WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order directing federal health officials to review and potentially update the United States’ childhood vaccine schedule to better align with practices in peer developed nations, citing findings that the U.S. currently recommends more childhood vaccines than any comparable country. The order directs the Centers for Disease Control Read More…
WASHINGTON — Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen joined Vice President JD Vance, the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, and attorneys general from 15 other states at an anti-fraud roundtable focused on combating wasteful spending, abuse, and fraud in federal benefit programs including Medicaid and SNAP. The White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud Read More…
The Department of War has awarded $27.3 million to Pacific Scientific Energetic Materials Company, bringing its total investment in the solid rocket motor supply chain to $191 million since December 2024, as the Pentagon moves aggressively to close production gaps in a segment it considers strategically vital. The latest award, funded through the Defense Production Read More…
Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen is leading a coalition of ten state attorneys general in calling on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to conduct a rigorous review of any filings submitted by OpenAI ahead of the company’s anticipated initial public offering, citing concerns about undisclosed conflicts of interest involving chief executive Sam Altman. In Read More…
HELENA, Mont. – Montana officials will ask those who receive a permit to float the Smith River to help record algae blooms on the water next year. On Thursday the state Department of Environmental Quality and the Fish, Wildlife and Parks department are launching a project to collect data that’s difficult for researchers to obtain Read More…
HELENA, Mont. – Numbers from the state show Montana public school students’ standardized test scores did not increase from last year to this year. The test scores released on Tuesday show about half of all public school students graded as at least proficient in English language arts and about 40 percent as proficient in math, Read More…
HELENA, Mont. – Wildfire smoke and the danger of new fires have prompted federal wildlife managers to postpone the annual roundup at the National Bison Range in western Montana. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said Tuesday the roundup was scheduled for Oct. 2 and 3. No new date has been set. Range manager Jeff Read More…
https://cpa.ds.npr.org/kufm/audio/2017/09/MN-Piikani-money-09-11-17.mp3 When the Blackfeet Tribe learned its tribal members were about to start receiving payouts from a massive federal court settlement, the tribe wanted to get ahead of some of the problems that can arise when a lot of money floods a cash-based society. “There was about 150 some million dollars that was injected into Read More…
BILLINGS, Mont. – MSUB City College honors 9/11 by holding a remembrance in front of a memorial that now stands in memory of those who lost their lives. The college is home to a piece of metal that means so much to Americans across the nation. For many people, 9/11 is an event that happened Read More…
If the state of Montana ends up cutting state budgets by as much as 10 percent, that could result in the Board of Regents raising tuition next fall even more than already planned. Tyler Trevor, deputy commissioner of higher education, said Friday that the University System won’t know until the end of September how big Read More…
It didn’t take long for a company founded by a UW graduate student in 2011 to grow big enough to have an international reach and reputation. Bright Agrotech’s six-year growth surge was capped off this week by being featured in a cover story for Bloomberg Businessweek. Bright Agrotech and its founder, Nate Storey have been Read More…
Miss North Dakota 2017 Cara Mund has been crowned Miss America. Mund is the first North Dakotan ever to win the Miss America crown. She was asked during her interview question what is on her bucket list. She said it was to make it past the Top 10 on Miss America because only 3 other Miss North Read More…
As the fire season has ravaged parts of western Montana, it has also affected the real estate market, in that some insurance companies are refusing to offer policies in some zones affected by wildfires. Kyle Schmautz, spokesman for Montana’s Insurance Commissioner Matt Rosendale, said he has received questions from Missoula area realtors about the practice. Read More…
CHEYENNE – A Cheyenne filmmaker is preparing to travel to a Louisiana film festival, where his latest project will be up for an enormous cash prize. Paul Petersen is an actor, screenwriter and producer. His new film, “An Aria for Albrights,” is set to compete in the It is the third time he and his Read More…
It’s the million-dollar question in disaster planning: Do you order a city to evacuate before a hurricane hits land, or do you tell residents to shelter in place? The question has been before big-city leaders several times in recent years, and it was the question Houston faced as Hurricane Harvey barreled toward the fourth largest Read More…
The United States’ ambassador to the United Nations on Monday said North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un was “begging for war” with his continued defiance of international sanctions barring his country from nuclear and missile tests. Ambassador Nikki Haley told an emergency session of the U.N. Security Council that “enough is enough” from North Korea, Read More…
When NFL teams trimmed down rosters to 53 players over the weekend, only four former Montana Griz players held a job. By Monday morning, that number was down to three. Here’s a look at how former Griz played this preseason, and who remains on an NFL roster to begin the season. READ THE FULL STORY.
