LAUREL – It was an opportunity to try something wild and crazy. That’s what a Laurel blacksmith said about the History Channel show, “Forged In Fire: Gladiators of the Forge.” John Lockie’s passion and knowledge of blacksmith skills transferred over well to showing his talents in the timed competition. “It’s a hobby run amok,” said Read More…
Preliminary reports from the Montana Secretary of State’s office show voters won’t see any citizen-sponsored initiatives on the ballot this November. All four qualified measures failed to garner the signatures needed to make an appearance. The failed measure that received the most signatures would have capped property tax hikes at 2%, while another sought to Read More…
Governor Greg Gianforte today announced that Montana exceeded his goal for adding good-paying jobs to the economy in 2021, which he set at the beginning of last year. Montana Department of Labor & Industry (DLI) data show the state added just under 13,000 jobs paying over $50,000 in 2021, easily surpassing the governor’s goal of Read More…
Attorney General Austin Knudsen and 16 other state attorneys general joined a lawsuit today against the Biden administration’s rules that threaten the long-held American tradition of private firearms assembly and put the livelihood of thousands of Americans at risk. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) rulemaking would regulate unfinished, non-functional firearm parts Read More…
LAUREL – It was an opportunity to try something wild and crazy. That’s what a Laurel blacksmith said about the History Channel show, “Forged In Fire: Gladiators of the Forge.” John Lockie’s passion and knowledge of blacksmith skills transferred over well to showing his talents in the timed competition. “It’s a hobby run amok,” said Read More…
Preliminary reports from the Montana Secretary of State’s office show voters won’t see any citizen-sponsored initiatives on the ballot this November. All four qualified measures failed to garner the signatures needed to make an appearance. The failed measure that received the most signatures would have capped property tax hikes at 2%, while another sought to Read More…
Governor Greg Gianforte today announced that Montana exceeded his goal for adding good-paying jobs to the economy in 2021, which he set at the beginning of last year. Montana Department of Labor & Industry (DLI) data show the state added just under 13,000 jobs paying over $50,000 in 2021, easily surpassing the governor’s goal of Read More…
Attorney General Austin Knudsen and 16 other state attorneys general joined a lawsuit today against the Biden administration’s rules that threaten the long-held American tradition of private firearms assembly and put the livelihood of thousands of Americans at risk. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) rulemaking would regulate unfinished, non-functional firearm parts Read More…
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall is suing the Biden administration over claims it is ignoring immigration law that requires the federal government to arrest, detain and deport foreign nationals in the U.S. illegally. The lawsuit alleges that the Biden administration’s immigration policy exceeds the authority of the Department of Homeland Security, is arbitrary and capricious, Read More…
Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen has led 21 other attorneys general from across the country, filing a brief in support of a lawsuit challenging a federal rule banning bump stocks. Plaintiffs, including the Gun Owners of America, have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to rule that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, or Read More…
The Missoula Human Trafficking Task Force filled in cracks of the sidewalk down the Hip Strip on April 8 in partnership with other local organizations. It is part of The Red Sand Project, a way to bring awareness to sexual violence. READ THE FULL STORY
With starting running back Isaiah Ifanse out for the spring as he recovers from offseason surgery, it has opened the door for other running backs to step up and take more reps in Montana State’s practices. Head coach Brent Vigen has emphasized the importance of building depth at all positions, especially after last season when Read More…
The Senate confirmed Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court Thursday afternoon, marking a historic moment for the high court and a massive victory for President Joe Biden. Jackson was approved, 53-47, on Thursday afternoon with the support of three Republicans. The vote makes Jackson the first Black female justice and delivers Democrats their first Read More…
When Brittain Kovac and Josh Schukman bought their first 1988 Airstream trailer in 2016 to live in while they worked traveling jobs, they fell in love with the vintage living space and the era it was designed in. Over the years, they acquired five Airstreams from Kansas City, Arizona and the Yaak, moving each of Read More…
Beginning at 8 a.m. Friday, April 15, 2022, select roads in Yellowstone National Park will open to the public for the season, weather permitting. On Saturday, April 16, entrance fees will be waived in celebration of National Park Week. READ THE FULL STORY
