BOZEMAN — A 3-foot tall robot with blinking LED eyes delivered a shovel to Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte on Wednesday afternoon at the groundbreaking for Gianforte Hall at Montana State University, a new three-story building which will house computer science and related fields of study. The Gianforte Family Foundation donated $50 million to help fund Read More…
(The Center Square) – Requiring publicly traded companies to make climate-related disclosures has voluntarily been put on hold by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The SEC’s move came before a decision was reached by the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. John Rady, counsel for the SEC in the case, notified the court in a Read More…
(The Center Square) – A veteran advocacy group has called on the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for better outcomes on a range of metrics as the agency seeks a bigger budget. VA is charged with providing medical care, benefits and other services for those who have served in the military. It’s one of the Read More…
HELENA – Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen, along with ten other attorneys general, filed a lawsuit Thursday against the Biden administration’s unconstitutional student loan forgiveness scheme. The lawsuit is the 40th that Attorney General Knudsen has filed against the Biden administration. Department of Education is wrongfully interpreting the Higher Education Act and bypassing Congress by Read More…
(The Center Square) – California lawmakers are pushing for new exemptions to the state’s fast food minimum wage as controversy erupted over the state’s reported exemption for Panera Bread. California Gov. Gavin Newsom approved an exemption to the state’s $20 per hour minimum wage for fast-food employees to national fast-food chains with bakeries that sell Read More…
(The Center Square) – North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum said a protest over the Dakota Access Pipeline was a “disaster” for the state during a court hearing Monday over whether the federal government should reimburse the state for $38 million in costs related to the pipeline. More than 5,000 people camped near the pipeline site Read More…
(The Center Square) – Sweeping a fourth consecutive primary by double digits, former President Donald Trump left South Carolina victorious on Saturday and on a roll heading into Michigan on Tuesday. Nikki Haley, two-term governor of South Carolina and a former United Nations ambassador in Trump’s administration, was overwhelmed in unofficial totals. The race was Read More…
In a recent SurveyUSA poll commissioned by NonStop Local, the results show that Governor Greg Gianforte is currently in the lead with a 22-point advantage over Democrat candidate Ryan Busse. According to the poll, 52% of Montanans expressed their intent to vote for Governor Gianforte, while only 30% favored Busse. The remaining 18% either remain Read More…
MISSOULA – Spring semester enrollment is rising again at the University of Montana, marking the sixth consecutive semester of enrollment growth at the public flagship institution. UM reports 10,349 students enrolled in classes this spring, a 2.4% increase over the spring 2023 semester. More students are enrolled at UM for spring semester than any year Read More…
BOZEMAN – Spring enrollment at Montana State University set a new all-time record, with 16,110 students attending classes at the state’s largest university. It’s the first time in the university’s 131-year history that the spring headcount has surpassed 16,000. The new total represents a 3% increase over last spring, or 393 students. It’s the fourth Read More…
(The Center Square) – Texas is building a new military base camp at the border to continue its efforts to block illegal entry from Mexico. Gov. Greg Abbott made the announcement on Friday in Eagle Pass, Texas, with Adjutant General of the Texas National Guard Major General Thomas Suelzer and border czar Mike Banks. The Read More…
(The Center Square) – A Congressional watchdog said Friday that it was again unable to determine if the federal government’s consolidated financial statements were reliable. The U.S. Government Accountability Office, which is Congress’s research arm, said it was hampered by “serious financial management problems at the Department of Defense,” problems in accounting for transactions between Read More…
MISSOULA – Brandon Travis admits some of his favorite college memories involve doing taxes. Before you judge him, know the University of Montana alum appears outwardly normal. The 24-year-old hails from the tiny town of Sand Coulee near Great Falls, where he graduated in a class of 10. He then attended UM, where he earned Read More…
(The Center Square) – President Joe Biden is facing the fallout of a last-minute, messy press conference late Thursday where he attempted to defend his mental fitness but appeared to only amplify concerns. Biden called the press conference after the Special Counsel tasked with looking into his handling of classified documents announced Biden had committed Read More…
(The Center Square) – A federal district court judge has denied a request by the Biden administration to dismiss a lawsuit Texas filed in an attempt to stop the administration from implementing a new asylum policy it argues is contrary to one established by Congress. U.S. District Court Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, who presides over the Read More…
