BISMARCK — The North Dakota House rejected a compromise bill creating a new income tax deduction for Social Security benefits Monday, April 22, sending legislative negotiators back to the drawing board. As introduced, House Bill 1174 would have allowed people to reduce their North Dakota taxable income by the amount of any Social Security Read More…
MISSOULA – Montana’s unemployment rate decreased by 0.1 percentage points to 3.7% for the month of March. Total employment estimates indicate a gain of 326 jobs, while payroll employment posted no change over the month, suggesting that tight labor markets are constraining job growth, according to figures from the Department of Labor & Industry. Montana’s labor force Read More…
HELENA, Mont. (AP) – Officials say Montana is now complying with federal driver’s license rules after years of resisting the REAL ID Act. Montana Department of Justice officials said Monday the notification from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security means Montanans will be able to use their Real ID-compliant licenses and identifications to board domestic Read More…
The state Legislature last week passed a resolution to examine how it might set up monetary compensation to support those wrongfully incarcerated upon their release. House Joint resolution 36, which passed through the Senate on Thursday following a 34-16 vote, requests an interim study for appropriate compensation for the wrongfully convicted. The results of the Read More…
BILLINGS – A Billings high school sophomore got the chance to meet some ranking Montana politicians after she won the Montana “Teenpreneur” challenge. Kathryn Brower and her business, 406 Lips, rose to the top out of about 87 participants. She creates lip balm holders made out of fabrics. Brower was inspired to create the holder after she ruined a load Read More…
BILLINGS, Mont. — A nine-mile (14.5-kilometer) stretch of abandoned railroad in southwest Montana will be resurrected to once again carry Yellowstone National Park-area tourists. The Billings Gazette reports that the Custer Gallatin National Forest last week announced approval of a nonmotorized, multi-use path along the old Oregon Short Line rail bed between West Yellowstone and Read More…
Security researchers have discovered a powerful surveillance app first designed for Android devices can now target victims with iPhones. The spy app, found by researchers at mobile security firm Lookout, said its developer abused their Apple-issued enterprise certificates to bypass the tech giant’s app store to infect unsuspecting victims. The disguised carrier assistance app once Read More…
Though not generating the fanfare that its new ConceptD computers have, Acer also introduced a pair of new Chromebooks at its press event this week. Unlike its numerous education models, however, these new laptops are designed to appeal to enterprises that want to add Chromebooks to their mobile fleet. The Chromebook 714 and 715 may Read More…
Helena – Republican candidate for Attorney General Jon Bennion has signed on to a brief from the Attorney General’s office that asks a federal appeals court not throw out Obamacare (the Affordable Care Act) even though the part of the law has been ruled unconstitutional. Mr. Bennion, a former lobbyist and current Justice Department aide, Read More…
In a move that could keep tens of thousands of asylum seekers locked up, the Justice Department said Tuesday that it will deny a large class of undocumented immigrants a bond hearing to argue for their release. The opinion, by Attorney General William Barr, adheres to the Trump administration’s stance that migrants caught at the Read More…
Former North Dakota health-care administrator Craig Lambrecht has officially assumed his role as Kalispell Regional Healthcare’s new chief executive officer, bringing with him more than 16 years of experience in health-care leadership and ambitious plans for the organization. Lambrecht’s propensity for leadership began long before he launched into the business side of health care in Read More…
Bozeman commissioners continued their push for citywide high-speed internet, which would take a lot of buy-in from businesses and developers to become a reality. City commissioners declared broadband an essential piece of Bozeman’s infrastructure with a unanimous vote Monday. “The future belongs to the connected and the internet is both the workplace and the marketplace Read More…
John MacDonald was once on a police ride-along when someone called 911 on a belligerent man outside a bar. When officers arrived, they knew the person by name. He wasn’t drunk — he was off the medication for his mental health disorder. MacDonald, a lobbyist for the city of Missoula, said officers took the man Read More…
