Sen. Tim Sheehy’s bipartisan VA Home Loan Awareness Act has officially become law as part of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, which took effect July 11 after President Trump declined to sign the broader housing package, allowing it to become law automatically under the Constitution’s 10-day rule. The legislation, the first bill Sheehy Read More…
Gov. Greg Gianforte suspended Public Service Commissioner Brad Molnar without pay for one year, effective immediately, citing findings from two independent investigations that concluded Molnar had engaged in sexual harassment, retaliation against staff and fellow commissioners, and continued retaliation after being warned to stop. The action, taken Thursday, is believed to be the first time Read More…
Legislation meant to protect American teens and children online recently passed the U.S. House with strong bipartisan support, but civil liberties groups are warning that the bill could have unintended consequences. The Kids Internet and Digital Safety (KIDS) Act, which passed the House in a bipartisan 267-117 vote, is a compilation of bills that, among Read More…
The U.S. Department of the Treasury released an analysis of the first filing season under the Working Families Tax Cuts, the sweeping tax legislation President Trump signed into law one year ago, showing American families and workers claimed more than $82 billion in individual tax relief through the April filing deadline. According to Treasury’s analysis, Read More…
Sen. Tim Sheehy’s bipartisan VA Home Loan Awareness Act has officially become law as part of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, which took effect July 11 after President Trump declined to sign the broader housing package, allowing it to become law automatically under the Constitution’s 10-day rule. The legislation, the first bill Sheehy Read More…
Gov. Greg Gianforte joined Janicki Industries leadership to break ground on the company’s $800 million, 1.6 million-square-foot manufacturing campus in Great Falls, marking the formal start of what is expected to become one of the largest private investments in Montana’s recent history. The ceremony brought together Janicki leadership, state and local officials, and members of Read More…
Gov. Greg Gianforte suspended Public Service Commissioner Brad Molnar without pay for one year, effective immediately, citing findings from two independent investigations that concluded Molnar had engaged in sexual harassment, retaliation against staff and fellow commissioners, and continued retaliation after being warned to stop. The action, taken Thursday, is believed to be the first time Read More…
Legislation meant to protect American teens and children online recently passed the U.S. House with strong bipartisan support, but civil liberties groups are warning that the bill could have unintended consequences. The Kids Internet and Digital Safety (KIDS) Act, which passed the House in a bipartisan 267-117 vote, is a compilation of bills that, among Read More…
The U.S. Department of the Treasury released an analysis of the first filing season under the Working Families Tax Cuts, the sweeping tax legislation President Trump signed into law one year ago, showing American families and workers claimed more than $82 billion in individual tax relief through the April filing deadline. According to Treasury’s analysis, Read More…
A Gallatin County man accused of strangling his now-deceased wife has been offered a plea deal that would result in no prison time, drawing public outrage and calls for the Montana attorney general to intervene — the latest controversy for a county attorney’s office already embroiled in a lawsuit over its refusal to cooperate with Read More…
Billings Police Chief Rich St. John announced Friday he plans to retire Sept. 30, ending a 45-year law enforcement career in Montana’s largest city and one of its most crime-challenged. St. John began his law enforcement career in 1981 as a Billings patrol officer, a role he held for six years before moving into the Read More…
Two hundred and fifty years after 56 delegates affixed their signatures to the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia, the United States is marking its semiquincentennial — one of the rarest milestones a nation can reach — with a yearlong wave of celebrations, commemorations and reflection stretching from coast to coast. July 4, 2026 is the Read More…
Montana Commissioner of Securities and Insurance James Brown announced that a series of enforcement settlements with entities that failed to properly file required notices of business activity in Montana has added roughly $60,000 to the state’s Securities Fraud Restitution Assistance Fund in 2026. The fund provides financial assistance to Montana residents harmed in cases prosecuted Read More…
The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced it will accept large philanthropic contributions of publicly traded stock to support Trump Accounts, the federal child investment program launching July 4 to coincide with America’s 250th anniversary. Under the new process, eligible philanthropic contributors may transfer approved publicly traded stock to Treasury, which will then distribute the Read More…
A watchdog group wants the Department of the Interior to investigate whether the National Wildlife Federation misused federal grant money tied to political spending in Montana’s 2024 U.S. Senate race. The Center to Advance Security in America (CASA) filed the complaint Thursday with the department’s inspector general. The complaint says the Bureau of Land Management Read More…
