On the steps of the Montana State Capitol, Governor Greg Gianforte was officially sworn in Monday for his second term as the 25th Governor of Montana. Accompanied by his wife, First Lady Susan Gianforte, the ceremony marked a historic milestone, as Gianforte became the first Republican governor to secure a second term since 1996. Chief Read More…
U.S. Senator Steve Daines has announced his committee assignments for the 119th Congress, taking on influential roles in the Senate Committees on Finance, Foreign Relations, Energy and Natural Resources, and Indian Affairs. These assignments place Daines at the center of critical policy discussions affecting Montana and the nation. “It’s an honor to serve Montanans in Read More…
Kenneth Britton “Britt” Cotter, 48, who was recently elected District Court Judge for Lake and Sanders counties, has been charged with one count of solicitation to commit criminal distribution of dangerous drugs and two counts of attempted criminal possession of dangerous drugs. The Montana Attorney General’s Office announced the charges following a months-long investigation led Read More…
Congressman Ryan Zinke announced that the Senate has passed the Expanding Public Lands Outdoor Recreation Experiences (EXPLORE) Act. The EXPLORE Act is a comprehensive, bicameral legislation package that includes Zinke’s bipartisan Gateway Communities and Recreation Enhancement Act introduced with Alaska Congresswoman Mary Peltola in May 2023. The bill passed the House in April and will Read More…
Gov. Steve Bullock said Wednesday he needs a “willing partner” to call a special legislative session and address the state’s budget revenue shortfalls. Bullock met with the Chronicle editorial board Wednesday to talk about the decision he needs to make regarding budget cuts. READ THE FULL STORY.
State Rep. Tom Woods said Thursday he will challenge GOP Congressman Greg Gianforte for Montana’s at-large congressional seat in the House of Representatives. “Montanans deserve a government that is by people and for people,” the Bozeman Democrat said. “That principle is what this country was founded on. The principle of putting people first is what Read More…
Fourth-generation Montanan and 22-year District Judge Russ Fagg made a stop in Kalispell Monday to announce his candidacy for the U.S. Senate. A small crowd gathered for Fagg’s announcement in front of the Flathead County Courthouse on the crisp, clear morning. “It’s just about a perfect day in the Flathead Valley, and it’s an honor Read More…
The last special legislative session in Montana was held a decade ago, when Gov. Brian Schweitzer, a Democrat, announced the “call” summoning lawmakers back to Helena in order to fund government and transfer money to pay for wildland firefighting. Today, Schweitzer’s Democratic successor, Gov. Steve Bullock, is in an even direr situation following an expensive Read More…
Five candidates are vying for two seats on the Kalispell City Council in the upcoming November election. The Beacon is publishing its first series of questionnaires with candidates for municipal elections this fall, starting with Kalispell. Absentee ballots are being mailed Oct. 18 and Election Day is Nov. 7. In Kalispell, incumbent Mayor Mark Johnson Read More…
Two Democrats running to challenge Republican U.S. Rep. Greg Gianforte in 2018 have raised more than a half-million dollars in campaign funds between them – and a third Democrat appears poised to enter the contest. Billings attorney John Heenan, the first Democrat to announce he would challenge Gianforte, reported raising $325,000 in August and September Read More…
Granite County Commissioner Scott Adler is being investigated after locals complained that he used county resources on his personal property in early September. During a commissioner meeting recorded by QSPNLIVE last Tuesday, Adler admitted when questioned by resident Susie Browning, that this wasn’t the first time. Browning: “What equipment was used?” Adler: “A tractor, a Read More…
Great Falls-area lawmakers offered a mixed bag of comments Friday on the prospect of a special session being called by the governor and on dealing with Montana’s budget crisis….Great Falls-area lawmakers offered a mixed bag of comments Friday on the prospect of a special session being called by the governor and on dealing with Montana’s budget crisis. “I’m not Read More…
BILLINGS – Montana Gov. Steve Bullock said Thursday in Billings that coal will be part of the energy future and technology needs to be used that will make coal less intensive on the environment. Bullock, a Democrat, spoke at the Montana Carbon Capture Forum at the Bighorn Resort in Billings on Thursday. The forum addressed Enhanced Oil Recovery and Carbon Capture, technology Read More…
HELENA – Gov. Steve Bullock Monday said some state spending must be cut to balance the state budget, in the face of a revenue shortage – but that the Legislature could help mitigate those cuts by approving some form of tax increase. “If legislators will work with me, there is a better way to do Read More…
Substance abuse and drug-related criminal offenses have skyrocketed in Montana according to a new report from the Montana Department of Justice. The report includes data showing that drug-related criminal offenses are up 559 percent since 1980. The report also notes that more than a decade after a methamphetamine epidemic spurred the Montana Meth Project, the Read More…
