PIERRE, S.D.—Voters in four South Dakota counties will decide in November whether to impose new local sales taxes intended to reduce property taxes on owner-occupied homes. Brown and Codington counties will vote on half-percent county sales taxes during the Nov. 3 general election, while Clay and Charles Mix counties are scheduled to hold special elections Read More…
HELENA—Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen has joined two multistate coalitions pressing federal officials on separate national-security and terrorism-related issues, including scrutiny of TP-Link’s ties to China and access to frozen Taliban funds for victims of the Sept. 11 attacks. In one effort, Knudsen joined 20 other state attorneys general in asking the Federal Communications Commission Read More…
KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany — Soldiers with the 30th Medical Brigade are rethinking how surgical care moves on the battlefield, using a prototype M1087 expandable van to turn a traditionally static medical setup into a faster, more mobile and more survivable surgical platform for large-scale combat operations. The prototype gives the 67th Forward Resuscitative Surgical Detachment a Read More…
Before enrolling at Missoula College this fall, Kaycee Eubanks already earned a healthcare degree from the University of Montana. Eubanks, who graduated from Corvallis High School in the Bitterroot Valley this past spring, took dual enrollment classes to complete UM’s Rural Healthcare Career Pathways Program. She is one of six Corvallis students to complete the Read More…
BISMARCK, N.D.—North Dakota has joined 33 other state financial regulators in a $2.5 million settlement with Seattle-based cryptocurrency kiosk operator Coinme over alleged violations of federal Bank Secrecy Act and anti-money-laundering requirements. Under the agreement, Coinme must end its virtual-currency kiosk operations by Jan. 1, 2027, or face an additional $4 million penalty. North Dakota Read More…
Montana U.S. Senate candidate Seth Bodnar appears to have a substantially higher net worth than Republican rival Kurt Alme, according to financial disclosure reports filed with the U.S. Senate. An analysis of the candidates’ disclosures estimates Bodnar and his wife have a net worth ranging from approximately $4.9 million to $13 million, compared with roughly Read More…
HELENA—More than 14,000 Montanans are set to receive a combined $7 million in refunds tied to overcharges on Obamacare health plans, according to Montana State Auditor James Brown. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services identified 14,093 Montana residents who are eligible for $500 refund checks, representing a total of $7,046,500. The refunds stem from Read More…
BOISE, Idaho—Idaho General Fund revenue exceeded the state’s forecast by $90.3 million during the first quarter of fiscal year 2027, finishing 6.8% above projections. September revenue alone came in $39 million above forecast, with individual income tax collections accounting for much of the strength. Individual income tax revenue is running 18.3% above forecast year to Read More…
WASHINGTON—The Defense Department is expanding its investment in quantum computing with roughly $350 million in new initiatives, including a conditional $150 million loan commitment to PsiQuantum aimed at strengthening advanced manufacturing and prototyping in the United States. The effort is designed to accelerate development of quantum systems that could eventually support national-security missions in areas Read More…
GREAT FALLS—Janicki Industries has named retired Air Force Col. Daniel J. Voorhies senior director of operations for its new Great Falls manufacturing campus as the aerospace and defense company prepares to expand production in Montana. Voorhies retired earlier this year after 25 years in the U.S. Air Force. He most recently commanded the 341st Missile Read More…
NAVI MUMBAI, India—CoreWeave is expanding into India with plans for a 240-megawatt data center project in Navi Mumbai, adding capacity in one of the world’s fastest-growing markets for artificial-intelligence infrastructure. The company is partnering with AdaniConneX to build three 80-megawatt facilities at the Taloja campus, with the first phase expected to come online by mid-2028. Read More…
GREENWICH, Conn.—Interactive Brokers Group is scheduled to report third-quarter results after the market closes Thursday, giving investors a fresh look at one of the fastest-growing major U.S. brokerage platforms. The company plans to release results at approximately 4 p.m. Eastern time, followed by a conference call at 4:30 p.m. Analysts are looking for earnings of Read More…
CHEYENNE, Wyo.—Wyoming voters will decide Proposition 1, a citizen-initiated property-tax measure that would exempt 50% of the assessed value of a qualifying primary residence’s dwelling from property taxes. The proposal would apply to the home itself, but not the land. Eligibility generally requires that the homeowner be a Wyoming resident and use the property as Read More…