CORVALLIS – The latest man to be honored by Representative Greg Gianforte (R-MT) for his continuing service as a veteran believes many former soldiers are anxious to keep serving and can make a real difference in their communities. Former US Army Ranger and Green Beret Doug Mason is the latest Montanan to be awarded the Read More…
There may be a new candidate running for the Montana gubernatorial election in 2020. In an statement sent to KFBB, a spokesperson for Congressman Greg Gianforte wrote, “With the strong encouragement he receives as he meets with Montanans throughout the state, Greg is seriously considering a run for governor.” Gianforte was sworn into Congress in Read More…
A man was arrested in Florida for allegedly breaking into cars in the jail parking lot moments after he was released, according to police. Michael Casey Lewis, 37, was originally arrested on charges of grand theft Thursday morning, the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Department said in a statement. Lewis had just bonded out of county jail and been Read More…
Michael Avenatti’s allegations of Nike Inc. foul play continued Saturday, with the lawyer sharing documents he claims prove the athletic giant illicitly paid top college athletes. As part of the tweet storm, the attorney included several dozen documents that he said proves that last year’s No. 1 overall draft pick, DeAndre Ayton, was illegally paid Read More…
As progressives continue to challenge the Democratic Party’s moderate members, former President Barack Obama says he fears that some may be going a step too far. During an Obama Foundation town hall in Berlin on Saturday, he warned that without compromise, the conflicting ideologies could spur infighting among the left. “One of the things I Read More…
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — The North Dakota Legislature is honoring former lawmakers who have died since the last session in 2017. The House on Tuesday is honoring 27 representatives and the Senate is honoring eight senators during afternoon floor sessions. READ FULL STORY
BISMARCK — A North Dakota Republican state senator from Mayville has resigned due to health issues. Arne Osland, who was in his second session in the state Legislature, notified Legislative Management Chairman Sen. Ray Holmberg of his resignation in a letter dated Monday, March 18. “It has been my honor and privilege to serve the Read More…
The biggest disappointment of the recent legislative session was the failure of lawmakers to pass a new tax to help fund education. Blame it all on the Senate. Rep. Jerry Obermueller (R-Casper) sponsored a corporate income tax and the House passed it by a wide margin. The upper chamber, however, was too intimidated by big Read More…
Out of 503 bills introduced in the Wyoming Legislature this year, about 43 percent of them made it Gov. Mark Gordon’s desk. When Wyoming’s chief executive takes his pen Friday to the final 13 bills passed by the Wyoming Legislature, he will be considering three of the most contentious pieces of legislation to emerge from Read More…
CASPER — Wyoming women who gave birth in 2017 reported high rates of depression before, during and after pregnancy, according to a new state report that also reveals the insurance and income-related issues facing mothers in the Cowboy State. More than 19 percent of women who gave birth two years ago reported having depression before Read More…
HELENA – U.S. Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) met Friday with leaders from the skilled trades in Helena, to discuss ways to encourage more students to consider apprenticeship programs. Daines visited the Montana Electrical Joint Apprenticeship and Training Center, operated by local chapters of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and the National Electrical Contractors Association. Read More…
MISSOULA, Mont. – Volunteers are working hard to get a former firefighting plane ready to travel to France for the 75th anniversary of D-day. The 75-year-old WWII area Dakota DC-3 known as Miss Montana hasn’t flown since it landed in Missoula in 2001. But that won’t stop volunteers from getting her back in the air. Read More…
Dive Brief: A Montana district court judge last week issued an order in favor of solar developers, ruling that the state’s Public Service Commission intentionally disadvantaged small solar projects in violation of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA). The ruling comes after a June 2017 audio recording captured Commissioner Bob Lake acknowledging that cuts Read More…
