Communicating face-to-face provides an essential way for farmers and ranchers to address their concerns with government officials. During the Montana Farm Bureau Fly-In, June 10-13, in Washington, D.C. Montana Farm Bureau members had excellent opportunities to meet with lawmakers and agency personnel. The Fly-In participants—Susan Lake from Ronan, Don Steinbeisser, Jr. from Sidney and Kris Read More…

Montana Democrat John Mues officially launched his Senate campaign Thursday to unseat one-term Sen. Steve Daines (R). Mues, a fourth generation Montanan, is a former U.S. Navy officer and public school teacher and currently works as an engineer in the energy sector. He hammered Daines over his opposition to the Affordable Care Act and support for President Trump’s tax cuts. Read More…

President Donald Trump is pushing better forest management as a big part of his plan to stop the number of large wildfires that have caused devastation in the western United States in recent years. In a speech at the White House this past week, the president touted an executive order signed last December promoting more Read More…

A state lawmaker from Missoula has become the first Democrat to announce a run for Montana state auditor in 2020. State Rep. Shane Morigeau, an attorney who has served two terms in the Montana House, made the announcement Sunday morning. He said he is seeking the auditor’s job to work for affordable health care, which Read More…

HELENA – Congressman Greg Gianforte, Montana’s lone U.S. House member, has officially launched his 2020 campaign for governor. Gianforte, a Republican, made the announcement during a speech at the Montana Republican Party’s state convention in Helena. He told the group that he had heard from people around the state, asking him to consider running for governor. “They’ve Read More…

Former Speaker of the House and current Roosevelt County Attorney Austin Knudsen is seeking the Republican nomination for Attorney General now that Tim Fox has termed out and entered the gubernatorial race. Knudsen appeared on KGVO’s Talk Back show and spoke critically of the present Attorney General’s leadership especially in the area of crime control. Read More…

Republican Rep. Greg Gianforte, Montana’s lone House member, is planning to announce a 2020 run for governor, according to the state’s MTN News network. Gianforte, who was first elected to the House in a 2017 special election, would be the sixth Republican to enter the race to succeed Democratic incumbent Steve Bullock, who is term-limited and running for president. Republicans last captured Read More…

Helena mayor and Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Wilmot Collins admitted Tuesday to rear-ending another vehicle last week but pleaded not guilty to leaving the scene of the crash.   Collins told Lewis and Clark County Justice of the Peace Mike Swingley that his foot slipped off the brake but he believed he caught it before hitting the vehicle Read More…

At least $3.8 million was spent to influence Montana lawmakers’ work during the first three months of 2019. That’s with one more month’s worth of lobbyist spending reports for the 2019 legislative session yet to be filed. The deadline for that is today. Lobbying dollars can include things like paying a lawyer to speak against Read More…

WASHINGTON – There have been multiple reports of sexual harassment and hostile work environments at national parks, including Yellowstone National Park. Eight incidents occured from January 2016 to June 2017, according to the Office of Inspector General. Wednesday, Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., addressed U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary David Bernhardt, saying if more is not Read More…

From Representative Gianforte’s Office WASHINGTON — Congressman Greg Gianforte (R-Mont.) and a bipartisan group of legislators introduced Savanna’s Act, a bill to address the crisis of missing and murdered indigenous women. Native American women face a murder rate 10 times higher than the national average, and 84 percent experience some form of violence in their Read More…

Montanans are constantly bombarded with robocalls and Congressman Greg Gianforte is trying to help solve the problem. At a Communications and Technology subcommittee hearing, Gianforte pressed Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai on the issue. “Montanans have told me one of the worst things they face day to day are illegal robocalls,” Gianforte said. “They’re Read More…

HELENA — Gov. Steve Bullock signed or let become law 76 bills Tuesday, including ones to crack down on sexual abusers of children and to increase funding for state parks. But he also vetoed eight measures sponsored by Republicans, including a bill touted by GOP legislative leaders as a key economic-development incentive, creating tax credits Read More…