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…
With estimated shortfalls in the state highway fund, the Montana Contractors Association and other special interest groups are pushing for a 38 percent increase in the gas tax. Recently MTN reported that Governor Steve Bullock’s administration has spent $75 Million more than the fund has brought in since fiscal 2012. And now the balance has Read More…
A pair of New York City law firms have launched an investigation in to proposed acquisition of Montana based Stillwater Mining by Sibanye Gold Limited, a South African company. Harwood Feffer LLP and Levi & Korsinsky LLP both of New York City have announced that they are investigating shareholder concerns that the Stillwater Board of Read More…
The Gianforte Family Foundation once again has shown its dedication to supporting education and job creation in Montana, pledging $290,000 to the University of Montana’s Department of Computer Science. The two-year gift will help the department grow its enrollment capacity, ultimately graduating more computer science majors and minors for careers in Montana’s growing technology sector. Read More…
Helena – Fresh off a narrow re-election victory Governor Steve Bullock is laying out his priorities for the 2017 legislative session. Despite the gains made by Republicans on Election Day Mr. Bullock remains confident that he can secure legislative victories. Mr. Bullock told Lee Enterprises, “I don’t anticipate much different dynamics than we’ve seen in Read More…
Helena – Montana commissioner of political practices dismissed a state ethics complaint against Governor Steve Bullock and Commerce Director Meg O’Leary on Monday with no investigation. The complaint was filed by state Representative Brad Tschida of Missoula. Commissioner Jonathan Motl, who was appointed by Governor Bullock, said that trips taken by Meg O’Leary to a Read More…
Montana Gov. Steve Bullock proposed Tuesday to create new taxes on the wealthy and medical marijuana in an attempt to bolster state revenues that have stagnated amid a downturn in oil and coal production. One week after winning re-election, the Democratic governor released a two-year budget plan that would increase state spending $35 million by Read More…
Montana Attorney General Tim Fox and the Montana Public Service Commission, along with 25 other state attorneys general, co-authored and co-signed a letter to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency objecting to a new rule that they argue is an attempt to circumvent the Supreme Court. “The rule making is called the Clean Energy Incentive Program Read More…
President-elect Donald Trump says he will repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, a national health care reform measure also known as Obamacare. “On day one of the Trump administration, we will ask Congress to immediately deliver a full repeal of Obamacare,” information on Trump’s website says. So what do his plans mean Read More…
There will be lots to talk about at the Central Wyoming Economic Forecast in Casper on Dec. 13 at the Parkway Plaza; and the Wyoming Business Report has assembled an impressive slate of speakers to cover every angle. Kicking off the event will be UW economics professor Anne Alexander, who will provide the low down Read More…
Microsoft Corp. has announced its largest wind power deal to date: 237 megawatts (MW) that will power their data center outside of Cheyenne. This will bring Microsoft’s total investment in wind energy projects to more than 500 MW. This deal will combine a 178 MW from the Bloom Wind project in Kansas with a long-term Read More…
The Wyoming Business Alliance and Wyoming Heritage Foundation have created a new initiative where business people across the state will be able to help improve public education. Wyoming Excels was officially launched during Gov. Matt Mead’s Business Forum at Cheyenne. “Wyoming Excels is about business engaging with educators,” said Fred von Ahrens, the Read More…
As a part of the Wyoming Lottery’s goal to give back to Wyoming, WyoLotto made a third transfer of revenue to the state on Oct. 7. This revenue transfer, totaling $797,638, brings the lottery’s total revenue transfer amount to $2,832,638 since April of this year. WyoLotto looks forward to building on the success that has Read More…
Members of the Eastern Shoshone Tribe are marking the return of buffalo to their reservation in central Wyoming more than a century after the animals were wiped out. The tribe is holding a ceremony Thursday marking the release of 10 genetically pure buffalo from a federal refuge in Iowa. The National Wildlife Federation and U.S. Read More…
State education officials are a step closer to revamping the delivery of education statewide. The Wyoming Department of Education recently released the 2017-2021 Digital Learning Plan. “This comprehensive five-year strategic plan was written around the importance of incorporating digital learning and education technology into the classroom and addresses the need for equitable access to educational Read More…
TAHLEQUAH, Okla. (AP) — The Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma has donated $10,000 to the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe in North Dakota to support its fight against the Dakota Access Pipeline. The Cherokees say they presented a check last week in addition to providing three truckloads of firewood for those camping out to protest construction of Read More…
The State of Wyoming recently released its annual MACRO report detailing the state’s economy, and while the report paints a gloomy picture, there are signs of hope on the horizon. “I think there’s a couple of causes for optimism, the worst may be over for the state,” Jim Robinson, principal economist for the economic analysis 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…