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…
Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the brash Saudi crown prince who strode confidently onto the world stage two years ago, now cuts a much-diminished, if not humbled, figure. His regional strongman reputation is blunted and his much-vaunted economic plans have failed to move the needle. Pressured into an apparent acceptance of responsibility for the murder of the Saudi Read More…
NBC News on Monday pushed back hard against damning claims made about the network in Ronan Farrow’s new book, Catch & Kill, dubbing some of the allegations a “smear,” “lie,” and “conspiracy theory.” In a lengthy memo sent to staff, NBC News President Noah Oppenheim attempted to fact-check Farrow’s assertion that network higher-ups had advanced knowledge Read More…
Los Angeles (AFP) – Basketball superstar LeBron James was accused of turning a blind eye to Chinese repression on Tuesday after he criticized a Houston Rockets executive for angering China with a “misinformed” tweet supporting protesters in Hong Kong. James told reporters that Rockets general manager Daryl Morey “wasn’t educated” on Hong Kong and should Read More…
North Dakota’s Commerce Department improperly contracted work for the state’s new logo last year, according to state Auditor Josh Gallion. Gallion’s regular, two-year audit of Commerce found that two temporary employment contracts, totaling about $87,160, should have been treated as one, which would have required soliciting informal bids or proposals through state procurement requirements. Read More…
FORT WASHAKIE — A Wyoming tribe said Monday that it is planning to start allowing its citizens to hunt off-reservation, months after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling affirmed a different tribe’s treaty right to hunt outside of its reservation. Pointing to rights guaranteed in an 1868 treaty, leaders of the Eastern Shoshone Tribe told the Read More…
BOZEMAN — There was a silver lining to that Montana State loss over the weekend to Sacramento State. Not only were fans surprised to hear that Kenny Chesney will be coming to Bobcat Stadium in July, but more importantly, MSU announced that it has raised the $18 million for its new athletic complex. Construction on Read More…
GREAT FALLS — With hunting season in Montana right around the corner, it’s time for hunters to start getting prepared. But what about the meat processing companies? For about five weeks at the end of every year, meat processing companies see their business skyrocket. To make sure that everything is ready for the start of Read More…
The proposed sale of Blackjewel LLC mines in Wyoming includes a plan to pay all the company’s employees whose last checks bounced in early July. According to an Oct. 7 court filing, Blackjewel hoped to close the sale of the Wyoming properties yesterday. Last week, a West Virginia federal bankruptcy court tentatively approved the sale Read More…
Apple Inc. and Google both removed apps associated with Hong Kong’s antigovernment protests from their digital stores in recent days, thrusting the two Silicon Valley giants into the controversy engulfing U.S. companies related to the unrest. Apple removed from its App Store a crowdsourced map service that allows Hong Kong protesters to track police activity, Read More…
In July, Wealth-X released their findings on which US colleges have produced the most millionaires. The study focused on those alumni deemed to be ultra-high net worth (UHNW) individuals: those with fortunes of $30 million or more. The report analyzed the Wealth-X database of the world’s wealthiest people and used Wealth-X’s Wealth and Investable Assets Model to estimate the number Read More…
U.S. Interior Secretary David Bernhardt paid a visit to the Rocky Mountain Front Saturday to hear about conflicts with grizzly bears. The secretary heard numerous calls for delisting grizzlies from their threatened species status in and around Glacier National Park, but he says changes may be able to be made prior to delisting. Secretary Bernhardt took Read More…
FARGO — A Fargo mother has brought a lawsuit seeking damages from a truck driver and his company for a 2018 crash on Interstate 29 that killed her two young boys. The crash happened when Trista Curry and her three young children were making a trip from Fargo to Stephen, Minn., to visit family in Read More…
Montana education leaders have released the latest results in the assessment that measures elementary and middle school students’ math and English-language arts proficiencies – and the data shows there has been little change this year. The Montana Office of Public Instruction announced the results of the statewide Smarter Balanced Assessment for the 2018-2019 school year. Read More…
