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
Clair McFarland: Only Idiots Get Lost (And I Got Lost)
Clair McFarland writes, "Itâs gonna sting, but I have to tell this story. I wrote in an earlier column that if I did not beat my 13-year-old son in a 5-kilometer footrace three days later, Iâd crumble into obscurity like an 8-track tape."
Clair McFarlandNovember 18, 2023
Adoptive Father Canât Ignore Court-Ordered Visitation For Grandparents
A stepfather's adoption of his two boys doesn't cancel out a judge's earlier order letting the boys' grandparents stay in contact with them, the Wyoming Supreme Court ruled Thursday.
Clair McFarlandNovember 17, 2023
Parents Sue Wyoming School, Teacher Over Fifth Grader's Suicide
The parents of a Carpenter Elementary School fifth grader who was suicidal and hanged himself in a school bathroom have sued, claiming the school district, principal and a teacher could have prevented the tragic act.
Clair McFarlandNovember 17, 2023
Wyoming Sheep Shearer Guilty Of Manslaughter For Killing Fiancé
A Lincoln County jury on Friday didnât buy a New Zealand sheep shearerâs claim she acted in self-defense when she stabbed and killed her fiancĂ©, returning a guilty verdict of manslaughter.
Clair McFarlandNovember 17, 2023
Jury Out In Murder Trial Of Sheep Shearer Who Stabbed Abusive Boyfriend
A New Zealand sheep shearer working near Kemmerer, Wyoming, says it was self-defense when she stabbed and killed her boyfriend, who had reportedly been abusing her. After deliberating all day Thursday, a jury hasnât yet returned a verdict.
Clair McFarlandNovember 17, 2023
Nearly Half Of FBI Cases On Wind River Reservation Are Child Sex Abuse
Of the felony-level crimes the FBI has investigated on Wyomingâs Wind River Indian Reservation this year, nearly half are child sexual assaults, a federal agent told state lawmakers Thursday.
Clair McFarlandNovember 16, 2023
Fremont County Man Accused of Beating, Killing Puppy
Accused of beating and stabbing a puppy into a bloody heap and killing it, a Fremont County man faces up to two years in prison and $5,000 in fines.
Clair McFarlandNovember 16, 2023
Hunter Marvels At Odds Of Finding Human Skull In Vast Red Desert, Says 'Higher Powerâ Led Him
Rock Springs hunter and taxidermist Marc Zancanella said he was shocked to find a bleached-white human skull while hunting in Wyomingâs vast 9,300 square-mile Red Desert on Saturday. The odds are so low of coming across it he feels like a âhigher powerâ led him to it.
Clair McFarlandNovember 15, 2023
âUnconstitutional Idiocyâ: Hageman Blasts Attempt To Scrub Trump From Ballot
Calling it boneheaded, tyrannical and unconstitutional idiocy, Rep. Harriet Hageman blasted a Laramie lawyerâs attempt to keep former President Trump from Wyomingâs ballot. The challenger fired back, accusing Hageman of failing to read his filing.
Clair McFarlandNovember 15, 2023
Reality TV Star Suing Wyoming Game And Fish Also Appealing Poaching Convictions
A Wyoming hunting guide who won a reality TV hunting competition is also appealing four illegal hunting convictions from this year as she sues the Wyoming Game and Fish Department.
Clair McFarlandNovember 15, 2023
Kappa Kappa Gamma Kicks Out Two Lifetime Members After Opposing Transgender's Admittance to Sorority
A pair of lifetime Kappa Kappa Gamma members, who have been associated with the sorority for more than 50 years, have been kicked out of the sorority for opposing the admittance of a transgender member at the University of Wyoming.
Clair McFarlandNovember 14, 2023
Laramie Lawyer Sues To Get Trump, Lummis Off Wyoming Ballot
A retired Laramie attorney is asking a state judge to bar former President Donald Trump and U.S. Sen. Cynthia Lummis from Wyomingâs election ballot because of their actions after the 2020 presidential election.
Clair McFarlandNovember 14, 2023
Rock Springs Massage Parlor Raided On Suspicion Of Sex Trafficking
Local and federal authorities raided a Rock Springs, Wyoming, massage parlor Tuesday afternoon as part of a âmonths-long human trafficking investigation,â according to the Sweetwater County Sheriffâs Office.
Clair McFarlandNovember 14, 2023
Smell Of 'Putrefied Blood' In Car Of Missing Wyoming Woman's Ex-Boyfriend
Katie Ferguson was in her ex-boyfriendâs Dodge Durango when they left Alabama to drive back to their home in Cody. She never made it home, and when investigators found the Durango it had a bullet hole in the door and reeked of âputrefied blood.â
Clair McFarlandNovember 14, 2023
Local Case Dropped Against Missing Cody Woman's Ex In Favor Of Bigger Charges
Misdemeanor charges against a man connected to in a missing person's case were dropped on Monday in favor of much more serious federal charges. The missing mother has not been seen for about a month.
Clair McFarlandNovember 13, 2023
Hunter Finds Human Skull âIn The Middle Of Nowhereâ In Wyomingâs Red Desert
A hunter found a human skull âin the middle of nowhereâ in Wyomingâs Red Desert on Saturday, and a missing persons' advocate hopes the discovery leads to closure for the family of one of a dozen open cold cases of missing people from the area.
Clair McFarlandNovember 13, 2023
Cheyenne Man Who Shot At Attackers Acquitted In Stand Your Ground Case
A Cheyenne man was acquitted of felony assault charges when the jury ruled he acted in self-defense when he fired back on a truck after being rammed, shot at, and followed home.
Clair McFarlandNovember 11, 2023
Reality TV Star Accused Of Poaching Sues Wyoming Game And Fish
A reality TV star and hunting guide is suing the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, saying they violated her privacy, hurt her reputation and caused her emotional distress while pursuing a poaching case against her.
Clair McFarlandNovember 10, 2023
Gillette Bus Driver Sorry After Hurting Kids By Deliberately Driving Fast Over Bumps
A substitute school bus driver In Gillette says she is sorry for deliberately driving fast over bumps at the urging of the kids. She is now facing nine misdemeanor reckless endangering charges after injuring some of them.
Clair McFarlandNovember 09, 2023
University of Wyoming Building New Vomitories At War Memorial Stadium
In their renovation plans for War Memorial Stadium, it may sound like the University of Wyoming is installing areas for football fans to barf after drinking too many beers, but a "vomitory" is actually an architectural term for exit.
Clair McFarlandNovember 09, 2023
Ex-Boyfriend Of Missing Cody Woman Arrested In Wyoming
As a search continues for Cody resident Katie Ferguson, who went missing Oct. 10 while traveling back to Wyoming from Alabama, her ex-boyfriend has been arrested in Cody.
Clair McFarlandNovember 09, 2023