The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Board of Directors has appointed Cara Kolb as senior vice president of Risk and Compliance, the bank announced. In her new role, Kolb will be responsible for ensuring bank staff effectively manage risks while rigorously complying with procedures and policies. She will also oversee functions related to data privacy Read More…
A federal court upheld the Trump administration’s authority under the Defense Production Act to oversee operation of the Santa Ynez Pipeline on the California coast, rejecting California’s efforts to block federally mandated oil production through state-level legal barriers — though the same ruling fined Sable Offshore Corporation nearly $1.5 million for violating a federal consent Read More…
U.S. Army Sgt. Adam M. Lee received the Soldier’s Medal during a ceremony at the Belgrade Armory Aug. 16 for heroic actions that saved the lives of two critically injured hikers in California. Brig. Gen. Trenton J. Gibson, adjutant general of the Montana National Guard, presented the award to Lee, a combat medic specialist assigned Read More…
WASHINGTON — U.S. Central Command is establishing its first multinational attack-drone task force, expanding the military’s use of relatively low-cost unmanned weapons as the Pentagon works more closely with regional partners to counter threats across the Middle East. The new unit, Task Force Falcon Strike, will combine American and allied one-way attack drones operating in Read More…
On June 4, UND’s newest space-research project rose into view above campus as cranes lifted two antennas onto the rooftops of the Collaborative Energy Complex and Odegard Hall. That morning, workers installed the most visible pieces yet of UND’s new bistatic radar system, with “bistatic” referring to the physical separation between the radar’s transmitter and Read More…
The Justice Department filed a lawsuit against Maryland and Attorney General Anthony Brown on Thursday over the state’s sanctuary policies, arguing they unlawfully obstruct federal immigration enforcement. The complaint, filed July 9 in U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, targets Maryland’s Community Trust Act, a 2026 law that broadly prohibits state and local Read More…
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum joined Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte, Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon and Idaho Gov. Brad Little in Big Sky on Tuesday to announce a proposed federal rule that would give Western states significantly more flexibility to manage grizzly bears — the first major management reform since the species was listed as threatened under Read More…
The University of Montana Alumni Association recently honored four exceptional alumni with a 2026 Grizzly of the Last Decade selection. The recognition highlights graduates whose work is making a mark in business, public service, entrepreneurship and innovation. Each honoree has taken a distinct path, but all have turned their UM education into work that creates Read More…
The Department of War awarded two Other Transaction Authority agreements totaling $86 million to nLIGHT Defense and Lockheed Martin Aculight to develop high-energy laser weapons capable of defeating drone swarms and cruise missiles, with a total program ceiling of $847 million. The agreements, announced July 9, are being executed by the department’s Scaled Directed Energy Read More…
Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador joined a bipartisan coalition of 49 attorneys general in calling on the Federal Communications Commission to strengthen rules that would cut off scammers’ access to legitimate telephone numbers, the latest step in a years-long multistate effort to combat illegal robocalls. “Idahoans are tired of scammers swindling their families and flooding Read More…
A former general in Afghanistan’s Border Force and first deputy speaker of the Afghan National Assembly’s House of the People has been extradited to the United States and charged with conspiring to import hundreds of kilograms of heroin and methamphetamine and provide an arsenal of military-grade weapons to a drug trafficking organization. Abdul Zahir Qadeer, Read More…
Gov. Mark Gordon voted last week to support communities across Wyoming using Mineral Royalty Grants during a special virtual meeting of the State Loan and Investment Board, approving $3,673,931 in funding for 11 towns and districts. The meeting, held July 2, was called to review earlier 2026 projects for potential additional funds from grant reserves. Read More…
By: Frankie Beer, MSU News Service
The Montana Department of Environmental Quality is requesting public comment on revised water quality goals for Belt Creek, following the completion of a $13 million water treatment plant that has begun removing acid mine drainage from the creek for the first time in more than a century. DEQ has drafted a revised Missouri-Cascade and Belt Read More…
Canada has suspended several animal exports from Texas due to concerns about the New World screwworm, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is immediately suspending the export of horses, pigs, cattle, bison, sheep, goats, deer, elk, moose, llamas and more. Imports from other states are permitted, provided the Read More…
