A class-action lawsuit filed by two Montana property owners alleges the Montana Department of Revenue (DOR) used illegal appraisal methods that artificially inflated property valuations statewide, forcing many taxpayers to pay more in property taxes than required by law. Attorneys from Silverman Law Office and Edwards & Culver filed the lawsuit Feb. 2 in Madison Read More…
President Donald J. Trump officially launched TrumpRx.gov, a new federal platform designed to provide Americans with direct access to dramatically lower prices on dozens of high-cost, brand-name prescription drugs. The platform is built on landmark Most-Favored-Nation pricing agreements negotiated with leading pharmaceutical manufacturers, aligning U.S. drug prices with the lowest paid in other developed nations. Read More…
he Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) announced Friday, Feb. 6, that it has signed an administrative consent order with Montana Resources (MR) to resolve a water backflow incident that occurred in Butte last summer. The agreement concludes DEQ’s enforcement investigation into the event. The consent order details actions Montana Resources has taken since the Read More…
Senator Sheehy (R-MT) joined Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) in introducing the Carbon Resource Innovation Act, a bipartisan bill designed to expand the 45Q carbon capture tax credit to include innovative technologies that capture carbon in solid or liquid forms. Supporters say the legislation will incentivize responsible forest management, reduce wildfire risk, and create economic opportunities Read More…
It’s a good problem to have: how to spend $1.25 billion to restart Montana’s economy. That’s one of the big challenges as Montana begins to take steps to become one of the first states in the nation to lift its stay-at-home orders. Last week, Gov. Steve Bullock appointed a 26-member task force, charged with offering Read More…
MISSOULA — Some Anaconda area landowners still have a chance to force the Atlantic Richfield Co. remove more arsenic from their property. On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision that Montana’s courts and laws can play a role in federal Superfund decisions. However, the court also decided – not quite unanimously – Read More…
The central Chinese city of Wuhan, where the novel coronavirus first appeared late last year, revised its death toll sharply higher on Friday. Local authorities changed the previous figure of 2,579 to 3,869, China’s state-run Xinhua News Agency reported. The change, 1,290 additional deaths, is an increase of almost exactly 50%. Officials also added another 325 Read More…
A federal judge in Montana has thrown out a key permit needed for a developer to complete the Keystone XL pipeline. U.S. District Judge Brian Morris of Great Falls ruled Wednesday that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers improperly granted a permit to developer TC Energy to cross waterways to build the pipeline. The order Read More…
MISSOULA — The University of Montana on Monday placed 63 employees on temporary furlough, saying the financial strain brought on by the coronavirus pandemic necessitated the decision. The university reached out to the individuals on Monday and issued a campus-wide memo later in the day announcing the decision. The workers will remain on furlough through Read More…
HELENA, Mont. — Montana Gov. Steve Bullock says he doesn’t have a timeline for things to return to normal in Montana after the coronavirus outbreak. He spoke to residents in a telephone town hall on Monday, saying he’ll continue issuing his stay-at-home orders in two-week intervals based on advice from medical professionals. Bullock says indicators such Read More…
BILLINGS – Girl Scouts of Montana and Wyoming (GSMW) are sending cookie donations to hospitals throughout Montana and Wyoming during the pandemic, they announced Monday. GSMW are giving a total of 8,000 boxes of cookies as a thank you to healthcare employees at 13 hospitals in Montana and Wyoming. READ FULL STORY
KALISPELL — A seventh COVID-19 related death is being reported in Montana. The Flathead City-County Health Department confirmed Monday the first death related to COVID-19 in Flathead County. The individual was over the age of 65 and was a resident of Flathead County who had had underlying health conditions, according to a news release. “We Read More…
The Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) has seen about a sharp drop in reports of child abuse and neglect since the Governor directed schools to close to slow the spread of COVID-19. From Mar. 8-14, which was the week prior to the closures, 765 calls a week were made on average Read More…
BILLINGS, Mont. — A Canadian company said Monday that it’s started construction on the long-stalled Keystone XL oil sands pipeline across the U.S.-Canada border despite calls from tribal leaders and environmentalists to delay the $8 billion project amid the coronavirus pandemic. A spokesman for TC Energy said work began over the weekend at the border crossing Read More…
Glacier National Park has awarded its labor services contract for the 2020 Visitor Transportation Service to LC Staffing of Kalispell. The contract with the company is valid for up to two years and provides drivers, dispatchers and supervisors for the park’s 35-bus fleet that provides shuttle service along the Going-to-the-Sun Road. Jim Foster, chief of Read More…
