Montana Attorney General Tim Fox (above) joined Tom Egelhoff on Open for Business to discuss the recent court decision concerning robocalls to Montana citizens. (Interview link at the bottom of the page) Montana US District Judge Charles Lovell, 88, a Reagan appointee, did not buy the argument of Dave Deshaw, of Victory Processing LLC, of Read More…
A mapping startup based in Missoula, Mont., which allows users to download sophisticated offline topographic maps outlining public and private lands and a number of other features geared towards hunting, fishing and camping, has pulled in its first major outside funding. onXmaps has closed a $20.3 million Series A round led by Summit Partners. Bessemer Read More…
Were it not for the stock market crash of the early 1970’s, James Stack might still be a mechanical engineer in Colorado. Stack graduated at the top of his engineering class at Montana State University in 1974 and went on to work as a project manager at IBM. Taking the advice of economists and Wall Read More…
Democratic Senator Jon Tester (D-MT) voted in support of sanctuary cities Thursday. The vote prompting one of his potential Republican challengers to tie Tester once again to the vote to shutdown the government over illegal immigrants. As The Hill reports, several other more moderate Senate Democrats voted to crackdown on sanctuary cities, while Tester voted Read More…
A documentary that emerges as a political whodunit with Montana in the spotlight is among the films featured in this year’s 15th annual Big Sky Documentary Film Festival, which runs Feb. 16-25 in Missoula. A free showing of director Kimberly Reed’s “Dark Money” will be 7 p.m. Friday at The Wilma theater. Gov. Steve Bullock, Read More…
BOZEMAN -Republican U.S. Senate candidate Troy Downing, charged multiple times for allegedly buying Montana resident hunting-and-fishing licenses when he was a non-resident, is going to trial – two weeks before his contested primary election. At a hearing Wednesday in Bozeman, Justice of the Peace Bryan Adams scheduled Downing’s trial for three days, from May 23-25. Read More…
HELENA – Montana may have the wealthiest member in all of Congress – Republican U.S. Rep. Greg Gianforte – but he’s far from being the only multimillionaire running for federal office this year in Montana. Three of the four Republicans running in the U.S. Senate race and one of the five Democrats vying to take Read More…
CHEYENNE — By the end of the first day of the 2018 legislative session, state lawmakers had proposed three different constitutional amendments to tackle the deficits facing school funding. The proposals — two from the Senate and one from the House — come as the full Legislature begins to grapple with a two-pronged education funding Read More…
Two North Dakota natives are on their quest to become the second and third Olympic gold medalists born in the state. Monique Lamoureux-Morando and her twin sister, Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson, were born in Grand Forks in 1989. The sisters became stand-out hockey players for University of North Dakota. The Lamoureux twins were members of the U.S. Read More…
BISMARCK—North Dakota was given a grade of “C,” in a report released Monday by the Center for American Progress that provides an overview of election security and preparedness in each state. The report has garnered the attention of politicians in the state, including U.S. Sen. Heidi Heitkamp…. READ THE FULL STORY.
