A new story from NBC news outlines how Senator Jon Tester’s public image as an ethics crusader doesn’t align with the reality of his 16 years in office. From NBC: “Despite his push for lobbying reform, Tester over the years has ranked among the Senate’s top recipients of campaign cash from lobbyists, according to OpenSecrets, Read More…
Democrats are using a new super PAC to meddle in the Montana GOP Senate primary and stop former Navy SEAL Tim Sheehy from emerging as the nominee, campaign finance disclosures suggest. The new group, Last Best Place PAC, registered with the Federal Election Commission last week and placed a six-figure ad buy attacking Sheehy’s business career, describing Read More…
As Mitt Romney‘s cell phone started ringing incessantly in the minutes following his Wednesday retirement announcement, he silenced it and lamented during an interview that President Joe Biden shouldn’t run for reelection. Just five minutes after Romney said that, he got a phone call that he couldn’t ignore: It was Biden. “There are certain calls you Read More…
As of now, the top three candidates for Billings City Council Ward 3 are: Danny Choriki with 1,091 votes (26.83%) Charles W. Loveridge with 1,294 votes (31.82%) Bill Kennedy with 1,331 votes (32.73%) The top two candidates will progress to the general election on November 7th. Current voter numbers are as follows: -Registered Voters – Total 14,180 Read More…
A new story from NBC news outlines how Senator Jon Tester’s public image as an ethics crusader doesn’t align with the reality of his 16 years in office. From NBC: “Despite his push for lobbying reform, Tester over the years has ranked among the Senate’s top recipients of campaign cash from lobbyists, according to OpenSecrets, Read More…
A new report from CNN has found that Senator Jon Tester failed to follow through on the ethics pledge he made the center of his 2006 campaign against incumbent Conrad Burns. From the CNN report: “I’ll end secret meetings with lobbyists. At the end of every business day, I will post a list of every Read More…
Democrats are using a new super PAC to meddle in the Montana GOP Senate primary and stop former Navy SEAL Tim Sheehy from emerging as the nominee, campaign finance disclosures suggest. The new group, Last Best Place PAC, registered with the Federal Election Commission last week and placed a six-figure ad buy attacking Sheehy’s business career, describing Read More…
As Mitt Romney‘s cell phone started ringing incessantly in the minutes following his Wednesday retirement announcement, he silenced it and lamented during an interview that President Joe Biden shouldn’t run for reelection. Just five minutes after Romney said that, he got a phone call that he couldn’t ignore: It was Biden. “There are certain calls you Read More…
As of now, the top three candidates for Billings City Council Ward 3 are: Danny Choriki with 1,091 votes (26.83%) Charles W. Loveridge with 1,294 votes (31.82%) Bill Kennedy with 1,331 votes (32.73%) The top two candidates will progress to the general election on November 7th. Current voter numbers are as follows: -Registered Voters – Total 14,180 Read More…
The TEACH Act, or Tomorrow’s Educators Are Coming Home Act, was signed into law in 2021 by Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte. Today, backers say it’s making a dent in the teacher shortage by providing incentives and loosening licensing requirements. On Tuesday, Gianforte visited Lockwood High School to meet two new teachers, who were hired through the TEACH Act. Read More…
The early conventional wisdom appears to be that Sen. Ted Cruz is in solid shape for reelection in 2024. Cook’s Political Report rates the race as “Likely R,” as does Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball. Inside Elections is more circumspect, labeling the race as a “battleground,” although Inside Elections currently only labels races as “safe” or Read More…
A new state law that bans the social media app TikTok from operating in Montana is set to take effect Jan. 1 – but before that, a federal judge will have to consider whether to put the law on hold. On Friday, Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen’s office filed their response to a federal lawsuit Read More…
Montana State Superintendent Elsie Arntzen announced Monday she is running for U.S. House. According to Arntzen’s Twitter account, she’ll be running for Montana’s second Congressional district on the condition that Rep. Matt Rosendale seeks the U.S. Senate nomination. In a statement, Arntzen said if Rosendale seeks reelection to the House, the exploratory committee will cease operations and return Read More…
Casper Republican Reid Rasner said he turned down two requests from political groups to run for office before he started seriously considering taking on Wyoming’s senior congressional delegation member U.S. Sen. John Barrasso in the 2024 election. By the time the third request came around, he said the idea started marinating in his head. “I saw the Read More…
President Biden on Monday denied lying about his son, Hunter Biden’s business deal conversations. Fox News White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich asked the president, “Did you lie about never speaking with Hunter about his business deals?” “No,” Biden replied flatly. Heinrich followed up by asking, “Did you ever speak with Hunter about his business deals?” READ THE FULL Read More…
