(The Center Square) – Advocates are calling for justices on the U.S. Supreme Court to clarify federal laws regarding climate change lawsuits. The Maryland Supreme Court on Tuesday blocked a lawsuit from Baltimore, Annapolis and Anne Arundel County seeking large damages from fossil fuel companies. The government entities claimed the companies misled the public in Read More…
Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte toured two Flathead Valley firearms manufacturers this week, promoting the state’s growing role as a hub for firearms and ammunition production and emphasizing support for Second Amendment-related businesses. During stops in Kalispell, Gianforte visited Invader Concepts and FALKOR Defense, two Montana-based companies producing firearm accessories and precision weapons systems, respectively. “Across Read More…
The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced plans to include President Donald Trump’s signature on future U.S. paper currency, marking what officials say will be the first time a sitting president’s signature appears on American banknotes. The change is being made in recognition of the nation’s upcoming 250th anniversary, also known as the Semiquincentennial, with Read More…
The North Dakota Department of Commerce has opened applications for the state’s Legacy Investment for Technology, or LIFT, loan program, with submissions due April 23. State officials said the program continues to play a key role in helping North Dakota companies commercialize intellectual property and expand innovation-driven businesses across the state. “We are grateful to Read More…
Applications are open for Montana State University’s $100,000 Venture Competition, which is hosted annually by the Jake Jabs College of Business and Entrepreneurship and the MSU Launchpad. The competition provides entrepreneurs with the opportunity to present their business ventures, receive feedback and compete for startup funding. Those interested in competing must submit an online application by Sunday, March 29. The competition is open to all undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, Read More…
The Center Square) – Nearly a year after a nine-person jury found Greenpeace liable for $667 million in damages in a case related to the Dakota Access Pipeline, a North Dakota judge has said the environmental organization will soon be ordered to make good on the damages. In court papers filed Tuesday, Judge James Gion Read More…
Attorney General Austin Knudsen announced a landmark settlement agreement with The Vanguard Group, Inc. this week, resolving allegations that the asset manager conspired to artificially constrict the coal market through anticompetitive trade practices. The settlement stems from a 2024 lawsuit filed by Knudsen against Vanguard, BlackRock, and State Street Corporation. The suit alleged the firms Read More…
U.S. Sen. Steve Daines visited the Sibanye-Stillwater Columbus metallurgical complex last week, meeting with miners and touring operations as he praised recent federal trade action aimed at protecting Montana’s palladium industry. Daines credited Donald Trump for imposing a preliminary 132% tariff on Russian palladium imports, describing the move as a critical step toward leveling the Read More…
Denver Mayor Mike Johnston on Thursday signed an executive order barring U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement from operating on city-owned property and directing local police to protect peaceful protesters during federal immigration enforcement actions. The order prohibits ICE agents from staging or conducting operations in city buildings, parks, shelters, parking facilities, libraries, and other municipal Read More…
Former President Bill Clinton told lawmakers Friday that he “saw nothing that gave me pause” during the time he spent with Jeffrey Epstein, offering closed-door testimony to congressional investigators examining his relationship with the late financier and convicted sex offender. Clinton appeared before members of the House Oversight Committee as part of an ongoing inquiry Read More…
(The Center Square) – The Gang of Eight was briefed ahead of the U.S.-Israeli joint strikes against Iran, according to House Speaker Mike Johnson. In a social media post Saturday morning, the Louisiana Republican said the eight members of Congress were briefed in detail earlier in the week by Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The Read More…
Gov. Greg Gianforte and the Montana Department of Revenue announced an extension for property owners applying for the Homestead and Long-Term Rental Reduced Property Tax Rates, moving the deadline to March 20, 2026. The extension comes in response to intermittent technical issues with the department’s online application portal, which officials said were caused by a Read More…
(The Center Square) – U.S. Central Command has confirmed that despite missile and drone attacks on bases in the Middle East, there are no reports of casualties or “combat-related injuries,” and damage to American installations has been “minimal.” CENTCOM added that damage done to U.S. military installations “has not impacted operations.” Multiple videos have circulated Read More…
The process of writing Army doctrine, traditionally measured in years, is getting a 21st-century upgrade. Thanks to digital tools, some enabled by artificial intelligence, authors at the Combined Arms Doctrine Directorate are examining processes and gaining efficiencies without sacrificing their high standards for quality and precision. “We have had people ask us about using AI Read More…
