The Center Square) – Nearly a year after a nine-person jury found Greenpeace liable for $667 million in damages in a case related to the Dakota Access Pipeline, a North Dakota judge has said the environmental organization will soon be ordered to make good on the damages. In court papers filed Tuesday, Judge James Gion Read More…
Attorney General Austin Knudsen announced a landmark settlement agreement with The Vanguard Group, Inc. this week, resolving allegations that the asset manager conspired to artificially constrict the coal market through anticompetitive trade practices. The settlement stems from a 2024 lawsuit filed by Knudsen against Vanguard, BlackRock, and State Street Corporation. The suit alleged the firms Read More…
U.S. Sen. Steve Daines visited the Sibanye-Stillwater Columbus metallurgical complex last week, meeting with miners and touring operations as he praised recent federal trade action aimed at protecting Montana’s palladium industry. Daines credited Donald Trump for imposing a preliminary 132% tariff on Russian palladium imports, describing the move as a critical step toward leveling the Read More…
Denver Mayor Mike Johnston on Thursday signed an executive order barring U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement from operating on city-owned property and directing local police to protect peaceful protesters during federal immigration enforcement actions. The order prohibits ICE agents from staging or conducting operations in city buildings, parks, shelters, parking facilities, libraries, and other municipal Read More…
HELENA – The Montana Department of Commerce’s Office of Tourism and Business Development have launched a campaign to help slow the spread of COVID-19. The ‘Montana Aware’ Campaign promotes Safety First, Adventure Second. With this slogan, the message they want to get across is safe and responsible behavior to those who are traveling in the state. The public health initiative aims to educate residents and Read More…
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota has new signs welcoming people to the state. The design features the new state logo and includes the first photo background used on a North Dakota welcome sign. READ FULL STORY
Aug. 7 (UPI) — A Wyoming sheriff’s deputy responded to an unusual loose animal call and ended up wrangling a runaway emu. The Laramie County Sheriff’s Office said Deputy Herlihey was dispatched to a neighborhood for an “emu on the loose call.” READ FULL STORY
MISSOULA — The popular “Yellowstone” series featuring Kevin Costner announced Friday it plans to move its production to the Missoula Valley and surrounding locations later this month. The series was formerly shot in Utah and will be filmed solely in Montana for the first time in its history, according to Friday’s announcement. The production secured Read More…
NorthWestern Energy is warning that scammers are likely to use the end of the temporary moratorium on service disconnections to steal money from Montanans. NorthWestern Energy voluntarily stopped service disconnections for non-payment in March to assist customers financially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Several additional tools are in place now to assist customers who may Read More…
Dickinson’s Fisher Industries won a new border wall contract Monday for $300 million. The wall will cover 17 miles in Laredo, Texas, next to the Rio Grande. Fisher already got more than $1.5 billion for two other contracts. READ FULL STORY
(CNN)Twelve people were hospitalized in Wyoming on Monday after a hot air balloon crash, officials said. Three hot air balloons carrying a total of 36 people crashed into the ground on Monday morning, according to Jackson Hole Fire Chief Brady Hansen. Hansen said authorities received a call just after 8 a.m. local time that Read More…
BEIRUT — A “colossal” explosion that rocked the port area of Lebanon’s capital Tuesday, killing dozens of people and injuring thousands more, happened at a warehouse where tons of ammonium nitrate were being stored, the prime minister said. “I will not rest until we find the person responsible for what happened, to hold him accountable Read More…
WASHINGTON—Saudi Arabia has constructed with Chinese help a facility for extracting uranium yellowcake from uranium ore, an advance in the oil-rich kingdom’s drive to master nuclear technology, according to Western officials with knowledge of the site. The facility, which hasn’t been publicly disclosed, is in a sparsely populated area in Saudi Arabia’s northwest and has Read More…
With the stroke of President Donald Trump’s pen, the biggest land conservation legislation in a generation became law Tuesday morning, prompting widespread praise on a measure that sets a new standard of stewardship for public lands. The bill, called the Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA), authorizes billions in funding for two major conservation needs — Read More…
Despite clouds of uncertainty hanging over higher education from the coronavirus pandemic, Montana State University took an optimistic step Tuesday by celebrating the completion of its new $50 million freshman student dormitory, Hyalite Hall. President Waded Cruzado and other officials, all wearing face masks and sitting at a distance, gathered outside the new six-story, Read More…