Violators of Yellowstone County and Montana state orders to limit group gatherings and maintain social distance could face up to 90 days in jail and fines, county officials said during a news conference Wednesday in Billings. Law enforcement officers said they will not be stopping drivers on the road for no reason or putting up Read More…
Unemployment claims have spiked to 6.65 million across the country, the Department of Labor said in a press release on Thursday. Unemployment claims have doubled since last week when the Labor Department reported that about 3 million people were seeking unemployment. That figure was already by far the highest number of unemployment claims the department had ever seen. READ Read More…
Montana colleges and universities stand to receive $31 million from the $2 trillion coronavirus relief package just passed by Congress. Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana, announced the aid to higher education in a news release Monday, saying it was part of a total of $1.25 billion heading to Montana local governments, small businesses and individuals for Read More…
After a hopscotching process, Montana got the OK to call off standardized testing for students usually required by the federal government. The move had been likely since the U.S Department of Education indicated that it would offer statewide testing waivers as most of the nation’s public schools closed because of the new coronavirus. Montana education officials Read More…
On Thursday, March 26, Governor Steve Bullock clarified essential businesses and operations in a Directive where he declared Montanans must shelter in place and stay at home. We have summarized the list of essential businesses and operations listed in the Directive: Businesses that sell, manufacture or supply needed products: Stores that sell groceries, medicine, including medication Read More…
Even though the Montana Science Center is temporarily closed, executive director Abby Turner was keeping an eye out for what the center could be doing for Bozeman. “We had been watching the ways that people are helping out,” Turner said. “For us, we knew that some of the resources that we had available at the Read More…
LIVINGSTON — One day late last week, Dan Vermillion, owner of Sweetwater Travel in Livingston, woke up to a flurry of emails. There were seven different requests to book his vacation rentals for up to six months. Normally, a booking is three days, five days, maybe a week. By: Johnathan Hettinger – Montana Free Press LIVINGSTON Read More…
While families’ cats and dogs are enjoying the upside of spending days with their owners working from home during the coronavirus shutdown, wild coyotes in San Francisco are reportedly also taking advantage of the benefits of a suddenly empty city. There have been several recent fake stories circulating about unusual wildlife showing up in cities during the Read More…
GREAT FALLS — Governor Steve Bullock on Thursday afternoon issued a directive requiring Montanans to stay home and temporarily closes all nonessential businesses and operations as efforts to curtail the spread of COVID-19 (coronavirus) continue. The order goes into effect at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday March 28; Bullock said implementation of the order will buy Read More…
BOZEMAN — An organic chemist from Montana State University is one of 25 educators in the 2020 class of Cottrell Scholars, an award honoring both academic leadership and innovative research in the physical sciences. Sharon Neufeldt, an assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry in MSU’s College of Letters and Science, received the award last month Read More…
In the spring of 2018, the Yale psychology professor Laurie Santos unveiled a new course, Psychology and the Good Life. The subject was happiness. Santos’ course was a blend of abstract and concrete. It combined positive psychology with the real-life applications of behavioral science. It debunked popular notions of what makes people happy (like the Read More…
Republican Greg Gianforte is continuing his prodigious fundraising in Montana’s 2020 gubernatorial race, blowing past $2 million for the campaign during the first two-and-a-half months this year – including a $500,000 loan he made to the campaign in February. In his report filed Friday, Gianforte said he raised another $390,000 from donors during the first Read More…
On March 11, before there were any confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Montana, 57 Montanans filed a new claim for unemployment benefits. On March 18, with 15 cases of the virus in the state, there were 2,830 new claims — an increase of nearly 50 times in seven days. Gov. Steve Bullock and the Department Read More…
BILLINGS – Hospitals and other medical facilities around the country have been facing a shortage of masks in recent weeks, as the threat of COVID-19 has spread. In Billings, surgeons who typically would use a new mask for every procedure have been asked to use just one mask a day so that they don’t eventually Read More…
