Republicans in Congress have voted to overturn a Biden administration rule that blocked new federal coal leases in the Powder River Basin of eastern Montana, marking a significant shift in national energy policy and a victory for coal-producing states. The U.S. Senate on Wednesday approved a resolution under the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to reverse Read More…
Governor Greg Gianforte joined thousands of students and community members at Montana State University this week for a Turning Point USA (TPUSA) event honoring the late Charlie Kirk, urging attendees to continue Kirk’s mission of faith, freedom, and love of country following his assassination last month. More than 2,800 MSU students and several hundred Montanans Read More…
North Dakota State Superintendent of Public Instruction Kirsten Baesler was confirmed Friday by the U.S. Senate to serve as Assistant Secretary of Elementary and Secondary Education in the U.S. Department of Education, a top leadership role overseeing federal policy for the nation’s K-12 schools. “I am honored, humbled, and incredibly excited to have received this Read More…
(The Center Square) – Vice President JD Vance is calling for Democratic attorney general nominee Jay Jones to withdraw from Virginia’s Nov. 4 election after private text messages leaked in which Jones talked about shooting former House Speaker Todd Gilbert. The messages, first reported by National Review, include Jones writing in 2022 that Gilbert would Read More…
The brutal winter storm that turned Texas roads to ice, burst pipes across the state and left millions of residents shivering and without power has also damaged the reputations of three of the state’s leading Republicans. Sen. Ted Cruz was discovered to have slipped off to Mexico on Wednesday night, only to announce his return when he was caught Read More…
CASPER, Wyo. — The Wyoming Legislature are exploring implementing a tax hike on wind energy production and repealing the three-year tax exemption on new wind turbine projects. House Bill 108 would increase the tax on electricity generated from wind by $1 per megawatt hour starting July 1. The proposed tax hike would generate about $6.5 million Read More…
HELENA – House Bill 102 was signed into law by Governor Greg Gianforte Thursday. The bill expands the concealed carry of firearms in public places including college campuses and drew opposition from a variety of Montanans, including the Montana University System. According to the Governor, 20 other states allow gun owners to carry firearms without a government-issued permit. READ Read More…
HELENA — Bozeman state Sen. J.P. Pomnichowski says she began hearing last year from constituents being charged substantial fees just to apply to rent, or even view, an apartment or home in the city’s tight – and expensive – rental market. “I’m not opposed to the idea of collecting a fee to do something like Read More…
North Dakota could be the next battleground for Big Tech, as a new bill has been introduced that would stop Apple and Google from collecting a portion of the revenue from companies using their app stores, The New York Times (NYT) reported. The bill came about when ND state senator Kyle Davison was approached by a lobbyist who pitched the proposal. Davison, who Read More…
Quick Take Senator Cynthia Lummis has been assigned to the Senate Banking Committee. Lummis has been vocally pro-digital assets in both her candidacy and since taking office. Lummis said she plans on forming a Financial Innovation Caucus to educate her fellow senators on emerging financial technologies. The Senate has assigned pro-bitcoin senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) Read More…
The Lincoln Project hired a legal team to investigate allegations of sexual abuse against co-founder John Weaver, the anti-Trump group announced on Monday as it struggles to manage inner turmoil, including high-profile resignations and finger-pointing, that has barreled into the public’s view. “The Lincoln Project has retained the law firm of Paul Hastings to investigate Read More…
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Monday blasted state lawmakers who have threatened to rescind his emergency powers and open investigations into his administration’s coverup of its mishandling of nursing home coronavirus deaths. “You can’t use a subpoena or the threat of investigation to leverage a person,” Cuomo said in a briefing on Monday. “That’s a crime, Read More…
The crown teachers once put on William Shakespeare now lies uneasy upon his head as the English playwright comes under assault from teachers who fault his unwoke attitudes regarding race, sexuality, gender and class. For the new breed of teachers, Shakespeare is seen less as an icon of literature and more as a tool of Read More…
A bill that would decimate Bozeman’s affordable housing ordinance received overwhelming support in the Montana House of Representatives on Monday. House Bill 259 would prohibit local governments from requiring developers to pay a fee that would go to providing homes at specified prices or for people in specific income levels or from dedicating property for Read More…
