Montana deserves a federal judge who not only understands the law, but understands Montana. President Trump’s nomination of Katie Lane to serve a s the Treasure State’s next federal judge achieves both of these goals. Katie built her career on a sincere commitment to an original interpretation of the U.S. Constitution and individual liberty. I Read More…
(The Center Square) – The American Legislative Exchange Council called on state legislatures to embrace limited tax regulation and greater investment in artificial intelligence to facilitate effective government processes. The council released its AI policy toolkit calling for a “light-touch” policy approach to AI. “U.S. regulators risk jeopardizing A.I.’s massive potential and benefits to consumers Read More…
(The Center Square) – Veterans die by suicide at roughly twice the civilian rate, despite the Department of Veterans Affairs spending more than $500 million a year to address the problem. In 2023, the rate of suicide for veterans was 35.2 per 100,000, up from 34.7 per 100,000 in 2022, according to the most recent Read More…
(The Center Square) – Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson may be satisfied with the House of Representatives’ latest version of an income tax bill – so much so that he said he will sign it if it passes the Legislature – but plenty of others remain skeptical. In the wee hours of Friday morning, majority party Read More…
The Montana School Choice case ruled unlawful by the Montana Supreme Court has officially been appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. Lead attorney for the Institute for Justice headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, Erica Smith, said the appeal was filed early Tuesday morning. “The Montana Legislature passed this program in 2015, and it’s been helping lots Read More…
A Montana State Fair carnival worker has been arrested in connection to a 2017 sexual assault. Lyle Oka made his initial appearance for one count of sexual intercourse without consent. In July of 2017, the Cascade County Sheriff’s Office responded to Benefis Health System for a report of a sexual assault, according to court documents. Read More…
Francesco “Frank” Cali, the reputed leader of the Gambino crime family, was shot to death outside his house in Staten Island on Wednesday night, in a killing that echoes Mafia murders of the 1980s. The New York Police Department says that at 9:17 p.m. ET, officers received a 911 call reporting an assault in progress Read More…
A dreaded bloodbath at Goldman Sachs under the bank’s new boss has finally begun. The Wall Street powerhouse — whose new chief executive, David Solomon, took the reins from Lloyd Blankfein last October — laid off 65 employees in its New York office at the end of February, according to notice filed Thursday with the Read More…
(CNN)Bernie Sanders advocated for the nationalization of most major industries, including energy companies, factories, and banks, when he was a leading member of a self-described “radical political party” in the 1970s, a CNN KFile review of his record reveals. Sanders’ past views shed light on a formative period of his political career that could become Read More…
Facebook removed several ads placed by Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s presidential campaign that called for the breakup of Facebook and other tech giants. But the social network later reversed course after POLITICO reported on the takedown, with the company saying it wanted to allow for “robust debate.” The ads, which had identical images and text, touted Read More…
Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp has called for Google to be broken up in Australia, the latest salvo in a battle between the corporate media giants. In a petition to Australian regulators, News Corp’s local subsidiary complained that “Google enjoys overwhelming market power in both online search and ad tech services.” Going a step further, the Read More…
It’s not unusual for companies to be inundated with messages from people looking for answers — what is rare, however, is for a CEO to personally respond to one. Yet one 10-year-old schoolboy appears to have succeeded, grabbing the attention of the boss behind one of Australia’s largest airlines. Alex Jacquot recently penned a letter Read More…
CODY — Colossal dinosaur skeletons are a prime attraction at major museums in big cities like Chicago, Berlin, New York and Washington, D.C. But none of those institutions can match what Wyoming offers for a hands-on, citizen-science thunder-lizard experience in the heart of dinosaur country. “Paleontology is not accessible to the general public, and it’s Read More…
CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) – Gov. Mark Gordon has signed into a law a measure that aims to keep Wyoming’s coal-fired power plants online and in business by requiring a utility to try to sell the facility first before decommissioning it. The Wyoming Tribune Eagle reports Gordon on Friday signed Senate File 159, which was sponsored Read More…
