It’s been a whirlwind first month in office for Montana Governor Greg Gianforte. The Bozeman businessman inherited the Treasure State’s highest office in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, including the early stages of vaccine distribution. One of his first acts repealed pandemic-related capacity and curfew restrictions on businesses across Montana, and he said the state’s mask Read More…
Former Montana Gov. Steve Bullock has a new gig in politics. Bullock was one of three Democrats named as co-chairs to lead American Bridge 21st Century, a group aiming to support President Joe Biden’s agenda and maintain Democrats’ slim majorities in the U.S. House and Senate in the 2022 midterm elections, according to The Washington Post. Read More…
BILLINGS – As marijuana becomes legal in Montana with certain guidelines, there’s new concern among law enforcement roughly one month since the measure took hold. That’s because in a state already plagued by a drunk driving epidemic, new projections coming from the Montana Department of Justice show that DUI’s could increase due to marijuana use. Read More…
GALLATIN COUNTY — Body-worn cameras on law enforcement officers are becoming more and more common across the country. In a three-part series, MTN’s Gaby Krevat talks to a few Montana agencies leading the charge on body-worn cameras; a Montana city preparing to invest in the technology, and civil rights and racial equity advocates to hear Read More…
A bill would legalize marijuana for recreational use in North Dakota — but with some restrictions. House Bill 1420 would allow recreational weed to be sold at dispensaries, where medical marijuana is already available for those who qualify in the state. Under the legislation, those 21 and older could purchase or possess an ounce or less and Read More…
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) – A bill introduced in the South Dakota Legislature Wednesday would require student athletes across the state to sign a document stating their biological sex. It would also limit who can play in girls and women’s sports. House Bill 1217 is being called ‘an act to promote continued fairness in women’s sports.’ Read More…
BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) – Twelve North Dakota communities will be receiving upgrades, thanks to the Main Street Initiative Vibrancy Grant. Grant funding goes to nonprofit organizations and local governments to work on projects that will make the city more vibrant. The North Dakota Department of Commerce selected Bismarck as a recipient of the funding to Read More…
Congressional Democrats and Joe Biden made the $15 minimum wage a key part of their 2020 platform. But it’s now at risk of exclusion or being watered down in Biden’s coronavirus package, a potential letdown for progressives who have fought for years to raise wages. Democrats’ first obstacle: The plan to include it in their Read More…
White House climate czar John Kerry traveled to Iceland by private jet in 2019 to accept an environmental award and defended his transportation choice to a reporter at the time by calling it, “the only choice for somebody like me.” Kerry flew to Iceland in October, 2019 to receive the Arctic Circle award, an iceberg sculpture, for Read More…
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Thursday that she and financial market regulators needed to “understand deeply” what happened in the trading frenzy involving GameStop Corp and other retail stocks in recent days before taking any action. READ FULL STORY
Dr. Anthony Fauci warned Americans on Wednesday that large Super Bowl parties could turn into “super-spreader” events for COVID-19. During an interview on the Today show, the chief medical adviser to President Joe Biden and the director of the National Institute for Allergies and Infectious Diseases urged football fans to keep gatherings small for Sunday’s game. Read More…
A long-standing real estate company has changed ownership after 61 years. The announcement was made Wednesday afternoon that Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Floberg Real Estate has been sold. Charles and Beth Smith became the owners on Jan. 1, 2021. READ FULL STORY
An environmental law firm has appealed a federal district court judge’s decision to dismiss its lawsuit challenging three timber projects in southwest Montana. John Meyer, attorney for the Cottonwood Environmental Law Center, filed an appeal with the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals last Friday over a district court judge’s decision not to block Read More…
HELENA — The two Republican members of Montana’s congressional delegation have introduced bills to reverse President Biden’s decision to halt construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline. And, the delegation’s only Democrat – U.S. Sen. Jon Tester – wrote a letter this week to the president, asking him to reconsider his order canceling Keystone’s cross-border permit. Read More…
KALISPELL — The Flathead County Sheriff’s Office reports they are still searching for Nassem Ali Saleh Mohammed who illegally crossed the United States and Canadian border on the weekend of Jan. 23. Flathead Sheriff Brian Heino said Mohammed was taken into the custody of the Border Patrol in Whitefish, as the patrol agents were scanning Mohammed’s Read More…
BILLINGS, Mont.- Montana Highway Patrol Captain Keith Edgell said 50% of the deaths on Montana highways this year have involved people driving under the influence. There have been 17 deaths on Montana Highways so far in 2021. There were 209 deaths on Montana Highways in 2020. Ninety-one of those were linked to DUI. “You know, over the Read More…
BOZEMAN — As Montana State continues to search for its head football coach, one coach who had been a part of Jeff Choate’s staff since 2019 is packing his bags and heading to the NFL. MTN confirmed that Erik Frazier, the Bobcats’ wide receivers coach and pass game coordinator, has taken a position with the Read More…
A U.S. federal judge has ruled that Indian Health Service must make a report public, which details how the agency failed to stop pediatrician Stanley Patrick Weber from sexually abusing Native American children for decades, on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times sued the federal government in April Read More…
PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) -Some South Dakota voters are filing ethics complaints with the South Dakota Secretary of State’s office. The complaints have to do with a text message sent out last Wednesday, targeting a Republican lawmaker from Rapid City who is the sponsor of a bill that would require the governor to release the amount Read More…
Uber on Tuesday announced an agreement to buy Drizly, a Boston-based alcohol delivery startup, for $1.1 billion in cash and stock. Why it matters: This could represent a strategic departure for Uber, in that Drizly doesn’t hire delivery drivers itself. Instead, it provides the backend infrastructure for local liquor stores to provide their own delivery services. Read More…
