The U.S. Senate passed the bipartisan Fire Ready Nation Act by unanimous consent, advancing legislation aimed at strengthening the nation’s ability to prevent, forecast, and combat wildfires. The bill, introduced in January by Senator Tim Sheehy (R–Mont.) and Senator Maria Cantwell (D–Wash.), formally establishes the Fire Weather Services program at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Read More…
Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen is leading a 27-state coalition urging the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn Washington state’s ban on firearm magazines that hold more than 10 rounds. The coalition filed an amicus brief Monday in Gator’s Custom Guns, Inc. v. State of Washington, arguing the law violates the Second Amendment. In May, the Read More…
U.S. Senator Steve Daines (R-Mont.) is leading a bipartisan effort to increase transparency and accountability in the federal Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund, introducing the CDFI Fund Transparency Act alongside Senators Mark Warner (D-Va.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), and Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.). The legislation would require the Secretary of the Treasury to testify annually before Read More…
Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen is spearheading a 23-state coalition of attorneys general urging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to halt grants to the Environmental Law Institute (ELI), a group that has been providing climate-focused trainings for judges nationwide. In a letter sent Tuesday to EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, Knudsen raised concerns that taxpayer Read More…
Vice President Mike Pence bragged to a big crowd in Bozeman Tuesday afternoon about what he and President Donald Trump have done in the last two years — tax cuts, killing regulations, a new trade agreement with Canada and Mexico. And, he said, the key to keeping that going is running up the Republican majority Read More…
BILLINGS, Mont. – Governor Steve Bullock visited Billings Monday afternoon to discuss his thoughts on Initiative 185. He spoke at Billings Clinic with the main focus on improved healthcare. I-185 would increase taxes on all tobacco products including e-cigarettes and vaping products. That revenue would be used to fund the expansion of Medicaid. Bullock said, Read More…
The office of Montana state auditor Matt Rosendale, who’s running for the Senate in November, dismissed fines and dropped sanctions against a donor to his political campaigns, according to a report from the Montana Free Press. Rosendale’s office dropped the fines and dismissed two of three allegations against Friedell LLC, a bail bond company, a day after the Senate Read More…
HELENA – In an attempt to get its candidates back on the Montana ballot this fall, the Montana Green Party has sued the state in federal court, seeking to void part of Montana’s requirements for political parties to qualify for the ballot. The lawsuit, filed late Monday, says Montana’s ballot-qualification requirements are among the most Read More…
HELENA, Mont. — The Montana Green Party is challenging a state law that governs minor party ballot access. In a complaint filed in federal court Monday, the party is challenging the March 15 submission deadline and the requirement that a minimum number of signatures be gathered in 34 of 100 legislative districts. The party is Read More…
Helena – The Commissioner of Political Practices has ruled that Democrat State Representative Zac Perry of Hungry Horse violated campaign finance regulations during his 2016 campaign. First elected in 2014, Zac Perry narrowly defeated Republican challenger Taylor Rose in the 2016 Election for House District 3 by 271 votes. On Tuesday, Commissioner of Political Practices Read More…
BILLINGS – Billings Mayor Bill Cole, Roundup Mayor Sandra Jones and Colstrip Mayor John Williams were among a handful of Montana officials who visited the White House last week as part of Montana State Day in Washington D.C. The mayors were invited by the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, the city of Billings announced Read More…
Republicans in Gallatin County say they found a replacement candidate for House District 65 incumbent state Rep. Jon Knokey, who withdrew from his re-election bid in mid-July. The Gallatin County Republican Central Committee nominated Jane Gillette to take Knokey’s place in the district, which includes the northern part of Bozeman from East Valley Center Road Read More…
The City of Missoula has filed for summary judgment in its lawsuit against Montana Attorney General Tim Fox regarding a universal background check ordinance for gun purchases, asking a judge to rule in its favor on the application of state laws without going through a trial. Summary judgment can be used when the two sides Read More…
