(The Center Square) – The American Legislative Exchange Council called on state legislatures to embrace limited tax regulation and greater investment in artificial intelligence to facilitate effective government processes. The council released its AI policy toolkit calling for a “light-touch” policy approach to AI. “U.S. regulators risk jeopardizing A.I.’s massive potential and benefits to consumers Read More…
(The Center Square) – Veterans die by suicide at roughly twice the civilian rate, despite the Department of Veterans Affairs spending more than $500 million a year to address the problem. In 2023, the rate of suicide for veterans was 35.2 per 100,000, up from 34.7 per 100,000 in 2022, according to the most recent Read More…
(The Center Square) – Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson may be satisfied with the House of Representatives’ latest version of an income tax bill – so much so that he said he will sign it if it passes the Legislature – but plenty of others remain skeptical. In the wee hours of Friday morning, majority party Read More…
(The Center Square) – The U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Mirabelli v. Olson deciding against California’s law that allowed for gender transitions of school children without parental knowledge has met with commendation from advocacy groups and law firms, with a legal counsel calling the decision one of the “biggest parental rights wins” in a generation. Chief Read More…
In a 5-4 decision announced Monday, the Supreme Court struck down a Louisiana law that severely restricted abortion in the state, marking a win for abortion rights advocates. Chief Justice John Roberts, a crucial conservative swing vote, sided with liberal Justices Breyer, Ginsburg, Sotomayor and Kagan in issuing the majority opinion. According to The Associated Press, Roberts Read More…
A long-anticipated grocery store and a new Town Pump are under construction on neighboring parcels on Bozeman’s north side. Construction of WinCo Foods is underway on Max Avenue near Staples, just off of North 19th Avenue. The employee-owned grocery store, based in Boise, Idaho, first tried for a Bozeman location in April 2016 but withdrew those Read More…
Several employees stood among wooden dressers, dining room tables, couches and chairs to greet Sen. Steve Daines as he visited the showroom for Black Timber Furniture in Four Corners on Friday morning. Black Timber Furniture received $65,000 from the federal paycheck protection program, a $349 billion initiative that provides loans to small businesses. The program was Read More…
At the Black Lives Matter rally this month in Bozeman’s Bogert Park, Shane Doyle stood on the stage before the large crowd, beat a hand-held rawhide drum and sang a Crow Indian honor song. The moment felt hopeful to Doyle, 48, a member of the Apsaalooke or Crow Tribe. Native Americans are Montana’s Read More…
BOZEMAN — At least one Montana State football player has tested positive for COVID-19, multiple sources close to the program told MTN Sports. The case comes after the university opened up some of its facilities for voluntary athletics-related workouts on June 1, the same day that Governor Steve Bullock announced that Montana was moving into Read More…
MISSOULA — One Salish and Blackfeet musical artist is joining the Confederated Salish Kootenai Tribe in their campaign to create awareness about COVID-19 for Flathead Reservation youth. “I think I was inspired by the Navajo Nation because I didn’t want my people to go through the same thing,” said Shadow Devereaux. Devereaux is a Salish Read More…
A federal appeals court on June 22 upheld a Montana judge’s 2019 order awarding $3.1 million to a Columbia Falls man who sued BNSF Railway for wrongful termination after he was injured on the job. The case involves Zachary Wooten, who sued BNSF in 2016 alleging the company violated the Federal Rail Safety Act (FRSA), Read More…
BOISE — Idaho Gov. Brad Little and Secretary of State Lawerence Denney say they plan to appeal Tuesday’s U.S. District Court decision granting Reclaim Idaho’s request for a second chance to qualify its school-funding initiative for the November ballot, after the statewide stay-home order cut off signature gathering prior to the state’s deadline. “This decision is Read More…
SHERIDAN — Athletes who planned to compete for teams at Sheridan College or Gillette College in the upcoming school year will not have a chance to play at the Division I level of the National Junior College Athletic Association locally. Faced with the need to cut nearly $4 million from its annual budget, Northern Read More…
FARGO, N.D. – Nearly three years ago, Elon Musk tweeted “You can now drive anywhere in the US using the Tesla supercharger network.” But he forgot about one state: North Dakota. “I joined Twitter on that tweet to tell him that we still exist,” said Brian Kopp, a North Dakota Tesla owner. For the past Read More…
Wyoming’s unemployment rate fell to 8.8% in May, as the state began to recover from the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. The Equality State had the nation’s third lowest unemployment rate for the month, trailing only Nebraska and Utah, federal figures show. The national unemployment rate, meanwhile, stood at 13.3%. In April, Wyoming unemployment Read More…
