A former state senator has publicly identified herself for the first time as the source of a confidential 2018 sexual harassment complaint against state Sen. Jonathan Windy Boy, directly challenging his recent claims that allegations against him are part of a politically motivated smear campaign. Jennifer Gross disclosed Friday in a post on her Substack Read More…
U.S. Senators Steve Daines (R-Mont.) and Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) have introduced a bipartisan resolution commemorating May 5th, 2026, as a National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. “On this year’s National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, we remember with a heavy heart all those who have Read More…
U.S. Senators Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.) and Chris Coons (D-Del.) have introduced the China-Africa Mining Transparency Act of 2026, a bipartisan bill aimed at exposing China’s use of forced labor, child labor, and environmental abuse in critical mineral mining operations across Africa. “As we restore American energy dominance and onshore critical mineral production, it is imperative Read More…
Congressman Ryan Zinke announced the House passage of the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026, commonly known as the Farm Bill, a comprehensive piece of legislation designed to strengthen American agriculture, support rural communities, and improve forest and land management. The bill includes six provisions sponsored or co-sponsored by Zinke. “The Farm Bill Read More…
HELENA – U.S. Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) met Friday with leaders from the skilled trades in Helena, to discuss ways to encourage more students to consider apprenticeship programs. Daines visited the Montana Electrical Joint Apprenticeship and Training Center, operated by local chapters of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and the National Electrical Contractors Association. Read More…
Montana’s Republican Rep. Greg Gianforte accused Washington Gov. Jay Inslee of killing Colstrip during a heated exchange on climate change Tuesday at a House Energy Committee hearing. The exchange between Inslee and Gianforte occurred when Montana’s Republican lawmakers interjected Colstrip into broader discussions about climate change and energy on Capitol Hill, first in the House Read More…
State Rep. Tom Winter, a Democrat from Missoula, is running for Montana’s sole seat in the U.S. House in 2020. The seat is held by U.S. Rep. Greg Gianforte, a Republican who is expected to announce a 2020 bid for governor. Winter, 32, is the first to announce for the U.S. House seat. In 2018 Gianforte Read More…
HELENA- The future of public funding for preschool programs in Montana is now uncertain after two proposals to increase the state’s contribution missed an important deadline in the Legislature. The House Education Committee voted down both bills last week. They needed to pass the House by Monday to remain alive. House Bill 225, sponsored by Read More…
Montana Attorney General Tim Fox joined with the Ohio attorney general, both Republicans, to oppose a ruling by a federal judge in Texas that struck down the Affordable Care Act last year. The ACA, also known as Obamacare, is still in place as the case moves through the appeal process. The Texas judge in Read More…
BILLINGS – It’s not an election year in Montana, but it didn’t take long for politics to take center stage in Helena. Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock can’t run again after finishing his second term next year, which leaves the race for governor wide open. Secretary of State Corey Stapleton surprised everyone when he announced on Jan. Read More…
HELENA – The Montana House Friday endorsed a bill increasing the license fee paid by most investment advisers and stockbrokers doing business in Montana — a bill that raises about $8 million a year and could be part of the final budget picture at the 2019 Legislature. The House voted 59-40 to advance House Bill Read More…
MISSOULA, Mont. — Many outdoorsmen are still celebrating after President Donald Trump signed the Public Lands Package into law. The U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resource Committee Chairman, Lisa Murkowski and Senator Steve Daines discussed the recent legislation at the Wild Sheep Foundation in Bozeman Sunday. The president signed the bipartisan John D. Dingell Jr. Read More…
NorthWestern Energy recently announced its support of the Montana Energy Security Act of 2019, which includes language to define greater details of a potential purchase of an additional share of Colstrip Unit 4. Montana State Sen. Tom Richmond (R-MT) introduced the measure allowing NorthWestern Energy, which services Nebraska and South Dakota in addition to Montana, Read More…
Scott Sales, Montana Senate President, was a guest on The KMMS Morning Soapbox with Tom and Shane today. In a KMMS exclusive interview Sales announced his proposed run for Montana Secretary of State replacing Cory Stapleton who is running for Governor of Montana. (Listen to the entire interview below) Scott has served as both the Read More…
