Christian Castro was released a day after a federal judge rejected Minnesota’s bid to keep him jailed while Gov. Greg Abbott decides whether to sign extradition papers. BROWNSVILLE — The immigration officer at the center of a Minnesota-Texas legal fight was released from a South Texas jail Thursday, a day after a federal judge rejected Read More…
Gov. Kelly Armstrong appointed Tony Hillig, recreation division chief for the North Dakota Parks and Recreation Department, as the agency’s new director, effective immediately. Hillig has served as chief of the department’s recreation division since December 2020, overseeing recreation grants, trail management, motorized recreation and safety programs statewide. He joined the department in 2019 as Read More…
Montana’s unemployment rate fell to 3.2% in July, Gov. Greg Gianforte announced, continuing the state’s record stretch of low unemployment and remaining nearly a full percentage point below the national rate, which also declined over the month to 4.1%. “As Montana’s unemployment rate continues to decline, businesses across our state are expanding, creating high-paying jobs, Read More…
South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley commended the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals after it dismissed a legal challenge brought by suspected members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua who were seeking to avoid removal from the United States. The en banc Fifth Circuit dismissed the case on August 13 as moot after the Read More…
The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said Duke University School of Law intentionally discriminated on the basis of race in admitting students to its 2023, 2024 and 2025 incoming classes, announcing investigative findings that the school violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Supreme Court’s 2023 decision in Students for Read More…
Kellogg said it will remove artificial colors from all its cereals by the end of this year, moving up a timeline the company set just last August by more than a year. Kellogg had said in August 2025 that it would eliminate synthetic dyes from its cereals by the end of 2027. The company said Read More…
Six Montanans working across music, painting, ceramics, glasswork, engraving and violin will receive the state’s highest arts honor this year, the Montana Arts Council announced. The 2026 Governor’s Arts Award recipients are Missoula musician Jeff Ament, Bozeman landscape painter Clyde Aspevig, Bozeman stained glass artist David Fjeld, Helena ceramicist Sarah Jaeger, Bozeman violinist Carrie Krause, Read More…
Two former NBA players, Royce White and Enes Kanter Freedom, say they intend to declare for the WNBA draft in 2027, arguing that the league’s collective bargaining agreement fails to clearly define who is eligible to play. White, a former NBA player and Republican U.S. Senate candidate in Minnesota, said Sunday that the league’s lack Read More…
The White House launched a website, fraud.gov, to publish the actions and recoveries of its Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, saying Americans should be able to track federal enforcement efforts in one place. The administration said the task force has uncovered nearly $230 billion in fraud since beginning its work, blocked $56 billion in fraudulent Read More…
About one in five Americans who sought financial advice in the past year turned to artificial intelligence, even though few trust its expertise on money matters, according to a Gallup survey conducted in partnership with financial services firm Edward Jones. Among U.S. adults overall, only about three in 10 said they have “a great deal” Read More…
Genetic material from bison bones collected at Wyoming archaeological sites — and housed at the University of Wyoming — played a key role in a sweeping new study about the history of the iconic species in North America. The study — which involved researchers from more than 30 institutions and organizations, including Wyoming State Archaeologist Read More…
The Department of War announced more than $80 million in proposed investments in university mining and metallurgy programs, including at the Colorado School of Mines, the South Dakota School of Mines and Johns Hopkins University, unveiled at a roundtable with mining industry executives. The funding would flow through the department’s Office of the Under Secretary Read More…
Sen. Tim Sheehy introduced legislation that would create a dedicated pharmaceutical trade negotiator within the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and expand federal oversight of foreign drug pricing policies. The Use Sovereignty to Reduce Rx Act, or USTRx Act, targets what its sponsors describe as price control regimes in wealthy countries that suppress payments Read More…
Employers now have guidance from the Treasury Department on how to contribute to ‘Trump Accounts’ for their employees’ children, and the department says more than 50 companies have already committed to offering such contributions. The new guidance provides a framework for employers to contribute up to $2,500 annually to employees’ ‘Trump Accounts’ for their children. Read More…
A coalition of state financial officers applauded the Securities and Exchange Commission for moving to rescind its 2024 climate disclosure rules that is estimated to save public businesses more than $7.9 billion. In March 2024, the SEC approved amendments to its rules that would mandate all public companies disclose greenhouse gas emissions, how it managed climate-related risks, Read More…