Utah Fourth Judicial District Court Judge Tony Graf has delayed his ruling on whether there’s enough evidence to bring Tyler Robinson to trial on charges of killing Arizona conservative leader Charlie Kirk. Following a five-day preliminary hearing, Graf on Friday said he would make his decision after having prosecution and defense lawyers present oral arguments Read More…
U.S. Supreme Court Justices Elena Kagan and Amy Coney Barrett made a rare appearance before lawmakers on Tuesday to defend the high court’s $225.1 million budget request, which included increased provisions for security. The U.S. House Appropriations subcommittee on financial services and general government heard testimony from the two justices of the court’s fiscal year Read More…
Gov. Larry Rhoden marked the completion of South Dakota’s new Women’s Correctional Facility in Rapid City Friday, cutting a strand of razor wire in place of a traditional ribbon to signal the $87 million facility is ready for inmates. The 102,750-square-foot facility on Rapid City’s north side includes three 96-bed housing units along with a Read More…
Soldiers and airmen assigned to the Alaska National Guard executed four missions to save four people in the Alaska wilderness before the July Fourth holiday weekend. Air Force Maj. Kody Schmidt, Alaska Rescue Coordination Center senior controller, said the first mission started following a request July 2 from the Alaska State Troopers for a hoist-capable Read More…
Montana Commissioner of Securities and Insurance James Brown saved Montanans more than $18 million in fiscal year 2025-2026 by denying unjustified insurance rate increases, the agency announced. Brown’s actions saved 127,855 Montana insurance consumers a combined $18,459,920 from July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026. During that period, the agency reviewed 3,937 rate filings. “Increasing Read More…
A first-of-its-kind study published by University of North Dakota researchers recently in JAMA Network Open reveals a significant association between residential radon gas—a common, modifiable environmental hazard—and an increased risk of ovarian cancer incidence and mortality among postmenopausal women. The prospective cohort study, led by researchers at the UND School of Medicine & Health Sciences Read More…
Idaho Gov. Brad Little announced several new appointments across state government, headlined by the naming of Alberto Gonzalez as director of the Idaho Transportation Department following the retirement of longtime director Scott Stokes. Gonzalez, who most recently served as Idaho’s chief information officer and administrator of the Office of Information Technology Services, officially assumed the Read More…
Thirty-seven Montana students competed at the 2026 National History Day National Contest, held June 14-18 at the University of Maryland in College Park, in what organizers described as the largest Montana delegation to the national competition in recent memory. Montana students earned special prizes, Smithsonian showcase selections and top-20% finishes across multiple categories. This year’s Read More…
The U.S. Department of the Treasury imposed sanctions Friday on a Dubai-based Iranian financier accused of managing a global network of assets for Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, along with three Iranian exchange houses that move billions of dollars annually on behalf of sanctioned Iranian banks. The designations come as Iran has resumed attacks Read More…
Gov. Greg Gianforte suspended Public Service Commissioner Brad Molnar without pay for one year, effective immediately, citing findings from two independent investigations that concluded Molnar had engaged in sexual harassment, retaliation against staff and fellow commissioners, and continued retaliation after being warned to stop. The action, taken Thursday, is believed to be the first time Read More…
Attorney General Austin Knudsen announced the appointment of Kimberly Kutch as administrator of the Montana Department of Justice’s Forensic Science Division, which oversees the state crime lab and supports law enforcement agencies statewide. Kutch brings 30 years of experience in state and county government leadership to the role. She most recently served as a human Read More…
Department of Homeland Security purchases facilities in California’s Kern and San Diego counties Private prison operator CoreCivic has sold two Southern California immigration detention centers to the federal government for $1.5 billion. Under the deal, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security takes ownership of the Otay Mesa Detention Center in San Diego County for $739.2 Read More…
Two Romanian brothers illegally in the United States pleaded guilty in federal court to orchestrating a fraud scheme that stole more than $760,000 in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits from recipients across multiple states. Marian Ovidiu Dumitru, 37, and Catalin Dumitru, 39, both Romanian citizens who were residing unlawfully in the United States, each pleaded Read More…
The U.S. Department of the Treasury released an analysis of the first filing season under the Working Families Tax Cuts, the sweeping tax legislation President Trump signed into law one year ago, showing American families and workers claimed more than $82 billion in individual tax relief through the April filing deadline. According to Treasury’s analysis, Read More…
Montana State University earned a spot on Forbes magazine’s annual list of “America’s Top Colleges,” which ranks universities according to factors such as students’ return-on-investment from their degrees and their ability to earn scholarships. MSU ranked 345th on Forbes’ list, placing it among a select group of 500 institutions recognized from approximately 2,600 four-year colleges Read More…
