South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley is joining forces with a bipartisan coalition of 51 Attorneys General to issue a warning to nine major voice service providers, alerting them that they may be violating both state and federal laws by continuing to route allegedly unlawful robocalls through their networks. “These companies are allowing harmful scams Read More…
Shaina Eagleson, a science teacher at West Fargo’s Sheyenne High School, has been named a state finalist for the prestigious Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST), North Dakota’s Department of Public Instruction announced Thursday. The award, considered the highest national recognition for K-12 STEM educators, honors outstanding teaching in science, technology, Read More…
The U.S. Interior Department announced Friday that it is opening the public comment process for a new five-year offshore oil and gas leasing program, potentially paving the way for expanded drilling in the Arctic and other previously restricted areas. The move is part of the Trump administration’s broader push to boost domestic energy production. The Read More…
Hank’s Reno Junction Travel Plaza sits at the busy intersection of Wyoming Highways 387 and 59, making it a strategic stop for travelers, truckers and coal miners working at the nearby North Antelope Rochelle Mine. When Peabody Energy announced Tuesday it planned to ramp up production at the mine, Hank Pridgeon — the namesake of Read More…
WEST GLACIER — Retiring Glacier National Park Superintendent Jeff Mow has a sense of satisfaction for what his staff accomplished during his eight-year assignment. But he also looks ahead to the challenges his successors are going to face in the years to come. If there’s a development historians will notice about the past decade in Read More…
Los Angeles lawmakers over the past few years have allowed the homeless to overtake a city-owned historic town square that has been a tourist destination for a century. When Sheriff Alex Villanueva discovered that famed Olvera Street was becoming a ghost town as merchants and restaurant owners fled the homeless encampment, he took it personally. Villanueva used to visit the city’s oldest Read More…
After more than a year of the COVID-19 pandemic delaying progress on the new Whitefish High School (WHS) sports complex, the topic is back at the forefront for school administrators and trustees, but with some big potential changes on deck. The Whitefish School District (WSD) recently identified looming classroom capacity constraints at the current high Read More…
MISSOULA, Mont. — The new year in Montana brings the legalization of recreational marijuana. Marijuana businesses are allowed to be open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. and a 20% state sales tax is included in the purchase. Adults can now buy up to one ounce of marijuana and are allowed to have two mature plants Read More…
BOZEMAN, Mont. – Strong winds and unstable snowpack has created moderate to low avalanche danger with a possibility of large avalanches across the Bridger, Gallatin and Madison mountain ranges. The Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center (GNFAC) said frigid temperatures in the single digits along with heavy snowfall in the past two weeks and strong wind Read More…
UPDATE: 1/2/2022, 3:35 PM – NWS Great Falls issued a Flood Advisory near Logan for low land flooding. As of Sunday afternoon the flood waters have not reached the county road but there is widespread lowland field flooding. There is considerable ice jams and all the rivers near Headwaters State Park. GREAT FALLS – Officials Read More…
A federal jury on Tuesday convicted a Harvard University professor of lying to the U.S. government about payments he received from a Chinese university. Charles Lieber, the former chairman of Harvard’s chemistry department, in 2011 agreed to establish a research lab at the Wuhan University of Technology in exchange for more than $1.5 million and Read More…
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has drastically reduced its estimate of Omicron cases in the US, saying the variant accounted for about 59 percent of COVID-19 infections as of Christmas Day — a massive drop from the 73 percent previously reported. The CDC also significantly lowered its estimate for the week before Christmas, Read More…
A woman with four previous DUIs is once again accused of driving impaired, this time allegedly plowing through a ditch and smashing a snowman in front of multiple witnesses. Christine Lois Simmons, 73, was booked into the Flathead County Detention Center on Christmas Eve, charged with felony DUI. READ FULL STORY
If you bought ticket number 233771 or ticket number 100451 in the Montana Millionaire raffle, today is a good day – those were the two winning numbers, each worth one million dollars. The winning numbers were announced at Montana Lottery headquarters in Helena on Tuesday morning. The tickets were sold in Butte and Missoula. READ FULL STORY
GREAT FALLS — Montana’s minimum wage will increase from $8.75 per hour to $9.20 per hour beginning on Saturday, January 1, 2022 – an increase of 45 cents per hour. Montana law requires that the minimum wage be adjusted annually based on changes in inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index all Urban Consumers (CPI-U) from Read More…
