On the steps of the Montana State Capitol, Governor Greg Gianforte was officially sworn in Monday for his second term as the 25th Governor of Montana. Accompanied by his wife, First Lady Susan Gianforte, the ceremony marked a historic milestone, as Gianforte became the first Republican governor to secure a second term since 1996. Chief Read More…
(The Center Square) − Pornhub will soon be inaccessible in 13 states after lawmakers passed a slurry of restrictions for social media and other internet sites. The bills require certain age verification measures for websites hosting adult content. A total of 16 states – Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, North Read More…
Wyoming families will soon have greater access to educational choices as the first phase of the Wyoming Education Savings Account (ESA) application process goes live on January 1, 2025. The ESA program, established under the Wyoming Education Savings Account Act signed into law in March 2024, aims to empower families by providing financial support for Read More…
In a historic milestone, the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC) has announced the investment of more than $92 million in public schools, marking a record-breaking revenue contribution from the state’s trust lands. “Thanks to DNRC’s responsible management of state trust lands, this historic $92 million investment will provide our students with the Read More…
GREAT FALLS — Family and friends of Carl Mock, who was attacked by a grizzly bear on Thursday morning, say that he passed away on Saturday morning. The West Yellowstone man, who was 40 years old, was taken to a hospital in Idaho Falls after being attacked by the bear. According to GoFundMe account created Read More…
MISSOULA, Mont. — Many residents in the Troy and Thompson Falls area are without power Sunday night. Northern Lights outage map shows roughly 1,000 customers affected by the outage in northwest Montana. READ FULL STORY
BILLINGS — Scientists have developed a new way to test live animals for chronic wasting disease that holds promise for one day detecting the illness in the wild. “We need to do more in the form of field testing to verify its utility,” said Byron Caughey, chief of the TSE/Prion Biochemistry Section at the National Read More…
GREAT FALLS — The Boy Scouts of America collected donations for the Great Falls Community Food Bank on Saturday for their 27th annual “Scouting For Food” drive. Informational flyers were given to Great Falls residents on April 10th with instructions for the food drive event. Those wishing to contribute placed bags and boxes filled with Read More…
The fight over Johnson & Johnson CEO Alex Gorsky’s $30 million payday is heating up. The state of Illinois, charitable organization OxFam and several religious organizations have filed letters with the Securities and Exchange Commission opposing his pay. The letters urge shareholders to vote no on a “say on pay” proposal set for consideration at Read More…
RAPID CITY, S.D. (KEVN) – Help wanted has now turned into help needed for many places like Piesano’s Pacchia. “It’s just hard to get help,” says owner Stacey Livermont. Secretary Marcia Hultman from the Department of Labor and Regulation says initial claims for unemployment are going back to normal rates, but continued claim numbers still Read More…
PIERRE, S.D. — South Dakota’s attorney general who is awaiting his next court hearing involving a fatal crash has announced his promotion in the Army Reserve. Jason Ravnsborg posted on Facebook that he is now a full colonel in the Army Reserve. He’s been in the military for 24 years and through three deployments, his Read More…
Documents filed this week in Natrona County District Court allege that a Casper man gave a 13-year-old girl methamphetamine and then produced child pornography with her. Salvador Salas is charged with the following in district court: Two counts of second-degree sexual abuse of a minor Two counts of sexual exploitation of children Distribution of a Read More…
If you hit it, you can eat it. A new Wyoming law allows drivers to take home wildlife that was accidentally killed by a car, and prepare it for dinner. Salvaging roadkill had been illegal in the state for generations before Monday’s bill singing. Now, Wyoming joins 30 other states where drivers can cook a Read More…
Bernard Madoff, the Manhattan investment adviser who promised stellar returns to his A-list clients and instead defrauded them of more than $19 billion in history’s largest Ponzi scheme, has died. He was 82. He died Wednesday, according to an emailed statement from Brandon Sample, Madoff’s attorney. No cause was given. Madoff’s home since July 2009 was Read More…
GREAT FALLS — Governor Greg Gianforte on Tuesday issued an executive order prohibiting the state-sponsored development and required use of so-called vaccine passports in Montana. “I strongly encourage Montanans to get a safe, effective COVID-19 vaccine, which is our best path to protect our family and friends and get back to a more normal life,” Read More…
