In times of social crises in America, big tech billionaires are often amongst the first to speak up—though how they do so varies. Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, unlike many of his peers, didn’t directly speak about the riot that erupted in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday afternoon. But the second-richest man in the world Read More…
CARSON CITY — A Las Vegas assemblyman investigated by police over allegations of misused campaign funds has resigned from his seat in the state Legislature. Gov. Steve Sisolak’s spokeswoman confirmed in an email Tuesday that Sisolak’s office had received a letter of resignation from Democratic Assemblyman Alexander Assefa, who represents District 42 in the Spring Read More…
HELENA, Mont. – Last week, Governor Greg Gianforte unveiled a revised vaccine distribution plan that prioritizes protecting the most vulnerable Montanans. With Gianforte’s revisions, Montanans most at-risk for serious illness or death from COVID-19 – Montanans 70 years of age and older, Montanans 16 to 69 years of age that have a severe underlying medical Read More…
BOISE, Idaho (KBOI) — A man from Boise, Idaho who was photographed dropping down into the U.S. Senate chamber from the gallery during Wednesday’s riot at the Capitol has apologized for his actions. Photos from Wednesday’s siege of the U.S. Capitol building showed Josiah Colt climbing down the balcony onto the Senate floor. KBOI-TV News has Read More…
BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) – January is Human Trafficking awareness month. Since 2016, 31:8 Project has worked with the North Dakota Human Trafficking Task Force to help 514 people connect with resources. One survivor shared her story publicly for the first time. Human trafficking can happen to anyone. Nikki Blowers walked these very streets hoping to Read More…
More North Dakotans are participating in the medical marijuana program than the state Department of Health expected. “We have just under 4,400 patients that have a medical marijuana card,” Medical Marijuana Division Director Jason Wahl told Prairie Public. He had earlier projected about 4,000 patients by the summer of 2021, based on the experience in Delaware, Read More…
CHEYENNE — Governor Mark Gordon signed an Executive Order (EO) December 21 that will prevent large increases in Unemployment Insurance (UI) taxes for businesses that were directly impacted by the statewide health orders enacted to slow the spread of COVID-19. The Department of Workforce Services (DWS) is removing UI benefit charges from the UI policies for Read More…
MISSOULA, Mont. — Gallatin County is working to get an interim sheriff in place after Gov. Greg Gianforte nominated Brian Gootkin to lead the Montana Department of Corrections. Gootkin had served 27 years with the Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office. READ FULL STORY
U.S. Sen. Steve Daines called Twitter’s Friday ban of President Donald Trump “censorship,” and demanded in a letter to the social media giant that the account be reinstated. Daines, a Montana Republican and Trump ally, said the move to ban a public official from the platform eliminates Americans’ access to important information and hinders their Read More…
HELENA – Governor Greg Gianforte today announced his appointment of Misty Kuhl to lead the Department of Indian Affairs. “Misty shares my commitment to create new partnerships and build stronger bridges with our eight tribal nations,” Governor Gianforte said. “I campaigned on the promise of bringing new and greater opportunities to Indian country, and I Read More…
BILLINGS — Applications are open for Montana business owners to receive a second round of Paycheck Protection Program loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration, with a few more caveats in the application for second-time borrowers this go-around, said Kevin Kraft, president of the Shiloh branch of Yellowstone Bank Sunday. “The biggest difference is you have to Read More…
PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) — The governor wants the Legislature to provide more than $4 million for state government to start preparing for medicinal and recreational marijuana in South Dakota. Legislation was pre-filed Thursday that would appropriate $4,026,253 to the state Department of Revenue and $135,249 to the state Department of Health. The Senate Appropriations Committee agreed Read More…
U.S. Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., objected to counting Pennsylvania’s Electoral College votes hours after a violent mob supporting President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol, causing significant damage, leading members of the U.S. Congress to seek shelter and delaying the certification of President-elect Joe Biden’s November victory by nearly six hours. Lummis, sworn in Read More…
