At a Glance Temperatures have remained below zero more than a week in North Dakota and Montana. Those streaks rank among some of the longest on record, but are not record breaking. Many locations east of the Rockies saw temperatures trend milder after the polar-vortex driven cold outbreak in late-January, but one region of the Read More…
A tongue-in-cheek online petition has a creative solution to paying off the national debt – although Montanans may have mixed feelings about it. The Change.org petition proposes simply to “Sell Montana to Canada for $1 Trillion to eliminate the national debt.” It goes on to say “We have too much debt and Montana is useless. Read More…
Exxon Mobil Corp. made a final decision Tuesday with Qatar Petroleum to build a $10 billion liquefied natural gas (LNG) export project on Texas’s Gulf of Mexico coast. Energy Secretary Rick Perry joined representatives of Exxon and Qatar Petroleum, the country’s state-owned oil company, to sign the deal Tuesday. The project would greatly expand the Read More…
China’s growth potential could slow to 4.5% by 2030, according to analysts. Officials have shifted to stimulus programs, including tax cuts and infrastructure incentives, in an effort to curb the decline. But that could become increasingly difficult against a backdrop of debt and in wake of the trade war with the US, which has demanded Read More…
BISMARCK, N.D. — A bill passed by the North Dakota Senate would remove “the growing or processing of marijuana” from the definition of “farming or ranching,” which would mean growing marijuana would not be included under the state’s ban on corporate farming. North Dakota’s existing corporate farming law limits corporate farming to entities that consist Read More…
Though pulse crops face challenges, their long-term outlook remains bright — which an upcoming conference will help to illustrate, a pulse grower leader said. “This will be chance (for attendees) to catch up on the new developments with pulse crops,” said Chris Westergard, the Northern Pulse Growers Association president and a Dagmar, Mont., farmer. The Read More…
U.S. CONGRESS – U.S. Senators Steve Daines and Jon Tester and Congressman Greg Gianforte today reintroduced a bipartisan bill to provide much-needed authorization for Montana rural water infrastructure. “The fact of the matter is that thousands of Montanans still lack access to steady safe drinking water,” Daines stated. “Water is a basic necessity for any community. We depend Read More…
MISSOULA- Health officials say the amount of confirmed flu cases is on the rise, with over 200 cases reported in Missoula County alone, and nearly 500 new cases reported across the state last week. “When you have more people interacting together, you have more illness out in the community; people are going to get sick. Read More…
Beer and bacon — those are the two essential ingredients for a new business venture launched by two women in Gallatin County. Business partners Melissa Pomeroy and Cat Thomas are using those unique ingredients to make soap. “Poking around on the internet, we both fell down a rabbit hole of where we discovered you Read More…
Believe it or not, there’s money in podcasts. Spotify is in advanced talks to acquire Gimlet Media, the Brooklyn-based narrative podcast company, for more than $200 million in cash, according to Recode. Gimlet has raised approximately $28.5 million in venture funding from investors including WPP, Stripes Group, LioneTree Partners, Graham Holdings, Betawarks, Cross Culture Ventures, Read More…
Small-business owners filing their 2018 taxes may be able to take advantage of a brand-new 20 percent tax break. One of the new features of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is the introduction of the qualified business income deduction, which went into effect last year. This tax break allows owners of “pass-through” entities, including Read More…
A White House staffer leaked President Donald Trump’s private schedules to Axios on Sunday, and the documents revealed some eye-opening details about the president’s day. For one, Trump spends the bulk of his workdays in “executive time” — unstructured blocks of time that make up 60% of his working hours. According to Axios, Trump spends Read More…
The 480-square-foot pink home at 66 Bishop St. in San Francisco is one of the smallest in the city. It’s also, with its whopping $600,000 price tag, one of the cheapest, SFGate reported. The home sold in late December after two months on the market and a $50,000 price cut. It was advertised as a Read More…
