In an 8-1 vote Tuesday, the Kalispell City Council approved on first reading a five-story $34 million downtown hotel development and a 250-space parking garage, as well as a land transfer of the prominent city-owned parking lot located on Third Avenue and Main Street. The parking garage, which would utilize tax increment financing (TIF), is Read More…
BILLINGS — A months-long battle will come to an end Monday night, when the Billings school board decides whether to keep two books allegedly depicting gay sex on the library shelves. The issue first arose in Fairfax County, Virginia, surrounding two coming of age stories: “Lawn Boy” a novel by Jonathan Evison and “Gender Queer: a Read More…
TOWNSEND — Four months ago, Lloyd Barrus was convicted of deliberate homicide by accountability in the 2017 killing of Broadwater County Sheriff’s Deputy Mason Moore. On Friday, Barrus was back in court in Townsend for a hearing that could determine where he’ll spend his sentence – in the Montana State Hospital or in prison. District Read More…
Facebook has patented a new technology for an “authentic” robot eye. The idea, granted in December, would let the social media company build a “high performing and realistic” eyeball that would be like an “animatronic device” to track humans’ eye movements. Tracking eye movements is used in digital ads to detect what people look at, as Read More…
WASHINGTON – The second week of August began as a time for vacation for President Joe Biden and some of his team. Then Afghanistan imploded. The reports out of Kabul were harrowing: Images of desperate Afghan nationals clinging to U.S. military airplanes leaving the country and, days later, a suicide bombing at a gate to Read More…
HELENA — A federal judge Tuesday struck down a portion of Montana’s “clean campaign act,” saying it’s an unconstitutional burden on free speech to require political committees to notify candidates about last-minute attack campaign material. U.S. District Judge Don Molloy of Missoula said the so-called “fair notice” requirement, which applies only to material distributed within Read More…
ANALYSIS — It’s been 40 years since Montana had to worry about congressional redistricting. The Treasure State was allocated a second seat in the most recent round of reapportionment — the last time that happened was after the 1980 census — and had to go through the process of bifurcating the state. Even though a Read More…
MISSOULA — Although there’s still some lingering uncertainty because of the latest pandemic surge, firefighters in Western Montana are preparing their teams for a return to Seattle to climb hundreds of stairs to help fight a critical disease. The Seattle Stairclimb, which has raised millions of dollars for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society has become a Northwest Read More…
BOZEMAN — Montana State University Extension will present a free, three-part webinar series, “Electric Vehicle Adoption in Montana: Understanding Opportunities and Issues.” The series is intended to provide individuals, community leaders and planners with a better understanding of the impact of the use of electric vehicles in rural communities. The webinars will be held from 9 to Read More…
The Montana Department of Justice investigated 68 human trafficking cases in 2021, an increase of 871 percent from the seven cases reported in 2015, and the actual number of cases investigated in the state last year is likely higher, reports the Great Falls Tribune. While the amount of trafficking in Montana is on the rise, experts Read More…
WASHINGTON — With workers quitting their jobs in record numbers across the United States, employers are getting creative with their offerings to attract and retain talent. Many are providing more money and benefits amid a nationwide labor shortage that has worsened supply chain shortages and hampered businesses, especially those that employ front-line workers. In Arizona, one Read More…
Hard-hitting investigative journalist and former NYPD detective John Connolly passed away on Saturday at 78. The cop-turned-scribe was known among media insiders for his unending Rolodex, and a unique ability to mix among Hollywood execs and stars, Wall Street rainmakers, pols, police and wiseguys alike. Connolly was a co-author with James Patterson of the 2017 book “Filthy Rich: The Read More…
CNN — Photos and videos showing piles of empty boxes littered alongside rail tracks in Los Angeles County, California have gone viral as shipping companies say they’ve seen a dramatic spike in railroad theft. Some of the boxes are packages from companies like UPS, Amazon and FedEx. Union Pacific, one of the country’s largest railroad companies, Read More…
