I support Kristen Juras for the Montana Supreme Court for a number of reasons. One of them is her opponent’s record on sentencing defendants convicted in criminal cases involving possession of child pornography and other offenses with children as intended victims. During my term as United States attorney (for Montana) from 2001 to 2009, Read More…
I have known Kristen Juras for a long time. Born and raised in Montana, Juras practiced law for many years and has a broad range of legal experience. She taught extensively at the Law School, has a keen intellect, and would bring to the Court new expertise in multiple areas of the law, including family Read More…
As your sitting district judge in Stillwater, Carbon, and Big Horn Counties, I wanted to let you know that I am endorsing Kristen Juras in the contested race for the Montana Supreme Court. I believe that she has the right temperament, experience, and ability to make an excellent Supreme Court Justice. Not only is Kristen Read More…
Sunday night’s presidential debate was fueled by the crude Access Hollywood tape released Friday afternoon. That vulgar tape is hurting the GOP nominee. In a new NBC News Wall Street Journal National Poll taken just before the debate, Clinton’s lead widened to 11 points, 46 to Trump’s 35 percent. Republican leaders held a conference call Read More…
Three are vying for the office of Republican incumbent Adam Hamm, who chose not to seek another term. The North Dakota Insurance Department has a 2015-17 budget of more than $11.5 million and nearly 50 staff. Jon Godfread, Republican Jon Godfread, 33, aims to create an environment in the Insurance Commissioner’s office to work with Read More…
Gov. Jack Dalrymple is bestowing North Dakota’s top honor on the late entrepreneur and business leader Eugene Dahl. The Gwinner native is the 43rd recipient of the North Dakota Theodore Roosevelt Rough Rider Award, the state’s highest commendation for citizens. Dahl is credited with leading the growth of several equipment manufacturing businesses in North Dakota, Read More…
Instructor Matt Dunlevy probably didn’t have to remind his University of North Dakota students that they’d be sharing the airspace as they stood in a field preparing their drones for flight as the sun set one recent afternoon. “Welcome to the drone business, where you will be eaten alive by bugs,” Dunlevy said, as the Read More…
Vail Resorts, Inc. has announced that the company’s CEO Rob Katz and his wife, Elana Amsterdam, founder of Elana’s Pantry, made personal contributions totaling $2 million to 12 local non-profit organizations in the communities where the company operates. Each of the contributions will be directed toward programs that support the welfare and education of children Read More…
When Landis Benson, president of the Wyoming Association of Realtors was asked if he thought there a Wyoming real estate bubble — when market prices rise rapidly due to high demand (as they did in the state during the energy boom in the early part of the decade) until they reach unsustainable levels, prompting a Read More…
Following the advice of legal counsel, the Rosebud School District #12 Board of Trustees voted 3-1 Monday to secure the services of an outside investigator to look into a policy 5015 complaint filed against Rosebud School Superintendent Mike Silverman. Rosebud School District Personnel policy 5015 covers bullying, harassment and intimidation between employees or by third Read More…
For the first time since March of 2014, oil production in the state of North Dakota has slipped below the one million barrel a day mark. The latest production figures out this week show that in August, North Dakota production slipped to 981 thousand, 39 barrels per day. That represents a drop of some 49 thousand barrels per day, compared to July’s Read More…
Last month, several individuals and businesses in the Gallatin Valley won the lottery. Out of more than 600 applicants in Bozeman and Belgrade, four names were chosen by the Montana Department of Revenue as the winners of the state’s annual liquor lottery. The lottery is part of Montana’s population-based alcohol license quota system, which permits Read More…
Montana Attorney General Tim Fox is joining 20 other states that have filed a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court to represent three victims of human trafficking. Those victims are all minors and they’re filing suit against Backpage.com, a website Fox says is one of the worst purveyors of criminal activity, including human trafficking of Read More…
