Montana Commissioner of Political Practices Chris Gallus issued a decision finding campaign finance violations by three political committees — Big Sky Fiscal Guardians, Treasure State Stewards and Montana Business Advocates for Sensible Elections — ordering two to reclassify and referring the third to the county attorney for potential prosecution. The decision, dated July 8, stems Read More…
Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador joined a bipartisan coalition of 49 attorneys general in calling on the Federal Communications Commission to strengthen rules that would cut off scammers’ access to legitimate telephone numbers, the latest step in a years-long multistate effort to combat illegal robocalls. “Idahoans are tired of scammers swindling their families and flooding Read More…
A former general in Afghanistan’s Border Force and first deputy speaker of the Afghan National Assembly’s House of the People has been extradited to the United States and charged with conspiring to import hundreds of kilograms of heroin and methamphetamine and provide an arsenal of military-grade weapons to a drug trafficking organization. Abdul Zahir Qadeer, Read More…
Gov. Mark Gordon voted last week to support communities across Wyoming using Mineral Royalty Grants during a special virtual meeting of the State Loan and Investment Board, approving $3,673,931 in funding for 11 towns and districts. The meeting, held July 2, was called to review earlier 2026 projects for potential additional funds from grant reserves. Read More…
By: Frankie Beer, MSU News Service
The Montana Department of Environmental Quality is requesting public comment on revised water quality goals for Belt Creek, following the completion of a $13 million water treatment plant that has begun removing acid mine drainage from the creek for the first time in more than a century. DEQ has drafted a revised Missouri-Cascade and Belt Read More…
Canada has suspended several animal exports from Texas due to concerns about the New World screwworm, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is immediately suspending the export of horses, pigs, cattle, bison, sheep, goats, deer, elk, moose, llamas and more. Imports from other states are permitted, provided the Read More…
Utah Fourth Judicial District Court Judge Tony Graf has delayed his ruling on whether there’s enough evidence to bring Tyler Robinson to trial on charges of killing Arizona conservative leader Charlie Kirk. Following a five-day preliminary hearing, Graf on Friday said he would make his decision after having prosecution and defense lawyers present oral arguments Read More…
U.S. Supreme Court Justices Elena Kagan and Amy Coney Barrett made a rare appearance before lawmakers on Tuesday to defend the high court’s $225.1 million budget request, which included increased provisions for security. The U.S. House Appropriations subcommittee on financial services and general government heard testimony from the two justices of the court’s fiscal year Read More…
A bipartisan coalition of Gulf Coast lawmakers is pushing to change a 73-year-old law that limits their states’ maritime boundaries to 3 miles offshore, potentially reshaping the regulation of local fisheries and generating billions of dollars in tax revenues from offshore energy and minerals leases. Introduced by U.S. Rep. Mike Ezell, R-Miss., and a group Read More…
Gov. Larry Rhoden marked the completion of South Dakota’s new Women’s Correctional Facility in Rapid City Friday, cutting a strand of razor wire in place of a traditional ribbon to signal the $87 million facility is ready for inmates. The 102,750-square-foot facility on Rapid City’s north side includes three 96-bed housing units along with a Read More…
Soldiers and airmen assigned to the Alaska National Guard executed four missions to save four people in the Alaska wilderness before the July Fourth holiday weekend. Air Force Maj. Kody Schmidt, Alaska Rescue Coordination Center senior controller, said the first mission started following a request July 2 from the Alaska State Troopers for a hoist-capable Read More…
Montana Commissioner of Securities and Insurance James Brown saved Montanans more than $18 million in fiscal year 2025-2026 by denying unjustified insurance rate increases, the agency announced. Brown’s actions saved 127,855 Montana insurance consumers a combined $18,459,920 from July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026. During that period, the agency reviewed 3,937 rate filings. “Increasing Read More…
A first-of-its-kind study published by University of North Dakota researchers recently in JAMA Network Open reveals a significant association between residential radon gas—a common, modifiable environmental hazard—and an increased risk of ovarian cancer incidence and mortality among postmenopausal women. The prospective cohort study, led by researchers at the UND School of Medicine & Health Sciences Read More…
