BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) – District Court Judge John Grinsteiner retires in one month, which left the Supreme Court questioning whether the South Central Judicial District chambers would be filled, relocated or abolished. Because of the increasing caseload in the area, the judgeship will remain in Mandan. The district consists of nine counties with more than Read More…
CHEYENNE, Wyo. (Wyoming News Now) – Wyoming Department of Transportation has received notification from their public affairs office, that a driver’s license phone scam had started circulating July 16th. Text messages are being sent to cell phones regarding false final notices for license waiver validations. Other D.O.T. offices have been experiencing the same scam for the last 6 to 8 Read More…
Wyoming Game and Fish commissioners backed agency staff last week and approved compensation for trophy game damage to stock that amounted to $388,696 less than two ranchers claimed. With one dissenting vote in the two separate cases, the appointed citizen commission approved $71,339 to Josh Longwell of HD Ranch and $11,626 to Christian Peterson of Read More…
CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — Donald Trump will meet with Republicans running against Rep. Liz Cheney next week, and endorse one in the next few months, the former president said in a statement Tuesday. Trump will meet with them in Bedminster, New Jersey, home of the Trump National Golf Club Bedminster, where he has moved for Read More…
Montana Senate President Pro Tempore Jason Ellsworth of Hamilton has been charged with three misdemeanors, including obstruction of a peace officer, after he was pulled over for speeding in a construction zone in May. The officer reported a verbal altercation with Ellsworth in which the senator claimed he was exempt from arrest because he was Read More…
HELENA — Hundreds of local governments and associations in Montana are seeking federal COVID relief money to pay for water and sewer infrastructure projects – and state leaders are facing decisions about which of those projects are going to get funding. During the Montana legislative session, lawmakers identified these projects as a top priority. In Read More…
Billings, Montana, has become the place to buy a home in the United States — at least according to The Wall Street Journal/Realtor.com Emerging Housing Markets Index. The rise to the top of the index isn’t completely out of the blue for the city, which has a population of 184,000, since it was previously in the fourth spot. But Read More…
BOZEMAN — Despite a pandemic, it seems like the city of Bozeman is doing great economically. But that comes with advantages and disadvantages. “What we’re seeing in the last year and a half is an unprecedented surge in housing prices driven in large part by the availability of relatively high-income folks to relocate in places Read More…
WORDEN- — As drought conditions worsen across Montana, farmers are being forced to wait longer to harvest alfalfa. This is leading to a hay shortage, which is causing prices to skyrocket. “I was looking, and prices are anywhere from three to four times higher than this time last year,” says Clint Johannes, a Worden-area farmer Read More…
New food trucks have rolled into nearly every corner of the Flathead Valley this summer, vending everything from tacos to hot dogs and specialty soda. “COVID, I think, definitely had a huge impact on that,” said Amanda Hart, a co-founder of Kalispell’s Rescue Dog. Hart and her husband, Colten, launched their hot dog truck in Read More…
Town and Country foods will open sometime this summer. It’s a little bit behind schedule because of COVID and delivery delays. Management at Town & Country and at some of the other shops at West Park say it’s really important to not have that building be empty. “They gutted Lucky’s (Market) at the auction,” said Read More…
U.S. Senator Steve Daines, R-Mont., on Wednesday introduced a bill to crack down on Big Tech and online platforms’ ability to “discriminate against users based on their political speech and beliefs.” The bill would enforce equal access to political candidates on online platforms as well as create a provision to prohibit the removal of content Read More…
Montana environmental regulators are dropping their case to disqualify Hecla Mining from getting future mining permits in the state. The company’s CEO was previously an executive with Pegasus Gold, which abandoned mines in Montana. Critics say there could be consequences for not seeking penalties under Montana’s “bad actors” law. Montana Department of Environmental Quality Director Read More…