Montana has 377 bridges and more than 1,485 miles of highway in poor condition, and 1 in 4 of the state’s public transit vehicles is ready for the scrapyard, according to a new “infrastructure report card” from the Biden White House. The report card, released as part of the administration’s push for a $2.3 trillion Read More…
MISSOULA, Mont. — Missoula International Airport officials tell NBC Montana all flights are coming in and out on time. Brian Ellestad is the new director at the Missoula International Airport. He says enough workers are on hand, doing all the needed duties for planes to take off and land properly, and he sees no demonstrations going Read More…
HELENA – The Montana University System is looking for your input, when it comes to carrying guns on campus. House Bill 102 was passed by the Montana House of Representatives, expanding where people can carry a concealed weapon. The bill would relax gun restrictions in Montana by allowing concealed carrying of firearms on college campuses and allow people Read More…
BILLINGS – Pictograph Cave State Park southeast of Billings will reopen Wednesday, two months after it was closed by a rockfall that blocked the access road and several trails. Since a rockfall in January, Park employees and contractors have worked to clear the road and trails and assess the threat of future rockfalls from the Read More…
Since 2017, the IRS owes — that’s right, owes – Americans $1.3 billion in unclaimed tax returns, the agency said on Monday. The IRS said that in total, 1.3 million tax payers who did not file a 2017 Form 1040 federal income tax return are owed a refund. The IRS said the median refund would Read More…
MISSOULA, Mont. — The public comment period for a Montana plan to clean a polluted 42-acre area just north of downtown Missoula is set to expire on May 2. The Missoulian reported Thursday that the Montana Department of Environmental Quality had proposed a plan to clean the area to standards that would allow future industrial uses. Read More…
After he canceled student debt for about 72,000 defrauded borrowers two weeks ago, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona announced on Monday relief measures for borrowers with total and permanent disabilities. Under the previous rule, established under President Barack Obama, anyone determined permanently disabled by a physician, the Social Security Administration, or the Department of Veteran Affairs was eligible for federal Read More…
Idaho Potato Commission President and CEO Frank Muir plans to retire in mid-September. He prioritized national branding and marketing since leaving a well-established corporate career in those disciplines in 2003 to join IPC. “I was hired as an outside hired gun to do real marketing, and that’s what we’ve tried to do the Read More…
To close out Montana Agriculture Week, Governor Greg Gianforte toured the Feddes’ Family’s Amsterdam Meat Shop in Manhattan, which was awarded a MT Meat Processing Award Grant from the CARES Act. At the site, the governor heard from owners how this investment allowed them to increase their processing capacity and get their beef from pasture Read More…
Sixty officers from 40 different agencies in the state will graduate Tuesday from the Montana Law Enforcement Academy in Helena. Attorney General Austin Knudsen is set to give a keynote address. Glen Stinar, academy administrator, and graduating class representative Thomas Hsu of the Ravalli County Sheriff’s Office will also speak, according to a news release. Read More…
(The Center Square) – Montana is the ninth least stressed state in the U.S., according to a new study, in large part because of financial, family and health-related factors. Personal finance website Wallethub ranked the states based on more than 40 indicators across categories such as average number of hours worked per week, personal bankruptcy rate and Read More…
HELENA, Mont. – Governor Greg Gianforte announced Monday in a release that Montana is one of four states selected to participate in the National Governors Association’s (NGA) 2021 Policy Academy to Advance Whole-of-State Cybersecurity. In the new policy academy, Montana will work with the NGA on developing and implementing cybersecurity workforce development plans. “As one Read More…
BOZEMAN, Mont. – Organizers for the Kenny Chesney concert have rescheduled the show at the Bobcat Stadium in Bozeman for 2022 due to COVID-19 concerns. Montana State University said in a release Chesney is putting on an entirely new show with a different name, different line-up and is including new music for his 2022 tour Read More…
The US Supreme Court has agreed to consider reinstating the death sentence for Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev after it was vacated by a lower court last year. Tsarnaev was convicted of planting pressure-cooker bombs at the 2013 Boston Marathon with his brother, which killed three people and injured hundreds of others. He was sentenced Read More…
BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) – Dead sea scrolls have been in the news recently because previously undiscovered fragments of them were found in a newly excavated cave in the Judean Desert by archeologists working for the Israel Antiquity Authority. The find is the first in 60 years and has created a lot of excitement among both Read More…