Idaho Gov. Brad Little announced several new appointments across state government, headlined by the naming of Alberto Gonzalez as director of the Idaho Transportation Department following the retirement of longtime director Scott Stokes. Gonzalez, who most recently served as Idaho’s chief information officer and administrator of the Office of Information Technology Services, officially assumed the Read More…
Thirty-seven Montana students competed at the 2026 National History Day National Contest, held June 14-18 at the University of Maryland in College Park, in what organizers described as the largest Montana delegation to the national competition in recent memory. Montana students earned special prizes, Smithsonian showcase selections and top-20% finishes across multiple categories. This year’s Read More…
Sen. Tim Sheehy’s bipartisan VA Home Loan Awareness Act has officially become law as part of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, which took effect July 11 after President Trump declined to sign the broader housing package, allowing it to become law automatically under the Constitution’s 10-day rule. The legislation, the first bill Sheehy Read More…
The U.S. Department of the Treasury imposed sanctions Friday on a Dubai-based Iranian financier accused of managing a global network of assets for Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, along with three Iranian exchange houses that move billions of dollars annually on behalf of sanctioned Iranian banks. The designations come as Iran has resumed attacks Read More…
Gov. Greg Gianforte joined Janicki Industries leadership to break ground on the company’s $800 million, 1.6 million-square-foot manufacturing campus in Great Falls, marking the formal start of what is expected to become one of the largest private investments in Montana’s recent history. The ceremony brought together Janicki leadership, state and local officials, and members of Read More…
Gov. Greg Gianforte suspended Public Service Commissioner Brad Molnar without pay for one year, effective immediately, citing findings from two independent investigations that concluded Molnar had engaged in sexual harassment, retaliation against staff and fellow commissioners, and continued retaliation after being warned to stop. The action, taken Thursday, is believed to be the first time Read More…
Attorney General Austin Knudsen announced the appointment of Kimberly Kutch as administrator of the Montana Department of Justice’s Forensic Science Division, which oversees the state crime lab and supports law enforcement agencies statewide. Kutch brings 30 years of experience in state and county government leadership to the role. She most recently served as a human Read More…
Calling in to Sean Hannity’s radio show Wednesday, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz offered a blunt warning cry to his party: Democratic state Rep. James Talarico has a legitimate shot at flipping Texas this year. “Unfortunately, I do think he has a real chance,” Cruz told Gov. Greg Abbott, who guest hosted the three-hour talk radio Read More…
Department of Homeland Security purchases facilities in California’s Kern and San Diego counties Private prison operator CoreCivic has sold two Southern California immigration detention centers to the federal government for $1.5 billion. Under the deal, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security takes ownership of the Otay Mesa Detention Center in San Diego County for $739.2 Read More…
Legislation meant to protect American teens and children online recently passed the U.S. House with strong bipartisan support, but civil liberties groups are warning that the bill could have unintended consequences. The Kids Internet and Digital Safety (KIDS) Act, which passed the House in a bipartisan 267-117 vote, is a compilation of bills that, among Read More…
Two Romanian brothers illegally in the United States pleaded guilty in federal court to orchestrating a fraud scheme that stole more than $760,000 in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits from recipients across multiple states. Marian Ovidiu Dumitru, 37, and Catalin Dumitru, 39, both Romanian citizens who were residing unlawfully in the United States, each pleaded Read More…
The U.S. Department of the Treasury released an analysis of the first filing season under the Working Families Tax Cuts, the sweeping tax legislation President Trump signed into law one year ago, showing American families and workers claimed more than $82 billion in individual tax relief through the April filing deadline. According to Treasury’s analysis, Read More…
Montana State University earned a spot on Forbes magazine’s annual list of “America’s Top Colleges,” which ranks universities according to factors such as students’ return-on-investment from their degrees and their ability to earn scholarships. MSU ranked 345th on Forbes’ list, placing it among a select group of 500 institutions recognized from approximately 2,600 four-year colleges Read More…
