Montana could receive more than $127 million from a sweeping multistate settlement with Meta Platforms over allegations that the company designed Facebook and Instagram to encourage compulsive use among children while misleading the public about risks to young users. The state is guaranteed nearly $89 million under the agreement, according to Montana Attorney General Austin Read More…
Idaho will receive at least $89.2 million and could collect as much as $127.7 million under a sweeping $17.1 billion multistate settlement with Meta Platforms over allegations that Facebook and Instagram were deliberately designed to encourage addictive use among children. The agreement, announced by Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador, resolves claims brought by states and Read More…
Most North Dakotans will never set foot on a drilling rig or analyze rocks from thousands of feet beneath the surface of the Bakken Formation, but nearly everyone in the state has benefited from what lies below. For more than two decades, the Bakken Formation in western North Dakota has helped fuel North Dakota’s economy, generating more than $35 billion in tax revenue Read More…
For most of the past 15 years, the hardest question surrounding Tim Cook was whether he could follow Steve Jobs. He answered it by building a different kind of Apple. Cook didn’t replicate Jobs’s theatrical product instincts or preside over another invention quite as culturally disruptive as the Macintosh, iPod or iPhone. Instead, the industrial Read More…
A two-week trial is slated to get under way in Gallatin County District Court this week in a dispute between a prominent Bozeman developer and a local construction supply company over a downtown hotel. Jury selection begins Monday for the civil trial between Andy Holloran and Kenyon Noble and its co-owner Rick Ogle. The trial Read More…
LAKE MCDONALD — The Howe Ridge Fire started Sunday as a small fire smoldering on a hillside overlooking Lake McDonald. By nightfall it had become a massive inferno spewing smoke and flames hundreds of feet into the air and forcing the evacuation of a section of Glacier National Park. Glacier National Park officials are still Read More…
WikiLeaks is claiming that the Senate Intelligence Committee has asked its founder, Julian Assange, to testify as part of the panel’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. The organization posted a letter on its Twitter account dated Aug. 1 that purports to come from committee leaders Sens. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) and Mark Read More…
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Making West Virginia political history, the House Judiciary Committee has voted in favor of impeachment articles for all four remaining members of the state Supreme Court. Only former Justice Menis Ketchum was spared because he announced his resignation the day before impeachment proceedings were set to begin. READ THE FULL STORY.
The Democratic Party’s left-wing insurgency found its limits Tuesday night, with voters favoring establishment candidates over more liberal challengers in almost every closely watched race across several states. In Michigan, former state senator Gretchen Whitmer easily won the Democratic nomination for governor over Abdul El-Sayed, a doctor backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) who was Read More…
Majority of US business owners want more tariffs: Report UBS Wealth Management CIO Mike Ryan on a new study on U.S. business owners’ views about the economy and tariffs. Business owners are cheering President Trump’s tough talk on trade. A recent study from UBS showed 71% of business owners approve additional tariffs on China. In Read More…
Bitcoin and the broader cryptocurrency market plunged on Wednesday after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission delayed a decision on whether to approve a proposed bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). The federal agency said it will continue deliberations on the bitcoin ETF, which, if approved, would be the first of its kind. The bitcoin ETF, which Read More…
Elon Musk’s lawyers are probably poring over rule 14e-8 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 right about now. That regulation is the one the Tesla CEO may or may not have violated when he sent the markets into a frenzy and halted trading in Tesla’s shares after nonchalantly tweeting Tuesday that he was thinking Read More…
They kept telling us to get used to it. It’s the new normal. Coal is dead. Coal is dying. Move on. Now this, from Bloomberg News: Trump’s Making U.S. Coal Exports the Greatest They’ve Ever Been READ THE FULL STORY.
