HELENA — As the 2020 general-election race for Montana governor gets under way, Republican candidate Greg Gianforte’s campaign has accumulated almost four times the money of his Democratic competitor, Mike Cooney – but that total includes $1.5 million of Gianforte’s own money. Gianforte reported Monday that his campaign has raised about $3.83 million through June Read More…
Executive and legislative relationships could be set back as a result of Gov. Doug Burgum’s hefty donations to a political group that successfully targeted a powerful fellow Republican in the June election, according to a top House lawmaker. Burgum disputes that he’s done anything out of the ordinary and denies having a rocky relationship Read More…
The latest Big Sky Poll from the University of Montana just finished up a year-long investigation with nearly 1,000 respondents in an attempt to understand how and why individuals participate in civic engagement. More than 40% of participants were young people in Montana, including the unique perspective of Native American youth in the state. Sarah Rinfret is Read More…
The Trump administration is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a federal judge’s decision and grant a key permit to allow the Keystone XL pipeline to move forward. If the high court sides with the administration, it could open the door for Canadian developer TC Energy to move forward with construction of the pipeline, Read More…
Two public schools in Berkeley, California, will remove their names commemorating Presidents George Washington and Thomas Jefferson amid renewed and widespread calls from the Black Lives Matter movement for racial equality. The Berkeley Unified School District approved a “Resolution in Support of Black Lives Matter” last week, following weeks of nationwide protests and riots denouncing systemic racism Read More…
Around 600 goats in two separate herds are currently grazing their way through parts of the Palos Verdes Peninsula — in an effort to reduce fire risk and remove non-native plants. About 300 goats are hard at work in Lunada Canyon, part of the 1,600 acres the Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy has preserved. And Read More…
AT&T is notifying thousands of employees that their jobs are being eliminated as part of a $6 billion cost-cutting push, an attempt to slim down one of the most heavily indebted companies in the U.S. The cuts follow through on a plan that Chief Executive Officer Randall Stephenson outlined in October when he said the Read More…
The Securities and Exchange Commission told Hertz, which filed for bankruptcy during the coronavirus pandemic, that the regulator has issues with the rental car company’s plan to sell stock. “In this particular situation we have let the company know that we have comments on their disclosure,” SEC Chairman Jay Clayton said Wednesday on CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street.” “In Read More…
WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republicans unveiled proposed changes to police procedures and accountability Wednesday including an enhanced use-of-force database, restrictions on chokeholds and new commissions to study law enforcement and race, according to a draft obtained by The Associated Press. The “Justice Act” is the most ambitious GOP policing proposal in years, a direct response Read More…
Masks have become the norm inside the House of Representatives, where some politicians now embrace the novel coronavirus precaution with colorful odes to their home districts. But there are holdouts: A small group of Republican representatives who have consistently declined to wear face coverings in Congress. Now, as nine states hit record highs for infections, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is Read More…
AOC is going AWOL for the city’s only in-person debate ahead of next week’s Democratic Party primary. First-term Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-Queens/Bronx) plans to skip out on a face-to-face showdown with three challengers Wednesday, her office told The Post. Ironically, the Parkchester Times-sponsored debate is the same one the previous incumbent, 10-term Rep. Joseph Crowley, shirked Read More…
The Supreme Court decided on Monday that they will not reexamine a doctrine that protects law enforcement and government officials from being sued over their actions while on the job. The doctrine, which the justices created nearly 50 years ago, gives “qualified immunity” for law enforcement officers, which protects them from frivolous lawsuits CNN reported. READ FULL STORY
Noting that the announcement came with “heavy hearts,” officials confirmed Saturday that the two bodies recovered from a backyard in Idaho were the remains of the missing children of “doomsday cult” mom Lori Vallow. Joshua “JJ” Vallow, 7, and Tylee Ryan, 17, had been missing since September. Their remains were found Tuesday, buried on the property of Read More…
Staff of the North Dakota Supreme Court Law Library have been discarding more than 67,000 books over the span of more than a year. “I can tell you, it’s been devastating to see them go, but we understand the impetus,” Legal Self-Help Center Director Catie Palsgraaf said. The 2019 Legislature budgeted $970,000 to Read More…
The former executive manager of the now-dissolved Flathead Joint Board of Control pleaded not guilty to a host of charges in U.S. District Court in Missoula on June 3, all related to her alleged misuse of board funds for personal expenses. Johanna Estella Clark could face significant fines and a lengthy prison term if convicted Read More…
There are some additional openings and services available at Glacier National Park. The west entrance gate will no longer close at 4:30 p.m. and Going-to-the-Sun Road is open to Avalanche and the campground is available for day-use parking. The restroom at the shuttle stop is also now available. Camas Road is now open and the Read More…
Tyler Stosich’s wheelchair is controlled by a straw. Normally, he doesn’t think twice about it. But COVID-19 turned normal on its head, so Stosich decided to innovate. “I was just sitting in the shower where my best ideas come to me, and I was like, man, I’m just going to route a piece of tubing Read More…
The United States Department of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue was at the Forest Service Smokejumper Center on Friday to sign a stewardship memorandum that contained a blueprint to modernize the U.S. Forest Service. Perdue outlines aspects of the agreement officially signed on Friday. “It increases productivity,” said Secretary Perdue. “These are renewable resources. We are Read More…
In the last 20 years, Senate candidates have tended to win or lose in tandem with the presidential candidates of their party. For the Republicans trying to hold their control of the Senate in 2020, that may be a mixed blessing. President Trump — whether he wins or loses his own re-election bid — will have a Read More…
‘The people themselves are primarily responsible for their safety.’ Pierre, South Dakota — The coronavirus crisis hasn’t been kind to the reputations of many governors. New York’s Andrew Cuomo held effective news conferences that at first burnished his image, but he’s now ducking responsibility for sending virus patients back into nursing homes where the disease promptly Read More…
