Montana State Auditor James Brown announced his Securities Division prevented more than $1 million in fraud-related losses for Montanans in the second quarter of 2026, bringing the year-to-date total to more than $2 million. Working in conjunction with financial industry partners, the Securities Division prevented $1.15 million in fraud-related losses for 10 Montanans between April Read More…
The North Dakota Department of Commerce has opened registration for the 2026 Global Talent Summit, a one-day event bringing together employers, workforce professionals, educators, community leaders and government partners to explore strategies for addressing workforce shortages through global talent. The summit will be held Sept. 3 at the National Energy Center of Excellence on the Read More…
A federal judge on Friday blocked South Dakota from enforcing a new state law restricting advertising for abortion pills against a New York-based reproductive health nonprofit, dealing a temporary setback to the state’s effort to crack down on abortion pill information campaigns. U.S. District Judge Camela Theeler issued a preliminary injunction barring enforcement of House Read More…
Sen. Tim Sheehy rejoined the U.S. Navy Reserve in a ceremony at the Oval Office on Tuesday, where President Donald Trump administered the oath of enlistment to the Montana Republican and former Navy SEAL. Sheehy, who graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 2008 and completed SEAL training before serving as a Navy SEAL Officer Read More…
The Center Square) – Minnesota’s special districts reported $5.4 billion in outstanding long-term debt in 2023, while increasingly relying on state funding as pandemic-era federal aid declined. This is according to a new report from the Minnesota Office of the State Auditor. The 91-page report examined 572 special districts that submitted financial data to the auditor’s Read More…
Montana Attorney General’s Office files 25 felony counts; suspect already held in North Dakota on similar charges Prosecutors in the Montana Attorney General’s Office have charged a Sheridan County man with 25 felony counts of sexual assault and drug-related crimes, Attorney General Austin Knudsen announced. The charges stem from allegations that the man abused five Read More…
This coverage is made possible through Votebeat, a nonpartisan news organization covering local election administration and voting access. Sign up for Votebeat Texas’ free newsletters here. A federal judge on Monday blocked the Trump administration’s overhaul of an immigration verification system to check voter eligibility across the nation, striking down a central pillar of the Read More…
Former Montana utility regulator will lead the $4 billion federal power-marketing agency serving the Pacific Northwest U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright announced Travis Kavulla as administrator and CEO of the Bonneville Power Administration, putting the former Montana utility regulator in charge of the agency that markets wholesale power across the Pacific Northwest. “Travis Kavulla’s Read More…
Financing aims to scale domestic rare-earth processing as Washington pushes to secure a mine-to-magnet supply chain The U.S. Department of War’s Office of Strategic Capital said Thursday it has signed a $725 million conditional loan commitment with Energy Fuels Inc. to expand the company’s domestic processing of rare-earth elements, the latest move in Washington’s push Read More…
Attorney General Austin Knudsen asked the Montana Supreme Court to dismiss a petition from Gallatin County Attorney Audrey Cromwell seeking to end Knudsen’s supervisory control over her office, according to a reply filed this week. Knudsen invoked supervisory control over the Gallatin County Attorney’s Office on April 30, after Cromwell declined to rescind a policy Read More…
Army Pvt. Joe Gandara was a paratrooper who fought in France during World War II. Little is known about him other than that he was the son of Mexican immigrants. However, his bravery and selflessness earned him a posthumous Medal of Honor — nearly 70 years after he sacrificed himself to save his battle buddies. Read More…
Five-day celebration in Helena will run June 24-28 with free tours, workshops and a Capitol Lawn finale The Montana Historical Society will host the Montana History Festival from Wednesday, June 24, through Sunday, June 28, a five-day community celebration marking the grand opening of the fully completed Montana Heritage Center. The festival will feature free Read More…
(The Center Square) – American voters believe building more data centers in the United States are not worth the potential strain on local electricity, water and infrastructure and that the negatives outweigh the importance for national security and competing with China, according to a new poll. The Center Square Voters’ Voice Poll found that 54% Read More…
Governor recognized two veterans with Montana’s top commendation and addressed the state VFW’s annual convention Gov. Greg Gianforte recently continued his 56 County Tour and honored veterans in Yellowstone and Custer counties as part of his annual effort to visit every county in Montana. “As I travel the state for my 56 County Tour, I Read More…
The Marine Corps is taking a leap forward in tactical vehicle training, trading unnecessary wear and tear for high-tech, immersive realism at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. With the introduction of the multiplatform driver simulator, Marines are now able to push the limits of the joint light tactical vehicle without assuming any physical Read More…