Montana sports betting is less than two months from launch. The Montana Lottery has now published its draft regulations — the framework of rules that, once finalized, will unleash full-fledged legal and licensed wagering on the Big Sky State. The Lottery said Friday that it expected to launch the market towards the end of 2019, Read More…
MISSOULA, Mont. — Medicare is reducing payments to nine Montana hospitals under a program that penalizes costly readmissions within a month of treatment for heart and lung diseases as well as knee and hip replacement surgery. The Bozeman Daily Chronicle reports the Hospital Readmission Reduction Program evaluated 14 Montana hospitals and will reduce Medicare payments by Read More…
A federal grand jury has indicted three Powell men in connection with a yearslong Medicaid fraud scheme that prosecutors allege involved billing the government for $8.5 million worth of “therapy” that included taking patients to the gym and watching them play video games. The indictment is the latest in a series of court cases Read More…
CASPER, Wyo. (AP) – A federal bankruptcy judge in West Virginia has approved a new plan to sell two Wyoming coal mines. Under the deal approved Wednesday, Milton, West Virginia-based Blackjewel would sell the Eagle Butte and Belle Ayr mines to Eagle Specialty Materials, a subsidiary of Jasper, Alabama-based FM Coal. Blackjewel halted almost all Wyoming Read More…
The Office of Public Instruction announced Wednesday that Montana has received a five-year, $50 million Striving Readers Comprehensive State Development Program literacy grant through the U.S. Department of Education. The Montana Comprehensive Literacy State Development Project (MCLSDP) will award competitive subgrants to eligible districts to advance literacy skills using evidence-based practices, strategies, and interventions for Read More…
First lady Melania Trump will be visiting Wyoming this week, the White House announced Tuesday morning. Trump will fly into Jackson Hole for a two-day visit starting Thursday, visiting both Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks to promote her anti-bullying #BeBest campaign. According to an itinerary provided by the White House, she will be Read More…
HELENA, Mont. — The state of Montana has denied a $97 million claim filed by a man who was exonerated after spending 18 years in prison for a murder he didn’t commit. Richard Raugust had to file the claim before filing a lawsuit. It was denied Monday. Raugust tells Lee Newspapers of Montana that he has Read More…
Reminder: Montana has one year left before REAL ID requirements go into effect, and travelers without REAL ID won’t be able to board commercial flights. Montana, Washington and Idaho are among states where the REAL ID extension will expire in October 2020. READ FULL STORY
Gov. Kristi Noem has expressed disappointment in recent standardized test scores among South Dakota students. South Dakota News Watch reports 54% of students tested in grades three through eight and in 11th grade showed proficiency in reading and writing. Only about 47% of those same students were proficient in math for their respective grade levels, Read More…
JACKSON, Wyo. — We’ve all heard the saying, “Time is money.” But what if you’re putting in hard work and time, and your paycheck still isn’t cutting it? It may have something to do with where you live. A new study by Joblist.com used the most recent US Current Population Survey, which surveyed Americans to find out the amount Read More…
BILLINGS, Mont. — Beartooth Pass has closed in Wyoming for the winter season but remains open on the Montana side of the border. The Billings Gazette reports the Montana side of U.S. Highway 212 is expected to close sometime over the Columbus Day week, but bad weather could bring that about sooner. The National Park Service Read More…
GREAT FALLS — The annual Montana Association of Counties conference in Great Falls this week is connecting county commissioners from across the Treasure State. “It travels around, so to speak, in each of our major towns: Missoula, Great Falls, Helena, Billings, Kalispell,” said Jim Hart, MACo president and Madison County Commissioner. The 110th annual event Read More…
Roughly three years into a new initiative, 55 Montana providers have woven more mental health services into their regular care. Montana Healthcare Foundation CEO Aaron Wernham announced the number Tuesday during the organization’s Integrated Behavioral Health Summit at Montana State University. “That is a fantastic rate of transformation,” Wernham said. The idea behind integrated Read More…
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Americans remain largely mistrustful of the mass media as 41% currently have “a great deal” or “fair amount” of trust in newspapers, television and radio to report the news “fully, accurately and fairly.” This latest reading represents a four-percentage-point dip since last year and marks the end of improvements in back-to-back years after hitting an Read More…