PORTLAND, Ore.—When the fence that had surrounded the federal courthouse here was removed earlier this month, city leaders touted it as a sign that Portland was returning to normal after nine months of protests that often turned violent. But within days, bands of rioters were back in downtown Portland. They blocked streets, broke windows, threw Read More…
The Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) has agreed to drop its lawsuit against five Flathead County businesses and cover the defendants’ legal fees at a cost of more than $94,000, nearly five months after the businesses were accused of ignoring a statewide mask mandate imposed by former Gov. Steve Bullock. The Read More…
Montana and Texas are leading a 21-state coalition that seeks to block the Biden administration’s cancellation of Keystone XL’s border crossing permit. Other states in the suit include North and South Dakota, as well as Wyoming and Nebraska. The suit was filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas by Read More…
A bipartisan group in Congress is urging the federal government not to remove 144 cities from being designated as metropolitan areas. They say reclassifying them as “micropolitan” could put key federal funding at risk. The request comes after The Associated Press reported this month that the federal government wants to raise the population criteria for core cities Read More…
BUTTE — A former Montana Tech and Jefferson High School football player, Derek James Nygaard, was charged Tuesday with two counts of felony sexual intercourse without consent. Butte-Silver Bow prosecutors formally charged Nygaard, 19, of Clancy, who appeared with his lawyer, David Maldonado, and his parents in Justice of the Peace Jimm Kilmer’s court. A warrant Read More…
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and his Montana counterpart Austin Knudsen are leading a coalition of 21 state attorneys general in a lawsuit against President Joe Biden’s revocation of the Keystone XL pipeline project. What Happened: When Biden took office on Jan. 20, he fulfilled one of his campaign promises by signing an executive order canceling the March Read More…
Montana State University agreed to pay a former professor accused of sexual harassment and discrimination and a former graduate student a settlement of $200,000. The settlement is the result of a civil suit filed in June 2019 against the university and four female graduate students who are current or former employees of MSU. In Read More…
HELENA — Montana Highway Patrol leaders honored three troopers Wednesday with the department’s highest award. At a ceremony in Helena, Attorney General Austin Knudsen and MHP Col. Steve Lavin presented Troopers Alex Hiday and Connor Wager and Sgt. Jerril Ren with the Medal of Valor. The medal recognizes troopers who show heroism above and beyond Read More…
Lawmakers this year passed the biggest budget in state history and carved out funding for long-term, transformational projects like broadband and rail line expansion, all amid a once-in-a-century pandemic. But it’s what didn’t happen that the 2021 Legislative Session might be most remembered for. For 128 days, dozens if not hundreds of legal and political Read More…
Glacier National Park will hold a virtual community discussion on Thursday, March 18, regarding challenges the park and visitors will face in the upcoming 2021 season. Park Superintendent Jeff Mow will provide an overview on topics, such as the proposed ticketed entry system, park visitation numbers, COVID-19 mitigations, and challenges with seasonal housing. Glacier National Read More…
The Bozeman School District on Friday reached a tentative two-year pay raise agreement with its teachers union and outlined avenues for continuing conversations related to the COVID-19 pandemic. About 500 teachers in the district will receive a 4% increase in pay over the next two years, including a 2.5% increase beginning next school year followed Read More…
The Montana Highway Patrol (MHP) commissioned 15 new troopers today at the 70th Advanced Academy Graduation ceremony at Helena’s Civic Center. MHP Colonel Steve Lavin and Attorney General Austin Knudsen addressed the graduates at the event before their badges were pinned and they were sworn in to their new positions as Highway Patrol Troopers. Of Read More…
The Adaptive Performance Center celebrated its one-year anniversary on Saturday. During the COVID-19 shutdowns, it was considered essential of fitness and mental health therapy. Veterans say they enjoy working out at the Adaptive Performance Center (APC). “It’s a nice quiet atmosphere,” said Jim Carnathan, a U.S. Navy and U.S. Army veteran. “A lot of times Read More…
Rioters targeted the federal courthouse in Portland, Ore., on Thursday evening in renewed clashes between demonstrators and federal police. The attack on the courthouse came one day after authorities removed fencing initially erected over the summer, in response to continued riots following the death of George Floyd, an African American man killed during his arrest Read More…