The FBI opened a criminal probe specifically targeting Donald Trump in May 2017, alleging the newly elected president may have been acting as a Russian asset when he fired then-Director James Comey even though the bureau’s own evidence overwhelmingly showed at the time there was no collusion with the Kremlin. Internal FBI memos newly declassified Read More…
Montana Superintendent of Public Instruction Susie Hedalen has launched a new online platform intended to make state and district education data easier for the public to search and understand. The Community Engagement platform, built on software from PowerSchool, provides access to Montana’s annual report cards required under the federal Every Student Succeeds Act at the Read More…
The Treasury Department released its annual report on the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, showing the panel reviewed 347 covered transactions in 2025 even as repeated lapses in federal funding slowed its work. CFIUS, the interagency body that screens foreign investment for national security risks, is chaired by Treasury and includes the Read More…
A federal grand jury in Nevada indicted a Henderson, Nev., physician on charges he orchestrated a $95 million scheme to defraud Medicare by billing for medically unnecessary amniotic wound treatments applied to elderly patients, the Justice Department announced. Stephen Dubin, 74, sole owner of Dubin Medical Consultants, doing business as Wound MD, is charged with Read More…
Gov. Greg Gianforte is accepting public comment on five applicants for a temporary appointment to the Montana Public Service Commission, with a deadline of 5 p.m. Mountain time on Thursday, Aug. 20. The applicants are Kirk A. Bushman, Nicholas R. Fitzmaurice, Nicholas A. Loos, John E. Prinkki and David E. Wanzenried. Their applications are posted Read More…
Montana State Auditor James Brown has suspended the insurance producer license of a Kalispell bail bondsman accused of exploiting people under his supervision, including allegedly trading bond services for sexual favors. The suspension order, issued Aug. 3, bars Laine Kendall Callahan from operating as a bail bondsman in the state pending a revocation hearing, which Read More…
Investors will get one of the most important economic reports of the month Wednesday morning when the government releases its July Consumer Price Index, providing the latest look at inflation and potentially reshaping expectations for the Federal Reserve. The Bureau of Labor Statistics will release July CPI at 8:30 a.m. Eastern time Wednesday, Aug. 12. Read More…
Former President Joe Biden’s cancer has spread beyond his bones and is causing him significant pain, his son Hunter Biden said in an interview with the BBC posted online Friday. Hunter Biden described the disease as “very painful” and “very debilitating,” saying it had “metastasized into his bones and further.” He did not specify where Read More…
Army Cpl. Jake Allex earned the Medal of Honor for extraordinary courage while leading his men forward under heavy fire during the Battle of Amiens in World War I. Allex was born Angelko Allex Mandushich July 13, 1887, in Streska, near Prizren, in the Kosovo Vilayet of the Ottoman Empire, present-day Kosovo. He was of Read More…
Nutrition is moving closer to the center of medical education, allowing pre health students a different path to careers in medicine. In June, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services announced new commitments from medical education and accreditation organizations to strengthen nutrition instruction throughout medical school, residency and professional training. Seventy-three medical schools have Read More…
The Trump administration is reviewing how millions of acres of wilderness and other undeveloped federal lands are managed across Idaho and the West, opening several longstanding federal policies to public comment through Aug. 14. The Interior Department is examining policies used by the Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Read More…
Angi Bruce resigned as director of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department effective immediately Friday, moving to a newly created position in Gov. Mark Gordon’s office. Bruce, who became the agency’s first female director when she took over in 2024, will begin her new role, titled “director of special policy initiatives,” on Monday. Gordon’s office Read More…
The Montana Department of Justice launched a new statewide public service announcement to raise awareness of missing Indigenous persons and encourage the public to help bring them home. The 30-second spot highlights the toll these disappearances take on families and tribal communities and spotlights four Indigenous persons who remain missing in Montana: Ashley Mariah Loring Read More…
Montana State University will host an interdisciplinary symposium Oct. 1-2 to explore the possibilities and challenges of artificial intelligence for human knowledge. “The Future of AI” conference, sponsored by the Interdisciplinary Institute on Artificial Intelligence at MSU, will be held on campus. Attendance includes lunch and an evening reception on Thursday, and a light breakfast Read More…
Gov. Greg Gianforte announced Montana will end the “orphan tax” — the longstanding practice of diverting Social Security survivor benefits from children in foster care to cover the cost of their state care — following a federal directive earlier this year calling on states to end the practice. For more than two decades, the Montana Read More…
