SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — A 64-year-old Sioux Falls man convicted of wire fraud has been sentenced to 30 months behind bars and a very large amount of restitution. Richard Harkness received the sentence last week from U.S. District Judge Karen Schreier. In addition to the federal prison time, followed by three years of supervised Read More…
CHEYENNE, Wyo. (PRESS RELEASE) – Governor Mark Gordon responded forcefully this week to a letter from Congressman James Clyburn which misrepresented Wyoming’s efforts in the Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP). Congressman Clyburn complained of nationwide underspending by the 426 local governments eligible to administer rental assistance. ”His unwarranted shot places blame for that problem squarely Read More…
MISSOULA, Mont. — A Browning man, Steven Ray DeCarlo, has admitting to dealing methamphetamine on the Blackfeet Reservation, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The following was sent out by U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Montana: A Browning man accused of being a methamphetamine dealer on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation admitted to a trafficking crime today, Read More…
After two years of negotiations mired in deep division and characterized by back-and-forth public accusations, Logan Health administrators and unionized nurses found themselves in agreement last week when both sides expressed satisfaction with the union’s first contract. SEIU Healthcare 1199NW, which is representing Logan Health’s bargaining unit of 650 unionized nurses, announced that nurses voted Read More…
A Washington state man who admitted to selling methamphetamine on the Flathead Indian Reservation was sentenced Tuesday to 10 years in prison by U.S. District Judge Dana Christensen. Alberto Escareno-Sanchez, 27, of Sunnyside, Washington, pleaded guilty in March to possession with intent to distribute meth. Escareno-Sanchez also will be on probation for five years, according Read More…
GREAT FALLS — It’s back to school time and it’s not just families who sometimes struggle with the increasing cost of school supplies. East Middle School teacher Adrienne Culliton is one of the many who has benefited from a Facebook page called ‘Adopt a Teacher, Great Falls Helping Great Educators.’ She says a box of Read More…
Montana State University issued a stronger message urging people on campus to wear masks indoors but again stopped short of mandating face coverings ahead of the Aug. 25 start to the semester. MSU President Waded Cruzado in a letter sent to students, parents, faculty and staff on Tuesday evening urged them to voluntarily wear masks “because Read More…
LOCKWOOD — It’s been eight years since Jessica Stiles was in Afghanistan doing detainee operations at the prison on Bagram Air Base. It’s a time she still sometimes lives with. “I get night terrors and had a hard time adjusting at first,” the Lockwood resident said this week. Stiles is one of the thousands of Read More…
BILLINGS- The carnival has arrived in Billings setting the stage for the 2021 MontanaFair. However, as COVID-19 cases rise, officials with MetraPark say they’re keeping some safety precautions in place while adding an emphasis on personal choice. Ray Massie with MetraPark says there are some new attractions this year, including fun for the entire family Read More…
GREAT FALLS — The Great Falls Police Department recently acquired two new incident response vehicles thanks to a federal program. One is a mobile crime scene unit, the other is for the department’s High Risk Unit. “These two vehicles provide a lot of different capabilities for us,” noted Captain Doug Otto of the GFPD. He Read More…
Microsoft Corp. co-founder Bill Gates said his climate investment fund will commit $1.5 billion for joint projects with the U.S. government if Congress enacts a program aimed at developing technologies that lower carbon emissions. A roughly $1 trillion infrastructure bill passed by the Senate this week would give the Energy Department $25 billion for demonstration projects funded Read More…
HELENA, Mont. – The Montana National Guard is adding 25 personnel to state active duty to provide logistics and security support to the Lolo Complex Fire burning southwest of Missoula. Beginning Tuesday, a 20 person hand crew will aid in the Alder Creek Fire located southwest of Butte. On Wednesday, the CH-47 crew located in Read More…
BILLINGS — Yellowstone County voters will not get a second chance to overturn the legalization of recreational marijuana sales. A resolution voted on by the Yellowstone County Commissioners on Tuesday that would have put the issue of legalized recreational marijuana back on November’s ballot failed after a 1-1 tie. Board Chairman Don Jones voted in Read More…
GREAT FALLS — U.S. Customs & Border Protection (CBP) officers at the Port of Sweetgrass in Toole County recently seized 69.5 pounds of cocaine from a commercial vehicle. On Thursday, July 29, 2021, CBP officers encountered a commercial truck operated by a woman from Canada. The trailer contained a commercial load of watermelons and peppers Read More…
