U.S. Sen. Tim Sheehy is leading a bipartisan effort in the Senate to expand free access to national parks and federal recreation lands for law enforcement officers and firefighters, including wildland firefighters. Sheehy, a Montana Republican, joined Sen. Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., in introducing the Law Enforcement Officer and Firefighter Recreation Pass Act, legislation that Read More…
A new Government Accountability Office (GAO) investigation has uncovered massive fraud and systemic weaknesses in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace, including fake identities receiving subsidies, misuse of Social Security numbers, billions in unreconciled payments, and insurers collecting tax credits for deceased individuals. The report validates longstanding Republican concerns that the ACA subsidy system lacks Read More…
Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen has called on the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) and the Attorney General Alliance (AGA) to deny membership to Virginia Attorney General-elect Jay Jones, citing a series of “abhorrent” text messages Jones sent in 2022 that expressed violent fantasies toward his political opponent and the opponent’s children. The texts Read More…
More than 32,000 Montana businesses will see a reduction in unemployment insurance (UI) tax rates in 2026, resulting in over $23 million in savings, the Montana Department of Labor & Industry announced. “By reforming our tax code and cutting back the thicket of red tape tying up job creators, we’re helping Montana businesses grow and Read More…
BISMARCK, N.D. – North Dakota regulators say the state’s oil production remained at a near-record level in March. The Department of Mineral Resources says the state produced an average of 1.39 million barrels of oil daily in March. That was down from a record 1.4 million barrels a day from the record set in January. Read More…
Top Democrats in Montana and Washington are really excited about Gov. Steve Bullock running — for the Senate, not the presidency. The Montana governor’s seemingly quixotic presidential run comes as nearly everyone in the party is begging him to challenge GOP Sen. Steve Daines and transform the 2020 Senate map. Unlike any other Democratic candidate Read More…
U.S. Sen. Jon Tester has entered into an agreement to write a memoir, Publishers Weekly reported in its April 22 edition. It is to be co-written by Aaron Murphy, the former chief of staff for the Montana Democrat, the article stated, adding a fall 2020 publication date is planned. Tester entered into an agreement with Read More…
BOZEMAN – As the opioid crisis and drug epidemic deepen nationwide, we’re feeling the effects right here in Montana. So far this year, law enforcement in southwest Montana have seized nearly 35,000 grams of drugs, ranging from marijuana to meth to prescription drugs. They’re already on track to surpass last year’s seizures of close to Read More…
Helena Mayor Wilmot Collins announced Monday that he will seek the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate next fall, becoming the first to challenge incumbent Republican Sen. Steve Daines. “I’ve traveled this state, from every corner of this vast, rugged state. And what remains consistent is that for far too long and far too often, we Read More…
Meth isn’t a new problem for Montana, but it is a growing problem. For members of law enforcement and state prosecutors, it’s growing at an alarming rate. For instance in 2018, the Eastern Montana High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Program seized more than 129 pounds of meth. At $80 a gram on the street, that Read More…
BILLINGS, Mont. — A Montana man has been charged with defrauding a Canadian financial institution of $43 million by posing as a legitimate business owner. Todd Capser was arrested Wednesday in Billings, Montana. Prosecutors in New York said Capser defrauded the Toronto, Canada, entity and tried to defraud nine other institutions of between $46 million Read More…
MISSOULA – Move over, White Claw. This month, Big Sky Brewery unveiled its own brand of spiked seltzers, featuring flavors familiar to the Treasure State. Though the Big Sky Spiked Seltzer is a far different beverage than longtime flagship beers such as Moose Drool and Summer Honey, the company says Spiked Seltzer still follows the Read More…
Everything goes through a lifecycle, and operating systems are no different. They start out as new and fresh and full of possibilities and go through an explosive phase of stratospheric growth. This is the exciting period. But going along with that growth are the inevitable teething troubles or bugs and problems and sleepless nights. And Read More…
HELENA — Gov. Steve Bullock signed or let become law 76 bills Tuesday, including ones to crack down on sexual abusers of children and to increase funding for state parks. But he also vetoed eight measures sponsored by Republicans, including a bill touted by GOP legislative leaders as a key economic-development incentive, creating tax credits Read More…