The U.S. Department of Commerce has named Andrew Silberstein as executive director of the U.S. Investment Accelerator, the federal office created by President Trump in March 2025 to attract and fast-track large-scale domestic and foreign investments. Silberstein brings nearly three decades of experience in real estate, private equity and investment banking to the role. He Read More…
Montana officially began implementing community engagement requirements for its Medicaid expansion program July 1, making the state one of the first in the nation to enforce the new rules, which stem from federal legislation signed into law last year. The requirements, known formally as community engagement requirements, mandate that most adults between the ages of Read More…
Medicare and Medicaid funding accounted for almost $12 billion of services provided through assisted living facilities, according to a new report released by the Government Accountability Office. The independent nonpartisan agency examined spending for services in assisted living facilities in 2024, the year with the most recently available data. The agency found $3.5 billion in Read More…
Microsoft announced layoffs Monday impacting 605 workers based out of Washington, part of a planned broader corporate restructuring that will eliminate 4,800 employees globally. According to the Washington Employment Security Department WARN database, the permanent job cuts were formally logged on Monday and are scheduled to take effect on Sept. 4. The 605-person filing represents the Read More…
The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday ruled the federal government can’t hold undocumented immigrants for more than 90 days without a bond hearing, rejecting a Trump administration policy that requires immigration agents to hold immigrants until they are deported. In 2-1 ruling, the three-judge panel based in New Orleans said the federal government Read More…
The Texas Stock Exchange commenced trading on Monday, kickstarting the first real test of one of the most well-funded new exchanges to launch in decades. The Texas Stock Exchange, a Dallas-based startup, is initiating a phased rollout to take place over the course of July. On Monday, the exchange opened to TXSE members, including approved Read More…
A Gallatin County man accused of strangling his now-deceased wife has been offered a plea deal that would result in no prison time, drawing public outrage and calls for the Montana attorney general to intervene — the latest controversy for a county attorney’s office already embroiled in a lawsuit over its refusal to cooperate with Read More…
The Justice Department announced charges against eight alleged members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua in two separate cases involving kidnappings and murders in Texas and Illinois, with Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche saying all eight entered the United States illegally between December 2021 and April 2024. In the Texas case, a grand jury Read More…
Billings Police Chief Rich St. John announced Friday he plans to retire Sept. 30, ending a 45-year law enforcement career in Montana’s largest city and one of its most crime-challenged. St. John began his law enforcement career in 1981 as a Billings patrol officer, a role he held for six years before moving into the Read More…
The Montana Department of Commerce announced that $250,000 in grant funding has been awarded to two Montana communities to support public safety and development projects in coal-impacted areas, allocated by the Montana Coal Board. “Commerce is proud to support the people who live in Montana’s coal country,” said Commerce Director Marta Bertoglio. “In the last Read More…
A former Powell County Sheriff’s Office captain and high school wrestling coach has been charged with sexual intercourse without consent involving a student, Attorney General Austin Knudsen announced. John Austin Micu, 42, was charged Wednesday in Powell County District Court following a more than year-long investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct involving a student and Read More…
Two hundred and fifty years after 56 delegates affixed their signatures to the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia, the United States is marking its semiquincentennial — one of the rarest milestones a nation can reach — with a yearlong wave of celebrations, commemorations and reflection stretching from coast to coast. July 4, 2026 is the Read More…
Montana Commissioner of Securities and Insurance James Brown announced that a series of enforcement settlements with entities that failed to properly file required notices of business activity in Montana has added roughly $60,000 to the state’s Securities Fraud Restitution Assistance Fund in 2026. The fund provides financial assistance to Montana residents harmed in cases prosecuted Read More…