The United States Navy on Saturday commissioned the USS Idaho (SSN-799) during a ceremony at Naval Submarine Base New London, adding the 26th Virginia-class submarine to the fleet. The event marked the formal entry of the vessel into active service as the Navy continues expanding undersea capabilities amid growing strategic competition overseas. James Risch delivered Read More…
Daniel Perez Rojas, a former Mexican special forces soldier who rose to near the top of one of the country’s most violent cartels, faces up to life in prison A former high-ranking member of the Los Zetas cartel pleaded guilty to federal drug trafficking conspiracy charges, the Justice Department announced, marking a significant victory in Read More…
Gov. Greg Gianforte joined leaders from BHE Montana in Great Falls to celebrate the opening of the company’s new office and to emphasize the need for affordable, reliable energy as demand continues to grow across the state. Gianforte said Montana must continue investing and innovating to meet increasing energy needs for homes, schools, businesses, and Read More…
(The Center Square) – U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro said Friday she is closing the Justice Department’s criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, days after a key hearing for his replacement. Pirro said she is referring the matter to the Fed’s own inspector general, the same watchdog Powell had formally asked to Read More…
A state district judge in Montana is facing a call for his impeachment after sentencing a man who admitted to raping his 12-year-old daughter to 60 days in jail, of which he will serve 43. A petition posted on the website Change.org calling for the impeachment of the Valley County, Mont., district court judge, Read More…
Gov. Jack Dalrymple is bestowing North Dakota’s top honor on the late entrepreneur and business leader Eugene Dahl. The Gwinner native is the 43rd recipient of the North Dakota Theodore Roosevelt Rough Rider Award, the state’s highest commendation for citizens. Dahl is credited with leading the growth of several equipment manufacturing businesses in North Dakota, Read More…
Instructor Matt Dunlevy probably didn’t have to remind his University of North Dakota students that they’d be sharing the airspace as they stood in a field preparing their drones for flight as the sun set one recent afternoon. “Welcome to the drone business, where you will be eaten alive by bugs,” Dunlevy said, as the Read More…
Vail Resorts, Inc. has announced that the company’s CEO Rob Katz and his wife, Elana Amsterdam, founder of Elana’s Pantry, made personal contributions totaling $2 million to 12 local non-profit organizations in the communities where the company operates. Each of the contributions will be directed toward programs that support the welfare and education of children Read More…
When Landis Benson, president of the Wyoming Association of Realtors was asked if he thought there a Wyoming real estate bubble — when market prices rise rapidly due to high demand (as they did in the state during the energy boom in the early part of the decade) until they reach unsustainable levels, prompting a Read More…
Following the advice of legal counsel, the Rosebud School District #12 Board of Trustees voted 3-1 Monday to secure the services of an outside investigator to look into a policy 5015 complaint filed against Rosebud School Superintendent Mike Silverman. Rosebud School District Personnel policy 5015 covers bullying, harassment and intimidation between employees or by third Read More…
Montana Attorney General Tim Fox is joining 20 other states that have filed a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court to represent three victims of human trafficking. Those victims are all minors and they’re filing suit against Backpage.com, a website Fox says is one of the worst purveyors of criminal activity, including human trafficking of Read More…
The Montana Office of Consumer Protection is warning Montanans about a texting scam that has been circulating around the state. Montana Attorney General Tim Fox explains. “Folks on their mobile devices and cell phones are receiving text messages that look somewhat legitimate,” said Fox. “Typically they look like they come from a bank, credit card Read More…
A report released earlier this week by finance website WalletHub said Fargo is the ninth fastest-growing midsize city based on a study that compared 515 cities on 14 different factors, including population growth rate, college-educated population growth and unemployment rate decreases. Fargo ranked 13th overall in the study, which looked at growth between 2009 and Read More…
Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead says he’s hopeful that state lawmakers won’t have to make more substantial cuts to state spending when they convene early next year. Declining revenues forced Mead to cut $250 million from the state’s two-year, $3 billion general fund budget that started in July. Updated revenue projections are due later this month Read More…
The State Loan and Investment Board (SLIB) approved funding for seven projects at its quarterly board meeting Thursday in Cheyenne. SLIB awarded three companies a total of $41 million in Economic Development Large Project loan requests – none of the three approved large project loans were the full amounts requested. Standard Alcohol, Atlas Carbon and Cody Read More…
One of downtown Helena’s largest employers is ready to make a move to the east side of town. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Montana will start operations Monday at its new headquarters in the Mountain View Meadows subdivision. Leaders say the move will be in several stages and should be finished in about two weeks. Read More…
Wyoming has the most competitive tax code in the nation according to the 13th annual State Business Tax Climate Index, released today by the nonpartisan Tax Foundation. The report measures how well-structured each state’s tax code is by analyzing over 100 tax variables in five different tax categories: corporate, individual income, sales, property, and unemployment Read More…
In a household with five children under the age of 7, a simple date night away for the parents can feel like a spa day, a few hours to recalibrate and breathe, to ignore the kids’ menu and enjoy conversation with other adults. Amanda and John Mark Creamer understand how important this sliver of Read More…
Wyoming’s unemployment rate fell in August for the first time in 18 months, the Department of Workforce Services reported Tuesday. The shift from 5.7 percent unemployment in July to 5.5 percent last month is not a statistically significant drop, but it offers hope that the state economy is stabilizing. Natrona County had the fourth-largest decrease Read More…
The Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation that this year’s fire season has been near or below average in the Treasure State. During an Environmental Quality Council meeting in Helena earlier this week, the DNRC’s Bob Harrington reported that 252 fires this season have burned 23,000 acres of state-managed land. The total cost to fight the blazes is Read More…
Members of the Chippewa Cree Tribe gathered along the bank of the Missouri River in Great Falls on Tuesday evening to show their support for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe in North Dakota. The group is joining in protest of the multi-billion dollar Dakota Access Pipeline that would cross the Missouri River several times across Read More…
On Thursday, a crime victim forum at the Willson School gave people the chance to come forward and discuss how they feel law enforcement could better serve citizens. A man said his house was broken into three years ago and the alleged robber has been identified but never tried. Another man said a woman broke into Read More…
During Barack Obama’s tenure in the White House, he has stacked the deck at the National Labor Relations Board with officials sympathetic to unions. (At one point, a unanimous Supreme Court decision ruled that Obama’s recess appointments to the board were illegal.) The NLRB has in turn issued all sorts of new rules to inhibit Read More…
By Mike Dennison – MTN News HELENA – The head of the state Republican Party Wednesday asked the Montana Supreme Court to remove the Libertarian secretary of state candidate from Montana’s November ballot, for not filing proper campaign forms. Jeff Essmann’s filing for “extraordinary relief” said Libertarian Roger Roots failed to file forms required of Read More…
An unknown individual used an anonymous web browsing tool often used to access the dark web to get into an email account on the Clinton family server, the FBI revealed on Friday. Meanwhile, in another incident, top aide Huma Abedin revealed to an unidentified person that Clinton had fears she had been hacked after she Read More…
The Miles City Council passed a $26.7 million city budget for 2016-17 Tuesday night. The $23,668,213 spending plan includes $5 million in General Fund expenditures, nearly $900,000 in cash carryover and various enterprise funds like ambulance, water, sewer, airport and library.. Finance Committee Chairwoman Susanne Galbraith said the police department requested an additional officer, which Read More…
Republican gubernatorial candidate Greg Gianforte has poured another $640,000 of his own money into his campaign, upping his total personal contributions to $1.7 million – about half his overall campaign funds. But Gianforte wasn’t the only one who opened his checkbook in Montana’s gubernatorial race last month. Good Jobs Montana, an independent political action committee Read More…