The next chairman of the National Governors Association (NGA) will spend his term promoting job training and workforce development, an initiative that could be seen as the outlines of a presidential campaign message. Montana Gov. Steve Bullock (D) will formally take the helm of the bipartisan group on Saturday in Santa Fe, N.M., where the nation’s governors are Read More…
HELENA – Montana Secretary of State Corey Stapleton is asking the state Supreme Court to overturn a judge’s decision to remove Green Party candidates from the November ballot. Stapleton’s office filed an appeal Wednesday of the decision by District Judge James Reynolds of Helena. Reynolds ruled last week that 87 of the more than 7,000 signatures Read More…
State Rep. Jon Knokey on Friday officially withdrew from his re-election bid, spurring local Republicans to find a replacement for the race. Knokey served as a representative for House District 65, which includes the northern part of Bozeman from East Valley Center Road to Huffine Lane and from Gooch Hill Road to North Rouse Avenue. Read More…
On Friday, the Montana Shooting Sports Association moved to intervene in the City of Missoula’s lawsuit against Montana Attorney General Tim Fox over the ‘Bloomberg Ordinance’. Missoula’s gun ordinance was ruled as unenforceable by the Attorney General as it conflicts with state law. MSSA President Gary Marbut said the intervention is to protect the rights Read More…
Helena – In a lawsuit filed by the Montana Democratic Party and several prominent Democrats, District Court Judge James Reynolds ruled Monday in favor of the Democrats and ordered the Montana Green Party must be removed from the ballot. However, Judge Reynolds failed to disclose his ties to one of the plaintiffs, Donald Judge of Read More…
Democrats could breathe more easily Tuesday after a judge ordered the Montana Green Party to be removed from the November ballot, upending a threat from the left to Sen. Jon Tester’s critical re-election bid. Helena District Court Judge James P. Reynolds issued his ruling after invalidating dozens of signatures on Green Party petitions in what Read More…
The lines started forming before noon Thursday, hours before President Donald Trump’s scheduled 4 p.m. arrival at Four Seasons Arena in Great Falls. As the temperature climbed, more and more red, white and blue-clad Trump enthusiasts milled around the fairgrounds, bearing the chants that would later echo throughout the arena: “Keep America Great” signs, “Lock Read More…
President Trump went after Sen. Jon Tester during a campaign-style rally in Tester’s home state of Montana on Thursday night, accusing the Democratic senator of failing to live up to his promises in Washington. Joined by Republican Senate candidate Matt Rosendale, who is seeking to oust Tester in November, Trump sought to tie the two-term Read More…
U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, directly targeted by a presidential visit Thursday, spent the Fourth of July in Butte and East Helena – and said he’s not that worried about President Trump campaigning against him. In fact, he said he hopes the president sees more of Montana than just the walls of a campaign rally. “I Read More…
Montana Representative Greg Gianforte is trying to win support in Congress for more roadbuilding on public lands. Conservationists say he’s trying to turn back the clock to policies that proved unsustainable. On Tuesday, Gianforte chaired a House subcommittee hearing focused on road closures and access on U.S. Forest Service lands. “Unfortunately the Forest Service seems Read More…
MISSOULA, Mont. — The president of the United States is coming to Montana Thursday. Donald Trump will be the 17th sitting president to do so and the sixth to visit Great Falls. Trump is hosting military families for a picnic and fireworks at the White House for the Fourth of July, but in less than Read More…
Donald Trump Jr. is set to headline Friday’s GOP convention in Montana, where he will seek to boost state auditor Matt Rosendale (R), who is running for Senate. READ THE FULL STORY.
The two Republicans in Montana’s congressional delegation – Sen. Steve Daines and Rep. Greg Gianforte – told MTN News this week they were mostly standing behind President Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigrants crossing the Mexican border. “He announced a zero-tolerance policy; it’s taking a strong stance to secure our borders,” Daines told MTN News Tuesday. Read More…
HELENA, Mont. — Montana’s GOP nominee for U.S. Senate is turning down a debate with incumbent Sen. Jon Tester. The planned debate between Matt Rosendale and Tester would have been hosted this Sunday in Whitefish by the Montana Broadcasters Association. Monday morning the association told us Rosendale declined to appear. READ THE FULL STORY.