Many in Billings are mourning the loss of Parker Hopkins, a local photographer who was the victim of a fatal accident Tuesday morning on Billings West End. Yellowstone County Sheriff Mike Linder says his office got a call around 8:20 a.m. Tuesday to an area on the 1600 block of South 32nd Street West. Linder Read More…
April is Child Abuse Prevention Month, and the Montana Department of Justice is hosting training in Helena for forensic interviews in child abuse cases. “Working with child victims of crime and abuse is very different from working with an adult victim, and it requires specialized training because children do not think as adults do. We Read More…
Amid record low unemployment it’s hard to find employees in Montana, not just the Flathead Valley. Still, the work is ongoing locally to promote strategies that can help businesses keep the employees they already have. Montana’s unemployment rate is the fifth-lowest in the nation, dropping from 2.7% in January to 2.6% in February, according to Read More…
A Montana judge says, after more than 25 years on a federal appeals court, he’s ready for his successor to be chosen. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals announced Tuesday that Judge Sidney Thomas, of Billings, has announced plans to assume senior status, effective when his replacement takes office. According to a statement from the court, Read More…
Dozens of House Republicans are expected to attend House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s fundraiser for Rep. Liz Cheney’s Wyoming GOP primary opponent, Harriet Hageman, on Wednesday evening in an increasingly bitter contest over fealty by party members to former President Donald Trump. McCarthy and Cheney have had a contentious relationship due to her criticisms of Trump. Tensions rose after Cheney Read More…
President Joe Biden secretly hired the public relations titan who provided “damage control” advice to disgraced Hollywood rapist Harvey Weinstein, raising concern among ethics experts, the Washington Post reported on Monday. Anita Dunn played a leading role in Biden’s presidential campaign, and previously served in the White House as a senior communications adviser before returning to SKDK, her powerhouse political strategy firm, Read More…
Republican state attorneys general are sounding alarms about money management and left-wing bias at the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG). The flagship organization for top state legal officers controls tens of millions of dollars in settlement funds, which it disperses to support consumer protection training and enforcement. Some Republican attorneys general fear those accounts Read More…
The recent surge in gas prices is fueling operational adjustments across the Flathead Valley business landscape. Donny Stevens, who runs a Columbia Falls trucking company, said his biweekly bill increased by $5,000 from one statement to the next. “It’s affecting us big-time,” Stevens said. READ THE FULL STORY
The Wyoming Legislature completed its redistricting process on March 11. Representatives passed a bill with new legislative maps with less than two hours to go before they’d be in violation of the state’s constitution. The plan creates three new districts — two in the House, one in the Senate — bumping the state’s total to Read More…
Two Native American tribes are suing North Dakota over newly drawn political boundaries they argue illegally dilute votes from indigenous communities. North Dakota’s Turtle Mountain and Spirit Lake tribes filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court last month. It alleges that the map does not comply with section two of the Voting Rights Act. READ Read More…
Grand Teton National Park hosted 3,885,230 recreation visits in 2021, the highest number of recreation visits for one year in the park’s history. Previously, 2018 had the record for the most recreation visits in a year with 3,491,151. Recreation visits in 2021 exceed the 2018 record by 11% and surpassed the 2018 record in September Read More…
State leaders say it no longer makes sense to participate in a federal program intended to provide food assistance for kids who weren’t in school because of COVID-19. However, some advocates say they’re concerned about what that’s going to mean for families in need this summer. In 2020, the federal government launched the Pandemic Electronic Benefit Read More…
Missoula County and the Poverello Center will hold a virtual public hearing at 5:30 p.m. Monday on developing single unit housing for 20 homeless veterans. The Poverello Center bought the Clark Fork Inn on West Broadway, for $1.5 million. The total price is $3.6 million. Organizers are applying for a $600,000 community development block grant. Read More…
It’s been over 10 years since a staff Sergeant Travis Atkins died at the age of 31 in combat. In May 2019, he was honored at the White House with the Medal of Freedom by President Donald Trump for his sacrifice. His son accepted the award on his behalf. Atkins gave his life protecting his Read More…
