Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen’s petition to the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) for a review of a Montana Supreme Court decision concerning parental rights in abortion cases has gained significant support. Five amicus briefs were filed urging SCOTUS to reverse a decision that, according to Knudsen, puts the health and safety of children at risk Read More…
In a significant move aimed at preserving the integrity of local elections, the Montana Senate advanced House Bill 413 on Thursday, tightening voter residency requirements to ensure that only long-term residents influence county decisions. The measure, strongly supported by conservative lawmakers, seeks to maintain community values by guaranteeing that voters have a real, sustained stake Read More…
SITKA Gear, a leader in high-performance hunting and outdoor apparel, announced a series of strategic changes to its sales team aimed at aligning talent with the company’s evolving business priorities. The adjustments include the addition of three new sales representatives and a significant territory expansion for a veteran team member, all designed to strengthen retail Read More…
Glacier Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE: GBCI) announced Friday that it has received all necessary regulatory approvals for its planned acquisition of Bank of Idaho Holding Co. (OTCQX: BOID), clearing a major hurdle in the completion of the deal. The acquisition, which includes Bank of Idaho and its subsidiaries, is now scheduled to close on April 30, Read More…
In a groundbreaking verdict that has sent shockwaves through gun control circles, a U.S. District Court judge in California made a bold stand for Second Amendment rights. What’s more, in the process, he served a scorching rebuke to “Firearms Expert” Ryan Busse, a senior advisor for the Giffords gun control organization and candidate for Montana’s Read More…
The South Dakota Game, Fish & Parks Department reports that Big Stone Lake on the Minnesota-South Dakota border is the latest body of water infested with zebra mussels. Game & Fish Communications Manager Nick Harrington says effective education and outreach is key for slowing the spread of aquatic invasive species, and the department’s Zebra Mussel Read More…
The Wyoming Game and Fish Department has confirmed the presence of chronic wasting disease, or CWD, in Wyoming’s Deer Hunt Area 154. The disease was detected in a hunter-harvested buck mule deer in September. Deer Hunt Area 154 is in the Jackson Region and is bordered by three areas in which CWD was previously detected Read More…
The most pressing political challenge confronting President Joe Biden as he drifts uncontested toward renomination is that which he can do the least about: voters’ profound misgivings about his age and fitness to serve another full term. Yet what’s striking, and to his allies increasingly unnerving, is Biden’s unwillingness even to try to fully address Read More…
A veteran and active-duty gym called the Adaptive Performance Center (APC) has been awarded the Staff Sergeant Parker Gordon Fox Suicide Prevention Grant through the Veteran’s Administration (VA). This is the second time APC has received the grant since they first opened their Helena location less than a year ago which will help to expand Read More…
Montana saw more than $160 million in spending during the 2020 U.S. Senate race, and with more than a year to go until the 2024 Senate election, it appears the state is again on track for a race with huge amounts of money raised. The campaigns of U.S. Sen. Jon Tester and Republican candidate Tim Sheehy Read More…
The Kalispell Public Schools (KPS) Board of Trustees will consider applications for one or more charter schools to be opened within the district at its Oct. 24 meeting. If approved by the board, the applications will head to the Montana Board of Public Education, where they will be approved or denied by early 2024. At Read More…
TikTok’s lawsuit against Montana over the state’s recent ban will be in court starting Thursday, October 12, 2023. The lawsuit argues the law banning the social media app violates the First Amendment, violates the U.S. Constitution in several other regards and is preempted by federal law. Governor Greg Gianforte signed the TikTok ban May 17 and Read More…
Residents from a neighborhood in the Billings Heights are upset about damages caused in their yards due to construction contracted by TDS Fiber. The construction leaves massive holes in front lawns of many in the area. These holes are where the Wisconsin-based company will lay brand new fiber optic internet cables underground. Heights resident Kristi Read More…
Governor Greg Gianforte made a visit to the newly expanded Alpha Loading Systems Facility in Stevensville, Montana. The governor’s visit came in response to the recent expansion of the company’s operations, driven by the increased demand for its American-made machinery and ammunition. This development underscores the vital role that small businesses play in Montana’s economy, Read More…
A new story from NBC news outlines how Senator Jon Tester’s public image as an ethics crusader doesn’t align with the reality of his 16 years in office. From NBC: “Despite his push for lobbying reform, Tester over the years has ranked among the Senate’s top recipients of campaign cash from lobbyists, according to OpenSecrets, Read More…