BOZEMAN — The Bozeman Yellowstone International airport is participating in a survey in an effort to prevent human trafficking via air travel. “Is it happening, are we having girls that we know are coming in on airplanes- yes. They then are typically setting up ads in Bozeman and Billings where they have major airports,” Andrew Read More…
Glacier National Park drew more than a half-million visitors last month, charting its second-busiest June on record despite imposing a ticketed-entry system aimed at blunting the acute congestion that in recent years has led to paralytic gridlock in the park’s key arterials. As approximated through June, the overall visitation estimates peg Glacier’s year-to-date totals as the second Read More…
TOKYO (AP) — Kara Eaker, an alternate on the United States women’s gymnastics team, has tested positive for COVID-19 in an Olympic training camp in Japan. Al Fong, the personal coach for both Eaker and fellow Olympic alternate Leanne Wong, confirmed the positive test in an email to The Associated Press on Monday. The coach Read More…
Ten people were wounded in two mass shootings in Chicago Wednesday — just 12 hours apart, police said. The first of two mass shootings occurred in West Garfield Park on the city’s West Side, where a gunman approached a group standing outside and opened fire, striking four women and a man, police said. The victims, Read More…
Democratic Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Cori Bush of Missouri have yet to weigh in on Black Lives Matter declaring its support for Cuba’s communist regime, even though the congresswomen have been vocal BLM supporters in the past. Black Lives Matter sparked a backlash late Wednesday after posting a statement that blasted the U.S. embargo and praised Read More…
The Montana Department of Environmental Quality laid down the law last week, issuing a violation letter to the Montana Tunnels mine in Jefferson City. The mine is considered officially abandoned or complete, the company owes a $16.8 million reclamation bond, and reclamation is overdue, said the DEQ. Montana Tunnels Mining Inc. owns the once active Read More…
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – Les Schwab Tire Centers, the nation’s highest-ranked, most customer-focused tire retailer, announced Monday it has reached an agreement to acquire Plains Tire Co., an 80-year-old tire company with nine stores in Wyoming. Les Schwab will purchase Plains Tire for an undisclosed sum, said Les Schwab CEO Jack Cuniff. READ FULL STORY
Based on data from the Wyoming department of administration and information, the state’s economy continues to struggle to recover, as taxable sales are still negative, while some counties see greater gains. Dr. Wenlin Liu, Chief Economist with the state of Wyoming, Economic Analysis Division, said: “As the resurgence of the virus diminished, Wyoming’s economy continued to Read More…
BISMARCK – North Dakota’s trust fund for oil taxes is realizing hefty earnings due to a rebounding economy and better-than-expected stock investments. Revenue from the Legacy Fund for the two-year budget cycle that ended last month was about $872 million. That’s up from the $736 million that budget writers and the Legislature had forecast. Nearly Read More…
Republican senators are ramping up pressure on President Biden to withdraw Tracy Stone-Manning’s nomination for Bureau of Land Management (BLM) director, citing her link to an eco-terrorist plot and her apparently misleading answers to senators about it. Every Republican on the Senate Energy Committee signed a letter Wednesday urging Biden to pull Stone-Manning’s nomination. “Ms. Stone-Manning has made false and misleading Read More…
HELENA, Mont. — Cora Neumann has announced a run for Montana’s new U.S. House seat, becoming the third Democrat to join the race. Neumann is a public health expert from Bozeman. She told the Montana State News Bureau this week she would fight for good jobs and wages in Congress. READ FULL STORY
BILLINGS, Mont. – The Billings YWCA is looking to build a second emergency shelter due to the nearly 40% increase in partner and family member assaults during the pandemic. “We have been really struggling to figure out how to house everyone who needed support,” Billings YWCA CEO Merry Lee Olson said. “So, during the pandemic, we ended up Read More…
To address transportation and ticketing issues while simultaneously offering guided hikes, the Glacier Institute is taking enrollment for its Going-to-the-Sun Road Day Program. New in July, the program offers educational hikes and can shuttle 70 passengers per day using five 14-passenger buses leaving from Columbia Falls. The course acts as a Going-to-the-Sun Road ticket, and Read More…
BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) – Social media censorship has become a hot button issue across the nation, especially for conservatives. Jordan Hall, who used Facebook for his online publication: The Montana Daily Gazette, says his reach has been limited due to content that did not meet the site’s community standards. He said he has lost revenue Read More…
BOZEMAN — Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen sat down to talk about drugs in Montana on today’s Montana This Morning. Knudsen is currently touring the state talking with law enforcement and local leaders about crime and drugs in their areas. He recently met with Gallatin County Sheriff Dan Springer who told him this area is Read More…
Contango Oil & Gas will purchase all Wyoming natural gas assets owned by ConocoPhillips, the company revealed Thursday. The acquisition comes as ConocoPhillips moves to sell off some of its oil and gas assets and Contango looks to continue expanding its operations in Wyoming. The $67 million deal will transfer approximately 446 billion cubic feet Read More…
MISSOULA, Mont. – Missoula is growing, and with that, the downtown corridor is changing in order to support both its residents and tourists. One of the cornerstones of revamping downtown Missoula is the modern AC hotel on the corner of Pattee and Main Street. It can seem hard to believe, but just two years ago, Read More…
(The Center Square) – Wyoming is launching a reemployment campaign to help encourage Wyomingites back into the workforce following the pandemic. It’s a campaign simply to let people know they exist and offer a wide variety of services for free, according to Ty Stockton, communications manager for the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services. He noted the pandemic Read More…
With his sunglasses and cowboy hat, Bart Slaney smiles from his arena-side table as a capacity crowd begins to fill the stands of the Bigfork Summer Rodeo last Wednesday. After a year away from the sport in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Whitefish cowboy is excited to see the rodeo world returning to Read More…
GREAT FALLS — Governor Greg Gianforte, Montana Commission on Community Service Chair Kevin Myrhe, and the Governor’s Office of Community Service Director Sarah Sadowski presented five people and two organizations with their 2021 ServeMontana Awards. The awards were presented on June 25th in Helena. A news release says the purpose of the awards is to Read More…
Gen. Austin Miller, the commander of US and NATO troops in Afghanistan, is stepping down on Monday — a symbolic end to America’s longest war that comes as the Taliban continue to gain territory in the absence of American troops. Miller, who has been commanding the coalition since 2018, will relinquish his post during a ceremony at Read More…
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — A Haitian man arrested under suspicion of playing a leading role in the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse appears to have presented himself as a potential leader of the impoverished Caribbean nation for as long as a decade. Police say Christian Emmanuel Sanon, 63, planned to assume the presidency and hire some of the men involved Read More…
Protesters took to the streets in Cuba on Sunday to protest shortages and the high cost of food amid the coronavirus pandemic. According to the Associated Press, protesters believe the Cuban government isn’t doing enough to help. The protests, which began around 2 p.m. local time, saw hundreds take to the street of San Lázaro, the Read More…
Alawsuit filed in federal court in late June alleges that Paul McCown, the former chief financial officer at Wyoming Catholic College, defrauded an investment firm out of $15 million. According to the suit, filed by New York-based advisory firm Ria R Squared, McCown is accused of faking bank statements that falsely said his bank account Read More…
HELENA — Editor’s note: This is the first of a two-part series on NorthWestern Energy’s request for pre-approval of 225 megawatts of new electricity resources – including construction of a 175-megawatt natural gas-fired plant in Laurel. NorthWestern Energy’s proposal to build a 175-megawatt power plant fired by natural gas in Laurel, to help serve its Read More…
Don and John Mueller are brothers who share a love of the history of the nation’s oldest national park and a love of the old buses that used to tour it in the years before World War II. Driving down Broadway Avenue in Red Lodge in a bright yellow bus made by White Motors in Read More…
MISSOULA — Senator Jon Tester says the U.S. has been living “off our parents and grandparents infrastructure too long”, and it’s time to pass a bipartisan infrastructure package worth as much as $1.2 trillion. He’s hoping Montanans will jump on board to convince Congress to approve the deal. READ FULL STORY