Stripe, a Silicon Valley online payment company which in September hit a massive $20 billion valuation, has become embroiled in an investigation into US President Donald Trump’s inaugural committee, The New York Times reports. Citing two people familiar with the inquiry, the Times said federal prosecutors issued a subpoena demanding that officials on the inaugural Read More…
General Electric‘s cash problem will look better in 2019 after an accounting change takes effect, an accounting professor says. For reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2018, all public US companies should apply a new accounting standard that requires them to recognize financing-lease assets and operating-lease assets on their balance sheets. The previous accounting term Read More…
Alphabet shares traded slightly lower Tuesday morning as Wall Street delivered a classic reaction to its earnings which were released the prior evening: the results were good, but not good enough. While Alphabet reported revenue and profits for the fourth-quarter that topped Wall Street’s expectations, analysts said the internet giant’s margins were disappointing. That revelation Read More…
Billings, MONT-The Yellowstone Area Chamber of Commerce released their comprehensive Public Policy Guide that will direct lobbying efforts at the Legislature. The group recently hired a lobbyist, EJ Redding, to advocate on behalf of area business in Helena. According to Redding, “I believe in the Chambers mission and look forward to fighting alongside businesses for Read More…
Montana Gov. Steve Bullock (D.) apologized Saturday for keeping secret sexual harassment claims against a former aide, allowing the aide to find new employment in a prominent government office where he again came under fire for sexual harassment. Bullock hired Kevin O’Brien in 2015, when Bullock served as chairman of the Democratic Governors Association. O’Brien Read More…
After 25 years on the run – hiding from the army and the police, imprisoned and staging astonishingly audacious escapes – Mexico’s most infamous drug lord finally had his day in court. Thirty minutes later, it was all over. Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, the $14 billion man, a short and stocky 61-year-old cartel leader sent Read More…
This year some of the Super Bowl ads that grabbed the greatest buzz were surprises, like Bud Light’s “Game of Thrones” teaser. Other crowd-pleasers focused on humor, like Amazon’s take on celebrity product testers. While the New England Patriots bested the L.A. Rams on Sunday in Atlanta during Super Bowl 53, brands were also winning Read More…
The U.S. government is preparing to begin construction of more border walls and fencing in South Texas’ Rio Grande Valley, likely on federally owned land set aside as wildlife refuge property. Heavy construction equipment was expected to arrive starting Monday, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said. A photo posted by the nonprofit National Butterfly Center Read More…
A bill that would create a $15 million low-income housing loan program in Montana could be headed for the state House floor for discussion as soon as next week. House Bill 16, sponsored by Whitefish Democrat Rep. Dave Fern, would direct $15 million of coal tax trust fund money to start a program to provide Read More…
From the outside, ADF International is just another industrial building people pass on the way out of Great Falls, but the inside tells a different story. “They see a large building, a large yard and they think it’s impressive. But I don’t think they understand really the scope of the work we do in the Read More…
Some GOP voters want a primary challenge but most would back Trump West Long Branch, NJ – In the run-up to 2020, fewer than 4-in-10 voters back a second term for President Donald Trump. The Monmouth University Poll finds a sizable number of GOP voters who would like to see Trump face a primary Read More…
A bill to help retain teachers in rural areas was introduce into the Montana House of Representatives. House Representative Llew Jones introduced Bill 211, and it had its first hearing in the education committee last week. The bill would build a program that would address recruitment and retention of K-12 teachers in areas that have Read More…
HELENA – The Montana House Friday narrowly endorsed a bill requiring a two-thirds majority of both the House and Senate to enact a tax or fee increase, or new tax or fee. House Bill 148, sponsored by Rep. Forrest Mandeville, R-Columbus, won endorsement on a 53-47 vote, with all 42 House Democrats and five Republicans Read More…