Updated public health orders that take effect June 15 will continue to ease restrictions on public gatherings in Wyoming, Governor Mark Gordon announced today. The updated orders allow indoor gatherings of up to 250 people with restrictions, permit parades to occur (with appropriate social distancing), and allow K-12 schools, community colleges, the University, and other Read More…
The Montana Speaker of the House has denied a request from a national watchdog group to investigate potential ethics violations by a Republican state lawmaker from Gallatin County. The Campaign for Accountability asked Rep. Greg Hertz, R-Polson, to look into Rep. Kerry White for breaking state law by serving as a legislator while also working as Read More…
KALISPELL, Mont. — Summer officially begins at Whitefish Mountain Resort this Saturday. The resort will be opening nearly all its outdoor activities, including over 30 miles of mountain bike trails. As snow continues to melt, more trails will open throughout the season. The resort will also be opening three brand-new trails expected to be completed by Read More…
Bill Tietz, the hard-charging maverick whose tenure as Montana State University president laid the foundation for the Bozeman campus to become a modern research university, has died. “It is with great sadness that I write today with news of the passing of Montana State University President Emeritus William J. Tietz,” President Waded Cruzado wrote Read More…
HELENA, Mont. — The Department of Labor and Industry says Montana has paid out more than $10 million in potentially fraudulent unemployment claims during the COVID-19 pandemic. It also says it has stopped more than $220 million in fraudulent claims since late April. READ FULL STORY
(Bloomberg) — Kamala Harris is on even stronger footing in Joe Biden’s search for a running mate as he faces intensifying pressure to choose a black woman in the middle of a national debate over race. Harris has long been near the top of Biden’s list but as other candidates slip in the eyes of Read More…
Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee voted on Thursday to authorize 53 subpoenas in connection with an investigation into the origins of former special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe of Russian interference in the 2016 election. The afternoon vote along party lines grants the committee chairman, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., the authority to issue the subpoenas, Read More…
The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City announced on Thursday that its popular annual economic policy symposium will not be held in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, for the first time in nearly 40 years due to the coronavirus pandemic. Instead, the bank said that this year’s symposium, titled “Navigating the Decade Ahead: Implications for Monetary Policy,” will be Read More…
The rise in coronavirus cases seen in about half a dozen states across the U.S. isn’t the feared “second wave” — it’s still the first, scientists and infectious disease specialists say. To be defined as a second wave the virus would need to retreat and reappear, or a new variant would have to emerge, said Ian Lipkin, a professor Read More…
While covered head to toe in protective equipment, New York City officers appear to be neglecting one necessary item of protective gear: masks. And protesters feel it’s a snub to their safety in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. According to TIME, officers have been seen not donning the protective face coverings in the midst of Read More…
Minneapolis (CNN)Nine members of the Minneapolis City Council on Sunday announced they intend to defund and dismantle the city’s police department following the police killing of George Floyd. “We committed to dismantling policing as we know it in the city of Minneapolis and to rebuild with our community a new model of public safety that actually Read More…
NEW YORK — New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio promised his staff that more NYPD officers will be disciplined over violent clashes with protesters throughout last week. In seeking to quell an uprising among city employees, some of whom are planning to rally against de Blasio on Monday morning, the mayor explained that he Read More…
Richland County is among a handful of statewide areas designated as a “Destination Community.” As part of the Phase 2 Reopening of Montana scheduled to begin on June 1, Gov. Steve Bullock announced that 20 counties — including Richland — would be eligible for additional financial assistance through two new initiatives to help protect Read More…
There’s another twist in the years-long legal battle over the operation of a Creston bottled water plant, with the Montana Supreme Court overturning a lower court ruling which had blocked permits. Local residents and conservation groups have been fighting the plans of Montana Artesian Water Company to pump enough water to fill more than 1-billion Read More…
When COVID-19 forced the temporary closure of Glacier National Park in late March, many residents of Northwest Montana assumed the pandemic would stall one of the region’s most prominent rites of spring — the plowing of the famed Going-to-the-Sun Road. Turns out, not even a global pandemic could halt the rumbling fleet of safety-yellow snowplows Read More…
The coronavirus pandemic could be a disaster or a blessing for Montana State University. It would be a disaster if hundreds of Montana students don’t show up for the fall semester, figuring they’d rather take a gap year than online classes. Even worse would be if hundreds of out-of-state students – on whom MSU Read More…
BOZEMAN, Mont. — Montana is moving ahead with its attempt to ease crowding on one of its most popular rivers. Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks has put forward a proposal for regulating fishing outfitters and easing crowding on the Madison River, one of the top fly-fishing destinations in the world. The proposal would cap the number Read More…
HELENA, Mont. – Montana Department of Commerce Director Tara Rice announced the state received a shipment of 30,000 surgical masks as a gift from Taiwan. The Export Montana team at the Montana Department of Commerce coordinated the shipment from Taiwan to the state’s warehouse. “The Montana Department of Commerce has long valued our state’s Read More…
The debate over how to dispose of the Bakken’s radioactive oilfield waste has prompted a small group of lawmakers from North Dakota and Montana to start collaborating. The conversations come as Montana prepares to enact a formal rule capping the radiation level of oilfield waste disposed of at landfills in the state. Much of the Read More…
Economists were shocked on Friday as the Bureau of Labor Statistics said US employers added 2.5 million payrolls in May, defying expectations of 7.5 million jobs lost. The surprise increase came on the heels of the record 20.5 million jobs lost in April. The unemployment rate declined to 13.3%, bucking forecasts of a near-record 19% rate. April’s Read More…