A committee of state lawmakers voted on party lines Tuesday to keep the super-majority rule for removing a tabled bill from committee in the Montana House of Representatives. Six Republicans on the Legislative Council, including Speaker of the House Austin Knudsen, beat the five Democrats and squashed the recommendation that “blasting” a bill from Read More…
Montana Attorney General Tim Fox and the Montana Public Service Commission, along with 25 other state attorneys general, co-authored and co-signed a letter to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency objecting to a new rule that they argue is an attempt to circumvent the Supreme Court. “The rule making is called the Clean Energy Incentive Program Read More…
Native Americans in Montana expressed anger, hurt and betrayal toward Governor Steve Bullock shortly after his reelection became official, for sending Montana law enforcement to protests in North Dakota. The Governor’s decision is based on a national interstate agreement called Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC), which allows states to help other state governors for assistance. Read More…
Doug Burgum, a former Microsoft executive and lifelong resident of North Dakota is now that state’s governor-elect. Burgum, a Republican, defeated a lightly funded Democrat, Marvin Nelson, and Libertarian Marty Riske by a wide margin, according to local news reports. Born into a farming family in Arthur, Burgum attended North Dakota State University then Stanford Read More…
North Dakota’s Highway Patrol locked down the state capitol on Monday as more than two dozen protested the Dakota Access Pipeline nearby, according to local media. A request for comment from Governor Jack Dalrymple’s office, which is on the first floor of the capitol, was not immediately returned. The Bismarck Tribune newspaper reported that the Read More…
CorEnergy Infrastructure Trust (CORR) has announced that a subsidiary of Ultra Petroleum has agreed to assume the lease on its Pinedale Liquids Gathering System without amendment, through a motion filed today in bankruptcy court. CORR is the first publicly listed real estate investment trust focusing on energy infrastructure. According to the CORR website, the Pinedale Read More…
President-elect Donald Trump says he will repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, a national health care reform measure also known as Obamacare. “On day one of the Trump administration, we will ask Congress to immediately deliver a full repeal of Obamacare,” information on Trump’s website says. So what do his plans mean Read More…
There will be lots to talk about at the Central Wyoming Economic Forecast in Casper on Dec. 13 at the Parkway Plaza; and the Wyoming Business Report has assembled an impressive slate of speakers to cover every angle. Kicking off the event will be UW economics professor Anne Alexander, who will provide the low down Read More…
Microsoft Corp. has announced its largest wind power deal to date: 237 megawatts (MW) that will power their data center outside of Cheyenne. This will bring Microsoft’s total investment in wind energy projects to more than 500 MW. This deal will combine a 178 MW from the Bloom Wind project in Kansas with a long-term Read More…
The Wyoming Business Alliance and Wyoming Heritage Foundation have created a new initiative where business people across the state will be able to help improve public education. Wyoming Excels was officially launched during Gov. Matt Mead’s Business Forum at Cheyenne. “Wyoming Excels is about business engaging with educators,” said Fred von Ahrens, the Read More…
Made in Montana; it’s a slogan you see on everything from huckleberry jams, to jewelry, to films, and of course beer. For breweries, finding that authentic Made in Montana path is as challenging as it is rewarding. Mike and Greg Howard opened Missoula’s Great Burn brewery two and a half years ago. “We’ve been craft Read More…
The election of Donald Trump may mean a new bridge over the Clark Fork River for Missoula. After all, the real estate mogul likes to build stuff, and Trump talked about the need for infrastructure during his raucous campaign. That infrastructure is vital to Montana’s economy and those nurturing growth in the business sector, said Read More…
At Archie Cochrane Ford, a safe culture for its 115 employees led to a big payday Monday. At the Billings auto dealership, officials from the Montana State Fund distributed about $43,000 in dividends from Archie Cochrane workers’ compensation premiums. Archie Cochrane was among the largest recipients in Yellowstone County, which received $4.6 million Read More…
Montana’s political enforcer said he plans to reach out to Gov. Steve Bullock late next week to discuss his replacement. Commissioner of Political Practices Jon Motl said he hasn’t spoken to the governor since his appointment in 2013. His term as commissioner expires Dec. 31, according to his letter of appointment. Motl told the Chronicle Read More…
Montana Republicans, who had a very good day at the polls Tuesday, have expanded their majority in the state Senate and held a 59-41 spread in the Montana House. “It was an electoral rout,” Montana GOP Chairman Jeff Essmann said of Tuesday’s results, noting that Republicans won all statewide offices except governor and didn’t lose Read More…
Senate Republicans on Monday elected a self-described “staunch fiscal conservative” in Sen. Scott Sales of Bozeman to be Senate president for the 2017 Legislature. Sales, 56, won what was described as a close race for the top job over Sen. Eric Moore of Miles City. The vote was by secret ballot, with the Read More…
For the fourth year in a row, Montana Attorney General Tim Fox and Montana’s U.S. Senator Steve Daines continue their ‘Brawl of the Wild’ wager for the University of Montana – Montana State University football game. The Cats and Grizzlies clash this Saturday in Missoula. The terms of this year’s bet: the winner will buy Read More…