Democrats are using a new super PAC to meddle in the Montana GOP Senate primary and stop former Navy SEAL Tim Sheehy from emerging as the nominee, campaign finance disclosures suggest. The new group, Last Best Place PAC, registered with the Federal Election Commission last week and placed a six-figure ad buy attacking Sheehy’s business career, describing Read More…
As Mitt Romney‘s cell phone started ringing incessantly in the minutes following his Wednesday retirement announcement, he silenced it and lamented during an interview that President Joe Biden shouldn’t run for reelection. Just five minutes after Romney said that, he got a phone call that he couldn’t ignore: It was Biden. “There are certain calls you Read More…
Gallatin County Sheriff Search and Rescue helped a hiker experiencing a medical emergency near Big Sky Thursday afternoon. Gallatin County 911 received a call of a hiker concerned of experiencing a heart attack, along with dizziness and sweatiness, on Ousel Falls Trail. Volunteers from the Big Sky Section, Big Sky Fire Department and a Gallatin Read More…
As of now, the top three candidates for Billings City Council Ward 3 are: Danny Choriki with 1,091 votes (26.83%) Charles W. Loveridge with 1,294 votes (31.82%) Bill Kennedy with 1,331 votes (32.73%) The top two candidates will progress to the general election on November 7th. Current voter numbers are as follows: -Registered Voters – Total 14,180 Read More…
The TEACH Act, or Tomorrow’s Educators Are Coming Home Act, was signed into law in 2021 by Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte. Today, backers say it’s making a dent in the teacher shortage by providing incentives and loosening licensing requirements. On Tuesday, Gianforte visited Lockwood High School to meet two new teachers, who were hired through the TEACH Act. Read More…
There is a huge difference between true caring and indignant self-righteousness, a fact that the mayors of many sanctuary cities are now learning. It’s one thing to climb up on your soap box and declare that immigration makes communities stronger when you have no idea what you’re talking about. The truth is that these cities Read More…
Of course, we all hope that the outcome of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s impeachment trial will turn on the merits of the case. But even as Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has said, this is a political trial and the jurors are politicians, so there can be no illusion that the political calculus will not Read More…
A recent study found that using social media was unrelated to long-term mental health problems in Norwegian youth. One well-intentioned scholar suggested that doomsayers proclaiming that social media is causing suicide and other mental health problems in youth would need to “reckon” with this new study. To which I replied, in effect, they would do no such thing. As Read More…
The early conventional wisdom appears to be that Sen. Ted Cruz is in solid shape for reelection in 2024. Cook’s Political Report rates the race as “Likely R,” as does Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball. Inside Elections is more circumspect, labeling the race as a “battleground,” although Inside Elections currently only labels races as “safe” or Read More…
No harmful levels of carcinogenic PCBs were found inside the missile launch facilities at F.E. Warren Air Force base in Wyoming, the service said Tuesday, as it looks for possible causes for cancers being reported among its nuclear missile community. F.E. Warren is among three nuclear bases the Air Force is investigating. Earlier this month the Air Read More…
A new state law that bans the social media app TikTok from operating in Montana is set to take effect Jan. 1 – but before that, a federal judge will have to consider whether to put the law on hold. On Friday, Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen’s office filed their response to a federal lawsuit Read More…
Montana Technological University is starting off the school year by introducing a new degree program: construction management. The new program will be under the School of Mines and Engineering and will take a multifaceted approach to construction management. Students will take courses in many different subject areas, including operational safety and health, mining, civil engineering, business communication and Read More…
Atlantic Richfield Company and ARCO Environmental Remediation (collectively known as Atlantic Richfield) have agreed to the cleanup of community soils – including both residential and non-residential yards and soil affected by the refinery’s operations – at the ACM Smelter and Refinery Superfund Site in Black Eagle, Montana. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said in Read More…
Reactions to a new documentary on how the federal government and environmental groups deny that offshore wind is killing whales reflects a problem some residents in Wyoming say is happening with wind projects in the Cowboy State. “Many wanted to believe we could consume more and more energy, and renewable energy was all green. Nothing Read More…
