HELENA — U.S. Sen. Steve Daines leads his Democratic challenger, Gov. Steve Bullock, by three percentage points and President Trump leads Democratic nominee Joe Biden by seven points in Montana, according to a poll released Friday by AARP-Montana. The poll, which surveyed 800 people by telephone from Aug. 30-Sept. 5, said Daines led Bullock 50 Read More…
As wildfires rage across the state and country, a climate change report over a year in the making commissioned by Gov. Steve Bullock hopes to fight its effects in Montana. Bullock issued an executive order to create the Montana Climate Solutions Council in July 2019, with a final goal of developing a climate solutions plan Read More…
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — The $2.7 billion future USS Montana fast attack submarine was christened Saturday at Newport News Shipbuilding, where it has been under construction since April 1, 2015. The Virginia-class sub is a product of a unique partnership between Newport News Shipbuilding and General Dynamics Electric Boat in Groton, Connecticut. The two Read More…
BILLINGS- Beartooth Pass is completely open on both the Montana and Wyoming sides after being closed due to snow, ice and high winds September 7. The pass is scheduled to close for the season on the weekend of October 12, Columbus Day, however, the date can change depending on earlier adverse weather conditions. READ FULL Read More…
WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, Mont. — Whether working on her family’s farm as a kid in Connecticut or leading trail crews in the backcountry after college, Sarah Calhoun always struggled to find comfortable work clothes. The work pants she found were designed for men, not women. So she decided to design her own line of pants. Today, Read More…
Fargo attorney Joseph Wetch Jr. has resigned from the North Dakota State Board of Higher Education less than two months after being appointed. Gov. Doug Burgum in July named Wetch, a Bismarck native, to serve a four-year term on the board, effective July 1. Wetch resigned Aug. 20, citing “unforseen circumstances” that made him unable Read More…
The Wyoming Public Service Commission moved to delay finalizing its investigation into the state’s largest utility on Tuesday, after an energy company made an eleventh-hour request to include additional evidence in the case. Commissioners had initially scheduled public deliberations on its investigation into PacifiCorp for Tuesday afternoon but ultimately delayed the proceeding. The commission determined it Read More…
Families will be able to attend Laurel Schools sporting events. The Laurel School Board approved that plan 5-1 at a virtual speical meeting Wednesday night. It would allow four fans at games for each player, cheerleader, pep band member and coach. READ FULL STORY
The Lewis and Clark County Commission has approved a plan to place armed security officers at the county courthouse. On Tuesday morning, commissioners unanimously supported a contract with the security firm Securitas. The county will pay about $236,000 a year to place three officers in the courthouse on weekdays. The contract is set to run Read More…
The Montana Contractors Association on Wednesday endorsed Republican Greg Gianforte for governor, citing his opposition to a 2020 ballot measure that would legalize recreational marijuana in Montana. “The recreational marijuana initiative is a very, very troubling initiative,” said Bob Warren, president of the contractors’ group. “The MCA board voted to fight this with all our Read More…
Vice President Mike Pence is coming back to Montana for a rally with Senator Steve Daines (R-MT) in Belgrade on Monday. Congressman Greg Gianforte (R-MT) and Republican US House candidate Matt Rosendale will also be prominently featured. According to an eventbrite page created by the Montana Republican Party, the event will take place at the Big Yellow Read More…
Bozeman Mayor Chris Mehl resigned Wednesday, a day after all four city commissioners asked him to step down over allegations that he bullied city staff and interfered with city administration. “It’s been an honor to serve Bozeman for more than 10 years, and I thank the voters for that repeated opportunity,” Mehl said in an Read More…
MISSOULA, Mont. — Montana’s top politicians are responding to a new lawsuit Gov. Steve Bullock filed Tuesday against the USPS and Postmaster General Louis DeJoy calling on a judge to undo new changes with the Postal Service. In the suit, Bullock cites DeJoy’s “unlawful actions that have directly harmed Montanans by impeding the flow of mail.” Read More…
