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…
GREAT FALLS — The four-member staff of a Montana county’s health department has resigned, citing a lack of support by the county in fighting the coronavirus. A letter from Health Department Director Nicki Sullivan to the Pondera County Commission highlighted the need for a fairer wage, more transparency and additional contact tracers and staffers. “I want Read More…
Stephanie Kodish is used to opposition to her work. In her job with the National Parks Conservation Association, she pushes utilities to comply with environmental laws. That can mean installing expensive new anti-pollution technology on coal plants, or even closing them down. Last year, though, she encountered a completely new kind of opposition that left Read More…
After an evening of peaceful protests in the wake of the police killing of Walter Wallace Jr., tensions flared between officers and demonstrators Tuesday evening, and scattered looting broke out in several areas of the city, prompting police to request that residents of West and North Philadelphia, Kensington, and other areas remain indoors. Police and demonstrators Read More…
HELENA — A new grassroots organization has been created to help individuals and businesses challenge COVID mandates in Montana for what they call government overreach. The Freedom Protection Project was created by the organizers of the “Let Freedom Ring” concert that was held at the beginning of October in the Helena Valley. “A lot of Read More…
Two environmental groups have filed separate lawsuits to stop the Soldier-Butler timber project in the Ninemile Valley after U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service decided there was no long-term harm to grizzly bears. On Monday, the Flathead-Lolo-Bitterroot Citizen Task Force sued the U.S. Forest Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Missoula federal court Read More…
Passenger counts at Missoula International Airport continue to rebound from the deepest days of the pandemic, though they remain far below what they were at the same point last year. Still, the climbing numbers have airport officials feeling more optimistic than they were over the summer, when they were bracing for possible cuts to service. Read More…
Businesses in South Dakota now have an extra week to get aid from the state government program established to help make up for losses incurred due to COVID-19. While tens of thousands of entrepreneurs, small businesses and nonprofits took advantage of federal aid this spring when President Donald Trump signed the CARES Act into law, Read More…
Gov. Mark Gordon is allocating remaining CARES Act funds to help Wyoming businesses and nonprofits with ongoing coronavirus-related losses and expenses. The Wyoming Business Council is finalizing two new funds for the COVID-19 Business Relief Program: the Agriculture Fund and the Endurance Fund. Applications for both funds will be accepted from Nov. 2 through Nov. Read More…
Responding to a request from the Montana Department of Corrections, Governor Steve Bullock and Major General Matthew Quinn have activated the Montana Army National Guard to provide operational assistance at Montana State Prison, where staff and inmates have been impacted by COVID-19. The facility saw its first positive cases among staff and inmates earlier in Read More…
North Dakota’s Game and Fish Department is offering license refunds to more than 9,000 deer hunters due to an outbreak of disease in western North Dakota. State wildlife officials in August began documenting deer deaths due to epizootic hemorrhagic disease — commonly called EHD. “Loss of deer to this disease appears to have extended into Read More…
CASPER, Wyo. — The City of Evanston have applied for a $3 million grant and a $1,109,607 loan from the state to build a 60,000 acre square foot manufacturing facility at their Union Center Business Park. The facility would accommodate the relocation of Avalon International Aluminum, according to the Wyoming Business Council. The WBC Board of Read More…
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Wyoming State Parks and Historic Sites are proposing a fee increase effective January 1, 2021. The public is invited to attend information meetings as well as submit comments by November 14. Wyoming State Parks Deputy Director Dave Glenn explained the proposal saying, “All revenue collected through visitor fees goes right back to Read More…
A court document containing detailed information about Ghislaine Maxwell and her relationship with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was unsealed on Thursday morning in New York just moments before a court-imposed deadline. This document, an April 2016 deposition, is among about a dozen long-awaited Maxwell files that have been unsealed, with the first filing involving Epstein accuser Virginia Read More…
