Gov. Greg Gianforte announced Montana will end the “orphan tax” — the longstanding practice of diverting Social Security survivor benefits from children in foster care to cover the cost of their state care — following a federal directive earlier this year calling on states to end the practice. For more than two decades, the Montana Read More…
Attorney General Austin Knudsen announced the Montana Motor Vehicle Division is extending its fee waiver for driver license and identification card renewals and replacements through September 30, following a strong response to the program that saw more than 18,000 Montanans add the new citizenship marker to their credentials in July alone. The waiver, originally set Read More…
Montana Sen. Tim Sheehy introduced two pieces of legislation in recent weeks — one bipartisan bill to strengthen Buy American requirements for school meals and one to extend nationwide concealed carry privileges to elite special operations veterans. On July 30, Sheehy and Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) introduced the American Food for American Schools Act, with Read More…
SpaceX posted its first earnings report since its record June IPO Tuesday, beating revenue estimates by a wide margin but sending its stock down roughly 8% in after-hours trading as capital expenditures came in far above expectations. The company reported revenue of $7.81 billion for the second quarter, up 92% from $4.1 billion a year Read More…
A fourth inmate at the Big Horn County Jail is facing 4 felonies following the escape of 3 inmates over a week ago. According to court documents, Casey Wallace Leider is accused assisting 3 individuals escape from jail. Leider faces 4 felony charges. They are Assault on a Peace Officer by Accountability, Aggravated Kidnapping, Criminal Read More…
The Justice Department announced Friday that it is closing its investigation of Andrew McCabe, the FBI’s former deputy director, over his false statements to investigators probing an unauthorized leak that McCabe had orchestrated. McCabe was fired in March 2018, shortly after a blistering Justice Department inspector general (IG) report concluded that he repeatedly and blatantly lied — or, as Read More…
Warren Buffett sold more than $800 million worth of Apple stock last quarter, according to SEC filings published on Friday. That might seem like a massive sale, but it’s closer to a rounding error for the billionaire investor and Berkshire Hathaway CEO. Berkshire is Apple’s biggest shareholder with a 5.4% stake worth $72 billion, according to Bloomberg data. Read More…
Democratic leftist superstar Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has risen to national – and even global – fame from an unlikely position as a young first-time congresswoman from New York. Related: ‘Try to keep up’: how Ocasio-Cortez upended politics in her first year in office But now she faces 13 different challengers, including from within her own party as well Read More…
RALEIGH, North Carolina — Michael Bloomberg is not a tall man. But his presidential campaign is very big. The sheer hugeness of the former New York City mayor’s campaign is its defining feature. It is the Death Star of presidential campaigns. Bloomberg employs more — much more — staff than any other candidate, and pays Read More…
BOISE — The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has become the first circuit in the nation to order a state to pay for an inmate’s gender confirmation surgery, ruling Monday that a three-judge panel decision will stand. Idaho Gov. Brad Little said he will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case. Read More…
CHEYENNE — For the second straight year, the Wyoming House of Representatives voted down a bill to restrict child marriages in Wyoming, even after the addition of several provisions intended to loosen the bill. The final vote was 31-28. Reps. Tyler Lindholm, R-Sundance; David Miller, R-Riverton; Jim Blackburn, R-Cheyenne; Jared Olsen, R-Cheyenne; and Cyrus Western, Read More…
The two Democrats with their eyes on Montana’s governor’s office took to the stage Wednesday night at MSU-Billings. Lt. Governor Mike Cooney and businesswoman Whitney Williams will face each other in the June 2 primary, but Wednesday night they faced the crowd and answered questions on a number of topics important to Montanans, including healthcare Read More…
MISSOULA — The Missoula Area Youth Hockey Association — along with numerous other non-profit organizations around the state — received word from Montana’s Motor Vehicle Division in September of 2019 that their specialty license plates were in danger of being revoked. Nonprofits were given until Dec. 31, 2019 to have 400 of their plates on Read More…
Current Montana State Auditor and Insurance Commissioner Matt Rosendale has received the official endorsement of President Donald Trump in his candidacy for the Republican nomination for the U.S. House of Representatives. KGVO News spoke with Rosendale after he received the news via a Presidential tweet. ‘Rosendale is a strong and conservative fighter for Montana. Matt Read More…
MISSOULA – Wednesday’s incident brought back painful memories for the Missoula Police Department. February 12, 2020, marked ten years since the death of MPD Sgt. Robert J. Heinle. Heinle was shot in the line of duty in 1998. The Missoula Police Department posted about the incident Wednesday morning hours before one of their officers was shot Read More…
A bill that would create both a personal and corporate income tax in Wyoming has been filed for the 2020 legislative session. You can read House Bill 147 here. The bill is a separate measure from House Bill 64, which is a proposed corporate income tax on companies with over 100 shareholders. House Bill 147 would impose a four Read More…
HELENA, Mont. – Nine Montana communities will share $118,000 through the Montana Main Street Program to support historic preservation, wayfinding, and revitalization plans for their downtowns. “Montana’s vibrant and charming towns are what attracts visitors, keeps residents and encourages downtown business growth,” Montana Department of Commerce Director Tara Rice said. “These Montana Main Street Program grant dollars Read More…
