The U.S. Senate passed the bipartisan Fire Ready Nation Act by unanimous consent, advancing legislation aimed at strengthening the nation’s ability to prevent, forecast, and combat wildfires. The bill, introduced in January by Senator Tim Sheehy (R–Mont.) and Senator Maria Cantwell (D–Wash.), formally establishes the Fire Weather Services program at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Read More…
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…
In the summer of 2007, an independent energy company installed a meteorological tower to test the wind conditions on a ranch in Carbon County. The results revealed what most residents living in and around Rawlins already knew: The site boasted ferocious wind speeds, making it an ideal spot to build one of the country’s most Read More…
Every election season folks usually ask us, who should we vote for when it comes to judges or city council races? Normally, city council elections in Billings are relatively sleepy and it is hard to distinguish between the various candidates. Not this year. There is a very philosophical contrast between most of the candidates on Read More…
The Montana Democratic Party will soon start searching for a new executive director. Monica Lindeen will step down from her post as executive director of the Montana Democratic Party by year’s end. You know, I think it’s time that somebody else step into a position like this,” Lindeen says. It’s been just over ten months Read More…
Booker has at least four Chicago-area fundraisers Thursday, according to invitations obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times, returning to the city for the first time since July. The tab for each event ranges from $250 to $2,800. At 1 p.m. Booker will be in Highland Park for a reception, with the hosts including activists Dana Gordon and Read More…
For four terms I served at the Montana Legislature representing HD 36. One thing has become obvious; conservative legislation can be vetoed by a liberal governor. For eight years there has been conservative legislation passed by the House and Senate, but the measures were dead on arrival at the governor’s desk. In 2020 we are Read More…
HELENA, Mont. – Three Small Business Development Centers are expanding access to services and outreach to rural areas by hiring additional staff to better serve small business owners and entrepreneurs across Montana. The Great Falls SBDC, based at the Great Falls Development Authority (GFDA), has hired a rural business adviser – a new position created to make business Read More…
BILLINGS, Mont. — A Montana landowner is suing the National Park Service and U.S. Forest Service to halt the hunting of bison just outside Yellowstone National Park’. The complaint filed by Gardiner, Montana landowner Bonnie Lynn and Neighbors Against Bison Slaughter contends the agencies have failed to analyze the consequences of the hunt on private property Read More…
According to the Montana Census Complete Count Committee, Montana will need thousands of U.S. Census workers to help complete the 2020 census. The census helps determine how much federal money Montana will receive for things like infrastructure, medical assistance, educational programs, and public assistance. Currently, Montana receives about $2 billion in federal funds each year Read More…
A Helena man is accused of filming himself undressing a girl under the age of 16. 20-year-old Ching Man Chan has been charged with one count of sexual abuse of children , a felony. Chan allegedly filmed himself lifting the bra off a underage girl. His bond was set at $25,000 and he will make a plea Read More…
BISMARCK, N.D. — An interim study committee of the North Dakota Legislature met for the first time Oct. 3 on how to make changes in grain regulation in the wake of scandals like the Hunter Hanson Ponzi scheme. The joint House and Senate Agriculture and Transportation Committee heard a number of policy possibilities, some Read More…
FARGO, N.D. — Microsoft Corp. on Thursday, Oct. 17, announced a $1.5 million, three-year investment into the Fargo-based tech firm Emerging Prairie to help build what Microsoft calls the farm of the future at Emerging Prairie’s Grand Farm project. Among the dignitaries attending the event at the Microsoft campus in Fargo were North Dakota Gov. Read More…
CASPER – At the close of the 2020 census, Wyoming’s lawmakers – like those in half the states around the nation – will sink their teeth into the arduous task of drawing up the legislative districts that will decide the landscape of the state’s elections over the next decade. The Joint Committee on Corporations, Elections Read More…
CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) – Wyoming officials say a Cheyenne man has grown a pumpkin that weighs in at 1,491 pounds, a new state record. The Wyoming Tribune Eagle reported Thursday Andy Corbin grew the gourd in his backyard. For perspective, scientists say newborn elephants weigh about 200 pounds on average. READ FULL STORY
