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
Green River Man Walks Into Sheriff’s Office, Admits Molesting Child 30 Years Ago
A 72-year-old Green River, Wyoming, man walked into his local sheriff's office, said he "needed to confess" and told a detective he sexually abused a child 30 years ago, court documents say. He now faces up to 25 years in prison.Â
Clair McFarlandJanuary 23, 2025
Wyoming Public Defender Held In Contempt Fights Charge, Quits
A Wyoming public defender quit his job last fall after a judge held him in contempt and fined him for being late to a hearing. In an ongoing public defender shortage, the attorney is fighting the charge, saying he was held up at another hearing.
Clair McFarlandJanuary 23, 2025
Report: “Give Me A Hug Now,” Gillette Man Tells Mom After Shooting Sister In Head
A Gillette, Wyoming, man has been charged with second-degree murder on claims he killed his sister. Police report that after he shot his sister in the head, he told his mother, “Give me a hug, because I am going to jail.” Â
Clair McFarland & Jen KocherJanuary 22, 2025
Bill Requiring Wyoming Blood Banks To Store Donations Clears Committee
If it becomes law, House Bill 135 would require blood banks to transfer the blood people's loved ones donate to them for specific procedures. It cleared a Wyoming House committee Wednesday amid some safety and government overreach concerns. Â
Clair McFarlandJanuary 22, 2025
Trump’s Sweeping J6 Pardons Include At Least Two From Wyoming
At least two Wyoming men are included in President Donald Trump’s sweeping pardon of about 1,500 charged and prosecuted for the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. A police officer attacked by one of them calls the pardons “disappointing.”
Clair McFarlandJanuary 21, 2025
Gillette Woman Shot Multiple Times, Dies At Hospital, Police Say
A 33-year-old Gillette, Wyoming, woman who was shot multiple times Monday evening died at the local hospital, police report. A man who was at the home was arrested and identified as the shooter, but he and the victim aren’t being identified yet. Â
Clair McFarlandJanuary 21, 2025
Wyoming Wants To Take $54K From 76-Year-Old Man Caught With 0.3 Grams Of Cocaine
The Wyoming Supreme Court is considering whether the state can keep $54,226 in suspected drug money. The money was taken during a traffic stop of a 76-year-old Wamsutter man who was found with 0.3 grams of cocaine. Â
Clair McFarlandJanuary 21, 2025
Wyoming House Sends 'What Is A Woman Act' To State Senate
On the same day President Donald Trump proclaimed the United States will recognize “only two genders — male and female,” the Wyoming House passed the “What is a Woman Act” to the Senate. The bill defines a person’s gender by biology, not gender identity. Â
Clair McFarlandJanuary 21, 2025
Jury Hung In Murder Trial Of Lander Man Accused Of Killing House Guest
A trial jury could not come to unanimous decision Monday on whether a Lander man killed a house guest with a metal bar, or whether he did so but was too mentally ill to rationalize what he was doing. The prosecutor in the case promises to try again.
Clair McFarlandJanuary 20, 2025
Bill Banning COVID-19 Mask, Vaccine Mandates In Wyoming Heads To House Floor
A Wyoming legislative bill would let people sue any publicly-funded business or agency for requiring them to wear a mask, be tested or get vaccinated for COVID-19. The proposal sailed through its first committee hearing Monday.
Clair McFarlandJanuary 20, 2025
Wyoming Prosecutors Say Widespread Lawyer Shortage Hurting Them Too
A shortage of Wyoming prosecutors has spread across the state. County and district attorneys are thinking up ways to recruit and retain new lawyers — just in time for the legislative session.
Clair McFarlandJanuary 19, 2025
Clair McFarland: That's What I Get For Bribing A Rock Star
Clair McFarland writes, "I like to pad barefoot into the guitar room (we used to call that a living room) and yell things like 'Turn that down!' Middleborn’s nose does a golly-shucks-wonder-what-went-wrong wrinkle, and he slams out an E-minor so loud it shoots up my sinuses."
Clair McFarlandJanuary 18, 2025
Amendment To Define “Woman” By Birth Certificate, Not Biology, Fails
A Republican lawmaker’s attempt to define sex by birth certificate instead of biology failed Friday as the “What is a Woman Act” had its second reading on the Wyoming House floor.
Clair McFarlandJanuary 18, 2025
Judge Acquits Gillette Broker Accused Of Forging Signatures To Scam Commissions
A Gillette, Wyoming, real estate broker who was accused of forging people’s signatures on real estate documents to scam extra commissions was acquitted by a judge Thursday.
Clair McFarlandJanuary 18, 2025
Debate Gets Heated On House Floor Over “What Is A Woman Act”
A heated Wyoming House floor debate over the “What is a Woman Act” erupted Thursday. Supporters say it’s needed to protect women, while opponents say it sets people up for invasive genital checks. Â
Clair McFarlandJanuary 17, 2025
Laws Making It Easier To Kick Out — Or Arrest — Squatters Sail Through Committee
Two bills that would make it easier to kick squatters out, and sometimes arrest them, sailed through a Wyoming legislative committee Thursday. The bills would let police intervene in an area of law that is typically handled in civil courts.
Clair McFarlandJanuary 16, 2025
Wyoming Lawmakers May Block Counties From Charging The State Property Taxes
Wyoming lawmakers may pause a state Supreme Court ruling that allows counties to charge state government property taxes. The high court ruled in October that the state can be charged for renting property for non-governmental purposes. Â Â
Clair McFarlandJanuary 16, 2025
Missing Green River Pilot Found Dead In Crash Near Rock Springs
Search crews that have scoured a mountainous region of Sweetwater County, Wyoming, for a missing pilot and plane since Tuesday afternoon found the pilot dead amid signs of a plane crash Wednesday afternoon. Â
Clair McFarlandJanuary 15, 2025
House Committee Passes Wyoming’s “What Is A Woman Act” After Confrontational Testimony
Wyoming’s “What is a Woman Act” to define men and women biologically cleared its first hurdle Wednesday, passing out of a House committee. But not before the national Gays Against Groomers group took shots at Wyoming’s LGBTQ advocacy organization.
Clair McFarlandJanuary 15, 2025
Freshman Lawmakers Vote Down Court Program For Offenders With Mental Illness
Five freshman legislators on the Wyoming House Judiciary Committee voted down a bill Wednesday that would have given courts an option to send people who commit minor crimes into mental health treatment before they’re convicted.
Clair McFarlandJanuary 15, 2025
"Ground Disturbance" Found Near Rock Springs Could Be Missing Plane
Authorities are searching an area near Little Mountain southwest of Rock Springs for a missing Wyoming man and his plane where a “ground disturbance” has been found. The plane went missing Tuesday and a night-searching helicopter deployed that evening.
Clair McFarlandJanuary 15, 2025