South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley is joining forces with a bipartisan coalition of 51 Attorneys General to issue a warning to nine major voice service providers, alerting them that they may be violating both state and federal laws by continuing to route allegedly unlawful robocalls through their networks. “These companies are allowing harmful scams Read More…
Shaina Eagleson, a science teacher at West Fargo’s Sheyenne High School, has been named a state finalist for the prestigious Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST), North Dakota’s Department of Public Instruction announced Thursday. The award, considered the highest national recognition for K-12 STEM educators, honors outstanding teaching in science, technology, Read More…
The U.S. Interior Department announced Friday that it is opening the public comment process for a new five-year offshore oil and gas leasing program, potentially paving the way for expanded drilling in the Arctic and other previously restricted areas. The move is part of the Trump administration’s broader push to boost domestic energy production. The Read More…
Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen led a coalition of 21 states in filing an amicus brief supporting President Donald Trump’s decision to reduce the workforce at the Department of Education, a move aimed at returning more educational authority to state governments. The brief was filed on Monday in the case State of New York v. Read More…
Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen has started a comprehensive investigation into TikTok for allegedly serving harmful content to children and for publicly misrepresenting the “dangers” of its social media platform. “TikTok is certainly an application that should raise concerns for parents in Montana and everywhere,” Knudsen said in an interview with Fox News Digital in announcing his office’s investigation. Read More…
Commissioner of Securities and Insurance Troy Downing approved over $340,000 in restitution payments to victims of Metals.com. The victims, ranging in age from 60 to 77, received payments of $14,676 to $50,000. “Victims of securities fraud are often left emotionally and financially devastated. Thanks to the Securities Restitution Fund ─ promoted by this agency ─ and Read More…
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) have launched a new app that allows Montanans to access their hunting and fishing licenses with their phone. The goal is to help reduce the need to secure and carry around paperwork while people fish and hunt. MyFWP will store and display licenses, permits, and digital carcass tags, known as E-Tags, Read More…
The Gianforte Family Foundation will donate $50 million to Montana State University for construction of a building dedicated to its computing school, the university announced Friday. The building will be home to MSU’s Gianforte School of Computing — named for a previous contribution from the Gianforte Family Foundation — and other classes including cybersecurity and Read More…
Montana has seen a surge in opioid and fentanyl overdoses over the last several years and it has officials concerned. A January 2022 news release from Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen says Montana experienced a 116% increase in fentanyl-related deaths from 2019 to 2020. The release goes on to say Lewis & Clark County emergency Read More…
The Montana State Hospital in Warm Springs has been placed on “Immediate Jeopardy” status by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). CMS sent a letter to the Montana State Hospital saying the hospital violated patient rights and infection prevention control. CMS determined that the violations are so serious that it’s an immediate and Read More…
Two bills focused on transparency in Idaho’s elections were introduced in a Senate committee on Monday. The first, from Sen. Patti Anne Lodge, a Republican from Caldwell, would increase campaign finance reporting requirements for contributions and expenditures made in non-election years. The legislation would trigger campaign finance reporting requirements once a candidate has received Read More…
Celilo Miles is a 27-year-old wildland firefighter, student and model. Earlier this week, Victoria’s Secret released a new campaign empowering women and inspiring social change. Gone are the Victoria’s Secret angels, and instead are 18 models from diverse backgrounds, one of which is an Idaho native. “It was like a dream come true, those were Read More…
More than 1 in 6 teenagers who gave birth in Texas in 2020 already had a child. Texas does not require sex education and has the strictest abortion law in the nation. Like a lot of teenagers, Iryanna Rodriguez’s day starts early and ends late, and she’s often running behind from the moment she wakes Read More…
A lawyer for Elon Musk blasted the Securities and Exchange Commission and accused the agency of using its power to harass the Tesla founder. In a letter to U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan, Musk’s lawyer, Alex Spiro, described a “pattern of conduct” by the SEC that “has gone beyond the pale.” He said that the regulator, which is led by Chairman Gary Read More…
