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
Former Cheyenne Family Gets $375K In Lawsuit Against Sheriff's Deputy
The state of Wyoming and the Wyoming Association of Risk Management are paying $375,000 to settle a lawsuit against a Laramie County Sheriff’s deputy and school resource officer accused of injuring an 8-year-old in 2022.Â
Clair McFarlandDecember 17, 2024
Shooting A Drone In Wyoming Could Lead To 10 Years In Prison, Loss Of Gun Rights
The legal consequences for shooting down a drone in Wyoming range from a misdemeanor to a felony charge that could result in up to 10 years in prison and the loss of gun rights. Â Â
Clair McFarlandDecember 17, 2024
Cheyenne Man Accused Of Stabbing Estranged Wife's Boyfriend To Death
A Cheyenne man was in court Monday on claims he stabbed his estranged wife’s boyfriend to death in the home they shared. “I did the stabbing,” he reportedly told police after the act Thursday. Â
Clair McFarlandDecember 16, 2024
Man Burned Escaping Gillette Apartment Fire By Fleeing "Very Close" To Blaze
A fire that engulfed an apartment unit in Gillette, Wyoming, Sunday morning left one man burned and injured from smoke-inhalation. He escaped by rushing “very close” to the flames before firefighters arrived, the local fire marshal says.
Clair McFarlandDecember 16, 2024
Behind The Release Of The New Chris LeDoux Song
Before it could be transformed into a father-son duet, the original recording of a never-released Chris LeDoux song sat in storage for 20 years. Then the one copy of the song survived a FedEx trip from Utah to Tennessee and a technology disaster. Â
Clair McFarlandDecember 14, 2024
Drone Patterns Over New Jersey Similar To Those In Wyoming’s Niobrara County
Drone sightings in Wyoming’s Niobrara County bear eerie similarities to machines flying over New Jersey and other areas of the country, that are now overwhelming the nation with concern.
Clair McFarlandDecember 14, 2024
Sheridan Assistant Principal Convicted For Having Sex With 18-Year Old Student
A now-former Sheridan High School assistant principal was found guilty by a jury Tuesday of having sex with an 18-year-old student. That's illegal in Wyoming when there's an age gap of more than four years.
Clair McFarlandDecember 13, 2024
Riverton Firefighter Charged With Sexually Attacking Women Faces More Accusers
A retired Riverton, Wyoming, firefighter accused of sexually attacking multiple women when he offered them rides asked Monday for more time to prepare for trial. He needs the time to contest claims from more women who have come forward to accuse him.
Clair McFarlandDecember 13, 2024
Parents Sue Over State Plan To Shutter Eight Cheyenne Elementary Schools
A plan to shutter eight Cheyenne elementary schools will “irreparably harm students” and families, claims a lawsuit filed by two local parents. They also say the closures will drive down property values.
Clair McFarlandDecember 12, 2024
Worland Police Officer Charged With Child Sex Crimes
A former Washakie County Sheriff's deputy and recent hire of the Worland Police Department has been accused of sex crimes with multiple children. He was charged Monday with two felonies.
Clair McFarlandDecember 12, 2024
Police Arrest Man Suspected Of Trying To Burn Down Lander Bar
The Lander Police Department on Wednesday evening apprehended a 33-year-old Lander man suspected of trying to burn down the popular Lander Bar two days earlier.Â
Clair McFarlandDecember 12, 2024
Feds Deporting Three Illegal Immigrants Who Committed Crimes In Wyoming
Federal authorities are deporting three illegal immigrants out of Wyoming after one was caught with 170 pounds of marijuana and the other two were driving drunk.
Clair McFarlandDecember 12, 2024
Montana Supreme Court Keeps Child Sex Changes Legal During Lawsuit
The Montana Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld a lower court’s decision blocking a state ban on child sex-change treatments. Sex change treatments on children will remain legal while a lawsuit plays out.
Clair McFarlandDecember 11, 2024
Illinois Trucker Rams Gillette Man's Pickup Off The Road, Police Say
A semitruck driver from Illinois is accused of side-swiping a Gillette man's pickup so hard he crippled it and drove it off the road west of Gillette, Wyoming. His case rose to felony-level court Monday. Â Â
Clair McFarlandDecember 11, 2024
California Transient Who Called Machete Attack Self-Defense Gets Probation
A California man who was passing through Green River, Wyoming, when he had a fight with four transients and cut two of them with a machete was sentenced Friday to probation. He maintained during the case that he was acting in self-defense.Â
Clair McFarland & Hunter McDaniel for Cowboy State DailyDecember 11, 2024
Bureau Of Indian Affairs Agent In Crash On Reservation, Agency Not Talking
The U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs did not respond to questions Tuesday about one of its own agents involved in a car crash on the Wind River Indian Reservation early Sunday. The BIA is investigating the incident "internally," authorities say.Â
Clair McFarlandDecember 11, 2024
Police Seek Whoever Tried To Burn Down Lander Bar
Police are seeking help to identify who tried to burn down the popular Lander Bar in Lander, Wyoming, early Monday morning. The attempt failed, but the bar’s owner says the potential for a “catastrophic” result “was literally the flip of a coin.”  Â
Clair McFarlandDecember 10, 2024
Cheyenne’s “Voodoo Man,” Known For Hexing Businesses, Has Felony Dismissed
Cheyenne’s “Voodoo Man,” known for terrorizing local businesses by throwing curses and threats at them, had a felony charge dropped Monday. He’ll instead face a lesser charge for charging through an election center from which he was banned.
Clair McFarlandDecember 10, 2024
Casper Police Searching For Source Of Shots Fired That Put Schools In Lockdown
Casper law enforcement agents are investigating shots fired near a handful of local schools Tuesday. The schools were put into lockdown for several hours as a precaution.
Clair McFarlandDecember 10, 2024
Wyoming Transgender Sorority Member’s Lawsuit Against Attorneys Headed To Trial
A transgender University of Wyoming sorority member’s lawsuit against two lawyers is headed to trial, a judge ordered Friday. The lawyers represented a group of Kappa Kappa Gamma sisters who protested Artemis Langford’s membership in the sorority.
Clair McFarlandDecember 10, 2024
Wyoming "Blue" Christmas Services Happening For People In Holiday Misery
Some Wyoming churches are hosting “Blue” Christmas services for people dealing with grief and sadness. Sometimes pretending to exude joy in December is almost as heavy as the weight of grief itself, one reverend explained. Â
Clair McFarlandDecember 10, 2024