It’s only June, and already Congress is threatening to ruin New Year’s Eve. With just over three months until the next shutdown deadline, the two parties are nowhere near a bipartisan deal to fund the government by the start of the new fiscal year. So top lawmakers are predicting that Congress will revert back to Read More…
The National Parks Service has denied Gov. Kristi Noem’s latest application for a permit to have fireworks at Mount Rushmore. Noem applied for the July 2023 permit last summer. KELOLAND News reached out to the NPS to find out what happened with that request. A spokesperson for the NPS said after careful consideration, the parks Read More…
Abortion pills will remain legal in Wyoming for now, after a judge ruled Thursday that the state’s first-in-the-nation law to ban them won’t take effect July 1 as planned while a lawsuit proceeds. Attorneys for Wyoming failed to show that the ban wouldn’t harm the plaintiffs before their lawsuit is resolved, Teton County Judge Melissa Read More…
Flathead County District Court Judge Dan Wilson is centering his newly launched campaign for the Montana Supreme Court on his experience, what he describes as a common sense approach to applying the law and by highlighting the importance of an independent judiciary. Wilson, 59, began last week the process of filing to run for retiring Read More…
House Majority Leader Sue Vinton, R-Billings, received a suspicious letter similar to the other three letters that were received by legislators over the weekend, according to a Senate GOP communications spokesperson Kyle Schmauch. The is the fourth letter received by a Montana legislator. Officials say when it was delivered, the letter was kept unopened and Read More…
Don “K” Kaltschmidt, an automobile dealer and prominent Republican figure in the Flathead Valley, has been reelected to a third term as chair of the Montana GOP. The Montana Republican Party voted to retain Kaltschmidt at its Officers’ Convention, while State Rep. Lola Sheldon-Galloway was also chosen for a third term as vice chair. Under Read More…
MontPIRG, a liberal nonprofit organization is facing a significant financial setback. According to a report from the Daily Montanan, the organization is expected to lose approximately $50,000 in student fees in the coming year. MontPIRG has a long-standing presence on state college campuses in Montana, operating for nearly four decades. While University of Montana students Read More…
Tanner J. Smith, a Republican member of the Montana House of Representatives representing District 11 in Flathead County, has recently announced his plans to run for governor in the 2024 election. In a news release, Smith outlined his campaign’s focus, which centers around revitalizing Montana’s economy, protecting natural resources, and ensuring a prosperous future for Read More…
Montana Republican Attorney General Austin Knudsen has followed through on his threat to sue the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG), a nonprofit organization of state prosecutors. Knudsen filed a lawsuit in Montana District Court, alleging that NAAG’s handling of public funds violates the Constitution of the State of Montana. He is calling for an Read More…
North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum took another step toward entering the race for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, posting a YouTube video on Monday touting his rise from a small town boy to a self-made software entrepreneur and a successful governor who has cut red tape and taxes. Although the video doesn’t mention it, Burgum has signed Read More…
Montana’s Legislature has overridden the governor on one piece of vetoed legislation, showing that lawmakers have at least some degree of appetite for pushing back against a slew of such actions that took place after they adjourned last month. According to results released Friday evening by the Secretary of State’s office, House Bill 693 will become law Read More…
Montana’s Democratic U.S. senator stood in favor of the debt deal, which was successfully passed late Thursday. Conversely, all of the Republicans in the state’s congressional delegation voted against the bill aimed at increasing the federal government’s borrowing limit for the next two years. The House saw a mixed bipartisan response, with a total of Read More…
Helena – Attorney General Austin Knudsen announced his participation, along with 17 other state attorneys general, in a lawsuit against the Biden administration. The lawsuit challenges the administration’s efforts to redefine certain illegal border crossings as “lawful pathways” into the country. Attorney General Knudsen believes that this proposed border policy will worsen the ongoing crises Read More…
Efforts to pass privacy legislation at the state level are intensifying as progress on the issue remains stagnant at the federal level. Montana recently became the latest state to enact its own privacy law, with Governor Greg Gianforte signing SB 384 into law on May 19. Advocates claim that Montana’s privacy law is one of Read More…
The state of Montana is facing a setback in its attempt to enforce a newly created ban an abortion procedure used in the state after 15 weeks’ gestational age. District Court Judge Mike Menahan issued an order preventing the ban from taking effect, stating that Planned Parenthood of Montana has demonstrated “immediate and irreparable harm” Read More…
