All posts by Big Sky Headlines

China confirms the birth of gene-edited babies and vows to punish scientist He Jiankui who ‘violated rules to carry out the unethical study for personal fame’

6 years ago   Featured, National News, News

A Chinese investigation says the scientist behind the birth of two babies whose genes had been edited in hopes of making them resistant to the AIDS virus acted on his own ‘for personal fame and profit’ and will be punished for violating regulations. Confirming the births, the official Xinhua News Agency said Monday that investigators in Read More…

Wall Street and top New York donors hear from Democratic governors considering 2020 presidential campaigns

6 years ago   Featured, National Politics, Politics

Several Democratic politicians – known collectively as “the governors” among elite donors – have been in contact with Wall Street’s top political financiers as they each consider running for president in 2020, CNBC has learned. The group includes former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and Montana Gov. Read More…

MSU post-election poll: Independent voters key in MT’s 2018 Senate, House races

6 years ago   Featured, Montana Politics, Politics

This is the first of a three-part series on MTN-MSU’s post-election poll BOZEMAN – Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Tester defeated Republican challenger Matt Rosendale last November largely on his strength among independent voters, an MTN News-Montana State University post-election poll shows. And while President Donald Trump visited the state an unprecedented four times in 2018 Read More…

Despite Mild Winter, Montana’s Snowpack Near Average in Many Basins

6 years ago   Featured, Home Featured, Montana News, News

Montana’s snowpack is closer to average than our mild winter might suggest, as residents across the state grew accustomed to snow-less sidewalks in December and celebrated a decidedly not-white Christmas. The close-to-normal snowpack is largely thanks to autumn snowfall, when storms provided a base in the mountains before the tap ran dry for a prolonged Read More…

U.S. Supreme court lets Montana campaign-contribution limits stand

6 years ago   Featured, Home Featured, Montana Politics, Politics

HELENA – The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a challenge to Montana’s campaign-contribution limits, letting the 24-year-old law stand. The high court, without comment, denied the appeal of a 2017 appellate court ruling that upheld Montana’s monetary limits on what individuals, political-action committees and political parties can give to state candidates. Jaime Read More…

Daines Introduces Bill Withholding Pay From Congressmen During Government Shutdowns, Others Join

6 years ago   Featured, National Politics, Politics

Republican Montana Sen. Steve Daines introduced a bill on the Senate floor Thursday that would withhold the pay of members of Congress during future government shutdowns. Daines’s introduction of the bill, sponsored by Republican Texas Sen. John Cornyn, comes hours after Daines announced he sent a letter requesting the secretary of the U.S. Senate withhold Read More…

Steve Bullock

Voters rejected Medicaid expansion, Bullock pushing for it in legislative session

6 years ago   Featured, Home Featured, Montana Politics, Politics

MISSOULA, Mont. — One day following the beginning of Montana’s 2019 legislative session, Gov. Steve Bullock presented a report on the benefits of Medicaid expansion. The current funding plan is set to expire in June. The governor was a strong proponent of I-185. The initiative would have funded Medicaid expansion by increasing the tobacco tax. Voters Read More…

Underwhelming results from Montana Medicaid expansion

6 years ago   Featured, Opinion

In November, Montana’s voters rejected renewal of the Medicaid-expansion welfare program (hereinafter “MedEx”), consigning its fate to the Legislature in the 2019 session. Even though the subject may sound boring, taxpayers should pay close attention these next few months, since big money is at stake and the program dis-incentivizes work and self-sufficiency.   Medicaid itself Read More…

Mining, Taxes and Jobs in Montana

6 years ago   Business, Featured, Montana Business News

What would the economy of the state of Montana look like if the eight largest hard rock mines – producing copper, palladium, gold, talc, cement and other products and materials – did not exist? That was a question posed in a recent study produced by the Bureau of Business and Economic Research. It addressed – Read More…

The Rise of Short-Term Rentals

6 years ago   Business, Featured, Montana Business News

In a recent study conducted in Gardiner, Montana, by the Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research at the University of Montana, unsolicited comments from nearly 50 percent of residents exemplified issues in Montana’s affordable housing crisis. Those comments ranged from complaints about high rent to unreasonable housing prices. And while the state battles an affordable Read More…

New business group launches in Billings

6 years ago   Business, Featured, Home Featured, Montana Business News

Billings, MONT.-Today, local business owners announced the formation of the Yellowstone Area Chamber of Commerce. The group was formed in response to a growing belief among business owners that common-sense, pro-business solutions have become secondary policy goals. The group will educate and advocate for proven and business-centric policy prescriptions that create a positive environment for Read More…

Airport water fountains shut down after passengers become ill on Frontier Airlines flight