Sen. Jon Tester of Montana was already facing a tough re-election battle in a state that Donald Trump won by a landslide — and then the Green Party made the Democrat’s job that much tougher by qualifying for the ballot. Now the Montana Democratic Party is scrambling to oust the Greens. It has asked a Read More…
Millions of dollars are flowing into Montana’s US Senate race before voters go to the polls on Tuesday — and that’s just for the Republican primary. GOP candidates and conservative outside groups have already poured about $5.7 million into the primary for Montana’s US Senate race on Tuesday. That’s about $5.60 per resident and about Read More…
A U-S Supreme court decision expected in the coming weeks could deal a big blow to Montana’s public sector unions. The decision could make Montana a so-called ‘Right-to-Work’ state in the public sector, costing the state’s biggest union membership, revenue, and bargaining power. “A union only works or only works well when the majority, if Read More…
In Montana’s crowded U.S. House Democratic primary, former land-trust director Grant Kier of Missoula and Billings attorney John Heenan are raising the most money – but their fundraising profiles are much different. Through mid-May, Kier had raised the most money from donors, at almost $760,000, with nearly two-thirds of that amount from Montanans. But he Read More…
The next big Republican Senate primary is in Montana, where voters will choose Democratic Sen. Jon Tester’s opponent on Tuesday. The GOP contest in Big Sky Country was a sleepy affair for much of this year, lacking the verbal ax throwing that animated similar contests in Indiana and West Virginia this spring. “It kinda starts Read More…
HELENA – One of the most hotly contested local races in the June 5 primary election will be for the Democratic nomination in Montana House District 81, covering parts of Helena and the Helena Valley. State Sen. Mary Caferro and Helena city commissioner Rob Farris-Olsen are running for the open seat. The primary will likely Read More…
HELENA – A political group that wants to elect more scientists is making the first major outside-money buy in Montana’s crowded Democratic U.S. House primary, supporting former land-trust director Grant Kier. The 314 Action Fund reported spending $52,000 in the past two weeks on direct mailers supporting Kier, one of five candidates competing for the Read More…
Matt Bell, a Democrat challenging three-term Montana House incumbent Kimberly Dudik is apologizing for making false statements in a mailer voters received last week. “I’m really sorry, I’m really embarrassed that I let this happen,” Matt Bell says. Matt Bell’s mailer claimed endorsements from Montana Conservation Voters, Planned Parenthood and the state’s largest labor union. Read More…
The big primary election day for Montana this year is June 5th, but with a week to go, turnout in Missoula looks sparse. According to Missoula County Elections administrator Dayna Causby, Missoula County usually has around a 60 percent turnout, but that is not the way this election is trending. “So far, out of the Read More…
HELENA – Democratic U.S. House candidate John Heenan has been touting his record as a “consumer lawyer,” representing people wronged by banks, insurers and other corporate bad actors. “I have the privilege of representing widows when insurance companies deny their claims, people suffering from cancer when insurance companies deny their claims,” he told MTN News Read More…
When a local radio host asked Montana Senate candidate Matt Rosendale what differentiated him from the other GOP candidates earlier this year, he had a quick response. “Piece of cake. Rancher,” he told radio host Aaron Flint in January. “I’m a businessman. I’m a former legislator, and I’m an executive. And I’ve been very effective Read More…
BUTTE – A bipartisan group of state lawmakers are in Butte this week to tour the Mining City and address a policy issue in the Legislature: the development of a clear sexual harassment policy. “It’s kind of a tough issue because it’s all about sex. So nobody wants to talk about it or deal with Read More…
Montana’s GOP Senate primary is ramping up in the final stretch, as candidates jockey to face Sen. Jon Tester (D) in November. State Auditor Matt Rosendale, who was recruited by the GOP after several top-tier contenders passed on the race, is still seen as the front-runner, with national outside groups putting up more than $1.8 Read More…
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals released an opinion this week in a longstanding debate over Montana Political Practices law. Montana Attorney General’s office spokesman Eric Sell explains. “The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued an opinion yesterday [May 22] upholding Montana’s campaign disclosure laws, these were laws passed by the 2015 legislative session called Read More…
When U.S. House candidate Jared Pettinato spoke to area residents during his time in Richland County last week, the Democrat’s message was different than what is usually heard in eastern Montana. While other candidates talk about the importance of oil in eastern Montana, Pettinato pointed to wind and trees as being vital to Montana’s economic Read More…
BILLINGS – With two weeks to go to Montana’s June 5 primary, 18,184 voters in Yellowstone County have already made their choice. County Elections Administrator Bret Rutherford said Tuesday the returns have been strong and he’s expecting around 36,000 to be returned before election day. Absentee ballots were mailed to 66,000 addresses on May 11, Read More…
HELENA – Montana Attorney General Tim Fox, along with the attorneys general of Ohio and Washington, led a bipartisan coalition of 39 state and territory attorneys general calling on congressional leaders to promptly pass measures to help hold opioid manufacturers accountable for their role in the opioid epidemic and stem diversion. The coalition sent a Read More…