Attorney General Austin Knudsen announced the Montana Motor Vehicle Division is extending its fee waiver for driver license and identification card renewals and replacements through September 30, following a strong response to the program that saw more than 18,000 Montanans add the new citizenship marker to their credentials in July alone. The waiver, originally set Read More…
A new University of Montana study finds that Meagher County — one of the least densely populated counties in the continental United States — has quietly become one of Montana’s most entrepreneurially vibrant communities, driven not by government programs or outside investment but by decades of investment in education, a culture of civic participation, and Read More…
Professors sue Texas A&M System over limits on teaching race, gender Four professors and a national faculty group asked a federal judge Monday to block the Texas A&M University System’s restrictions on teaching about race, gender and sexuality and to reinstate courses canceled under the policy. The university system bars professors from “advocating” race or Read More…
New York’s push to unmask ICE agents is on hold after a federal judge blocked provisions of a newly minted state law that restricts local cooperation with immigration crackdowns. In a Monday ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Mae A. D’Agostino said that the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause doesn’t permit New York to regulate federal law enforcement Read More…
Montana State Auditor James Brown announced his office has helped stop more than $5 million in unsupported payouts by Mountain Health Co-Op, making it the second health insurer in Montana identified as a victim of a fraud scheme that targeted vulnerable Native communities using a loophole in the Affordable Care Act. The latest announcement brings Read More…
The total cost of employer-sponsored family health insurance now exceeds the median monthly mortgage payment for recent homebuyers, but employers cover most of that insurance bill. The average employer-sponsored family plan cost $26,993 in 2025, according to KFF’s latest annual survey. That works out to $2,249 per month. The Mortgage Bankers Association reported a national median mortgage payment Read More…
Gov. Greg Gianforte joined Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Director Christy Clark to cut the ribbon on the Siskin Island Fishing Access Site near Livingston, expanding public access on the upper Yellowstone River in the heart of Paradise Valley. Montana FWP accepted the donation of the 82-acre island complex earlier this month for the creation Read More…
The University of Montana’s Lodge Dining Center recently earned the grand prize for outstanding performance among new higher education dining facilities at the National Association of College and University Food Services annual conference. The Lodge also received top honors for New Facility of the Year and Carbon Neutrality in the organization’s 2026 Loyal E. Horton Read More…
Four Twin Cities men pleaded guilty to defrauding Minnesota’s Housing Stabilization Services program out of approximately $2.2 million and using artificial intelligence to fabricate records when auditors came calling — a case federal prosecutors say highlights a growing trend of fraudsters deploying AI tools to conceal healthcare fraud. Moktar Hassan Aden, 31, Mustafa Dayib Ali, Read More…
Sixty-two new officers who will serve in 39 agencies across the state graduated from the Montana Law Enforcement Academy within the Montana Department of Justice, Attorney General Austin Knudsen announced. Knudsen attended the ceremony to congratulate and address Class 190, the graduates of the Law Enforcement Officer Basic Course. “I am proud of the men Read More…
The U.S. Department of the Treasury imposed sanctions Friday on four individuals and nine entities tied to Iranian financier Babak Zanjani’s sprawling sanctions evasion network, targeting his domestic conglomerate and a web of foreign firms that supported his cryptocurrency exchanges. “The Iranian regime continues to pay a steep economic price for its reckless behavior, with Read More…
Trump administration ‘continues largest denaturalization effort ever’ The Trump administration continues its multifaceted approach to border security and national security, including its concerted effort to denaturalize citizenship of convicted criminals. The administration argues it’s the “largest denaturalization effort ever” in the history of the country. The most recent 10 denaturalization actions have been filed in Read More…
A man accused of orchestrating a $547 million Medicare fraud scheme through diagnostic laboratories in Louisiana and other states has been captured overseas and returned to the United States after nearly four years as a fugitive, federal officials said Tuesday. Khalid Ahmed Satary was captured Monday and transported back to the United States on Tuesday. Read More…
The University of North Dakota has launched four new degree programs spanning aerospace, law and nursing, all designed to address workforce shortages in North Dakota while expanding opportunities for students. The newest addition to UND’s John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences is a dedicated Bachelor of Science in Helicopter Operations, separating helicopter flight training Read More…