The expiration of Title 42, a COVID-era policy used to expel migrants, on Thursday has sparked concerns about the growing wave of migrants at the southern border. U.S. Senators Jon Tester (D-MT) and Steve Daines (R-MT) have both addressed the situation and raised alarms regarding the security at the border. The issue has drawn national Read More…
Massachusetts U.S. Attorney, Rachael Rollins, will step down after a Justice Department inspector general investigation into her involvement in a political fundraiser and other ethics-related matters. Although the report has not been released yet, Rollins’ attorney confirmed that she will be sending a resignation letter to President Joe Biden by the end of business on Read More…
Governor Greg Gianforte announced an advisory council to assist in reviewing qualified candidates to fill the district court judge vacancy in the Thirteenth Judicial District (Yellowstone County). “I look forward to hearing the recommendations of these qualified professionals, community members, and leaders as they help me identify the best candidates to serve as their new Read More…
The recent revelations that Montana Senator Jon Tester has allowed industry lobbyists to craft legislation that benefits them contradict his campaign promise not to depend on lobbyists to make decisions. Emails obtained by Politico show that hemp industry lobbyists proposed and created a bill introduced by Tester in March to change regulations that benefit industrial Read More…
In a rare show of solidarity, an eclectic group of lawmakers including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. D-N.Y., and Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., announced a bipartisan bill restricting members of Congress from trading individual stocks. Sponsored by GOP Reps. Gaetz and Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., and Democratic Reps. Ocasio-Cortez and Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., the Bipartisan Restoring Faith in Government Act aims to Read More…
California’s reparations task force is considering its most generous recommended payouts yet, including up to $1.2 million for some longtime black residents. The task force laid out the latest numbers in a draft plan that members will discuss at their monthly meeting on Saturday. According to the report, based on input from economic advisers, the Read More…
Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R-VA), fresh from a trade mission to Taiwan and Japan, called for a national policy this week to restore American manufacturing dominance and end reliance on communist China. “We need an American Revolution in order to no longer depend on Chinese manufacturing,” the governor said to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation & Read More…
After First Republic Bank was seized and sold to JPMorgan Chase on Monday, new concerns are mounting over the state of the U.S. economy. Former Vice President Mike Pence slammed the Biden administration’s economic policies on “The Brian Kilmeade Show,” arguing that rampant spending and bailouts have created the economic conditions for bank failures and Read More…
The Chinese government of Xi Jinping has indicated, by word and deed, the intention of pursuing world hegemony—through its military buildup, aggressive posture toward Taiwan, and the Belt and Road initiative that extends across central Asia and beyond. It is also creating what sinologist Steven Mosher calls a world of “Sino States” from Cuba to Read More…
After 75 days and 990 bills, the 2023 Legislative Session has come to an end in North Dakota. The 2023 Legislature was memorable. How it’ll be remembered probably depends on your political leanings. Maybe you’ll remember it as the session where lawmakers finally did away with abortion, or the session where the majority of North Read More…
As the subject of electric vehicles becomes central to environmental agendas, lawmakers wonder if the batteries’ adverse effects can weather political dependencies and a tight time. “The administration is getting the cart before the horse. We have to create an environment where we are harvesting those raw materials to build the EV batteries here in Read More…
Wyoming is home to a wealth of mining and coal-fired power generation infrastructure that will eventually be decommissioned, razed and shipped away, even as the state courts dozens of new manufacturing and other industrial projects. But a new report finds opportunity in repurposing such facilities — which include railspurs and industrial-scale connections to the power Read More…
Laurel voters approved a $57 million elementary school bond aimed at replacing aging schools but failed a $31 million high school that sought to expand athletics and career technical education. The elementary school bond was winning with almost 55 percent of the vote Tuesday night, with a tally of 1,731 for and 1,429 against. READ Read More…
Tuesday’s school election went smoothly according to Missoula County Elections administrator Bradley Seaman, with about 40% voter turnout. It was a night that could not have been possible without all of the staff involved. But Seaman notes a new law will soon make it illegal to pause counting, which means the people counting will have Read More…