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
Reservation School: 95% Of Third Graders Not Proficient In Literary Skills
More than 95% of third grade students at an Arapahoe, Wyoming, elementary school were not proficient in reading, writing and related skills for their grade, according to the 2022 Wyoming Test of Proficiency and Progress report.
Clair McFarlandJuly 17, 2023
Biden Gets Weekend Win: Judge Puts Hold On Anti-Censoring Social Media Order
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday afternoon placed a temporary hold on a Louisiana federal judge's July 4 order, which for 10 days had barred numerous federal agencies from pressuring social media companies to censor Americans' protected speech.
Clair McFarlandJuly 14, 2023
Pregnant Woman Survives Alleged Beating, Ditches Boyfriend At Wyoming Taco Bell Bathroom
A month after he allegedly beat and bit his pregnant girlfriend on the Wind River Indian Reservation, Steven Cole C’Bearing has been arrested. His girlfriend was able to get away from him and call police when he used a bathroom at Taco Bell.
Clair McFarlandJuly 14, 2023
Teen Arrested In Casper Fairgrounds Shooting, Bullet Storm On House
The Natrona County Sheriff's Office and Casper Police Department issued a joint statement Friday saying they arrested a 16-year-old boy in connection with the Tuesday shooting of a woman near the fairgrounds and a Thursday 10-bullet attack on a residence.
Clair McFarlandJuly 14, 2023
Clair McFarland: Sleeping Outdoors Under Shooting Stars And Elon's Satellites
Clair McFarland writes, "The boys and I sleep outside every summer when the first crop of hot, windless days leaves nothing to cool the brain except its dark nights."
Clair McFarlandJuly 14, 2023
Wyoming Woman Will Do Prison Time for Her Role In Stabbing, Beating, Burning Tire Death
A Fremont County woman will do prison time for her role in the death of a woman who was stabbed and beaten to death, then had a burning tire put on top of her in a bathtub.
Clair McFarlandJuly 13, 2023
UW Transgender Sorority Member Denies Erection Allegation, Says Claim Was Drunken Gossip
Artemis Langford, the first transgender member of the University of Wyoming chapter of the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority, says claims of an erection while watching a woman change was drunken gossip.
Clair McFarlandJuly 13, 2023
Hageman Grills FBI Director On Social Media Censorship, 'Weaponizing' Law Enforcement
U.S. Rep. Harriet Hageman, R-Wyoming, grilled FBI Director Christopher Wray on Wednesday about explosive evidence a federal judge summarized last week about the FBI’s efforts to censor and suppress election-related speech.
Clair McFarlandJuly 12, 2023
Montana Man Accused Of Torturing Lander Woman Will Face Trial In August
A Montana man accused of kidnapping and torturing a Lander woman for six weeks is scheduled for trial next month. The man faces a federal kidnapping charge punishable by up to life in prison or the death penalty.
Clair McFarlandJuly 12, 2023
Montana Quits American Library Association Over Marxist President, Wyoming Noncommittal
After the Montana State Library became the first state to cut ties with the American Library Association after its president called herself a Marxist. Wyoming's library leader was noncommittal on the topic.
Clair McFarlandJuly 12, 2023
Natrona County Deputies Seek Information In Fairgrounds Shooting
A victim was taken to Banner Health Wyoming Medical Center in Casper with non-life-threatening injuries after an apparent shooting near the Natrona County fairgrounds Tuesday evening.
Clair McFarlandJuly 12, 2023
Pavillion Man Accused Of Shooting Son While Wrestling Over Gun With Wife
After giving his wife a loaded .40-caliber handgun and telling her to shoot him, a Pavillion man tried to wrench it away from her when his wife wouldn’t, according to court records. The gun went off, hitting their 12-year-old son in the arm.
Clair McFarlandJuly 11, 2023
In Rare Move, Wyoming Reservation Casino Granted Liquor License
The Fremont County Commission on Tuesday approved the Northern Arapaho Tribe's request for a liquor license for the Wind River Hotel and Casino, based on several promises that the casino would contain the alcohol and treat any resultant alcoholism.
Clair McFarlandJuly 11, 2023
Judge Denies Biden Request To Keep Censoring Social Media Posts
After a federal judge temporarily blocked the Biden administration from censoring protected speech on social media, the president asked for permission to do it anyway. The judge denied Biden's request Monday.
Clair McFarlandJuly 11, 2023
21 Coal Cars Derail Near Lusk Monday Morning
More than 20 rail cars carrying Powder River Basin coal leaving the Wyoming mines outside of Bill, Wyoming, derailed early Monday near Lusk, spilling coal, but nobody was hurt. The cause is under investigation.
Clair McFarlandJuly 10, 2023
Casper Woman Strikes Plea Agreement In Gender Clinic Arson
A 22-year-old woman accused of setting fire to a gender-treatment and abortion clinic in Casper last June now has struck a plea agreement in her case.
Clair McFarlandJuly 10, 2023
Rock Springs Man Gets 8-12 Years In Prison For Toddler’s Drug Death
A Rock Springs Man will face 8-12 years in prison for keeping illegal drugs in his home where his toddler son could access them. The 2-year-old died.
Clair McFarlandJuly 10, 2023
Deep Red Politically, Wyoming Is Ranked 'Moderate' For LGBTQ+ Policies, Analysis Says
With 70% of voters backing former President Trump in 2020, Wyoming is one of the most conservative states in the nation, but its policies regarding the LBGTQ+ community show Wyoming as much more moderate, says an analysis of all 50 states.
Clair McFarlandJuly 10, 2023
Judge Who Banned Feds From Censoring Social Media Lists Evidence: Here's What's In It
A federal judge’s order showed the Wyoming Dept of Health fell victim to the federal government’s collusion with social media giants during Covid when the Wyoming agency was unable to share its “valid public health messages." The CDC then asked Facebook to fix the issue.
Clair McFarlandJuly 08, 2023
Loaded Diaper Leads To Domestic Abuse Arrest For Cheyenne Man
A Cheyenne man was arrested Wednesday, accused of punching his children’s mother in the eye when she yelled at him for failing to change their baby’s diaper.
Clair McFarlandJuly 07, 2023
Biden Says Not Allowing Government Censorship Will Cause ‘Irreparable Harm’
Not being allowed to pressure social media platforms to censor people causes the federal government “irreparable harm” and goes against the public interest, President Joe Biden’s administration argued Friday.
Clair McFarlandJuly 07, 2023