Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen’s petition to the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) for a review of a Montana Supreme Court decision concerning parental rights in abortion cases has gained significant support. Five amicus briefs were filed urging SCOTUS to reverse a decision that, according to Knudsen, puts the health and safety of children at risk Read More…
A U.S. immigration judge ruled Friday that the Trump administration can move forward with its deportation case against Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University graduate student and prominent pro-Palestinian activist who was arrested in New York City last month. Judge Jamee Comans of the LaSalle Immigration Court in Louisiana stated she did not have the authority Read More…
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Thursday the termination of $5.1 billion worth of Pentagon IT and consulting contracts, targeting major firms such as Accenture, Deloitte, and Booz Allen Hamilton. The move, he said, is aimed at eliminating “wasteful spending” and redirecting funds toward core defense priorities. In a Department of Defense memo, Hegseth ordered the Read More…
The U.S. Senate confirmed retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Dan “Razin” Caine as the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in a 60-25 vote on Friday, officially filling the nation’s top military post nearly two months after President Donald Trump ousted the previous chairman. The confirmation vote came just before lawmakers departed Washington Read More…
HELENA – Sixty-one new officers who will serve in 36 agencies across the state graduated today from the Montana Law Enforcement Academy (MLEA) within the Montana Department of Justice. MLEA provides basic and advanced training for state, county, city, and tribal law enforcement officers throughout the state. Attorney General Austin Knudsen was in attendance to Read More…
(The Center Square) – A proposed Environmental Protection Agency rule that would monitor indirect wastewater discharges from slaughterhouses is unlawful and would be costly to businesses, 27 attorneys general said in a letter to the agencies. The EPA monitors wastewater discharge from 171 of the 5,055 meat and poultry product facilities in the United States, Read More…
(The Center Square) – Hearings are scheduled for a carbon dioxide pipeline initially rejected by North Dakota regulators, keeping the multi-state project alive. North Dakota regulators rejected Summit Carbon Solutions’ application for the CO2 pipeline. The company was allowed to re-submit the project. North Dakota is an essential state for the project. Summit has partnered Read More…
BOZEMAN – Montana State University has been named the No. 2 military friendly school in the nation in the annual listing published by the website MilitaryFriendly.com. MSU is the highest-ranked public university in its category, and this Top Ten ranking is the highest honor MSU has ever received from the organization. The Military Friendly Schools Read More…
BOZEMAN — Four undergraduate students from Montana State University have been awarded prestigious scholarships given by the Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation. The MSU recipients of the 2024 Goldwater Scholarships are Heath Caldwell, a junior from Clancy majoring in paleontology and organismal biology; Tyler Delridge, a junior from Missoula majoring in chemical Read More…
BOZEMAN — Nearly 900 middle and high school students from 80 teams across Montana will compete at the Montana Science Olympiad State Tournament, set for Friday, April 19, at Montana State University. The event features competitions in science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM, disciplines. Teams from Belgrade, Billings, Bozeman, Chinook, Choteau, Clancy, Conrad, Corvallis, Darby, Read More…
HAMILTON – Enrollment is again rising at Bitterroot College UM. Bitterroot College UM has 145 students enrolled this spring semester, which is 39% increase compared to last spring. For the past two years, the institution located in Hamilton has experienced steady student enrollment growth, and this trend continues into the current semester. “We are thrilled Read More…
(The Center Square) – Attorneys general from multiple states have petitioned the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to intervene in a lawsuit over a Department of Homeland Security asylum policy. DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas created the policy through a federal rule, the “Circumvention of Lawful Pathways,” which codifies aspects of the Los Angeles Declaration of Read More…
BOZEMAN – Morgan Radtke thought she wanted to be a doctor who treated humans, but the COVID-19 pandemic reduced the number of spaces for clinical shadowing in hospitals, leading her instead to intern in a veterinary clinic. The experience changed her life, reorienting her career ambitions, and now Radtke is a first-year student in the Read More…
BOZEMAN — Registration is now open for Montana State University’s STEAM Day on Saturday, April 13. The daylong program offers girls in grades 6-8 creative, hands-on workshops to explore science, technology, engineering, the arts and mathematics. MSU faculty and community members will teach workshops on topics such as astronomy, geology, robotics, health, engineering and microbiology. Read More…
