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
Sheep Shearer Says Fatal Stabbing Was Self-Defense, Asks Court To Drop Murder Charge
A New Zealand sheep shearer says stabbing her fiancé who had a “powder keg” temper was self-defense, after a pattern of abuse that included isolating, abusing and choking her.
Clair McFarlandJune 12, 2023
Wyoming People: State Rep. Ken Chestek Has Run More Than 90 Marathons — In All 50 States
Wyoming State Rep. Ken Chestek of Laramie has run more than 90 marathons, including at least one in each of the 50 U.S. states. And at almost 70 years old, he sees no reason to stop now.
Clair McFarlandJune 11, 2023
K-9s Can Legally Sniff Outside Vehicles For Drugs, Wyoming Supreme Court Rules
The Wyoming Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that police drug-detection dogs don’t need probable cause to sniff search the outsides of vehicles. Â
Clair McFarlandJune 08, 2023
Jackson Ski Resort, Rental Company Say 'Catastrophic' Crash Was Skier's Fault, Not Theirs
A Jackson, Wyoming, ski resort and a rental company, along with a ski equipment manufacturer, all say it's not their fault a ski binding burst and caused a Texas woman to crash down the mountain and suffer serious injuries.
Clair McFarlandJune 08, 2023
Man Accused Of Threatening To Kill Gillette Mechanics Found Sane Enough For Trial
A Gillette man who is accused of threatening to kill a mechanic at a Ford dealership in Gillette because his car wasn't ready, has been found sane enough to participate in a trial.
Clair McFarlandJune 07, 2023
Park County Sheriff's Lieutenant Justified In Killing Man During Fight For Shotgun
An independent prosecutor declared Park County Sheriff's Lt. Mark Hartman justified Wednesday for shooting a Park County man last August after the pair wrestled over a shotgun on a canal road.Â
Clair McFarlandJune 07, 2023
Cheyenne Man Who Accidentally Killed Teen Has Bond Revoked, On House Arrest Ahead Of Sentencing
Tirso Munguia, who was 19 when arrested in January in the death of 16-year-old Angelina Harrison, got out of jail on bond this month, went back to jail, and now is back out on house arrest after a heated encounter with the victim's parents.
Clair McFarlandJune 07, 2023
Cheyenne Parents Fight Over Sex Books In Schools
Cheyenne parents and residents clashed at the Laramie County School District No. 1 board meeting Monday over how to address numerous sexually-charged books in district schools.Â
Clair McFarlandJune 06, 2023
Riverton Man Who Stalked, Snuck Through Ex's Doggie Door To Stay In Prison
David Hembree's conviction of stalking his girlfriend and sneaking through her dog door stands, though he claimed on appeal that the prosecutor slighted him for his choice to remain silent at trial.Â
Clair McFarlandJune 06, 2023
Riverton Man Who Mercy-Killed Best Friend Gets Probation As Prosecutor Has Change Of Heart
Mario Mills gets a second chance after a judge sentenced him to probation for mercy-killing best friend Trevor Bartlett in 2020. Bartlett's insistent mother said all along that Mills is like another son to her and he didn't act maliciously.
Clair McFarlandJune 06, 2023
Woman Narrowly Escapes Man Trying To Kidnap Her From Gillette Walmart
A woman in Gillette was able to escape a kidnapper because she had her key fob programmed to only open the driver’s side door, she told police. She was able to get in her car and speed away.
Clair McFarlandJune 05, 2023
California Trio Charged With Robbing Casper Pharmacy; One Had Never Heard Of Wyoming Before
Court documents say three men from California drove to Casper after watching a how-to-rob-a-store video on Instagram and then stole thousands of opioid pills from a Casper Walgreens. One of the men said he picked Wyoming because he always wanted to visit the state. Another said he had never heard of Wyoming before.
Clair McFarlandJune 04, 2023
Cheyenne Man Harasses Target Employees, Compares Them To Nazis
A Cheyenne man repeatedly harassed Target employees and compared them to Nazis because they wouldn't agree with his opinion about the appropriateness of an LGBTQ "Pride" display in the store.
Clair McFarlandJune 02, 2023
Girlfriend Of Man Who Killed And Chopped Up Romantic Rival In Laramie Motel Gets A Year In Jail
Erin Brittany Wade was sentenced to one year in jail for interfering with a police investigation into her boyfriend's killing and mutilation of a man who kissed Wade at a bar in Laramie.
Clair McFarlandJune 02, 2023
Teton County Judge Rules Wyoming Right To Life, Other Pro-Lifers Can't Join Abortion Lawsuit
Teton County District Court Judge Melissa Owens ruled Friday that Wyoming Secretary of State Chuck Gray, Wyoming Right To Life and Republican state Reps. Chip Neiman and Rachel Rodriguez-Williams can’t join a lawsuit defending Wyoming’s abortion bans.
Clair McFarlandJune 02, 2023
Reservation Man Charged With Hurling Screwdriver At Child, Tormenting Another
Federal authorities on Thursday charged Denver Lee John Sr. with two counts of child abuse for allegedly hurling a screwdriver at a child and mentally abusing another child to the point of hurting that child's ability to function.Â
Clair McFarlandJune 02, 2023
Explicit Book in Lander High School Has Sparked Uproar — Here’s What's In It    Â
A graphic book in the Lander Valley High School that teaches two genders is obsolete, and gives illustrated instructions on anal sex, and how to text nude photos, has sparked a school-board policy discussion slated for June 20.
Clair McFarlandJune 02, 2023
Multiple Volunteers Want To Adopt Toddlers Abandoned By Parents In GilletteÂ
Since Cowboy State Daily published a story about two Louisiana parents rejecting their 1- and 2-year-old boys in Gillette on Monday, multiple people have asked about how they can adopt the toddlers.
Clair McFarlandJune 01, 2023
Elderly Client Crashes Through Front Wall Of Riverton Medical Clinic
No one has reported being hurt Thursday morning when an elderly woman drove a vehicle through the front waiting area of a medical clinic on the west side of Riverton.
Clair McFarlandJune 01, 2023
Clair McFarland: Real Girls Are Made Of Go-Carts And Antelope Skulls
Clair McFarland writes: "This little girl is even tougher than my boys. She climbs onto the trampoline with them, drops to all fours, snatches their ankles and topples them like dominoes. They dogpile her, roughing her hair into a unicorn horn above her ponytail."
Clair McFarlandJune 01, 2023
Parents Claiming Rock Springs School Was Transitioning Child Behind Their Backs Say Others Have Told Them It’s Happened Before Â
In a Zoom interview with Cowboy State Daily, Sean and Ashley Willey say since they sued the Rock Springs school system over allegedly gender transitioning their teen behind their backs, other Rock Springs families have said that’s happened to them as well.
Clair McFarlandMay 31, 2023