The upcoming session of the Montana Legislature will focus on tightening the state budget, and there will not be much money available for new initiatives, the incoming leaders of Republican legislative majority said Monday. Republicans elected Sen. Scott Sales of Bozeman to be Senate president for the session that begins in January. Sales, a former Read More…
With just a few days left before Election Day, the battle for a pivotal seat on the Montana Supreme Court is heating up. But much of the spending in the last week isn’t coming from the candidates themselves – it’s coming from outside groups. One of those groups is Montanans for Liberty and Justice. It’s backing Read More…
As a part of the Wyoming Lottery’s goal to give back to Wyoming, WyoLotto made a third transfer of revenue to the state on Oct. 7. This revenue transfer, totaling $797,638, brings the lottery’s total revenue transfer amount to $2,832,638 since April of this year. WyoLotto looks forward to building on the success that has Read More…
Members of the Eastern Shoshone Tribe are marking the return of buffalo to their reservation in central Wyoming more than a century after the animals were wiped out. The tribe is holding a ceremony Thursday marking the release of 10 genetically pure buffalo from a federal refuge in Iowa. The National Wildlife Federation and U.S. Read More…
State education officials are a step closer to revamping the delivery of education statewide. The Wyoming Department of Education recently released the 2017-2021 Digital Learning Plan. “This comprehensive five-year strategic plan was written around the importance of incorporating digital learning and education technology into the classroom and addresses the need for equitable access to educational Read More…
Joyce Kemph and Sue Miller have welcomed people into their Wyoming Home for many years. Now, the co-owners are ready to retire. They want to spend more time with their families and pursue other interests. The owners hope someone will buy the business. “Our dream is that a person or persons with an entrepreneurial spirit Read More…
Contested legislative districts in Laramie County have been flooded with mailed advertisements in recent weeks. But some of those mailers are drawing criticism that they are negative, inaccurate or both. One such case is in House District 11 in Cheyenne, where both candidates have criticized mailings distributed against their campaigns. This past week, a mailer Read More…
Governor Bullock announced $1.3 million funding for Montana businesses to expand apprenticeship programs on Thursday morning. Collision Pro Owner Barry Reddick told MTN News that his company has been using the apprenticeship program since 1997. “The program’s helped out business bringing up people from an apprenticeship to a journey level position. It’s helped us, and it’s helped them,” said Reddick. Read More…
The Montana Chamber of Commerce recently released its 10-year strategic plan, which includes goals to increase wages, encourage business growth and improve the state’s infrastructure. The plan, titled Envision 2026, outlines five central objectives that it hopes to tackle over the coming years, as well as specific strategies to achieve the goals and metrics to Read More…
A Montana lawmaker sued Commissioner of Political Practices Jonathan Motl on Friday for saying the legislator faces penalties for revealing a confidential ethics complaint he filed against Gov. Steve Bullock, a lawsuit Motl said was timed to sway voters in a close governor’s race. The attorney for Rep. Brad Tschida, R-Missoula, says in the federal Read More…
Stockman Asset Management (SAM), an independent Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) and provider of integrated wealth management solutions based in Billings has acquired Peak Investment Management, Ltd. Peak is also an RIA firm based in Missoula. The two firms now offer their services on a larger scale with locations in Helena, Missoula, Conrad and Billings. Peak Read More…
TAHLEQUAH, Okla. (AP) — The Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma has donated $10,000 to the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe in North Dakota to support its fight against the Dakota Access Pipeline. The Cherokees say they presented a check last week in addition to providing three truckloads of firewood for those camping out to protest construction of Read More…
The State of Wyoming recently released its annual MACRO report detailing the state’s economy, and while the report paints a gloomy picture, there are signs of hope on the horizon. “I think there’s a couple of causes for optimism, the worst may be over for the state,” Jim Robinson, principal economist for the economic analysis Read More…
An entrepreneurship support center for Montana State University students, alumni and faculty has won a $50,000 award from the U.S. Small Business Administration to help enhance its business accelerator program, 406 Labs. The Blackstone LaunchPad at MSU was one of 68 programs selected nationwide as winners of the Growth Accelerator Fund Competition on Aug. 31. Read More…
Republican Corey Stapleton’s goals, if elected Montana secretary of state, are to: Improve business services. Protect the integrity of the elections process. Be a great steward on the State Land Board. That’s what Montanans want in their state elections and information chief. To Stapleton, a financial planner in Billings, “election security is a big deal.” Read More…
A state district judge in Montana is facing a call for his impeachment after sentencing a man who admitted to raping his 12-year-old daughter to 60 days in jail, of which he will serve 43. A petition posted on the website Change.org calling for the impeachment of the Valley County, Mont., district court judge, Read More…
The dominant fact emerging this year is that whatever faith in government voters once had has been pretty well destroyed both by self-serving politicians willing to disingenuously promise anything for their votes and the failure of government at all levels to deliver on those promises. Establishment politicos of both party’s couldn’t believe the appeal of Read More…
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…