Montana Republicans and Democrats compromised in the 2019 Legislature to pass Medicaid expansion with the caveats that there would be some work and community service requirements, however the federal government has not yet authorized the provision. Now, the Montana State Senate Majority Leader is crying foul. “When we passed that legislation it was up to Read More…
Two grizzly bears have been killed in northwest Montana, one by a hunter and one by Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks. Information and Program Manager for District One, Dillon Tabish provides details. “We had an adult male grizzly bear that was euthanized this weekend near Libby after he broke into a garage seeking a food Read More…
Presidential candidate and Montana Gov. Steve Bullock touted on Tuesday that in 2016, he won election as a Democrat in a state that heavily voted for President Donald Trump. Though Bullock is polling at less than 1 percent nationally, and will not be participating in next week’s Democratic presidential debate, he thinks that he has Read More…
As U.S. Customs and Border Protection is holding town hall meetings to discuss reducing its hours of operation at Antler, Carbury and Maida, Gov. Doug Burgum released a statement on Wednesday, Nov. 6, urging the federal agency to maintain its schedule at the three North Dakota ports of entry. “We are committed to maintaining the Read More…
The head of North Dakota’s Commerce Department has personally retained an attorney amid a criminal investigation into audit findings of potential state law violations. Commerce Commissioner Michelle Kommer appeared Wednesday before the Legislature’s Audit and Fiscal Review Committee to answer lawmakers’ questions related to audit findings that agency officials mishandled appropriations and also skirted public Read More…
MEXICO CITY — A Williston, N.D., woman and four of her children were among those killed during a series of brutal attacks in northern Mexico on Monday, Nov. 4, according to a family member’s Facebook post. The onslaught has sent shock waves through two countries and prompted impassioned responses from political leaders. Kenny LeBaron Read More…
CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) – An interim legislative panel has rejected a proposal that would increase the state tax on alcohol to fund substance abuse treatment programs in Wyoming. The proposed bill offered by Republican Sen. Charlie Scott, of Casper, was voted down 7-6 Wednesday by the Joint Committee on Labor, Health and Social Services. Proponents of Read More…
Wyoming utility regulators may soon be in for a wild ride. For decades, the Wyoming Public Service Commission has upheld an unequivocal mission: “provide safe and reliable service to customers at just and reasonable rates.” It’s a mantra that state regulators repeatedly declared Tuesday when testifying before the Joint Minerals, Business and Economic Development Committee. Read More…
KEMMERER, Wyoming. — The Lincoln County, Wyoming Sheriff’s Office is investigating the death of a couple in Star Valley. A news release from the sheriff’s office indicates deputies were doing a welfare check at a home on Alta Drive just before noon Monday. When deputies arrived, no one answered the door so they entered the Read More…
IDAHO FALLS – Police in Idaho are looking for information after equipment was stolen from a Montana fire crew on their way home from fighting fires in California. According to a Facebook post from the Idaho Falls Police Department, a crew stopped at the Super 8 in Idaho Falls to spend the night Sunday. Sometime between Read More…
In a decade when many American universities are struggling with falling enrollment, Montana State University’s student population has grown, along with its graduation numbers and spending on instruction. MSU’s fall report card on itself also showed that while the Bozeman campus still has more tenured and tenure-track faculty than non-tenured or adjunct instructors, the Read More…
A local businesswoman and activist in Havre has been recognized on the floor of the Senate. The office of U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., said he recognized Havre’s Dottie Wilson for her tremendous impact on the state of Montana in his “Montanan of the Week” this week. Each week Daines highlights a Montanan by submitting Read More…
Montana Gov. Steve Bullock (D) unveiled his first two television ads in Iowa Wednesday as the White House hopeful seeks to gin up support for his presidential bid in the first-in-the-nation caucus state. The ads seek to promote Bullock’s electability by promoting his ability to win statewide in a rural state that backed President Trump in 2016. The Bullock campaign told Read More…
Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) has always been an unusual Democrat. Representing a district that Hillary Clinton carried by nearly 20 percentage points in the 2016 presidential election, Cuellar increasingly has sided with Republicans and business groups on workplace policy, not to mention on guns and abortion. That approach has served Cuellar well. He’s represented the district that Read More…
BILLINGS, Mont. — The Defense Department says a soldier from Montana — 23-year-old Nathaneil G. Irish — has died as a result of a non-combat related incident in Iraq. According to Sgt. Irish’s Facebook page, he was a proud Senior Bronc, attending the high school from 2010 to 2013. Several posts on his Facebook page indicate Sgt. Read More…
Anthony Scaramucci, President Donald Trump’s short-lived White House communications director-turned-detractor, saw his fame exploited Thursday in a campaign stunt by a Democratic presidential candidate. The stunt unfolded on Twitter when Steve Bullock — Montana’s governor and a long-shot candidate who’s failed to qualify for all but one Democratic primary debate this year — posted a Read More…
Montana’s lone representative in the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday voted against a resolution to formalize the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump. Republican Greg Gianforte voted with his party members and two Democrats against the measure from the House majority to lay the foundation and ground rules for the process of considering articles Read More…
A Montana hunter shot and killed a grizzly bear Saturday in apparent self-defense, bringing to three the number of “human-caused” grizzly bear deaths to have occurred during the past week. Saturday’s incident occurred in the Eureka Basin of the south Gravelly Mountains. The hunter, who was not injured, contacted the Department of Fish, Wildlife and Read More…
Sen. Steve Daines criticized the state of Montana on Wednesday during a Senate subcommittee hearing, saying its policies on Medicaid has made it more at risk to abuse and fraud compared to other states. He made his comments after noting the U.S. government improperly spent $36 billion in Fiscal Year 2018. “The sad reality is Read More…
BOISE, Idaho — Governor Brad Little approved an Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) agreement with California to assist with recovery efforts following wildfires. “Idaho has an amazing depth of emergency management professionals that are willing to step up and help our fellow Americans during their times of need,” Governor Little said. “Their skills and expertise Read More…
BILLINGS — Protesters briefly disrupted a public meeting on the Keystone XL pipeline in Billings Tuesday night, arguing the project is bad for Montana lands and the meeting format did not allow for open dialogue. About an hour after the meeting started at the Billings Hotel and Convention Center, some demonstrators moved inside to argue Read More…
HELENA, Mont. — The state of Montana has spent more than $2 million on snow plowing so far this year surpassing what costs were this time over the last two years. The Independent Record reported Tuesday that snow plowing costs for the state Department of Transportation increased by more than 250% since last year. Department officials Read More…
Montana’s federal lawmakers are moving ahead with their effort to rename the Department of Veterans Affairs clinic in Bozeman after local Medal of Honor recipient and Army Staff Sgt. Travis Atkins. Sens. Steve Daines and Jon Tester and Rep. Greg Gianforte sent a letter on Tuesday to the chair of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee Read More…
CHAPTER I Steve Bullock was giddy. It was late September in Iowa, and the governor of Montana had something he needed to tell me urgently. He had just finished his stump speech to roughly two dozen people gathered in the living room of a local Democratic activist in an upscale neighborhood of Sioux City. “You Read More…
Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) became the latest member of the influential “Squad” to endorse Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) for president when she appeared at his campaign rally in Detroit on Sunday night. Why it matters: It’s a welcome boost for Sanders as polls indicate his popularity has slipped. Tlaib is the third member of the quartet of freshman Democratic lawmakers Read More…
Gov. Doug Burgum and Lt. Gov. Brent Sanford are running for reelection. The duo announced their campaign in a video released early Thursday morning, Oct. 24. “North Dakota is certainly headed in the right direction,” Burgum said during the two-minute plus video. “Jobs are up, wages are higher, unemployment is down, young people are staying.” Read More…
CHEYENNE, Wyo. – Governor Mark Gordon announced today he has appointed Greg Lanning Wyoming State Engineer. Lanning takes over for Pat Tyrrell, who retired in January after serving as State Engineer for 18 years. The State Engineer is a position established by the Wyoming Constitution and has a term of six years. The State Engineer serves Read More…
