CHEYENNE – The Wyoming Legislature’s Management Council will meet at 7:30 a.m. April 16 to consider interim topics for joint interim committees. This meeting will include discussion of potential legislative responses to the current public health emergency caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, including consideration of the need for a special session. A meeting notice and Read More…
MILWAUKEE — The 2020 Democratic National Convention has officially been postponed until August due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Democratic Party announced Thursday. The convention was originally scheduled for July 13-17. It will now be held the week of August 17. “In our current climate of uncertainty, we believe the smartest approach is to take Read More…
The UK plans to roll out “immunity passports” to Brits who have already contracted the COVID-19 disease in order to allow them to return to “normal life,” the Health Secretary Matt Hancock said on Thursday. “We are looking at an immunity certificate,” Hancock told a Downing Street press conference. “How people who have had the Read More…
The FDA announced Thursday that it is relaxing some of the recommendations regarding blood donations to address “a dramatic reduction in donations” amid the COVID-19 pandemic — but the department still recommends that sexually active gay men should not give blood. According to a press release from the department, it is now recommending that male donors can Read More…
WASHINGTON — Montana’s delegates in Congress are urging President Donald Trump to approve federal funding that would allow the Montana National Guard to assist in efforts against the coronavirus. The following is a press release from the offices of Rep. Greg Gianforte, Sen. Steve Daines and Sen. Jon Tester: Congressman Greg Gianforte and U.S. Senators Steve Daines and Read More…
Glacier National Park has awarded its labor services contract for the 2020 Visitor Transportation Service to LC Staffing of Kalispell. The contract with the company is valid for up to two years and provides drivers, dispatchers and supervisors for the park’s 35-bus fleet that provides shuttle service along the Going-to-the-Sun Road. Jim Foster, chief of Read More…
MISSOULA, Mont. — The Red Ants Pants Music Festival, that is usually held in July outside White Sulphur Springs has been canceled due the COVID-19 pandemic. This would have been the 10th year for the music festival. “It is with heavy hearts we have made a difficult, but we feel the most responsible, decision to cancel Read More…
LIVINGSTON – Popular musician John Mayer approached a Livingston nonprofit to help combat COVID-19 in Park County. The Livingston Enterprise reported Mayer made a financial contribution to the Livingston HealthCare Foundation to provide Park County residents with more ventilators. Livingston HealthCare hospital spokesperson Whitney Harris told The Enterprise Mayer got in contact with the nonprofit to Read More…
Violators of Yellowstone County and Montana state orders to limit group gatherings and maintain social distance could face up to 90 days in jail and fines, county officials said during a news conference Wednesday in Billings. Law enforcement officers said they will not be stopping drivers on the road for no reason or putting up Read More…
Even though local public health measures to curb the coronavirus pandemic are barely weeks old, the Whitefish business community is already losing more than $732,000 in daily revenue, according to a study released Tuesday, offering a snapshot of the downturn that local economies may have to endure for months to come. The Whitefish Convention and Read More…
Unemployment claims have spiked to 6.65 million across the country, the Department of Labor said in a press release on Thursday. Unemployment claims have doubled since last week when the Labor Department reported that about 3 million people were seeking unemployment. That figure was already by far the highest number of unemployment claims the department had ever seen. READ Read More…
Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun told the aerospace company’s employees that it is starting a “voluntary layoff plan” that will allow eligible workers to leave the company with a pay and benefits package. The program is designed to shrink the company’s workforce at a time when air travel is plummeting because of the coronavirus pandemic. In a memo, Read More…
As more people work from home to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19, they’re using their home internet networks for activities usually reserved for the workplace. But your home network may not be equipped to handle all the video conferencing and file-uploading you may be doing at the moment. What can you do if your Read More…
Kampgrounds of America (KOA) finds itself on the front lines dealing with the COVID-19 outbreak. Not only has the coronavirus forced the company’s Billings headquarters into a “work-from-home operation”, but KOA’s network of campgrounds nationwide are front and center as the country fights back against the virus. President and CEO Toby O’Rourke took to the Read More…
North Dakota’s two U.S. senators are hopeful about the outlook for the oil industry that’s plagued by low crude prices, after a phone call earlier this week between the presidents of the United States and Russia. Few details have emerged about the call between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, which came after several weeks of Read More…
BISMARCK — Cass County now has more cases of COVID-19, the illness caused by coronavirus, than any other county in North Dakota. The North Dakota Department of Health announced 17 new cases of illness Tuesday, March 31, including eight in Cass County. A ninth Cass County case was confirmed earlier Tuesday, but the department Read More…
CASPER, Wyo. — The Wyoming Game and Fish Department says that legislation passed in 2019 to expand the regulated area for shed antler and horn collection in the state is now in effect. “The updated regulation expands the seasonal closure area to include expanded critical wintering habitat and enact a new opening time of 12 noon on Read More…
HELENA, Mont. — Montana’s governor is asking tourists to stop coming to the state while it’s under a stay-at-home directive. Gov. Steve Bullock also asks anyone who recently traveled to the state from another state or country to self-quarantine for 14 days. The directive does not apply to people traveling into the state for work-related reasons. Read More…
Montana colleges and universities stand to receive $31 million from the $2 trillion coronavirus relief package just passed by Congress. Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana, announced the aid to higher education in a news release Monday, saying it was part of a total of $1.25 billion heading to Montana local governments, small businesses and individuals for Read More…
