(The Center Square) – With the ongoing partial government shutdown now the second-longest in American history, irritated Republicans are berating Senate Democrats, who for the fifth time Friday blocked the advance of the Department of Homeland Security funding bill. The failed vote highlighted how firmly Democrats are entrenched in their opposition to any fiscal year Read More…
The high-stakes partnership between Microsoft and OpenAI is showing fresh signs of strain after reports that Microsoft is weighing legal action over a massive cloud agreement between OpenAI and Amazon. According to a report cited this week, Microsoft is considering whether a reported $50 billion deal involving Amazon Web Services and OpenAI could violate its Read More…
U.S. stocks fell again this week, extending Wall Street’s losing streak to four straight weeks as rising oil prices, stubborn inflation concerns and fading hopes for near-term Federal Reserve rate cuts pushed investors into a more defensive posture. By Friday’s close, the S&P 500 had fallen 1.9% for the week, while the Dow Jones Industrial Read More…
Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen is accusing Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen of trying to mislead voters with a new ad in the increasingly heated Republican primary for Montana’s 1st Congressional District, as the fight over President Donald Trump’s backing becomes a central issue in the race. Jacobsen’s latest ad has drawn criticism from Flint Read More…
RAWLINS — The Bureau of Land Management office in Rawlins decided to curb the number of wild horses at the Red Desert Complex. The BLM faced lawsuits from Sweetwater County ranchers and the state of Wyoming in opposition to the decision made by the BLM. The state of Wyoming filed suit against the BLM, claiming Read More…
The U.S. Small Business Administration awarded $18 million in funding to 44 State international trade agencies through SBA’s competitive State Trade Expansion Program (STEP), to support export growth among U.S. small businesses. The Wyoming Business Council was awarded $221,431 to assist small businesses in Wyoming expand their market through exporting. STEP is designed to increase Read More…
Following a conference call on Tuesday afternoon, the Montana Board of Regents offered the position of UM President to Seth Bodnar, and he accepted. Bodnar becomes the 18th president of the university. Associate Commissioner of Higher Education Kevin McRae said late Tuesday afternoon that the decision did come more quickly than was anticipated. “Last week, Read More…
The Democrats Take Their Political Problems to Court The Democrats have a political problem and a geographic problem. This problem goes beyond the number of seats Democrats must gain to control the U.S. House or many statehouses, and surpasses the unfavorable map Democrats face in the Senate. The problem facing the Democrats nationally is that Read More…
The frontman of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers was hospitalized after suffering cardiac arrest at his home in Malibu. He could not be revived. Tom Petty, the iconic rocker who gained worldwide fame as the lead singer and guitarist of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, died Monday after suffering cardiac arrest at his home, his Read More…
Tesla reported Monday that it produced 260 of its new Model 3 electric cars in the third quarter, of which it has delivered 220, dramatically missing CEO Elon Musk’s prediction that it would produce more than 1,600 cars by September. In July, Musk tweeted a production update for the Model 3 vehicles, saying the car Read More…
The Trump administration will order nearly two-thirds of Cuba’s diplomatic personnel to leave the United States after months of mysterious “attacks” that have damaged the health of U.S. embassy staff in Havana, according to a congressional source and a person familiar with the plan. The U.S. State Department is expected to announce the expulsions as Read More…
Washington (CNN)A full-strength Supreme Court will take the bench Monday for what could be the most consequential term in decades, as the ideologically split justices consider cases as diverse as religious liberty, immigration, cell phone privacy, voting rights and possibly the legality of President Donald Trump’s controversial travel ban. “There is only one prediction that Read More…
General Electric announced Monday that Jeffrey Immelt retired as director and chairman of the company’s board of directors, about two months earlier than expected. In June, GE said Immelt would retire from the board at the end of December. The board elected John L. Flannery, who became CEO of the company in June, to the Read More…
BILLINGS – Officials at MSU Billings announced last week they will begin a search for a permanent chancellor. On Monday, Montana State University President Waded Cruzado was in Billings, hosting a community forum for the public to discuss the search. Many of those in attendance expressed their support for the universities interim chancellor, Dr. Ron Larsen. Larsen has been at Read More…
