Nearly $138 million has been sent to small businesses through the Montana Business Stabilization Grant program since the program launched in May. For a lot of recipients, the program has been a much needed lifeline that has kept their business from going under. “We have been extremely grateful for it,” said Brianne Harrington, owner of Read More…
Good ideas may go into hibernation but they never die. Veteran Public Policy Observer Mike Jacobs recently brought back the idea of changing the North Dakota Legislature from its present biennial schedule to annual meetings. In a supporting editorial, the Grand Forks Herald noted that the demands of the pandemic and the volatility of Read More…
LIVINGSTON – Two Park High School faculty members have tested positive for COVID-19 according to the Park County Health Department. The Montana State Health Lab reported the first result to the Park County Health Department Tuesday evening, and that through contact tracing, the additional positive test result was found Wednesday. Livingston School District and the Read More…
The new owners of 5 million combined acres of land and mineral rights in southern Wyoming say they plan to pursue opportunities to expand renewable energy development in addition to existing drilling and mining activity — a potential new source of revenue for the state as a third-party investment company takes over land long held Read More…
PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) — The final field appears set for the South Dakota Legislature’s seats that are being contested in the November general election. All 70 representatives and 35 senators will hold 2-year terms, but many of the races have already been settled in Republicans’ favor because they are running unopposed. The latest list includes a handful Read More…
NEW YORK — Top state Democrats joined Gov. Andrew Cuomo in ridiculing President Donald Trump after he threatened to kill federal funding for New York and other cities that “permit anarchy, violence, and destruction.” Trump has ordered a review of cities’ treatment of law enforcement, threatening to ax funding for any jurisdictions that are defunding or disempowering Read More…
Department of Education Secretary Betsy Devos has issued a letter to the public stating “schools must be open for in-person learning” as an option for parents. Devos, nominated by President Donald Trump and confirmed by the Senate in 2017, expressed her support and the support of the President for a bill which would provide scholarships to families Read More…
As the stock market and some companies thrive, many small business owners continue to struggle six months into the coronavirus pandemic. CNN’s Vanessa Yurkevich reports. WATCH FULL STORY
BUTTE – Just as Butte’s tourism season was getting started, coronavirus dealt the hotel industry a vicious economic blow. “Who knew? Who knew that we would ever come across something like this?,” said Maria Pochervina, director of the Tourism Business Improvement District. READ FULL STORY
North Dakota’s Democratic-NPL Party on Friday endorsed a new candidate for state insurance commissioner, days after the state Supreme Court ordered the party’s nominee removed from the ballot. The party’s Executive Committee endorsed Mutual of Omaha insurance agent Jason Anderson, of Fargo, to replace Bismarck critical care respiratory specialist Travisia Martin, whom the court Read More…
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota set a near record Thursday for the number of daily positive coronavirus tests, and has increased its per-capita figures for the infection to the highest in the country. The state Health Department’s update showed that 360 of the 12,629 tests in the past day came back positive, with Cass, Read More…
RAWLINS — After a month and a half of restricted activity and an ultimate lockdown because of a COVID-19 outbreak at the Wyoming State Penitentiary, inmates and their families are concerned about conditions inside the correctional facility. Sylvia Brown’s husband is an inmate at the prison, and she said she has had no contact visits Read More…
Cheyenne – The Wyoming Game and Fish Department needs help from hunters this fall to collect lymph node samples from deer and elk for chronic wasting disease (CWD) testing in focused monitoring hunt areas across Wyoming. Hunters are a very important component in helping Game and Fish understand the disease and achieve CWD monitoring goals. Game and Fish Read More…
Congressman Greg Gianforte on Sept. 1 toured Montana State University’s new COVID-19 testing site for students, as well as a lab that tests hundreds of samples from around the state in a day. Next to a big white tent at Bobcat Stadium, Director of Emergency Management Haylee Gerow says students with COVID-19 symptoms can walk Read More…