Washington (CNN)North Dakota’s Rep. Kevin Cramer said Tuesday he hasn’t made up his mind about whether he’ll challenge Democratic Sen. Heidi Heitkamp in this year’s midterm elections — but will decide by “the end of the weekend.” “There’s certainly a growing snowball of encouragement coming out of the state,” Cramer told reporters on Tuesday evening Read More…
It’s hard to get treatment when you’re 65 or older and rely on a program that pays health providers less than the price of care. And surprising medical bills is a whole other issue. That’s what a small group of locals told Montana’s U.S. Rep. Greg Gianforte at the Bozeman Senior Center on Monday during Read More…
WHITEFISH, Mont.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–BNSF Railway Company (BNSF) today announced that its 2018 capital expenditure program in Montana will be approximately $135 million. This year’s plan in Montana remains focused on maintenance projects to ensure BNSF continues to operate a safe and reliable rail network. The largest component of this year’s capital plan in the state will Read More…
An Illinois kid named Doug Betters made his way, serendipitously, to the University of Montana for the first time more than 40 years ago as a highly touted football defensive lineman. Since then, Betters has ridden life’s roller coaster with grace, from the heights of sports stardom, including the 1983 NFL Defensive Player of the Read More…
BOZEMAN, Mont. — The city of Bozeman will loan close to $1.7 million to the Bozeman Sports Park Foundation. The loan will be used to install artificial turf fields at the Bozeman Sports Park. The decision was made at Monday night’s city commission meeting. Construction on the park started last year. Total cost for the Read More…
The Great Falls Public School Board accepted the resignation of former Great Falls High School teacher Levi Johnson during Monday night’s meeting. Johnson, who resigned in late January, is alleged to have had an inappropriate sexual relationship with a 17-year-old student. The School Board voted unanimously to accept Johnson’s resignation in lieu of termination. The Read More…
Democrats are looking to embrace the #MeToo moment and rally women to push back on President Donald Trump in the midterms—and they don’t want Bill Clinton anywhere near it. In a year when the party is deploying all their other big guns and trying to appeal to precisely the kind of voters Clinton has consistently Read More…
Mitt Romney will launch his Utah Senate campaign Thursday morning with a low key announcement on social media, and will make his first public appearance a day later near Salt Lake City with a keynote address to a gathering of grassroots Republicans. Romney teased his run for Senate in a Feb. 1 tweet, saying that Read More…
Can a juror, faced with clear evidence that a defendant is guilty, still vote to acquit if he or she feels the law is unjust? Yes, say backers of “jury nullification.” This courtroom tactic was the focus of a Kalispell event organized by the Flathead County Libertarian Party. Presentations on nullification by Kirsten Tynan and Read More…
BILLINGS – Montana Secretary of State Corey Stapleton stopped by Billings West High School Thursday, to talk to students about the importance of getting involved. Stapleton spent over an hour with senior students at the high school answering questions. From social media to Indian Reservations and health care, Stapleton’s message to students was the importance Read More…
Montana is the sixth most prosperous state in the country, according to new research from Prosperity Now. The Prosperity Now Scorecard tallied up 62 measures in five areas and says Montana rose from 10th place in 2017 to sixth place this year. READ THE FULL STORY.
U.S. Representative Greg Gianforte visited a job training facility in Helena on Friday to talk about workforce development and tax reform. Gianforte toured the Montana Electrical Joint Apprenticeship and Training Center supported by local chapters of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and the National Electrical Contractors Association. The center offers an apprenticeship program that Read More…
BOZEMAN – Montana State University announced its spring headcount this week: 15,496 students, a record, and one that marks 10 straight years of spring enrollment growth. This spring’s number is up almost 300 students compared to the same time last year, according to Tony Campeau, the university’s registrar. University leaders credited the growth chiefly to Read More…
A Montana Department of Labor employee announced on Wednesday that he was quitting in protest of officials who “hunt down” undocumented workers. In a series of tweets, Jordon Dyrdahl-Roberts said he put in his notice at the department because he’d been asked to help prepare information for ICE officials to use in finding undocumented workers. Read More…
BILLINGS – Montana Secretary of State Corey Stapleton stopped by Billings West High School Thursday, to talk to students about the importance of getting involved. Stapleton spent over an hour with senior students at the high school answering questions. From social media to Indian Reservations and health care, Stapleton’s message to students was the importance Read More…
Rene Elena Carter, a former Helena teacher, has been charged with sexual intercourse without consent involving a student several years ago. Carter appeared in Lewis & Clark County Justice Court on Thursday. READ THE FULL STORY.