Attorney general says MVD will waive renewal and replacement fees in July for Montanans adding the state’s new eagle-in-flight citizenship marker Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen announced that the state’s Motor Vehicle Division will waive certain driver license and identification card fees throughout July for residents who add the state’s new citizenship marker to their Read More…
Siding with SpaceX and the attorney general’s office, the Texas Supreme Court on Friday ruled that environmental groups did not have a right to sue to preserve public access to a beach that has been closed during rocket launches. The unanimous ruling said a trial judge properly dismissed the lawsuit with prejudice, meaning the groups Read More…
Abutting the first-floor hallway of Montana State University’s Romney Hall, the Travis W. Atkins Veteran Support Center resembles a typical campus study space. But through the center doors is much more. Equipped with rows of tables, printers and grab-and-go snacks, the center dedicated to supporting MSU’s military population provides a comfortable place for veterans and their family members to study, relax and find community. Started in 2011, the Veteran Support Center has consistently invested in the Read More…
A former U.S. Intelligence Community contractor pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit offenses against the United States after soliciting and accepting more than half a million dollars in illegal kickbacks in exchange for steering government contracts to his co-conspirators. David Duggin, 55, of Orrtanna, Pennsylvania, worked as a Senior Systems Engineer and on-site contractor at Read More…
The Department of War announced the creation of the Cyber Mastery Incentive Pay program, a sweeping overhaul of how the military compensates its elite cyber warfighters, aimed at attracting, developing and retaining the specialized talent needed to dominate an increasingly contested digital battlespace. The C-MIP program, part of Secretary of War Pete Hegseth’s broader Project Read More…
The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare has released its first round of funding opportunity overviews under the Rural Health Transformation Program, marking a significant step forward in the state’s effort to reshape healthcare delivery in underserved communities across Idaho. The funding opportunity overviews are designed to give stakeholders an early look at the expected Read More…
Montana earned recognition as one of the nation’s premier destinations for entrepreneurs, landing in the top 15 states in a WalletHub study ranking all 50 states on their business startup environments. The report evaluated states across 25 measures grouped into three dimensions: business environment, access to resources and business costs. Metrics included number of startups Read More…
(The Center Square) – California is suing U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement and other federal agencies to stop construction of what plaintiffs say is an ICE holding facility near an agricultural city. Blueprints show plans for some kind of federal facility, but the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said it isn’t building a new detention center. Read More…
After nearly half a century on Texas death row, Clarence Curtis Jordan was resentenced this week to life in prison by a Harris County judge who also recommended that the 70-year-old be granted parole based on medical conditions. The intellectually disabled man spent more than 47 years awaiting execution before Texas’ highest criminal court vacated Read More…
President Donald Trump signed a proclamation restoring commercial fishing access to nearly half a million square miles of Pacific Ocean waters, the latest in a series of actions the administration has taken to expand domestic seafood production and reduce reliance on foreign fish imports. The proclamation reopens commercial fishing in the Mau and Ho’omalu Zones Read More…
The Montana Department of Environmental Quality has approved an Exploration License Amendment for Sentinel Metals and issued a final Environmental Assessment for the Columbia Gold Project, located near Lincoln in Lewis and Clark County. DEQ accepted public comment on the draft EA from March 20 through April 13, 2026, drawing significant public interest. The agency Read More…
The Justice Department announced a final settlement with the state of North Dakota in the case of North Dakota v. United States, resolving litigation stemming from the violent and disruptive protests surrounding the Dakota Access Pipeline in 2016. While the federal government disputed the district court’s legal analysis of North Dakota’s claims and its own Read More…
Governor Greg Gianforte announced Montana joined First Lady Melania Trump’s initiative to expand access to Trump Accounts for children in the foster care system, providing a financial foundation for young people aging out of care as they transition into adulthood. Trump Accounts are tax-advantaged investment accounts available to every American child born between January 1, Read More…
(The Center Square) – The U.S. Department of Education confirmed a whistleblower’s allegations that the agency violated a federal court order while handling Title IX cases tied to gender identity and sexual orientation, according to the U.S. Office of Special Counsel. OSC told President Donald Trump and Congress this week that the department’s supplemental investigation backed Read More…