One clothing company in Butte is taking apparel design a mile high and a mile deep. Underground Clothing Co. opened December 2017, and co-founder Shelby Carver says it’s a brand that draws on Montana’s sense of hometown pride. Carver and her husband Robert operate the company from a small retail space at 1120 E. Front Read More…
HELENA, Mont. — An Albanian national who talked about joining ISIS and attacking random people to avenge a shooting at a New Zealand mosque was arrested at a gun range in Montana, authorities said Thursday. Fabjan Alameti, 21, appeared before a U.S magistrate judge Thursday on charges of possession of a firearm by an unlawful Read More…
The Flathead County Sheriff’s Office dispatched officers to the Montana Athletic Club in Bigfork on Thursday to ensure the business’ compliance with a 30-day suspension of its alcohol license. A Helena judge has prohibited the sale of all alcoholic beverages on the club’s premises for 30 days and imposed a $1,000 fine following the club’s Read More…
Two conservation groups filed a federal lawsuit this week, challenging the 2018 Flathead Forest Plan. WildEarth Guardians and Western Watersheds Project say the 10 to 15 year management plan for the 2.4 million acre forest decreases habitat protections for wildlife, including grizzly bears, Canada lynx and bull trout. “Such as increased potential for road building, Read More…
Montana Attorney General Tim Fox, who will be term-limited next year, ended speculation about his future a few weeks ago by announcing his candidacy for governor in 2020. What some are still wondering, however, is which party’s banner Fox will ultimately fly. Especially after yesterday. Fox ran as a Republican in his prior AG races Read More…
Montana’s Republican Rep. Greg Gianforte accused Washington Gov. Jay Inslee of killing Colstrip during a heated exchange on climate change Tuesday at a House Energy Committee hearing. The exchange between Inslee and Gianforte occurred when Montana’s Republican lawmakers interjected Colstrip into broader discussions about climate change and energy on Capitol Hill, first in the House Read More…
It’s a well–worn idea that bitcoin is helping to trash the planet, throwing fuel on an already burning world while providing value to very few people. By one recent estimate, the energy used to keep the network going, a process known as mining, is enough to power Hungary. But now a Montana county in the Read More…
BILLINGS – The Montana Human Rights Bureau has ruled in favor of a former Yellowstone County employee who says she was discriminated against because she is transgender. Eleanor Andersen Maloney, a former deputy county prosecutor, was denied health-insurance benefits for medical costs related to her gender transition procedure, according to a Wednesday release from the Read More…
GREAT FALLS – A retired Great Falls priest intends to plead guilty to a receipt of child pornography charge. Court documents indicate that Lothar Konrad Krauth, a retired Catholic priest, plans to change his plea to guilty at a hearing next week. Court documents state Homeland Security agents received a cyber report from the National Read More…
State Rep. Tom Winter, a Democrat from Missoula, is running for Montana’s sole seat in the U.S. House in 2020. The seat is held by U.S. Rep. Greg Gianforte, a Republican who is expected to announce a 2020 bid for governor. Winter, 32, is the first to announce for the U.S. House seat. In 2018 Gianforte Read More…
HELENA- The future of public funding for preschool programs in Montana is now uncertain after two proposals to increase the state’s contribution missed an important deadline in the Legislature. The House Education Committee voted down both bills last week. They needed to pass the House by Monday to remain alive. House Bill 225, sponsored by Read More…
HELENA – A new report shows a slow decline in Montana’s homeless, although there’s still the population of one of our small towns that don’t have shelter on any given the night. That’s the data shared Monday as the first-ever statewide conference on homelessness opened in Helena. The numbers, which are based on the most Read More…
The second 2020 Democratic primary debate will be held in Detroit on July 30 and 31, the Democratic National Committee announced Tuesday. The debate, which CNN will broadcast, will be in the battleground state of Michigan, which Democrats lost in 2016 to President Donald Trump. There will be a total of 12 presidential primary debates Read More…
Montana Attorney General Tim Fox joined with the Ohio attorney general, both Republicans, to oppose a ruling by a federal judge in Texas that struck down the Affordable Care Act last year. The ACA, also known as Obamacare, is still in place as the case moves through the appeal process. The Texas judge in Read More…