The Senate passed a short-term funding bill Thursday night to head off a government shutdown, after Democrats bent to Republican demands for controversial votes on vaccine mandates. The three-week spending patch is expected to hit President Joe Biden’s desk well before government funding runs out at midnight Friday. Punting the next deadline to March 11, Read More…
Following reports that a member of its negotiating team quit the administration last week over opposition to the Biden administration’s concessions to Iran, the State Department is defending its ongoing diplomacy with Tehran. Richard Nephew served as the deputy special envoy for Iran before leaving that post on Dec. 6 “due to a sincere difference Read More…
Two major U.S. automakers are calling out car dealers for allegedly jacking up prices beyond sticker value and ripping off customers. Ford and General Motors warned dealers to stop exploiting supply chain shortages by setting prices above the manufacturers’ suggested retail prices, or MSRP. “We have very good knowledge of who they are,” Ford CEO Jim Farley said while unveiling the company’s latest quarterly Read More…
A great employee benefits broker has to predict trends in the market and analyze data to find the best solutions in a complex environment. Constantly changing regulations across multiple states makes this a challenge for even the best broker — but Shannon Jensen has it figured out. One HR manager leading a large multistate team Read More…
An engineering professor at the University of Jamestown is running for U.S. Senate in her first run for elected office. Katrina Christiansen, of Jamestown, is seeking the Democratic-NPL nomination for the seat held by U.S. Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., saying she wants to “strengthen our democracy.” “I will be a strong, independent voice Read More…
A consensus is forming among North Dakota’s top oil industry operators: the formation that drove the state’s fracking boom has entered its middle age. “The Bakken has been rebranded — whether we want it to be or not — as mature,” said Lynn Helms, director of the North Dakota Oil and Gas Division, Monday, Feb. Read More…
A new court filing last Friday sparked fresh accusations and debate surrounding the Trump-Russia probe. Former President Donald Trump says it proves his 2016 presidential campaign was spied on by Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign. Defense lawyers are saying it’s just an attempt to politicize the case and drum up negative press. It’s either what some Read More…
A new undergraduate program in Montana is hoping to recruit, prepare, support and retain K-12 teachers in the Treasure State. The new program will provide a stipend for a full-year in-classroom experience, possible district-provided housing and teacher leader coaching a release from the Office of Public Instruction says. “Solving Montana’s teacher retention and recruitment challenge Read More…
Not much is left of Butte’s iconic M&M after it was destroyed in a fire last May, but there’s a chance it could be rebuilt thanks to an economic grant that can get the process started. The Butte Local Development Corporation secured a $25,000 grant from the Big Sky Trust Fund Program to help the Read More…
Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks said in a news release that a poaching investigation in northeastern Montana that lasted more than two and a half years ended with several men being sentenced last month. The men were sentenced in the 16th Judicial District Court in Garfield County. READ THE FULL STORY
An Arizona cotton farmer and lawyer says she is running for attorney general because she is fed up waiting for the federal and state governments to boost security at the southern border. Tiffany Shedd is a mother of three whose family’s fourth-generation property sits in the middle of a Mexican cartel’s drug and human smuggling Read More…
St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard made his case for a rapid move higher in interest rates, saying Monday that the central bank needs to react to accelerating inflation. “I do think we need to front-load more of our planned removal of accommodation than we would have previously. We’ve been surprised to the upside Read More…
The Christian crowdfunding website GiveSendGo was hacked, with reportedly tens of thousands of names leaked of those who donated to the site’s page for the Freedom Convoy protests in Ottawa. The hack redirected GiveSendGo.com to a webpage with the domain GiveSendGone[dot]wtf, where a video of Disney’s Frozen was posted along with a manifesto condemning the website. GiveSendGo’s webmasters eventually fixed the website redirect, Read More…
For generations, family-owned farms and ranches lined the Montana landscape. Now, families say big corporations and wealthy investors are moving in. Mariah Shammel woke up, fed the cattle and looked out over the neighboring pastures other Montana ranchers once cared for. “There’s three and four families that have worked those places that are now taken Read More…
Gov. Greg Gianforte is urging unvaccinated health care workers to consider using religious and medical exemptions ahead of an upcoming federal vaccine mandate deadline. Gianforte says health care workers should evaluate all their options. Gov. Gianforte says Montana’s unvaccinated health care workers have alternatives prior to Monday’s deadline when employees must have at least one Read More…
