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…
Montana judge James A. Manley had previously ruled that the state’s Public Service Commission (PSC) had violated the rights of developer MTSUN by cutting both the rates paid for electricity and contract lengths under the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (PURPA), for the express purpose of undercutting the viability of solar power. This was in Read More…
BISMARCK — A panel charged with selecting members of North Dakota’s new state government ethics commission identified two dozen candidates for further consideration during a meeting at the state Capitol Friday, June 21. Members of the selection committee, composed of Gov. Doug Burgum and the Senate’s majority and minority leaders, each brought their own list Read More…
A statewide education group introduced a program Thursday that will help adult students in Wyoming learn skills that lead to secure employment. The program will be called Wyoming Works, the Wyoming Education Attainment Council Executive Committee announced. “We are not only advancing our post-secondary attainment goals, but also ensuring Wyoming citizens have high-quality credentials to Read More…
Former Wyoming Rep. Cynthia Lummis (R) on Thursday officially filed to run for outgoing Sen. Mike Enzi’s (R-Wyo.) seat in 2020. Lummis, a former member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, previously represented the Equality State as the state’s lone House representative, but opted not to seek reelection in 2016. Enzi, 75, in May announced his plans to retire from Read More…
While California may have a population nearly forty times greater than Montana, utility consumers are still subject to the same vulnerabilities. With current technology, the best way to protect utility customers from an energy shortage is through an increase in available, reliable, baseload power. Out-of-state and foreign interests are applying increased pressure on lawmakers, Read More…
GTUIT, LLC, Billings, MT was awarded the EcoStar Pollution Prevention Award for 2019. The award was presented at a reception hosted by Governor Bullock at the State Capitol Rotunda in Helena. The award recognizes GTUIT for taking environmentally responsible steps to reduce air emissions in oil producing regions, maximize upstream oil and gas operation efficiencies, conserve Read More…
Montana’s Lt. Governor Mike Cooney met with radio and television executives at the Montana Broadcasters Association convention at Big Sky on Sunday morning. Cooney provided a preview of the discussion with KGVO News on Saturday night. “We’re going to talk about the importance of the census to all the people of Montana, and we’re going Read More…
The US may have withheld a physical military response to Iran shooting down a drone, but it might not have shown similar restraint with a digital campaign. Washington Post sources say the President greenlit a long-in-the-making cyberattack that took down Iranian missile control computers on the night of June 20th. The exact impact of the Cyber Command operation Read More…
New investigative documents released by a state agency have given fresh life to lingering questions about the marital history of Rep. Ilhan Omar and whether she once married a man — possibly her own brother — to skirt immigration laws. Omar has denied the allegations in the past, dismissing them as “baseless rumors” first raised Read More…
The U.S. Supreme Court, approaching the end of its current term, is due to issue rulings in the coming days in major cases including the Trump administration’s bid to add a contentious citizenship question to the 2020 census and efforts by voters to curb the partisan manipulation of electoral district boundaries. The court, which has Read More…
Senate hawk Tom Cotton, R-Ark., on Sunday said Iran is ”steadily marching up” the “escalation ladder” in its provocative acts against the United States. In an interview on “Fox News Sunday,” Cotton said there needs to boundaries set by the United States for Tehran. Iran is “steadily marching up the the chain, attacking vessels at sea, unmanned American Read More…
DARBY — Republican Sen. Steve Daines heard from Trapper Creek Job Corps employees about the president keeping the program open in Darby on Friday. “I was just a kid growing up in Montana like many of you have done and are doing,” Daines said at the event. “And it was an honor for me to Read More…
HELENA — John Mues, who survived a Canyon Ferry Lake diving accident that left another man dead during the filming of a political ad for Mues’ possible U.S. Senate run in 2020, issued a statement Thursday. Mues, from Loma, called the accident on Monday “tragic” and said he and his wife extended “our deepest condolences” Read More…
