Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) voiced support for decriminalizing the use of all drugs on Sunday. The freshman congresswoman tweeted that drug decriminalization, as well as marijuana legalization, are “matters of public health.” This marks a development in Ocasio-Cortez’s drug policy platform. Previously, she called for decriminalizing the use and research of psychedelics, emphasizing the therapeutic potential Read More…
BISMARCK — North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum announced Tuesday, Nov. 19, the state would continue to receive refugees as long as local governments agree to it. The announcement comes in response to a September executive order issued by President Donald Trump, which allowed state and local governments to decide whether to receive resettled refugees. On Read More…
Kanye West has been denied a permit to build an amphitheater on his ranch in Wyoming. The Park County Planning and Zoning Commission made the decision Tuesday after the rapper changed his plans for the structure near Cody. West told county officials he now wants to include residential space. READ FULL STORY
LARAMIE, Wyo. — The board of trustees at the University of Wyoming has voted unanimously in approval of several new educational programs. The Laramie Boomerang reports voting, which took place during the board’s November meeting, granted approval for a new computer science education certificate, a master’s in “environment and natural resources in society,” and go-ahead for a neuroscience and Read More…
U.S. Attorney General William Barr, already scheduled to visit Kalispell Friday, will travel first to the Flathead Reservation to discuss missing and murdered indigenous persons. The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes announced the visit Thursday morning. On Wednesday, U.S. Sen. Steve Daines’ office announced that Barr would visit Kalispell with Daines, a Republican representing Montana, to Read More…
The committees overseeing plans to expand the Montana Historical Society could finalize their report on possible sites for the building by the end of the week. The steering and building committees met in Helena Wednesday, for their final meeting before submitting their report on locations for the Montana Heritage Center. The report will go to Read More…
Elizabeth Warren prohibits special access for big donors — but her campaign treasurer and another close ally are organizing wealthy supporters for Warren behind the scenes while she rips on the rich. The pair, Boston businessman Paul Egerman and activist Shanti Fry, have maintained campaign titles as Warren’s finance co-chairs, even as her campaign sheared Read More…
T-Mobile CEO John Legere is stepping down in May 2020, the company announced on Monday morning. His replacement is coming from within T-Mobile: Current COO and president Mike Sievert is taking the reins from Legere next May. It’s not clear just yet where Legere is going, but as of November 11 he was reported to be Read More…
Kylie Jenner has sold a majority stake in Kylie Cosmetics to beauty conglomerate Coty Inc. Coty, owned by the European investment firm JAB Ltd., acquired a 51% controlling stake in the company for $600 million, valuing the brand at $1.2 billion. The Wall Street Journal reports that Jenner will remain the “public face” of the brand. Jenner founded the brand in 2015, and Read More…
HELENA – In a few weeks 27 young ladies from around the country will be vying for the title of Miss Rodeo America and one of those contestants is our very own Miss Rodeo Montana Kayla Seaman. The pageant will be held December 1st -9th at the Tropicana in Las Vegas in conjunction with the National Finals Rodeo. She will go through eight days Read More…
Montana Supreme Court Justice Laurie McKinnon, who announced five months ago she would not run for re-election for a second term, said Sunday she’s changed her mind and will be running in 2020. McKinnon told MTN News that while she initially wasn’t looking forward to another potentially partisan campaign, she decided that wasn’t a good-enough Read More…
In October of this year, the BLM released an environmental assessment for adding more wind turbines to Wyoming’s Chokecherry and Sierra Madre Wind Energy Project. BLM Rawlins Field Manager Dennis Carpenter, was quoted then in a BLM press release when he said, “The project fulfils many of the agency’s priorities, including sustainably developing energy resources, modernizing Read More…
For years Montana values have been under attack by liberal Democratic governors in Helena. They impose their radical agendas on the state, and Montana becomes less and less the state we all know and love. In November 2020, we need to put a stop to this. We need to elect strong conservatives up and down Read More…
