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

Feds Taking, Offering Up Guns From Felon In Rock Springs Restaurant Shooting

The federal government is taking two handguns from a felon who had them illegally while he reportedly shot up a Rock Springs restaurant in September. Anyone with a valid claim can ask for a court hearing to get the guns within 30 days of the feds' final announcement.

Clair McFarlandJanuary 03, 2024

Pistol Brace Lawsuit Forges On As Wyoming And 24 Other States Sue Over Federal Rule

A federal appeals court joined a lower court Tuesday in declining to pause an ATF rule against pistol braces while reviewing Wyoming and 24 other states' lawsuit against a federal rule classifying braced pistols as illegal short-barreled rifles.

Clair McFarlandJanuary 02, 2024

Clark Man Settles Lawsuit Over Fire That Killed His Wife

Jerry Ruth has settled his lawsuit against the power co-op and tree-trimming company he accused of causing the deadly 2021 fire in Clark, Wyoming, that killed his wife. Now he's "just trying to put my life back together."

Clair McFarlandJanuary 02, 2024

Cheyenne Hospital Says It Can’t Be Sued For Not Treating Crash Victim Over Mask Policy

In response to a Colorado man's lawsuit claiming he was refused emergency medical care because he wouldn’t put on a face mask, Cheyenne Regional Medical Center says it has governmental immunity.

Clair McFarlandDecember 30, 2023

Clair McFarland: If Home Is A Kingdom, The Blanket Fort's The Rebel Base

Clair McFarland writes: "Whatever legislative session or trial those boys were having in the blanket fort was none of my business. I would just have to trust that justice would prevail. But justice did not prevail, because Middleborn was the commander."

Clair McFarlandDecember 30, 2023

A group of firefighters watch as the Roosevelt Fire burns in Wyoming in 2018.

Wyomingites Who Lost Homes When Feds Let Roosevelt Fire Burn Watch Supreme Court

Dozens of Wyoming residents suing the federal government for letting the 2018 Roosevelt Fire burn — and consume their homes and property — are watching to see if the U.S. Supreme Court will take on a similar case about the same fire.

Clair McFarlandDecember 29, 2023

Missing Woman In Laramie High-Speed Chase Says She Wasn't Trafficked, Just 'In Love'

A woman who was in a national missing-persons database was not being trafficked at a Laramie truck stop as first suspected. She told police she was just "in love." She and her lover, however, remain in jail on a variety of felony and misdemeanor charges.

Clair McFarlandDecember 29, 2023

Tim Newcomb, left, and Wyoming Secretary of State Chuck Gray

Never-Trump Lawyer Tells Chuck Gray To Resign; Gray Calls Him 'Madman'

A retired Laramie attorney’s lawsuit to get Trump off Wyoming’s ballot has turned fiery, as he is now calling for Secretary of State Chuck Gray to resign, and Gray has responded by calling him a “madman.”

Clair McFarlandDecember 29, 2023

Wyoming Supreme Court: Police Justified In Busting Man With Cocaine In Underwear

The Wyoming Supreme Court ruled Thursday that Cheyenne police lawfully entered a man’s home last year and ultimately arrested him with cocaine in his underwear though it was his girlfriend, not him, who gave them permission to enter.

Clair McFarlandDecember 28, 2023

Man Suspected Of Trafficking Woman At Laramie Truck Stop Charged In Icy Car Chase

Laramie police officers asked one too many questions for a Salt Lake City man who was with a missing woman 26 years younger than he, so the man allegedly took off in a Wyoming snowstorm last month. But police caught him, and his charged were elevated to felonies Tuesday.

Clair McFarlandDecember 28, 2023

Kemmerer Babysitter Reportedly Said She ‘Hated’ 5-Year-Old She’s Accused Of Killing

A judge ruled last week that prosecutors can use statements at trial in which a Kemmerer babysitter allegedly told a woman she was “sick of,” “hated” and “just wanted to kill” the 5-year-old girl she’s accused of beating to death.

Clair McFarlandDecember 27, 2023

A still image from body cam video of a Trumann, Arkansas, police officer who had the last known interaction with Katie Ferguson of Cody, who's been missing since October 2023.