A Browning man who was convicted by a jury of raping a girl in Browning, on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, was sentenced on Aug. 15 to eight years and four months in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said today. After a two-day trial in March, the Read More…
Starting Tuesday, Montana homeowners can apply to get back up to $675 on their property taxes. The Montana Department of Revenue will open claims Aug. 15 for the property tax rebate approved by the state Legislature and signed off on by Gov. Greg Gianforte earlier this year. The deadline to apply is Oct. 1. “Property Read More…
Many Crow tribal members have been caught up in Arizona’s sober-living home scam, but when they return back to Montana, many often need treatment and recovery. The problem has caught the attention of Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte, who recently reached out to Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs for assistance. “This situation is very troubling because these crooks Read More…
North Dakota has never had a team make an appearance at the Little League World Series in Williamsport in the league’s 75-year history. The Fargo 12U All-Stars have changed that though. After losing to Sioux Falls, SD in the semi-finals of the Midwest Region Tournament and defeating Iowa the following day in the elimination bracket, Read More…
The Federal Reserve has tried hard to buck Wyoming’s digital banks, but Custodia Bank CEO Caitlin Long comes from a state where the motto “Cowboy Up” comes as natural as breathing. And that she has done, quietly in some cases, like the recent “soft” opening of Custodia Bank last month without fanfare or press release, Read More…
Montana State Superintendent Elsie Arntzen announced Monday she is running for U.S. House. According to Arntzen’s Twitter account, she’ll be running for Montana’s second Congressional district on the condition that Rep. Matt Rosendale seeks the U.S. Senate nomination. In a statement, Arntzen said if Rosendale seeks reelection to the House, the exploratory committee will cease operations and return Read More…
Casper Republican Reid Rasner said he turned down two requests from political groups to run for office before he started seriously considering taking on Wyoming’s senior congressional delegation member U.S. Sen. John Barrasso in the 2024 election. By the time the third request came around, he said the idea started marinating in his head. “I saw the Read More…
The rejection of the plan to send water from the Hungry Horse Reservoir to raise Flathead Lake in northwest Montana has sparked frustration among elected officials and local communities heavily reliant on the lake for their economy and livelihoods. The lake’s water levels have reached a record low for this time of year, dropping nearly Read More…
President Biden on Monday denied lying about his son, Hunter Biden’s business deal conversations. Fox News White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich asked the president, “Did you lie about never speaking with Hunter about his business deals?” “No,” Biden replied flatly. Heinrich followed up by asking, “Did you ever speak with Hunter about his business deals?” READ THE FULL Read More…
It’s only June, and already Congress is threatening to ruin New Year’s Eve. With just over three months until the next shutdown deadline, the two parties are nowhere near a bipartisan deal to fund the government by the start of the new fiscal year. So top lawmakers are predicting that Congress will revert back to Read More…
The National Parks Service has denied Gov. Kristi Noem’s latest application for a permit to have fireworks at Mount Rushmore. Noem applied for the July 2023 permit last summer. KELOLAND News reached out to the NPS to find out what happened with that request. A spokesperson for the NPS said after careful consideration, the parks Read More…
Abortion pills will remain legal in Wyoming for now, after a judge ruled Thursday that the state’s first-in-the-nation law to ban them won’t take effect July 1 as planned while a lawsuit proceeds. Attorneys for Wyoming failed to show that the ban wouldn’t harm the plaintiffs before their lawsuit is resolved, Teton County Judge Melissa Read More…
It’s been six days since the Williams County Commission ordered the power turned off for part of the Atlas Power Data Center west of Williston. Since then, the utility that handles the power to the facility has refused to do so, instead seeking a judge’s opinion on the matter. Court documents given to Your News Read More…
A tornado struck the largest coal mine in the US while workers were in the midst of a shift change Friday in northeast Wyoming, injuring at least 8 people, officials said. The tornado hit the North Antelope Rochelle Mine in Campbell County at around 6:20 p.m. MT Friday, according to county government spokesperson Leslie Perkins. “It has Read More…
Today’s broken media business is brought to you by a revolution in advertising. Starting about two decades ago, Google and Facebook figured out how to siphon off most of the ad revenues that had historically gone to support independent journalism. The duopoly is now the target of numerous antitrust actions by regulators around the globe. Read More…