HELENA – Gov. Steve Bullock says he won’t rush into a new contract with the operator of the private prison in Shelby – even though it could yield the state as much as $30 million to offset planned budget cuts of “essential services” for the poor and disabled. In an interview this week, Bullock told Read More…
President Donald Trump’s approval rating is now higher than former President Barack Obama’s on the same date of his first term, Rasmussen Reports daily tracking data shows. In its presidential daily tracking poll released Thursday, the Rasmussen Reports showed Trump’s approval at 48 percent, statistically tied with his disapproval rating of 50 percent. READ THE Read More…
GTUIT, LLC, a Billings based company, announced that it has recovered more than one million barrels of natural gas liquids (NGLs) from oil producing wellsites that would have otherwise been combusted in a flare stack. GTUIT designed, built, and operated all the mobile associated natural gas processing units responsible for achieving the million barrel milestone. Read More…
A little more than decade ago, Michael Lange was a rising political star in Montana. He was the outspoken Republican House majority leader during a state Legislature marked by two parties bickering over how best to divvy out a state budget surplus to its constituents. It was a good problem to have, especially when compared Read More…
Montana Wilderness advocates are launching a campaign in opposition to a bill introduced by the state’s Republican Senator Steve Daines. If passed, that bill would eliminate protections for some federal lands in Montana. A new coalition called “Our Land, Our Legacy” says it plans to fight against Daines’ bill with social media messages and an Read More…
The former LaMoure police chief, James Watson, was found guilty Monday of continuous sexual abuse of a child under the age of 15 at a courthouse in Beach, N.D. Early in the morning, Watson testified on his behalf and denied all the allegations. In her closing remarks, Golden Valley County State’s Attorney Christina Wenko argued Read More…
Bucking a recent trend of failed measures to shift Wyoming from its reliance on fossil fuels, one lawmaker is proposing a bill that looks to generate money from a traditional source of revenue — coal. House Bill 80 hinges on a potential reduction in federal fees on Wyoming coal, the sunset of the Abandoned Mine Read More…
WASHINGTON — Republican megadonor Foster Friess said Tuesday that he’s still weighing a primary challenge in this year’s Wyoming Senate race, but he doesn’t sound much like a politician gearing up to take on a sitting senator. For starters, Friess has nothing but praise for his would-be rival, Republican Sen. John Barrasso. “I love the Read More…
CHEYENNE – Canadian blockchain company BlockCrushr Labs opened its first Wyoming office last week in Cheyenne, arriving before the state Legislature considers changes that would encourage more such businesses to operate in the state. BlockCrushr Labs CEO Scott Burke announced another corporate branch housed on Cheyenne’s Second Floor at The Paramount on Wednesday. Company leaders Read More…
Insurance giant Anthem has pledged to make a $1,000 retirement contribution to all of its 58,000 employees and recent retirees in response to Republicans’ tax cuts legislation. Anthem made the announcement Monday. READ THE FULL STORY.
Pundits and pols alike are increasingly referring to the race to succeed Florida GOP Gov. Rick Scott as “the main attraction” of 2018. Florida boasts 20.6 million residents, and ranked second only to Texas as the state with the largest gain in population last year. Boasting 29 electoral votes, the Sunshine State packs one of Read More…
SpaceX’s big new rocket blasted off Tuesday on its first test flight, carrying a red sports car aiming for an endless road trip past Mars. The Falcon Heavy rose from the same launch pad used by NASA nearly 50 years ago to send men to the moon. With liftoff, the Heavy became the most powerful Read More…
In the early 1800s, French soldiers conquering and colonizing Algeria were given daily rations of absinthe because military leaders thought it would help their men combat malaria. When those soldiers returned home, they started demanding the drink at their local watering holes in France. Its rise to popularity was swift, but so was its fall. Read More…
BLOOMINGTON, Ind.—“We don’t need to give him another ounce of our brain-space,” Dan Canon told the crowd of 40 people, hitting the TV mute as President Donald Trump’s State of the Union speech began. “We don’t care what he says.” The speech had been the advertised reason for the gathering at the Crazy Horse bar Read More…