U.S. Senator Steve Daines (R–Mont.) emphasized the importance of expanding energy production in tribal communities during a Senate Indian Affairs Committee hearing this week. Speaking with David Conrad, Acting Director of the Department of Energy’s Office of Indian Energy Policy and Programs, Daines highlighted the potential for tribal energy projects to strengthen sovereignty and fuel Read More…
Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen is leading a 27-state coalition urging the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn Washington state’s ban on firearm magazines that hold more than 10 rounds. The coalition filed an amicus brief Monday in Gator’s Custom Guns, Inc. v. State of Washington, arguing the law violates the Second Amendment. In May, the Read More…
Governor Greg Gianforte this week signed an executive order creating a new Energy Task Force charged with developing strategies to expand affordable, reliable energy production in Montana. “With increasing demand on our energy grid, we must meet the challenge head-on to ensure affordable, reliable power for Montanans now and into the future,” Gianforte said. “After Read More…
U.S. Senator John Hoeven announced that U.S. Secretary of the Air Force Dr. Troy E. Meink will be a featured guest speaker at the 19th annual UAS Summit & Expo, scheduled for October 14–15 at the Alerus Center. The Summit, one of the nation’s premier gatherings for unmanned aircraft systems, draws government, military, and commercial Read More…
Gov. Doug Burgum on Wednesday called North Dakota’s future “full of boundless opportunity” as he outlined a blueprint for the state’s oil tax savings fund and announced opportunities for workforce and community development. The first-term Republican governor gave his State of State address at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks. It’s his second such address Read More…
HELENA — State officials said Monday they plan to invest $16 million annually over the next five years to add capacity for current community-based services for people with severe and disabling mental illness. The funding, under an existing Medicaid waiver benefit option, will increase the number of people already receiving services from 357 to 750 by 2025, Read More…
With Montana’s June primary election now less than four months away, voters can expect things to heat up on the campaign trail. Case in point: Montana’s race for governor, where incumbent Democrat Steve Bullock is term-limited after eight years in office. Two Democrats are vying for their party’s nomination: Lt. Gov Mike Cooney and newcomer Read More…
Former President Barack Obama met privately with Montana Gov. Steve Bullock on Thursday in Washington, an adviser confirmed, as Democrats hold out hopes that the red-state governor makes a surprise, last-minute splash into the state’s Senate race. Bullock has consistently said he will not run for the Senate after dropping his own White House bid Read More…
BOISE, Idaho — The business manager and fundraising program developer for the Idaho Military Division faces eight felony counts of possessing child porn. Kenneth Coulter, 72, of Boise was booked into the Ada County Jail about 11 a.m. Tuesday, charged with possessing sexually exploitative materials. The military division is the umbrella agency for both the Read More…
BISMARCK — Tribal casinos in North Dakota are taking a hit. Since the 2017 state Legislature legalized electronic pull tabs — a casino-esque game where players touch a screen to reveal winnings — tribal nations have been losing money as charities are seeing the benefits. “It’s no small thing for us,” said Mark Fox, Chairman Read More…
A Montana firefighter claims she was fired for posting provocative workout photos to her Instagram account, according to new reports. Presley Pritchard, 27, formerly a part-time firefighter paramedic with Evergreen Fire Rescue, filed a wrongful termination claim with the department — alleging that officials fired her because of her gender and singled her out over Read More…
DICKINSON, N.D. — Throughout the succession of failed bond referendums for a new high school with a career and technical education facility, community members in Dickinson have asked, “What about the Legacy Fund?” Dickinson got an answer sooner rather than later — and straight from the top. During a meeting with The Dickinson Press, Read More…
BILLINGS — Economists with the University of Montana touted Billings’ economic health during a Tuesday luncheon at the Northern Hotel. Patrick Barkey, the University of Montana Bureau of Business and Economic Research director, said Billings has had good construction activity, a healthy real estate sector and financial institutions that are doing well. “Billings is the Read More…
HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Montana plans to invest $16 million annually over the next five years to expand community-based services for people with severe and disabling mental illness, officials said. The funding under an existing Medicaid waiver benefit option will increase the number of people already receiving services from 357 to 750 by 2025, The Read More…
Democratic attorney general candidate Raph Graybill is not eligible for the ballot because he hasn’t actively practiced law in Montana for five years, alleges a complaint filed this week with the state political practices office. Graybill, however, said he will have met the requirement before the Nov. 3 election, and his campaign called the complaint Read More…