Voter turnout rates among Montana’s youth have swelled in recent years, from nearly 18 percent in 2014 to just over 42 percent last year in 2018, according to a report from the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, or CIRCLE. The organization, which specializes in research on young people in the Read More…
Bozeman lawyer Matthew Monforton has asked the Gallatin County District Court to review the decision by the Office of the Commissioner of Political Practices to dismiss his ethics complaint against the office’s former commissioner, Jonathan Motl. Monforton, a former Republican state representative, is accusing Motl of illegally using public resources to oppose the 2016 reelection Read More…
The Montana School Choice case ruled unlawful by the Montana Supreme Court has officially been appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. Lead attorney for the Institute for Justice headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, Erica Smith, said the appeal was filed early Tuesday morning. “The Montana Legislature passed this program in 2015, and it’s been helping lots Read More…
HELENA – Republicans at the Legislature Monday introduced a plan to use nearly $80 million in bonds to finance state and local infrastructure projects in Montana over the next two years – including most of the $32 million renovation of Romney Hall on the Montana State University campus in Bozeman. House Bill 652, sponsored by Read More…
BILLINGS – While the number of seniors in Montana continues to grow, the number of nursing home facilities in the state have decreased, a trend seen in many rural areas across the country. On Wednesday, U.S. Sen. Steve Daines of Montana talked about some of the challenges within the industry at a Senate Finance Committee Read More…
HELENA, Mont. — A Montana lawmaker says his constitutional rights have been violated after he was identified as the subject of a harassment complaint by a female legislator. Democratic Rep. Jonathan Windy Boy of Box Elder said in a statement Tuesday to the Havre Daily News that he hopes such vilification won’t happen again and Read More…
When it comes to Gov. Steve Bullock’s (D-MT) plans in 2020, Glenn Thrush with the New York Times offers what seems to be the most revealing piece yet. Last week, we told you how Bullock is hoping for a sit down with Hillary Clinton (she is yet to return the call) as he attempts to Read More…
HELENA, Mont. — Montana lawmakers are considering loosening the state’s vaccination requirements even as Washington state deals with a measles outbreak spread mainly by children who haven’t been inoculated. In Montana, parents can opt out of immunizing their children for either medical or religious reasons. In day cares, only medical exemptions are allowed. READ FULL Read More…
A resolution requesting that the American Prairie Reserve’s federal grazing permits not be changed passed out of committee on a party-line vote Tuesday. House Agriculture Committee Republicans endorsed House Joint Resolution 28 that asks the Bureau of Land Management to deny the northeastern Montana nonprofit group’s request to modify its federal grazing permits. “I believe there are Read More…
A proposal to change how the state borrows for major infrastructure projects passed its first vote in the Montana House today by 100 to zero. The unanimous initial vote in the House was a sharp pivot from years of disagreement in the Legislature over whether or how to use debt to pay for major public Read More…
Montana’s House Human Services Committee held an initial hearing Thursday on a bill that would increase legal protections for medical marijuana patients in the state. Rep. Mary Ann Dunwell, a Democrat, is sponsoring House Bill 445, which would make a variety of changes to the state’s medical marijuana law. She said it is intended to Read More…
U.S. SENATE – U.S. Senator Steve Daines introduced the Fairness for Breastfeeding Mothers Act. The bill requires most federal buildings to have dedicated rooms for breastfeeding mothers. “Mothers who are breastfeeding should have a private, clean, and safe place to go in federal buildings,” Daines said. “It’s long overdue new moms have this resource, and I’m glad this bill provides Read More…
HELENA, Mont. — A gun safety bill championed by a Helena student advocacy group was introduced in the Montana Legislature on the one-year anniversary of the mass shooting in a high school in Parkland, Florida. The measure sponsored by Democratic Rep. Moffie Funk of Helena and developed by Helena Youth Against Gun Violence would fine Read More…
Gov. Steve Bullock of Montana will travel to Iowa at the end of the week as he further explores a run for the Democratic presidential nomination, his Big Sky Values PAC told POLITICO on Tuesday. Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller, a Democrat who just won his 10th term in November, will escort Bullock to a Read More…
A new analysis released Wednesday estimates 26,000 to 36,000 low-income Montanans could lose health coverage if state lawmakers decide to pass a bill that would require Medicaid enrollees ages 19 to 59 to work 80 hours per month in order to receive benefits. The report, compiled independently by researchers at the Milken Institute School of Read More…
