Austin Knudsen brought his campaign for Montana attorney general to Havre Thursday, touting his conservative values and his determination to fight drug abuse, especially methamphetamine. Knudsen, a Republican from Culbertson, served four terms in the Montana House, two as Speaker, then returned home to hang up his shingle and practice law. He said the people of Read More…

Two competing plans to ask Montana voters to legalize and tax recreational marijuana are underway in the state.  A group called MontanaCan is the latest initiative sponsor calling for a change in the state’s policies for marijuana. MontanaCan is proposing a gross sales tax on the recreational drug of no more than 5 percent, and Read More…

HELENA – Lawmakers are heading home after wrapping up their first Legislative Week. Throughout the five days, lawmakers were busy bouncing around from meetings, to training sessions to committee hearings. They also looked into moving to annual sessions. Montana is only one of four states who meets every other year for 90 days. The week was Read More…

HELENA — Montana’s top Democratic state officeholder – U.S. Sen. Jon Tester – on Friday endorsed Lt. Gov. Mike Cooney in the contested Democratic primary for governor. “I can tell you that Mike will make a great leader for this state,” Tester said at a news conference in front of the state Capitol, with Cooney Read More…

On Friday, Roosevelt County Attorney and former Montana Speaker of the House Austin Knudsen will officially file to run as a Republican for the office of Montana Attorney General. KGVO spoke with Knudsen as he was taking a break on the road driving from his home in Wolf Point to Helena to file with the Read More…

HELENA – A new bill was announced addressing the Firearm Owners Protection Act, with a focus on protecting travelers who bring firearms across state lines. The bill will clarify the term transport to include staying in temporary lodging overnight, stopping for food, fuel, and vehicle maintenance to name a few. It will also ensure that law-abiding gun Read More…

MISSOULA – After President Trump’s address to the nation, we bring the Iran conflict home to Montana and hear from the Treasure State’s leaders in the house and senate. After Wake Up Montana spoke with Senator Steve Daines, Senator Jon Tester, and Congressman Greg Gianforte, the responses were mixed, however all three agreed the world Read More…

BOZEMAN — Alice Buckley is a few days away from two important dates. January 9 is the candidate filing open for Statewide, State District and Legislative candidates running in Montana. It’s also a couple days after her 27th birthday. “I have the interest and the commitment in having equal representation in the legislature and believe Read More…

There’s a three-way race underway for a seat on the Montana Supreme Court. Each of the candidates are relying on self funding to get their 2020 campaigns off the ground. Justice Laurie McKinnon, who lives in Helena, is running for reelection after announcing last year she would not seek a second eight-year term on the Read More…

MISSOULA, Mont. — Between taxes, marijuana and a presidential election, 2020 will be a busy year for voters. There are 10 issues proposed already, but not all of them have enough signatures yet. That means it’s still up in the air whether the following initiatives will make it to the ballot. The Marijuana Regulation Act One Read More…

The Lake County Commissioners are doubling down on their opposition to a proposed bill that would ratify the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes water compact. Montana’s two U.S. senators, Jon Tester and Steve Daines, are co-sponsoring a bill, the Montana Water Rights Protection Act, that would ratify the water compact at the federal level. It would Read More…

WASHINGTON — Kendra Espinoza sends her daughters to Stillwater Christian School, in Kalispell, Mont. The girls are thriving, but the tuition bills are steep. Ms. Espinoza, a single mother, has worked three jobs, raffled off quilts and held yard sales to help make the payments. She had also hoped to get some money from a Read More…

The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes would manage the National Bison Range in exchange for concessions on water rights, according to draft legislation Montana Sen. Steve Daines is expected to introduce in Congress. Both Daines and the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes announced last week that they had come to an agreement to settle thousands Read More…

MISSOULA, Mont. — Senator Steve Daines announced he reached a new agreement to settle water disputes with the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT) that “protect the water rights for all Montanans.” Senator Jon Tester said he is pleased with the bipartisan support for the introduction of the CSKT Water Compact. Daines will introduce the “Montana Read More…

A Republican-aligned super PAC is taking aim at Montana Gov. Steve Bullock — not because of the Democrat’s presidential bid, but because of a prospective Senate bid. The Senate Leadership Fund, an ally of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, bought a five-figure digital ad campaign attacking Mr. Bullock for spending time outside the state on the presidential campaign trail. Read More…

Montana Supreme Court Justice Laurie McKinnon, who announced five months ago she would not run for re-election for a second term, said Sunday she’s changed her mind and will be running in 2020. McKinnon told MTN News that while she initially wasn’t looking forward to another potentially partisan campaign, she decided that wasn’t a good-enough Read More…

Sen. Steve Daines criticized the state of Montana on Wednesday during a Senate subcommittee hearing, saying its policies on Medicaid has made it more at risk to abuse and fraud compared to other states. He made his comments after noting the U.S. government improperly spent $36 billion in Fiscal Year 2018. “The sad reality is Read More…

Montana’s federal lawmakers are moving ahead with their effort to rename the Department of Veterans Affairs clinic in Bozeman after local Medal of Honor recipient and Army Staff Sgt. Travis Atkins.   Sens. Steve Daines and Jon Tester and Rep. Greg Gianforte sent a letter on Tuesday to the chair of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee Read More…

Every election season folks usually ask us, who should we vote for when it comes to judges or city council races? Normally, city council elections in Billings are relatively sleepy and it is hard to distinguish between the various candidates. Not this year. There is a very philosophical contrast between most of the candidates on Read More…

The Montana Democratic Party will soon start searching for a new executive director. Monica Lindeen will step down from her post as executive director of the Montana Democratic Party by year’s end. You know, I think it’s time that somebody else step into a position like this,” Lindeen says. It’s been just over ten months Read More…

Spenser Merwin, a former staff member for U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, has been named the new executive director of the Montana Republican Party. Merwin has been Daines’ director of coalitions and outreach since 2015. He was the deputy political director for Daines’ Senate campaign during the 2014 election cycle and his regional political director during Read More…

Billings resident Nelly Nicol announced today that she is running as a Republican for Montana State Auditor. Nelly is a fourth-generation Montanan, wife, mother, and professional who has spent much of her career working in the insurance industry. “I was raised in a patriotic Marine Corps household and serving others is something that comes naturally Read More…

Two Bozeman Democrats are running for U.S. Senate with the hope of unseating Republican Steve Daines in 2020.   Cora Neumann, 44, launched her campaign Tuesday, saying she will focus on affordable, high-quality health care, increasing wages and protecting public lands.   Michael Knoles, 32, has filed with the Federal Election Commission but said he Read More…