CASPER, Wyo. — The Wyoming Senate rejected an effort to create authority for an Interstate 80 tolling program on Friday, March 19. The Senate defeated Senate File 73 on a third reading vote of 16-13. Sen. Bill Landen (Natrona), who voted on the prevailing side, motioned for an immediate reconsideration of the bill after the third reading vote. Read More…
BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) – Dead sea scrolls have been in the news recently because previously undiscovered fragments of them were found in a newly excavated cave in the Judean Desert by archeologists working for the Israel Antiquity Authority. The find is the first in 60 years and has created a lot of excitement among both Read More…
PORTLAND, Ore.—When the fence that had surrounded the federal courthouse here was removed earlier this month, city leaders touted it as a sign that Portland was returning to normal after nine months of protests that often turned violent. But within days, bands of rioters were back in downtown Portland. They blocked streets, broke windows, threw Read More…
HELENA — From child-care grants to Covid-19 testing to $1 billion of infrastructure projects, Montana lawmakers this week must mash together the kitchen-sink of spending bills, authorizing as much as $3 billion of federal Covid relief and stimulus funds. A trio of budget panels made recommendations Friday, after just one week of combing through the Read More…
Republicans were in the majority in the Senate and President Trump was in office. As Republicans, we committed to working in a bipartisan manner to deliver needed relief to Montanans and all Americans struggling because of this historic pandemic. We thought President Biden was on board with this mission. He campaigned on a promise of Read More…
The Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) has agreed to drop its lawsuit against five Flathead County businesses and cover the defendants’ legal fees at a cost of more than $94,000, nearly five months after the businesses were accused of ignoring a statewide mask mandate imposed by former Gov. Steve Bullock. The Read More…
Montana and Texas are leading a 21-state coalition that seeks to block the Biden administration’s cancellation of Keystone XL’s border crossing permit. Other states in the suit include North and South Dakota, as well as Wyoming and Nebraska. The suit was filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas by Read More…
It wasn’t the first time a Montana coal mine had gone bankrupt, but Decker Coal’s reason for calling it quits had never been stated so plainly. There are no longer customers lined up at Decker’s door for Montana coal. Detroit-based energy company DTE no longer needed the 2.5 million tons of coal it Read More…
Since Bill Moseley started his software company, GL Solutions, in 1997 in Bend, Oregon, he’s watched the small city’s population grow rapidly while the housing inventory failed to grow with it. As masses of people flocked to the small mountain town, Moseley struggled to recruit employees because they couldn’t find a place to live. In Read More…
Montana Orthopedics in Butte has joined SCL Health’s primary and specialty care clinics throughout Montana. Montana Orthopedics, Advantage Physical Therapy and OrthoNow will all become part of the SCL Health Medical Group — a network of hundreds of primary and specialty care providers across the state. The new partnership gives SCL Health patients access to Read More…
LAS VEGAS—Inside a strip mall here, blackjack students practiced flipping cards onto tables empty of gamblers. Nearby, a few people leaned over a craps table, the thrill of the game replaced by quiet study as the dice rolled. At CEG Dealer School, an academy for would-be casino dealers, the pipeline of workers aiming to join Read More…
North Dakota Democratic-NPL Party Chairwoman Kylie Oversen announced Wednesday that she will not seek a fourth two-year term. Oversen, a Fargo attorney, said she and her now-husband made the decision two years ago that this would be her last term. Oversen in her statement touted numerous successes under her tenure, including the party improving its Read More…
A bipartisan group in Congress is urging the federal government not to remove 144 cities from being designated as metropolitan areas. They say reclassifying them as “micropolitan” could put key federal funding at risk. The request comes after The Associated Press reported this month that the federal government wants to raise the population criteria for core cities Read More…
BUTTE — A former Montana Tech and Jefferson High School football player, Derek James Nygaard, was charged Tuesday with two counts of felony sexual intercourse without consent. Butte-Silver Bow prosecutors formally charged Nygaard, 19, of Clancy, who appeared with his lawyer, David Maldonado, and his parents in Justice of the Peace Jimm Kilmer’s court. A warrant Read More…
