North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum is absolutely not running for the U.S. Senate in 2018. When persistent rumors suggesting he was interested in federal office this cycle kept popping up last year, I actually checked in with him about them. He told me in September there was “no truth whatsoever” to the rumors. Still, Burgum Read More…
North Dakota Democrats asked for an ethics investigation Monday, into a tweet from Republican Rep. Kevin Cramer’s official account that discussed campaign polling, a move that the third-term congressman called “petty.” The request to the Office of Congressional Ethics comes as Cramer weighs a run against Democratic incumbent Sen. Heidi Heitkamp. He expects to make Read More…
Alcohol-related crashes appear to have dropped on Wyoming highways in 2017 compared to years prior, but by how much is not yet clear. Preliminary data from the Wyoming Highway Patrol indicates that the number of alcohol-related crashes in the state dropped by 24 percent, from 712 in 2016 to 542 last year. That number is Read More…
The state of Wyoming has more than 20 billion dollars in funds, and the state’s treasurer announced a billion dollar investment growth last year. But lawmakers are working on a plan to cut education funding, and jobs. The topic of discussion for Wyoming lawmakers meeting in Cheyenne soon will be class size. Representative David Northrup Read More…
I took a rare shift as news editor last Saturday, which gave me an unexpected chance to put my finger in the dike holding back the flood of fake news caused by those afflicted with Trump Derangement Syndrome. As I was sifting through the Associated Press news report looking for wire stories worth putting into Read More…
The Bakken. A well-known oil field stretching across North Dakota, South Dakota, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and of course, Montana. But Oklahoma investor ONEOK has released a statement with talk of a new pipeline starting right here in Montana, and stretching all the way to Kansas. The Elk Creek Pipeline would be an approximately 900 mile, 20-inch Read More…
President Trump signed an executive order and a presidential memorandum in Nashville on Monday afternoon directing his administration to use “all viable tools to accelerate the deployment and adoption of affordable, reliable, modern high-speed broadband connectivity in rural America.” According to the Federal Communications Commission’s 2016 Broadband Progress Report, 39 percent of rural Americans, roughly Read More…
Steve Bannon said Sunday he “regrets” his comments made to author Michael Wolff in his explosive book “Fire and Fury” that has shaken the Trump White House. “My support is also unwavering for the president and his agenda,” Bannon said in a statement, first reported by Axios, the political news website. NBC News later confirmed Read More…
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) – America could be crowned the oil world’s new king in 2018. The United States is poised to ramp up crude oil production by 10 percent in 2018 to about 11 million barrels per day, according to research firm Rystad Energy. Surging shale oil output should allow the United States to dethrone Read More…
With all the changes upon us with new technology, it should come as no surprise that there is now a way to utilize television spectrums to deliver broadband internet. Chuck Denowh, Montana spokesperson for the new coalition, Connect Americans Now (CAN), explained the importance and the purpose of CAN. “This issue has to do with Read More…
A Nebraska manufacturer has acquired a Bozeman-based photonics company and will relocate the company’s production facility from Singapore to Bozeman. Elemental Scientific, an Omaha company that specializes in spectroscopy technology — a method of identifying material using light — purchased the newly named Elemental Scientific Lasers, located on North Seventh Avenue across the street from Read More…
Is it your new year resolution to own a business, your chances of making that happen are looking better. One of the hardest parts of starting a business is coming up with the cash to get one up and running. What if I was to tell you that your could be the proud owner of Read More…
BILLINGS – Montana U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme issued a statement Friday on U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ decision to rescind the Cole Memo. The Cole Memo, issued under the Obama administration, gave guidance to U.S. attorneys saying prosecutors shouldn’t focus on states that legalized it, as long as they had strong, effective regulations to keep Read More…
HELENA, Mont.- A new program seeks to help victims of trafficking or kidnapping. Bryce Ackart, manager of the Helena Zip-Trip, said convenience stores are at the front lines for helping human trafficking victims and spotting their captors. The “More than Convenience, We Care” program has only been in place less than six months, but officials Read More…
MISSOULA, Mont. – Incoming University of Montana President Seth Bodnar faces a number of challenges as he takes the helm. Enrollment has fallen since 2010. Budget challenges remain. A process to set academic and administrative priorities is far from complete. Bodnar has a deep enthusiasm for the work of the institution, and he is optimistic Read More…
Sinclair Broadcast Group announced Friday it will pay a one-time $1,000 bonus to nearly 9,000 of its employees as a result of the recent tax reform bill’s passage in Washington. READ THE FULL STORY.