MISSOULA, Mont. — The Missoula City Council agreed to sign the city on to an interlocal agreement with Missoula County, Bozeman and Helena to hire a green tariff consultant. A green tariff is a rate, not a tax, offered to people who want to opt into receiving 100% clean, renewable energy. The consultant will help leaders Read More…
HELENA, Mont. — Montana House lawmakers voted to advance a bill that would protect businesses and health care providers from coronavirus-related lawsuits. Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte endorsed the bill last week, saying it was necessary to remove a statewide mask mandate put in place by his Democratic predecessor. READ FULL STORY
(Bloomberg) — Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez detailed the moment she feared for her life during the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, disclosing that she’s the survivor of a past sexual assault to drive home her accusation that some Republicans have been dismissive of her trauma. The New York Democrat described on Monday her growing Read More…
Backers of an effort to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom are still collecting signatures, but rivals are already announcing their intention to run. Former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer plans to challenge the governor if the recall qualifies for the ballot this year, or in 2022 if it does not. In an interview with The Times, Read More…
Jalina Porter, who has been named deputy spokesperson for the U.S. State Department under President Biden, once wrote that the largest threat to U.S. national security may be a domestic one. In a 2016 Facebook post, Porter wrote that U.S. cops posed the largest national security threat, greater than that of both Russian hackers and ISIS, because of killings Read More…
Bryan Moss could be the luckiest man in Idaho. The dad from Meridian just won the lottery – for the sixth time. Moss won the Idaho Lottery Scratch Game $250,000 Crossword on Thursday, the lottery said in a press release. Moss plays the lottery regularly because it benefits Idaho schools. Since 1989, the Idaho Lottery has Read More…
With the Wolverine State going live last week, five states now offer licensed and regulated online poker – Nevada, New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania, and Michigan. If State Rep. Jim Kasper has anything to say about it, North Dakota will be added to the list. Earlier this month, Kasper, a Republican who has represented District 46 (Fargo) since 2001, has introduced House Read More…
A group of disenfranchised Colorado residents are exploring the possibility of annexing from their home state and changing boundary lines so their entire county becomes part of Wyoming. Christopher “Todd” Richards is leading the effort with his “Weld County Wyoming” political committee, created last February, according to local outlet Fox 31 KDVR. READ FULL STORY
CHEYENNE – In homes with children, fighting over who gets to use the internet or who needs to stop their streams has become a common American experience over the last couple decades. It’s an argument that Laramie County resident Jackie Fornstrom knows well, living with her husband and four teenage boys on their family farm Read More…
Former Republican President George W. Bush waded into the escalating GOP civil war over Donald Trump‘s impeachment on Friday, after Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz rallied to defeat Congresswoman Liz Cheney in her home state of Wyoming. As the Republican party grapples with its future under President Joe Biden, the civil war has intensified after 10 House members voted in favor of Read More…
A three-term Montana House representative from Billings has a bigger role in a nationwide legislative organization. The National Conference of State Legislatures selected Rep. Barry Usher, R-Billings, to serve on its executive committee. Every legislator is automatically part of the organization and Usher has been the vice-chair of the law and justice committee. He says Read More…
A little more than one week ago, U.S. Border Patrol agents took four men into custody near Whitefish after they allegedly made an illegal border crossing from Canada into the U.S. Three remain in custody, including one accused of murder in Canada, but one walked away before agents fully realized who he was. Now, law Read More…
Longtime Titans coach Jeff Fisher is reportedly a candidate for the Montana State head coaching position. Fisher, 62, a Franklin resident, recently expressed interest in the Tennessee Vols vacancy. The Montana State position came open on Jan. 28 when Bobcats coach Jeff Choate became co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Texas. READ FULL STORY
Brown said it’s hard for many universities to maintain the expenses of library collections, and this reduction will save about $500,000 annually. “There’s inflationary rises in those costs. Similar, you know, to electricity, water, heat — the library really is, you know, like a utility and part of the basic infrastructure. But it is a Read More…
GREAT FALLS, Mont.- A free online course is geared toward boosting success, and it’s open to every business in Montana. The courses will help business owners increase revenue, sales, traffic, and profitability. “Destination Creation” by Grow Great Falls is normally priced at $399, but that fee has been lifted in an effort to help business Read More…
Montana’s largest MLS contracts to make FOREWARN services available for its 3,000+ REALTOR® members to promote proactive agent safety BOCA RATON, Fla., Feb. 01, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — FOREWARN, LLC, a red violet company (NASDAQ: RDVT) and the leading provider of real-time information solutions for real estate agents, today announced that the Montana Regional MLS (“MRMLS”) Read More…
A group of companies involved in the exploration and production of oil and natural gas, is challenging President Biden’s executive order that would stop future land leases for those businesses. The Western Energy Alliance (WEA) filed a complaint against the Biden Administration in U.S. District Court in Cheyenne, Wyoming on Wednesday. The suit names the President, Acting Read More…
Wind farms and massive arrays of solar panels are cropping up across public and private landscapes both in the United States and abroad as users increasingly turn to “green energy” as their preferred flavor of electricity. President Joe Biden, in fact, has directed the Interior Department to identify suitable places to host 20 gigawatts of Read More…
New York’s nursing-home death toll from COVID-19 may be more than 50 percent higher than officials claim — because Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s administration hasn’t revealed how many of those residents died in hospitals, state Attorney General Letitia James announced Thursday. In a damning, 76-page report, James also said that some unidentified nursing homes apparently underreported resident fatalities to the state Department of Read More…
DETROIT — General Motors wants to end production of all diesel- and gasoline-powered cars, trucks and SUVs by 2035 and shift its entire new fleet to electric vehicles as part of a broader plan to become carbon neutral by 2040, the company said Thursday. The company plans to use 100% renewable energy to power its U.S. Read More…