MONTANA — The Montana Department of Commerce announced today that the eight tribal nations in Montana will receive a share of $160,000 to support small businesses through economic and business development organizations. Each tribal community will receive $20,000 to support the development of Native-owned small businesses through Commerce’s Native American Business Advisors program. The program Read More…
BOZEMAN — A Montana State University professor and her collaborators have received a grant worth nearly $1 million to create a program for Apsáalooke youth that they hope will ultimately spark interest in STEM fields and lead to cleaner water for the Apsáalooke nation in southeast Montana. Vanessa Simonds, associate professor in the Department of Health Read More…
The Montana Public Service Commission (PSC) has opened an investigation into what led to the loss of water to the North Star Subdivision on Sunday Aug. 30. The PSC will be holding a show and cause hearing on Friday Sep. 11 for North Star to answer questions about the incident. Around 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, North Read More…
With Nov. 3 approaching, Montana’s secretary of state candidates are offering starkly contrasting visions for the state’s top election office. Both candidates have emphasized greater election security but have different plans to achieve it. The secretary of state race doesn’t catch the headlines of Montana’s high profile gubernatorial and U.S. Senate contests but Montana State Read More…
Gov. Doug Burgum welcomed the White House’s Coronavirus Response Coordinator, Dr. Deborah Birx, to North Dakota Saturday to discuss the state’s efforts to save lives and livelihoods in the fight against COVID-19. Birx, an ambassador-at-large and U.S. Special Representative for Global Health Diplomacy, met with the governor and first lady and held a round-table discussion Read More…
Autility company serving 146,000 customers in Wyoming has taken the next step to bring $2 billion in energy transmission lines to fruition across the state. Rocky Mountain Power announced on Wednesday it had submitted an application for regulatory approval with the Wyoming Public Service Commission, a necessary step before it can break ground and Read More…
U.S. Sen. Steve Daines is asking Gov. Steve Bullock’s office to release more information on COVID-19 cases and deaths within Montana’s senior care facilities. Daines announced Friday that he had sent a letter to Bullock, saying the state’s data was giving “an incomplete picture of the impact of COVID-19 on Montana’s senior communities.” READ FULL Read More…
Montana’s Battle of the Steves started at the buzzer. On the morning of March 9, the last day to file as a challenger to U.S. Senator Steve Daines, the first-term incumbent held a commanding lead in his bid for reelection. Daines, a former software executive and reliable Republican ally of President Trump, was considered a Read More…
BILLINGS, Mont. – You may have seen these Strongman competitions on TV, but have you ever seen them in person? Residents of the Magic City got their chance Saturday with Ron Wilson’s Iron Barn Gym hosting Montana’s first-ever strongman competition. When you think about lifting weights, many people may think of lift barbells or dumbbells, Read More…
Montana airports might have been spared the worst damage from the COVID-19 pandemic this summer. According to a new analysis from industry group Airlines for America, Montana experienced the smallest percentage decline in passenger flights out of any state in the country when compared to July of last year. Montana saw a 25% reduction in Read More…
MISSOULA, Mont. — The Teton County Health Department confirmed Montana’s first case of Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children, otherwise known as MIS-C, associated with COVID-19. In a press release, officials say the patient is a resident between 10 to 19-years-old. They added that the patient was hospitalized in Salt Lake City, and is now recovering at Read More…
Morgan Rose rode horses for as long as she wanted growing up. She woke up early in the morning and basked in life on her parents’ ranch in Dillon. Rose knew what she wanted to do when she was older: live on a ranch, raise cattle and pursue a career in agriculture. “You think this Read More…
Bozeman city commissioners Tuesday night worked through goals for the upcoming Montana legislative session, drawing off of the city’s strategic plan to identify some potential priorities for the lawmaking session set to begin in January 2021. Major goals identified in a report presented by city manager Jeff Mihelich and echoed by several commissioners were a Read More…