Depriving a transgender inmate with severe gender dysphoria of sex reassignment surgery is a form of “cruel and unusual punishment,” a federal appeals court ruled Friday, affirming a lower court ruling. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ordered the state of Idaho to provide the surgery for trans inmate Adree Edmo. The ruling is Read More…
CODY, Wyo. — Thousands turned out to the Powwow Garden at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West in Cody, Wyo. Saturday to see Kanye West perform a free Sunday Service. The free service is a different kind of cultural event then the town of Cody is used to. “It was really cool for them Read More…
A Billings teacher accused of sexual assault allegedly exchanged “inappropriate” text messages with two female students, ages 11 and 12, and touched them under their underwear in class, according to charging documents released Friday. Brent Skelton, who resigned from his job teaching fifth grade at Orchard Elementary School, faces between four years and life in Read More…
A California judge has dismissed a high-profile case alleging sexual abuse against Michael Goguen, a prominent venture capitalist and philanthropist whose local contributions include The Whitefish Trail and the Two Bear Air search and rescue program. In a lengthy Sept. 12 order terminating the case, retired Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Read Ambler, who is Read More…
Law enforcement officials said they’re seeing larger amounts of drugs coming into bigger and growing Montana cities. Capt. Ryan Stratman, commander of the Missouri River Drug Task Force, said the task force sees this trend in bigger, growing Montana cities like Bozeman, Livingston and Helena. “Gallatin County and Bozeman, especially — we’re growing so fast Read More…
A rig was drilling three new wells in North Dakota in this file photo. Oil and gas production broke another record in July in the state. North Dakota again posted records for oil and gas output in July, and Monday’s surge in oil prices could fuel further production gains in the coming weeks. Global oil Read More…
The Justice Department filed a civil lawsuit Tuesday against former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden for violating his non-disclosure agreements with the CIA and the NSA by writing a new book about his leaks. Snowden’s memoir, “Permanent Record,” hit bookshelves Tuesday. Snowden, who famously leaked classified documents about government surveillance, has avoided prosecution by living in Russia. EDWARD Read More…
Robert Bialecki couldn’t get high-speed Internet when he moved to the outskirts of Great Falls a decade ago – so he figured out how to do it himself, through wireless Internet, and started a company to bring it elsewhere. “I thought, there must be a way to do it,” he told MTN News in a Read More…
On the same day and in the same area, three hunters in Montana were injured in two separate grizzly bear attacks, state wildlife officials said. Officials have not determined if the same animal was involved in both attacks this week in the Gravelly Mountains, which are southwest of Bozeman. The three hunters suffered injuries described Read More…
An internet safety report published by safewise shows that Montana has a lot of work to do to make the online experience safer for children. Montana earned a D when it comes to current measures in place to protect kids online. That’s the lowest grade awarded by the safety and security brand. The cowboy state Read More…
DETROIT — The music and chants from outside a General Motors assembly plant at midnight Monday could be heard from several blocks away as United Auto Workers members picketed the plant. “No contract, no cars!” chanted dozens of workers outside GM’s Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly, on the outskirts of the city. Others yelled, “No more tiers,” in reference to Read More…
BISMARCK — Five educators in North Dakota are finalists for the state’s 2020 Teacher of the Year award, the state superintendent announced Friday, Sept. 13. The finalists are: Jessica Brandt, Title 1 English and reading teacher at Central Cass Public School in Casselton. Karyn Chiapella, special education teacher and intervention specialist in the Scranton public Read More…
Legislative leadership voted Thursday to create a special committee of lawmakers to try and stem losses from future coal company bankruptcies for both miners and the state. Priorities for the new committee include securing taxes owed to Wyoming counties, getting the Wyoming attorney general’s office to assist county officials in bankruptcy court and trying to Read More…