Former Montana Governor Marc Racicot has joined a court filing aimed at preventing former President Donald Trump from appearing on the 2024 ballot. Racicot, alongside former governors Bill Weld of Massachusetts and Christine Todd Whitman of New Jersey, submitted an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court, which is deliberating on whether Colorado can exclude Read More…
BOZEMAN — Accounting students from Montana State University’s Jake Jabs College of Business and Entrepreneurship are offering free help preparing tax returns for MSU students and individuals who made less than $60,000 last year. The 2024 help sessions will be held on the MSU campus in Jabs Hall, Room 215, from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. on the following dates: Feb. Read More…
BOZEMAN — An internationally recognized scholar will discuss rural education in the next installment of Montana State University’s 2023-24 Provost’s Distinguished Lecturer Series. Jayne Downey, professor in the Department of Education in the College of Education, Health and Human Development and director of the MSU Center for Research on Rural Education, will deliver “Rural Education Read More…
(The Center Square) – Montana plans on suing the federal government over its recent decision to list wolverines as a threatened species. Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks on Friday filed a notice of intent to sue the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service after the agency in November moved to list wolverines in the contiguous U.S. as Read More…
(The Center Square) – Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold filed a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in the case involving former President Donald Trump’s removal from the 2024 Colorado Republican presidential primary ballot. The brief comes after Griswold recently petitioned the court to argue her side of the case along with attorneys for Trump Read More…
(The Center Square) — New York Republicans are calling for the deportation of a group of undocumented migrants who were released without bail after a brutal beating of two NYPD police officers in Times Square. The officers were assaulted attempting to break up a disorderly crowd outside of a Midtown migrant shelter on Saturday night, Read More…
(The Center Square) – There were 371,036 foreign nationals reported to have illegally entered the U.S. nationwide in December, the largest number for the month in U.S. history. There were 302,034 foreign nationals who illegally entered the southwest land border, with the majority, 249,785, being apprehended between ports of entry, according to U.S. Customs and Read More…
The second space shuttle launched by NASA to enter space was the Challenger. Tragically, during its 10th mission on January 28, 1986, just 73 seconds after liftoff, the Challenger exploded, resulting in the loss of all seven crew members and bringing about lasting changes to NASA’s space program. Prior to this devastating incident, the Challenger Read More…
Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen spearheaded a coalition urging the Biden administration to maintain the operations of a significant commercial ammunition manufacturing plant. This call to action was prompted by requests from Democrat attorneys general to investigate the plant, a move that could disrupt production, diminish ammunition supply, and compromise national security. In a letter Read More…
(The Center Square) – Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, defeated by former President Donald Trump in New Hampshire on Tuesday, has vowed to continue her quest for the Republican nomination in the 2024 presidential election. The voters in the state she once led may be the last remaining hope. While Nevada is next for Republicans, Read More…
By Brett Rowland | The Center Square (The Center Square) – A new poll shows that Democrats and Republicans are concerned more about inflation than other potential crises, but voters from the two parties don’t see eye to eye on other concerns, including the potential of a terrorist attack on U.S. soil or potential chaos Read More…
Despite being characterized by various media outlets as a key moderate figure, Senator Jon Tester of Montana demonstrated strong support for President Joe Biden’s positions on legislation and nominees, aligning with them over 99% of the time during the 117th Congress, as per a scrutiny of his voting record. Tester, facing a challenging re-election bid, Read More…
(The Center Square) – With presidential primary season under way, the majority of Americans disapprove of the job President Joe Biden is doing as president, according to a new poll. The Center Square’s Voter’s Voice Poll found that 59% of likely voters disapprove of the job Biden is doing as president, while 39% say they Read More…
(The Center Square) – An illegal foreign national in Montana faces up to 40 years in prison after pleading guilty in Bozeman to mitigated deliberate homicide for stabbing a man to death. Francisco Padilla Canales initially pled not guilty and faced charges including deliberate homicide, aggravated kidnapping, tampering with witnesses and information, and aggravated burglary. Read More…
(The Center Square) – Less than two months before implementation, a federal law impacting gig workers is being challenged in a Georgia court. Founders of Fight for Freelancers, a coalition of more than 2,500 independent contract workers in varying professions, seeks an injunction to prohibit enforcement of the new law announced this month by the Read More…