The Army recently inked a $3.5 billion contract with Pfizer Inc. for the pharmaceutical company to produce 500 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine. But those shots are not planned for soldiers’ shoulders. Instead, the contract award states, they are for “international donation” and procurement is expected to be completed by Dec. 31, 2022, according Read More…
The district attorney of Albany County, New York, said Tuesday that his office is criminally investigating Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who has been accused of sexually harassing multiple women. DA David Soares also said his office would “welcome any victim to contact our office with additional information” about Cuomo. And Soares said he plans to request investigative Read More…
Jay Pickett, the actor who starred in “Soda Springs,” an independent movie filmed in Idaho, died on Friday. He was 60. Pickett had credits in over 50 films and was featured in soap operas such as “Port Charles, “Days of Our Lives” and “General Hospital,” according to IMDB. An actor who often played cowboys, Pickett was Read More…
ROCK SPRINGS — Visitors to the Flyrks.com website will now have an easier time finding information about aviation and the range of amenities in Sweetwater County. The new and improved website is part of a wider effort to be more responsive to airline passengers, pilots, and the community in general, said Airport Director Devon Brubaker. “The Read More…
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has asked businesses in the state to only serve customers who are completely vaccinated against COVID-19 in order to avoid a “worst case scenario,” the governor said on Monday. “I am asking them, and suggesting to them, go to vaccine-only admission,” Cuomo said during a press conference, referring to private Read More…
BILLINGS, Mont. – A new community impact study by Billings Police downtown resource officers said 93 people cost Billings’ taxpayers $10,327,665 in 2020. A link to the full study is available here. Officer Brad Mansur with the Billings Police Department said the cost comes from frequent contacts with law enforcement and visits to the hospital. A community Read More…
BILLINGS — A new school year is on the horizon, and there’s still plenty of uncertainty about what in-person classes will look like. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the rise in online learning, and one company is trying to prepare the next generation of students, especially in the most remote areas. “We’re in the mountains Read More…
At the top of the Continental Divide, under the watchful eye of “Our Lady of the Rockies,” sits the town of Butte, Montana. Rayelynn Brandl grew up here, riding bikes like local hero Evel KnIevel on what was once called “The Richest Hill on Earth,” thanks to Butte’s incredibly productive copper mines. “It was wonderful; Read More…
The mayor of Montana’s most populous city, Billings, says some people have moved from coastal states to the area because they want to be around other conservatives. Bill Cole told TIME magazine that he believed three major factors had brought newcomers to the city: affordable housing, people prioritizing their family and community over their work, and politics. Read More…
BOISE (Idaho Capital Sun) – Headlines about housing from 1992 editions of the Idaho Statesman feel eerily familiar. Growth puts squeeze on number of available rentals in area Report says Idaho has housing woes Officials look for ways to ease growth burden Forum focuses on need for more affordable housing That year, Cecil Andrus — Read More…
GREAT FALLS — Not many planes come through Great Falls. They certainly don’t come or go as fast as the fighter jets that used to occupy the tarmac years ago, but now the Montana Air National Guard is going through another aircraft conversion. They are transitioning from C-130 H1 models to newer H3 models, which Read More…
Shortly after daylight on the morning of July 26 Park County deputies found the vehicle Linde had stolen. Linde is still at large and is believed to be driving a 2000 Chrysler Town and Country minivan with MT plate 49-6627D which is also stolen. Linde was last seen around Mile Marker 11 on US Hwy Read More…
LIVINGSTON, MT- There’s a video going viral right now and chances are you’ve seen it, it’s of Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson in Livingston Montana shopping at Dan Bailey’s Outdoor Co. the video gets heated quickly. It was posted by a man named “Dan Bailey,” but the important distinction here is that Bailey shares no Read More…
MISSOULA, Mont. — A new mission for Miss Montana after being invited to fly in a world-class air show. The restored military plane is headed for Oshkosh, Wisconsin this weekend. Earlier crews were busy getting the plane ready for the journey, from degreasing the plane to loading it with supplies. READ FULL STORY
More than 50 prominent medical organizations Monday called for all health-care employers and long-term care facilities to require COVID-19 vaccinations for their entire staffs. The call for action comes as the delta variant fuels a nationwide surge of COVID deaths and infections among unvaccinated Americans. Last week, the American Hospital Association and America’s Essential Hospitals Read More…
