The U.S. Supreme Court threw out a federal appeals court ruling in an immigration case Tuesday and returned the case to the court for an alternative ruling. In a 6-3 decision along partisan lines, the Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that immigration officers have broad authority to decide if restrictions should be placed on a returning 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…
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…
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…
The city of Sioux Falls in South Dakota will allow its mask mandate to expire after a 9-year-old girl read a letter before the city council saying she was “bullied” in school and called “stupid” for not wearing a face covering. Mayor Paul TenHaken broke the four to four tie vote on the city council and Read More…
OLIVER COUNTY, N.D. (KFYR) – The Oliver County Sheriff says approximately 25 head of cattle are dead in the Missouri River after they fell through the ice on March 3. Oliver County Sheriff David Hillard says it is believed the cattle walked on to and fell through the ice. The Department of Environmental Quality is Read More…
The Bigfork School District Board of Trustees voted Wednesday night to extend the district’s mask mandate through April 9 after the teachers union expressed concerns over an earlier decision to lift the rule at the end of this week. The trustees voted 6-0, with one abstention, to continue requiring masks in school buildings based on Read More…
GREAT FALLS — The Montana Department of Commerce’s Housing Division is urging people to prepare to take advantage of a new rental assistance program. As of Thursday, the program was still being developed but was expected to start sometime in the spring, and meant to help people who have been impacted by the pandemic. The Read More…
BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) – North Dakota has another new State Health Officer. Gov. Doug Burgum, R-N.D., named Dr. Nizar Wehbi to the post and is expected to take responsibilities on May 1. Wehbi will be the fifth person to hold the office in either a permanent or interim basis in the past year. “Dr. Wehbi Read More…
CHEYENNE, Wyo. (Press Release) – Governor Mark Gordon announced Wyoming will remove its statewide mask requirement and allow bars, restaurants, theaters and gyms to resume normal operations on March 16. The decision reflects the state’s continually improving health metrics and is consistent with the Governor’s approach of balancing public health with protecting livelihoods. Wyoming has Read More…
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is now advising that people who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 can gather indoors with others who have the jab — without masks or social distancing. Dr. Rochelle Walensky, head of the CDC, said Monday that fully vaccinated people can follow the looser guidelines about two weeks after their final shot. “CDC Read More…
The U.S. and South Korea have reached agreement on a new accord that would resolve a yearslong dispute on how to share the cost of American troops based on the Korean Peninsula, officials from the two countries said Sunday. The new accord, which would last through 2025, would provide for a “meaningful increase” in the South Korean Read More…
The U.S. is on course for an employment boom this year once pandemic restrictions ease and the economy reopens, according to economists at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. “Reopening, fiscal stimulus, and pent-up savings should fuel very strong demand growth,” Chief Economist Jan Hatzius and colleagues wrote in a report highlighting an outlook that’s more optimistic than Read More…
On January 15, in its last days, President Donald Trump’s State Department put out a statement with serious claims about the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic. The statement said the U.S. intelligence community had evidence that several researchers at the Wuhan Institute of Virology laboratory were sick with Covid-like symptoms in autumn 2019—implying the Chinese government had Read More…
Bozeman’s longest-running clinic is working on a new home. Bozeman Clinic opened in the 1930s and, while it’s remained an independent clinic, has leased a location on the Bozeman Health Deaconess Hospital campus since the 1980s. But construction has begun on the clinic’s new two-story location at 1245 N. 15th Ave., at the corner Read More…
Researchers at the University of Montana have released a study that says a booming short-term rental market could have a significant impact on the state’s economy and affordable housing, if left unchecked. The face of Montana’s tourism industry has already changed a lot in the last five years, says Jeremy Sage, the interim director of the Institute Read More…