Airlines desperate for governments to lift travel restrictions and passengers to return are looking at ways to reassure the public that their health won’t be compromised on a flight. New-look seats and fresh cabins could be a start. One of the biggest companies in that business, Recaro Aircraft Seating GmbH, has designed a range of modifications Read More…
A Biden administration-in-waiting is slowly taking shape. On the Saturday of Labor Day weekend, the Biden transition team announced a long list of new hires, advisers and co-chairs to lead the effort to staff up a potential administration. “This is a transition like no other, and the team being assembled will help Joe Biden meet Read More…
F.H. Stoltze Land and Lumber, builder Pat Clark and other investors last week announced a joint venture to create a new mass timber production facility to build large format, cross-laminated timber panels in Columbia Falls. New new company, called Stoltze Timber, eventually will be located across the road from the Stoltze plant west of Columbia Read More…
Nearly $138 million has been sent to small businesses through the Montana Business Stabilization Grant program since the program launched in May. For a lot of recipients, the program has been a much needed lifeline that has kept their business from going under. “We have been extremely grateful for it,” said Brianne Harrington, owner of Read More…
Good ideas may go into hibernation but they never die. Veteran Public Policy Observer Mike Jacobs recently brought back the idea of changing the North Dakota Legislature from its present biennial schedule to annual meetings. In a supporting editorial, the Grand Forks Herald noted that the demands of the pandemic and the volatility of Read More…
LIVINGSTON – Two Park High School faculty members have tested positive for COVID-19 according to the Park County Health Department. The Montana State Health Lab reported the first result to the Park County Health Department Tuesday evening, and that through contact tracing, the additional positive test result was found Wednesday. Livingston School District and the Read More…
The new owners of 5 million combined acres of land and mineral rights in southern Wyoming say they plan to pursue opportunities to expand renewable energy development in addition to existing drilling and mining activity — a potential new source of revenue for the state as a third-party investment company takes over land long held Read More…
PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) — The final field appears set for the South Dakota Legislature’s seats that are being contested in the November general election. All 70 representatives and 35 senators will hold 2-year terms, but many of the races have already been settled in Republicans’ favor because they are running unopposed. The latest list includes a handful Read More…
NEW YORK — Top state Democrats joined Gov. Andrew Cuomo in ridiculing President Donald Trump after he threatened to kill federal funding for New York and other cities that “permit anarchy, violence, and destruction.” Trump has ordered a review of cities’ treatment of law enforcement, threatening to ax funding for any jurisdictions that are defunding or disempowering Read More…
Department of Education Secretary Betsy Devos has issued a letter to the public stating “schools must be open for in-person learning” as an option for parents. Devos, nominated by President Donald Trump and confirmed by the Senate in 2017, expressed her support and the support of the President for a bill which would provide scholarships to families Read More…
As the stock market and some companies thrive, many small business owners continue to struggle six months into the coronavirus pandemic. CNN’s Vanessa Yurkevich reports. WATCH FULL STORY
BUTTE – Just as Butte’s tourism season was getting started, coronavirus dealt the hotel industry a vicious economic blow. “Who knew? Who knew that we would ever come across something like this?,” said Maria Pochervina, director of the Tourism Business Improvement District. READ FULL STORY
North Dakota’s Democratic-NPL Party on Friday endorsed a new candidate for state insurance commissioner, days after the state Supreme Court ordered the party’s nominee removed from the ballot. The party’s Executive Committee endorsed Mutual of Omaha insurance agent Jason Anderson, of Fargo, to replace Bismarck critical care respiratory specialist Travisia Martin, whom the court Read More…
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota set a near record Thursday for the number of daily positive coronavirus tests, and has increased its per-capita figures for the infection to the highest in the country. The state Health Department’s update showed that 360 of the 12,629 tests in the past day came back positive, with Cass, Read More…