Virgin Galactic is making strides toward its goal of creating high-speed commercial aircraft that operates a little closer to Earth than its existing passenger spacecraft. The company revealed the initial design of the commercial passenger airplane it’s creating that’s designed to fly at speeds in excess of Mach 3 — faster than the average cruising speed of around Read More…
NEW YORK — As autumn nears and the coronavirus outbreak wears on, the next school year is becoming more uncertain for many parents. A new survey finds four in five parents are thinking about homeschooling their school-age children this fall. Of those parents, nearly half say they’re seriously considering keeping their kids home in 2020 and Read More…
Jessica Dehn had been thinking for a few years about what kind of school she might want to run. After four and a half years directing a childcare center, Dehn put together the pieces in June to focus on launching a new school. In September, just three months later, she plans to open Explore Academy. Read More…
This story is part of an NPR nationwide analysis of states’ revenue and budgets during the pandemic. Montana’s finances are somewhat stable despite the economic hit the state has taken during the coronavirus pandemic. That’s the word from the state’s budget office. “This is essentially a manageable situation, which is pretty remarkable in the face of a Read More…
The letters of three Montana women politicians offer historic insight as the nation celebrates the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment in August, which gave women the right to vote. Women’s earliest known role in Montana politics began in 1882 when Helen Piotopowaka Clarke was the first woman and first Native American elected as county Read More…
New Jersey lawmakers seemed close to supporting legislation on Thursday that could free more than 3,000 prisoners — about 20 percent of the state’s prison population — months before their release dates in response to the extraordinary threat posed by the coronavirus in tightly packed correctional facilities. Inmates who are within a year of completing Read More…
A U.S. appeals court on Thursday agreed to rehear arguments over whether the judge assigned to the criminal case against Michael Flynn, President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser, must grant a request to dismiss it. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said it would hold an oral argument in Read More…
WASHINGTON, DC (KOTA) – A former Indian Health Service doctor convicted of pedophilia continues to receive a government pension; but South Dakota Rep. Dusty Johnson wants that to end. Johnson, along with Rep. Greg Gianforte of Montana urged the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to hold pediatrician Stanley Patrick Weber fully accountable for Read More…
Flathead County health officials say with the rise in COVID-19 cases is becoming harder to trace within the community. Interim Flathead County Public Health Officer Tamalee Robinson explained to MTN News that with the busy tourist season in the Flathead Valley has seen an increase in virus cases. She says that many locals and visitors Read More…
MISSOULA, Mont. — A homeless camp along Missoula’s North Reserve Street continues to grow amid the coronavirus pandemic. In the winter, officials estimate 15 to 20 people were living along the banks of the Clark Fork. That number grows every summer, but due to the pandemic they now estimate 60 to 80 people are living there. Read More…
The warning had been in place for a long time: The 100-year-old St. Mary River diversion system was likely to fail at any moment. On May 17 it happened. A concrete structure on the St. Mary Canal near Glacier National Park crumbled and washed downstream, shutting off flow to the Milk River and leaving the Read More…
BILLINGS, Mont. – There have been reports of Montanans getting unsolicited packages in the mail from china containing packets of seeds. We reached out to a local botanist at MSUB to find out why it’s important not to plant or throw away any unsolicited seeds you may have received in the mail. Dr. Jason Comer Read More…
A Towner, North Dakota rancher has been appointed by Governor Doug Burgum to the North Dakota Beef Commission. Jason Zahn will serve as a beef producer director on the commission. He joins the NDBC as one of nine voting members, all representing various segments of the state’s beef industry. Zahn and his family run a Read More…
Three Wyoming state agencies will together provide 500,000 face coverings to school districts here, the departments announced Monday. The reusable face coverings, distributed by the departments of Health and Education and the Office of Homeland Security, are currently required for use within schools when staff and students can’t maintain 6 feet of distance. The gear Read More…