The road back to normal is still a bumpy one for many businesses. For Helena heavy equipment dealer Empire Equipment Company they’re taking on the challenges as they come. “It’s been pretty difficult,” Empire Equipment Company General Manager Krista Marshall told MTN. “Luckily our manufacturers have been well established at getting parts from Europe to North America. Read More…
The National Restaurant Association is asking Congress to replenish the Restaurant Revitalization Fund as the Covid omicron variant hits operators’ businesses. Last year, lawmakers created the $28.6 billion fund to aid bars and restaurants struggling in the wake of the pandemic. The grants were designed to make up for a restaurant’s full pandemic losses of up Read More…
HELENA — Marks Lumber is closing down for renovations to their Lumber Mill. They plan to be closed starting in mid-April for 8-10 weeks. The lumber mill is replacing an edger and a trimmer. The current equipment they have doesn’t allow for as many cutting options and isn’t always reliable. The new equipment will give Read More…
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem is taking another step toward fulfilling her September pledge to ensure South Dakota has the “strongest pro-life laws in the books.” The first-term governor’s latest round of pro-life bills was announced Friday, the 49th anniversary of Roe v. Wade. The two bills would adopt similar legislation to Texas’ Heartbeat Act preventing abortions after a Read More…
CASPER. Wyo. — Wyoming state Sen. Charles Scott (Natrona County) will be offering a presentation in regard to the redistricting process in the state at noon Friday, January 28 at the Natrona County Library. Redistricting is one of the tasks that the Wyoming Legislature will tackle during its upcoming budget session. The legislature is set Read More…
CHEYENNE – With rising cost of living far outpacing state wages, the Wyoming Highway Patrol says it can’t keep up. In a letter posted Dec. 16 to the organization’s Facebook page, Wyoming Highway Patrol Association President Sgt. Duane Ellis wrote that a failure of the agency – and by extension, the state of Wyoming – to Read More…
The Supreme Court announced Monday it would take up a pair of cases related to race-based admissions policies at two major universities, adding affirmative action to the hot-button issues justices are considering, along with abortion and gun rights. Justices said they would hear challenges to policies at Harvard and the University of North Carolina that Read More…
Democratic congressman Jamaal Bowman of New York was arrested outside of the U.S. Capitol building after disobeying orders from Capitol Police on three different occasions, the law enforcement agency said. Capitol Police arrested Bowman on Thursday after the New York Democrat protested outside Congress in support of his party’s failed election reform package. Bowman and Read More…
A stowaway was found alive on Sunday in a wheel well in the nose of a cargo plane that flew 11 hours from Johannesburg, South Africa, to Amsterdam, in the Netherlands, Dutch police confirmed. The man, whose name was not released, was taken to a local hospital after authorities discovered him at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport. The man is in stable condition Read More…
In an 8-1 vote Tuesday, the Kalispell City Council approved on first reading a five-story $34 million downtown hotel development and a 250-space parking garage, as well as a land transfer of the prominent city-owned parking lot located on Third Avenue and Main Street. The parking garage, which would utilize tax increment financing (TIF), is Read More…
BILLINGS — A months-long battle will come to an end Monday night, when the Billings school board decides whether to keep two books allegedly depicting gay sex on the library shelves. The issue first arose in Fairfax County, Virginia, surrounding two coming of age stories: “Lawn Boy” a novel by Jonathan Evison and “Gender Queer: a Read More…
TOWNSEND — Four months ago, Lloyd Barrus was convicted of deliberate homicide by accountability in the 2017 killing of Broadwater County Sheriff’s Deputy Mason Moore. On Friday, Barrus was back in court in Townsend for a hearing that could determine where he’ll spend his sentence – in the Montana State Hospital or in prison. District Read More…
Facebook has patented a new technology for an “authentic” robot eye. The idea, granted in December, would let the social media company build a “high performing and realistic” eyeball that would be like an “animatronic device” to track humans’ eye movements. Tracking eye movements is used in digital ads to detect what people look at, as Read More…
WASHINGTON – The second week of August began as a time for vacation for President Joe Biden and some of his team. Then Afghanistan imploded. The reports out of Kabul were harrowing: Images of desperate Afghan nationals clinging to U.S. military airplanes leaving the country and, days later, a suicide bombing at a gate to Read More…
HELENA — A federal judge Tuesday struck down a portion of Montana’s “clean campaign act,” saying it’s an unconstitutional burden on free speech to require political committees to notify candidates about last-minute attack campaign material. U.S. District Judge Don Molloy of Missoula said the so-called “fair notice” requirement, which applies only to material distributed within Read More…