A legislative committee has unanimously endorsed the Montana University System’s budget, including $24 million that would freeze tuition for Montana resident students for the next two years. The Joint Appropriations Subcommittee on Education voted 7-0 Wednesday to approve the governor’s two-year budget proposal to spend $404 million from taxpayers on the University System. Read More…
A newly minted management plan for the Flathead National Forest to guide a wide range of uses on 2.4 million acres will face opposition as a pair of Montana conservation groups announced their intent to challenge the plan, saying it “abandons key measures that have protected grizzly bear and bull trout habitat on the Forest Read More…
Montana lawmakers are considering two bills to tax carbon pollution, and not surprisingly owners of Colstrip Power Plant say the measures would kill the facility. Democratic legislators are floating two bills creating a $10-per-ton tax on carbon dioxide from various sources, including coal-fired power plants. Theirs aren’t the first attempts targeting Colstrip. Washington State, Read More…
Publicly funded preschool is again up for debate in the state Legislature. Gov. Steve Bullock is pushing for more than $20 million to fund optional public pre-k for 4-year-olds. Bullock is also asking for $8 million to pay for preschool for Head Start programs and private providers. This is the last chance for Bullock to Read More…
After taking a trip to what border patrol agents claim is the highest illegal activity sector of the Mexican-American border, Sen. Steve Daines of Montana says that border patrol agents are “pleading” for something to be done. Daines, along with Georgia’s Sen. Perdue met with border patrol around 2 a.m. last night at the Rio Read More…
U.S. CONGRESS – U.S. Senators Steve Daines and Jon Tester and Congressman Greg Gianforte today reintroduced a bipartisan bill to provide much-needed authorization for Montana rural water infrastructure. “The fact of the matter is that thousands of Montanans still lack access to steady safe drinking water,” Daines stated. “Water is a basic necessity for any community. We depend Read More…
Montana Gov. Steve Bullock (D.) apologized Saturday for keeping secret sexual harassment claims against a former aide, allowing the aide to find new employment in a prominent government office where he again came under fire for sexual harassment. Bullock hired Kevin O’Brien in 2015, when Bullock served as chairman of the Democratic Governors Association. O’Brien Read More…
A bill that would create a $15 million low-income housing loan program in Montana could be headed for the state House floor for discussion as soon as next week. House Bill 16, sponsored by Whitefish Democrat Rep. Dave Fern, would direct $15 million of coal tax trust fund money to start a program to provide Read More…
A bill to help retain teachers in rural areas was introduce into the Montana House of Representatives. House Representative Llew Jones introduced Bill 211, and it had its first hearing in the education committee last week. The bill would build a program that would address recruitment and retention of K-12 teachers in areas that have Read More…
HELENA – The Montana House Friday narrowly endorsed a bill requiring a two-thirds majority of both the House and Senate to enact a tax or fee increase, or new tax or fee. House Bill 148, sponsored by Rep. Forrest Mandeville, R-Columbus, won endorsement on a 53-47 vote, with all 42 House Democrats and five Republicans Read More…
HELENA – State Auditor Matt Rosendale on Friday pitched his proposal to crack down on drug-benefit managers and thus drive down prescription-drug costs in Montana – but ran into a wall of competition from health insurers and their drug managers. “Believe me, if I thought this bill could lower my health-care (premium) payment, I would Read More…
Mayor Bill de Blasio on Wednesday ripped Montana Gov. Steve Bullock for not telling his administration that a senior staffer had been fired for sexual harassment before he was hired by City Hall. “Clearly they had information and when DOI reached out, they did not share the information they had,” de Blasio said about the Read More…
HELENA, Mont. — A pair of bills under consideration by Montana lawmakers would make changes in a $6 fee used to help fund state parks and trails. The Independent Record reports Republican Sen. Terry Gauthier, of Helena, is proposing Senate Bill 24, which would raise the fee to $9. Money would go for state parks and Read More…
HELENA, Mont. — Montana Gov. Steve Bullock’s spokeswoman says the governor thought a former senior staffer of his wouldn’t harass any more women after being fired from the Democratic Governors Association. Bullock spokeswoman Ronja Abel said Tuesday that it’s clear that Kevin O’Brien’s 2015 firing from the DGA hadn’t been enough since O’Brien was forced out Read More…
In first weeks of the legislative session Gov. Steve Bullock and the Republican Majority are trading barbs over how the state should pay for big public projects, including university system improvements and maintenance in towns and counties. On Wednesday GOP leaders revealed plans for a new system for how Montana borrows money for public works Read More…