HELENA – Montana health leaders are reminding the public to take precautions this spring to avoid exposure to hantavirus. Hantavirus is spread through urine and droppings from infected rodents – most commonly deer mice – and can lead to a serious respiratory disease. The Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services says spring and Read More…
U.S. Sen. Steve Daines pushed ahead Wednesday with an attempt to cut retirement benefits to Indian Health Service pediatrician Stanley Patrick Weber, who sexually assaulted Blackfeet children. The Republican senator for Montana questioned Assistant Surgeon General Michael D. Weahkee on Wednesday about Indian Health Service’s handling of reports against Weber. The questions came as the Read More…
The Democratic Party is about to get its 21st candidate vying for the chance to face President Trump in the 2020 race for the White House. Montana Gov. Steve Bullock, 53, will announced his bid for the White House in two weeks, according to MTN News. The 53-year-old, who has served for two terms as Read More…
U.S. Rep. Greg Gianforte met with state telecommunication leaders Monday in Bozeman to understand how best to develop technology policies that benefit Montanans. “Rural broadband is critically important for our economy, for telecommuters, it’s important for health care delivery, it’s important for education and yet we’ve had a digital divide between rural areas and urban Read More…
Tragedy struck the Wyoming football team over the weekend. Hayward High School defensive end Naphtali Moimoi, a Wyoming signee, is missing and presumed dead after being swept out to sea. According to ABC News, Moimoi fell off a boogie board on Thursday at Poplar State Beach near Half Moon Bay in California. The strong current Read More…
BILLINGS – A Billings high school sophomore got the chance to meet some ranking Montana politicians after she won the Montana “Teenpreneur” challenge. Kathryn Brower and her business, 406 Lips, rose to the top out of about 87 participants. She creates lip balm holders made out of fabrics. Brower was inspired to create the holder after she ruined a load Read More…
BILLINGS, Mont. — A nine-mile (14.5-kilometer) stretch of abandoned railroad in southwest Montana will be resurrected to once again carry Yellowstone National Park-area tourists. The Billings Gazette reports that the Custer Gallatin National Forest last week announced approval of a nonmotorized, multi-use path along the old Oregon Short Line rail bed between West Yellowstone and Read More…
Bozeman commissioners continued their push for citywide high-speed internet, which would take a lot of buy-in from businesses and developers to become a reality. City commissioners declared broadband an essential piece of Bozeman’s infrastructure with a unanimous vote Monday. “The future belongs to the connected and the internet is both the workplace and the marketplace Read More…
There may be a new candidate running for the Montana gubernatorial election in 2020. In an statement sent to KFBB, a spokesperson for Congressman Greg Gianforte wrote, “With the strong encouragement he receives as he meets with Montanans throughout the state, Greg is seriously considering a run for governor.” Gianforte was sworn into Congress in Read More…
MISSOULA, Mont. – Volunteers are working hard to get a former firefighting plane ready to travel to France for the 75th anniversary of D-day. The 75-year-old WWII area Dakota DC-3 known as Miss Montana hasn’t flown since it landed in Missoula in 2001. But that won’t stop volunteers from getting her back in the air. Read More…
HELENA, Mont. — An Albanian national who talked about joining ISIS and attacking random people to avenge a shooting at a New Zealand mosque was arrested at a gun range in Montana, authorities said Thursday. Fabjan Alameti, 21, appeared before a U.S magistrate judge Thursday on charges of possession of a firearm by an unlawful Read More…
It’s a well–worn idea that bitcoin is helping to trash the planet, throwing fuel on an already burning world while providing value to very few people. By one recent estimate, the energy used to keep the network going, a process known as mining, is enough to power Hungary. But now a Montana county in the Read More…
GREAT FALLS – A retired Great Falls priest intends to plead guilty to a receipt of child pornography charge. Court documents indicate that Lothar Konrad Krauth, a retired Catholic priest, plans to change his plea to guilty at a hearing next week. Court documents state Homeland Security agents received a cyber report from the National Read More…
State Rep. Tom Winter, a Democrat from Missoula, is running for Montana’s sole seat in the U.S. House in 2020. The seat is held by U.S. Rep. Greg Gianforte, a Republican who is expected to announce a 2020 bid for governor. Winter, 32, is the first to announce for the U.S. House seat. In 2018 Gianforte Read More…
HELENA – A new report shows a slow decline in Montana’s homeless, although there’s still the population of one of our small towns that don’t have shelter on any given the night. That’s the data shared Monday as the first-ever statewide conference on homelessness opened in Helena. The numbers, which are based on the most Read More…