It’s wolf harvest time in South Dakota. As of Jan. 4, federal protections have been lifted from gray wolves, putting management back into state hands. As a result, South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks (SDGFP) will allow sportsmen and women, trappers, landowners and livestock producers the “ability to harvest gray wolves across the state” as long as Read More…
A landmark decision delivered by the Trump administration late last month gives five oil and gas companies the green light to forge ahead in drilling 5,000 wells over the next decade in northeastern Wyoming. Though cheered by state officials and industry groups, leaders of several tribal nations with enduring ties to the land remain Read More…
President Donald Trump tweeted that he will not be attending President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration on Jan. 20. This announcement was made on Twitter, and the president did not use Biden’s name. “To all of those who have asked, I will not be going to the Inauguration on January 20th,” the president tweeted. The president released Read More…
HELENA — A Republican state representative from Hamilton revealed late Thursday that he has tested positive for Covid-19 – the first state lawmaker to be known as infectious with the disease during the 2021 Legislature, which began Monday. Rep. David Bedey came into contact with the virus before the Legislature began, said Sen. Jason Ellsworth, Read More…
BOZEMAN — As part of a new contract Montana State head football coach Jeff Choate signed with the university last year, he would have to pay the university $250,000 if he terminates the agreement with more than 12 months remaining on the contract. The contract is set to expire on Jan. 31, 2024. MTN Sports Read More…
Helena, MT- With the start of the 2021 Legislature fast approaching, Montana’s premier business advocacy organization is laying out its top policy priorities for the new year, the focus of which is aimed at near-term recovery and maintaining long-term, sustainable economic growth. “As businesses continue to navigate the public health and economic challenges presented by Read More…
HELENA — After pro-Trump protesters broke into the U.S. Capitol Wednesday, Montana leaders say they’re closely monitoring the national situation, but they’re not making major changes to security procedures at the State Capitol. Steve Baiamonte, administrator of Montana’s General Services Division, is director of security for the Capitol Complex, which includes all state buildings in Read More…
BOZEMAN — MontanaPBS is broadcasting and livestreaming a new weekly series, “The Rundown: Capitol Report,” each Sunday at 5 p.m. through the end of the 2021 Montana legislative session. The program will offer an in-depth look at Montana’s 67th Legislature with weekly updates, analysis and interviews. The series began Jan. 3 and is expected to Read More…
Gov. Greg Gianforte vowed Tuesday to rescind the statewide mask mandate — though not immediately — and announced he is revising the state’s vaccine distribution plan to prioritize Montanans over 70 and people with specific underlying health conditions. Gianforte, a Republican, said he will lift the statewide mask rule once the most vulnerable Montanans are vaccinated and once the Read More…
BOZEMAN — Manufacturing continues to be a significant driver of Montana’s economy, according to a report recently released by Montana State University’s Montana Manufacturing Extension Center, whose positive impact is discussed in the annual snapshot. The 2020 Montana Manufacturing Report, prepared by the Bureau of Business and Economic Research at the University of Montana, analyzes trends in the state’s Read More…
BILLINGS — The fast-food chain Chick-fil-A is headed to the Billings West End after a developer filed a request for zoning clarification to construct a restaurant in the Planet Fitness parking lot on the corner of 24th Street West and Marketplace Street. TFC Rosebud, LLC of Utah filed the request on December 1, 2020, and the plan Read More…
GREAT FALLS- On Jan. 2, community members around the Electric City are gathering to spread awareness of the reality of human trafficking in Great Falls. Chelsi Lanphear founded Solid Ground when she moved to Great Falls in Oct. 2020 after not being able to find an awareness and support group in central Montana for human Read More…
MISSOULA — The Missoula County Airport Authority this week approved a $2 million state loan for Neptune Aviation to fund the purchase of two aircraft hangars and the creation of dozens of new jobs. Neptune, a national aerial firefighting company based at Missoula International Airport, purchased the hangars last September from Homestead Helicopters. The hangars Read More…