HELENA – State Auditor Matt Rosendale on Friday pitched his proposal to crack down on drug-benefit managers and thus drive down prescription-drug costs in Montana – but ran into a wall of competition from health insurers and their drug managers. “Believe me, if I thought this bill could lower my health-care (premium) payment, I would Read More…
This week the governor gave an address in which he outlined his plan to tax and spend on the backs of working Montana families. He would like to cushion his state checkbook to the tune of $300 million by taking $150 million from Montanans’ checking accounts and putting it into his state checking account. Montanans Read More…
Veterans helping veterans. The Montana Veterans Meat Locker distributed meat to veterans at Messiah Lutheran Church on Saturday. Each veteran received some combination of 12 to 15 pounds of deer, elk, moose, beef and pork. Hunters donated big game and ranchers contributed beef and pork. The church served a meal with the help of the Read More…
Mayor Bill de Blasio on Wednesday ripped Montana Gov. Steve Bullock for not telling his administration that a senior staffer had been fired for sexual harassment before he was hired by City Hall. “Clearly they had information and when DOI reached out, they did not share the information they had,” de Blasio said about the Read More…
The State of Wyoming’s legislature is considering moving away from Daylight Saving Time and efforting a measure that would allow the state to stay in standard time all year. Republican Rep. from Park County, Dan Laursen is helping to push the bill forward, he says the bill would send a message to the federal government Read More…
House Democrats provided a detailed offer Thursday — with dollar figures — of their opening offer in Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding negotiations. The plan does not include funding for a border wall sought by President Trump. In her weekly news conference Thursday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi addressed the ongoing negotiations over border security, making Read More…
HELENA, Mont. — A pair of bills under consideration by Montana lawmakers would make changes in a $6 fee used to help fund state parks and trails. The Independent Record reports Republican Sen. Terry Gauthier, of Helena, is proposing Senate Bill 24, which would raise the fee to $9. Money would go for state parks and Read More…
The University of Farmington had no staff, no professors, no curriculum, and no classes. But it did have hundreds of foreign “students,” who may now face deportation because of their willingness to participate in what authorities described as a “pay to stay” scheme in which they could live and work in the US under false Read More…
HELENA, Mont. — Montana Gov. Steve Bullock’s spokeswoman says the governor thought a former senior staffer of his wouldn’t harass any more women after being fired from the Democratic Governors Association. Bullock spokeswoman Ronja Abel said Tuesday that it’s clear that Kevin O’Brien’s 2015 firing from the DGA hadn’t been enough since O’Brien was forced out Read More…
Amazon.com Inc. will use robots to deliver packages in the suburbs north of Seattle, its latest experiment to automate the last-mile of delivery that’s a labor-intensive and costly component of buying products online. The e-commerce giant on Wednesday announced a trial of “Amazon Scout,” autonomous delivery devices the size of a cooler that roll along Read More…
Ivana Polk could not believe what she was hearing. At 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, she put her 5-year-old son, Ibn, on the bus to Linden Hill Elementary School in Pike Creek. At 3:10 p.m., she got a call from the school district informing her that Ibn never made it to class. He had been stuck on Read More…
In first weeks of the legislative session Gov. Steve Bullock and the Republican Majority are trading barbs over how the state should pay for big public projects, including university system improvements and maintenance in towns and counties. On Wednesday GOP leaders revealed plans for a new system for how Montana borrows money for public works Read More…
CASPER, Wyo. (AP) — A Colorado-based coal company going through bankruptcy proceedings has asked for permission to sell its mine in southwestern Wyoming. The Casper Star-Tribune reports a recent court filing shows Westmoreland Coal Co. requested to sell its Kemmerer mine by the end of February. The company declared bankruptcy in October with more than Read More…
CASPER — A group organized by a Wyoming senator plans to quintuple Wyoming’s wind tax in an unusual way — by a vote of the people. Wyoming has a unique tax on wind energy production; just one other state levies a fee on wind power. A few lawmakers, like Sen. Cale Case, R-Lander, have pressed Read More…