BOZEMAN – Montana State University, the state’s largest research entity and a designated Carnegie R1 institution, has received a $500,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to significantly expand its computational infrastructure for research. The grant was awarded to MSU’s Research Cyberinfrastructure Core Facility, which manages the advanced information technology systems that support large research Read More…
Scheduled for a mail-in ballot this March, the $4.6 million levy, if sanctioned, will finance the acquisition of new equipment and the recruitment of additional personnel for Kalispell’s police and fire departments. After experiencing a rise in call volumes and delayed response times over the years, Kalispell city officials are initiating an educational campaign ahead Read More…
(The Center Square) – The U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security is holding its second hearing next week as part of its efforts to bring impeachment proceedings against Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. The hearing will examine the human cost of the border crisis, and witnesses will testify as to how they’ve been Read More…
(The Center Square) — New York City Mayor Eric Adams is considering a curfew at the city’s homeless shelters amid complaints about migrants shoplifting and wandering neighborhoods begging for money. The Adams administration is considering the plan as the ‘sanctuary’ city continues to wrestle with the influx of tens of thousands of asylum seekers arriving Read More…
On a single night in 2022, 582,462 people experienced homelessness in the United States, and numbers are on the rise. Since 2017, there has been a 6% increase in homelessness. About six in 10 of the people experiencing homelessness in 2022 had access to emergency shelters, transitional housing programs, or safe havens, while the remainder Read More…
Montana’s Attorney General, Austin Knudsen, declared his candidacy for re-election in November, emphasizing his commitment to combating drugs and crime, challenging the perceived detrimental effects of the Biden administration’s agenda on Montanans, and safeguarding the freedoms and liberties of the state’s residents. As the leader of the Montana Department of Justice, overseeing agencies such as Read More…
(The Center Square) – The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit ruled against a Biden administration effort to require emergency room doctors to perform abortions, the latest step in an ongoing legal battle that could end up at the U.S. Supreme Court. In the case in question, State of Texas v. Becerra, the Read More…
In a press conference held Thursday to observe Human Trafficking Awareness Month, Governor Greg Gianforte was joined by Attorney General Austin Knudsen, law enforcement officials, and nonprofit leaders. Governor Gianforte expressed his strong stance against human trafficking, condemning the perpetrators who prey on individuals and engage in heart-wrenching crimes. He emphasized Montana’s unwavering commitment to Read More…
(The Center Square) – Former President Bill Clinton is among several high-profile names identified in nearly 1,000 pages of unsealed court documents stemming from a defamation lawsuit related to Jeffrey Epstein. The documents released out of the Southern District Court of New York Wednesday evening, were filed by Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre against Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s Read More…
The competition for control of the U.S. Senate in 2024 is already underway, with Republicans strategizing to flip the chamber. In the upcoming election cycle, a total of 34 Senate seats are at stake. Democrats face the challenge of defending 23 seats, while Republicans have to protect only 11. The majority of competitive seats currently Read More…
As Human Trafficking Awareness Month begins, Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen urges Montanans to familiarize themselves with the indicators of human trafficking and report any instances they observe to aid the state in combating this reprehensible crime. In a stern message, he warns human traffickers and their accomplices against conducting business in Montana, emphasizing that Read More…
Montana Highway Patrol Sgt. Jay Nelson has verified the evacuation of the Montana State Capitol in response to a bomb threat received around 8:30 a.m on Wednesday. MHP troopers efficiently cleared the Capitol, evacuating both staff and visitors. This incident is part of a series of threats directed at state capitol buildings on Wednesday morning, Read More…
(The Center Square) – Starting Monday, electronic cigarette products will be banned inside public places in Illinois. Kristina Hamilton of the American Lung Association said the association has been leading the charge to encourage states to expand their smoking bans to include e-cigarettes. A coalition of partners across Illinois have been working with the association Read More…
(The Center Square) – Americans pay hundreds of dollars per year in taxes on their wireless “family plan” for their cell phones. The Tax Foundation research shows the average American household with four phones would pay about $300 per year in taxes on a family plan costing $100 per month. “Since 2012, the average charge Read More…