PIERRE | Gov. Kristi Noem’s proposal to put $50 million toward a need-based scholarship endowment cleared its first test in the Legislature on Monday. South Dakota is the only state without a significant scholarship endowment for low-income students. Noem wants to create a $200 million fund by combining the state money with $150 million Read More…
The North Dakota Legislature has held its regular sessions every other year since statehood, but backers of a bipartisan bill say it’s time to change that. Lawmakers for decades have consistently rebuffed attempts to hold annual regular sessions, arguing that doing so would grow government and turn lawmaking into a full-time job. But advocates Read More…
At least four bills that would specifically regulate public health orders have been introduced in the Wyoming Legislature this session. The tenor of the proposals ranges from broad legislative oversight of public health orders to more minor specifications regarding timing and executive approval. Several of the bills are similar but propose different degrees Read More…
The Wyoming Republican party on Saturday voted to censure Congresswoman Liz Cheney over her vote to impeach former President Trump. Cheney, the third-ranking Republican in the House, said Saturday that her vote to impeach was “compelled by the oath I swore to the Constitution.” The Wyoming GOP approved a censure resolution by a vote of 56 to 8. Read More…
It’s been a whirlwind first month in office for Montana Governor Greg Gianforte. The Bozeman businessman inherited the Treasure State’s highest office in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, including the early stages of vaccine distribution. One of his first acts repealed pandemic-related capacity and curfew restrictions on businesses across Montana, and he said the state’s mask Read More…
Former Montana Gov. Steve Bullock has a new gig in politics. Bullock was one of three Democrats named as co-chairs to lead American Bridge 21st Century, a group aiming to support President Joe Biden’s agenda and maintain Democrats’ slim majorities in the U.S. House and Senate in the 2022 midterm elections, according to The Washington Post. Read More…
A bill would legalize marijuana for recreational use in North Dakota — but with some restrictions. House Bill 1420 would allow recreational weed to be sold at dispensaries, where medical marijuana is already available for those who qualify in the state. Under the legislation, those 21 and older could purchase or possess an ounce or less and Read More…
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) – A bill introduced in the South Dakota Legislature Wednesday would require student athletes across the state to sign a document stating their biological sex. It would also limit who can play in girls and women’s sports. House Bill 1217 is being called ‘an act to promote continued fairness in women’s sports.’ Read More…
Congressional Democrats and Joe Biden made the $15 minimum wage a key part of their 2020 platform. But it’s now at risk of exclusion or being watered down in Biden’s coronavirus package, a potential letdown for progressives who have fought for years to raise wages. Democrats’ first obstacle: The plan to include it in their Read More…
White House climate czar John Kerry traveled to Iceland by private jet in 2019 to accept an environmental award and defended his transportation choice to a reporter at the time by calling it, “the only choice for somebody like me.” Kerry flew to Iceland in October, 2019 to receive the Arctic Circle award, an iceberg sculpture, for Read More…
An environmental law firm has appealed a federal district court judge’s decision to dismiss its lawsuit challenging three timber projects in southwest Montana. John Meyer, attorney for the Cottonwood Environmental Law Center, filed an appeal with the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals last Friday over a district court judge’s decision not to block Read More…
HELENA — The two Republican members of Montana’s congressional delegation have introduced bills to reverse President Biden’s decision to halt construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline. And, the delegation’s only Democrat – U.S. Sen. Jon Tester – wrote a letter this week to the president, asking him to reconsider his order canceling Keystone’s cross-border permit. Read More…
PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) -Some South Dakota voters are filing ethics complaints with the South Dakota Secretary of State’s office. The complaints have to do with a text message sent out last Wednesday, targeting a Republican lawmaker from Rapid City who is the sponsor of a bill that would require the governor to release the amount Read More…