After a hopscotching process, Montana got the OK to call off standardized testing for students usually required by the federal government. The move had been likely since the U.S Department of Education indicated that it would offer statewide testing waivers as most of the nation’s public schools closed because of the new coronavirus. Montana education officials Read More…
BILLINGS — Billings restaurants in the Shiloh Crossing shopping complex are seeing up to a 50 percent loss of sales Saturday following Governor Steve Bullock’s directive to stay at home. “As you can see, around the parking lot, it’s been dead. Our revenue has been cut in half. It’s just been me and my manager doing everything since Read More…
Washington — Americans who are eligible to receive one-time payments from the federal government as part of a massive coronavirus economic relief package will see that money deposited into their bank accounts “within three weeks,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Sunday. “We expect that within three weeks, that people who have direct deposit with information with us will Read More…
BOISE, Idaho — Editor’s note: The above video discusses Idaho’s plans to prevent further spread of COVID-19 in Idaho with regards to the May primary election. Idaho Secretary of State Lawrence Denney formally made a request Friday afternoon to Gov. Brad Little to postpone the May primary election and close all polling locations amid Read More…
BISMARCK — North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum asked President Donald Trump on Sunday, March 29, to declare a major disaster for the state in response to the outbreak of COVID-19, the illness caused by coronavirus. If granted by Trump, the declaration would clear the path for North Dakota to receive federal aid based on Read More…
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Three Wyoming gun shops say their businesses have seen an uptick over the past week, mirroring a national trend fueled by the spread of the novel coronavirus continuing across Wyoming and the nation. “It’s borne out of fear that people are going to go crazy,” said Larry Frandson of Cody Wyoming Guns and Ammo, adding Read More…
EVANSTON – Wyoming gets an F in social distancing practices. National data company Unacast has utilized cellphone location data to rank every state in the nation on social distancing practices in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. As of March 25, Wyoming was the only state in the country to earn an F grade. The Read More…
On Thursday, Montana Governor Steve Bullock issued a statewide stay-at-home order to all Montanans to prevent COVID-19 from spreading. According to County Attorney Kirsten Pabst, “all systems are go” at the Missoula County Attorney’s Office. She said there are four essential components to this new Directive. “The first is stay home,” Pabst said. “The second Read More…
On Thursday, March 26, Governor Steve Bullock clarified essential businesses and operations in a Directive where he declared Montanans must shelter in place and stay at home. We have summarized the list of essential businesses and operations listed in the Directive: Businesses that sell, manufacture or supply needed products: Stores that sell groceries, medicine, including medication Read More…
Crow Tribal Chairman Alvin Not Afraid Jr. issued an executive order mandating all tribal members to stay home in order to control the potential spread of the novel coronavirus, according to a press release issued by the tribe Friday. The order, which goes into effect March 28 at 12:01 a.m. and stays in effect until Read More…
Even though the Montana Science Center is temporarily closed, executive director Abby Turner was keeping an eye out for what the center could be doing for Bozeman. “We had been watching the ways that people are helping out,” Turner said. “For us, we knew that some of the resources that we had available at the Read More…
LIVINGSTON — One day late last week, Dan Vermillion, owner of Sweetwater Travel in Livingston, woke up to a flurry of emails. There were seven different requests to book his vacation rentals for up to six months. Normally, a booking is three days, five days, maybe a week. By: Johnathan Hettinger – Montana Free Press LIVINGSTON Read More…
While families’ cats and dogs are enjoying the upside of spending days with their owners working from home during the coronavirus shutdown, wild coyotes in San Francisco are reportedly also taking advantage of the benefits of a suddenly empty city. There have been several recent fake stories circulating about unusual wildlife showing up in cities during the Read More…
GRAND FORKS — North Dakotans can breathe a sigh of relief: this year’s campaign almost certainly won’t be the political storm that brought a tsunami of spending to the state in 2018, when GOP Sen. Kevin Cramer ousted Democrat Heidi Heitkamp from a nationally coveted seat. But the stakes are still high for legislative Read More…
FARGO — North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum has been in daily contact with lawmakers about the coronavirus and hasn’t ruled out the possibility of calling a special session, a spokesman said Wednesday. Mike Nowatzki, Burgum’s communications director, said that although “it’s too early to speculate” about whether to call in lawmakers, the governor’s office continues Read More…
The businesses lining the main streets of Wyoming speak volumes about the communities they inhabit. Successful restaurants reflect the tastes of the local residents. Retailers, and the wares they carry, often resemble the demographics of a community. Art galleries, music shops and others can indicate the existence of tourist traffic and a creative class that Read More…
According to the Governor’s Office, unemployment in Montana held steady at 3.5% in February, before COVID-19 reached the Treasure State. Gov. Bullock said in a press release that Montana added 800 jobs over the month and was on par with the U.S. unemployment rate, also 3.5 percent in February. READ FULL STORY
Montana U.S. House candidate Kathleen Williams and members of her campaign staff are self-quarantining after learning an attendee at a campaign event tested positive for COVID-19. Williams’ campaign manager, Jeff Allen, said in a Thursday news release that neither the Bozeman Democrat nor her campaign staff have experienced symptoms and are self-quarantining “out of an Read More…
GREAT FALLS — Governor Steve Bullock on Thursday afternoon issued a directive requiring Montanans to stay home and temporarily closes all nonessential businesses and operations as efforts to curtail the spread of COVID-19 (coronavirus) continue. The order goes into effect at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday March 28; Bullock said implementation of the order will buy Read More…
BOZEMAN — An organic chemist from Montana State University is one of 25 educators in the 2020 class of Cottrell Scholars, an award honoring both academic leadership and innovative research in the physical sciences. Sharon Neufeldt, an assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry in MSU’s College of Letters and Science, received the award last month Read More…