KALISPELL, Mont. – Before sunrise Tuesday, the red lights of a small, fixed-wing airplane blinked in the sky against the dark silhouette of the Northern Rocky Mountains, heading to Glacier Park International Airport in northwest Montana. The private charter plane landed, taxied and came to a stop. Stairs were dropped and five health care workers Read More…
A Long Island doctor is facing murder charges after five patients allegedly died between 2016 and 2018 due to prescriptions he wrote. George Blatti, 75, was arraigned Thursday on five counts of murder in the second degree and 11 counts of reckless endangerment in the first degree. Blatti was remanded and is due back in Read More…
MONTANA — Attorney General Austin Knudsen announced three veterans’ organizations in the state will soon receive donations as a result of civil penalties assessed as part of a settlement agreement involving an illegal raffle enterprise and the Montana Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Gambling Control Division. In a press release, a series of online nationwide and Read More…
Attorney General Austin Knudsen announced today that a new Montana Highway Patrol (MHP) Trooper recruitment cycle is underway. MHP is accepting applications now through March 24 for at least ten new Troopers to begin training in August 2021. MHP is the traffic law enforcement division of the Montana Department of Justice and is responsible for Read More…
BILLINGS — In Doug Brakke’s mind, it was a simple request. “They had the opportunities to make us feel valued without any monetary risks involved,” the Billings Senior math teacher said. “So I guess my question is, why don’t you do that?” When House Bill 251 was introduced into the state Legislature on Jan. 26, Read More…
HELENA — The U.S. Navy announced that the USS Montana, a Virginia-class submarine, launched Wednesday in Newport News, VA. Wednesday’s launch brings the USS Montana one step closer to being commissioned into the Navy fleet. Huntington Ingalls Industries constructed the submarine. According to the company, the Montana had been dry-docked in since October. In launching, the Read More…
More North Dakotans are eligible for COVID-19 vaccines as at least one district health unit moves into a broader vaccination category. Right now, most of the state is in the Phase 1B category, which means, among other things, anyone 16 years of age and older with two underlying health risk conditions can get vaccinated. Phase 1C includes Read More…
A Bozeman couple donated $1 million to a Special Olympics Montana endowment that aims to raise $10 million. Mike and Cyndi Huempfner donated the money to the organization’s endowment, titled Reveal the Champion in All of Us, according to a news release from the nonprofit. Cyndi said in the release she and her Read More…
HELENA — Governor Greg Gianforte said during a news conference in Helena on Tuesday beginning on March 8, Montana will move to Phase 1B+ of the state COVID-19 vaccination plan. Vaccines will become available for Montanans who are 60 years of age and older as well as people between 16 and 59 years old who have Read More…
Israeli authorities have identified the ship responsible for a massive oil spill that polluted the bulk of the country’s Mediterranean coastline, Environmental Protection Minister Gila Gamliel said Wednesday. “We have laid our hands on the criminal ship,” Gamliel tweeted. “Our long reach will get to all those who harm nature in the sea and our Read More…
AUSTIN, Texas — Texas is lifting its mask mandate, Gov. Greg Abbott said Tuesday, making it the largest state to no longer require one of the most effective ways to slow the spread of the coronavirus. The announcement in Texas, where the virus has killed more than 43,000 people, rattled doctors and big city leaders who Read More…
CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Biden administration’s push to end contracts with private prisons has left federal authorities in Cleveland scrambling to find ways to house nearly 800 inmates. A contract between the U.S. Marshals Service and CoreCivic, owner of the Northeast Ohio Correctional Center in Youngstown, expired Sunday. Authorities, however, were granted a three-month reprieve, Read More…
Whole Foods Market this week entered Wyoming, its 43rd state, with the completion of its acquisition of independent supermarket Jackson Whole Grocer. The Austin, Texas-based specialty grocery chain said the store, located at 1155 S. Highway 89 in Jackson, Wyo., will remain open during its conversion to the Whole Foods banner. The acquisition was announced Read More…
Two Bronx women caused an American Airlines flight to divert due to their “disturbing and unacceptable” behavior — including spitting at a passenger who asked them to stop using racial slurs, according to reports. Kelly Pichardo, 30, and Leeza Rodriguez, 29, were aboard Flight 776 from Dallas-Fort Worth to Los Angeles on Wednesday when a Read More…
Kalispell’s building frenzy isn’t going anywhere. The city doubled the number of building permits issued last year, and major residential projects are on the horizon. On March 9, the Kalispell Planning Board will hold a public hearing for a subdivision proposed by Four Mile Farmstead LLC that at full buildout would offer 455 dwellings on Read More…