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and his Montana counterpart Austin Knudsen are leading a coalition of 21 state attorneys general in a lawsuit against President Joe Biden’s revocation of the Keystone XL pipeline project. What Happened: When Biden took office on Jan. 20, he fulfilled one of his campaign promises by signing an executive order canceling the March Read More…
Montana State University agreed to pay a former professor accused of sexual harassment and discrimination and a former graduate student a settlement of $200,000. The settlement is the result of a civil suit filed in June 2019 against the university and four female graduate students who are current or former employees of MSU. In Read More…
HELENA — Montana Highway Patrol leaders honored three troopers Wednesday with the department’s highest award. At a ceremony in Helena, Attorney General Austin Knudsen and MHP Col. Steve Lavin presented Troopers Alex Hiday and Connor Wager and Sgt. Jerril Ren with the Medal of Valor. The medal recognizes troopers who show heroism above and beyond Read More…
CHEYENNE, Wyo. (Wyoming News Now) – The Wyoming Legislature will meet throughout the day on Monday, March 8, 2021. Upon noon recess the House Corporations Committee will hear testimony on bills relating to health orders. The Senate Transportation Committee will continue to hear testimony about an effort to study tolling I-80. That meeting will happen Read More…
Lawmakers this year passed the biggest budget in state history and carved out funding for long-term, transformational projects like broadband and rail line expansion, all amid a once-in-a-century pandemic. But it’s what didn’t happen that the 2021 Legislative Session might be most remembered for. For 128 days, dozens if not hundreds of legal and political Read More…
After the 2020 election, legislatures across the country are considering new voting laws. And while no widespread voter fraud has been proven, it has not stopped conservative lawmakers from looking for solutions and new preventive measures. Wyoming is no exception, with its legislature considering a bill that would require a voter to show an ID before voting in-person. A Read More…
MISSOULA — The rumble of titanic machinery can be heard throughout the pressroom of the Missoulian each night as the press churns out thousands of copies of the newspaper along the conveyor belt. But on March 28, the Missoulian press will run for the final time and those sounds will be silenced, the newspaper reported. The Read More…
MONTANA – The Montana Department of Commerce today announced that the Prospera Business Network will join the Montana Small Business Development Center Network. The local business and community development nonprofit will continue to serve Gallatin and Park counties in its new capacity. The Montana Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Network, headquartered at the Montana Department Read More…
In 2020, the U.S. lost 4,400 farms and ranches totally 2,019,000 when compared to 2019. A year-over-year trend that has occurred for decades. Those figures come from the latest Farms and Land in Farms Highlights report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The losses were heaviest in the nation’s largest farming regions, namely California and Read More…
Glacier National Park will hold a virtual community discussion on Thursday, March 18, regarding challenges the park and visitors will face in the upcoming 2021 season. Park Superintendent Jeff Mow will provide an overview on topics, such as the proposed ticketed entry system, park visitation numbers, COVID-19 mitigations, and challenges with seasonal housing. Glacier National Read More…
The Bozeman School District on Friday reached a tentative two-year pay raise agreement with its teachers union and outlined avenues for continuing conversations related to the COVID-19 pandemic. About 500 teachers in the district will receive a 4% increase in pay over the next two years, including a 2.5% increase beginning next school year followed Read More…
The Montana Highway Patrol (MHP) commissioned 15 new troopers today at the 70th Advanced Academy Graduation ceremony at Helena’s Civic Center. MHP Colonel Steve Lavin and Attorney General Austin Knudsen addressed the graduates at the event before their badges were pinned and they were sworn in to their new positions as Highway Patrol Troopers. Of Read More…
The Adaptive Performance Center celebrated its one-year anniversary on Saturday. During the COVID-19 shutdowns, it was considered essential of fitness and mental health therapy. Veterans say they enjoy working out at the Adaptive Performance Center (APC). “It’s a nice quiet atmosphere,” said Jim Carnathan, a U.S. Navy and U.S. Army veteran. “A lot of times Read More…