In a press conference today, Governor Steve Bullock joined Yellowstone County Public Health Officer John Felton to announce increased enforcement of health officer orders, along with a website for residents to file complaints. “Just one business not complying with the public health measures, puts an increased risk on everyone else who is doing their due diligence to Read More…
HELENA, Mont. – The Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) Director Sheila Hogan announced Monday that Montana has submitted its draft COVID-19 vaccine distribution plan to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for review. “This is a critical step, and I’m pleased with where we’re at this point in the process,” Read More…
Montana gas prices are unchanged in the past week, averaging $2.25/g on Oct. 19, 2020, according to GasBuddy’s daily survey of 615 stations. Gas prices in Montana are 1.3 cents per gallon lower than a month ago and stand 47.3 cents per gallon lower than a year ago. According to GasBuddy price reports, the Read More…
The nation’s top military leaders have been cleared to return to work at the Pentagon after having self-quarantined as a precaution following the positive Covid-19 test of a senior Coast Guard official in early October. The go-ahead to resume work from the Pentagon was given last week, in accordance with Centers for Disease Control and Read More…
BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) – Six men in North Dakota were indicted by a Grand Jury Thursday for illegally obtaining firearms within the state. North Dakota U.S. Attorney Drew Wrigley says 28-year-old Leoncio Bald Eagle claimed he had never been convicted of a crime when filling out an AFT form to obtain a gun. Wrigley says Read More…
South Dakota Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg told a 911 dispatcher that he had hit “something” in the middle of the road the night he struck and killed a pedestrian, according to a recording of a 911 call authorities released Tuesday. When a 911 dispatcher asked if could have been a deer, Ravnsborg said at first, “I Read More…
The Cascade County Sheriff’s Office is continuing its investigation into the death of Sally Jane Demarais-Smith, who was found dead on Sunday afternoon. At around 2:30 p.m., her body was found inside her 2005 Toyota Corolla in a storage unit at 3033 Malmstrom Drive, according to Cascade County Sheriff Jesse Slaughter. Although located near Malmstrom Read More…
Brucellosis research will expand to outdoor settings in the greater Yellowstone area, the United States Department of Agriculture announced Wednesday. USDA under secretary Greg Ibach announced the new research projects in front of stacks of hay at a ranch north of Belgrade. Ibach said the new testing guidelines will help the effort to eliminate brucellosis Read More…
Gov. Doug Burgum today announced the recipients of the 2020 Main Street Awards honoring communities and individuals who demonstrated excellence in elevating the three pillars of the Main Street Initiative through local projects or other efforts “We are deeply grateful for all the communities, organizations and individuals who have adopted the principles of the Main Read More…
BOISE, Idaho — The U.S. Air Force violated environmental laws by not adequately studying how noise from military jets coordinating exercises with plain-clothed airmen on the ground in Idaho could harm humans and wildlife, a judge has ruled. U.S. Magistrate Judge Candy Dale ruled last week that the Air Force must conduct a more thorough Read More…
On Saturday, White House doctor Sean Conley said President Donald Trump no longer is positive for COVID-19. President Trump tested positive for COVID-19 10 days ago on Thursday. He was hospitalized from Friday through Monday at Walter Reed Medical Center. According to a letter, Conley wrote, “he is no longer considered a transmission risk to Read More…
MISSOULA — A federal judge convicted a Manhattan man of providing false information on a form when trying to buy a firearm, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said today. U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen, on Oct. 1, found Joshua Rodney Meech, 29, guilty of false statement during a firearms transactions. The one-day bench trial was Read More…
The current U.S. poet laureate Joy Harjo will join Montana State University’s celebration of Indigenous Peoples Day on Monday. Harjo, the first Native American to hold the national title, will read and discuss her work during a virtual event at noon. Her memoir “Crazy Brave” won the PEN USA Literacy Award for creative nonfiction and Read More…
Three Montana groups will share $1,894,452 in Department of Justice grants to improve services for crime victims in Montana. U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said Wednesday that Montana Legal Services Association will get $1 million, the Montana Board of Crime Control will be given $500,000 and the Chippewa Cree Tribe will receive $394,452 The grants, awarded by the Department’s Office of Justice Programs, Read More…