WASHINGTON, D.C. — For the second consecutive year, U.S. adults’ positive ratings of relations between Black and White Americans are at their lowest point in more than two decades of measurement. Currently, 42% of Americans say relations between the two groups are “very” or “somewhat” good, while 57% say they are “somewhat” or “very” bad. Read More…
A New Jersey health system fired six supervisors who refused to get vaccinated for COVID-19. RWJBarnabas Health announced that over 99% of its nearly 3,000 management staff have been vaccinated against COVID-19 but that six supervisors who were not “are no longer employees of RWJBH.” READ FULL STORY
Government employees are suing Connecticut to avoid returning to work, arguing that commutes contribute to climate change. Public employee unions in Connecticut are insisting their members continue to have the option to work full time from home, citing environmental and legal concerns. Democratic governor Ned Lamont allowed government employees to work exclusively from home during Read More…
BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) – District Court Judge John Grinsteiner retires in one month, which left the Supreme Court questioning whether the South Central Judicial District chambers would be filled, relocated or abolished. Because of the increasing caseload in the area, the judgeship will remain in Mandan. The district consists of nine counties with more than Read More…
CHEYENNE, Wyo. (Wyoming News Now) – Wyoming Department of Transportation has received notification from their public affairs office, that a driver’s license phone scam had started circulating July 16th. Text messages are being sent to cell phones regarding false final notices for license waiver validations. Other D.O.T. offices have been experiencing the same scam for the last 6 to 8 Read More…
Wyoming Game and Fish commissioners backed agency staff last week and approved compensation for trophy game damage to stock that amounted to $388,696 less than two ranchers claimed. With one dissenting vote in the two separate cases, the appointed citizen commission approved $71,339 to Josh Longwell of HD Ranch and $11,626 to Christian Peterson of Read More…
HELENA — Hundreds of local governments and associations in Montana are seeking federal COVID relief money to pay for water and sewer infrastructure projects – and state leaders are facing decisions about which of those projects are going to get funding. During the Montana legislative session, lawmakers identified these projects as a top priority. In Read More…
Billings, Montana, has become the place to buy a home in the United States — at least according to The Wall Street Journal/Realtor.com Emerging Housing Markets Index. The rise to the top of the index isn’t completely out of the blue for the city, which has a population of 184,000, since it was previously in the fourth spot. But Read More…
Montana environmental regulators are dropping their case to disqualify Hecla Mining from getting future mining permits in the state. The company’s CEO was previously an executive with Pegasus Gold, which abandoned mines in Montana. Critics say there could be consequences for not seeking penalties under Montana’s “bad actors” law. Montana Department of Environmental Quality Director Read More…
BOZEMAN — The Bozeman Yellowstone International airport is participating in a survey in an effort to prevent human trafficking via air travel. “Is it happening, are we having girls that we know are coming in on airplanes- yes. They then are typically setting up ads in Bozeman and Billings where they have major airports,” Andrew Read More…
Glacier National Park drew more than a half-million visitors last month, charting its second-busiest June on record despite imposing a ticketed-entry system aimed at blunting the acute congestion that in recent years has led to paralytic gridlock in the park’s key arterials. As approximated through June, the overall visitation estimates peg Glacier’s year-to-date totals as the second Read More…
TOKYO (AP) — Kara Eaker, an alternate on the United States women’s gymnastics team, has tested positive for COVID-19 in an Olympic training camp in Japan. Al Fong, the personal coach for both Eaker and fellow Olympic alternate Leanne Wong, confirmed the positive test in an email to The Associated Press on Monday. The coach Read More…
Ten people were wounded in two mass shootings in Chicago Wednesday — just 12 hours apart, police said. The first of two mass shootings occurred in West Garfield Park on the city’s West Side, where a gunman approached a group standing outside and opened fire, striking four women and a man, police said. The victims, Read More…
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – Les Schwab Tire Centers, the nation’s highest-ranked, most customer-focused tire retailer, announced Monday it has reached an agreement to acquire Plains Tire Co., an 80-year-old tire company with nine stores in Wyoming. Les Schwab will purchase Plains Tire for an undisclosed sum, said Les Schwab CEO Jack Cuniff. READ FULL STORY
Based on data from the Wyoming department of administration and information, the state’s economy continues to struggle to recover, as taxable sales are still negative, while some counties see greater gains. Dr. Wenlin Liu, Chief Economist with the state of Wyoming, Economic Analysis Division, said: “As the resurgence of the virus diminished, Wyoming’s economy continued to Read More…