BISMARCK, N.D.—Two major pipeline disputes moved forward in North Dakota this week, with a state judge ruling that local zoning rules are not automatically overridden by state pipeline-siting authority and the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe filing a new federal lawsuit seeking to halt the Dakota Access Pipeline. In the first case, South Central District Court Read More…
WASHINGTON—Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has appointed economist Judy Shelton as a counselor in the Office of the Secretary, giving her a senior advisory role focused on currency policy and global financial conditions. Shelton will advise Bessent on currency issues, with particular emphasis on evaluating financial conditions in China. She has spent much of her career Read More…
HELENA—Montana Department of Labor and Industry Commissioner Sarah Swanson has been elected chair-elect of the National Association of State Workforce Agencies, giving Montana a leadership role in a national organization representing workforce agencies across the country. Swanson assumed the position Sept. 17 during NASWA’s annual membership meeting at the 2026 NASWA Summit. The chair-elect serves Read More…
A record 15,908 students are attending UND this fall, marking the University’s second consecutive all-time enrollment high and seventh straight year of growth. Behind that number are gains in undergraduate enrollment, strong retention and several of the largest freshman classes in UND history. Here’s a closer look at what is driving UND’s record enrollment. More Read More…
HELENA—Montana’s formally nonpartisan Supreme Court race is developing a clear ideological divide, with liberal advocacy groups, liberal-leaning current and former Montana Supreme Court justices and district judges lining up behind District Judge Amy Eddy, while conservative organizations, Republican officials and GOP committees are supporting District Judge Dan Wilson. Eddy and Wilson, both judges in Montana’s Read More…
PIERRE, S.D.—South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley has joined a multistate effort seeking court approval of settlements with three generic drug manufacturers accused of conspiring to inflate prices and restrict competition. The settlements involve Ascend Laboratories, Citron Pharma and Mayne Pharma and are part of a broader antitrust case being pursued by 45 states and Read More…
MISSOULA—The Montana Department of Environmental Quality has committed $1.89 million in low-interest financing to the Wildflower Apartments in Missoula, marking the first loan issued through the state’s Multifamily Energy Retrofit Loan program. The financing will support energy-efficiency upgrades at the affordable housing complex near Missoula’s south hills, with a focus on heating, ventilation and air-conditioning Read More…
HELENA—Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen is leading a 20-state coalition urging the U.S. Supreme Court to take up a case challenging workplace diversity, equity and inclusion training at the Colorado Department of Corrections. The coalition filed an amicus brief in Joshua Young v. Colorado Department of Corrections, asking the court to review a Tenth Circuit Read More…
MINNEAPOLIS—A Minnesota woman has been convicted on federal health-care fraud charges for orchestrating a $3.6 million scheme targeting the state’s now-defunct Medicaid Housing Stabilization Services program. A federal jury found Sharmaine Meadows, 45, of Lake Elmo, guilty of three counts of health care fraud after prosecutors said her company billed Medicaid for housing services that Read More…
MISSOULA – University of Montana journalism student Casandra Evans had photographed Lady Griz Basketball Head Coach Nate Harris before, but never like this. Early on a recent Friday morning, she traded gymnasium hardwood for bedroom carpet, capturing Harris as he woke his daughters and got them ready for school. At the UM School of Journalism’s Read More…
HELENA—The race for Montana’s open U.S. Senate seat is giving voters four distinct choices, with Republican Kurt Alme, independent Seth Bodnar, Democrat Alani Bankhead and Libertarian Kyle Austin competing to replace retiring Sen. Steve Daines. Alme, 59, has made his Montana roots and long record in state and federal public service central to his campaign. Read More…
COLUMBUS, Mont.—A strike involving hundreds of workers at Sibanye-Stillwater’s Stillwater Mine and Columbus metallurgical facilities has ended after union employees approved a new three-year collective bargaining agreement. The strike began Sept. 3 and lasted more than a month. Employees are expected to return to work Oct. 9. The agreement provides a 4.5% wage increase in Read More…
BOZEMAN – A Montana State University graduate student planning a career in cancer research is the first recipient of a newly established fellowship for emerging MSU scholars working to address and expand scientific understanding to advance human health. Chloe Rifai, a second-year doctoral student in biochemistry, said the $30,000, two-year award from the Kathryn Follis Read More…
