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…
Amtrak will close two ticket counters in Montana in early June with company officials citing the decision as a cost-saving move and the fact 90 percent of riders are buying tickets online or via telephone. The counter at the Havre station will close June 1 and the Shelby ticket counter will close June 3, an Read More…
Despite holding an initial lead during the Kentucky Derby, Bolt D’Oro lost steam halfway through the race and finished 12th. His owners say he was checked for any heart or lung issues, but seems to be fine. First-place finisher Justify won the race on some of the worst, muddiest conditions in the derby’s history. Owner-trainer Read More…
Vacant for most of the last decade, the old National Guard armory building in downtown Bozeman is beginning to show signs of life. Plans are moving forward to repurpose the building into an eight-story boutique hotel complete with event space and at least a pair of restaurants, said Cory Lawrence, CEO of local travel company Read More…
The Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office reports that it has recovered the remains of Dr. Patrick J. Fitzpatrick, of Bismarck, N.D., missing since 2015. In a press release, the Sheriff’s Office said the following: Saturday, April 28, Gallatin County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue recovered the remains of Dr. Patrick J. Fitzpatrick, of Bismarck, ND. His vehicle Read More…
HELENA – A study commissioned by Montana’s lodging industry says rentals by Airbnb, the on-line lodging giant, generated $69 million of revenue last year in Montana, but likely didn’t pay state lodging taxes on that amount. Industry spokesmen this week that the Montana Legislature should pass a law to clarify taxation of Airbnb and other Read More…
Democratic Sen. Jon Tester of Montana still doesn’t know who his Republican opponent will be in the November midterm elections. But the Democratic lawmaker is already under fire from President Donald Trump and other GOP critics who blame him for scuttling Ronny Jackson’s bid to become the secretary of Veterans Affairs. Now, conservative politicians and Read More…
An obscure wireless industry deal from last year can help explain why T-Mobile and Sprint finally agreed to merge this week after years of flirting with a deal. Last May, Verizon signed a deal to buy acompany called Straight Path for more than $3 billion. If you remember the deal, it’s probably because AT&T and Read More…
Montana’s House Democratic primary came to the Flathead Valley Saturday. Five candidates aiming to unseat U.S. Rep. Greg Gianforte, R–Mont., spent two hours onstage at Columbia Falls High School in a forum sponsored by the Flathead Democratic Central Committee. Several dozen guests turned out for the event, where moderator Mark Holston read audience-submitted questions to Read More…
BILLINGS – Authorities say 17 people have been arrested on drug and gun charges under an initiative targeting an increase in violent crime in southeastern Montana that’s blamed on the drug methamphetamine. The arrests were announced Monday by Federal and state prosecutors and local law enforcement in Billings. U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme says all but Read More…
The Kalispell School Board of Trustees approved Callie Langohr as the assistant superintendent for School District 5 on April 24, selecting the only principal Glacier High School has known to help steer the future of every public school student in Kalispell. Langohr will assume her new position on July 1. Before opening Glacier in 2007, Read More…
For those of you who caught Monday’s “Montana Talks” radio show, you asked if we could post a link to the piece I was referring to that detailed the false allegations used by Democrat Senator Jon Tester (D-MT) to smear Navy Admiral Ronny Jackson. In this piece written by an Afghan war veteran for The Read More…
JAMESTOWN, N.D.—Economic development officials are looking at the newly announced Opportunity Zones as a chance for people to invest in local communities and shelter some income from capital gains tax. Gov. Doug Burgum announced Friday, April 20, the designation of 25 zones in 15 counties in North Dakota. The Opportunity Zone program was part of Read More…
BAGGS — Carbon County Future Farmers of America chapters proved during the state convention hosted in Cheyenne last week that community impact has more to do with involvement than numbers. About one-third of the size of other chapters across the state, Little Snake River Valley FFA earned Wyoming’s Chapter of the Year and Growing Leaders Read More…
