Crime and Courts Reporter

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.

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Latest from Clair McFarland

Thermopolis Police Sgt. Mike Mascorro, right, has been cleared by the town of any wrongdoing in a fatal April 2023 shootout with a suspect.

Thermopolis Cop Who Triggered Fatal Shootout Cleared By Town, Back On Full Duty

The town of Thermopolis announced Tuesday that it disagrees with a special prosecutor's opinion that Sgt. Mike Mascorro illegally entered a suspect's home to trigger a fatal shootout in April 2023, and has reinstated Mascorro back to full duty.

Clair McFarlandJune 05, 2024

One argument PETA makes in its lawsuit over an ad denied by Southwest Wyoming Regional Airport is that the airport displays hunting trophies in its terminal and shows an alleged bias against PETA's views on animal cruelty.

PETA Sues Rock Springs Airport For Denying Its Cow Ad

PETA filed a lawsuit Tuesday to force the Rock Springs airport to display an advertisement equating leather luggage to animal cruelty. The ad, in part, states “cruelty doesn’t fly — choose vegan.”

Clair McFarlandJune 05, 2024

Body Found In Colorado 24 Years Ago Identified As Rock Springs Man

After 24 years and multiple DNA tests, Colorado authorities have identified a man found dead near Greeley on Valentine’s Day 2000 as Rock Springs resident Christopher Scott Case.

Clair McFarlandJune 05, 2024

Gene Clemetson was escorted out of East High School in Laramie County School District No. 1 while substitute teaching in March. The substitute teacher says he’s been barred from a Cheyenne-based school district after refusing to use preferred transgender names of students.

Cheyenne Substitute Teacher Says He Was Kicked Out For Not Using Trans Names

A Wyoming substitute teacher says he was barred from working in Laramie County School District No. 1 after refusing to use preferred transgender names of students.

Clair McFarlandJune 04, 2024

The aftermath of a more than 30-hour standoff between police and a man suspected of killing a Sheridan police officer.

Sheridan OKs $250K For House Destroyed In Standoff With Suspected Cop-Killer

A local woman whose home was destroyed during a 32-hour standoff with a suspected cop-killer in February will get another $250,000 from the city of Sheridan to help rebuild after the city council approved the settlement Monday.

Clair McFarlandJune 04, 2024

The Walmart Supercenter in Sheridan, Wyoming.

Scammer Tried Convincing Sheridan Woman He Kidnapped Her Daughter

A man with a Wyoming area code called a Sheridan woman last week and told her that her daughter had been forced into a vehicle and was being held for ransom. It turned out to be a scam but officers warn these types of scams are becoming more prevalent.

Clair McFarlandJune 03, 2024

Tator, a black Labrador retriever, got sick when he somehow ingested meth while on an outing at Dalbey Memorial Park in Gillette.

Black Lab Ingests Meth At Gillette Park, Wags Tail "1,000 Miles Per Hour"

It was a close call but Tator, a black Labrador retriever, got into some meth last week at a park in Gillette. He survived but his owners said he was wired out of his mind with his tail wagging "1,000 miles per hour."

Clair McFarlandJune 03, 2024

A Cheyenne man can sue three police officers who illegally entered his home and detained him in Feburary 2020 in the 700 block of West 24th Street, a judge has ruled.

Cheyenne Police Officers Found Liable For Illegally Breaking Into Man’s Home

Three former Cheyenne police officers are civilly liable for breaking into a man's home illegally after grabbing his pregnant wife, a U.S. District Court judge ruled. A jury will decide how much money the officers each owe the victim for their unlawful entry.

Clair McFarlandJune 03, 2024

Campbell County Courthouse in Gillette, Wyoming.

Man Who Said He Slit Mom’s Throat Because Of Attic People To Have Sanity Checked

A Wyoming judge paused a Gillette man's attempted murder case Friday and ordered a sanity test, after the man reportedly told police he slit his mother’s throat when distant attic people threatened him.

Clair McFarlandJune 03, 2024

Clair McFarland: This Restaurant Has Great Food, But The Staff Is Sketchy

Columnist Clair McFarland writes, "I can see inside the kitchen over a half-wall barrier and, oh my. If I had a weak stomach or a Karen temperament I’d call the department of health."

Clair McFarlandJune 02, 2024

Kolya Sidloski, a Wyoming Catholic College student, in a contemplative mood at Sinks Coffee in Lander. Like all other WCC students, Sidloski gives up his cellphone for four years while attending.