The old federal building in downtown Missoula may soon be declared a national monument. Missoula County Commission chair Josh Slotnick agreed to sign the official letter to the General Services Administration asking for the building to be turned over to local government. The county wouldn’t have to pay for the building as long as they Read More…
Montana university officials approved guidelines for colleges and universities statewide to reopen campuses in the fall. These measures, known as Montana University System Healthy Fall 2020 Task force Guidelines, would be used as the framework for campuses to form their own individual safe back-to-school plans. A few of the key points listed in those guidelines Read More…
Two members of Congress have written a letter to officials at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) demanding that former Indian Health Services pediatrician and convicted pedophile Stanley Patrick Weber be stripped of his pension. Congressmen Greg Gianforte, R-Montana, and Dusty Johnson, R-South Dakota, wrote Monday that by allowing Weber to continue Read More…
GREAT FALLS, Mont. — A Montana man is recovering after being mauled by a grizzly bear Monday in an abandoned barn. Shannun Rammell, 50, was looking for the bear after a neighbor reported seeing tracks in the area, the Great Falls Tribune reported. The family drove to an unoccupied farm nearby but saw no signs of Read More…
MISSOULA, Mont. — Unordered packages containing unknown seeds are arriving in mailboxes across the country with return addresses in China. Montana officials started getting reports of the unsolicited packages this week. According to the Montana Department of Agriculture, it’s important that recipients of these unsolicited packages of seeds do not plant them. “Could they be harmless Read More…
Gov. Steve Bullock this week said his administration has “allocated” two-thirds of the Montana’s $1.25 billion in federal money for Covid-19 impacts – but, so far only $160 million has actually been distributed. Bullock, a Democrat running for the U.S. Senate, has been under fire from Republican legislative leaders for not getting the money out Read More…
IDAHO FALLS — Police arrested three people on Monday after a woman told investigators they held her captive and tortured her over several weeks. On June 22, the woman asked a stranger to call 911 for her. The woman said she had just escaped from a home on the 1000 block of Canal Street, where Read More…
By Ellen Fike, Cowboy State Daily Author Forrest Fenn confirmed this week that his treasure chest filled with $1 million worth of valuables was found in Wyoming. In a blog post, Fenn wrote that many of the people who searched for his treasure were curious where the lucky hunter found it, but he wanted to keep Read More…
The NFL team formerly known as the Redskins will go by the Washington Football Team for the 2020 season, giving the organization time to choose a new, full-time name. The club announced the placeholder name Thursday, ahead of the start of training camp next week. “The decision to use ‘Washington Football Team’ for this season Read More…
The Los Angeles Dodgers, who wondered at times whether Mookie Betts would even play a game for them before testing free agency, signed Betts to the richest contract in franchise history. The Dodgers and Betts have reached agreement on terms of a 12-year, $365 million contract and will have a press conference Wednesday afternoon to make Read More…
Masks are now required in Teton County, the result of a long-sought countywide mask order the state approved as COVID-19 makes its return to the valley. The order includes some exceptions. State Health Officer Dr. Alexia Harrist signed the order Monday, hours after the Teton County Board of County Commissioners voted unanimously to approve Read More…
CASPER, Wyo. — Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon is pleased that a federal court in Wyoming reached a decision Tuesday that “will allow Wyoming and three other energy producing states to restart legal challenges to an overreaching Obama-era rule,” according to the governor’s office. Gordon’s office says the Wyoming federal district court’s decision comes after a Read More…
A Montana college graduate, who accused a national student-loan agency of bungling his opportunity to have his loans forgiven, can sue the firm in state court, the Montana Supreme Court has ruled. The high court last week unanimously overturned a lower-court decision that said federal law pre-empted James Reavis’s ability to sue the Pennsylvania Higher Read More…
HELENA- The State of Montana is partnering with Montana State University to expand surveillance testing for COVID-19 for critical front-line health care personnel, essential workers and other groups. Researchers with the Montana State University will begin surveillance testing next week and will have a capability to test 500 people per day according to a release Read More…
Montana State Prison Warden Lynn Guyer submitted his letter of resignation last week after almost two years on the job and amid a public health crisis through which the state correctional system has been carefully treading. Montana Department of Corrections spokesperson Carolynn Bright on Wednesday confirmed Guyer had submitted his letter of resignation on July Read More…