Wyoming’s state superintendent of public instruction is resigning to become the head of Virginia’s public school system. The resignation of Wyoming State Superintendent Jillian Balow will be effective Sunday. Virginia Governor-elect Glenn Youngkin, who takes office Saturday, has named Balow to replace Rosa Atkins, who has been acting state superintendent since James Lane’s resignation in Read More…
Three years ago, millennials became the largest living adult population in the United States, but not in Wyoming, where a steady flow of young people have migrated out of the state for years. A recent report by the Department of Workforce Services noted a 6% decrease in Wyoming’s millennial population between 2014 and 2020. That Read More…
U.S. SENATE – U.S. Senator Steve Daines introduced a Senate resolution designating today, Jan 16 as Religious Freedom Day. This resolution commemorates the 236th Anniversary of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, a landmark achievement that laid the foundations for the First Amendment. “America stands as a beacon of hope and a symbol of religious Read More…
HELENA – After proclaiming January as Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month in Montana, Governor Greg Gianforte today teamed up with Attorney General Austin Knudsen to encourage Montanans to join the fight to end human trafficking. “Generating an estimated $150 billion worldwide per year, human trafficking is a form of modern-day slavery whereby traffickers, which Read More…
Whitefish City Council on Tuesday will consider a large-scale mixed-used development straddling Big Mountain Road. Developers behind the Mountain Gateway project are requesting a planned unit development and conditional zoning for the property. The council is meeting on Tuesday because of the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday on Monday. The meeting begins at 7:10 Read More…
On Tuesday, Jan. 11, Smith Valley School in Batavia announced staff shortages due to the rise in COVID-19 cases were forcing the school to close for the remainder of the week, the first pandemic-related school closure of the new year. Meanwhile, Kalispell Public Schools (KPS) Superintendent Micah Hill dispelled rumors circulating this week that administrators Read More…
Billings students will have to wear masks for the foreseeable future after Superintendent Greg Upham extended the mask mandate on Thursday. Parents responded to the news Friday while waiting to pick up kids after school. “You know, I would love to see them go away but it’s not that big a deal,” said Kara Eaton, Read More…
Sen. Joe Manchin says he supports repealing the Trump administration tax cuts that were passed at the end of 2017. This is surprising because Manchin has stood up for West Virginia taxpayers against the Democratic Party-Biden Build Back Better plan that would raise taxes on working families and small businesses. By supporting the repeal of Read More…
Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Richard Clarida said Monday he will be leaving his post with just a few weeks left on his term and amid revelations regarding his trading of stock funds. In an announcement released Monday afternoon, Clarida said he will be stepping down from his post this Friday. His term expires on Jan. 31. The Read More…
MISSOULA — BNSF Railway is taking over operations and maintenance of Montana Rail Link following the end of a long-term lease with the company. A letter to MRL employees Monday from President Derek Ollmann states the decision was “made after a great deal of thought including securing BNSF’s commitment to continue employment for all MRL Read More…
HELENA — Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte on Monday joined GOP legislators and Montana’s Republican attorney general, in asking the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene in their dispute with the Montana Supreme Court over whether that court is improperly “prejudging proposed legislation.” Gianforte, through his chief lawyer, Anita Milanovich, filed a “friend of the court” brief Read More…
MISSOULA, Mont. – Being recognized as one of the country’s most innovative new programs, Missoula County’s Calibrate program received a $600,000 grant award from the federal Department of Justice. This prosecution-led diversion program differs from treatment courts in the area. Treatment courts are programs that take place after convictions, where participants of Calibrate are enrolled Read More…
Apple Inc. Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook received almost $100 million in compensation in 2021, a year in which he completed 10 years as the company’s CEO and led the iPhone maker to record profits during a global pandemic. His $98.7 million pay package rose more than 500% compared with the previous year’s $14.8 million, Read More…
Liberty Global, the largest international TV and broadband company, is standing by embattled board member John W. Dick, saying he serves in good standing. Dick has become embroiled in a dispute over allegedly stolen assets that has generated headlines around the world as his daughter has accused him of theft and of looting assets from Read More…