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wants her followers to show Bernie the money. The Congresswoman’s plea for donations to Sen. Bernie Sanders’ campaign came in a joint fundraising email. “The only reason I believed I could launch a long shot run for Congress is because Bernie’s campaign proved that you can build a grassroots movement and win,” Read More…
HELENA – Today, the Montana Department of Environmental Quality reached a short-term agreement with the Navajo Transitional Energy Company (NTEC) that ensures compliance with the State’s mining and environmental laws, and allows coal production to resume at the Spring Creek Mine in Big Horn County, Montana. On Thursday, NTEC assumed ownership of the coal mine Read More…
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. — An unpiloted Air Force X-37B spaceplane, one of two winged orbiters used to carry out classified research, made a surprise landing at the Kennedy Space Center early Sunday to close out a record 780-day mission. It was the fifth flight in the secretive Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV) program, pushing total Read More…
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N) is seeking a potential buyer for its roughly 60,000 barrel per day Billings, Montana refinery, according to three sources familiar with Exxon’s plans. Representatives for large refiners, including Valero Energy Corp (VLO.N) and Marathon Petroleum Corp (MPC.N), have toured the refinery, two of the people said, speaking Read More…
HELENA – Montana Gov. Steve Bullock endorsed Lt. Gov. Mike Cooney in the 2020 gubernatorial race on Friday, saying Cooney’s long history of public service made him the right person for the job. Democrats have held on to the governor’s post for nearly 14 years. Republicans said they were not surprised by the announcement. The nod Read More…
In the summer of 2007, an independent energy company installed a meteorological tower to test the wind conditions on a ranch in Carbon County. The results revealed what most residents living in and around Rawlins already knew: The site boasted ferocious wind speeds, making it an ideal spot to build one of the country’s most Read More…
Every election season folks usually ask us, who should we vote for when it comes to judges or city council races? Normally, city council elections in Billings are relatively sleepy and it is hard to distinguish between the various candidates. Not this year. There is a very philosophical contrast between most of the candidates on Read More…
The Montana Democratic Party will soon start searching for a new executive director. Monica Lindeen will step down from her post as executive director of the Montana Democratic Party by year’s end. You know, I think it’s time that somebody else step into a position like this,” Lindeen says. It’s been just over ten months Read More…
Booker has at least four Chicago-area fundraisers Thursday, according to invitations obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times, returning to the city for the first time since July. The tab for each event ranges from $250 to $2,800. At 1 p.m. Booker will be in Highland Park for a reception, with the hosts including activists Dana Gordon and Read More…
For four terms I served at the Montana Legislature representing HD 36. One thing has become obvious; conservative legislation can be vetoed by a liberal governor. For eight years there has been conservative legislation passed by the House and Senate, but the measures were dead on arrival at the governor’s desk. In 2020 we are Read More…
HELENA, Mont. – Three Small Business Development Centers are expanding access to services and outreach to rural areas by hiring additional staff to better serve small business owners and entrepreneurs across Montana. The Great Falls SBDC, based at the Great Falls Development Authority (GFDA), has hired a rural business adviser – a new position created to make business Read More…
BILLINGS, Mont. — A Montana landowner is suing the National Park Service and U.S. Forest Service to halt the hunting of bison just outside Yellowstone National Park’. The complaint filed by Gardiner, Montana landowner Bonnie Lynn and Neighbors Against Bison Slaughter contends the agencies have failed to analyze the consequences of the hunt on private property Read More…
According to the Montana Census Complete Count Committee, Montana will need thousands of U.S. Census workers to help complete the 2020 census. The census helps determine how much federal money Montana will receive for things like infrastructure, medical assistance, educational programs, and public assistance. Currently, Montana receives about $2 billion in federal funds each year Read More…