As America’s craft beer industry continues to boom, the waste it generates can pose challenges for sewer systems. But if it’s used in the right spot, in the right amount, it’s potentially beneficial and can actually save wastewater treatment plants money. In Bozeman, Mont., the Water Reclamation Facility treats more than 6 million gallons of Read More…
Attorney General William Barr has accepted an invitation to testify to the House Judiciary Committee on March 31, ending a year-long standoff that began when the panel first demanded his testimony in the aftermath of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation. The arrangement comes as Democrats have demanded answers about Barr’s apparent intervention in the sentencing of President Read More…
Democratic presidential hopeful Amy Klobuchar raised $2.5 million in four hours after her third-place finish in the New Hampshire primary, her campaign said on Wednesday, a boost as she tries to beef up her operations for the upcoming contests in Nevada and South Carolina. The moderate senator from Minnesota had languished in the middle of Read More…
The Montana Department of Environmental Quality has approved a $107 million plan to clean up the toxic coal ash pounds outside the Colstrip units 3 and 4. The plan for Colstrip operator Talen Energy would remediate the high levels of sulfates, boron, selenium and heavy metals that have been disposed into 462-acre ponds over decades Read More…
Montana West Economic Development is assisting the property holder of the Gateway Community Center in Kalispell by assigning an employee to serve as interim property manager to help “set the direction for sustainability” at the nonprofit campus. Kim Morisaki, MWED’s director of business development and marketing, began on Feb. 3 and will serve the role Read More…
Andrew Yang, a businessman who managed to whip up a coterie of ardent supporters online, announced that he would be dropping out of the presidential race just as the New Hampshire primary results started coming in. About half an hour later, Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet, who was profoundly losing to the write-in vote at the time of Read More…
INSTAGRAM comedians sparked panic when they pretended to spill coronavirus on a New York subway train. The jokers got on an L train in Brooklyn dressed in hazmat suits and carrying a plastic container filled with red liquid and covered in warning labels. They then tipped the contents on the floor and told passengers it Read More…
Rep. Ayanna Pressley said she intends to “bring the fire” if Americans don’t adopt her political ideology during a conversation with NPR’s Democracy Now as part of the nonprofit organization Rising Majority’s conversation with “the Squad.” “As I said when we were at the border, we’re going to keep telling and elevating these stories with the hopes Read More…
A Florida man was arrested Saturday and accused of driving his van through a tent where a local Republican group was registering voters, authorities and officials said. The man, Gregory William Loel Timm, 27, faces two counts of aggravated assault on a person 65 or older, one count of criminal mischief and one count of Read More…
It’s getting embarrassing at this point. The Left’s darling Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who is supposed to be ready to redesign the world with her Green New Deal, can’t stop putting her foot in her mouth and betraying her own ignorance. The latest own-goals from the New York Democrat and proud member of the Democratic Socialists Read More…
Amazon is seeking sworn testimony from President Trump and Defense Secretary Mark Esper after the corporation missed out on a $10 billion Pentagon contract last year, according to court documents unsealed Monday. Amazon Web Services alleges Trump is part of the reason why rival Microsoft won out instead. Amazon blames “improper pressure from President Donald J. Trump, who launched repeated public and behind-the-scenes attacks Read More…
(KUTV) — A cellphone belonging to missing Idaho teen Tylee Ryan was found in her mother’s possession, CBS News reports. Ryan and her 7-year-old brother Joshua “JJ” Vallow were last seen in September. Their mother, Lori Vallow, was found in Hawaii last month with her new husband Chad Daybell. CBS News reports that Ryan’s phone has been used several times after Read More…
President Donald Trump is working hard to convince enough African Americans to vote for him to make the difference in key states that could help him win the November election, Democratic strategist Jamal Simmons said on CBS’s “Face The Nation” on Sunday. “Trump is going very hard at African-American men, particularly younger African-American men,” Simmons said, Read More…
They can leap tall buildings in a single bound, defend the Earth from myriad alien threats and save the world on a daily basis. These days, they rule the box office and small screen as well. Comic-book superheroes are the gods of modern mythology and they have been a large part of Randy Sheppard’s life Read More…
Whitefish Police Chief Bill Dial says a judge should allow evidence and other confidential criminal justice information to come forward in his case against Mike Goguen, the prominent community benefactor Dial says launched a “malicious campaign” against him to tarnish his reputation and destroy his career. Dial filed his Jan. 30 legal brief in response Read More…
BILLINGS – Nina Schuett didn’t feel like her life quite – fit. “I’d never really felt too passionate about other things before,” Schuett said. “I liked volleyball, I liked doing swimming, but I felt that those were more of other people’s sports.” Older sister Ashley swam collegiately, and twin Gage always seemed to be a Read More…
Craig Bjorland didn’t get to see his stepdaughter graduate from military basic training in 2017. “I flew to Texas to go to her graduation and I wasn’t allowed on base because of my marijuana charge,” he said. Instead, he drove around Dallas in a rental car to kill time. In 2010, Bjorland was pulled 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…