Montana GOP Rep. Greg Gianforte voted against the $3 trillion COVID-19 package passed Friday by the House, saying it was “careless” and a liberal wish-list. The Associated Press reported that the 208-199 vote, with all but one Republican opposed, advances a campaign-season display of Democratic economic and health-care priorities. The bill, which would cost more than the four previous Read More…
Libertarian U.S. Senate candidate Susan Good Geise said Friday she’s withdrawing from the race, because the Covid-19 pandemic will demand all her time as a Lewis and Clark County commissioner. Geise, who chairs the commission, said she thought the federal government would take the lead on responding to the crisis, but that the burden is Read More…
MISSOULA – Montana movie theaters are thinking outside the box office, literally, to bring entertainment to people while also providing social distance. Outdoor theaters and drive-ins are popping up across the treasure state. One outdoor theater in the works will be behind Missoula’s iconic Roxy Theater in the alley. Right now construction is underway to Read More…
A University of Montana economist says since mid-February and COVID-19 Montana’s economy has declined too quickly to adequately measure, but one analysis shows a two-year recovery. “The downturn that is all around us right now in the economy as we sit here in the month of May will easily eclipse the largest downturn that we’ve Read More…
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Food and Drug Administration announced Saturday that it has authorized an at-home sample collection kit that can then be sent to specified laboratories for COVID-19 diagnostic testing. Specifically, the FDA issued an emergency use authorization (EUA) to Everlywell, Inc. for the Everlywell COVID-19 Test Home Collection Kit. Everlywell’s kit is authorized to be Read More…
The coronavirus pandemic will cost states hundreds of billions of dollars in revenue in the upcoming fiscal year, according to an NBC News survey of 33 states and Washington, D.C. With most states starting their new fiscal year early this summer, the projections in many cases will serve as the basis for severe budget cuts states may have Read More…
Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden will ask donors to give as much as $620,600 to support his White House bid and down-ballot candidates, dramatically expanding his fundraising capability to compete with President Trump’s big-money machine. The Biden Victory Fund, a committee that raises money with the Democratic National Committee, on Saturday filed an agreement that Read More…
Joe Biden’s shortlist for vice president is deep in Democratic talent, filled with governors, senators and former rivals for the presidential nomination. But one of the least-known among them is attracting an increasing amount of attention from Biden advisers, donors and Democrats in Congress — Val Demings. The presumptive nominee himself acknowledged her appeal after Read More…
Gov. Steve Bullock said during a Wednesday call with the press he believes the state will remain “financially strong” coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, and that the state is in a better financial position than most other states. The governor said his office is predicting the state’s general fund balance will be $113 million Read More…
The coronavirus has altered yet another thing — ballot initiatives. Montana’s secretary of state has determined that MTCARES, the group behind a ballot initiative that would require 80% of the state’s energy come from renewable sources by 2034, can mail in non-notarized signatures to qualify for the November ballot. The decision came shortly after a Montana Read More…
MISSOULA, Mont. — Montana State University officials say a Kenny Chesney concert scheduled for July 5 at Bobcat Stadium has been postponed. Chesney postponed his entire tour, with plans to reschedule for 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic. Tickets will be valid for the rescheduled show date. Officials will also offer refunds for 30 days after Read More…
A California man pleaded guilty to a single count of blackmail in U.S. District Court in Missoula on May 7, four days before he was set to stand trial on a host of additional criminal charges alleging a years-long extortion and harassment campaign targeting wealthy Whitefish philanthropist Michael Goguen and his family. The defendant, Bryan Read More…
(Bloomberg) — Michigan closed down its capitol in Lansing on Thursday and canceled its legislative session rather than face the possibility of an armed protest and death threats against Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer. The gathering, meant to advocate opening the state for business despite the coronavirus pandemic, followed one April 30 that resulted in pictures Read More…
U.S. Sen. Susan Collins has been named the most bipartisan member of the Senate for the seventh year in a row by the Georgetown University and the Lugar Center, based on a voting index compiled by the two organizations. Collins, a Republican seeking her fifth term, is in what is expected to be her toughest Read More…
Local governments across Wisconsin moved to implement new public health guidelines Thursday after the state’s highest court overturned a statewide stay-at-home order, prompting the governor to warn of “massive confusion.” Some businesses began reopening Thursday, but it wasn’t clear whether they would do so on a broad scale. Some that did reopen closed again within Read More…
New York is poised to reopen parts of the state on Friday, 75 days after the state reported its first coronavirus case. Governor Andrew Cuomo urged people to remain cautious as some businesses are allowed to open their doors for the first time in two months. “Phased reopening does not mean the problem has gone away,” Read More…
One trader bought 250,000 barrels of oil and secured a rare payout as oil prices turned negative last month, causing jitters in markets and leaving most other traders scrambling to find storage options across both sides of the Atlantic, Bloomberg reported on Thursday. But for BB Energy, a trading house based in London, the historic oil-market crash was Read More…
North Dakota’s eight commercial service airports during April had their lowest monthly passenger count since record keeping began 40 years ago, the state Aeronautics Commission reported Thursday. About 5,000 passengers — or 5% of the normal expected traffic — flew out of North Dakota’s airports during the month. The commission attributed the drop to the Read More…
CASPER, Wyo. – The Wyoming Machinery Company announced on Wednesday that it has laid off a number of employees. In a statement, the company laid blame on the recent downturn of the energy sector coupled with the economic effects of COVID-19 shutdowns. According to the statement, the company reduced its workforce by approximately 13 percent. Read More…
Idaho’s May 19 primary election will be the state’s first all-absentee-ballot election, a move to curb the spread of COVID-19. The Idaho Press partnered with the League of Women Voters to conduct candidate surveys for local races. Find their answers in the links below or do a ballot search using your home address at vote411.org. Tuesday, Read More…