Dec. 24—PIERRE — Discussion about reclassification is a constant in high school football, but the South Dakota High School Activities Association introduced possible tweaks to the process during a football advisory committee meeting in late November. Though it was only discussed and not put to a vote, SDHSAA executive director Dan Swartos presented findings to Read More…
In Wyoming, folks are pretty proud of the square-shaped state they call home. So much so that, along with the boom in all things craft industry — think beer, coffee and handmade goods created by local artisans in recent years — the Wyoming lifestyle brand has taken off. “A lifestyle brand is a brand Read More…
MISSOULA, Mont. — After a nationwide search, the University of Montana announced they have hired Dr. Pardis Mahdavi to serve the university as the new Provost, Executive Vice President, no. 2 administrator, and academic officer. Mahdavi currently serves as Dean of Social Sciences at Arizona State University. In previous years, she has served as acting Dean Read More…
Hill County Commissioners voted unanimously Thursday to dissolve the Meadowlark Estates Water and Sewer District at the request of the state after residents of the area voted 22 to 3 to do so. In October, Hill County Commissioner Mark Peterson said Meadowlark Estates, many years ago, had planned to put in a water and sewer Read More…
HELENA, Mont. – The closing date for public comment on the 2022/2023 hunting regulation proposals has been extended from Jan. 14 to Jan. 21. Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) says this is a second opportunity to provide input on the draft regulation proposals. Biologists with FWP offered regulations proposals based on science that combine some Read More…
NEW YORK — Under pressure to improve worker rights, Amazon has reached a settlement with the National Labor Relations Board to allow its employees to freely organize — and without retaliation. According to the settlement, the online behemoth Amazon said it would reach out to its warehouse workers — former and current — via email Read More…
KALISPELL — One Glacier High School senior is a contributing way beyond the football field. Senior Noah Jensen created the Cleats for Kids program, which donates cleats to kids all throughout the Flathead Valley. Noah has been recognized for the impact he has made on the community with The Spirit Of Montana Award from Gov. Read More…
FORSYTH, Mont. – A $500 check was delivered by Rosebud County Sheriff Fulton and Deputy Stradinger to an organization that makes blankets for nursing home residents. Crocheted With Love was surprised with the donation Saturday. “With Covid still restricting interactions, the residents just came up and picked out a blanket,” the Rosebud County Sheriff’s Office Read More…
The U.S. has had a massive surge in immigration this year, with as many as 1.5 million newcomers and a record 46.2 million foreign-born people, according to a report for the Center for Immigration Studies. After a deep trough last year, likely because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the travel and migration restrictions imposed to Read More…
Major hospital systems across the country are quietly scrapping their vaccine mandates amid worker shortages and growing confusion as to whether such requirements on the national level are even legal. Two separate federal courts found in late November that President Joe Biden’s attempt to impose a nationwide vaccine requirement for healthcare workers likely exceeded the authority of Read More…
BILLINGS – Senator Steve Daines honored Will James Middle School teacher Hunter Jones, for his nearly two decades of supporting Montana veterans. A release from the office of the senator says Jones also makes sure to teach his students about those who serve our country and how to honor them. In September, Jones was recognized Read More…
BOZEMAN, Mont. – As game day nears, Montana State University Bozeman graduate Senator Steve Daines is ramping up a new, friendly rivalry with South Dakota State University graduate Senator Mike Rounds. “I’ve never seen a bobcat run from a jackrabbit,” Daines joked. “You’ve never seen a South Dakota jackrabbit have you?” Rounds replied. Before placing Read More…
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Wyoming will soon be the home of an adored part of Nebraska cuisine and culture. Restaurant chain Runza is aiming to open its first location in the Cowboy State at an undetermined place in Cheyenne, per a release from the company. The Nebraska-headquartered franchise is known for its namesake sandwiches — at its Read More…
A Flathead Valley woman accused of stealing tens of thousands of dollars from donors in an alleged cancer fraud scheme has been charged in Flathead County District Court. Amy Elizabeth Glanville, 46, of Kalispell, is charged with one felony count of theft. She faces a maximum of 10 years in the Montana State Prison. A Read More…
A CNN staffer was arrested on three charges related to sexual abuse Friday after allegedly enticing women over the internet to allow him to teach their daughters sexual acts. John Griffin, a CNN producer who has since been suspended, was indicted by a grand jury in Vermont of “using a facility of interstate commerce to attempt to entice minors to engage Read More…
