CHEYENNE, Wyo.—Gov. Mark Gordon has appointed Nancy Vehr as interim director of the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality following the retirement of longtime director Todd Parfitt. Vehr, who has been serving as the department’s deputy director, took over the role effective Oct. 2. She previously led DEQ’s Air Quality Division for nearly a decade and Read More…
BOZEMAN—Gov. Greg Gianforte and the Montana Chamber of Commerce will host the third annual Big Sky, Bright Future Economic Summit on Oct. 15 in Bozeman, with this year’s event focused on technology and innovation in Montana. The summit will bring together business leaders, policymakers and technology executives to discuss artificial intelligence, national security, precision agriculture, Read More…
WASHINGTON—The Justice Department said UCLA School of Law discriminated against white and Asian applicants in admissions for its 2023, 2024 and 2025 incoming classes, finding that the school continued to consider race after the Supreme Court restricted race-conscious college admissions. The department’s Civil Rights Division said its investigation found UCLA Law violated Title VI of Read More…
(The Center Square) – Fraud could cost federal taxpayers as much as $521 billion annually, according to a Foundation for Government Accountability report citing a federal estimate. The report estimates that improper payments by the federal government have totaled about $3 trillion since 2003. Liesel Crocker, the report’s author and senior research fellow at FGA, spoke with Read More…
A freshly transplanted barbecue pitmaster is on the verge of opening a new Boise restaurant. Neighbor Tim’s BBQ is preparing to launch in a small space at 7802 W. Goddard Road, across from Capital High School. Hungry Idahoans can watch the business’ Facebook page for updates on the opening date: “Very, very soon,” Neighbor Tim’s proclaimed in Read More…
MISSOULA, Mont. — Country Billboard-charting artist Stephanie Quayle is returning to her home state of Montana and raising funds for a new safe house for human trafficking victims. Quayle is releasing new music this year and about to start touring again. The Bozeman native has been recording in Nashville for 10 years and has performed at Read More…
Researchers at Montana State University discovered a variant that originated in Bozeman early in the pandemic. The Bozeman variant, a strain that actually weakened the effectiveness of the virus, was found by postdoctoral researchers Anna Nemudraia and Artem Nemudryi. The pair published a study on their findings last month in the journal Cell Reports Read More…
BILLINGS — Evacuated residents from a section of the Billings North Side were allowed to return to their homes around 6 p.m. Sunday after water depths in the canal located north of the homes lowered to a safe level. Local officials held a press conference Sunday afternoon to update the community after water overflowed from the Read More…
HELENA — The Helena City Commission is slated to hear two proposals at their June 7 meeting that would significantly change restrictions on open containers of alcohol. Two options are being presented Monday evening. The first would completely repeal all open container restrictions in city limits. The second would keep the current ordinance intact but would create an exception Read More…
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. regulators OK first new Alzheimer’s drug in nearly 20 years, against the advice of their own outside experts. READ FULL STORY
Lee en español On Sunday, the largest elections in the history of México will be held. But this electoral process has been tainted by the murder of at least 91 politicians — 36 of them candidates and aspiring candidates — from different parties, taking place since campaigning began in September 2020. These homicides make this election the second most Read More…
Former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Robert Redfield said he received “death threats” from other scientists for broaching the possibility that Covid-19 leaked from a laboratory in Wuhan, China. The former CDC director said the threats came after a March 26 CNN interview, when he told the network, “I am of the point of Read More…
BOISE, Idaho (CBS2) — Idaho Power is asking to increase two rate adjustments with the Idaho Public Utilities Commission. If approved, the average monthly bill could increase by $2.71 for a homeowner using 950-kilowatt hours per month, the power company said Wednesday. Here’s what Idaho Power says is the reasoning behind the request. READ FULL STORY
Wyoming is partnering with tech mogul’s Bill Gates nuclear power company to build the state’s first Natrium advanced nuclear reactor power plant. The state’s partnership with the firm founded by Gates, TerraPower, and Washington state power firm Pacificorp was announced Wednesday in an event hosted by Gov. Mark Gordon, according to Wyoming U.S. Sen. John Read More…
HELENA — On Tuesday, Lewis & Clark County Sheriff Leo Dutton asked the community for assistance as his office began caring for 58 horses seized from a Helena Valley property as part of an animal neglect investigation. On Wednesday, the community responded. At the Lewis & Clark County Fairgrounds, a number of residents began bringing Read More…