MISSOULA, Mont., Dec. 31, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — FYR Diagnostics, a Missoula-based biotech company, has executed a contract with the State of Montana that will increase statewide COVID-19 testing capacity and reduce the time patients must wait to receive results. Adding FYR as a primary testing resource will keep test processing within Montana and alleviate pressure on the state laboratory in Helena. “Even with the Read More…
Free speech advocates are striking out in their legal challenges to revenge porn laws. The Minnesota Supreme Court on Wednesday unanimously upheld a law that bars displaying intimate images or video of another person, either nude or engaged in sexual acts, without the subject’s consent. A lower court had thrown out the state’s non-consensual porn Read More…
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Republican, found his Louisville home vandalized Saturday a day after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, California Democrat, suffered a similar fate. Messages were sprayed painted overnight on the exterior of Mr. McConnell‘s home, including “Mitch kills poor” and another seemingly referencing a larger stimulus relief package he just rejected. READ FULL STORY
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Lawmakers convene Tuesday either in person wearing masks or remotely for North Dakota’s 67th legislative session. The session comes as lawmakers face tough spending choices amid a pandemic that’s hit a state economy already reeling from depressed oil and agriculture prices. Ambitious billion-dollar bonding proposals from Republicans, Democrats and Gov. Doug Read More…
For a few months in the spring of 1996, Mike Enzi thought his career in politics was over. Then a 10-year veteran of the Wyoming Legislature, Enzi was in recovery from open heart surgery the previous October at Deaconess Hospital in Billings, Montana, where he was treated for a damaged heart valve. It Read More…
WILLISTON, N.D. — A Williston, N.D., man is accused of kicking in the front door of a house after his ex-coworker did not reply to his Facebook friend request. Caleb Burczyk, 29, pleaded not guilty to felony charges of burglary and terrorizing filed in Williams County District Court Tuesday, Dec. 29. Burczyk’s attorney Jeff Nehring Read More…
PIERRE, S.D. KELO) – During the week of Dec. 13-19, a total of 696 initial weekly claims for state unemployment benefits were processed by the South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation. This is a decrease of 230 claims from the prior week’s total of 926. It is a decrease of more than 20%. The Read More…
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon announced Saturday that Wyoming will soon resume normal operating hours for bars and restaurants in the state. Gordon praised the people of Wyoming in a news release, crediting their actions for a statewide decline in COVID-19 hospitalizations. READ FULL STORY
The idea that materialistic values can obstruct our path to happiness dates back hundreds of years. The Buddha encouraged a balance between asceticism and pleasure; early Christian monasticism preached spiritual transformation through simple living; philosopher Lao Tzu warned that if you chase after money, “your heart will never unclench.” Centuries later, the question of Read More…
Culbertson, MT – Attorney General-Elect Austin Knudsen today announced the appointment of several division administrators to help lead the Department of Justice. “We have assembled a tremendous group of talented individuals; I am excited to have each one of them on our team,” Attorney General-Elect Austin Knudsen said. “Working together we will improve efficiencies in Read More…
CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — U.S. officials have approved a 5,000-well oil and gas project spread across more than 2,300 square miles in eastern Wyoming. Five major oil and gas companies proposed the development between Glenrock and Douglas that has stirred concern over its massive size and plans to drill year-round. Wednesday’s approval from the Bureau Read More…
CASPER, Wyo. (Wyoming News Now) – Carbon Power & Light, Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association and the Wyoming Rural Electric Association donated $30,000 to six fire departments that helped fight the Mullen fire. Each fire department will receive $5,000. READ FULL STORY
A reduction in soda ash royalties expected to save producers up to $5 million over the next 10 years is being praised by members of Wyoming’s congressional delegation. U.S. Sens. Mike Enzi and John Barrasso and U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney welcomed the U.S. Department of Interior’s decision to reduce the royalties paid on soda ash Read More…
Montana turned deep red in 2020, as Republican candidates swept every statewide office on the November ballot and won the governor’s office for the first time in 16 years. Celebration among Montana Republicans has been tempered only by the realization that President Donald Trump lost his bid to remain in the White House – a Read More…