The U.S. Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision on Monday, ruled that states can accept and count mail-in ballots received after the federal Election Day. The decision comes out of the high court’s ruling in Watson v. RNC, a case challenging Mississippi’s acceptance of mail-in ballots up to five days after Election Day as long Read More…
Seth Bodnar has spent his Senate campaign positioning himself as a red-state outsider unbeholden to party machinery, but the financial picture behind his candidacy tells a more complicated story than the independent label suggests. Bodnar has led the field in fundraising, pulling in more than $2 million since March, and has collected endorsements from prominent Read More…
Western Montana Congressman Ryan Zinke celebrated the release of $53,889,068 in Payments in Lieu of Taxes funding for Montana counties, an increase of more than $7.3 million over 2025 disbursements. As a member of the House Appropriations Committee and the Interior Appropriations Subcommittee, Zinke said he played a major role in securing the funds. “Public Read More…
Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen led a coalition of 23 state attorneys general in urging the U.S. Senate to confirm Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche as the next attorney general of the United States. In a letter sent to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Grassley, Ranking Member Richard Durbin and other committee members, Knudsen urged Read More…
(The Center Square) – Betting on a football score isn’t gambling. At least not according to the federal Commodities Futures Trading Commission. The commission recently proposed rule changes to strengthen its governance over prediction markets and sports betting. The changes involve how the panel defines “gaming” and “gambling.” The proposal defines limitations for the CFTC’s Read More…
The Center Square) – Minnesota’s special districts reported $5.4 billion in outstanding long-term debt in 2023, while increasingly relying on state funding as pandemic-era federal aid declined. This is according to a new report from the Minnesota Office of the State Auditor. The 91-page report examined 572 special districts that submitted financial data to the auditor’s Read More…
Army Pvt. Joe Gandara was a paratrooper who fought in France during World War II. Little is known about him other than that he was the son of Mexican immigrants. However, his bravery and selflessness earned him a posthumous Medal of Honor — nearly 70 years after he sacrificed himself to save his battle buddies. Read More…
(The Center Square) – American voters believe building more data centers in the United States are not worth the potential strain on local electricity, water and infrastructure and that the negatives outweigh the importance for national security and competing with China, according to a new poll. The Center Square Voters’ Voice Poll found that 54% Read More…
Attorney general says MVD will waive renewal and replacement fees in July for Montanans adding the state’s new eagle-in-flight citizenship marker Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen announced that the state’s Motor Vehicle Division will waive certain driver license and identification card fees throughout July for residents who add the state’s new citizenship marker to their Read More…
Siding with SpaceX and the attorney general’s office, the Texas Supreme Court on Friday ruled that environmental groups did not have a right to sue to preserve public access to a beach that has been closed during rocket launches. The unanimous ruling said a trial judge properly dismissed the lawsuit with prejudice, meaning the groups Read More…
A Montana ballot initiative promising to strip dark money from elections is itself being bankrolled almost entirely by a so-called dark money organization — a glaring contradiction that even its own organizers can barely keep a straight face about. The Montana Plan, known as Initiative 194, is being pushed by the Transparent Election Initiative, a Read More…
(The Center Square) – The U.S. Department of Education confirmed a whistleblower’s allegations that the agency violated a federal court order while handling Title IX cases tied to gender identity and sexual orientation, according to the U.S. Office of Special Counsel. OSC told President Donald Trump and Congress this week that the department’s supplemental investigation backed Read More…
A Montana district court judge has dealt a significant blow to embattled state Sen. Jason Ellsworth, rejecting all five motions filed by his attorneys seeking to dismiss a criminal corruption charge — while simultaneously reinstating him to office after a suspension tied to the ongoing case. Ellsworth, a Hamilton Republican and former Senate president, was Read More…
Elon Musk’s SpaceX priced its initial public offering Thursday, raising $75 billion and cementing the rocket maker’s place among the world’s most valuable companies in what stands as the largest IPO in U.S. history. On Friday, Wall Street delivered its verdict: investors wanted in. The offering valued SpaceX at approximately $1.77 trillion at its IPO Read More…
Montana State University student Peyton Summerhill has wanted to be a scientist for as long as she can remember. “For so many years as a kid, I was looking around trying to figure out where the scientists were, and they were here the whole time,” said Summerhill, who grew up in Bozeman and is majoring Read More…