HELENA – Gov. Steve Bullock Monday said some state spending must be cut to balance the state budget, in the face of a revenue shortage – but that the Legislature could help mitigate those cuts by approving some form of tax increase. “If legislators will work with me, there is a better way to do Read More…
LAS VEGAS – Las Vegas-based Allegiant Air has announced a number of initiatives to help after the mass shooting on the Strip. Allegiant will arrange for family members of victims for free travel to Las Vegas. If you or your family members need to fly to or from Las Vegas, please write the airline at communications@allegiantair.com. Read More…
Substance abuse and drug-related criminal offenses have skyrocketed in Montana according to a new report from the Montana Department of Justice. The report includes data showing that drug-related criminal offenses are up 559 percent since 1980. The report also notes that more than a decade after a methamphetamine epidemic spurred the Montana Meth Project, the Read More…
Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke’s leaked report on President Trump’s ordered review of 27 national monument designations or expansions of the last 21 years was trebly disappointing. He failed to recommend revocation of any Clinton and Obama decrees, despite finding that many failed to satisfy the requirements of the Antiquities Act of 1906. He Read More…
Montana’s two Republican Congressmen in Washington, D.C. urged the Trump administration this week to approve two massive mining projects in Northwest Montana. On Sept. 28, Sen. Steve Daines and Rep. Greg Gianforte sent a letter to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke and Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue to green light Hecla Mining Company’s Rock Creek and Montanore Read More…
Sen. Steve Daines said Tuesday that coordination with the Chinese is essential to taming North Korea’s nuclear ambitions. “We need the cooperation and the help from the Chinese. They play a very important role in additional sanctions, the banking sanctions, stopping oil imports in North Korea. Those are some important levers that we can throw Read More…
Cyber-crimes are being committed all across the United States and Montana is no exception. On Wednesday, U.S. Senator Steve Daines spoke with the Federal Bureau of Investigation about the recent cyber threats in the Flathead Valley. “Cyber-terrorism is an emerging threat that has become all too real in Montana,” said Daines. “Two weeks ago, the Read More…
MISSOULA – Neptune Aviation’s venerable P-2-V tankers have flown missions over thousands of wildfires, providing safety not only in the Northern Rockies but all over North America for the past quarter of a century. The distinctive workhorses are now being retired at the end of this long and volatile fire season. When Neptune Aviation was founded Read More…
KALISPELL, Mont. – More than 1,600 racers braved the rain, hail and cold temperatures for The Fifth Annual Pink Me Up race in Kalispell to support survivors and remember those lost. “Cancer runs in my family and my aunt died from cancer and we figured we’d be out in beautiful Montana enjoying the rain and Read More…
WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court is leaving in place a 70-year prison sentence for a Montana man convicted of shooting a German exchange student who was trespassing in his garage. The Supreme Court declined Monday to hear the case of Markus Kaarma. Kaarma was convicted of the 2014 death of 17-year-old Diren Dede, who had Read More…
Gun companies are suffering a sales slump under the Trump administration. But a regulatory change could give them a boost overseas. The administration is considering shifting oversight of gun exports from the State Department to the Commerce Department. The proposed change would treat handguns more like commodities and less like military weapons, and loosen the Read More…
Brown University has initiated a $120 million campaign to drop all loans from financial aid packages awarded to their undergraduates. Student debt is at an all-time high — the average outstanding balance is $34,144, up 62 percent over the last 10 years — and Brown will become the sixteenth U.S. institution, and the sixth in Read More…
BILLINGS – The Montana Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that it would not rehear arguments in a wage dispute between Billings police officers and the city. The high court’s decision sends the case back to the district court for further review. A judge in Park County District Court previously ordered the city of Billings to pay Read More…
U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., returned Sunday from a security and trade mission to South Korea and Taiwan to receive an update on the nuclear threat of North Korea and expand markets for Montana products. Daines traveled to the Korean Demilitarized Zone to see the border known as the 38th parallel. He also visited Yeonpyeong Island Read More…
The economics of unit trains and improving technology are making possible the building of a new mega fertilizer plant by Town & Country Supply Association near Lockwood. Construction began in February and is expected to be completed in December. It will be operational just in time to serve the needs of farmers for the 2018 Read More…
