BILLINGS, Mont. – The Yellowstone County Health Officer has declared a public health emergency and ordered the closure of bars, brew pubs, wineries, and casinos in Yellowstone County to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus. The order also includes restaurants, with the exception of takeout and delivery services. Excluded from the order are food service Read More…
Congressman Greg Gianforte (R-Mont.) invited high school students in Montana to participate in the 2020 Congressional Art Competition. “Through the Congressional Art Competition, Montana’s high school students can showcase their talents. The winner’s artwork will hang in the U.S. Capitol where hundreds of thousands of visitors will see it,” Gianforte said. “I look forward Read More…
HELENA — The Montana High School Association executive board has decided to suspend spring activities across Montana following the growing threat and concern of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). “All MHSA spring activities will be indefinitely suspended until further notice,” stated a release sent Monday morning. “This includes practices and contests/meets/festivals.The Executive Board will reevaluate this Read More…
It was no secret that Gov. Steve Bullock of Montana has an oversized ego. He’s the guy who promised he was going to “take our democracy back” when he announced his disastrous presidential bid in May. Instead, he took a shellacking and exited the Democratic nomination battle with the same “less than 1%” support in Read More…
Even the leader of the Squad is conceding a big defeat for Bernie Sanders. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-Queens) conceded a major setback for her progressive hero after Joe Biden crushed Sanders in Michigan and several other states. “There’s no sugarcoating it. (It’s) a tough night,” Ocasio-Cortez told supporters on an Instagram video. Ocasio-Cortez sought to Read More…
The Montana Department of Commerce announced that five Montana communities have been accepted to become affiliate members of the Montana Main Street Program. The program helps Montana communities strengthen and preserve historic downtown commercial districts by supporting economic development, urban revitalization and historic preservation through long-range planning, organization, design and promotion. “The Department of Commerce Read More…
The North Dakota Emergency Commission voted Tuesday to accept up to $6 million in federal funds to contain and mitigate the spread of the coronavirus disease, COVID-19. Congress passed and President Trump signed legislation last week appropriating $8.3 billion for COVID-19 preparedness, prevention and treatment efforts. Of the total, $950 million will go to state Read More…
BILLINGS, Mont. — A Canadian company said Wednesday it has started preliminary work along the route of the proposed Keystone XL oil sands pipeline through the U.S. in anticipation of starting construction next month, as opponents await a judge’s ruling on their request to block any work. TC Energy spokeswoman Sara Rabern said the Calgary-based company Read More…
Montana State University and two Bozeman schools have cancelled international trips due to concerns over the spread of the novel coronavirus, and students studying in Italy will cut their trip short. Seventeen MSU art students and one professor in Italy are leaving Rome this week, and have been asked to self-quarantine off-campus for 14 days Read More…
Update 4:50 p.m. Gov. Steve Bullock said in a news release that the Montana woman who tested positive for COVID-19 in Maryland was last in Montana in November 2019 and was not in the state during the 14-day incubation period. “Since the case was announced earlier today, public health officials have been working nonstop to Read More…
MISSOULA, Mont. — Montana Gov. Steve Bullock raised $1.2 million in campaign donations in the 24 hours after he filed to run against Montana Senator Steve Daines. According to a press release from Bullock’s campaign, more than 1,250 contributions from Montanans were made in the first day of the campaign. READ FULL STORY
Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) on Monday unveiled a handful of proposals that he said Congress and the administration should enact amid growing concerns about the coronavirus’s impact on the economy. “I will be working with the Trump administration, Congressional Leadership, and Republicans and Democrats in both chambers to ensure these priorities are addressed and put forward to help Read More…
BOISE, Idaho — A bill allowing only biological women to play women’s high school and college sports in Idaho is now one step closer to becoming law. On Monday, House Bill 500 was sent out of committee to the Senate floor for amendments. Critics of the bill say it is trans-phobic to prevent Read More…