HELENA – Secretary of State Corey Stapleton said earlier this week he was taking a “deliberate pause” before giving direction on the June 2 primary election as concerns increase about the coronavirus. “There’s been a lot of interest, a lot of questions about how the newly touched-down coronavirus could affect our elections,” he said in a Read More…
Congressman Greg Gianforte (R-Mont.) invited high school students in Montana to participate in the 2020 Congressional Art Competition. “Through the Congressional Art Competition, Montana’s high school students can showcase their talents. The winner’s artwork will hang in the U.S. Capitol where hundreds of thousands of visitors will see it,” Gianforte said. “I look forward Read More…
HELENA — The Montana High School Association executive board has decided to suspend spring activities across Montana following the growing threat and concern of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). “All MHSA spring activities will be indefinitely suspended until further notice,” stated a release sent Monday morning. “This includes practices and contests/meets/festivals.The Executive Board will reevaluate this Read More…
BILLINGS, Mont. — A Canadian company said Wednesday it has started preliminary work along the route of the proposed Keystone XL oil sands pipeline through the U.S. in anticipation of starting construction next month, as opponents await a judge’s ruling on their request to block any work. TC Energy spokeswoman Sara Rabern said the Calgary-based company Read More…
Update 4:50 p.m. Gov. Steve Bullock said in a news release that the Montana woman who tested positive for COVID-19 in Maryland was last in Montana in November 2019 and was not in the state during the 14-day incubation period. “Since the case was announced earlier today, public health officials have been working nonstop to Read More…
Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) on Monday unveiled a handful of proposals that he said Congress and the administration should enact amid growing concerns about the coronavirus’s impact on the economy. “I will be working with the Trump administration, Congressional Leadership, and Republicans and Democrats in both chambers to ensure these priorities are addressed and put forward to help Read More…
Ending days of speculation, Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock entered Montana’s U.S. Senate race Monday, immediately vaulting the contest into the top tier of Senate battles nationwide. Bullock, 53, who spent seven months running for president last year and had repeatedly rejected the idea of challenging Republican incumbent Steve Daines, announced his change of plans with Read More…
BIG TIMBER, Mont. – A Montana woman from Big Timber is being quarantined on a cruise ship where at least 21 passengers tested positive for coronavirus. Judy Vidack, a retired fourth grade teacher at Big Timber Grade School, announced on Facebook she is still aboard the ship and she is also feeling well. Vidak is Read More…
BOZEMAN, Mont. — The 14-year-old West Yellowstone boy accused of murdering his 12-year-old nephew will find out in July if he’ll be tried as an adult. A Gallatin County court will decide if James Sasser III will be tried as an adult on July 7. READ FULL STORY
Weeks after Hardin teen Selena Not Afraid’s body was found near an I90 rest stop, Big Horn County investigators are responding to tough questions and criticism from their own community. Last weekend, authorities released final autopsy results for the 16-year-old Not Afraid, who went missing on New Year’s Day from a rest stop between Billings Read More…
Edward Seidel, who touted economic development and the university’s role in enhancing the state’s economic well-being, has been unanimously selected to be the 28th president of the University of Wyoming. Currently the vice president for economic development and innovation for the University of Illinois System, Seidel was one of three finalists for the position. The Read More…
BUTTE – NorthWestern Energy’s Montana customers are reporting a scam demanding money for a meter change. The criminals leave a phone message saying the customers’ meter will be changed shortly with instructions to call a phone number. When the customer calls the number, they are told there is a fee and service will be disconnected Read More…
KALISPELL — Officials in Washington State reported Monday that four more people have died from the coronavirus bringing the state’s death toll to six and as the cases continue to add up, Flathead County officials are taking pre-preemptive measures to help contain a potential outbreak. Kalispell Regional Healthcare Chief Medical Officer Dr. Doug Nelson says Read More…
HELENA — U.S. Sen. Steve Daines is asking the federal government to delay enforcing Real ID requirements in Montana, as state authorities continue to issue compliant identification. Daines’ office announced Monday that the senator had sent a letter to President Donald Trump, asking for a one-year extension of the Oct. 1 enforcement deadline. In the Read More…
Montana schools are now mandated to test drinking water for lead, following state rule changes related to school health. Schools are required to test all fixtures that may “reasonably provide water for human consumption or for food preparation,” such as drinking fountains, water bottle refill stations and sinks. Schools may begin testing as early as Read More…