The U.S. Department of Commerce has named Andrew Silberstein as executive director of the U.S. Investment Accelerator, the federal office created by President Trump in March 2025 to attract and fast-track large-scale domestic and foreign investments. Silberstein brings nearly three decades of experience in real estate, private equity and investment banking to the role. He Read More…
Montana officially began implementing community engagement requirements for its Medicaid expansion program July 1, making the state one of the first in the nation to enforce the new rules, which stem from federal legislation signed into law last year. The requirements, known formally as community engagement requirements, mandate that most adults between the ages of Read More…
Medicare and Medicaid funding accounted for almost $12 billion of services provided through assisted living facilities, according to a new report released by the Government Accountability Office. The independent nonpartisan agency examined spending for services in assisted living facilities in 2024, the year with the most recently available data. The agency found $3.5 billion in Read More…
The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday ruled the federal government can’t hold undocumented immigrants for more than 90 days without a bond hearing, rejecting a Trump administration policy that requires immigration agents to hold immigrants until they are deported. In 2-1 ruling, the three-judge panel based in New Orleans said the federal government Read More…
A Gallatin County man accused of strangling his now-deceased wife has been offered a plea deal that would result in no prison time, drawing public outrage and calls for the Montana attorney general to intervene — the latest controversy for a county attorney’s office already embroiled in a lawsuit over its refusal to cooperate with Read More…
The Justice Department announced charges against eight alleged members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua in two separate cases involving kidnappings and murders in Texas and Illinois, with Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche saying all eight entered the United States illegally between December 2021 and April 2024. In the Texas case, a grand jury Read More…
Billings Police Chief Rich St. John announced Friday he plans to retire Sept. 30, ending a 45-year law enforcement career in Montana’s largest city and one of its most crime-challenged. St. John began his law enforcement career in 1981 as a Billings patrol officer, a role he held for six years before moving into the Read More…
The Montana Department of Commerce announced that $250,000 in grant funding has been awarded to two Montana communities to support public safety and development projects in coal-impacted areas, allocated by the Montana Coal Board. “Commerce is proud to support the people who live in Montana’s coal country,” said Commerce Director Marta Bertoglio. “In the last Read More…
A former Powell County Sheriff’s Office captain and high school wrestling coach has been charged with sexual intercourse without consent involving a student, Attorney General Austin Knudsen announced. John Austin Micu, 42, was charged Wednesday in Powell County District Court following a more than year-long investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct involving a student and Read More…
Two hundred and fifty years after 56 delegates affixed their signatures to the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia, the United States is marking its semiquincentennial — one of the rarest milestones a nation can reach — with a yearlong wave of celebrations, commemorations and reflection stretching from coast to coast. July 4, 2026 is the Read More…
Montana Commissioner of Securities and Insurance James Brown announced that a series of enforcement settlements with entities that failed to properly file required notices of business activity in Montana has added roughly $60,000 to the state’s Securities Fraud Restitution Assistance Fund in 2026. The fund provides financial assistance to Montana residents harmed in cases prosecuted Read More…
The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced it will accept large philanthropic contributions of publicly traded stock to support Trump Accounts, the federal child investment program launching July 4 to coincide with America’s 250th anniversary. Under the new process, eligible philanthropic contributors may transfer approved publicly traded stock to Treasury, which will then distribute the Read More…
The U.S. Justice Department sued California and Virginia Wednesday over new gun laws that went into effect the same day. Both states used their Democratic trifectas – a Democratic governor and both legislative chambers under Democratic control – to pass more restrictive gun laws earlier this year that went into effect on July 1. California Read More…
The South Dakota Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources announced that the Board of Water and Natural Resources has approved $54.8 million in loans and grants for water, wastewater and solid waste projects across the state. The $54,856,749 total consists of $52,400,000 in low-interest loans, $2,000,000 in principal forgiveness and $456,749 in grants to be Read More…