WEST YELLOWSTONE, Mont. – A U.S. Forest Service smokejumper who fought wildfires in Montana has passed away. According to a release from the U.S. Forest Service, Tim Hart died from his injuries he received while battling a fire in New Mexico. Hart launched his career fighting fires as an engine crew member on the Coconino National Read More…
Kalispell has a new fire chief and for Dan Pearce, it’s a homecoming of sorts. Pearce spent several years in Kalispell, from 1990 to 1999. He worked as a home health care provider with Kalispell Medical Equipment and as a firefighter and paramedic as well as a hazardous materials technician for Flathead County. “I’m happy Read More…
CASPER, Wyo. – In 1941, the land about nine miles west of Casper looked like most of the areas outside of city limits – miles of flat , wind-swept prairie covered in sage, migrating antelope and numerous other small critters. That changed with breakneck speed the following year, when the United States Army Airforce commissioned Read More…
ATLANTA (SBG) — A small business advocacy organization filed a lawsuit Tuesday against Major League Baseball, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred, the Major League Baseball Players Association and executive director Tony Clark. The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York by the Job Creators Network. READ FULL STORY
HELENA — The Gianforte administration has directed state agencies to bring at least 50 percent of their employees back to the office by June 14 and says no new “telework” agreements will be granted for now. The directive, issued late last Friday, was described as “Stage Two” of the administration’s plan to return state workers Read More…
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Less than three months after hearing the case, the Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that tribal police officers are able to stop and search non-Natives on tribal lands on suspicion of a violation of state or federal law. Justice Stephen Breyer delivered the opinion of the court. Breyer said allowing a tribal police officer to Read More…
MISSOULA — Former Montana Griz football standout Jesse Sims passed away on Saturday morning after an accident involving an ATV near Clearwater. Sims was 24. Montana Highway Patrol trooper Mary Strumpfer said she was dispatched to an accident at 1:20 a.m. on Saturday near mile marker 31 just off the north side of Highway 200. Read More…
BOISE, Idaho — It’s no secret that businesses across the Gem State are struggling to find employees. One restaurant, 208 Pho and Vegan, has had to temporarily close two of its locations due to the lack of workers. An Ngyuen, the owner of the Vietnamese restaurant, has three locations of 208 Pho and Vegan. The Read More…
Wyoming’s lawsuit over a blocked coal export terminal is moot because the company behind the proposal is bankrupt and won’t be building the project, the federal government argued in a new filing to the U.S. Supreme Court. In her brief, U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar argued that because the Millennium Bulk Terminal project is Read More…
BILLINGS — The latest edition of “The Match” is coming to Montana. The event, which will take place on July 6 in Big Sky, will feature future NFL Hall of Fame quarterbacks Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers and PGA Tour stars Phil Mickelson and Bryson DeChambeau. READ FULL STORY
MISSOULA, Mont. — The Montana Supreme Court says two lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of campus-related bills passed in the 2021 legislative session should be filed in district court first. One lawsuit was filed by the Montana Board of Regents and the other by the Montana Federation of Public Employees, which multiple other parties joined. Wednesday’s rulings Read More…
A soldier from Montana who died during WWII in a Prisoner of War camp has been positively identified. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced Monday that US Army Private Wayne M. Evans of Hamilton – who was captured and died as a prisoner of war during World War II at the age of 21 – was accounted Read More…
WEST FARGO, N.D. (KVRR) — North Dakota’s first traffic control company is expanding with a new sign manufacturing shop. 3D Specialties broke ground in West Fargo for its brand new company Sign Solutions USA. The 100,000 foot building is the newest member of the Dakota Fence Company. Sign Solutions USA will focus on manufacturing and Read More…
RAPID CITY, S.D. – A court decision has enabled Black Hawk residents to continue with their lawsuit against the state of South Dakota. The lawsuit claims the state is responsible for damages after sinkholes started opening in the Hideaway Hills subdivision, revealing an abandoned gypsum mine and forcing more than a dozen families to evacuate. READ FULL STORY