Cyber-crimes are being committed all across the United States and Montana is no exception. On Wednesday, U.S. Senator Steve Daines spoke with the Federal Bureau of Investigation about the recent cyber threats in the Flathead Valley. “Cyber-terrorism is an emerging threat that has become all too real in Montana,” said Daines. “Two weeks ago, the Read More…
U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., returned Sunday from a security and trade mission to South Korea and Taiwan to receive an update on the nuclear threat of North Korea and expand markets for Montana products. Daines traveled to the Korean Demilitarized Zone to see the border known as the 38th parallel. He also visited Yeonpyeong Island Read More…
Unless a remedy is found for the state’s looming budget crisis, Montana residents can expect devastating losses to essential services across the board, and Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock says any solutions will require more than his efforts alone. “I need a willing dance partner,” he said in an interview on Friday. “If we don’t figure Read More…
Montana Congressman Greg Gianforte took his “Forest Jobs Tour” to Columbia Falls Friday, touring F.H. Stoltze Land & Lumber Company and calling for changes in forest policy. Speaking with reporters and employees at the firm’s 94-year-old mill, Gianforte stressed the need for some logging and thinning, or “forest management,” to tame future wildfires and boost Read More…
Montana’s legislators are finding common ground… over mermen. After the famous Sip ‘n Dip Lounge in Great Falls posted a job opening on Twitter, Senator Jon Tester jokingly passed up the opportunity before asking if the governor was free for the shift. From there Governor Steve Bullock, Senator Steve Daines, Secretary Ryan Zinke, and Attorney Read More…
A $3 million bond issue request in Deer Park School was defeated by a wide margin on Tuesday. Voters rejected the bond issue by a 207 to 126 margin, according to unofficial results. The mail-ballot election concluded on Sept. 19. The bond issue would have been used to expand the school in addition to upgrading Read More…
The town of Browning has been in the process of disbanding due to financial issues since 2016. In March of 2016, a Lewis and Clark County District Judge appointed Robert Denning to take over financial control of the town’s assets and debt. According to Blackfeet Tribal Business Council Chairman Harry Barnes, the Tribe has been in negotiations Read More…
BILLINGS – Bill Cole and Jeff Essmann are headed for a matchup to become Billings’ next mayor in the November general election. Voters selected the two candidates from a pool of six during Tuesday’s primary election. Cole, an attorney and current chairman of the Billings Chamber of Commerce board of directors and former president of the Yellowstone Read More…
BILLINGS – Republican and state District Judge Russell Fagg is traveling the state, raising money and touting prominent endorsements – but insists he’s still “exploring” whether to run for the U.S. Senate. “No, I’m not a candidate at this point, and I made that very clear,” he told MTN News in an interview late last Read More…
HELENA – A legislative committee Monday continued to block more than $20 million in proposed cuts to medical services for the poor and disabled in Montana – although it’s unclear whether the action will ultimately stave off the cuts. The Children, Families, Health and Human Services Interim Committee voted 7-1 to continue until at least Read More…
About two months after China lifted its 14 year ban on American beef imports, U.S. Sen. Steve Daines hosted Cui TianKai, China ambassador to the U.S., on Friday at the Morgan Ranch House to discuss future opportunities for economic growth and trade for Montana farmers and ranchers. The meeting included about a dozen Chinese officials, Read More…
If the state of Montana ends up cutting state budgets by as much as 10 percent, that could result in the Board of Regents raising tuition next fall even more than already planned. Tyler Trevor, deputy commissioner of higher education, said Friday that the University System won’t know until the end of September how big Read More…
HELENA, Mont. – Governor Steve Bullock is putting the investigation that he misused the state plane while campaigning for re-election behind him. The Governor has agreed to settle the case after an investigation by the Commissioner of Political Practices found the Governor was in violation of Montana’s Campaign Practices Act. The June 28th report found Read More…
The reporter assaulted by Greg Gianforte on the eve before a special election is saying Montana’s newest congressman is not fulfilling a promise to meet with him for an on-the-record interview. Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs tweeted Tuesday night that Gianforte, a Bozeman Republican who won the May 25 special election to fill the state’s lone Read More…