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — Before the coronavirus pandemic the state of South Dakota appeared to be able to afford to pay for historic new unemployment claims caused by an economic downturn, according to reports from the Federal Reserve in Minneapolis and the U.S. Department of Labor. But the state has reached historic new unemployment Read More…
WYOMING — The Wyoming State Legislature will convene for a special session on May 15 and May 16 to consider four bills aimed at providing critical relief and support to Wyoming communities, hospitals, workers, and businesses impacted by the COVID-19 crisis. They will appropriate some of the funds from the $1.25 billion in emergency funding Read More…
US states are rushing to court Tesla CEO Elon Musk, after he threatened to move the company’s HQ out of California. The billionaire is in a spat with California’s Alameda County over the closure of Tesla’s Fremont facility as part of a shelter-in-place order during the pandemic. He tweeted on Saturday that he would be Read More…
Starting Monday, Uber (UBER) will require its drivers and passengers to wear face coverings as the coronavirus crisis rages on around the world. Even as some countries and U.S. states debate relaxing lockdown orders, the ride-hailing giant is implementing new rules to protect both drivers and customers. The company plans to enforce the new policy using technology Read More…
Health officials and scientists across the world are racing to develop vaccines and discover effective treatments against the coronavirus, which has infected more than 4.2 million people worldwide in as little as four months, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. There are no proven, knockout treatments and U.S. health officials say a vaccine could take Read More…
The Supreme Court on Wednesday wrestled with a dispute over whether Electoral College voters have a constitutional right to diverge from their state’s popular vote in two cases that could have implications for November’s presidential election. The arguments featured hypotheticals about what would happen if electors were to take a bribe, get hacked by a Read More…
Former Vice President Joe Biden and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders on Wednesday named the co-chairs and members of their joint task forces meant to shore up Democratic Party unity ahead of November’s general election. The announcement follows through on a pledge the two men made last month — when Sanders, the runner-up in the Democratic Read More…
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WCHS/WVAH) —A former doctor at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Beckley, West Virginia has been indicted on seven counts, including sexual abuse charges. Dr. Jonathan Yates, 52, was indicted by a federal grand jury in Charleston on Tuesday. He is charged with five counts of depriving veterans of their civil rights under Read More…
More than 9,600 COVID-19 relief grant applications have been submitted to the State of Montana since applications opened last Thursday. Last week, Governor Bullock announced $123 million in CARES Act funding for nine new grant programs that are designed to address key COVID-19 issues Montanans are facing. As of the beginning of the business day May 13, the Montana Read More…
The most competitive race in Montana this election cycle is in the Republican primary to advance a candidate to November to try to take the seat in the U.S. House being vacated by U.S. Rep. Greg Gianforte, with six candidates in the race. Gianforte ran in the special election to take the seat when it Read More…
BOZEMAN- The National Rifle Association announced their endorsement of Senator Steve Daines in Montana’s U.S. Senate race. The NRA awarded the Senator a grade of an “A+” for his support of the Second Amendment. READ FULL STORY
The Bozeman City Commission is advocating for Congress to give money to city governments across the U.S. to help with financial impacts caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. All five members of the commission signed a letter to Montana’s congressional delegation asking for support for legislation that includes $500 billion for local governments as lawmakers consider Read More…
MISSOULA, Mont. — If it’s not enough that our state leaders and doctors are asking you to keep social distancing and wearing masks as Montana businesses reopen, they now have some celebrity manpower behind the cause. “The Dude” himself, Jeff Bridges, stars in a new public service announcement campaign launched by the Montana Hospital Association. Bridges Read More…
Visitors will be able to enter Yellowstone National Park from Wyoming beginning Monday, but the entrances on the Montana side of the border will remain closed until at least June 1. Yellowstone Superintendent Cam Sholly announced the park’s phased reopening plan Wednesday on a conference call with Grand Teton National Park Superintendent Gopaul Noojibail and Read More…
Myndi Holbrook is among the scientists working on the front lines for research regarding COVID-19 and those seeking a vaccine for the virus. Holbrook, who graduated from Whitefish High School in 2015 and earned a microbiology degree from Montana State University, is a post-baccalaureate fellow at Rocky Mountain Laboratories in Hamilton. “It’s a very unique Read More…
Pressure is intensifying on county officials to remove Dr. Annie Bukacek from the Flathead City-County Board of Health after she defied state and local policies surrounding the coronavirus outbreak and spread misinformation. According to a letter from city leaders in Whitefish, Bukacek’s recent actions “rise to the level of malfeasance, violate the public trust and cannot Read More…
A legal battle between the state of Idaho and a transgender inmate seeking to undergo gender- confirmation surgery may be headed to the nation’s highest court. Gov. Brad Little announced Thursday that Idaho has appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a lower court’s ruling requiring the state to pay for inmate Adree Edmo’s Read More…
A 1,151-megawatt (MW) coal power station in North Dakota is set to be retired after it was deemed to have “lost value compared to other alternatives in recent years.” Announcing the decision at the end of last week, electric power supplier Great River Energy said it planned to shut down the two units of Coal Read More…
Wyoming Medical Center’s first experience with a severe coronavirus patient came through a panicked phone call. The doctor on the line was from another hospital in Wyoming. They were frantic. A patient in their 20s had come in that day. On paper, in theory, such a young patient should’ve responded well to a respiratory Read More…
Montana, and Bozeman especially, is a tourist magnet. People flock here for a variety of reasons: the wide-open spaces, our proximity to the first national park, the world-class skiing, the small-town feel. But with COVID-19 shutdowns and quarantines still in effect, businesses that depend on nonresident travelers are feeling the pressure. “June, July, August, September, Read More…