STEM-related jobs offer some of the highest paying salaries in the country and are in big demand. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, college-educated STEM job holders earn up to 39% more an hour than non-STEM employees, with the same education. Many schools in North Dakota don’t have the resources or funds to offer Read More…
BISMARCK — A panel chaired by North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum voted Monday, March 11, to pursue a legislative fix that would pay back state funds that the state’s land commissioner says have been shorted, putting it at odds with top Republican lawmakers. A Senate committee will consider a delayed bill addressing the issue Wednesday Read More…
BISMARCK, N.D. – Once again the North Dakota unemployment rate is lower than the national rate of 4.4 percent. The state stands at 3 percent for January. That’s even with a labor force loss of more than 9,000 since 2014. In a North Dakota Job Service release, it says the greatest loss was from 2017-2018 Read More…
BOZEMAN – Crews are working on the Upper Gym roof on Montana State University, cleaning snow off and assessing damage after the roofs of two adjoining gyms collapsed on Thursday and Saturday. In a post on the MSU website, President Waded Cruzado apologized for the events and expressed gratitude to students, facility, staff, and parents Read More…
BOZEMAN- Nonprofit Serenity Ranch, which provides equine therapy for women veterans, is trying to raise $300,000 after a barn roof caved under heavy snow. The Serenity Ranch’s double mission is to take in unwanted horses while providing equine therapy programs for female veterans. The owners were asleep in bed in the early hours of the Read More…
HELENA – Republicans at the Legislature Monday introduced a plan to use nearly $80 million in bonds to finance state and local infrastructure projects in Montana over the next two years – including most of the $32 million renovation of Romney Hall on the Montana State University campus in Bozeman. House Bill 652, sponsored by Read More…
A third of British billionaires have moved to tax havens after an exodus over the past decade, a Times investigation has found. They are among 6,800 Britons controlling 12,000 UK firms from low-tax jurisdictions. The Exchequer is denied billions a year but many of the bosses still reap the benefits of British assets. Some have Read More…
At 12:10 a.m. on Sept. 27, 2013, Australian billionaire James Packer texted a 21-year-old British actress named Charlotte Kirk. Kirk had been laboring to establish herself in Hollywood with limited success, but now Packer, who was a partner with director Brett Ratner in the film production/finance company RatPac Entertainment, was saying she was about to Read More…
WASHINGTON – House Democrats find themselves in one of the trickiest battles on Capitol Hill, trying to prove their unity in the fight against President Donald Trump and on core issues they campaigned on last year. They had a remarkably effective first two months in the majority, defying Trump on his demand for a border Read More…
Former Vice President Joe Biden is in the final stages of preparing for a 2020 presidential campaign that is expected to launch next month, according to multiple people familiar with his planning. A formal kickoff is expected by mid-April and would all but cement the size and scope of the Democratic presidential field that currently Read More…
As the Islamic State’s physical caliphate shrinks to nothing after an almost five-year campaign led by U.S. special operations forces, military insiders say one small unit has killed more of the extremists than any other: the company of Gray Eagle drones in the Army’s 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment. Although the military has thrown a Read More…
BISMARCK — Two revenue forecasts due next week will give North Dakota lawmakers a brighter path for budgeting in the session’s second half. Joint meetings of the House and Senate appropriations committees will hear the Moody’s Analytics forecast on Monday, March 11, then the IHS Markit forecast on Tuesday. Moody’s has long provided forecasts for Read More…
The executive director of Wyoming’s $8.5 billion pension fund will retire in July. Ruth Reyerson is departing after almost six years, staying on to help the transition as the Wyoming Retirement System searches for her successor. Staff praised Reyerson’s accomplishments, such as her “focus on building a strong management team at every level of the Read More…
BILLINGS, Mont. — The manager of an oil processing plant in eastern Montana that exploded and burned in 2012 has pleaded guilty to violating the Clean Air Act. The Billings Gazette reports that the plea agreement by Mark Hurst was reached recently in U.S. District Court in Billings. Hurst was the project manager for Custom Read More…
BILLINGS – While the number of seniors in Montana continues to grow, the number of nursing home facilities in the state have decreased, a trend seen in many rural areas across the country. On Wednesday, U.S. Sen. Steve Daines of Montana talked about some of the challenges within the industry at a Senate Finance Committee Read More…