HELENA – The Bullock administration Wednesday said it needs to cut the state budget by as much as $230 million, to put it back in balance, and asked state agencies to submit plans for 10 percent cuts by next week. Dan Villa, the governor’s budget director, said the administration isn’t looking forward to making the Read More…
BILLINGS – Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke said he is recommending that none of the 27 national monuments under review by the Trump administration be eliminated but that changes would be made to a “handful.” Zinke told The Associated Press that unspecified boundary adjustments for some monuments are among the recommendations he planned to give the president Thursday. None Read More…
Helena – More than two months in to his term as Commissioner of Political Practices, Jeff Mangan, is still using the services of a Billings lawyer his office previously found to have violated Montana’s campaign finance laws. In October 2016, then-Commissioner of Political Practices Jonathan Motl found that Billings attorney John Heenan and his political Read More…
Helena – Commissioner of Political Practices Jeff Mangan issued a ruling Thursday that Governor Steve Bullock violated campaign finance rules in his 2016 re-election bid and should be fined. At issue in the complaint was the Bullock campaign’s failure to timely report the Governor’s use of the state airplane to fly to more than 37 Read More…
Attorney General Tim Fox on Thursday filed to intervene in a federal district court lawsuit on behalf of the state of Montana, defending the U.S. Department of Interior’s reversal of the Obama Administration’s moratorium on federal coal leases. The lawsuit filed by Citizens for Clean Energy and the states of California, New Mexico, New Read More…
HELENA- Montana Attorney General Tim Fox was elected vice president of the National Association of Attorneys General. The vote was Thursday, while the association met for its annual Summer Meeting in Big Sky. Fox said he was “humbled and honored” by the vote. The association helps the 56 state and territorial attorneys general fulfill the Read More…
State Insurance Commissioner Matt Rosendale and Sen. Jon Tester exchanged lively letters this week over health care reform with Rosendale calling on the Democratic senator to not fight needed change and Tester telling Rosendale to give Montanans information to make good decisions on how best to make quality health care more affordable. The letters come Read More…
BILLINGS – The White House sent its $4.1 trillion dollar spending plan to Capitol Hill Tuesday. President Donald Trump is looking to balance the budget in 10 years with big spending cuts and faster economic growth. That includes an almost $3.6 trillion dollars in cuts to programs including Medicaid, food stamps, and Social Security Disability Read More…
Billings – Governor Steve Bullock refused to answer questions about infrastructure funding from a constituent at a fundraiser. Mr. Bullock appeared at a democrat political fundraiser at a private golf club in Billings on Thursday. Bullock’s representatives told those present that the Governor would not be answering any questions on infrastructure funding. The 2017 legislative Read More…
Revelations of Democrat congressional candidate Rob Quist’s drug use have taken center stage in the final days of the campaign to replace Congressman Ryan Zinke. Earlier this week, a national media outlet uncovered court documents in which Quist confessed to regularly using marijuana. When the news reports became public, his campaign cancelled a previously-scheduled interview Read More…
Democrat congressional candidate Rob Quist’s venereal disease, drug use, and marriage problems were revealed to the public this week when a national media outlet uncovered documents from a medical malpractice lawsuit filed by Quist. The documents show, among other things, that Quist suffers from depression, has genital herpes, tested positive for tuberculosis, uses recreational drugs, Read More…
Helena – The tumultuous tenure of Jonathan Motl as Montana’s Commissioner of Political Practices came to an end Monday with Jeff Mangan taking over. Mr. Motl’s time as Montana’s top political cop was marked by allegations of unethical behavior, partisan chicanery, and numerous lawsuits over his conduct. Mr. Motl was a controversial figure since his Read More…
Failed Democrat Presidential Candidate and United States Senator Bernie Sanders will make 4 stops in Montana to campaign for Democrat congressional candidate Rob Quist. Mr. Sanders will make stops in Missoula, Butte, and Billings on Saturday, May 20th and will be in Bozeman on Sunday. Mr. Sanders, a self-described socialist, was elected to the United Read More…
Helena – On the final day of the 65th legislative session, Democrats in the House of Representative voted to kill a bill that would have provided $41 million in loans to local communities for water projects. House Bill 8 would have provided $41 million in loans from the coal tax trust fund to water, sewer Read More…
Helena – For the third consecutive legislative session, Democrat Governor Steve Bullock has failed to get an infrastructure bill passed by the Legislature. In the waning days of the 2017 legislative session, there seemed to still be a chance for the infrastructure package to pass, but in the end, it came down to a simple Read More…