Two legal challenges are brewing in the wake of North Dakota’s June election. North Dakota’s Republican Party is researching a potential lawsuit against Democratic-NPL insurance commissioner nominee Travisia Martin, who the GOP claims doesn’t meet the five-year residency requirement to be a candidate. But it’s unclear when or if the party will sue. Two unsuccessful Read More…
The Wyoming Republican Party is doing what most organizations can’t right now. Not only are they getting a high-profile figure to keynote their convention but that figure is actually appearing in-person. Well-known conservative activist Charlie Kirk is heading to Gillette for the Wyoming Republican Convention this weekend and for conservatives, there couldn’t be a better Read More…
BILLINGS- A former market president for Rocky Mountain Bank has admitted to fraud and money laundering crimes. A release from the Department of Justice says 46-year-old Stephen Phillip Casher was charged in a 14-count superseding indictment alleging bank fraud and related crimes. The prosecution presented evidence in court records at trial that Casher worked as Read More…
KALISPELL, Mont. — There is a new billboard on Highway 93 in South Kalispell near Murdoch’s. It reads “I can’t breathe,” in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. READ FULL STORY
Lewis and Clark County leaders came together Wednesday to answer some of the public’s questions about policing in the county. The county commission and Sheriff Leo Dutton held a community address, aimed at giving people a better idea of how the Lewis and Clark County Sheriff’s Office operates. Commissioner Susan Good Geise said they’ve heard Read More…
At a free mass testing site on Montana’s Flathead Reservation, hundreds of people are queued up in idling cars. They’re waiting an hour or more for the irritating nose swab test for the coronavirus, but most, like Francine Van Maanen, are just grateful to finally get one. “We enjoyed the fact that they had this Read More…
Colin Kaepernick has long been a divisive figure in the NFL and beyond. But according to one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play in the league, the former San Francisco 49ers QB is a “hero.” In an interview with TMZ Sports, Hall of Famer Brett Favre said he suspects Kaepernick’s “hero status will be Read More…
BISMARCK, N.D. – In April, North Dakota saw a 500% increase in online sales tax revenue because more people were staying at home and shopping, according to North Dakota Tax Department officials. North Dakota Tax Commissioner Ryan Rauschenberger said last year North Dakota took in half a million dollars in April, in 2020 that number has Read More…
AMERICAN FALLS – Congratulations to Brett Jones, of Rock Springs Wyoming on a new catch-and-release state record rainbow trout. Jones caught the huge trout while fishing American Falls Reservoir on May 25. The 31.25-inch monster was just long enough to break the previous record of 30.5 inches, held by David Raisch since 2018. State records Read More…
He was a strong backer of the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) as Montana’s congressman. And he got the ball rolling on historic conservation and infrastructure investments as President Trump’s Secretary of the Interior. Needless to say, former Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke was very pleased to see passage of the Great American Outdoors Act in the Read More…
BOZEMAN- As the state reopens Governor Steve Bullock will visit a Bozeman business that is re-opening with support from the state. The governor will visit Café M which received a $10,000 business stabilization grant from the state to cover expenses to reopen safely. He’s hoping to hear how the business is utilizing the $10,000 business Read More…
Montana Gov. Steve Bullock, who is running as a Democratic Senate candidate in a tight race rated a toss-up by the Cook Political Report, filled his 25-member coronavirus task force with several high-dollar donors who then informed his administration how to distribute more than $1 billion in federal stimulus aid, records reviewed by Fox News show. The task force, known Read More…
Republican U.S. Sen. Steve Daines and his Democratic challenger, Gov. Steve Bullock, are arming up for Montana’s most expensive, high-profile battle of 2020 – a marquee race that could decide control of the U.S. Senate. But in some of their first remarks after the June 2 primary, both men also are aiming for the political Read More…
HELENA — As the 2020 general-election race for Montana governor gets under way, Republican candidate Greg Gianforte’s campaign has accumulated almost four times the money of his Democratic competitor, Mike Cooney – but that total includes $1.5 million of Gianforte’s own money. Gianforte reported Monday that his campaign has raised about $3.83 million through June Read More…
Executive and legislative relationships could be set back as a result of Gov. Doug Burgum’s hefty donations to a political group that successfully targeted a powerful fellow Republican in the June election, according to a top House lawmaker. Burgum disputes that he’s done anything out of the ordinary and denies having a rocky relationship Read More…