BOZEMAN—Republican Aaron Flint and Democrat Sam Forstag traded attacks and outlined sharply different approaches to affordability, energy and economic development during their first televised debate in Montana’s Western Congressional District race. The two candidates met Thursday in Bozeman for a 30-minute forum hosted by the Montana Television Network and moderated by senior political reporter Jonathon Read More…
The Center Square Voters’ Voice Poll (The Center Square) – A majority of American voters are concerned with socialist candidates running and possibly winning political office, according to a new poll. The Center Square Voters’ Voice poll found that 55% of American voters are concerned about Democratic Socialist candidates running for and winning elected office Read More…
(The Center Square) – Higher interest rates divide households. Savers holding cash or buying new bonds can earn more interest. Borrowers taking out new loans or carrying variable-rate debt pay more. Existing bondholders can suffer losses as inflation and yields rise, while stock-market gains cushion households with substantial portfolios. Those without financial assets have fewer Read More…
BOISE, Idaho—A federal district court has rejected a constitutional challenge to Idaho’s Sexual Offender Registration and Notification Act, dismissing claims brought by individuals convicted of sex offenses and granting summary judgment in favor of the state. Attorney General Raúl Labrador said the ruling preserves a law that requires qualifying offenders to register and makes certain Read More…
KALISPELL—President Donald Trump is returning to Montana next week for a campaign rally in Kalispell as Republicans look to boost congressional candidate Aaron Flint in the race for Montana’s Western Congressional District. Trump is scheduled to appear Wednesday at the Majestic Valley Arena, where he will campaign alongside Flint, the Republican nominee seeking to succeed Read More…
Army Sgt. Alvin C. York, an infantryman, received the Medal of Honor for valor due to his heroic actions during a World War I operation in France, actions that would be immortalized in the 1941 film “Sergeant York.” York was born Dec. 13, 1887, in Pall Mall, Tennessee. His father, William Uriah York, Read More…
TAIPEI—Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. will report third-quarter earnings Thursday, giving investors another look at whether booming artificial-intelligence spending is continuing to drive demand for the world’s largest contract chipmaker. TSMC has already reported record third-quarter revenue of about $46.7 billion, up roughly 50% from a year earlier and above market expectations. The result also exceeded Read More…
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – The No. 2 Montana Grizzlies traded blows with No. 13 Northern Arizona throughout the afternoon but fell to the Lumberjacks 49-44 in a ranked shootout at the Walkup Skydome on Saturday. The loss drops Montana to 5-2 overall and 3-1 in Big Sky Conference play, while Northern Arizona improves to 5-2 overall Read More…
NEW YORK—JPMorgan Chase will report third-quarter earnings Tuesday morning, putting the nation’s largest bank at the center of Wall Street’s first major test of the new earnings season. JPMorgan is scheduled to release results at about 7 a.m. Eastern time, followed by an earnings call at 8:30 a.m. Wall Street analysts are looking for earnings Read More…
WASHINGTON—Nearly 70 million Trump Accounts have been created for American children, including more than 60 million through automatic enrollment, as the administration expands the tax-advantaged investment program nationwide. The accounts are available to children under 18 with a valid Social Security number. Parents and guardians must claim the accounts before they can manage them, receive Read More…
PIERRE, S.D.—Gov. Larry Rhoden has appointed Kellen B. Willert to serve as a circuit judge in South Dakota’s Fourth Judicial Circuit, filling a vacancy created by the departure of Judge John Fitzgerald. Willert brings experience in private practice, municipal law, estate planning, complex litigation and military law. He graduated cum laude from South Dakota State Read More…
KALISPELL—Republican congressional candidate Aaron Flint has released a new general-election advertisement focused on public safety, fentanyl and border security, featuring Gallatin County Sheriff Dan Springer. In the ad, Springer endorses Flint and says the Republican candidate would support stronger enforcement against fentanyl trafficking and tighter border security. “Lieutenant Colonel Flint will crack down on fentanyl Read More…
Brett Griesbaum grew up on a corn and soybean farm in Palmyra, Missouri, and went to college to study agriculture science with a focus on horticulture and agronomy. He said that when it was time to consider his choice of graduate school, he deliberately chose a place where he could grow as a scientist by Read More…
CHEYENNE, Wyo.—Gov. Mark Gordon has appointed Nancy Vehr as interim director of the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality following the retirement of longtime director Todd Parfitt. Vehr, who has been serving as the department’s deputy director, took over the role effective Oct. 2. She previously led DEQ’s Air Quality Division for nearly a decade and Read More…