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story incorrectly said Alaska Airlines laid off 147 workers at its call center in Boise. CORRECTED OCT 8, 2020 Alaska Airlines had planned to lay off 147 workers at its Boise call center but found a way to keep all of those workers on the job. “We were able to Read More…
RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) – For the first time since the 90s, a company created by South Dakota Mines staff and students was bought out. This time by a subsidiary of one of the largest private equity firms in the world. Gamma Biosciences, created by KKR, announced Monday that they are acquiring Nanopareil. The company Read More…
CHEYENNE, Wyo. (RELEASE) – Donate Life America (DLA), announced local WYDOT Driver Services Deputy Program Manager, Renee Krawiec, has received regional and national recognition for DMV Innovation. Renee was presented with the DLA and American Assocation of Motor Vehicle Administrators DMV Innovation Award on October 7 at Cheyenne Driver Services. Renee won this prestigious award Read More…
HELENA — On Wednesday, Governor Steve Bullock held a press conference with state health leaders to address the rise in COVID cases, the status of Montana hospitals dealing with COVID and unemployment insurance funds. Montana crossed 16,000 covid cases this week, with 5,352 COVID cases active in the state on Oct. 7. 733 daily COVID Read More…
A recent economic report shows just how much money Montanans spend — and how much they’re losing — because of the lack of available child care in the state. The report, conducted by the Bureau of Business and Economic Research in Missoula and sponsored by the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, found that 57% of Read More…
Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell on Tuesday called for more government spending to support the nation’s nascent economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. Both the central bank and Congress should continue their aggressive efforts to shore up the economy even though employment, consumer spending and other key measures have rebounded from their collapse in the Read More…
North Dakota’s two U.S. senators and lone congressman have no plans to quarantine after President Donald Trump and a growing number of other officials have tested positive for coronavirus in the last week. U.S. Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D, was tested Friday “out of an abundance of caution,” according to his office. He tested negative. Hoeven Read More…
CHEYENNE — Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon and State Health Officer Dr. Alexia Harrist addressed the consistent increase in COVID-19 Coronavirus cases in Wyoming during a press conference today. Governor Gordon said over the past two weeks, the state has averaged 98 new cases per day, which is more than any other time since the pandemic began. Read More…
BOZEMAN- A Bozeman doctor admitted to pre-signing blank prescriptions while he was a medical director for two weight loss clinics. A release from the Department of Justice says in 2009, Doctor Ronald M. Buss became the medical director for Go Figure, a weight loss clinic in Bozeman, and became the director for Go Figure in Read More…
Yellowstone County Health Officer John Felton said Monday he will increase restrictions on businesses, churches and group gatherings at the end of October if COVID-19 infection rates continue to rise countywide. Felton said in a news conference that health officials are monitoring one key metric: the daily rate of infections per 100,000 residents. Restrictions will Read More…
FARGO — A former union leader from Fargo will avoid federal prison time for embezzling more than $100,000 from his organization, though he will have to spend a half year on house arrest, a judge ruled Wednesday, Sept. 30. Per a joint agreement from prosecutors and the defense, U.S. District Judge Daniel Traynor sentenced Chad Read More…
Working with the Wyoming Department of Health, UW Athletics will be allowed to have 7,000 fans in attendance for the season opener based on current COVID-19 data. Attendance numbers could change if the current data changes before the start of the season. “We want to thank the Wyoming Department of Health for all their efforts Read More…
HELENA — The Montana VA Health Care System (MTVAHCS) is excited to announce its flu clinic schedule at fourteen sites across Montana. Flu clinics and walk-in flu shots are available for Veterans in Anaconda, Bozeman, Billings, Cut Bank, Fort Harrison/Helena, Glasgow, Glendive, Great Falls, Havre, Hamilton, Kalispell, Lewistown, Miles City, and Missoula (Details for each site Read More…