U.S. Customs and Border Protection recently proposed to cut hours for four of Montana’s 16 ports of entry. The proposal would affect ports in Morgan, Opheim, Raymond and Scobey. The following changes would take place if the proposal is passed. Port of Raymond, which is currently open 24 hours, would be closed between the hours Read More…
HELENA, Mont. — A Montana lawmaker says his constitutional rights have been violated after he was identified as the subject of a harassment complaint by a female legislator. Democratic Rep. Jonathan Windy Boy of Box Elder said in a statement Tuesday to the Havre Daily News that he hopes such vilification won’t happen again and Read More…
MISSOULA, Mont. — According to the U.S. Small Business Administration ninety-nine percent of businesses in Montana were considered small businesses in 2018. The Small Business Development Center (SBDC) helped open fifty-eight businesses across the country last year. Montana ranked number one in the country for the number of workers employed by small businesses in 2018 Read More…
Wyoming has now enacted a total of 13 blockchain-enabling laws, making it the only US state to provide a comprehensive, welcoming legal framework that enables blockchain technology to flourish, both for individuals and companies. These laws enable innovation and creativity, and are meant to bring capital, jobs and revenue into Wyoming. Law and technology are Read More…
BISMARCK, N.D. — The North Dakota Legislature wants to make sure that when consumers buy meat, they know they’re buying “the edible flesh of an animal born and harvested for the purpose of human consumption,” and not something developed in a lab. The Senate on Monday, March 4, passed House Bill 1400, which defines meat Read More…
When it comes to Gov. Steve Bullock’s (D-MT) plans in 2020, Glenn Thrush with the New York Times offers what seems to be the most revealing piece yet. Last week, we told you how Bullock is hoping for a sit down with Hillary Clinton (she is yet to return the call) as he attempts to Read More…
BOZEMAN — Glendive native and former Montana State offensive lineman Mike Person has agreed to three-year contract extension with the San Francisco 49ers, ESPN reported on Sunday. The deal will reportedly pay Person $9 million, with $3 million guaranteed. Person was set to become an unrestricted free agent next week before signing the deal Monday Read More…
Another weekend of tournament basketball is in the books. Thousands of fans packed into loud gyms over the past few weeks, but are they loud for the wrong reasons? Last month, the Montana High School Association released an op-ed titled, ‘Dear Mom and Dad – Cool It,’ telling parents and fans to stop the growing Read More…
For every 10 Montana teens who graduate from high school, six go on to some kind of college, but four don’t. That means thousands of kids get no training beyond high school. State legislators feel that’s a problem because so many Montana employers have complained they’re having a hard time finding well-trained, well-qualified people Read More…
A 120-unit apartment project near Gateway Community Center is the focus of a public hearing before the Kalispell City Council during its regular meeting tonight. Husky Partners, LLC, is asking for a conditional-use permit for five buildings with 24 units each, plus a clubhouse. The multifamily buildings will be three stories and 43 feet tall, Read More…
Howard Schultz’s announcement in January that he was considering running for president as an independent may have been met with chuckles and eye rolls from pundits, but on Twitter, political operatives, trolls and profiteers saw an opportunity. Within days of the announcement, Twitter was home to fan accounts that seemed to span every demographic, praising Read More…
As speaker of the House, it is a goal of mine to have unity within the Republican Caucus and a positive working relationship with the minority party. At the halfway point of the 66th legislative session, we are hitting those marks. Another goal of this session, was to put the K-12 funding bill on the Read More…
Less than a week after raging against cow farts and urging Americans to stop eating so many hamburgers, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was caught oozing with hypocrisy. On Tuesday night, an image scorched across Twitter showing Ocasio-Cortez and her chief of staff, Saikat Chakrabarti, sitting down for dinner together. While sitting no more than a foot Read More…
A Virginia state employee has complained that her eighth-grade daughter was upset during a tour of the historic governor’s residence when first lady Pam Northam handed a ball of cotton to her and another black child and asked them to imagine being enslaved and having to pick cotton. “The Governor and Mrs. Northam have Read More…
An Alaska Airlines plane from Chicago to Seattle was forced to divert Wednesday night as passengers and crew struggled to breathe. The Boeing 737-900, which had 114 people on board, landed in Minneapolis just after 7pm where 12 people were treated for breathing difficulties. An airport spokesman said four crew members were hospitalized and six more were Read More…