The University of Montana will launch the first public physician associate program in the state this fall, addressing a major shortage of healthcare workers. The new program recently received accreditation-provisional status from the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant, an organization that establishes the national standard for PA programs. The accreditation marks Read More…
South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley has signed onto a bipartisan coalition of 40 state attorneys general urging Congress to maintain federal funding for the Legal Services Corporation, the nation’s largest funder of civil legal aid for low-income Americans. The coalition sent a letter to Congressional appropriations leaders asking that LSC funding be included in Read More…
(The Center Square) – A federal agency suspended taxpayer funding to the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority on Thursday, effective immediately. A letter was sent to the city of Los Angeles on Thursday by Andrew D. Hughes, deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Hughes accused the city of abusing hundreds of Read More…
Sixteen Montana State University student-athletes will travel to Casper, Wyoming, next week to compete in the College National Finals Rodeo, representing the Bobcats as Big Sky Region champions for the third consecutive year in both the men’s and women’s divisions. Competition runs June 14-20 at the Ford Wyoming Center, where MSU will send nine men Read More…
Montana State University student Peyton Summerhill has wanted to be a scientist for as long as she can remember. “For so many years as a kid, I was looking around trying to figure out where the scientists were, and they were here the whole time,” said Summerhill, who grew up in Bozeman and is majoring Read More…
The University of Montana School of Journalism capped one of its most successful seasons in the Hearst Journalism Awards Program when recent graduate Maddie McCuddy won the National Photojournalism Championship in San Francisco on June 4, adding a $10,000 prize to an already banner year for the program. McCuddy’s national championship title, combined with UM’s Read More…
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A federal grand jury returned a superseding indictment charging three New Mexico men with conspiracy to transport illegal aliens, with two of the defendants also facing charges of conspiracy to kill a witness who had provided information to law enforcement about the smuggling operation. Wilfrido Saenz, 29, Ignacio Jaramillo, 22, and his Read More…
KALISPELL, Mont. — Kristopher Schreiner, an 18-year veteran of Kalispell Middle School’s history department, was named the 2026 Centennial Bell Montana History Teacher of the Year, recognized for an immersive approach to Montana history that has students mining for gold, tanning hides, and constructing log cabins alongside traditional classroom instruction. The awards committee selected Schreiner Read More…
GREAT FALLS, Mont. — Gov. Greg Gianforte announced that Janicki Industries selected Great Falls as the site of an $800 million manufacturing campus expected to create more than 1,000 jobs in its first five years and ultimately employ more than 2,000 people once fully built out. John Janicki, president of the company, made the announcement Read More…
Scores of business professionals with an interest in women’s leadership congregated in Montana State University’s Strand Union Building for the annual women’s leadership conference on Tuesday. Hosted by the Jake Jabs College of Business and Entrepreneurship, the highly anticipated conference welcomed around 250 women from across Montana for a day filled with interactive keynote lectures, panel discussions, a slate of breakout sessions, catered lunch and a networking hour. Katie Read More…
(The Center Square) – The Governor of Montana tells The Center Square he hopes to lure more out of state business expansion into his state, following this week’s announcement that Sedro-Woolley based Janicki Industries chose Great Falls as the site of its next manufacturing campus. “We want entrepreneurs, they’re like golden geese,” said Montana Governor Read More…
In the final days of his GOP runoff campaign to unseat incumbent Republican Sen. John Cornyn, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed lawsuits against Netflix, WhatsApp and Discord, and launched another investigation into Meta. During his victory speech, he cemented a key pillar of his campaign: cracking down on bad actors in Big Tech. “As Read More…
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network issued an advisory urging financial institutions to be vigilant against fraud schemes involving the unlawful employment of illegal aliens, warning that such schemes have cost American taxpayers billions of dollars and helped finance transnational criminal organizations. The advisory was issued jointly with the Federal Deposit Read More…
HELENA, Mont. — Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen and the Department of Justice’s Division of Criminal Investigation called on Montanans to take steps to protect children from online predators during Internet Crimes Against Children Prevention Month, releasing new data showing a sharp rise in reported exploitation nationally and thousands of tips received in Montana over Read More…
(The Center Square) – In a reversal, Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson has ordered that surveillance cameras be turned on during the FIFA World Cup Tournament. Wilson said in a statement Friday that the decision to activate the cameras followed updated information from Seattle police and the FBI “on the current global and local threat environment.” Read More…