WASHINGTON — In the hours after European antitrust regulators levied a record $2.7 billion fine against Google in late June, an influential Washington think tank learned what can happen when a wealthy tech giant is criticized. The New America Foundation has received more than $21 million from Google; its parent company’s executive chairman, Eric Schmidt; Read More…
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo said he is not going to tolerate criminals taking advantage of people in the community during such a devastating time. NOTE: The city of Houston has announced a curfew from 12 a.m. to 5 a.m. The curfew remains in effect until further notice and exempts those Read More…
CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) – Cheyenne Regional Medical Center officials say the hospital has regained its standing with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services after losing its deemed status over a complaint. The hospital had an important federal certification taken away after the Wyoming Department of Health found problems with the way the hospital discharged Read More…
HELENA – The state Public Service Commission voted 4-1 Thursday to approve the license of Lyft Inc., making it the second app-based ride-sharing company in Montana. A similar license was granted to Uber in December 2015 after changes to state law earlier that year paved the way for such companies to operate in Montana. “The Read More…
The Montana National Guard arrived at the Meyers Fire in southwest Montana on Wednesday, which has burned more than 16,000 acres and is only at five percent containment. The soldiers will be deployed for 15 days aiding the more than 400 personnel already fighting the fire. Sergeant Paul Benhart said the Guard’s job is to Read More…
The Yellowstone County Sheriff’s Office is on the move. Employees moved office and equipment out of an old bank building at 2550 3rd Ave. N. to to 2323 2nd Ave. N. The new location, a former Payne West Insurance building, is about 20,000 square feet, which is about 4,000 square feet bigger that their current building. READ THE FULL STORY
HELENA – Less than two months into Montana’s fiscal year, the state’s $62 million firefighting fund is all but empty, drained by summer wildfire costs and a budget-transfer bill. Bullock administration officials said the fund could be empty by next week, as fires continue to burn across the state, with no weather relief in sight. Read More…
LAUREL – The former assistant principal at Laurel Middle School had her license suspended for three years following revelations that she sent a teenage boy partially nude photos during the last school year. The Office of Public Instruction ruled in July to suspend the license of Sarah Sheldon for three years. She’s been licensed to Read More…
The University of Wyoming is on track to welcome its largest freshman class ever just months after sending off its largest-ever graduating class. The result will be overall enrollment numbers that look roughly the same as 2016’s, said Mary Aguayo, interim associate vice president for enrollment management. “We graduated out 5 percent more students than Read More…
Inc. Magazine has doubled the number of Wyoming companies in its list of the 5000 fastest growing companies in the United States. In 2016 the list included the telecom company Mammoth Networks of Gillette and Fund&Grow, a financial servies firm based in Cheyenne. This year, both companies appeared again, with Mammoth climbing 272 positions in Read More…
WHITEFISH — The Vegas Golden Knights, the NHL’s new franchise set to debut this season, toured the Rocky Mountains last week, introducing the team and some of its players to a prospective fan base. The road trip was a homecoming of sorts as Bill Foley and Murray Craven celebrated the team’s creation in this corner Read More…
Eight people were found dead on Sunday inside a sweltering tractor trailer parked at a Walmart store in San Antonio, Texas, and authorities said they were the victims of “ruthless” human traffickers. Another 30 people, many in critical condition and suffering from heat stoke and exhaustion, were also in the trailer, which lacked air conditioning Read More…
Attorney General Tim Fox on Thursday filed to intervene in a federal district court lawsuit on behalf of the state of Montana, defending the U.S. Department of Interior’s reversal of the Obama Administration’s moratorium on federal coal leases. The lawsuit filed by Citizens for Clean Energy and the states of California, New Mexico, New Read More…
HELENA – While U.S. Senate Republicans’ plan to repeal “Obamacare” has been criticized for potentially undercutting coverage for thousands of low-income Montanans, at least one group is firmly behind it: The state’s primary lobby for small businesses. “What we’re looking for is a health-care system that is affordable, flexible and predictable,” says Riley Johnson, state Read More…