KALISPELL, Mont. — Kristopher Schreiner, an 18-year veteran of Kalispell Middle School’s history department, was named the 2026 Centennial Bell Montana History Teacher of the Year, recognized for an immersive approach to Montana history that has students mining for gold, tanning hides, and constructing log cabins alongside traditional classroom instruction. The awards committee selected Schreiner Read More…
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — A federal jury convicted four current and former leaders of the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers on racketeering, embezzlement, and fraud charges, finding that they stole millions of dollars in union dues through lavish foreign travel, no-show jobs, unauthorized loans, and personal expenses charged to the union over a 15-year period. The Read More…
HAMILTON, Mont. — The Department of Justice charged two researchers from the Rocky Mountain Laboratory in Hamilton with conspiracy to smuggle monkeypox into the United States and making false statements to federal law enforcement, U.S. Senator Tim Sheehy announced. The two researchers charged were Vincent Munster and Claude Kwe, both foreign nationals working at the Read More…
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate confirmed Katie Lane to a lifetime appointment as a federal district court judge for the District of Montana on Tuesday in a 52-46 party-line vote, with all Republicans in support and all Democrats opposed. Lane, 34, a Bozeman native who most recently served as an attorney for the Republican National Read More…
The Las Vegas Strip is facing a wave of consolidation unlike anything seen in a generation, with two major casino takeover deals announced in the span of days that could fundamentally reshape the American gaming industry. Media mogul Barry Diller’s holding company People Incorporated — formerly known as IAC — submitted a non-binding proposal Monday Read More…
WASHINGTON — Kevin Warsh begins his first full week as chairman of the Federal Reserve today with markets watching closely for early signals on monetary policy direction as stubbornly high inflation complicates the new chair’s opening days in office. Warsh was sworn in May 22 in a White House ceremony — the first time a Read More…
Montana voters will cast ballots Tuesday in primary elections that will shape the state’s most competitive federal races of the 2026 cycle, with talk radio host Aaron Flint entering primary day as the clear frontrunner in the Republican contest for the Western Congressional District. Flint carries the full weight of the Republican establishment behind him, Read More…
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order directing federal health officials to review and potentially update the United States’ childhood vaccine schedule to better align with practices in peer developed nations, citing findings that the U.S. currently recommends more childhood vaccines than any comparable country. The order directs the Centers for Disease Control Read More…
HELENA, Mont. — Independent U.S. Senate candidate Seth Bodnar appears on track to qualify for Montana’s November general election ballot after county election officials certified more than 18,000 signatures and forwarded them to the Secretary of State’s Office for final verification, according to an unofficial tally released Friday. Bodnar’s campaign needed 13,327 valid signatures to Read More…
WASHINGTON — Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen joined Vice President JD Vance, the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, and attorneys general from 15 other states at an anti-fraud roundtable focused on combating wasteful spending, abuse, and fraud in federal benefit programs including Medicaid and SNAP. The White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud Read More…
The Department of War has awarded $27.3 million to Pacific Scientific Energetic Materials Company, bringing its total investment in the solid rocket motor supply chain to $191 million since December 2024, as the Pentagon moves aggressively to close production gaps in a segment it considers strategically vital. The latest award, funded through the Defense Production Read More…
As the fourth largest state in the U.S. with the sixth smallest population, each agency relies on another for niche expertise, whereas bigger agencies can potentially accomplish everything on their own, said Adam Pankratz, deputy chief of Montana State University’s police department. These relationships start to form during basic training, which 14 future officers from Read More…
Montana has vaulted from 22nd to 8th in national fiscal health rankings over the past four years, according to a new report from Truth in Accounting, a nonpartisan think tank that annually evaluates the financial condition of all 50 states. The 2025 Financial State of the States report credited Montana’s rise in part to revenues Read More…
Six Montana airports will share more than $25 million in federal grants to fund a range of safety and infrastructure improvements, the office of Rep. Ryan Zinke announced, with the largest single award going to Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport for a taxiway extension project. The grants come from the Federal Aviation Administration’s Airport Improvement Program Read More…