A recent federal lawsuit challenges a Montana law aimed at promoting gender and racial diversity on state boards and commissions. The lawsuit, filed by the national organization Do No Harm, focuses on the Montana Board of Medical Examiners. This board oversees the licensing and regulation of healthcare professionals in the state. According to the complaint, Read More…
(The Center Square) – The Congressional Budget Office on Wednesday released a bleak outlook for the federal government with new projections that show debt levels will reach their highest levels ever in five years. “Debt held by the public, boosted by the large deficits, reaches its highest level ever in 2029 (measured as a percentage Read More…
(The Center Square) – Wyoming’s U.S. senators, John Barrasso and Cynthia Lummis, are not happy with the Environmental Protection Agency’s new vehicle emissions standards. The EPA says the new standards, which will be phased in from 2027 through 2032, are necessary to combat climate change and air pollution, cutting carbon emissions by 7 billion tons. The Read More…
Florida Republicans are raising alarms about the escalating crisis in Haiti, prompting them to reach out urgently to the Biden administration for assistance. In a move reminiscent of “Save Our Shores” (SOS), Republican Representatives Matt Gaetz, Gus Biliarakis, Anna Paulina Luna, and Daniel Webster of Florida penned a letter to President Joe Biden, invoking a Read More…
BOZEMAN — A chef with Montana State University’s Culinary Services Division will participate in a regional challenge on Monday that recognizes expertise and skill among collegiate dining professionals. The National Association of College and University Food Services’ Culinary Challenge will take place from 6 to 9 p.m. March 25 at the Greater Tacoma Convention Center Read More…
The Supreme Court is currently deliberating a case that pits the Biden administration against Republican-led states, focusing on the government’s role in addressing controversial social media content related to topics such as COVID-19 and election security. The dispute centers on whether the federal government has the authority to influence social media platforms to moderate or Read More…
MISSOULA – Neel Kashkari, the president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, will visit the University of Montana on Monday, April 8, to conduct a public townhall meeting. Kashkari, one of the nation’s leading monetary policymakers, oversees all operations of the bank and leads numerous initiatives that aim to improve the economic Read More…
BOZEMAN – Dr. Bruce Beutler, winner of a 2011 Nobel Prize, highlighted the importance of curiosity and access to research opportunities as he visited Montana State University this week to give a public talk and meet with students and faculty. Beutler won the Nobel in the physiology or medicine category for his research on innate Read More…
(The Center Square) – Mexican cartels for decades have devised creative ways to smuggle narcotics and other contraband across the southern U.S., including using produce, law enforcement officials say. This month, in one week, thousands of pounds of meth were seized hidden in shipments of peppers, tomatillos and carrots. At the Otay Mesa, California, cargo Read More…
Pyramid Mountain Lumber officials have announced their intention to sell the mill rather than resorting to an auction, although no concrete plans have been finalized apart from the impending closure. The company’s decision to shutter operations has sent shockwaves through the lumber industry, with many individuals and stakeholders deeply impacted by the news. Dick Rossignol, Read More…
BOZEMAN — Montana State University will recognize I-Ho Pomeroy, a restaurateur who served on the Bozeman City Commission for a decade and was known for her generous support for the people in her community, with a posthumous honorary doctorate in humane letters at spring commencement. Pomeroy passed away from cancer March 12, 2024, at her Read More…
(The Center Square) – Wyoming Secretary of State Chuck Gray wants the U.S. Postal Service to withdraw a proposal to move mail processing from Casper’s distribution center to Montana. The USPS would move processing operations from Casper to Billings is part of a broader plan to help save money, improve service, and retain employees. Gray also opposes the Read More…
The Center Square) – Teachers in South Dakota will see raises and a new minimum salary under a bill Gov. Kristi Noem signed into law Wednesday. Noem also signed a literacy bill into law, which will appropriate $6 million to the Department of Education to fund professional development in literacy education for teachers. The teacher Read More…
(The Center Square) – The amount of fentanyl seized in Montana last year was over double the amount in 2022, according to Attorney General Austin Knudsen’s office. In 2023, the Rocky Mountain High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area task forces seized a total of 398,552 dosage units of fentanyl, up from 188,823 dosage units compared in 2022 and Read More…
(The Center Square) – The National Association of REALTORS announced Friday an agreement where it will end the 6% commission that is routine in home sales. In the settlement with homeowners, the association will pay $418 million in damages and end litigation on the matter. Experts say that Americans pay $100 billion a year in Read More…