Rep. Elise Stefanik — the upstate lawmaker who became an overnight GOP superstar with her performance in the impeachment inquiry — raised a whopping $3.2 million in campaign contributions over the last quarter of 2019, beating out Democratic Reps. Adam Schiff and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Schiff, the lead House impeachment manager, raked in $2.5 million, while Democratic-Socialist darling Read More…
CHEYENNE — Imagine you’re a cattle rancher in rural Niobrara County, where only 4.3% of the population has access to broadband internet speeds of 25 megabits per second (Mbps) or faster. You want to trade your cattle online, but you have to go to the public library in Lusk to access internet fast enough, leaving Read More…
CASPER, Wyo. — A member of the Wyoming Legislature criticized “women acting like sexual objects on national television” following the Sunday, Feb. 2 Super Bowl. House District 31 Representative Scott Clem said on Facebook that American culture “is sick and twisted, pushing over-sexualization everywhere.” Clem shared this article from the Miami Herald in which they report that evangelist Franklin Read More…
WASHINGTON (WHAM) – Conservative radio host and political commentator Rush Limbaugh announced Monday that he has been diagnosed with advanced lung cancer. The announcement came Monday afternoon on the host’s nationally syndicated radio program The Rush Limbaugh Show. The 69-year-old radio host said during the brief talk on the topic that he intends to undergo treatment. READ FULL Read More…
The application deadline for this year’s Miss Montana Competition, including more than $300,000 in cash and applied scholarships, is March 15. Applications require a $200 sponsor fee. Montana young women between the ages of 17-25, and teens between 13-17, have the opportunity to earn college scholarships and learn leadership skills by entering the Miss Montana Read More…
MISSOULA — It’s been 18 months since Jermain Charlo went missing and despite the lack of progress in the case her family and friends continue the search. Charlo was last seen near the Orange Street Food Farm in Missoula on June 16, 2018. Search warrants and interviews have been completed, and dozens of leads investigated Read More…
By: Cody Boyer BOZEMAN — As the city of Bozeman grows, so does the need for street lights. But some recently installed street lights are causing problems. “The national standards, frankly, haven’t caught up with the technology,” says Shawn Kohtz, city engineer for the City of Bozeman. Kohtz says issues with brightness started nearly three years Read More…
House Minority Leader Casey Schreiner dropped out of the gubernatorial race Monday, leaving just two candidates running in the Montana Democratic primary race for governor. The four-term Great Falls state representative is suspending his campaign four months before Montana’s June 2 primary. In a statement, Schreiner said he doesn’t have the resources needed to run Read More…
Austin Knudsen brought his campaign for Montana attorney general to Havre Thursday, touting his conservative values and his determination to fight drug abuse, especially methamphetamine. Knudsen, a Republican from Culbertson, served four terms in the Montana House, two as Speaker, then returned home to hang up his shingle and practice law. He said the people of Read More…
House Democratic leaders are set to roll out their vision for a $760 billion, five-year infrastructure proposal that places a major emphasis on climate change, seizing on an issue that has become a growing concern for their party’s activists and presidential hopefuls. The framework — coming two years after President Donald Trump’s $1.5 trillion infrastructure plan sank Read More…
If Canada ratifies the new trade deal as expected, it would replace the 25-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement, which President Donald Trump views as unfair to American workers. BISMARCK — The three members of North Dakota’s congressional delegation expressed gratitude to President Donald Trump after he signed the U.S-Mexico-Canada Agreement on Wednesday, Jan. 29. Read More…
Gillette, Wyo. once produced 40% of all U.S. coal, but is now losing half its jobs as coal demand plummets. A nearby town survived a bust in the 1950s and offers lessons. ARI SHAPIRO, HOST: The state that produces 40% of America’s coal is trying to figure out a new future for itself. Gillette, Wyo., Read More…
JACKSON — A new type of industrial activity is rising from the sagebrush and pastureland in western Wyoming: utility- scale solar farms. Three such developments have already been constructed or will soon be built in the Green and Bear river basins. The introduction of photovoltaic renewable energy technology figures to help replenish county coffers and Read More…
Wyoming Medical Center has signed a letter of intent with Banner Health, the first step in a potential future affiliation deal between Wyoming’s largest hospital and one of the most significant health care organizations in the region. The agreement is nonbinding, according to an announcement sent Tuesday by WMC, and allows both organizations to “conduct Read More…