HALL, Mont. — About 20-years-ago a rancher near Hall decided to semi-retire. But Ed James got bored. So he and his wife Sue, decided to start a new business. Now, the couple’s value added, family-owned company has clients all over the country. For our Montana Moment, we visited Sugar Loaf Wool Carding Mill. The mill stands in Read More…
Democrats, including Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar, are calling on White House senior adviser and immigration policy architect Stephen Miller to resign after the release of hundreds of emails promoting white nationalist content and extremely restrictive immigration policies. “Trump’s architect of mass human rights abuses at the border … has been exposed as a Read More…
In a vacuum, the case to impeach President Trump is straightforward. He used presidential powers for his private, political gain. If further investigation corroborates the facts already known, then Trump committed an obvious abuse of power that many members of Congress will view as impeachable — and perhaps many more would if the party labels Read More…
WASHINGTON (AP) — Roger Stone, a longtime friend and ally of President Donald Trump, was found guilty Friday of witness tampering and lying to Congress about his pursuit of Russian-hacked emails damaging to Hillary Clinton’s 2016 election bid. Stone was convicted of all seven counts in an indictment that accused him of lying to Congress, Read More…
BUTTE, Mont. — A rescue mission in Butte is opening a “low-barrier” homeless shelter to take in persons who may be under the influence of drugs or alcohol. The Montana Standard reports the Butte-Rescue Mission is opening the shelter Friday at the urging of Silver Bow County officials and community leaders. Modular units in the city Read More…
FARGO — After a year of construction, the 18-story Block 9 building in downtown Fargo reached its full height of 235 feet when the roof was poured Thursday, Nov. 14. The structure that is changing the city’s skyline is now the second-tallest building in the state behind the state Capitol. A flag has been hung on the Read More…
CASPER – Gov. Mark Gordon said he “firmly supports” the state Health Department’s director amid allegations that a 2015 Medicaid fraud investigation was obstructed by various government officials, a charge that has been denied by those involved. “The Governor firmly supports Mike Ceballos, the Director of the Wyoming Department of Health and his ability to Read More…
On any given day, thousands of packages from Walmarts, Targets, and stores around the country travel north along a two-lane road out of Billings, Montana — past the Tumbleweed Saloon, past cows grazing on empty rangeland, past the Busy Bee Cafe and stands of short pines — to the town of Roundup, where they will be Read More…
BOZEMAN, Mont. — The first caregiver organization signed up for the Montana Apprenticeship Program Thursday. The program will provide 14 caregivers with dementia training at First Choice Home Health in Bozeman, where they say most of their patients are suffering from some form of dementia. In 2017, there were 287 deaths caused by dementia and Alzheimer’s Read More…
The owner of three struggling Powder River basin coal mines says it’s negotiating with a new broker to back the bonds required to keep the mines operating after the Navajo Nation said it’s pulling its financial support. Erny Zah, a spokesman for the Navajo Transitional Energy Company (NTEC), said Wednesday the firm doesn’t foresee a Read More…
CONCORD, N.H. — Montana Gov. Steve Bullock had a special enjoyment filing his name for the first-in-the-nation primary ballot Tuesday – he signed the declaration and handed over his $1,000 check at the desk donated by the family of his namesake. More than a century ago, New Hampshire state Rep. Stephen A. Bullock sponsored legislation Read More…
A number of statewide candidates spoke Sunday at the 2019 Pasma-Peck Democratic Dinner held by the Hill County Democratic Party, discussing their campaigns and their goals if elected. After Montana Attorney General Tim Fox announced his candidacy for governor, a number of candidates from both the Republican and Democratic parties have announced their candidacy for Read More…
Montana Gov. Steve Bullock, still in the Democratic presidential race despite low polling numbers, officially filed Tuesday to appear on the ballot in New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation presidential primary next February. Bullock paid the $1,000 filing fee in Concord, New Hampshire, to appear on the state’s Feb. 11 primary ballot. Bullock, who continues to poll in Read More…
Montana Republicans and Democrats compromised in the 2019 Legislature to pass Medicaid expansion with the caveats that there would be some work and community service requirements, however the federal government has not yet authorized the provision. Now, the Montana State Senate Majority Leader is crying foul. “When we passed that legislation it was up to Read More…