The Billings, Montana kids are only two wins away from the Little League World Series. This, after a big win over Alaska earlier in the week. That’s what Coach Scott Sears told me Wednesday morning on our Montana Talks radio show. Sears is also a doctor at St. Vincent Healthcare in Billings and is coaching Read More…
The flames of the Ferguson Fire in California have become the latest symbols of a seemingly perennial challenge of fighting fires in the West. I just returned from the Ferguson Fire camp, where I met with firefighters who are working to combat the fire as it bears down on Yosemite National Park and its visitors, Read More…
HAMILTON – It’s not often that Ravalli County has the attention of the U.S. House of Representatives, but on Tuesday Hamilton played host to Congressman Greg Gianforte and his field briefing on wildfire management. Gianforte was joined by three officials who all stressed the importance of good wildfire practices, especially with Montana’s heightened wildfire danger. Read More…
A Bigfork man with a lengthy criminal record for felony theft and fraud was recently found guilty in U.S. District Court in Billings of 21 counts for running a Ponzi scheme. A jury found John Kevin Moore guilty Aug. 3 of 11 counts of wire fraud, nine additional counts of money laundering and one count Read More…
A small fire has been discovered in Yellowstone National Park. The Folsom fire was spotted near the headwaters of Blacktail Deer Creek on the Blacktail Deer Plateau on Saturday during a reconnaissance flight. It was caused by lightning. READ THE FULL STORY.
UPDATE KALISPELL – The Northern Rockies Coordination Group announced on Tuesday that the fire danger in Northwest Montana had been hiked to “extreme” with the exception of Glacier National Park — which remains at “very high.” Ali Ulwelling with the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation says that as this week may be the Read More…
MISSOULA – With the school year around the corner, a Montana start-up is working to get their invention in classrooms across Montana. They say the non-lethal product is more effective than pepper spray. Ben Gladwin, the assistant chief of the University of Montana Police department and education director for Reflex Protect, says the spray is Read More…
A startup unicorn is joining the streaming-video fray. Media mogul Jeffrey Katzenberg has raised $1 billion for a new mobile streaming service he’s calling “NewTV,” CNN reports. Disney, Warner Bros, Entertainment One, and other major media firms have invested. Katzenberg recruited in January former eBay and HP CEO Meg Whitman to helm “NewTV.” The service Read More…
Helena – The Commissioner of Political Practices has ruled that Democrat State Representative Zac Perry of Hungry Horse violated campaign finance regulations during his 2016 campaign. First elected in 2014, Zac Perry narrowly defeated Republican challenger Taylor Rose in the 2016 Election for House District 3 by 271 votes. On Tuesday, Commissioner of Political Practices Read More…
Two topics guaranteed to provoke conservative anger on the internet are the Obamas and Susan Rice, and over the past few months, Netflix has brought both into its corporate family. In March, Netflix appointed Susan Rice, a former UN Ambassador under President Obama, to its board of directors. The choice enraged some conservatives who criticized Read More…
Barnes & Noble is cashing in on anxiety. The bookstore chain said in a press release on Wednesday that sales of books related to anxiety are up 26% year-over-year compared to last June. The bestselling books in the category include workbooks, toolkits, and self-help books about managing anxiety. “The Anxiety category has really popped in Read More…
The Texas Senate race between Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas) is neck and neck, according to a new poll released Wednesday. The 2018 Texas Lyceum Poll showed Cruz leading O’Rourke by a hair — 41 percent to 39 percent, respectively, among likely voters. That’s well within the survey’s margin of error Read More…
BILLINGS – Billings Mayor Bill Cole, Roundup Mayor Sandra Jones and Colstrip Mayor John Williams were among a handful of Montana officials who visited the White House last week as part of Montana State Day in Washington D.C. The mayors were invited by the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, the city of Billings announced Read More…
HELENA – Data is driving new ways to market Montana as a tourist destination and is helping to convince visitors to find new adventures outside of Glacier and Yellowstone national parks. The main challenge of tourism marketing in Montana in the past was to get people to drive all the way to Big Sky Country Read More…
Republicans in Gallatin County say they found a replacement candidate for House District 65 incumbent state Rep. Jon Knokey, who withdrew from his re-election bid in mid-July. The Gallatin County Republican Central Committee nominated Jane Gillette to take Knokey’s place in the district, which includes the northern part of Bozeman from East Valley Center Road Read More…
The Imerys talc mill in Three Forks is facing a union lockout if its members don’t accept a new contract from the mill’s French owners — a contract the union members have already rejected three times. The lockout would leave 32 union members and their families without paychecks or health care for an undetermined amount Read More…