Malmstrom Air Force Base residents woke up to potentially dangerous drinking water this morning. The base put out a notice stating there were elevated chlorine levels in water and it was unsafe to drink or even wash with. Some residents stated the water smelled a little funny as early as last night. Base officials say Read More…
Donald Trump doubled down on his promises to build a wall along the US-Mexico border, saying, “We will build a great wall along the southern border” in speech on Wednesday evening. Trump has promoted the wall as a part of a solution to cross-border crime and to illegal immigration. But just a few days before Trump’s awkward meeting Read More…
When you don’t have much new income, it’s great if you can pay your monthly bills using money coming in from smart investment of your savings. Not a lot of people have that. But public budgets in Wyoming have enjoyed some of that kind of security. Now the state is looking for the best strategy Read More…
Representatives of Wyoming firearms manufacturers were on hand Monday, as Gov. Matt Mead announced three new initiatives to promote shooting sports across the state as part of “Wyoming’s Day at the Range.” “We have a growing firearms industry in Wyoming,” Mead said at ceremony at the Otto Road Shooting Range west of Cheyenne. “Some Read More…
CHEYENNE – Budget cuts will mean less marketing and advertising to attract visitors to Wyoming. The Wyoming Office of Tourism cut about $2 million from its 2017-18 budget as a result of massive cuts across state agencies. The bulk of that money, almost $1.4 million, was designated for advertising. That cut will mean a smaller Read More…
Hobble Diamond Ranch offers a home on the range to fulfill your dreams of living the cowboy lifestyle on a 30,000-acre spread accentuated by the Yellowstone River running through the property. It can all be yours for the sum of $35 million. Bloomberg’s James Tarmy has the details on “Bloomberg Markets.” From Bloomberg
The Montana National Guard marked the end of an era as it closed its armory in Hamilton Tuesday. The Hamilton Armory on West Main Street is 57 years old. Detachment 2,230th Engineering Company, which called the armory home, will be transferred to Anaconda. Montana National Guard soldiers did a final walk through of the landmark Read More…
The Montana Land Board has approved trading two historic Helena buildings for a warehouse property near the Helena airport. The state will trade the Old Liquor Warehouse on Front Street and the Armory on Last Chance Gulch to the D & M Development, LLC for a warehouse on A Street. The Old Liquor Warehouse is currently Read More…
HOUSTON—Continental Resources Inc., North Dakota’s second-largest oil producer, posted a quarterly loss on Wednesday that missed Wall Street’s expectations because of the slump in crude prices. The loss is an example of the difficulty facing the oil industry as it seeks to offset the period of low prices. Many companies have slashed costs to survive. Read More…
HELENA – A former Blackfeet tribal councilwoman wants to withdraw her guilty plea to federal charges of harboring a fugitive and lying to authorities. Cheryl Little Dog’s new attorney filed the request Monday. Federal public defender Anthony Gallagher says Little Dog’s previous attorney pressured her to plead guilty and she did not have enough Read More…
The House Benghazi Committee chairman is in Montana this week stumping for Rep. Ryan Zinke’s re-election. Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-South Carolina, is scheduled to appear with Montana’s Republican congressman at four fundraising events across the state beginning with an afternoon event in Kalispell on Tuesday. A spokeswoman for Zinke said he will talk about “national Read More…
BILLINGS — Gov. Steve Bullock’s campaign has reimbursed the state another $1,155 for extra costs incurred when pilots who flew him for state business had to wait to return while he conducted campaign activities. The Billings Gazette reports the reimbursements for costs added to nine flights in April, May and June were included in campaign Read More…
A Montana-based environmental group said Monday it will spend $500,000 to help re-elect Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock and defeat his Republican rival, Greg Gianforte. The Montana Conservation Voters Action Fund, a political action committee, will use the money to fund a door-to-door canvassing effort to encourage people to sign up for absentee ballots, and to Read More…
By the end of September, Bozeman will have an entirely new projection for how the city’s economy will grow and change over the coming years. The city, led by Economic Development Director Brit Fontenot, is currently in the process of updating its economic development plan for the first time since 2009. Most of the legwork Read More…