Two grizzly bears have been killed in northwest Montana, one by a hunter and one by Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks. Information and Program Manager for District One, Dillon Tabish provides details. “We had an adult male grizzly bear that was euthanized this weekend near Libby after he broke into a garage seeking a food Read More…
Presidential candidate and Montana Gov. Steve Bullock touted on Tuesday that in 2016, he won election as a Democrat in a state that heavily voted for President Donald Trump. Though Bullock is polling at less than 1 percent nationally, and will not be participating in next week’s Democratic presidential debate, he thinks that he has Read More…
As U.S. Customs and Border Protection is holding town hall meetings to discuss reducing its hours of operation at Antler, Carbury and Maida, Gov. Doug Burgum released a statement on Wednesday, Nov. 6, urging the federal agency to maintain its schedule at the three North Dakota ports of entry. “We are committed to maintaining the Read More…
The head of North Dakota’s Commerce Department has personally retained an attorney amid a criminal investigation into audit findings of potential state law violations. Commerce Commissioner Michelle Kommer appeared Wednesday before the Legislature’s Audit and Fiscal Review Committee to answer lawmakers’ questions related to audit findings that agency officials mishandled appropriations and also skirted public Read More…
MEXICO CITY — A Williston, N.D., woman and four of her children were among those killed during a series of brutal attacks in northern Mexico on Monday, Nov. 4, according to a family member’s Facebook post. The onslaught has sent shock waves through two countries and prompted impassioned responses from political leaders. Kenny LeBaron Read More…
CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) – An interim legislative panel has rejected a proposal that would increase the state tax on alcohol to fund substance abuse treatment programs in Wyoming. The proposed bill offered by Republican Sen. Charlie Scott, of Casper, was voted down 7-6 Wednesday by the Joint Committee on Labor, Health and Social Services. Proponents of Read More…
Wyoming utility regulators may soon be in for a wild ride. For decades, the Wyoming Public Service Commission has upheld an unequivocal mission: “provide safe and reliable service to customers at just and reasonable rates.” It’s a mantra that state regulators repeatedly declared Tuesday when testifying before the Joint Minerals, Business and Economic Development Committee. Read More…
KEMMERER, Wyoming. — The Lincoln County, Wyoming Sheriff’s Office is investigating the death of a couple in Star Valley. A news release from the sheriff’s office indicates deputies were doing a welfare check at a home on Alta Drive just before noon Monday. When deputies arrived, no one answered the door so they entered the Read More…
IDAHO FALLS – Police in Idaho are looking for information after equipment was stolen from a Montana fire crew on their way home from fighting fires in California. According to a Facebook post from the Idaho Falls Police Department, a crew stopped at the Super 8 in Idaho Falls to spend the night Sunday. Sometime between Read More…
In a decade when many American universities are struggling with falling enrollment, Montana State University’s student population has grown, along with its graduation numbers and spending on instruction. MSU’s fall report card on itself also showed that while the Bozeman campus still has more tenured and tenure-track faculty than non-tenured or adjunct instructors, the Read More…
A local businesswoman and activist in Havre has been recognized on the floor of the Senate. The office of U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., said he recognized Havre’s Dottie Wilson for her tremendous impact on the state of Montana in his “Montanan of the Week” this week. Each week Daines highlights a Montanan by submitting Read More…
Montana Gov. Steve Bullock (D) unveiled his first two television ads in Iowa Wednesday as the White House hopeful seeks to gin up support for his presidential bid in the first-in-the-nation caucus state. The ads seek to promote Bullock’s electability by promoting his ability to win statewide in a rural state that backed President Trump in 2016. The Bullock campaign told Read More…
Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) has always been an unusual Democrat. Representing a district that Hillary Clinton carried by nearly 20 percentage points in the 2016 presidential election, Cuellar increasingly has sided with Republicans and business groups on workplace policy, not to mention on guns and abortion. That approach has served Cuellar well. He’s represented the district that Read More…