Healthy democracies have ample room for politics but leave a larger space for civil society and culture that unites more than divides. With the politicization of the National Football League and the national anthem, the Divided States of America are exhibiting a very unhealthy level of polarization and mistrust. The progressive forces of identity politics Read More…
LARAMIE – Wyoming entrepreneurs can “WIN” access to capital financing through a new a new state program using crowdfunding opportunities, Secretary of State Ed Murray told those attending the Wyoming Working Together Conference on Friday. Murray outlined the Wyoming Invests Now (WIN) program for members of the Wyoming Economic Development Association (WEDA) and the Wyoming Read More…
The UM presidential candidate with the closest ties to Missoula appeared before a packed house in the University Center Theater on Friday after noon. He is Seth Bodnar, whose wife Chelsea grew up in Missoula and attended Hellgate High School, so Bodner and his family are familiar with the city and with the university and Read More…
Unless a remedy is found for the state’s looming budget crisis, Montana residents can expect devastating losses to essential services across the board, and Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock says any solutions will require more than his efforts alone. “I need a willing dance partner,” he said in an interview on Friday. “If we don’t figure Read More…
Montana Congressman Greg Gianforte took his “Forest Jobs Tour” to Columbia Falls Friday, touring F.H. Stoltze Land & Lumber Company and calling for changes in forest policy. Speaking with reporters and employees at the firm’s 94-year-old mill, Gianforte stressed the need for some logging and thinning, or “forest management,” to tame future wildfires and boost Read More…
There were recurring themes during a Kalispell Chamber of Commerce panel discussion about manufacturing last week. Freight costs are a continuous challenge; good employees are hard to find so if you have them, do what you can to keep them. And paperwork can make or break a small manufacturer. The Chamber discussion kicked off a Read More…
Since announcing in December that he would step down as Starbucks chief executive, there has been speculation that Howard Schultz is eyeing a run for president in 2020. A couple weeks back, I pegged him as the businessperson most likely to win the Democratic nomination. Well, Howard Schultz sure sounds like a candidate. Schultz spoke Read More…
U.S. authorities placed Paul Manafort under surveillance after he was ousted as Donald Trump’s campaign manager in the summer of 2016, according to U.S. officials with knowledge of the matter. The surveillance, which was part of a counterintelligence investigation into Russian interference with the presidential election, didn’t involve listening to Mr. Manafort’s phone communications in Read More…
Montana’s legislators are finding common ground… over mermen. After the famous Sip ‘n Dip Lounge in Great Falls posted a job opening on Twitter, Senator Jon Tester jokingly passed up the opportunity before asking if the governor was free for the shift. From there Governor Steve Bullock, Senator Steve Daines, Secretary Ryan Zinke, and Attorney Read More…
A $3 million bond issue request in Deer Park School was defeated by a wide margin on Tuesday. Voters rejected the bond issue by a 207 to 126 margin, according to unofficial results. The mail-ballot election concluded on Sept. 19. The bond issue would have been used to expand the school in addition to upgrading Read More…
BUTTE – REC Silicon in Butte announced Wednesday it is laying off 30 employees at its facility just south of Butte. The layoffs were made for efficiency improvements and cost-cutting initiatives, according to a news release issued by the company Wednesday morning. READ THE FULL STORY.
The town of Browning has been in the process of disbanding due to financial issues since 2016. In March of 2016, a Lewis and Clark County District Judge appointed Robert Denning to take over financial control of the town’s assets and debt. According to Blackfeet Tribal Business Council Chairman Harry Barnes, the Tribe has been in negotiations Read More…
HELENA – Officials announced a new Montana National Guard program that will allow limited hunting on Fort Harrison grounds. It’s called the Purple Heart Deer Program. Each year it will allow up to five Purple Heart recipients to hunt big game in Fort Harrison’s training area. National Guard leaders said the program is a way to Read More…
A man police call a Good Samaritan may face a lawsuit after injuring the alleged robber he thwarted, reports CBS affiliate KGPE-TV. In July, Fresno Police say 30-year old Ryan Flores used a gun and tried to rob a Starbucks. Cregg Jerri, 58, stepped in to stop the crime, and the two got into a fight. Both Read More…
HELENA, Mont. – Montana officials will ask those who receive a permit to float the Smith River to help record algae blooms on the water next year. On Thursday the state Department of Environmental Quality and the Fish, Wildlife and Parks department are launching a project to collect data that’s difficult for researchers to obtain Read More…