Montana’s Carpenters Union Local 82 endorsed Republican congressional candidate Aaron Flint during a construction site tour at the new Bretz RV warehouse in Butte, with members of the Ironworkers Union also joining to show their support — a notable show of organized labor backing for a Republican in a race rated Likely Republican by Sabato’s Read More…
Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen issued a legal opinion reversing a 14-year-old interpretation of the state’s constitutional term limits — a move that could remove prominent Republican lawmakers from the November ballot just days before the state must certify candidates. The opinion withdraws a 2012 interpretation issued by then-Attorney General Steve Bullock, now a former Read More…
Sen. Tim Sheehy introduced legislation that would create a dedicated pharmaceutical trade negotiator within the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and expand federal oversight of foreign drug pricing policies. The Use Sovereignty to Reduce Rx Act, or USTRx Act, targets what its sponsors describe as price control regimes in wealthy countries that suppress payments Read More…
The Montana Democratic Party published a statement praising Democrat Alani Bankhead for suspending her Senate campaign before she had actually done so — a stunning blunder that laid bare how certain party leaders had become that their own nominee would step aside. The statement, first surfaced by Semafor’s Burgess Everett on X, reads: “The Montana Democratic Read More…
Can a juror, faced with clear evidence that a defendant is guilty, still vote to acquit if he or she feels the law is unjust? Yes, say backers of “jury nullification.” This courtroom tactic was the focus of a Kalispell event organized by the Flathead County Libertarian Party. Presentations on nullification by Kirsten Tynan and Read More…
BILLINGS – Montana Secretary of State Corey Stapleton stopped by Billings West High School Thursday, to talk to students about the importance of getting involved. Stapleton spent over an hour with senior students at the high school answering questions. From social media to Indian Reservations and health care, Stapleton’s message to students was the importance Read More…
U.S. Representative Greg Gianforte visited a job training facility in Helena on Friday to talk about workforce development and tax reform. Gianforte toured the Montana Electrical Joint Apprenticeship and Training Center supported by local chapters of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and the National Electrical Contractors Association. The center offers an apprenticeship program that Read More…
BILLINGS – Montana Secretary of State Corey Stapleton stopped by Billings West High School Thursday, to talk to students about the importance of getting involved. Stapleton spent over an hour with senior students at the high school answering questions. From social media to Indian Reservations and health care, Stapleton’s message to students was the importance Read More…
HELENA – Gov. Steve Bullock says he won’t rush into a new contract with the operator of the private prison in Shelby – even though it could yield the state as much as $30 million to offset planned budget cuts of “essential services” for the poor and disabled. In an interview this week, Bullock told Read More…
Montana Wilderness advocates are launching a campaign in opposition to a bill introduced by the state’s Republican Senator Steve Daines. If passed, that bill would eliminate protections for some federal lands in Montana. A new coalition called “Our Land, Our Legacy” says it plans to fight against Daines’ bill with social media messages and an Read More…
Montana’s entire congressional delegation has endorsed the continuation of funding for Community Health Centers across the country, and specifically across Montana. At a press conference in front of the Capitol building in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday, Senator Steve Daines said the wholeheartedly supports the funding, flanked by fellow Senator Jon Tester and Representative Greg Gianforte. Read More…
Granite County Commissioner Scott Adler has been summoned to a court appearance this month on one charge of Official Misconduct and one charge of Theft by Embezzlement after the Department of Criminal Investigation looked into accusations that Adler had used county equipment and employees to install recycled asphalt on his personal driveway. In court filings, Read More…
A super PAC aligned with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell released a new digital ad Tuesday attacking Montana Sen. Jon Tester. The ad, the group’s first of the cycle targeting the vulnerable Democrat in this year’s midterm elections, seeks to tie Tester to national party figures and calls him “just another Washington liberal.” It’s paid Read More…
HELENA – A leading Republican lawmaker Friday said the Bullock administration must share the blame for looming budget cuts to human services in Montana – and that the governor could help defray the cuts if he chooses. Sen. Llew Jones of Conrad, an architect of the November budget deal that closed a $227 million shortfall Read More…
BILLINGS, Mont. – Senator Steve Daines was in Billings Friday to promote the positive impacts of the new tax cuts that took effect January 1st. Daines toured True North Steel, visiting with Montanans, and discussing added jobs and bigger paychecks. The senator was all smiles as he toured True North Steel and discussed the positive Read More…
Every Democratic senator from a Republican-leaning state voted Monday to reopen the government, from the liberal Sherrod Brown of Ohio to the conservative Joe Manchin of West Virginia. Every one, that is, except Jon Tester. Republicans are determined to make him pay. The plainspoken Montanan was on a glide path to a third term despite Read More…
MISSOULA -Federal government services were fully restored and operational on Tuesday, one day after Congress passed and the president signed a short-term spending bill. But lawmakers have just 16 days until it expires. Congressman Greg Gianforte (R-MT) says that he’s ready to get a spending bill passed. READ THE FULL STORY.