Donald Trump campaigned as a jobs creator, with lofty promises of reviving American manufacturing and reclaiming jobs that had gone overseas. On a campaign stop in 2015, he proclaimed he would “be the greatest jobs president that God ever created.” According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, an average of about 171,000 jobs were added Read More…
Five Montana Highway Patrol (MHP) troopers have been involved in crashes within the last month alone, according to a Facebook post by the MHP. In each case, drivers were not driving appropriately for the conditions. In some cases troopers were in their vehicles when their patrol cars were struck. Fortunately, there were no serious injuries. Read More…
The wife of Orlando nightclub shooter Omar Mateen told the FBI just hours after the June 2016 rampage that she knew about her husband’s plot ahead of time, USA Today reported Friday. Noor Salman reportedly told authorities that she knew that Mateen was “going to do something bad,” and that she was aware that Pulse Read More…
NEW YORK — Donovan McNabb and Eric Davis have been dismissed from ESPN following an investigation into accusations of sexual misconduct while employed at NFL Network. “They are no longer working for us,” ESPN said in a statement to CBS Philadelphia. The pair worked for ESPN Radio and were taken off the air Dec. 12, Read More…
A couple of years ago, LG Display showed off an intensely futuristic 18-inch OLED display that could be bent and rolled up just like a newspaper. Today, that prototype has grown to 65 inches in size, with the company announcing that it’s managed to scale up the tech to the dimensions of a large TV. Read More…
When Amazon chose downtown Seattle for its massive urban campus, John Schoettler, Amazon’s vice president of global real estate, wanted to create a thriving “18-hour” neighborhood. To some extent, Amazon has succeeded. In a decade, nonstop development has transformed Seattle’s South Lake Union and Denny Triangle from a sea of parking lots, car rental agencies, Read More…
During his election bid, Missoula City Council member Jesse Ramos was a vocal critic of the $25 million dollar “accounting error” discovered by a local citizen in the city budget. Now that he is in office, Ramos has a front row seat to Missoula’s most recent error, one that has already led to dramatic cuts Read More…
Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Thursday rescinded a trio of memos from the Obama administration that had adopted a policy of non-interference with marijuana-friendly state laws. The move essentially shifts federal policy from the hands-off approach adopted under the previous administration to unleashing federal prosecutors across the country to decide individually how to prioritize resources Read More…
While much of the nation’s weather has turned frigid, the U.S. stock market remains red-hot. Notching its latest 1,000-point milestone, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 151 points, or 0.6 percent, to close at a record 25,073 Thursday. Stocks aren’t only scaling new heights — they’re reaching those peaks more quickly: The blue-chip index reached Read More…
BILLINGS – A Billings West End business got a new name on Wednesday. Get Juiced officially reopened as Well Pared. The company has been serving juice and smoothies since it opened on the corner of Broadwater and 24th Street West in 2013. The menu has expanded over the years to include salads and some hot Read More…
Lost in the Democratic, media driven catharsis of what happened in state legislative races in Virginia this week, and last November, is the series of recent Republican victories in places as cobalt blue as Massachusetts in recent weeks. Even this week, Republicans won a special election outside Tampa, where Democrats hold a higher registration advantage. Read More…
CHEYENNE, Wyo – Wyoming legislative leaders are considering proposals that would implement a pilot program for live video streaming of legislative meetings during its interim months. The Legislature’s Management Council voted Tuesday to consider contracting with Wyoming Public Broadcast System and another company to broadcast interim meetings. READ THE FULL STORY.
LARAMIE – As the fall semester wound down, University of Wyoming students taking Computer Science 2030 found themselves facing each other to explain the success or failures of creating an essential data structure used in artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, cryptocurrency and electronic voting. Pretty heady stuff for freshmen and sophomores, many of whom were unfamiliar with Read More…
HELENA – Democratic state Rep. Tom Woods of Bozeman has dropped out of Montana’s U.S. House race – although five Democrats still remain, vying for the nomination to challenge Republican Congressman Greg Gianforte. Woods announced his decision Monday with a post on his personal Facebook page, saying he couldn’t compete with other candidates who already Read More…
HELENA – Montana state Sen. Cynthia Wolken, who played a key role in the 2017 enactment of sweeping criminal-sentencing reforms in the state, will be the state’s new deputy director of corrections. State Corrections Director Reginald Michael announced Wolken’s hiring on Tuesday and said her role in the reforms “will prove invaluable to the (Department Read More…
Tens of thousands of federal employees earn more money than any U.S. governor, according to a new report that reveals some eye-popping stats on government spending for the federal workforce. The 40-page report, titled “Mapping the Swamp” and released by government watchdog group OpenTheBooks, focused on the “size, scope and power” of the federal government Read More…
Southwest and American Airlines have joined a handful of corporate giants that have announced $1,000 employee bonuses following the GOP tax overhaul that President Donald Trump signed into law last month. In a pair of press releases on Tuesday, both airlines specifically cited sweeping new tax reforms that passed Congress on December 20. Among other Read More…
Minnesota Democrat Al Franken will serve his last day as a U.S. senator Tuesday. Franken, who served eight years as senator, was forced to resign after multiple women came forward late last year and accused him of sexual misconduct. Franken apologized several times, but ultimately announced his resignation after a wave of his Democratic colleagues Read More…
WASHINGTON — Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, announced Tuesday that he will retire at the end of his term this year, ending months of speculation about the political future of the longest-serving Republican in the Senate. “Every good fighter knows when to hang up the gloves. And for me that time is soon approaching,” Hatch, a Read More…
The U.S. Census Bureau released its population estimates last month, and the combination of Montana’s continued steady growth and other states’ continued decline or slower growth means the Treasure State could be in line for a second member of Congress. Currently, Republican Greg Gianforte is the lone U.S. congressman in the state, which has had Read More…
Some of the most vulnerable people in our society are at risk of becoming a casualty of a disturbing crime. It could start as innocently as a young person befriending a stranger on the Internet, or a teenager feeling entrapped and looking for a way out. The criminals might use flirtation, or psychological manipulation, to Read More…
(HELENA) With the start of the new year, drivers in Montana will be paying more to register their vehicles. During last year’s state legislative session, lawmakers approved increased fees to help fund the Motor Vehicle Division. The changes came as part of a broader highway and transportation funding package. Starting Jan. 1, MVD will add Read More…
Like many young Montanans, Ella Anderson’s first time pulling a trigger was on a BB gun. She took to shooting right away and it wasn’t long before she was begging her parents to shoot the “big gun,” a bolt-action .22 rifle. On Christmas morning children across the state ripped wrapping paper from new BB guns, Read More…
A tractor-trailer crashed into and totaled a Gallatin County Sheriff’s vehicle on Saturday morning. The collision occurred on the Bozeman Pass on I-90, where Deputy Randy Schott had responded to the scene of an accident. Deputy Schott parked behind the accident scene to protect it when a semi truck slammed into his vehicle. No one Read More…