Two competing plans to ask Montana voters to legalize and tax recreational marijuana are underway in the state. A group called MontanaCan is the latest initiative sponsor calling for a change in the state’s policies for marijuana. MontanaCan is proposing a gross sales tax on the recreational drug of no more than 5 percent, and Read More…
A Bozeman lawyer has appealed his case against the former commissioner of political practices to the Montana Supreme Court. The case relates to two ethics complaints and a federal court case and is tied to the 2016 election. Matthew Monforton, a lawyer and former Republican state lawmaker, submitted an ethics complaint against Jonathan Read More…
Disney, McDonald’s, Starbucks and other U.S. companies with significant footprints in China are suspending operations and instituting travel restrictions as they respond to the outbreak of the coronavirus. The virus has now taken the lives of at least 82 people in China and sickened 2,900 worldwide, including in the U.S. and Europe. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed Read More…
NBA legend Kobe Bryant, 41, died in a helicopter crash on Sunday morning in Calabasas, Calif., along with his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office confirmed. Seven other people were on board Bryant’s helicopter and were all killed in the tragic accident. Bryant’s impact on basketball is obvious: five-time NBA champion; two-time NBA Finals MVP; league Read More…
The maker of the helicopter that crashed and killed former NBA superstar Kobe Bryant on Sunday pledged to investigate the incident. Defense contractor and aerospace giant Lockheed Martin said it would probe the crash of its Sikorsky S-76B helicopter in Calabasas, California, near Malibu, which killed nine people. The S-76 series helicopter debuted in the 1970s. Sikorsky has Read More…
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez argues that people become billionaires only by exploiting workers and preying on vulnerable and less privileged people. “No one ever makes a billion dollars. You take a billion dollars,” she told the author Ta-Nehisi Coates at a Martin Luther King Jr. Day event this week. Ocasio-Cortez shared a NowThis clip of their discussion Read More…
With the leadoff Iowa caucuses days away, President Trump’s re-election campaign wants to remind voters that Democrats aren’t the only game in town. For the Feb. 3 caucuses, the Trump campaign is planning an ambitious show of force around the state, with over 80 surrogates expected to campaign at caucus locations. The push will be Read More…
FARGO, N.D. – Officials in North Dakota say it’s time for property owners in flood-prone areas of the Red River Valley to think about buying flood insurance. Flood preparation meetings with state and federal officials are scheduled this week in Fargo, Grand Forks and Jamestown. Those sessions will focus on insuring homes and other structures. Read More…
Wyoming’s governor is reiterating his support for s a statewide lodging tax to boost state revenue. Republican Gov. Mark Gordon says a lodging tax is the only new tax he would support. Gordon told reporters and editors at the Wyoming Press Association’s winter convention in Casper a lodging tax would make Wyoming’s tourism promotion efforts Read More…
CASPER, Wyo. — Under current Wyoming law, people can get married or enter civil unions if they are at least 16 years of age. The Wyoming Legislature will consider a “child marriage restriction” bill that would raise the minimum age to 18. Both parties entering into marriages or unions would need to be 18. The proposal would Read More…
Spirits were high even as the beer ran low on a recent evening at the Great Northern Brewing Co., the Flathead Valley’s oldest craft beer establishment slated to close its doors in Whitefish’s downtown corridor next month. The iconic brewery at 2 Central Ave. has punctuated the north end of Whitefish since opening along the Read More…
BOZEMAN- What is the Dolly Parton challenge? It’s four photos of what could be your profile photos for social media sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Tinder. Montana Senator Jon Tester got in on the fun but added a twist. Instead of using a “Tinder,” photo he used a “Farmersonly,” photo. READ FULL STORY
U.S. Senator Steve Daines, R-Montana, announced Thursday he will be introducing bipartisan legislation to protect the civil liberties and privacy of Montanans from government spying programs. Daines’ bipartisan bill reforms Section 215 of the Patriot Act, which the National Security Agency has used to create a secret mass surveillance program that swept up millions of Read More…
Berkadia secured $30.3 million in financing for Talus Apartments, a 288-unit garden-style multifamily community in Great Falls, MT. Seattle-based Investors Capital Group, LLC, was the borrower. The 10-year Freddie Mac loan features a full-leverage loan with partial-term interest-only. Located at 2100 26th St. S, the community was constructed in two phases from 2015 to 2018. Read More…
Two decades ago, four Montana hospitals tried something new. They bankrolled a company to compete with the most powerful insurer in the state. The hospitals wanted to challenge what they described as Blue Cross Blue Shield of Montana’s “dominating presence.” So they founded insurer New West Health Services in 1998 to cover hospital employees and Read More…