It’s the latest chapter in the ongoing legal battle over the Obama administration’s Waters of the U.S. rule. Spokesman for Attorney General Tim Fox, Eric Sell said a recent Supreme Court ruling allowing continuation of legal challenges to the WOTUS policy is a win for many western states.. “The state of Montana filed a legal Read More…
Montana Senator Steve Daines will be hosting his second Montana Energy Summit in Billings, set for May 30 and 31, where attendees will discuss Montanan’s energy infrastructure and the good paying jobs that the industry creates.. At a Senate committee hearing this week, Daines promoted Montana coal as part of an ‘all-of-the-above’ energy strategy for Read More…
HELENA – Former state judge Russell Fagg, one of several Republicans vying to challenge U.S. Sen. Jon Tester this year, reported Tuesday that he raised $615,000 in campaign funds through December – his first campaign-finance report. Fagg, a former state district judge from Billings, also said that 80 percent of the money came from individual Read More…
Eleven of the the 12 most vulnerable senators up for re-election in 2018 ended last year less popular among their constituents than at the start of the 115th Congress. That’s according to the new Morning Consult Senator Approval Rankings for the fourth quarter of 2017, based on more than 250,000 surveys with registered voters from Read More…
HELENA – Montana’s two Republican members of Congress said Wednesday they’ll support a GOP budget plan to keep the federal government open past Friday – including the reauthorization of the Children’s Health Insurance Plan. Yet Sen. Steve Daines and Rep. Greg Gianforte said any budget plan should not be linked to immigration reforms, which are Read More…
As Congressional Democrats and Republicans continue to fight over the fate of undocumented immigrants in the DACA program, the federal government is barreling towards a shutdown Friday. Yellowstone Public Radio’s Nate Hegyi sat down with Montana’s Republican Senator, Steve Daines, to talk about the potential for a shutdown, his legislative goals in 2018 and President Read More…
On Wednesday, a bill honoring the life of Alex Diekmann passed the U.S. House of Representatives by a vote of 400 to 3. Congressman Greg Gianforte teamed up with U.S. Senators Steve Daines and Jon Tester to sponsor the bill. According to Gianforte, Diekmann was a champion for Montana. “Alex Diekmann was a renowned conservationist Read More…
After the state of Montana struggled with a surprising $227 million budget deficit in 2017, many are wondering why the state’s revenue is so weak at a time when the economy is growing. An economist says it’s largely due to Montana’s reliance on income tax. Patrick Barkey, director of UM’s Bureau of Business and Economic Read More…
Missoula County Attorney Kirsten Pabst has announced that she is running for her second term and officially filed for reelection on Friday. “These last four years have been incredibly gratifying and challenging, and I feel like I need at least another four years to continue some of the work that we’ve done,” Pabst said. “When Read More…
HELENA – It’s a tradition that for some with insatiable political appetites may rank up there with ringing in the new year in Times Square, the running of the bulls in Pamplona or the opening day of baseball season: Candidate filing for the 2018 elections begins Thursday. The public may join Secretary of State Corey Read More…
Officially opens election season once again. All across the state, candidates are filing to run not just for congressional seats, but for state legislature as well. As your hometown elections headquarters we took the time to get to know the parties and their agendas for the election season. Here in Cascade County Bill Strizich, Cascade Read More…
HELENA – Candidate filing for state offices in Montana’s 2018 elections kicked off Thursday at the Capitol, led by a half-dozen filers in the top two races on the ticket, U.S House and U.S. Senate. Four of the five Democrats hoping to challenge Republican Congressman Greg Gianforte paid their $1,740 filing fee Thursday, including Lynda Read More…
Before Congress left on their holiday break, they provided a patch for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) that extended coverage through March. Jennifer Calder with Montana Kids Count said 23,000 children could lose health insurance funding altogether. “Currently, about one in three Montana children have health insurance thanks to public investment,” said Calder. “There Read More…
HELENA – Democratic state Rep. Tom Woods of Bozeman has dropped out of Montana’s U.S. House race – although five Democrats still remain, vying for the nomination to challenge Republican Congressman Greg Gianforte. Woods announced his decision Monday with a post on his personal Facebook page, saying he couldn’t compete with other candidates who already Read More…