All panics begin with a rational fear that quickly turns dangerously irrational. A threat is identified. The danger posed by the threat is amplified by speculation. Worst case scenarios are obsessed about, and action is demanded. Discussion of unseen consequences are discouraged. Skepticism of the threat is met with suspicion or anger. The current panic Read More…
It’s a fascinating time for fintech. What was once a disruptive force in the financial world has become standard practice for many industry leaders. Fintech industry funding has already reached new highs globally in 2018, with overall funding hitting $32.6 billion at the end of Q3. Some new regions, including South America and Africa, are Read More…
A Boeing pilot warned about problems with the flight-control program on the 737 Max that was implicated in two fatal crashes, said he “unknowingly” lied to regulators, and told the Federal Aviation Administration not to include the system in pilot manuals before regulators deemed the plane safe for the public in 2017, according to messages released Friday. The messages Read More…
Wall Street’s final act of 2019 will hinge on whether investors should believe the messages being sent by corporate credit, crowd consensus and the calendar characteristics. The broad market has been a sloppy stalemate between supportive and antagonistic forces for many months: The S&P 500 is hovering around the 3000 level it first reached in Read More…
Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard fired back this afternoon at Hillary Clinton over comments she made suggesting the Hawaii congresswoman and 2020 candidate is being groomed by the Russians. Clinton said in a recent interview, of the Russians, “I think they’ve got their eye somebody who’s currently in the Democratic primary and are grooming her to be the third-party candidate. She’s a Read More…
Joe Biden’s presidential campaign is hitting major bumps at a critical moment in the 2020 campaign. A little more than three months before the Iowa caucuses, the former vice president is widely seen as having lost his front-runner position to Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.). He’s an underdog in Iowa, is coming off another forgettable debate performance and Read More…
PG&E Corp. PCG +2.84% ’s chief executive said Friday that it could take as long as 10 years for the company to improve its electric system enough to significantly diminish the need to pull the plug on customers to reduce the risk of sparking fires. Bill Johnson, who joined the company in May, made the disclosure at a California Read More…
Mark Juras of Montana completed his 3,500-mile rowing adventure Thursday that took him from the Treasure State to the Gulf of Mexico in about four months, and reinforced claims about the astounding power of Gorilla Tape. “I finally made it to the ocean today,” the 32-year-old Great Falls resident said in a telephone interview. “It Read More…
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The world’s first all-female spacewalking team made history high above Earth on Friday, replacing a broken part of the International Space Station’s power grid. NASA astronauts Christina Koch, who resides in Livingston, Montana, and Jessica Meir completed the job with wrenches, screwdrivers and power-grip tools, it marked the first time in a Read More…
The Department of Energy cited the same arguments as the Pentagon for why it is unable to cooperate “at this time” with House committees’ subpoena for documents related to President Trump’s efforts to push Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden. The big picture: As Axios first reported, President Trump told House Republicans that he made his now infamous phone call to Ukrainian Read More…
Julián Castro’s presidential campaign rolled out dozens of endorsements Monday from current and former state and local elected officials, activists, community leaders, party leaders and Latino leaders. In a bid to make a splash before Tuesday’s primary debate in Westerville, Ohio, Castro released a list of 50-plus endorsements first obtained by POLITICO. Castro is among the dozen Read More…
Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the brash Saudi crown prince who strode confidently onto the world stage two years ago, now cuts a much-diminished, if not humbled, figure. His regional strongman reputation is blunted and his much-vaunted economic plans have failed to move the needle. Pressured into an apparent acceptance of responsibility for the murder of the Saudi Read More…
NBC News on Monday pushed back hard against damning claims made about the network in Ronan Farrow’s new book, Catch & Kill, dubbing some of the allegations a “smear,” “lie,” and “conspiracy theory.” In a lengthy memo sent to staff, NBC News President Noah Oppenheim attempted to fact-check Farrow’s assertion that network higher-ups had advanced knowledge Read More…