The Wyoming Senate on Monday gave initial approval to a bill that could eventually lead to doing away with the twice-a-year time changes in the state. But House Bill 44 was also significantly changed from its original form. Senators adopted an amendment proposed by Sen. Ogden Driskill [R-Devils Tower] that would change the requirement in the House Bill that Wyoming would Read More…
BISMARCK, N.D. – This is a look at the toilet paper aisle at Target in Bismarck Monday afternoon. Dina Maas sent us this picture and says you can’t see it by this picture, but there were just a few packs of toilet paper left. Maas says Target also has a sign up at check-out limiting how Read More…
Wyoming oil producers are hoping for the best but realize global factors beyond their control could damage their industry, the spokesman for the Petroleum Association of Wyoming said Monday. “With the lower demands due to concerns over COVID-19 [the novel coronavirus] and, of course, the announced flooding of oil supplies from Saudi Arabia over the Read More…
Ending days of speculation, Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock entered Montana’s U.S. Senate race Monday, immediately vaulting the contest into the top tier of Senate battles nationwide. Bullock, 53, who spent seven months running for president last year and had repeatedly rejected the idea of challenging Republican incumbent Steve Daines, announced his change of plans with Read More…
In the final days of filing for the 2020 elections, a flurry of candidates have announced bids for state legislative seats. The local race with the most candidates is House District 64, which will see both a Republican and Democratic primary in June. Rep. Kerry White, a four-term Republican, can’t seek reelection for the seat Read More…
Mar. 9 marked the filing deadline for public office in Montana. Three seats are up for reelection on the Republican-dominated Public Service Commission. The commission sets customer rates and approves new power, water and legacy telecommunications projects. In southeast Montana, two Republicans are challenging Commissioner Tony O’Donnell’s incumbency. State representative Daniel Zolnikov and former PSC Read More…
Montana State Auditor, Matt Rosendale, says fear and uncertainty in the market can leave investors vulnerable to scams. He advises Montanans to follow these tips: – Never accept any investments that are “guaranteed.” Investments are never guaranteed. – If someone offers an investment that is only available for a short period of time, that is Read More…
BIG TIMBER, Mont. – A Montana woman from Big Timber is being quarantined on a cruise ship where at least 21 passengers tested positive for coronavirus. Judy Vidack, a retired fourth grade teacher at Big Timber Grade School, announced on Facebook she is still aboard the ship and she is also feeling well. Vidak is Read More…
With less than a month to go before the U.S. Census Bureau kicks off its headcount of every person in the country, Montana has only hired half of the workers it says it needs. The bureau is still seeking temporary workers leading up to census day on Apr. 1. There are currently 2,400 projected temporary Read More…
More money is available in exchange for information on two separate February poaching cases in southwest Montana. Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks announced Monday that donors boosted the cash available for information about poached elk and pronghorn in the Paradise Valley and several trumpeter swans that were shot and killed on Central Park Pond Read More…
Walmart said Tuesday it is deploying an emergency employee leave program as the retailer confirms one of its store associates in Cynthiana, Kentucky, has tested positive for the coronavirus. The infected employee is a woman and Walmart said she is improving with medical care. The new policy comes as the coronavirus spreads throughout many U.S. states where the Read More…
WASHINGTON – There is more at stake in the race between former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders than simply who will top the Democratic Party’s ticket in November. It’s a battle to control the direction the party will take over the next decade, and to define and shape the party’s core message. Read More…
Democrats are doing everything they can to position themselves to win back the U.S. Senate. It still might not be enough. Monday, term-limited Montana governor and former 2020 presidential candidate Steve Bullock announced he’s running for Senate there, putting up Democrats’ strongest candidate to take this seat from Republicans. The same happened in Colorado when Read More…