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mike Cooney Thursday unveiled his education plan, which calls for more spending on public schools and state colleges, state funding for preschool, and steps to reduce student debt. Cooney also said at a Missoula news conference that he wants to expand career and technical education in high school and middle schools. “Now Read More…
FORSYTH — Lance Lawrence received more than a hero’s welcome last Friday. The Forsyth 5-year-old with the Iron Man mask got a welcome-home parade fit for the superhero he’s become. “The parade was pretty awesome, the amount of people that came out. We’re like, ‘They’re here for you, you know that?’ He’s like, ‘Yeah, I Read More…
U.S. Sen. Steve Daines has weighed in on whether Montana schools should allow fans at sporting events. In a recent Facebook post, Daines said parents should be allowed to watch their children play fall sports. Daines called on Gov. Steve Bullock, who is challenging him for his Senate seat in the upcoming election, to develop Read More…
The Census Bureau released new phase two data from its Small Business Pulse survey last week, showing some of the sectors most impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. What they found: Hiring and rehiring have slowed and businesses now broadly say they expect recovery from the pandemic to take much longer than previously thought. 44% of respondents expect recovery will take Read More…
Though she’s still in her 20s, billionaire heiress-turned-Tinseltown film producer Erika Olde (“Home Again,” “Woman Walks Ahead,” “The Female Brain”) is already a veteran player in the high-end Los Angeles real estate market. Now she’s set her sights on pristine Wyoming — records reveal the Cayman Islands native has purchased a 4.27-acre spread in a private community just outside Read More…
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Postmaster General Louis DeJoy told senators Friday that the cost-cutting fixes he has made to the U.S. Postal Service transportation system were designed to improve service. “The only change I made, ma’am, was the trucks leave on time,” said Postmaster General Louis DeJoy on Friday. But an investigation by Scripps station WTVF in Nashville Read More…
In the campaign money chase for Montana’s 2020 gubernatorial race, Republican Greg Gianforte and Democrat Mike Cooney are drawing pretty much from the same well – except when it comes to their own pockets. Gianforte, Montana’s U.S. congressman and a wealthy businessman from Bozeman, has loaned or donated about $2.6 million to his campaign – Read More…
Montana’s tourism industry might not be seeing the complete “pandemic devastation” we feared in early spring. But University of Montana researchers say 2020 is still shaping up as one of the worst tourism business years in a decade. If there was ever a year for camping in Montana, this is it. The re-opening “COVID cascade” Read More…
U.S. Senators Steve Daines and Jon Tester have announced that the Economic Development Administration (EDA) will be directing $3,900,000 through the EDA’s CARES Act Recovery Assistance program and $11,209,000 through the EDA’s CARES Act Recovery Assistance Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) to support Montana communities, small businesses and jobs amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. “This funding Read More…
Several communities across southwest Montana are beginning to see smoke move in from wildfires in northern California. Fine particulate levels in Bozeman shifted into the unhealthy category around 8 a.m. Saturday, according to the Montana Department of Environmental Quality’s air monitoring website. Butte’s air quality also shifted into unhealthy territory around 10 a.m. Hamilton, Dillon Read More…
Elon Musk’s personal wealth is soaring along with Tesla’s stock. The CEO’s net worth increased by nearly $8 billion on Monday as Tesla’s stock price jumped 11% and closed at an all-time high. Musk’s net worth is now $84.8 billion, making him the world’s fourth-richest person, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Musk overtook Bernard Arnault, the French billionaire and Read More…
Hospitals in Xinjiang aborted late-stage pregnancies and killed newborns as part of China’s mission to erase Uighur culture, a doctor who worked in the region told Radio Free Asia on Monday. Since 2016, China has interned at least 1 million Uighurs in hundreds of prison camps, which it euphemistically calls “reeducation centers,” where Uighurs are forced to abandon their heritage Read More…
On Tuesday, Republican primary voters will effectively choose their state’s next US senator. Sen. Mike Enzi, the four-term Republican incumbent who’s served as chair of the Senate Budget Committee since 2015, is retiring. He and the state’s junior senator, John Barrasso, have both endorsed former Rep. Cynthia Lummis for the seat. Lummis held Wyoming’s one and only House Read More…