It’s been more than 30 years since a Republican won election as Montana’s Superintendent of Public Instruction. The party’s current nominee, Elsie Arntzen of Billings, is hoping her 23 years’ experience as a teacher and 12 years as a state legislator — and support for local control of schools — will change that. Read More…
Since taking office in January 2013, Attorney General Tim Fox has worked to: Streamline voter registration with driver’s licensing. Raise awareness of the number of untested rape evidence kits stored by Montana law enforcement agencies. He obtained a federal grant for testing that could lead to prosecution of rapists. Reduce the wait for chemical testing Read More…
General Electric Co. plans to buy a maker of wind-turbine blades for $1.65 billion, bolstering the renewable-energy business amid growing demand for clean power. The deal for Denmark-based LM Wind Power will enhance GE’s ability to serve customers in the onshore and offshore wind markets, the companies said Tuesday in a statement. LM Wind Read More…
In the battle for control of Montana’s next Legislature, the most important race may be the one for governor. Republicans have controlled the Legislature since 2007. In 2015, they had 59 representatives and 29 senators — making up slightly over half of each chamber. The outcome of the governor’s race will surely influence the Read More…
It appeared there would be no Democratic challenger to run against Montana Attorney General Tim Fox until the last day of candidate registration, when an eleventh-hour call from former Gov. Brian Schweitzer convinced a former state senator and Bozeman attorney to throw his hat in the ring. But now that he’s in, Larry Jent Read More…
The Montana Office of Consumer Protection is warning Montanans about a texting scam that has been circulating around the state. Montana Attorney General Tim Fox explains. “Folks on their mobile devices and cell phones are receiving text messages that look somewhat legitimate,” said Fox. “Typically they look like they come from a bank, credit card Read More…
Democratic incumbent Steve Bullock and Republican challenger Greg Gianforte aimed familiar barbs at each other during a televised debate October 8, 2015 from Great Falls. The just over 1 hour debate, sponsored by the MTN Television Network, featured criticisms Montanans have heard in television ads over the last several months. The verbal wrangling Read More…
Google and Facebook are teaming up to build a 120 Terabits per second (Tbps) submarine cable that will connect Los Angeles with Hong Kong. The two companies are working with Pacific Light Data Communication — a wholly owned subsidiary of China Soft Power Technology that’s relatively new to the sub-sea cable game. Once the Read More…
A man as unique as the Highland cattle herd he manages, Wally Congdon, is an accomplished Montana attorney and the owner and operator of Big Sky Natural Beef. From raising to finishing, Congdon does it all on his western Montana ranch, and has created a market for his grass-fed, all natural Highland beef around Read More…
A report released earlier this week by finance website WalletHub said Fargo is the ninth fastest-growing midsize city based on a study that compared 515 cities on 14 different factors, including population growth rate, college-educated population growth and unemployment rate decreases. Fargo ranked 13th overall in the study, which looked at growth between 2009 and Read More…
As Dakota Access Pipeline opponents fanned out and stopped construction at multiple sites again Thursday, Oct. 6, the Morton County sheriff said he has assigned more resources to the area and will call in deputies from other states if necessary to respond to simultaneous protests. “We have basically tapped the resources to a level Read More…
More than $2 million from a California billionaire has been dropped into a North Dakota ballot measure aimed at elevating crime victims’ rights to the constitutional level. Only $10,000 has been raised by opponents to Marsy’s Law. The Marsy’s Law for North Dakota committee’s pre-general election finance report filed Friday though the Secretary of State’s Read More…
Construction work on the Dakota Access Pipeline is nearly completed along the North Dakota portion of the project route. The September construction report from Dakota Access LLC, a partner of Energy Transfer Partners LP, shows that 87 percent of the project has been completed in the state through the end of the month. This Read More…
Eight North Dakota lenders have earned the 2016 Director’s Award from the U.S. Small Business Administration North Dakota District Office, honoring their participation with SBA in supporting the growth and expansion of small businesses in their communities. The winners are: Dakota Certified Development Corp., U.S. Bank, Capital Credit Union, Choice Financial, VISIONBank, Starion Financial, Town Read More…