Montana Attorney General Tim Fox joined with the Ohio attorney general, both Republicans, to oppose a ruling by a federal judge in Texas that struck down the Affordable Care Act last year. The ACA, also known as Obamacare, is still in place as the case moves through the appeal process. The Texas judge in Read More…
A district judge on Friday overturned a state decision allowing a Creston water-bottling facility to begin production near the Flathead River, ruling that the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation erred when it granted a permit that would have allowed a company to produce more than 1 billion 20-ounce bottles per year. The order Read More…
If you are planning on driving anywhere and look up from the pump at the price of gas, you might be noticing an uptick in cost. According to the fuel price tracker Gas Buddy, prices are expected to climb for the sixth straight week across the country. Right now, the average price of gas across Read More…
A Montana-based organization is helping jump start high-tech startups through a business pitch competition held in Missoula, Billings and Bozeman to encourage tech industry development and job opportunities. Early Stage Montana, a nonprofit coalition, is looking for entrepreneurs who need help planning and growing their businesses. Participants will pitch their business plans and products to Read More…
MISSOULA, Mont. — Many outdoorsmen are still celebrating after President Donald Trump signed the Public Lands Package into law. The U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resource Committee Chairman, Lisa Murkowski and Senator Steve Daines discussed the recent legislation at the Wild Sheep Foundation in Bozeman Sunday. The president signed the bipartisan John D. Dingell Jr. Read More…
KALISPELL, Mont. — Dozens of Montana National Guard soldiers have returned home following a nine-month deployment to Afghanistan. The Daily Inter Lake reports soldiers from the 495th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion arrived at Glacier Jet Center in Kalispell late Saturday, greeted by a crowd of family and friends. U.S. Army Cpt. Dan Bushnell says the Read More…
GREAT FALLS – Youth Dynamics reports that every year almost 4,000 Montana children enter foster care due to abuse, neglect and other serious difficulties within their families. “There’s nowhere near that many homes,” Youth Dynamics Family Development Coordinator Bethany Grohs said. Grohs says there is a need for more couples to become foster parents, “I would Read More…
Scott Sales, Montana Senate President, was a guest on The KMMS Morning Soapbox with Tom and Shane today. In a KMMS exclusive interview Sales announced his proposed run for Montana Secretary of State replacing Cory Stapleton who is running for Governor of Montana. (Listen to the entire interview below) Scott has served as both the Read More…
Bozeman lawyer Matthew Monforton has asked the Gallatin County District Court to review the decision by the Office of the Commissioner of Political Practices to dismiss his ethics complaint against the office’s former commissioner, Jonathan Motl. Monforton, a former Republican state representative, is accusing Motl of illegally using public resources to oppose the 2016 reelection Read More…
The Montana School Choice case ruled unlawful by the Montana Supreme Court has officially been appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. Lead attorney for the Institute for Justice headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, Erica Smith, said the appeal was filed early Tuesday morning. “The Montana Legislature passed this program in 2015, and it’s been helping lots Read More…
A Montana State Fair carnival worker has been arrested in connection to a 2017 sexual assault. Lyle Oka made his initial appearance for one count of sexual intercourse without consent. In July of 2017, the Cascade County Sheriff’s Office responded to Benefis Health System for a report of a sexual assault, according to court documents. Read More…
BISMARCK, N.D. – Once again the North Dakota unemployment rate is lower than the national rate of 4.4 percent. The state stands at 3 percent for January. That’s even with a labor force loss of more than 9,000 since 2014. In a North Dakota Job Service release, it says the greatest loss was from 2017-2018 Read More…
BOZEMAN- Nonprofit Serenity Ranch, which provides equine therapy for women veterans, is trying to raise $300,000 after a barn roof caved under heavy snow. The Serenity Ranch’s double mission is to take in unwanted horses while providing equine therapy programs for female veterans. The owners were asleep in bed in the early hours of the Read More…
U.S. Customs and Border Protection recently proposed to cut hours for four of Montana’s 16 ports of entry. The proposal would affect ports in Morgan, Opheim, Raymond and Scobey. The following changes would take place if the proposal is passed. Port of Raymond, which is currently open 24 hours, would be closed between the hours Read More…
BISMARCK, N.D. — The North Dakota Legislature wants to make sure that when consumers buy meat, they know they’re buying “the edible flesh of an animal born and harvested for the purpose of human consumption,” and not something developed in a lab. The Senate on Monday, March 4, passed House Bill 1400, which defines meat Read More…