Airlines have wasted thousands of gallons of fuel running empty “ghost” flights during the coronavirus outbreak because of European rules saying operators can lose their flight slots if they keep their planes on the ground. Demand for flights has collapsed across the globe amid growing fears about the outbreak. Under Europe’s rules, airlines operating out of Read More…
Unseating a longtime congressman in a primary is hard. It’s especially hard to do in a district where the family of the incumbent holds a handful of other elected offices, where there are schools named after the guy you’re trying to defeat. In Texas’s Twenty-eighth Congressional District, 26-year-old immigration lawyer Jessica Cisneros came close, though. Read More…
Local developer Mick Ruis is planning to build a major mixed-use development in downtown Columbia Falls. Ruis’ plan will go before the Columbia Falls City-County Planning Board on March 10 at 6:30 p.m. and then the Columbia Falls City Council on April 6. If approved, Ruis believes it would be a transformative project for Nucleus Read More…
(AP) — Moderate Democrats are continuing to coalesce around Joe Biden following his strong performance in Super Tuesday primaries, which reset the 2020 Democratic race as a two-man contest between Biden and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. Biden’s campaign announced Friday he had secured backing from Maggie Hassan, a first-term New Hampshire senator and former governor, who did not Read More…
BOZEMAN, Mont. — The 14-year-old West Yellowstone boy accused of murdering his 12-year-old nephew will find out in July if he’ll be tried as an adult. A Gallatin County court will decide if James Sasser III will be tried as an adult on July 7. READ FULL STORY
Democrat Tom Winter filed Thursday night to run for Montana’s sole U.S. House seat, becoming the second Democrat and seventh candidate overall in the crowded race. And, another candidate for the U.S. House – Republican Secretary of State Corey Stapleton – also is expected to file before the Monday deadline. Winter filed online from his Read More…
Weeks after Hardin teen Selena Not Afraid’s body was found near an I90 rest stop, Big Horn County investigators are responding to tough questions and criticism from their own community. Last weekend, authorities released final autopsy results for the 16-year-old Not Afraid, who went missing on New Year’s Day from a rest stop between Billings Read More…
As cases of coronavirus continue to grow in the U.S., Idaho is taking steps to try to slow its eventual migration to the state. There are no confirmed cases in Idaho, as of Wednesday afternoon, but six people have been tested and dozens are being monitored, according to state officials. Risk of contracting the illness Read More…
MINOT, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota regulators voted Wednesday to reject a permit for a proposed wind farm in Ward and McLean Counties. The Public Service Commission denied the permit for Southern Power’s Ruso Wind project by a 2-1 vote. But the commission left open the possibility of reconsidering the project down the road. The project Read More…
Edward Seidel, who touted economic development and the university’s role in enhancing the state’s economic well-being, has been unanimously selected to be the 28th president of the University of Wyoming. Currently the vice president for economic development and innovation for the University of Illinois System, Seidel was one of three finalists for the position. The Read More…
Greg Gianforte just made a strong decision in selecting Kristen Juras as his lieutenant governor for Montana. Juras is a fourth-generation Montana native. She is a strong conservative who supports traditional family values, private property ownership, preserving Second Amendment rights, limited government, lower taxes, individual freedom and free enterprise economics. She is a perfect complement Read More…
BUTTE – NorthWestern Energy’s Montana customers are reporting a scam demanding money for a meter change. The criminals leave a phone message saying the customers’ meter will be changed shortly with instructions to call a phone number. When the customer calls the number, they are told there is a fee and service will be disconnected Read More…
KALISPELL — Officials in Washington State reported Monday that four more people have died from the coronavirus bringing the state’s death toll to six and as the cases continue to add up, Flathead County officials are taking pre-preemptive measures to help contain a potential outbreak. Kalispell Regional Healthcare Chief Medical Officer Dr. Doug Nelson says Read More…
HELENA — U.S. Sen. Steve Daines is asking the federal government to delay enforcing Real ID requirements in Montana, as state authorities continue to issue compliant identification. Daines’ office announced Monday that the senator had sent a letter to President Donald Trump, asking for a one-year extension of the Oct. 1 enforcement deadline. In the Read More…