Spring 2026 enrollment numbers are in, and for the fifth consecutive year, the University of Montana reported more students than the previous year. “The consecutive years of growth at UM are a testament to the aggressive steps we have taken to ensure our campus experience is robust and vibrant,” said Leslie Webb, UM vice Read More…
(The Center Square) – The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments on April 1 over whether to uphold birthright citizenship in the United States. Trump v. Barbara challenges President Donald Trump’s Jan. 20, 2025, executive order that denies birthright citizenship to children in the U.S. born after Feb. 19, 2025, whose parents are either illegally Read More…
For the individuals who serve in the Marine Corps Mounted Color Guard, every day is a test of composure, discipline and adaptability — essential skills they demonstrate alongside wild palominos that were specifically domesticated for the job. These Marines are unique in that they’re the last mounted color guard remaining in the military. “The unit Read More…
(The Center Square) – Following the victory of removing a climate chapter from the Federal Judicial Center’s manual, 21 state attorney generals are urging the National Academy of Sciences to remove a climate science section from the academies’ manual, expressing their concern over tax money promoting various partisan ideology in the organization. Montana Attorney General Read More…
(The Center Square) – President Donald Trump announced a new round of tariffs on Friday after the U.S. Supreme Court invalidated most of the tariffs underpinning his economic agenda. Hours after the Supreme Court reined in Trump’s use of a 1977 law to impose tariffs on imports from around the world, the president said he Read More…
(The Center Square) – Consumer prices rose by 0.2% overall in January, according to recent data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Overall, the inflation rose to 2.4% annually in January, a significant cooldown from previous months. In December and November, inflation rates rose 2.7%, respectively. Those rates were still lower from the Read More…
When Cedar Stellon O’Donnell was in high school in Fairbanks, Alaska, she visited Montana State University as part of a tour of colleges she was considering. She wasn’t expecting to decide on attending MSU so quickly, but she said the energy of the campus during that visit made a lasting impression. “Everyone here seemed proud Read More…
The Department of War said Thursday it is restructuring two key arms-transfer and technology-security offices, consolidating them under the Under Secretary of War for Acquisition and Sustainment in a move aimed at accelerating foreign military sales and strengthening the U.S. defense industrial base. The reorganization places the Defense Security Cooperation Agency and the Defense Technology Read More…
Governor Greg Gianforte’s Energy Task Force will host a series of public open houses aimed at gathering input from Montanans on key energy issues facing the state. The first of three events is scheduled for Feb. 25 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Copper Lounge on the campus of Montana Technological University in Butte. Additional Read More…
(The Center Square) – American colleges and universities have received $5.2 billion in foreign gifts and contracts in 2025, according to data from the U.S. Department of Education. The department released data compiled from foreign funding disclosures submitted by American colleges and universities, documenting over 8,300 transactions worth more than $5.2 billion in reportable foreign Read More…
Austin Knudsen is calling on the U.S. Department of Justice to review a proposed merger between Union Pacific Railroad and Norfolk Southern Railway, citing concerns the deal could reduce competition and increase costs for American businesses and consumers. Knudsen led a coalition of state attorneys general in sending a letter to the U.S. Department of Read More…
(The Center Square) – On Tuesday, a judge will decide whether or not to approve a $29 million settlement between the city of Seattle and the family of Jaahnavi Kandula, a 23-year-old graduate student from India who, in January 2023, was struck and killed by a police SUV speeding at 74 mph in a 25 Read More…
(The Center Square) – Climate and energy experts have praised President Donald Trump’s recent elimination of former President Barack Obama’s Endangerment Finding, with several noting the freedom the action will bring to the auto industry and others stating this is only a beginning step. American Energy Institute CEO Jason Isaac told The Center Square that Read More…
The Department of War said it is partnering with the Department of Energy on what officials described as a landmark initiative to advance next-generation nuclear power for national security applications. Under the collaboration, a reactor developed by private-sector firm Valar Atomics will be transported Sunday aboard a C-17 aircraft from March Air Reserve Base in Read More…
More than 200 Montana property owners have filed a proposed class-action lawsuit challenging how the Montana Department of Revenue assessed property values in the latest appraisal cycle, alleging the agency relied on sales data outside the statutory valuation window and inflated taxable values. The suit, brought by the Silverman Law Office, centers on residential properties Read More…
The Trump administration on Wednesday pointed to a stronger-than-expected consumer inflation report as evidence that price pressures are easing and real wages are rising, arguing that the economy has rebounded from what officials describe as the prior administration’s inflation surge. In a statement, White House Deputy Press Secretary Kush Desai said the latest Consumer Price Read More…
