All posts by Big Sky Headlines

Governor Gordon Appoints Jeremy Kisling to Wyoming’s Fourth Judicial District Circuit Court

CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Gov. Mark Gordon has appointed Jeremy Kent Kisling to serve as a circuit court judge in Wyoming’s Fourth Judicial District, filling a vacancy on the bench serving Johnson and Sheridan counties. Gordon announced the appointment Aug. 6 following Wyoming’s judicial selection process. Kisling was among the nominees submitted to the governor by Read More…

Daines Leads Push for DOJ to Apply NFA Ruling Nationwide

Sen. Steve Daines and Rep. Andrew Clyde led a coalition of 47 Republican lawmakers urging the Justice Department to apply a landmark federal court ruling striking down National Firearms Act registration requirements nationwide — and the Trump administration has since confirmed the DOJ will not appeal the decision. U.S. District Judge James Wesley Hendrix of Read More…

Greg Hertz

Knudsen Was Right to Restore Montana’s Term Limits

Attorney General Austin Knudsen has withdrawn the 2012 opinion of then-Attorney General Steve Bullock and reaffirmed the reading of Montana’s term-limit provision set out in 1997 by Attorney General Joe Mazurek. He was right to do it. The charge that will follow—that Knudsen invented a new rule for a particular election—has the history backwards. Mazurek, Read More…

State’s Top Arts Honor Goes to Six Montanans This Year

Six Montanans working across music, painting, ceramics, glasswork, engraving and violin will receive the state’s highest arts honor this year, the Montana Arts Council announced. The 2026 Governor’s Arts Award recipients are Missoula musician Jeff Ament, Bozeman landscape painter Clyde Aspevig, Bozeman stained glass artist David Fjeld, Helena ceramicist Sarah Jaeger, Bozeman violinist Carrie Krause, Read More…

UW Contributes to New Study on North America Bison History

Genetic material from bison bones collected at Wyoming archaeological sites — and housed at the University of Wyoming — played a key role in a sweeping new study about the history of the iconic species in North America. The study — which involved researchers from more than 30 institutions and organizations, including Wyoming State Archaeologist Read More…

Applied Materials Report Seen as Bellwether for AI Capital Spending

Applied Materials is set to report fiscal third-quarter earnings Thursday after the market closes, with investors looking for signs that booming investment in artificial intelligence continues to drive demand for semiconductor manufacturing equipment. The company reports Thursday, Aug. 13, and Wall Street is expecting another strong quarter. Analysts expect Applied Materials to report revenue of Read More…

Pentagon Announces $80 Million for Mining, Metallurgy Schools

The Department of War announced more than $80 million in proposed investments in university mining and metallurgy programs, including at the Colorado School of Mines, the South Dakota School of Mines and Johns Hopkins University, unveiled at a roundtable with mining industry executives. The funding would flow through the department’s Office of the Under Secretary Read More…

Sheehy Bill Targets Foreign Drug Price Controls

Sen. Tim Sheehy introduced legislation that would create a dedicated pharmaceutical trade negotiator within the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and expand federal oversight of foreign drug pricing policies. The Use Sovereignty to Reduce Rx Act, or USTRx Act, targets what its sponsors describe as price control regimes in wealthy countries that suppress payments Read More…

Treasury issues guidance for employer-sponsored contributions to Trump Accounts

Employers now have guidance from the Treasury Department on how to contribute to ‘Trump Accounts’ for their employees’ children, and the department says more than 50 companies have already committed to offering such contributions. The new guidance provides a framework for employers to contribute up to $2,500 annually to employees’ ‘Trump Accounts’ for their children. Read More…

Thick smoke rises from an industrial chimney. Photo: Kelly / Pexels

Financial officers applaud climate rule rescission

A coalition of state financial officers applauded the Securities and Exchange Commission for moving to rescind its 2024 climate disclosure rules that is estimated to save public businesses more than $7.9 billion. In March 2024, the SEC approved amendments to its rules that would mandate all public companies disclose greenhouse gas emissions, how it managed climate-related risks, Read More…

The Montana Democratic Party published a statement praising Democrat Alani Bankhead for suspending her Senate campaign before she had actually done so

Dems Announce Bankhead Dropped Out — She Didn’t

The Montana Democratic Party published a statement praising Democrat Alani Bankhead for suspending her Senate campaign before she had actually done so — a stunning blunder that laid bare how certain party leaders had become that their own nominee would step aside. The statement, first surfaced by Semafor’s Burgess Everett on X, reads: “The Montana Democratic Read More…