RAWLINS — After a month and a half of restricted activity and an ultimate lockdown because of a COVID-19 outbreak at the Wyoming State Penitentiary, inmates and their families are concerned about conditions inside the correctional facility. Sylvia Brown’s husband is an inmate at the prison, and she said she has had no contact visits Read More…
Cheyenne – The Wyoming Game and Fish Department needs help from hunters this fall to collect lymph node samples from deer and elk for chronic wasting disease (CWD) testing in focused monitoring hunt areas across Wyoming. Hunters are a very important component in helping Game and Fish understand the disease and achieve CWD monitoring goals. Game and Fish Read More…
Congressman Greg Gianforte on Sept. 1 toured Montana State University’s new COVID-19 testing site for students, as well as a lab that tests hundreds of samples from around the state in a day. Next to a big white tent at Bobcat Stadium, Director of Emergency Management Haylee Gerow says students with COVID-19 symptoms can walk Read More…
MONTANA — The Montana Department of Commerce announced today that the eight tribal nations in Montana will receive a share of $160,000 to support small businesses through economic and business development organizations. Each tribal community will receive $20,000 to support the development of Native-owned small businesses through Commerce’s Native American Business Advisors program. The program Read More…
BOZEMAN — A Montana State University professor and her collaborators have received a grant worth nearly $1 million to create a program for Apsáalooke youth that they hope will ultimately spark interest in STEM fields and lead to cleaner water for the Apsáalooke nation in southeast Montana. Vanessa Simonds, associate professor in the Department of Health Read More…
The Montana Public Service Commission (PSC) has opened an investigation into what led to the loss of water to the North Star Subdivision on Sunday Aug. 30. The PSC will be holding a show and cause hearing on Friday Sep. 11 for North Star to answer questions about the incident. Around 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, North Read More…
With Nov. 3 approaching, Montana’s secretary of state candidates are offering starkly contrasting visions for the state’s top election office. Both candidates have emphasized greater election security but have different plans to achieve it. The secretary of state race doesn’t catch the headlines of Montana’s high profile gubernatorial and U.S. Senate contests but Montana State Read More…
Gov. Doug Burgum welcomed the White House’s Coronavirus Response Coordinator, Dr. Deborah Birx, to North Dakota Saturday to discuss the state’s efforts to save lives and livelihoods in the fight against COVID-19. Birx, an ambassador-at-large and U.S. Special Representative for Global Health Diplomacy, met with the governor and first lady and held a round-table discussion Read More…
Autility company serving 146,000 customers in Wyoming has taken the next step to bring $2 billion in energy transmission lines to fruition across the state. Rocky Mountain Power announced on Wednesday it had submitted an application for regulatory approval with the Wyoming Public Service Commission, a necessary step before it can break ground and Read More…
U.S. Sen. Steve Daines is asking Gov. Steve Bullock’s office to release more information on COVID-19 cases and deaths within Montana’s senior care facilities. Daines announced Friday that he had sent a letter to Bullock, saying the state’s data was giving “an incomplete picture of the impact of COVID-19 on Montana’s senior communities.” READ FULL Read More…
Montana’s Battle of the Steves started at the buzzer. On the morning of March 9, the last day to file as a challenger to U.S. Senator Steve Daines, the first-term incumbent held a commanding lead in his bid for reelection. Daines, a former software executive and reliable Republican ally of President Trump, was considered a Read More…
BILLINGS, Mont. – You may have seen these Strongman competitions on TV, but have you ever seen them in person? Residents of the Magic City got their chance Saturday with Ron Wilson’s Iron Barn Gym hosting Montana’s first-ever strongman competition. When you think about lifting weights, many people may think of lift barbells or dumbbells, Read More…
Montana airports might have been spared the worst damage from the COVID-19 pandemic this summer. According to a new analysis from industry group Airlines for America, Montana experienced the smallest percentage decline in passenger flights out of any state in the country when compared to July of last year. Montana saw a 25% reduction in Read More…