Los Angeles (AFP) – Basketball superstar LeBron James was accused of turning a blind eye to Chinese repression on Tuesday after he criticized a Houston Rockets executive for angering China with a “misinformed” tweet supporting protesters in Hong Kong. James told reporters that Rockets general manager Daryl Morey “wasn’t educated” on Hong Kong and should Read More…
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Officials say 40 percent of South Dakota’s corn supply is used for ethanol production. Today Senator John Thune visited one of the world’s largest producers of ethanol following a big announcement from the Trump Administration. Last week the administration announced plans to implement new rules that will increase demand for ethanol, which Read More…
North Dakota’s Commerce Department improperly contracted work for the state’s new logo last year, according to state Auditor Josh Gallion. Gallion’s regular, two-year audit of Commerce found that two temporary employment contracts, totaling about $87,160, should have been treated as one, which would have required soliciting informal bids or proposals through state procurement requirements. Read More…
FORT WASHAKIE — A Wyoming tribe said Monday that it is planning to start allowing its citizens to hunt off-reservation, months after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling affirmed a different tribe’s treaty right to hunt outside of its reservation. Pointing to rights guaranteed in an 1868 treaty, leaders of the Eastern Shoshone Tribe told the Read More…
BOZEMAN — There was a silver lining to that Montana State loss over the weekend to Sacramento State. Not only were fans surprised to hear that Kenny Chesney will be coming to Bobcat Stadium in July, but more importantly, MSU announced that it has raised the $18 million for its new athletic complex. Construction on Read More…
For four terms I served at the Legislature and one thing has become obvious: liberal governors veto conservative legislation. For eight years conservative legislation has passed the House and Senate but are dead on arrival at the governor’s desk. In 2020 we have the best opportunity in 16 years to take back the Governor’s Read More…
GREAT FALLS — With hunting season in Montana right around the corner, it’s time for hunters to start getting prepared. But what about the meat processing companies? For about five weeks at the end of every year, meat processing companies see their business skyrocket. To make sure that everything is ready for the start of Read More…
In the early 1990s, Wilmot Collins and his wife, Maddie, escaped the Liberian Civil War. Broke and starving, they ended up in Helena, Mont. “Why do you think we fled?” Collins asked. “We fled because we wanted a second chance.” Soon after moving to their first home, a neighbor knocked on their door and alerted Read More…
Where is Montana Attorney General Tim Fox these days? I have attempted to contact his office three times in the past month regarding a complaint I filed against a Montana Highway Patrol trooper back in July, but Fox’s silence has been deafening. After forwarding my complaint up the MHP chain of command without resolution, Read More…
CASPER — A leading air ambulance company formally voiced its opposition to an ambitious plan by Wyoming policymakers to make aerial emergency transports a public utility funded under Medicaid in an effort to curb the cost of the flights. But the comment may be a moot point, as the federal government has signaled to state Read More…
The proposed sale of Blackjewel LLC mines in Wyoming includes a plan to pay all the company’s employees whose last checks bounced in early July. According to an Oct. 7 court filing, Blackjewel hoped to close the sale of the Wyoming properties yesterday. Last week, a West Virginia federal bankruptcy court tentatively approved the sale Read More…
Apple Inc. and Google both removed apps associated with Hong Kong’s antigovernment protests from their digital stores in recent days, thrusting the two Silicon Valley giants into the controversy engulfing U.S. companies related to the unrest. Apple removed from its App Store a crowdsourced map service that allows Hong Kong protesters to track police activity, Read More…
In July, Wealth-X released their findings on which US colleges have produced the most millionaires. The study focused on those alumni deemed to be ultra-high net worth (UHNW) individuals: those with fortunes of $30 million or more. The report analyzed the Wealth-X database of the world’s wealthiest people and used Wealth-X’s Wealth and Investable Assets Model to estimate the number Read More…
Republican Greg Gianforte turned in another impressive quarter of fundraising for his 2020 gubernatorial run this weekend, bringing his four-month total to $1.09 million – more than twice as much as any other rival in either party. Gianforte, currently Montana’s sole U.S. House member, reported raising $507,000 for the past three months, adding to the Read More…