A lawsuit has been filed against the City of Whitefish regarding the recent denial of a proposed hotel just off Highway 93 on the south end of town. Rimrock Companies, the Florida-based company that proposed the project, filed a lawsuit last month in Flathead County District Court claiming the city unlawfully denied the proposal. It’s Read More…
BOZEMAN, Mont. – A staffing shortage of substitute teachers mixed with COVID concerns and full-time teachers calling out sick is affecting some of the biggest school districts in Montana. At the beginning of the 2021-2022 school year in September, human resource directors at some of the biggest school districts across the state from Billings, Bozeman, Butte, Read More…
WEST GLACIER — Retiring Glacier National Park Superintendent Jeff Mow has a sense of satisfaction for what his staff accomplished during his eight-year assignment. But he also looks ahead to the challenges his successors are going to face in the years to come. If there’s a development historians will notice about the past decade in Read More…
The Montana judiciary is in deep trouble. The Wall Street Journal picked up on a local story that has been exploding since last April but has just now started to get national attention. In April, the Montana judiciary was caught red-handed lobbying against bills that would lead to more accountability for judges. This comes right on the heels Read More…
HELENA — Montana Supreme Court Justice Jim Rice said Thursday he will run for re-election this year to a third eight-year term on the state’s highest court, potentially extending his tenure as the court’s longest-serving justice. Rice, 64, was appointed to the court in 2001, by then-Gov. Judy Martz. He ran for retainment in the Read More…
Los Angeles lawmakers over the past few years have allowed the homeless to overtake a city-owned historic town square that has been a tourist destination for a century. When Sheriff Alex Villanueva discovered that famed Olvera Street was becoming a ghost town as merchants and restaurant owners fled the homeless encampment, he took it personally. Villanueva used to visit the city’s oldest Read More…
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene said Monday she has been temporarily barred from posting on her Facebook account by the social network, less than a day after losing her personal Twitter account. “Facebook has joined Twitter in censoring me,” Greene (R-Ga.) wrote on Gettr, a social media platform favored by some right-wing conservatives. “This is beyond Read More…
MISSOULA, Mont. — Governor Gianforte will deliver infrastructure funds from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) to the City of Dillon on Jan. 3. This will go to improving drinking water. In Septmeber, Gianforte authorized $1.9 million in competitive and minimum allocation grants to replace a waterline transmission and distribution system. The system previously had leaks Read More…
After more than a year of the COVID-19 pandemic delaying progress on the new Whitefish High School (WHS) sports complex, the topic is back at the forefront for school administrators and trustees, but with some big potential changes on deck. The Whitefish School District (WSD) recently identified looming classroom capacity constraints at the current high Read More…
MISSOULA, Mont. — The new year in Montana brings the legalization of recreational marijuana. Marijuana businesses are allowed to be open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. and a 20% state sales tax is included in the purchase. Adults can now buy up to one ounce of marijuana and are allowed to have two mature plants Read More…
BOZEMAN, Mont. – Strong winds and unstable snowpack has created moderate to low avalanche danger with a possibility of large avalanches across the Bridger, Gallatin and Madison mountain ranges. The Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center (GNFAC) said frigid temperatures in the single digits along with heavy snowfall in the past two weeks and strong wind Read More…
UPDATE: 1/2/2022, 3:35 PM – NWS Great Falls issued a Flood Advisory near Logan for low land flooding. As of Sunday afternoon the flood waters have not reached the county road but there is widespread lowland field flooding. There is considerable ice jams and all the rivers near Headwaters State Park. GREAT FALLS – Officials Read More…
Walmart faces mounting criticism on Chinese social media platforms from users who allege the retail giant has stopped offering products from Xinjiang province in its China-based stores, according to a report Monday. The viral backlash began last week, with users on Weibo and other platforms posting images claiming products made in Xinjiang weren’t available at Read More…