The U.S. Census Bureau released its population estimates last month, and the combination of Montana’s continued steady growth and other states’ continued decline or slower growth means the Treasure State could be in line for a second member of Congress. Currently, Republican Greg Gianforte is the lone U.S. congressman in the state, which has had Read More…
(HELENA) With the start of the new year, drivers in Montana will be paying more to register their vehicles. During last year’s state legislative session, lawmakers approved increased fees to help fund the Motor Vehicle Division. The changes came as part of a broader highway and transportation funding package. Starting Jan. 1, MVD will add Read More…
Alabamians retained some levity during a bruising special U.S. Senate election that pitted an underdog Democrat against a Republican facing accusations of sexual misconduct with teenagers. For example, Jesus got two votes in Cherokee County in northeast Alabama from voters who chose to write-in their vote instead of picking one of the listed options, Democrat Read More…
HELENA – The vast majority of Montanans will pay less in federal income tax after the new Republican tax reform bill takes effect in January, according to new analysis from the state Department of Revenue. The agency analysis says more than three-quarters of the roughly 461,000 Montana households that file federal tax returns will receive Read More…
In a year of anti-refugee sentiment in many corners of the world (and especially in the U.S.), one former refugee and first-time candidate ran for office — and won. Twenty-three years before Wilmot Collins became the mayor-elect of Helena, Mont., he was a refugee from Liberia. He stood in a long line at the port Read More…
U.S. Representative Greg Gianforte (R-MT) has introduced legislation to ban mining on public land in the Paradise Valley. According to the Bozeman Daily Chronicle, Gianforte introduced two bills to the U.S. House of Representatives: the Yellowstone Gateway Protection Act and the East Rosebud Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. The latter would “conserve a portion of Read More…
Bozeman City Commissioners will consider investigating raising the body’s wages at their meeting tonight. If they approve the increase, it would go into effect for a future body and would be the commission’s first pay adjustment since 2013. Currently, a city ordinance adopted Dec. 2, 2013, fixes the salaries of the Bozeman City Commissioners at Read More…
HELENA – The Legislative Finance Committee on Monday expressed interest in working with the Revenue and Transportation Interim Committee on reviewing the state’s tax structure, however members balked at waiting until 2019 to do a formal study, saying they want to put it on a faster track. Revenue and Transportation Interim Committee members sent a Read More…
Montana Attorney General Tim Fox has joined 22 other states attorneys general urging Congress to pas legislation establishing nationwide reciprocity for concealed weapons permits. Spokesman Eric Sell said these bills would allow concealed carry permits to be recognized in all 50 states and U.S. Territories, regardless of where they were issued. “Self defense is a Read More…
HELENA – U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, bracing for another tough election battle in 2018, has received at least 81 percent of his nearly $8 million campaign war chest from sources outside Montana, an MTN analysis shows. Tester, one of several Democratic incumbent senators up for election in states won handily by President Trump last year, Read More…
The maneuvering to fix the state budget is still playing out following the special session earlier this month as some key pieces have yet to slide into place. Lawmakers left the state Capitol about a week and a half ago with a package of bills that filled the state’s projected $227 million budget shortfall. As Read More…
HELENA – The Trust Lands Management Division for the state of Montana made $86.2 million gross revenues in fiscal year 2017, with $43 million of that going to schools, members of the state Land Board were told Monday. Shawn Thomas, division administrator for the Trust Land Management Division for the Department of Natural Resources and Read More…
Less than two weeks after filing suit to block a $30 million transfer of its funds to help balance the state budget, the state workers’ compensation fund board may vote to withdraw the lawsuit. The Montana State Fund’s board of directors has scheduled an emergency meeting this Wednesday, to consider whether it should withdraw the Read More…