FBI Secretly Opened Probe Alleging Trump Fired Comey Because He Was a Russian Asset, Declassified Memos Show

The FBI opened a criminal probe specifically targeting Donald Trump in May 2017, alleging the newly elected president may have been acting as a Russian asset when he fired then-Director James Comey even though the bureau’s own evidence overwhelmingly showed at the time there was no collusion with the Kremlin. Internal FBI memos newly declassified Read More…

OPI Launches Redesigned School Report Card Platform

Montana Superintendent of Public Instruction Susie Hedalen has launched a new online platform intended to make state and district education data easier for the public to search and understand. The Community Engagement platform, built on software from PowerSchool, provides access to Montana’s annual report cards required under the federal Every Student Succeeds Act at the Read More…

Friedberg Says Starlink Could Become a $1 Trillion Business

Elon Musk said this week that Starlink’s long-term revenue potential could be far larger than a bullish estimate offered by former Alphabet executive and venture capitalist David Friedberg, as the satellite internet business continues rapid subscriber and revenue growth. Speaking on the All-In podcast, Friedberg cited Starlink’s performance in making a bullish case for the Read More…

Treasury Releases CFIUS Annual Report for 2025

The Treasury Department released its annual report on the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, showing the panel reviewed 347 covered transactions in 2025 even as repeated lapses in federal funding slowed its work. CFIUS, the interagency body that screens foreign investment for national security risks, is chaired by Treasury and includes the Read More…

Nevada Doctor Charged With $95 Million Medicare Wound Care Fraud

A federal grand jury in Nevada indicted a Henderson, Nev., physician on charges he orchestrated a $95 million scheme to defraud Medicare by billing for medically unnecessary amniotic wound treatments applied to elderly patients, the Justice Department announced. Stephen Dubin, 74, sole owner of Dubin Medical Consultants, doing business as Wound MD, is charged with Read More…

Gianforte Seeks Comment on PSC Applicants

Gov. Greg Gianforte is accepting public comment on five applicants for a temporary appointment to the Montana Public Service Commission, with a deadline of 5 p.m. Mountain time on Thursday, Aug. 20. The applicants are Kirk A. Bushman, Nicholas R. Fitzmaurice, Nicholas A. Loos, John E. Prinkki and David E. Wanzenried. Their applications are posted Read More…

State Investigation Alleges Kalispell Bondsman Exploited Clients

Montana State Auditor James Brown has suspended the insurance producer license of a Kalispell bail bondsman accused of exploiting people under his supervision, including allegedly trading bond services for sexual favors. The suspension order, issued Aug. 3, bars Laine Kendall Callahan from operating as a bail bondsman in the state pending a revocation hearing, which Read More…

July CPI Report Wednesday Could Be a Major Test for Markets and the Fed

Investors will get one of the most important economic reports of the month Wednesday morning when the government releases its July Consumer Price Index, providing the latest look at inflation and potentially reshaping expectations for the Federal Reserve. The Bureau of Labor Statistics will release July CPI at 8:30 a.m. Eastern time Wednesday, Aug. 12. Read More…

CoreWeave Set to Report Second-Quarter Results Tuesday

CoreWeave is set to report second-quarter earnings Tuesday after the market closes, giving investors another look at whether massive spending on artificial intelligence infrastructure is translating into sustainable growth. The AI-focused cloud computing company will report results Aug. 11, followed by an earnings call at 5 p.m. Eastern time, according to CoreWeave. Wall Street is Read More…

Biden’s Cancer Has Spread Further, Son Says

Former President Joe Biden’s cancer has spread beyond his bones and is causing him significant pain, his son Hunter Biden said in an interview with the BBC posted online Friday. Hunter Biden described the disease as “very painful” and “very debilitating,” saying it had “metastasized into his bones and further.” He did not specify where Read More…

Human nutrition degree opens new path to medical school

Nutrition is moving closer to the center of medical education, allowing pre health students a different path to careers in medicine. In June, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services announced new commitments from medical education and accreditation organizations to strengthen nutrition instruction throughout medical school, residency and professional training. Seventy-three medical schools have Read More…

Montana should stop funding media blacklists

Montana prides itself on independence. We value open spaces, open markets, and open minds. We are skeptical of distant institutions that presume they know what’s best for our communities. That is precisely why Montana lawmakers should take a hard look at how state advertising dollars are being spent. Today, Montana state agencies hire advertising firms Read More…