hunter Biden ‘Sweetheart Deal’
Former Wyoming Supreme Court Justice Bill Hill and former U.S. Attorney Richard Stacy told Cowboy State Daily they are shocked at Hunter Biden’s “sweetheart deal” for three federal criminal charges.
Clair McFarlandJuly 18, 2023
Suspect Believed Connected To Sweetwater County Murder In Custody, SUV Sought
The Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office has apprehended a suspect in the murder of a 30-year-old Teton County man and is asking for the public’s help in locating an SUV believed to be related to the crime.
Clair McFarlandJuly 18, 2023
California Cell Tower Company Asks Judge To Block Wapiti Residents From Joining Lawsuit
A California cellphone tower company on Friday asked a federal judge not to let several Wapiti, Wyoming, residents join the company's lawsuit against Park County to keep a nearly 200-foot tower out of the pristine Wapiti Valley.
Clair McFarlandJuly 17, 2023
Riverton Teen Who Died After She Was Ejected From Stolen BMW Had Meth, Alcohol In System
The Fremont County Coroner’s office reports that Sassite Underwood, the 17-year-old who was killed when the BMW she was in crashed last month, had meth and alcohol in her system.
Clair McFarlandJuly 17, 2023