RAWLINS— Trying to gain momentum for his U.S. Senate run, Democratic candidate Gary Trauner visited with folks at the Jeffrey Memorial Community Center Thursday. There were less than 10 people in attendance. Despite this, main issues Trauner highlighted were education, health care and public lands. Regarding school safety, Trauner said communities need to focus more Read More…
The railroad’s planned investment will fund various initiatives, including a $1.4 million investment in the rail line between Butte-Silver Bow and near Lima to replace 10,000 crossties along our Montana Subdivision. UP also plans a $748,600 investment in the rail line between Moose Creek and Walkerville to replace curve rail along the railroad’s Montana Subdivision. Read More…
HELENA, Montana, April 24, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Eagle Bancorp Montana, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBMT), (the “Company,” “Eagle”), the holding company of Opportunity Bank of Montana, today reported net income was $573,000, or $0.11 per diluted share, in the first quarter of 2018, compared to $763,000, or $0.20 per diluted share, in the first quarter of 2017. Read More…
As the flatland flooding around northcentral Montana begins to recede, counties, road departments and ag producers are assessing the toll. At this point the basic assessment is that spring seeding is about a month behind where it should be at this point, and it could be two or three weeks before the ground dries out Read More…
A Democratic super PAC is defending Montana Sen. Jon Tester from a recent attack by Americans for Prosperity with a TV ad of its own. Senate Majority PAC, which supports Senate Democrats, is debuting its first statewide TV ad in Montana on Tuesday, backed by a $400,000 buy. The ad responds to a $560,000 statewide Read More…
Rep. Mike Gierau, D-Teton, announced this weekend that he will vacate his seat in the state House of Representatives for a chance to join the Wyoming Senate. While switching chambers and flipping a Senate seat blue would be a major victory for the Democratic Party, it’s a big risk. With only three Democrats in the Read More…
Seth Bodnar, who took the reins as president of the University of Montana in January, sees a world that increasingly values people with diverse, interdisciplinary educations and employment capabilities. His own experience speaks to this assessment: graduate of West Point, “a liberal arts college with a bunch of military training;” Rhodes and Truman scholar who Read More…
The Montana Democratic Party, assisted by a prestigious international law firm, is taking Montana Secretary of State Corey Stapleton to court over approving signatures that allowed the Green Party to qualify for the general election. Green Party spokesperson Danielle Breck said the Montana Democrats have a date in Helena District Court on Tuesday afternoon. “The Read More…
Missoula City Councilman Jesse Ramos wants to see how much a private attorney is receiving in compensation for work on the Mountain Water Condemnation lawsuit, but says he has been blocked from seeing the information by city officials. Missoula Attorney Quentin Rhoades explains. “The Mayor, the city attorney, and apparently the private attorney who has Read More…
Helena – The Montana Democrat Party has brought in a Washington state lawyer with deep ties to national Democrat organizations to lead its lawsuit to remove the Green Party from the Ballot. Kevin Hamilton, of Seattle, Washington with the firm Perkins Coie was admitted to represent the Montana Democrat Party less than an hour before Read More…
The app development side of Montana’s much-lauded tech sector will continue its upward trajectory, according to a newly released report. The sixth annual report, the State of the App Economy — aggregated by ACT The App Association, an industry organization that represents more than 5,000 app makers — details the growth of an almost $1 Read More…
(CNN)Michael Flynn, President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser, will campaign in Montana for a Republican Senate candidate “very soon,” the candidate has announced. Troy Downing, an Air Force veteran and one of the four Republicans vying to take on Democratic Sen. Jon Tester in November, announced the news Friday. “It is time to stand Read More…
Missoula City Councilman Jesse Ramos wants to see how much a private attorney is receiving in compensation for work on the Mountain Water Condemnation lawsuit, but says he has been blocked from seeing the information by city officials. Missoula Attorney Quentin Rhoades explains. “The Mayor, the city attorney, and apparently the private attorney who has Read More…