6 years ago   Featured, National News, News

(CNN)Several water fountains were shut down at a Cleveland airport after passengers aboard a Frontier Airlines flight became sick, airport officials said.   At least six passengers who traveled on Tampa-bound Frontier Airlines Flight 1397 on Tuesday fell ill after leaving Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. The passengers, who were not traveling as a group, were Read More…

She was jailed for drunk driving. Instead she had had a stroke, didn’t get help for days

6 years ago   Featured, National News, News

PORT ORCHARD, Wash. — A woman accused of drunken driving and jailed really had suffered a stroke, and despite multiple contacts with police and corrections officers, she went days without medical attention. Carol Carlson, 64, of Edmonds, Washington, drove to the Kingston ferry terminal on a Monday morning in December 2017. Washington State Patrol troopers Read More…

Democrats need some 2020 Senate candidates

6 years ago   Featured, National Politics, Politics

Wednesday morning, recently reelected Montana Democratic Sen. Jon Tester broke some exciting news by telling Montana College Democrats that their state’s governor, Steve Bullock, would challenge incumbent Republican Sen. Steve Daines in his 2020 reelection bid. Minutes later, Bullock’s chief of staff offered a contrary view: Not only was Bullock not ready to announce, he’s Read More…

Bill would ban child marriage

6 years ago   Featured, Politics, Regional Politics

CHEYENNE –- The Wyoming Legislature could act this year to make the state one of only three in the country that prevents any child under the age of 18 from getting married. Currently, Wyoming law sets the legal age for marriage at 16, but allows for a child younger than that to get married, if Read More…

Monica Lindeen to head Montana Democratic Party

6 years ago   Featured, Montana Politics, Politics

The Montana Democratic Party has named Monica Lindeen as its new executive director, replacing the outgoing Nancy Keenan, who is retiring.   Lindeen, 56, was most recently executive director of YWCA Helena, following eight years as the state Commissioner of Securities and Insurance. She was previously vice chair of the party and served eight years Read More…

Eagle Bancorp Montana Completes Purchase of The State Bank of Townsend, Townsend, Montana

6 years ago   Business, Featured, Montana Business News

HELENA, Mont., Jan. 02, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Eagle Bancorp Montana, Inc. (NASDAQ: EBMT), (the “Company,” “Eagle”), the holding company of Opportunity Bank of Montana, today announced that it completed, effective January 1, 2019, its previously announced acquisition of Big Muddy Bancorp, Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiary, The State Bank of Townsend, Townsend, Montana Read More…

Montana Cowboy Hall of Fame to honor inductees at Induction Ceremony & Western Heritage Gathering in Great Falls, Feb. 9

6 years ago   Featured, Montana News, News

The Montana Cowboy Hall of Fame & Western Heritage Center (MCHF & WHC) extends an invitation to all to attend the Annual MCHF Induction Ceremony & Western Heritage Gathering, Saturday, Feb. 9, 2019, at the Best Western Heritage Inn in Great Falls. “This year we celebrate our 13th gathering and 11th class of inductions into Read More…

Trade, railroads keep Montana competitive in global economy

6 years ago   Business, Featured, Home Featured, Montana Business News

It’s good news that the administration has reached an agreement on an updated North American Free Trade Agreement. It means certainty for U.S. industry and agriculture, as well as the prosperity that comes from free trade. After all, international trade’s been an asset for farmers, businesses and consumers in Montana. The state’s exports have surged Read More…

Changing House Rules Will Weaken Checks & Balances

6 years ago   Featured, Opinion

As former House Speakers and Senate Presidents of the Montana Legislature, we question the wisdom of making significant changes to the rules of operation in the Montana House. Currently, there is a group of legislators trying to change the House rules. One of the proposed changes would allow a simple majority (51 members) to “blast” Read More…

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke is the latest high-profile departure from the Trump administration

6 years ago   Featured, Home Featured, National Politics, Politics

US Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke will leave his post at the end of the year, in the latest high-profile departure from President Donald Trump’s administration. When announcing it on Twitter, Mr Trump did not give a reason for Mr Zinke’s departure but the former congressman from Montana has come under scrutiny for his use of Read More…

Report Estimates New Costs of Medicaid Expansion in Montana

6 years ago   Montana News, News

HELENA — Montana would have to shell out an extra $59 million over two years to keep its Medicaid expansion program running, but the state is expected to collect enough revenue to more than cover the additional costs, legislative analysts said Monday. Legislative Fiscal Division staff members presented a new report to lawmakers that analyzes Read More…

Montana becoming increasingly Republican

6 years ago   Opinion

    Montana appears well down the road to becoming a one-party Republican, deeply conservative state, like the states that surround us. U.S. Sen. Jon Tester’s survival was an anomaly best explained by his personal popularity and his opponent’s weakness. In the late 1960s and ’70s, when I was first cutting my teeth in politics, Read More…