President Biden hasn’t held a solo press conference 54 days into office. The president addressed the nation last Thursday after signing the $1.9 trillion spending package and spoke about the country’s progress in defeating the coronavirus. However, he has gone more than seven weeks without holding a press conference, the longest for a president in nearly 100 years. Every president Read More…
Mayor Bill de Blasio called Monday for an investigation into phone calls that Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s vaccine czar made to county executives across the state — describing them as “the definition of corruption.” “If vaccine supply is being given out for political reasons, that, in many ways, is the single worst thing we’ve heard in all of Read More…
Rioters targeted the federal courthouse in Portland, Ore., on Thursday evening in renewed clashes between demonstrators and federal police. The attack on the courthouse came one day after authorities removed fencing initially erected over the summer, in response to continued riots following the death of George Floyd, an African American man killed during his arrest Read More…
Former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes, whose criminal fraud trial was scheduled to start in July, is asking for a delay because she’s pregnant. In a court filing on Friday, her defense attorneys and prosecutors asked Judge Edward Davila to delay the start of her trial by six weeks to begin on August 31, 2021. “On March Read More…
One of the most prolific careers in NFL history has come to an end, as New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees announced Sunday on Instagram he has decided to retire after 20 seasons. Brees’ four children, Baylen, Bowen, Callen and Rylen, announced in a video: “After 15 years with the Saints and 20 years in the NFL, our dad Read More…
A number of Americans reported late Friday that the third round of government stimulus checks were posted in their bank accounts, just one day after President Joe Biden signed the $1.9 trillion American Relief Plan into law. Biden said on Thursday that some Americans would begin receiving deposits as soon this weekend. READ FULL STORY
Dozens of violent anti-cop protesters clad in black descended upon an Oregon courthouse, where they set fires and damaged the building Thursday night as federal officers responded with tear gas and flash-bang grenades, according to video and reports. Footage from outside the Mark O. Hatfield US Courthouse in downtown Portland late Thursday shows a small fire outside Read More…
The city of Sioux Falls in South Dakota will allow its mask mandate to expire after a 9-year-old girl read a letter before the city council saying she was “bullied” in school and called “stupid” for not wearing a face covering. Mayor Paul TenHaken broke the four to four tie vote on the city council and Read More…
OLIVER COUNTY, N.D. (KFYR) – The Oliver County Sheriff says approximately 25 head of cattle are dead in the Missouri River after they fell through the ice on March 3. Oliver County Sheriff David Hillard says it is believed the cattle walked on to and fell through the ice. The Department of Environmental Quality is Read More…
Former state representative Luke Simons won’t go to court over his expulsion from the Legislature. Simons, R-Dickinson, announced his decision Thursday morning in a lengthy statement. “The legislature has effectively disenfranchised the people of my district. Unfortunately, the only way I can immediately correct this injustice is to allow someone else to serve,” he said. Read More…
CASPER, Wyo. — Wyoming currently has a 4% statewide sales and use tax. State law allows local sales and use taxes up to 3% (so-called “fifth, sixth and seventh penny”) additional sales and use taxes. The Wyoming House of Representatives are working on a bill that would potentially make the so-called “fifth penny” tax permanent Read More…
The Bigfork School District Board of Trustees voted Wednesday night to extend the district’s mask mandate through April 9 after the teachers union expressed concerns over an earlier decision to lift the rule at the end of this week. The trustees voted 6-0, with one abstention, to continue requiring masks in school buildings based on Read More…
GREAT FALLS — The Montana Department of Commerce’s Housing Division is urging people to prepare to take advantage of a new rental assistance program. As of Thursday, the program was still being developed but was expected to start sometime in the spring, and meant to help people who have been impacted by the pandemic. The Read More…