Democrats and some in the mainstream media have been desperately trying to attack Ryan Zinke over his travel spending as US Secretary of Interior. However, new data shows that Zinke is spending less than his predecessors who served as Interior Secretary under former President Obama. As The Daily Signal reports: “The Daily Signal’s examination of Read More…
The parent company of Herberger’s announced Thursday that going-out-of-business sales at Montana stores will start Friday. That includes the store at Rimrock Mall in Billings. The retailer moved into that spot and renovated the space three years ago after spending decades in a different wing of the mall. The announcement from corporate parent Bon Ton Read More…
BILLINGS – In the summer, the field behind the Yellowstone Boys and Girls Ranch is full of fruit. “We had such a huge, I mean huge, amount of fruit last year,” said Jim Klempel, a teacher at YBGR. “Monday mornings we’d start at 6 in the morning and we’d pick all day.” That fruit is Read More…
HELENA – Republican U.S. Senate candidate Troy Downing says he didn’t falsely portray himself as a resident when buying in-state hunting licenses for the past half-dozen years – and can’t believe the issue has become a full-scale criminal case in a Bozeman court. “It’s crazy,” he told MTN News in an interview last week. “My Read More…
Sheridan Head Start kids need a new place to go, and if they don’t find a place soon, the program could end for them. Parents say Sheridan needs this program and if they don’t have it, preparation for kindergarten may greatly decline. Sheridan parents and teachers rallied together to save the local head start program. Read More…
CHEYENNE – When Matt Mead was elected to serve as Wyoming’s 32nd governor, his life wasn’t the only one that changed. After Nov. 2, 2010, the lives of his wife, daughter and son were all altered as well. “I remember right after the general election, when Matt had won, then the next morning I woke Read More…
U.S. Senate candidate Troy Downing’s accountant says she did not specifically research administrative rules when the Republican candidate asked her to amend past tax returns to change his status as a Montana resident. Downing recently asked Gallatin County Justice Court Judge Bryan Adams to throw out several charges alleging he was not a Montana resident Read More…
Montana Attorney General Tim Fox is praising his doctor and advocating for cancer screenings after he was diagnosed with colon cancer last month. According to Fox, he went his doctor with symptoms of fatigue and back pain. “[My doctor] recommended some blood tests and asked if I ever had a colonoscopy,” Fox said. “I told Read More…
MISSOULA – It will take a combination of “cuts and curriculum” if the University of Montana is going to solve its on-going budget issues. And UM President Seth Bodnar says that’s going to take some “hard decisions”. Everyone on campus has known this day was coming, as the administration grapples with a way to not Read More…
(HELENA) Paul Jenkins and Freddie Lawrence, convicted for the 1994 murder of Donna Meagher and a robbery, have been ordered to be released from prison. The order freeing Jenkins and Lawrence comes just days after Lewis & Clark County District Judge Kathy Seeley overturned their convictions and ordered a new trial. In her ruling, Judge Read More…
Small-business hiring in March fell to the lowest point in over seven years, while hourly earnings grew steadily, a report from human resources firm Paychex said Tuesday. The Small Business Jobs Index decreased 0.12 percent from last month and 1.07 percent from a year earlier. Small-business wages continued to rise, reaching a 2.66 percent (69 Read More…
The allegations were shocking: an Army major and his wife accused of abusing their three young foster children through beatings, denial of food and water and forcing them to eat hot pepper flakes as punishment. When John and Carolyn Jackson were convicted of child endangerment in 2015, prosecutors received another shock when the trial judge, Read More…
NEW YORK — The man killed in a blaze at New York City’s Trump Tower was an art collector who spent time with Andy Warhol, but fell on hard financial times in recent years and went through bankruptcy proceedings. Todd Brassner, 67, died on Saturday at a hospital after a fire tore through his 50th-floor Read More…
U.S. Representative Greg Gianforte (R-MT) is touring Montana talking to businesses about a tax act he voted for in December. The new tax law cuts rates for taxpayers at every income level, expands the standard deduction, doubles the child tax credit and helps Montana’s small businesses. His ‘Tax Cuts and Jobs Tour’ stopped in Great Read More…