HELENA – Billings lawyer Kurt Alme has been recommended as Montana’s next U.S. attorney, the chief federal law officer in the state, whose appointment by the president must be confirmed by the U.S. Senate. U.S. Senator Steve Daines, R-Mont., made the recommendation Thursday to President Donald Trump, saying Alme is the “right person for the job.” Read More…
MISSOULA – Wildfires in Montana are nothing new. Last year, the Treasure State saw a bad fire season with more than 114,000 acres burned. In an attempt to better understand how wildfires may affect weather, climate and even health, a group of University of Montana scientists will fly directly into the smoke of a wildfire. Read More…
It seems like hardly a day goes by when you don’t see someone arrested in Gallatin County for a methamphetamine-related offense. It could be when a Bozeman police officer pulls over a driver for a traffic offense and discovers a small baggie with a crystalline substance and a residue-covered pipe. It could be when Read More…
Looking back, Kelly Lawrence thinks her son’s dependence on alcohol and drugs began when he was 14. But it’s hard to say — he hid his disease for so long. The first time he asked for help, he was in his 20s. She knew he was using heroin. They started making calls to see how Read More…
HELENA – Last Chance Handgunners holds competitive events from hand-guns to free range shooting. Saturday was a 3-gun match, meaning the competitor had to show their skill with different types of guns, for example a combination of rifles, pistols, and shot guns. The guns used were semi-automatic and manual operated. “My favorite part is the Read More…
CODY, Wyo. –Photo exhibitions all over America are getting people excited about a new book called, “People of Yellowstone.” The book explores the lives and passions of people who help protect Yellowstone National Park. The book features dozens of people, including a park horse wrangler, a backcountry cook, and three Yellowstone Park Superintendents, including Dan Read More…
Wyoming Conservation Corps (WCC) members Chris Folsom and Lola Philips work on the Casper Rotary Club Park trail on Casper Mountain, one of the first WCC projects of this summer. (WCC Photo) Projects ranging from building trails in the Shoshone and Bridger-Teton national forests in northwest Wyoming to building a yurt at Glendo State Park Read More…
A public hearing on Whitefish’s proposed $38.7 million budget tops the City Council agenda tonight. The budget is about $12.6 million less than last year’s budget, largely due to the completion of the City Hall and parking structure projects. A property tax mill-levy increase of 8.24 mills is proposed. The mill value is projected to Read More…
KALISPELL –Kalispell Regional Healthcare officials confirmed on Sunday that over 50 people were injured and transported in Saturday’s deck collapse at Glacier Camp, south of Lakeside. 36 of these patients were treated in the Flathead area, with 9 at North Valley Hospital and 27 at Kalispell Regional medical Center. Significant numbers of orthopedic and neurological injuries Read More…
Bozeman Mayor Carson Taylor said this week that he doesn’t intend to act on a request by neighborhood preservation activists that the city place a moratorium on major downtown developments. “I haven’t found any interest in the commission in discussing a moratorium,” he said in an interview Thursday. “I think we’re pretty comfortable with the Read More…
HELENA — Secretary of State Corey Stapleton said Friday that mail ballot voter fraud occurred in Missoula County during the May 25 congressional special election. The case involved a signature forgery on a mail-in ballot, he said. Stapleton said his office has notified the Missoula County Attorney’s office. “We’ve had mail ballot security issues in Read More…
Failed Democrat Presidential Candidate and United States Senator Bernie Sanders will come to Montana to campaign for Democrat congressional candidate Rob Quist. This is not the first time Mr. Sanders has campaigned in Montana. Mr. Sanders made campaign stops in Montana last year during his unsuccessful bid to beat out Hillary Clinton for the Democrat Read More…
A couple of large data problems from the U.S. Department of Education recently came to the attention of U.S. Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo. One of those errors uncovered billions of dollars in student loan costs, of which Congress was previously unaware. The other affects potential college students’ ability to make an informed decision about what Read More…