When our founding fathers set up the greatest nation known to man, they expected the citizens to take an active part in it by voting. Where does Wyoming stand? Our friends at WalletHub.com did a study and found that the National Voter Representation Index at 87 percent. They also found that different demographic groups are Read More…
Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead says he’s hopeful that state lawmakers won’t have to make more substantial cuts to state spending when they convene early next year. Declining revenues forced Mead to cut $250 million from the state’s two-year, $3 billion general fund budget that started in July. Updated revenue projections are due later this month Read More…
The State Loan and Investment Board (SLIB) approved funding for seven projects at its quarterly board meeting Thursday in Cheyenne. SLIB awarded three companies a total of $41 million in Economic Development Large Project loan requests – none of the three approved large project loans were the full amounts requested. Standard Alcohol, Atlas Carbon and Cody Read More…
One of downtown Helena’s largest employers is ready to make a move to the east side of town. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Montana will start operations Monday at its new headquarters in the Mountain View Meadows subdivision. Leaders say the move will be in several stages and should be finished in about two weeks. Read More…
When Steve Daines visited the Northern Cheyenne Reservation in Lame Deer in 2014 to meet with tribal leaders as a freshman member of Congress, he was greeted with a traditional honor dance and an energetic performance highlighting their other customs. But it was what came next that caught his attention. “‘You’re the first Republican Read More…
Groups trying to influence the outcome of a Montana Supreme Court race are on track to set a record for the most fundraising collected for a justice seat. Lee Newspapers of Montana reports that this year’s race between Dirk Sandefur and Kristen Juras, fundraising by political action committees has reached a reported total of Read More…
Montana’s freshman congressman hasn’t shied away from the national spotlight during his brief tenure in Washington, D.C. In the past year, Republican Ryan Zinke has weighed the possibilities of being both Speaker of the House and a running mate for GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump. Zinke said both positions are about leadership and Read More…
The three newest members of Montana State University Billings’ Business Hall of Fame will accept individual honors this week, but all of them say they haven’t succeeded without surrounding themselves with a team. “This honor is focused on me, but it shouldn’t. I had the fortunate opportunity to work with tremendous… people,” said Karen Fagg Read More…
A pair of local businesses were honored as part of the 23rd Annual Family Business Day hosted by Montana State University’s Jake Jabs College of Business & Entrepreneurship. Bozeman baked goods company Elliotts of Montana and retailer Wild West Shirt Company were among the six businesses awarded at Friday’s event. Busted Knuckle Brewery in Glasgow, Read More…
Conferences, especially in the technology sector, are great opportunities for people of similar interests to meet up and interact. On Sept. 22, Malta held its Hi-Line Technology Roundup. The free conference focused on the use of communication technologies in a rural environment, with topics relating to remote work, software for ranchers and technological advances in Read More…
The Missoula city council recently passed a city ordinance requiring all firearm transfers within the city be subject to a background check, even private transfers between individuals. This new ordinance is in direct violation of Montana Code Annotated section 45-8-351 (2015), which states a local government may not restrict or regulate the purchase, sale, or Read More…
Wyoming has the most competitive tax code in the nation according to the 13th annual State Business Tax Climate Index, released today by the nonpartisan Tax Foundation. The report measures how well-structured each state’s tax code is by analyzing over 100 tax variables in five different tax categories: corporate, individual income, sales, property, and unemployment Read More…
Hillary Clinton is “evil,” Gary Johnson is always “high” and it’s game on against Sen. Elizabeth Warren, according to former baseball star Curt Schilling. The six-time all-star Major League pitcher told Fox News’ Neil Cavuto Friday that he’s “serious” about mounting a 2018 challenge to unseat Warren in Massachusetts, while deriding Johnson and Clinton’s current Read More…