RED LODGE – Beartooth Pass is now completely open, according to a press release Sunday afternoon. It is completely open on both the Montana and Wyoming sides. The status of the pass can change quickly due to adverse weather and rock/snow slides, however. Drivers are asked to use caution. READ FULL STORY
The possibility of a nurse’s union forming at Kalispell Regional Healthcare is coming to a tipping point as employees gear up to cast their votes on the matter during a two-day union election slated for July 11-12— a fast-approaching resolution hospital officials say could signal an end to the hospital’s independence, should they vote in Read More…
CHARLESTON, S.C. — There was a time not so long ago when leading Democrats warned that Elizabeth Warren’s “fantasy-based blue-state populism” risked leading the party to ruin. But in a revealing tell of how far her campaign has come since its early February launch, some unlikely voices in the center of the party are growing Read More…
A man was arrested after attempting to rush through the security checkpoint and attack Transportation Security Administration officers at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport on Tuesday morning, according to a statement from the TSA. At about 9:45 a.m., multiple TSA officers were attacked inside Terminal 4 when a man, later identified as Tyrese Garner, 19, attempted to rush Read More…
CASPER — With a rate of uninsured children that’s double the national average, Wyoming has been ranked second to last in the United States for children’s health in a national study for the second consecutive year. Overall, the Equality State ranked 21st for children’s well-being on the Kids Count report, which is released in June Read More…
BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR)- April’s oil production numbers are in, and they remained almost flat from March. Natural gas production reached an all time high with 2.8 billion cubic feet produced per day. 81% was captured statewide,which is below the goal of 88%. Mineral and Gas Division director Lynn Helms gave examples of how some companies are Read More…
BISMARCK — North Dakota state officials are dusting off plans to construct a new “financial services center” after budget woes delayed the building project. Four years ago, state lawmakers authorized the use of $17 million in assets from the state-owned Bank of North Dakota for the project, which would house the Department of Commerce, Read More…
Acadia Montana, the troubled residential psychiatric treatment facility for children that has operated in Butte under several different names and owners over the past 31 years, announced Tuesday it will close. It was not immediately clear how many jobs would be lost, though Butte-Silver Bow Chief Executive Dave Palmer said the number could be more Read More…
In a media release issued Tuesday night, Gallatin County Sheriff Brian Gootkin delivered the following message to anyone seeking the Forrest Fenn Treasure in the area of Yellowstone National Park: “In the last couple years, two people have died, two have been rescued near death, several have had run-ins with local and federal law enforcement, Read More…
Forty-four Montanans Complete Premier Leadership Development Program, 19 Complete new Masters Class BOZEMAN – Leadership Montana announced the graduation of 44 community, business, education, healthcare, nonprofit and government leaders from across the state for the Class of 2019 of its flagship leadership program. Leadership Montana presents an annual seven session program of leadership development, education about Read More…
Montana’s congressional delegation made a successful bipartisan push Wednesday to advance legislation that would, for the first time, federally recognize the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians. According to a press release sent to MTN News, Sens. Steve Daines and Jon Tester have stapled their tribal recognition bill as an amendment to must-pass defense spending Read More…
BISMARCK, N.D. – On Flag Day, senators Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., and Steve Daines, D-Mont., introduced a constitutional amendment that would allow Congress to prohibit the desecration of the American flag. In a press release Friday, Cramer said “A flag worth dying for is a flag worth protecting. While we should always be mindful of First Amendment rights, Read More…
HELENA – Congressman Greg Gianforte, Montana’s lone U.S. House member, has officially launched his 2020 campaign for governor. Gianforte, a Republican, made the announcement during a speech at the Montana Republican Party’s state convention in Helena. He told the group that he had heard from people around the state, asking him to consider running for governor. “They’ve Read More…
