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
Judge Says Rock Springs School District Can't Hide Transgender Treatment From Parents During Case
A federal judge on Friday temporarily blocked Sweetwater County School District No. 1 from keeping transgender names and pronouns of students secret from parents, except potentially in cases of abuse.
Clair McFarlandJuly 01, 2023
Rock Springs Gender Transition Lawsuit: School District Emails Outline When To Lie To Parents
Cowboy State Daily obtained emails where teachers discussed when it’s OK to lie to parents, like when a student wants to transition. The guide said teachers must use students’ pronouns and not tell the parents about it.
Clair McFarlandJune 30, 2023
Clair McFarland: Car Broke Down On I-25 In Denver, Then We Saw A Gorilla
Clair McFarland writes: “The car whined in the third of six lanes on I-25, hoping at last to become the nucleus of a 30-car pileup. Then it died. A cold hush pervaded its interior.”
Clair McFarlandJune 30, 2023
Colorado Man Sues Cheyenne Frontier Days, Says Bouncer Beat Him Up, Caused Long-Term Injuries
A Colorado man filed a lawsuit this week against Cheyenne Frontier Days Inc. and an unnamed bouncer claiming the bouncer beat him up at a concert last summer to the point of causing long-term injury and needing surgery.
Clair McFarlandJune 28, 2023
‘We’re Coming For Your Children’ Chant At LGBTQ Parade Is ‘Sickening,’ Says Degenfelder
Wyoming's top educator Megan Degenfelder said demonstrators chanting "we're coming for your children" at an LGBTQ parade this weekend is 'sickening.' Although some demonstrators said it was a joke, Degenfelder said the protection of children is "never a joking matter."
Clair McFarlandJune 27, 2023
Wyoming Man Arrested After Soliciting Fed Agent Posing As 12 & 14-Year-Old Prostitutes
A Wyoming man allegedly thought he soliciting for sex with two girls, ages 12 and 14. Instead, he was texting with a federal agent. Now he's facing federal prison.
Clair McFarlandJune 26, 2023
FBI: Fort Washakie Man Goes On Rampage Against Family, Pulls Knife On Grandmother, Stabs Sister's Boyfriend
According to court documents, a Fort Washakie man pulled a knife on his grandmother after she asked him for a cigarette. He then threatened to kill his uncle and ended up stabbing his sister's boyfriend.
Clair McFarlandJune 26, 2023
Spike Through Harvey Morgan's Skull A Grisly Reminder Of Wyoming's Wild West Beginnings
Harvey Morgan drove a wagon from South Pass City 153 years ago to meet with a recently widowed woman on her ranch. He ended up with a spike through his skull and on permanent display at the Lander Pioneer Museum.
Clair McFarlandJune 24, 2023
Wyoming Tribes Say Federal Court Can't Make Them Pay $13.1 Million To Oil Company
The Northern Arapaho and Eastern Shoshone Tribes say a federal court lacks jurisdiction to make them pay the $13 million they owe an oil company for field equipment.
Clair McFarlandJune 23, 2023
Casper Lawmaker Proposes Bill To Give Parents More Access To Their Kids' Health Records
Hospitals and doctors are required by federal law to keep some treatments for kids as young as 12 confidential even from their parents, which prompted state Rep. Jeanette Ward, R-Casper, to propose a state bill chipping away at that requirement.
Clair McFarlandJune 23, 2023
Wyoming Judge Blocks State Abortion Pill Ban
Indicating that she will declare abortion as a health care right under the Wyoming Constitution, Teton County District Court Judge Melissa Owens on Thursday temporarily blocked the state's ban on chemical abortion pills.
Clair McFarlandJune 23, 2023
Riverton Shooter Pleads Guilty To Pair Of First-Degree Murder Charges In 2019 Robbery
Brandon Donald Monroe, now 21, said he killed Rudy Perez and Jocelyn Watt, both 30, four years ago in Riverton while on a mission to steal marijuana and money from Watt’s home.
Clair McFarlandJune 22, 2023
Cheyenne Man Accused Of Stabbing Deputy Goes From Hospital To Jail
Stephen Ashley, 46, was “involved” in multiple 911 hang-up calls Sunday that ultimately led to him allegedly stabbing a sheriff’s deputy then passing out.
Clair McFarlandJune 22, 2023
Casper Hospital Says Locking Parents Out Of Children’s Medical Records Nothing New
The federal regulation by which Casper's Banner Health has been denying parents access to their older children's online health records has been around for more than 20 years.
Clair McFarlandJune 22, 2023
Pregnant Wyoming Woman Remembers She Has Video Of Boyfriend Attacking Her
A 25-year-old pregnant woman remembered during her second police interview that she had home cameras recording while her boyfriend, Keller Wendley Duran Jr., allegedly strangled and beat her.
Clair McFarlandJune 22, 2023
Black, Gay Doctor Sues Wyoming Hospital, Claims Nurses Discriminated Against Him
A Black, gay doctor is has filed a discrimination lawsuit against Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County in Rock Springs, Wyoming, for allegedly firing him without cause after nurses were hostile toward him.
Clair McFarlandJune 22, 2023
42-Year-Old Cold Case Solved, Remains Of Wyoming's 'Pipeline Pete' ID'd As Missing Missouri Man
DNA has linked the formerly unidentified remains of a man known only by the nickname "Pipeline Pete" to Jack Clawson, 24, of Missouri, who was discovered in 1982 by pipeline surveyors in the desert near Granger, Wyoming.
Clair McFarlandJune 22, 2023
Lander School Board Adopts Tougher Policy On Sexually Graphic Books
A controversy over “Let’s Talk About It,” a book in the Lander Valley High School library, prompted the local school board Tuesday to approve a tougher policy for weeding out inappropriate books.
Clair McFarlandJune 21, 2023
Transgender University Of Wyoming Sorority Member Asks To Be Let Out Of Lawsuit
Artemis Langford, a transgender member of the University of Wyoming chapter of the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority, asked Tuesday to be let out of the lawsuit filed by six women against the sorority, which challenges the court to define the word "woman."
Clair McFarlandJune 21, 2023
Sorority Calls Wyoming Lawsuit Over Transgender Member ‘Frivolous,’ Says Women Can Leave
In an emotionally-charged response to a lawsuit brought by six University of Wyoming members filed Tuesday, Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority lawyers say the lawsuit is “frivolous,” and if accepting a transgender member is offensive to them, they can quit the organization.
Clair McFarlandJune 20, 2023
Murder Charge For Cheyenne Man Accused Of Strangling Woman Because She Bit His Finger
After his girlfriend died over the weekend, Laramie County DA on Tuesday charged Charles Rees Karn of Cheyenne with first-degree murder for allegedly strangling her because she bit his finger.
Clair McFarlandJune 20, 2023