Texas AG Releases Murder Suspect's Traffic Ticket From When Cody Woman Vanished

Texas authorities on Wednesday offered a glimpse into the days or hours after a Cody woman went missing, by releasing an Oct. 9 wrong-way driving traffic ticket issued to her boyfriend, Adam Aviles Jr. Aviles is in a federal jail awaiting trial.

Clair McFarlandDecember 27, 2023

Other Authors

Cody Woman Accused Of Asking Hitman To Kill Daughter's Drug-Addict Boyfriend

Police have arrested a Cody woman after a Division of Criminal Investigation agent posing as a hitman reportedly talked with her last week about accepting $10,000 to kill her daughter's "controlling," drug-addict boyfriend.

Clair McFarlandDecember 27, 2023

Yellowstone thermal and pierce brosnan 12 27 23

Former James Bond Actor Pierce Brosnan Cited For Veering Off Yellowstone Path

Former James Bond actor Pierce Brosnan was ticketed on Tuesday for going into a closed area of Yellowstone National Park and veering off the designated path at Mammoth Terraces.

Clair McFarlandDecember 27, 2023

Joe and AnnMarie Wilson have run 45 marathons while raising their four children, because Joe worked up the nerve to ask AnnMarie if she was into running back in 2002.

'So, You're A Runner?' Pickup Line Leads To Marriage, And 45 Marathons

There's only a handful of runners in Lingle, Wyoming. And two of them are married to each other, because in 2002, Joe Wilson worked up the nerve to ask AnnMarie if she was into running. Now they've done multiple Boston Marathons and last month did the famed New York City Marathon.

Clair McFarlandDecember 24, 2023

Wheatland Middle School Principal Cancels Controversial Play Day Before Opening Night

Some Wheatland Middle School parents and students are upset the principal canceled their production of “The Bullying Collection” a day before opening night, saying it doesn’t align with the school’s values.

Clair McFarlandDecember 22, 2023

Trevor Milton of Alpine, Wyoming, was sentenced to four years in prison and $1 million in fines for defrauding investors.

Wyoming Man Gets Prison, $1M Fine For Lying About Hydrogen Powered Vehicles

An Alpine, Wyoming, man will spend four years in prison and pay $1 million for lying to investors about developing a “really incredible” and “fully functioning” hydrogen-powered semitruck, among other products.

Clair McFarlandDecember 21, 2023

Wind River Indian Reservation sign 12 21 23

Tribes Settle $13.1 Million Dispute With Energy Company, Aren't Saying For How Much

After a federal judge ordered Wyoming’s two American Indian tribes to pay an oil and gas company $13.1 million, the tribes challenged the ruling. But they settled last week with the company for an unknown dollar amount.

Clair McFarlandDecember 21, 2023

London Beaudoin, Christopher Parish, and Leo Bernard Smith Jr., are accused of fleeing with $25,000 after two unknown characters ripped apart a Cheyenne ATM with a stolen F250.

3 Arrested For Ripping Apart Cheyenne ATM With Stolen Truck, 2 Others Get Away

Two unknown characters used a Ford F-250 and a chain to rip apart a Cheyenne ATM and steal more than $25,000 this month. They got away, but two Texas men and a woman in the alleged getaway car were arrested in a flurry of $20 bills.

Clair McFarlandDecember 20, 2023

Wyoming Sheep Shearer Gets 12-17 Years In Prison For Stabbing Fiancé To Death

Saying she’s “ready to face the consequences of my actions,” an Australian with New Zealand ties who was shearing sheep in Wyoming learned Wednesday she'll spend 12 to 17 years in prison for stabbing her fiancé to death last February.

Clair McFarlandDecember 20, 2023

Mexican Man Accused Of Beating Wife With Iron Now Faces Illegal Reentry Charge

Mexican national charged with hitting wife in the head with a clothes iron then choking her was charged Monday for also being in the United States illegally. His record shows a 30-year history of illegal reentry and deportation.

Clair McFarlandDecember 19, 2023

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