(The Center Square) – Most major industries in North Dakota will add jobs over the next two years, according to a new report released by the state’s Labor Market Information Center. The state-level report looks at short-term projections through 2025. It predicted only three North Dakota industries would shrink in job numbers. The agriculture, forestry, Read More…
(The Center Square) – A swimmer who competed at N.C. State is among 16 collegiate athletes, including 12-time All-American Riley Gaines, suing the NCAA for letting men who say they are women compete against them and use the same locker rooms. Kylee Alons, a two-time national champion and 31-time All-American for the Wolfpack, in the Read More…
(The Center Square) – Embattled Georgia District Attorney Fani Willis on Friday stayed on the case involving former President Donald Trump and accepted the resignation of her lead investigator following a judge’s ruling that one of them had to step aside. Judge Scott McAfee, overseeing Trump’s election interference racketeering case, said Willis can remain on Read More…
BOZEMAN — This semester, Montana State University’s Jake Jabs College of Business and Entrepreneurship held its first career symposium, a casual event intended to help students become comfortable talking to potential employers and collaborators. About 300 students attended the event, which was held Feb. 12 in the Strand Union Building on the MSU campus. There, Read More…
HELENA – Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen announced today an over 20,000 percent increase in fentanyl seizures by anti-drug forces in Montana since 2019. Additionally, over twice as much fentanyl was seized in 2023 compared to 2022, shattering previous records. In 2023, Rocky Mountain High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area task forces seized a total of Read More…
BOZEMAN — A team of six Montana State University students from the Norm Asbjornson College of Engineering drew recognition at a recent competition that pitted them against 1,400 other students from across the region. The undergraduate students, each majoring in construction engineering technology, were among 40 MSU students who competed in the Associated Schools of Read More…
BILLINGS, Mont. – Rounding out Invest in Veterans Week, Governor Greg Gianforte highlighted community support for veterans today at the Montana Veterans Meat Locker in Billings. “Because of the sacrifices of service members and their families, we live in the greatest country on Earth,” Gov. Gianforte said. “While our debt to them will never fully Read More…
BOZEMAN — Steven Swinford, a longtime faculty member and administrator at Montana State University, has been named the university’s new vice president for student success, MSU President Waded Cruzado announced today. Swinford, who has been serving as interim vice president for student success since July 2023, was selected for the role after a national search. Read More…
BOZEMAN – Registration is now open for the three-day 406 Grazing Academy, an annual workshop aimed at ranchers seeking to hone their grazing management skills and learn new strategies. This year’s event will be held June 11-13 in Miles City, and registration is open until April 26. Registration costs $200 per person and includes materials, Read More…
(The Center Square) – As the U.S. Armed Forces have struggled to meet recruitment goals, the Army is reducing its troops by 24,000 soldiers. According to an “Army Force Structure Transformation” document first published by American Military News, the Army announced its restructuring plan due to a “changing security environment and evolving character of war.” Read More…
BOZEMAN — The Mark and Robyn Jones College of Nursing at Montana State University has taken another step toward improving health care for state residents, particularly those living in rural, frontier or Native communities. The nursing college has been authorized by the national Accreditation Commission for Midwifery Education to start a nurse-midwifery track in its Read More…
BOZEMAN – For the third year in a row, Montana State University’s club men’s hockey team will play in the American Collegiate Hockey Association’s Division 2 national tournament later this month. The team, with a 34-3 record this year, will travel to St. Louis for the tournament, where the Division 2 competition will be held Read More…
MISSOULA – Kyle Fickler grew up in Drummond, Montana. From a young age, he was always drawn toward motorsports and racing. He loved tinkering on cars and figuring out how to make them go faster and with more power. “My cousin took me to my first drag race in Spokane when I was around 14 Read More…
(The Center Square) – A Montana think tank and special interest groups have filed an amicus brief in the state supreme court case known as Held v. Montana. The coalition is asking the Montana Supreme Court to overrule a lower court’s decision that struck down recent changes to state environmental permitting laws and said 16 minors Read More…
(The Center Square) – Twenty-two state attorneys general said Monday more than 85,000 migrant children could be lost based on a report from the Department of Health and Human Services. The report issued this month shows many of the children could be in the labor market or sex trafficked, they said in a letter. “By Read More…