The latest Big Sky Poll from the University of Montana just finished up a year-long investigation with nearly 1,000 respondents in an attempt to understand how and why individuals participate in civic engagement. More than 40% of participants were young people in Montana, including the unique perspective of Native American youth in the state. Sarah Rinfret is Read More…
The Trump administration is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a federal judge’s decision and grant a key permit to allow the Keystone XL pipeline to move forward. If the high court sides with the administration, it could open the door for Canadian developer TC Energy to move forward with construction of the pipeline, Read More…
Two public schools in Berkeley, California, will remove their names commemorating Presidents George Washington and Thomas Jefferson amid renewed and widespread calls from the Black Lives Matter movement for racial equality. The Berkeley Unified School District approved a “Resolution in Support of Black Lives Matter” last week, following weeks of nationwide protests and riots denouncing systemic racism Read More…
Around 600 goats in two separate herds are currently grazing their way through parts of the Palos Verdes Peninsula — in an effort to reduce fire risk and remove non-native plants. About 300 goats are hard at work in Lunada Canyon, part of the 1,600 acres the Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy has preserved. And Read More…
AT&T is notifying thousands of employees that their jobs are being eliminated as part of a $6 billion cost-cutting push, an attempt to slim down one of the most heavily indebted companies in the U.S. The cuts follow through on a plan that Chief Executive Officer Randall Stephenson outlined in October when he said the Read More…
The Securities and Exchange Commission told Hertz, which filed for bankruptcy during the coronavirus pandemic, that the regulator has issues with the rental car company’s plan to sell stock. “In this particular situation we have let the company know that we have comments on their disclosure,” SEC Chairman Jay Clayton said Wednesday on CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street.” “In Read More…
WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republicans unveiled proposed changes to police procedures and accountability Wednesday including an enhanced use-of-force database, restrictions on chokeholds and new commissions to study law enforcement and race, according to a draft obtained by The Associated Press. The “Justice Act” is the most ambitious GOP policing proposal in years, a direct response Read More…
Masks have become the norm inside the House of Representatives, where some politicians now embrace the novel coronavirus precaution with colorful odes to their home districts. But there are holdouts: A small group of Republican representatives who have consistently declined to wear face coverings in Congress. Now, as nine states hit record highs for infections, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is Read More…
AOC is going AWOL for the city’s only in-person debate ahead of next week’s Democratic Party primary. First-term Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-Queens/Bronx) plans to skip out on a face-to-face showdown with three challengers Wednesday, her office told The Post. Ironically, the Parkchester Times-sponsored debate is the same one the previous incumbent, 10-term Rep. Joseph Crowley, shirked Read More…
The Supreme Court decided on Monday that they will not reexamine a doctrine that protects law enforcement and government officials from being sued over their actions while on the job. The doctrine, which the justices created nearly 50 years ago, gives “qualified immunity” for law enforcement officers, which protects them from frivolous lawsuits CNN reported. READ FULL STORY
Noting that the announcement came with “heavy hearts,” officials confirmed Saturday that the two bodies recovered from a backyard in Idaho were the remains of the missing children of “doomsday cult” mom Lori Vallow. Joshua “JJ” Vallow, 7, and Tylee Ryan, 17, had been missing since September. Their remains were found Tuesday, buried on the property of Read More…
Staff of the North Dakota Supreme Court Law Library have been discarding more than 67,000 books over the span of more than a year. “I can tell you, it’s been devastating to see them go, but we understand the impetus,” Legal Self-Help Center Director Catie Palsgraaf said. The 2019 Legislature budgeted $970,000 to Read More…
The former executive manager of the now-dissolved Flathead Joint Board of Control pleaded not guilty to a host of charges in U.S. District Court in Missoula on June 3, all related to her alleged misuse of board funds for personal expenses. Johanna Estella Clark could face significant fines and a lengthy prison term if convicted Read More…
There are some additional openings and services available at Glacier National Park. The west entrance gate will no longer close at 4:30 p.m. and Going-to-the-Sun Road is open to Avalanche and the campground is available for day-use parking. The restroom at the shuttle stop is also now available. Camas Road is now open and the Read More…