The competition had been fierce most of the day under the watchful eye of Cindy Ostrem-Johnston. Inside Libby High School, the health and physical education teacher had brought her son to school that day, and he had been entertaining himself by challenging Ostrem-Johnston’s teenage students at the ping-pong table, dispatching eager challengers one-by-one. He made Read More…
A nature photographer in Wyoming has snagged one of only 10 new hunting licenses issued by the state’s Game and Fish Department following the state’s decision to allow the hunting of grizzly bears, but he isn’t planning on shooting any. Not with a gun, at least. Tom Mangelsen, a critic of Wyoming’s new hunting initiative, Read More…
As many Democrats and activists worked to stop Gina Haspel from becoming CIA director this spring, Sen. Joe Manchin derailed them with one move: blurting out his support for the controversial pick in a TV interview, effectively clinching her confirmation for President Donald Trump. Now Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer faces the monumental task of Read More…
Karen Alderman Harbert, President and Chief Executive Officer of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Global Energy Institute will be the speaker at the annual Petroleum Industry Appreciation Day Luncheon on August 29. The event which is sponsored by the Montana Petroleum Association will be held at the Doubletree Hotel in Billings, and is open to Read More…
The newest member of the growing group of hotels in the Flathead Valley, TownePlace Suites by Marriott, opened its doors last week in Whitefish. The property had been under construction since last fall. The 81-room hotel on U.S. 93 South is focused on a specific set of clients: those who are staying five days or Read More…
The City of Missoula has filed for summary judgment in its lawsuit against Montana Attorney General Tim Fox regarding a universal background check ordinance for gun purchases, asking a judge to rule in its favor on the application of state laws without going through a trial. Summary judgment can be used when the two sides Read More…
Rep. Greg Gianforte, R-Montana, recognized 11-year-old Emma Anderson of Kalispell with his Spirit of Montana commendation for her compassion, generosity, and willingness to reach out to those in need. Anderson is the creator of Emma’s Cuddle Bears. Launching the project with her allowance money and 20 teddy bears six years ago, she has sent over Read More…
Montana Governor Steve Bullock’s Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) took an unprecedented step last month in its efforts to block the opening of the Rock Creek and Montanore mines in Sanders and Lincoln counties, projects that would create hundreds of jobs for Montana workers. Bullock’s DEQ has opposed Hecla Mining Company’s attempt to open these Read More…
HELENA – Montana Secretary of State Corey Stapleton is asking the state Supreme Court to overturn a judge’s decision to remove Green Party candidates from the November ballot. Stapleton’s office filed an appeal Wednesday of the decision by District Judge James Reynolds of Helena. Reynolds ruled last week that 87 of the more than 7,000 signatures Read More…
In the age of social media and the internet, instant digital connectivity can paradoxically make us feel very isolated. “People are a lot lonelier than we realize,” said Alison Darcy, the founder and CEO of Woebot, a virtual therapist that will talk you through a panic attack at 3 a.m. Woebot is among multiple new Read More…
Wendy’s had preliminary merger talks with Papa John’s before the company’s founder, John Schnatter, stepped down as chairman last week, a source familiar with the situation told CNBC. The talks cooled after Schnatter’s use of a racially charged slur led to his resignation. Schnatter still sits on Papa John’s board and has a nearly 30 Read More…
New York billionaire George Soros said former President Barack Obama was his “greatest disappointment,” during a wide-ranging interview with the New York Times published on Tuesday, while also appearing to distance himself from partisan politics. The wealthy liberal donor, who was an early supporter of Obama’s 2008 presidential run, told The Times that Obama was Read More…
MGM Resorts International has filed federal lawsuits against more than 1,000 Las Vegas mass shooting victims in an effort to avoid liability. The company, which owns Mandalay Bay and the Route 91 Harvest festival venue, argues that it cannot be held liable for Oct. 1 deaths, injuries or other damages, adding that any claims against Read More…
Amazon’s Prime Day again broke records this year, but the sales holiday also boosted sales across the broader U.S. e-commerce industry. According to Adobe Analytics data released this morning, larger retailers – meaning those with over a billion in annual revenue – saw a 54 percent increase in sales on Prime Day, compared with an Read More…
With the apex of cherry season just weeks away, cherry growers along Flathead Lake are taking stock of the fruit on their trees and picking the varieties that ripen early. “So far this year the weather has been cooperating,” said Bruce Johnson, president of the Flathead Lake Cherry Growers Association. “We’ve been pretty dry for Read More…