Wyoming winds gusting more than 70 mph almost pushed an Amazon semi-trailer off of a bridge on Interstate 25 south of Chugwater on Monday. The driver’s status was unknown as of Monday morning, as the Wyoming Department of Transportation noted on its social media that the Wyoming Highway Patrol was still investigating the incident. The Read More…
The suite of passenger air services continues to expand at Glacier Park International Airport (GPIA), which on Friday announced a new partnership with JetBlue Airways that adds direct routes to New York City in addition to new routes through American Airlines. Beginning this summer, travelers will be able to take a seasonal JetBlue flight to Read More…
BOZEMAN — The Gallatin City-County Health Department, along with Bozeman Health, is addressing two new concerns when it comes to local emergency rules and vaccine distribution – and according to Health Officer Matt Kelley, that includes how some people have found a way to “jump the line.” “While we are down significantly from where we Read More…
WYOMING — Despite Wyoming only having one four-year university in the entire state, the Cowboy State has been ranked as the tenth best in the nation to be a student in 2021 according to recent data from the student resource website, Studee. “To help students find the best place to study, we’ve compared the cost of Read More…
Two travelers visiting Hawaii from Louisiana were arrested on Friday and accused of offering a Honolulu airport screener $3,000 to let them pass without quarantining or providing the negative coronavirus tests required for entry, officials say. Johntrell White, 29, and Nadia Bailey, 28, were charged with bribery and flown back to the mainland. The two allegedly flew Read More…
PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) — South Dakota Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg has been charged with three misdemeanors in connection with a deadly crash in September 2020. Hyde County Deputy State’s Attorney Emily Sovell announced Ravnsborg will be charged with operating a vehicle while using a mobile electronic device, illegal lane change and careless driving. READ FULL Read More…
Gov. Mark Gordon sent a letter to the Biden administration on Wednesday criticizing a recent order that he says severely hampers oil and gas development and threatens Wyoming’s economic well-being. In a letter sent Wednesday to the Interior Department’s acting secretary, Gordon said Wyoming’s oil and gas operators faced long delays in obtaining permits and other approvals Read More…
HELENA – While a lot slowed down in 2020, fraud and scammers did not. Data shows fraud reports and dollars lost went up both nationwide and in Montana. Scammers not only used phone calls, emails, text messages and social media, they also used COVID-19 to convince people to hand over their money. “We’re talking a Read More…
MONTANA — Montana Attorney General, Austin Knudsen, announced a new partnership called the Sentinel Project between the Department of Justice (DOJ), Montana Beer and Wine Distributors Association (MBWDA), and Montana Association of Chiefs of Police (MACOP) to fight human trafficking in the state. Beer and wine distribution employees statewide have participated in the awareness training, which included Read More…
The first U.K. houses where appliances including boilers, stoves and ovens are fueled exclusively by hydrogen are due to be opened by April, with authorities hoping the buildings will provide the public with “a glimpse into the potential home of the future.” The project to develop the two semi-detached properties has received £250,000 (around $347,175) Read More…
Millions of people in Texas remain without power as a bitter cold snap prompted record-breaking wintertime energy demand for the region, all while dozens of gigawatts of power were unavailable. More than 4 million people in the state still don’t have power as of Tuesday morning, according to online tracker poweroutage.us. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or ERCOT, the Texas Read More…
BILILNGS — MSU Billings released its spring 2021 enrollment data, which showed an increase in undergraduate student enrollment and graduate degree program enrollment, particularly in healthcare support programs such as clinical rehabilitation, special education in applied behavior analysis, and health administration. At its official 15th class-day count 3,987 students were enrolled with 2,263 at University Campus and 1,724 Read More…
As the number of patients with mental health needs steadily increases, Bozeman Health Deaconess Hospital is adding two rooms dedicated to emergency behavioral health patients. A lack of mental health and substance abuse services were flagged in two recent community health needs assessments, which Bozeman Health does every three years to ascertain where their services Read More…