BOZEMAN, Mont. — From the moment Montana State took the field it was apparent they were ready to beat the best as they beat Sam Houston State 42-19 down in Huntsville, Texas. The Cats got things going when, Tommy Mellott, threw a deep ball to, Lance McCutcheon, early in the first getting the team across midfield. Read More…
TOWNSEND — In a press release sent Friday afternoon, Prickly Pear Land Trust (PPLT) says they acquired thousands of acres of farmland that will be added to its protected properties list. The Tri G River Ranch between Townsend and Toston is the second conservation easement in Broadwater County that PPLT has acquired. The easement will Read More…
On Monday afternoon, a Cascade County District judge sentenced a Great Falls woman for mitigated deliberate homicide for killing her mother in 2017. Pamela Jean Courtnage, 49, will spend 40 years committed to the care of the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services at the Montana State Hospital (MSH) in Warm Springs. She was Read More…
Glacier National Park will require tickets to enter the Going-to-the-Sun Road corridor in the 2022 summer season, park spokeswoman Gina Kerzman confirmed Friday. The park is also exploring the possibility of a ticketed entry system for the Polebridge entrance up the North Fork, she confirmed, but cautioned that has not been finalized. READ FULL STORY
The interim leader of Flathead County’s ImagineIF public library system resigned on Thursday, citing interference by a board of trustees that has devalued the institution by slashing salaries while entertaining motions to censor certain books and materials, particularly those that portray characters who are gay, queer or transgender. After serving in the director position for just four Read More…
A Norwegian Cruise Line ship docked in New Orleans over the weekend with at least 17 passengers and crew members infected with the coronavirus, according to local health officials, including one probable case of the omicron variant among the crew. The Norwegian Breakaway departed from New Orleans on Nov. 28 with more than 3,200 people Read More…
WORCESTER (CBS) – About 200 UMass Memorial Health employees are out of a job because they missed the health care system’s COVID vaccination deadline. UMass Memorial announced the mandate over the summer with a deadline to get vaccinated or receive an exemption by November 1. Employees were let go on December 1 if they did Read More…
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — Mayor Bill de Blasio announced what he called a first-in-the-nation vaccine mandate for private companies Monday. He said the combination of the Omicron variant and holiday gatherings forced him to take “bold” steps. He’s giving businesses just three weeks to make sure their workers are vaccinated. “We in New York City have decided to use a preemptive strike Read More…
The Federal Reserve has an extraordinary responsibility to ensure a healthy economy and sound financial system for all Americans. Unfortunately, over the past year my faith in the Fed has been deeply shaken by its political approach to digital assets in my home state, Wyoming, greatly contributing to my concerns over President Biden’s nominees, Jay Read More…
MISSOULA, Mont. — Thanksgiving travel hit record highs at the Missoula airport, which is forcing officials to think about the kind of rush they will receive on Christmas. “We are just ticking up our expectations now for Christmas based on what we did for Thanksgiving, so we are actually coming up with some overflow parking plan Read More…
Nearly half of American households say inflation is causing financial hardship, according to a Gallup poll. Forty-five percent of Americans say inflation is responsible for their current financial difficulties—10 percent of whom describe those difficulties as “severe.” Among those most affected are Americans in the lowest income bracket, with 71 percent of households making $40,000 or less Read More…
Jussie Smollett’s legal team will get its chance on Thursday to poke holes in the credibility of Abimbola Osundairo, one of two Nigerian brothers who claimed the Empire actor paid them to stage a phony hate crime. Osundairo testified Wednesday in a Chicago courtroom that Smollett gave him and his brother instructions and money in advance of the Jan. 29, Read More…
Scientists claim to have discovered a “potential mechanism” that triggers rare blood clots in some people who receive the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid vaccine. Links between the vaccine and rare, sometimes fatal, blood clots have prompted some countries to restrict its use to older adults or favor alternative shots. To be sure, medical experts have repeatedly said the benefits of the Read More…
MEDORA, N.D. — The statue of Theodore Roosevelt astride a horse and towering over an American Indian and African American that has drawn criticism in New York City will move to the new Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in western North Dakota. The Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation and city of New York on Friday announced Read More…