The union representing nurses at Kalispell Regional Healthcare, which rebranded this week as Logan Health, announced Friday they plan to strike from June 1 to June 3 “unless Logan Health bargains in good faith.” Nurses voted 372-199 in July 2019 to unionize as SEIU Healthcare 1199NW and have been negotiating for a union contract for Read More…
MISSOULA, Mont. – The Blackfeet Community College unveiled a new portal that will help people report cases of Montana’s missing and murdered indigenous people. Kimberly Loring’s sister, Ashley Loring-HeavyRunner went missing on the Blackfeet Reservation in 2017. “When she went missing, there was a gap of when she was reported missing, because we had that Read More…
BOZEMAN — Do you remember your high school graduation? You might not remember all the little details, but you probably remember being surrounded by loved ones. “There are going to be 5,000, maybe, total people in the stadium that day. I want 5,000 smiles at once,” said Bozeman High School principal Dan Mills. READ FULL Read More…
Gov. Mark Gordon has tapped his constituent liaison to serve as Wyoming’s next public records ombudsman, his office announced. Darlena Potter had served in the liaison role since September 2019. She has previously worked in state and local government, the governor’s office said. In her new role, she will attempt to resolves challenges over Read More…
United Airlines is offering their MilagePlus members the opportunity to win flight tickets for an entire year if they upload their COVID-19 vaccination card to their account. According to United Airlines’ website, those who upload their vaccination card to their membership account by June 22 will automatically be entered into the contest with the chance to Read More…
European Union leaders will discuss retaliatory measures against Belarus at a summit dinner on Monday night, after the country’s president Alexander Lukashenko scrambled a jet fighter to force a Ryanair RYAAY, -0.13% RYA, -1.13% flight carrying a dissident journalist to land in Minsk on Sunday. The Irish plane was on a regular flight from Athens, Greece, to Vilnius, Lithuania, and was forced to Read More…
A pair of climbers had started their climb up the face of a ridge in an Alaska national park when a chunk of glacier ice came crashing down from the peak. The block of ice slammed into the climbers as it fell from Ruth Glacier in Denali National Park early Thursday, the National Park Service said. A Read More…
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Bill Gate’s resignation from Microsoft’s board was because of a romantic relationship with an employee. The Journal reported Sunday that a female Microsoft engineer alleged in a letter that she had a sexual relationship over the years with Gates. READ FULL STORY
A U.S. Navy pilot was wounded on Monday after two jets collided over Ricardo, Texas, in a training accident. One operator safely landed at the Naval Air Station in Kingsville, while the other was forced to eject from the plane near Ricardo. The injured service member was taken to a local hospital with minor wounds. Both of the pilots were Read More…
LONDON — DarkSide, the hacker group behind the recent Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack, received a total of $90 million in bitcoin ransom payments before shutting down last week, according to new research. Colonial Pipeline was hit with a devastating cyberattack earlier this month that forced the company to shut down approximately 5,500 miles of pipeline in the Read More…
North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum announced a goal Wednesday to make the state carbon neutral by the end of the decade. He challenged the state’s energy and agriculture industries to work toward the goal through innovation, a theme he has repeated frequently throughout his four years in office. Increasingly, states and businesses are pledging to Read More…
A South Carolina school bus driver who kept his cool during an armed hijacking hailed all 18 children the real heroes of the high-pressure encounter. Kenneth Corbin spoke exclusively to “Good Morning America” Monday about how he was able to hold off the gunman and what the students said to the man that helped keep them safe Read More…
The Kalispell Police Department held a parade and memorial service Saturday for officers who died while serving their communities. The processional parade began at noon with Kalispell police joined by Flathead County sheriff’s deputies, Montana Highway Patrol and several other Montana agencies coming together to pay respects to those lost in the line of duty. Read More…
The wastewater treatment plant in Chinook is in search of funding for preventive measures to stop water from the Milk River from reaching the plant. “Right at the moment, it’s just creeping closer to our plant. That’s all, really. So we’re looking for some funding at the moment to maybe stabilize the bank, so it Read More…
A new documentary, filmed in Hardin, seeks to raise awareness about Montana’s Missing and Murdered People’s cases, of which a large number continue to go unsolved. “Say Her Name” is directed by Rain and hosted by Juliet Hayes, a member of the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana. She calls Big Horn County, which includes parts of two Read More…