The U.S. Department of the Treasury moved Thursday to disrupt what officials described as two key financial pipelines sustaining Hezbollah, targeting a Lebanon-based gold exchange and an international procurement and shipping network tied to the Iran-backed group. The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control designated Jood SARL, a Lebanese gold exchange company it said operates Read More…
The University of Montana recently named Yoichiro Kanno, one of the nation’s leading fisheries scientists, as the newest endowed chair in its top-ranked Wildlife Biology Program. Beginning in January 2026, Kanno joined the University as the inaugural Siebel-Lewis Endowed Chair in Fisheries Science. His arrival strengthens UM as a national leader in aquatic research, education and conservation at a Read More…
Navy Lt. Carlton Barmore Hutchins was a skilled aviator who did his best to save his crew during one of the worst naval air disasters before World War II. He kept his damaged plane in the air long enough for a few crewmates to parachute out. Hutchins went down with his aircraft, but his bravery Read More…
Greg Gianforte and Austin Knudsen announced Thursday that the state will investigate whether recent actions by the Helena City Commission violate Montana’s ban on sanctuary city policies. The announcement follows a vote by the Helena City Commission approving a resolution that prevents local law enforcement officers from assisting with certain federal immigration enforcement operations. “In Read More…
The Montana Historical Society received a $15,000 donation from Stockman Bank during the grand opening of the bank’s newest Helena branch on Feb. 12. The gift will support the Montana History and Civics Education Endowment, which provides grants to schools across the state for educational field trips to the Montana Heritage Center and the Montana Read More…
Officials at the Federal Reserve this week reinforced a cautious, data-dependent stance on interest rates, tempering investor expectations for rapid easing despite cooling inflation. In public remarks following the latest Consumer Price Index report, policymakers indicated they are encouraged by moderating price pressures but want clearer evidence that inflation is sustainably returning to the Fed’s Read More…
Steve Daines praised the Trump administration’s decision to impose a 132.83% anti-dumping duty on Russian palladium imports, calling the move a critical step to protect Montana mining jobs and counter what he described as market manipulation by Moscow. The Commerce Department’s duty, enforceable upon publication in the Federal Register, is aimed at offsetting what U.S. Read More…
Logan Head is a lifelong entrepreneur and the co-founder and chief technology officer of Whatnot, the largest live shopping platform in North America, the U.K. and Europe. Head will present the next installment of the Gilkey Executive Lecture Series at the University of Montana College of Business. This in-person event at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. Read More…
More than 100 National Guard personnel from nine different states gathered in front of the Washington Monument on the National Mall in Washington today to recite the oath of enlistment and extend their service contracts. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth administered the oath. Those guard members — from Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Mississippi, Read More…
A new $750,000 EPSCoR grant from NASA will help researchers at Montana State University work to limit the impact of atmospheric turbulence in quantum laser communications links between ground stations and space terminals. The project, titled “Programmable Photonics for Quantum Space Networks,” is funded through September 2028. The project builds on optical communications technologies developed Read More…
The Mark and Robyn Jones College of Nursing at Montana State University is set to nearly double its financial support for students after receiving a large grant from the Bedford Falls Foundation – DAF. The $2.5 million gift will go toward scholarships for students from Montana and student success efforts. The college and MSU Alumni Foundation expect the money to directly fund upward of 380 scholarships over five years starting this fall semester. The Bedford Falls Foundation seeks to remove financial Read More…
(The Center Square) – A majority of Americans say they prefer President Donald Trump’s approach to border security and immigration than they do former President Joe Biden’s, according to new polling data. The poll from Napolitan News Service found that 52% prefer Trump’s handling of the issues to 33% who prefer Biden’s. The remaining 15% Read More…
The 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Milan and Cortina, Italy, are fast approaching. As always, there’s a contingent of U.S. military athletes who have qualified to represent their country on the biggest sports stage in the world. While this Olympics will not feature any athletes from the Navy or Marine Corps, there are plenty of Read More…
(The Center Square) – California has a new law that prohibits law enforcement from wearing masks, but don’t expect it to be enforced in Los Angeles. At least not when it comes to federal immigration officers. Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell said enforcement of Senate Bill 627 would endanger officer safety. McDonnell, who decided Read More…