Former Speaker of the House and current Roosevelt County Attorney Austin Knudsen is seeking the Republican nomination for Attorney General now that Tim Fox has termed out and entered the gubernatorial race. Knudsen appeared on KGVO’s Talk Back show and spoke critically of the present Attorney General’s leadership especially in the area of crime control. Read More…
Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg reached out to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., in recent weeks to discuss how his company handles viral misinformation, but she has not called him back or personally replied, according to two people familiar with the exchanges. Pelosi’s decision not to engage with Zuckerberg, one of the most powerful technology Read More…
In 1995, Sen. Joe Biden offered high praise for William Barr, the once and future attorney general who has been roundly criticized by Democrats for his handling of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report on the 2016 election. “As I know you know, but others should know, too, I truly enjoyed working with you when you Read More…
Idaho Gov. Brad Little plans to lead a trade delegation to Taiwan and Hong Kong this fall. The Idaho Wheat Commission June 7 said the trade mission presents an opportunity to recognize loyal client millers in Taiwan and to explore ways to grow that business. Wheat growers from the state have exported for more than Read More…
The constitutionality of South Dakota’s protest laws will be argued in a Rapid City courtroom on Wednesday. Arguments in the American Civil Liberties Union’s lawsuit against Gov. Kristi Noem, Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg and Pennington County Sheriff Kevin Thom are scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Rapid City. The Read More…
Very soon, an unmanned aircraft will be able to launch from the Montana border of North Dakota and fly to the state line of Minnesota uninterrupted and hundreds of miles away from its pilot. The North Dakota Legislature passed a bill this year infusing $33 million into UAS, $28 million of which is earmarked for Read More…
State lawmakers finalized the interim committee assignments today. The groups will look at various issues over the next 18 months, but today’s meeting might have created another one. Democrats wanted to chair three or four committees and ended up with one. House Minority leader Josh Boschee, D-Fargo, says they had an agreement with republican leadership. Read More…
CASPER – Hospitals in Wyoming charged private insurance plans more than three times what Medicare would pay for the same care in 2017, according to a national study that looked at 14 hospitals here and nearly 1,600 facilities statewide and found further evidence that the Eq-uality State has a serious problem with health-care prices. “What Read More…
Gov. Steve Bullock got a boost in his bid for the White House on Sunday with the endorsement of fellow Montana Democrat Sen. Jon Tester, who, like Bullock, has managed to win several statewide elections in a deep-red, predominantly rural state. Bullock unveiled the endorsement on “Face the Nation” Sunday, saying he’s “awfully excited” about the announcement. Read More…
MISSOULA – Montana boaters will see another mandatory inspection this summer. A new aquatic invasive species (AIS) rule calls for all watercraft with ballast tanks or bladders to be decontaminated upon entering the state or crossing the Continental Divide into the Columbia River Basin. READ FULL STORY
The first Democratic candidate for Montana governor has filed her paperwork with state regulators. Former state Rep. Reilly Neill registered Saturday with the state commissioner of political practices office. She pledges to carry on Gov. Steve Bullock’s legacy on her campaign website . The 45-year-old Neill represented Livingston in the Montana House between 2013 and Read More…
GREAT FALLS- State Rep. Casey Schreiner announced he’s running for the 25th Governor of Montana. He’s the second Democrat to announce a big for the race, after Livingston’s Reilly Neill. A native to Great Falls and a representative in Montana State Legislature House District 26, Schreiner made his announcement on Facebook this morning, June 11th, Read More…
The Montana Highway Patrol and local authorities near Bozeman, Montana were called to a crash scene in which a semi-tractor trailer careened off a roadway, and millions of bees were released. The incident happened at an intersection — the truck’s trailer overturned. Assistant Fire Chief Brian Nickolay told media it was an unusual rescue scene for his crew Read More…
Montana Gov. Steve Bullock isn’t one of the leading Democratic contenders for the 2020 presidential nomination, but he’s learning how to turn a Republican attack into an asset for his campaign. On May 29, the GOP-affiliated Senate Leadership Fund started a television ad campaign in the Missoula media market, according to Kantar/CMAG, and the message went Read More…