The Denver Broncos announced on Friday that they agreed to terms with former Montana State linebacker Alex Singleton on a one-year deal. Singleton, who played for the Bobcats from 2011-2014, last played for the Philadelphia Eagles and led the team in total tackles the last two seasons, a span in which he started 19 games. Read More…
Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., accused President Biden and Democrats of using the Russian oil ban as a “fig leaf” to cover for their “radical” Green New Deal policy proposals. Daines made the comments during an interview with FOX Business and said that this isn’t just about banning Russian oil: Democrats want to ban all oil. Read More…
Companies would be required to disclose their greenhouse gas emissions and be held to account on their climate promises under a proposal released Monday by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The proposed rule would deliver a big — and durable — policy win for President Joe Biden, whose climate agenda has been mired in congressional partisanship, Read More…
Most people will need to get a fourth COVID-19 vaccine dose to be protected from the virus, the head of Pfizer said on Sunday. “It is necessary for most” people, CEO Albert Bourla said during an interview on CBS’s “Face The Nation” when asked if Americans can expect to get annual COVID booster shots every fall. The Read More…
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will address the U.S. Congress Wednesday morning. In a letter to lawmakers, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer invited members of both the House of Representatives and Senate to attend the virtual event at 9 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time. READ THE FULL STORY
Gallatin County voters will get to decide on two local options in taxes for marijuana sales during the June primaries. On Tuesday, the Gallatin County Commission voted unanimously to add a 3% local option sales tax on all recreational and medical marijuana products sold in the county. READ THE FULL STORY
Before more than 100 individuals were told to move out of their rooms at the FairBridge Inn and Suites in February, displacing many of them and drawing outcry from the community, Cassidy Kipp of Community Action Partnership of Northwest Montana (CAPNM) had already been receiving stacks of applications from people in desperate need of housing. Read More…
Eighth-grader Ellette Whitcomb from Sussex School in Missoula will be heading to National Harbor, Maryland for the 2022 Scripps National Spelling Bee. Fifty-seven students from across the state gathered at Montana State University to compete in the 57th Annual Treasure State Spelling Bee. Some traveled a few minutes, others traveled hundreds of miles. READ THE Read More…
In a new twist to a lengthy battle by a preservation group to save a BNSF Railway bridge over the Missouri River between Bismarck and Mandan, N.D. — which has thwarted railroad efforts to build a new structure — the Friends of the Rail Bridge is claiming the bridge in question actually belongs to the Read More…
Last month, Jamie Smith, a Democrat and Minority Leader in the House of Representatives, issued a challenge against Republican Governor Kristi Noem. Saturday, Smith met with some of his supporters and those who are interested in his campaign in Rapid City. Smith says he’s running for Governor, because he believes people are ready for a Read More…
The Energy Sector and Cyber-Security have been hot topics in the Wyoming legislature this session. U.S. Senators Cynthia Lummis and John Barrasso have echoed Wyoming’s concerns. “We have the opportunity to be energy independent here. We need to stake our claim on energy independence and help the world with those who would interfere with freedom Read More…
Community Action Partnership of Northwest Montana is looking to partner with a local landowner or donor for a housing project. The nonprofit is seeking one acre of land or more to place three modular units that will hold a total of 17 rental units. Community Action is open to purchasing, leasing or receiving the land Read More…
The Flathead Warming Center has been awarded a $30,000 emergency grant from the Whitefish Community Foundation to replace its roof after it began failing last month, according to a Whitefish Community Foundation press release. The leaking roof was deemed irreparable in February and its estimated cost is $42,000 to replace. The grant allowed crews to Read More…
After eight years with MetraPark, Ray Massie is resigning from his position as director of marketing, and he is saying the community is being misled regarding discussions about private management of the facility. “It is not going to save you money, as a taxpayer, you are not going to save any more money if the Read More…
People in Montana always love a hometown hero to root for on network competition reality shows, and they’ll soon find one in Stephen Yellowtail of Wyola, who will compete in the third season of the INSP network’s reality competition program, “Ultimate Cowboy Showdown.” “One day after one of the episodes, they asked, ‘Do you think Read More…