Wyoming Catholic College Students Surrender Their Cellphones For Four Years

Wyoming Catholic College students put their phones in a locked cupboard for four years at the school in Lander. Some are surprised how disconnecting from their devices opens their minds.

Clair McFarlandJune 01, 2024

Joshua Hayden-Ali has harassed buiness owners in downtown Cheyenne for quite some time, and it's become more aggressive. He's often armed and makes death threats, they report.

Cheyenne Shop Owners Fed Up With 6-Foot-4 Shaman’s Death Threats And Harassment

Downtown Cheyenne business owners say they’re fed up with an aggressive 6-foot-4-inch man who calls himself “Wisdom," brandishes a staff like a shaman, claims he practices Voodoo, and then threatens to kill them or burn their shops down.

Clair McFarlandMay 31, 2024

Other Authors

Cheyenne Man Accused Of Shooting Up Estranged Wife’s House, Kidnapping Her

The estranged husband of a Cheyenne woman was elevated to felony-level court Thursday on charges he allegedly shot up her house, dragged her out to his car and then kidnapped her. He faces 55 years in prison.

Clair McFarlandMay 31, 2024

Former Gillette Cop Accused Of Triple Homicide Had Justified Shooting In Wyoming

Former Gillette cop Jay Ostrem, who has been accused of a rage-fueled triple homicide in South Dakota earlier this week, was involved in a lethal use-of-force incident 23 years ago in Gillette. The judge in a resulting lawsuit noted Ostrem's shooting was justified.

Clair McFarlandMay 30, 2024

FILE PHOTO: Prosecutor Cal Rerucha makes a statement as Judy and Dennis Shepard, parents of murder victim Matthew Shepard, stand quietly following the sentencing of Russell Henderson in their son's murder. (photo by

Prosecutor From Matthew Shepard Case Says 'Gay Panic' Defense Shouldn't Be Allowed

Minnesota has become the 19th state to ban the “gay panic” defense in criminal cases. Wyoming’s laws don’t discuss this defense strategy at all but the lead prosecutor on the Matthew Shepard case said it shouldn't be allowed anywhere.

Clair McFarlandMay 30, 2024

Wyoming Professor Tells Supreme Court Not To Let Mexico Sue Gun Makers

A Wyoming professor wants the U.S. Supreme Court to kill Mexico’s multibillion-dollar lawsuit as an illegal attempt to bankrupt America’s firearms industry, an effort a Cowboy State gun advocate calls “more of a stunt … than a serious lawsuit.”

Clair McFarlandMay 30, 2024

Former Wyoming Police Sergeant Charged With Triple Homicide In South Dakota

Jay Ostrem, a former Gillette, Wyoming, police sergeant, has been charged with triple homicide for allegedly killing three people Monday in South Dakota.

Clair McFarlandMay 29, 2024

After a 32-hour standoff between law enforcement and a man suspected of killing a local police officer, the Sheridan home he barricaded himself in shows the extensive damage done to it during attempts to get to the suspect.

Sheridan May Give Woman $250K For House Destroyed In Police Standoff

The city of Sheridan is considering giving $250,000 to the woman whose home was destroyed during a February standoff and shootout with the man suspected of killing police Sgt. Nevada Krinkee.

Clair McFarlandMay 29, 2024

Campbell County Memorial Hospital 9 12 23

Gillette Man Says Distant Attic People Triggered Him To Slit Mother’s Throat

A Gillette man told a sheriff’s investigator he was defending himself from people in a "distant attic" when he lifted his mother’s chin and slit her throat. He’s been charged with attempted murder, and she’s recovering in a hospital.

Clair McFarlandMay 28, 2024

Hannah Wingert, top, was sentenced to 10-15 years in prison for brutally beating her 2-year-old son. Her boyfriend at the time, Joshua Moody, below, got two to three years for being an accessory after the fact.

Cheyenne Mom Who Swung Toddler 'Like A Baseball Bat' Gets 10-15 Years In Prison

A 21-year-old Cheyenne mother who swung her 2-year-old son "like a baseball bat" apologized Tuesday, saying that “he didn’t deserve this” as she was sentenced to 10-15 years in prison.

Clair McFarlandMay 28, 2024

April Lange, here on a trail run with son Isaiah near the home in Evanston, Wyoming, last week.

Wyoming Mother Of Nine Gets Personal Best In Triathlon Despite Breaking A Rib

Evanston's April Lange, a mother of nine, set a personal best by 10 minutes in a 70-mile triathlon earlier this month in St. George, Utah. Even more impressive, she did it with a broken rib that she suffered five minutes into the race.

Clair McFarlandMay 27, 2024

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