HELENA, Mont. — Montana House lawmakers voted to advance a bill that would protect businesses and health care providers from coronavirus-related lawsuits. Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte endorsed the bill last week, saying it was necessary to remove a statewide mask mandate put in place by his Democratic predecessor. READ FULL STORY
(Bloomberg) — Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez detailed the moment she feared for her life during the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, disclosing that she’s the survivor of a past sexual assault to drive home her accusation that some Republicans have been dismissive of her trauma. The New York Democrat described on Monday her growing Read More…
Backers of an effort to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom are still collecting signatures, but rivals are already announcing their intention to run. Former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer plans to challenge the governor if the recall qualifies for the ballot this year, or in 2022 if it does not. In an interview with The Times, Read More…
With the Wolverine State going live last week, five states now offer licensed and regulated online poker – Nevada, New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania, and Michigan. If State Rep. Jim Kasper has anything to say about it, North Dakota will be added to the list. Earlier this month, Kasper, a Republican who has represented District 46 (Fargo) since 2001, has introduced House Read More…
A group of disenfranchised Colorado residents are exploring the possibility of annexing from their home state and changing boundary lines so their entire county becomes part of Wyoming. Christopher “Todd” Richards is leading the effort with his “Weld County Wyoming” political committee, created last February, according to local outlet Fox 31 KDVR. READ FULL STORY
Former Republican President George W. Bush waded into the escalating GOP civil war over Donald Trump‘s impeachment on Friday, after Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz rallied to defeat Congresswoman Liz Cheney in her home state of Wyoming. As the Republican party grapples with its future under President Joe Biden, the civil war has intensified after 10 House members voted in favor of Read More…
A three-term Montana House representative from Billings has a bigger role in a nationwide legislative organization. The National Conference of State Legislatures selected Rep. Barry Usher, R-Billings, to serve on its executive committee. Every legislator is automatically part of the organization and Usher has been the vice-chair of the law and justice committee. He says Read More…
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez took credit Wednesday for President Biden’s newly unveiled $2 trillion set of environmental policies, which include eliminating coal, oil and natural gas as electricity sources by 2035. “It’s almost as if we helped shape the platform,” Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) wrote in a tweet, followed by a winking face emoji. The tweet was in response to Read More…
White House chief of staff Ron Klain on Thursday defended the flurry of executive actions President Joe Biden has taken in his first week in office, pushing back against a New York Times editorial urging the administration to enact more policy through congressional legislation. In a tweet Thursday morning, Klain wrote that the White House was Read More…
The Biden administration has imposed a temporary freeze on U.S. arms sales to Saudi Arabia and is scrutinizing purchases by the United Arab Emirates as it reviews billions of dollars in weapons transactions approved by former President Donald Trump, according to U.S. officials. The review, the officials said, includes the sale of precision-guided munitions to Riyadh, as Read More…
HELENA — A bill that would expand where and how people could carry firearms has cleared another state legislative committee, after an extensive discussion about proposed amendments. The Senate Judiciary Committee endorsed House Bill 102 on a 7-4 vote Tuesday, with all Republicans in favor and all Democrats opposed. READ FULL STORY
As the city of Whitefish continues to refine its nascent program requiring affordable workforce housing in the majority of new multifamily developments, a new legislative proposal would prohibit “inclusionary zoning” rules intended to assist working residents with moderate incomes. Under the Whitefish Legacy Homes Program adopted by city council in July 2019, new residential developments Read More…
A bill that would aim to crack down on any possibility of voter fraud in Wyoming has been filed for the 2021 session of the Wyoming Legislature. You can read House Bill 75 here. The bill is sponsored by Rep. Chuck Gray [R-Natrona County], and a long list of co-sponsors. READ FULL STORY
There could soon be another Huckabee in the Arkansas Governor’s Mansion. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, former President Donald Trump’s second White House press secretary, is expected to announced on Monday that she will run for governor of Arkansas, two people familiar with the matter told NBC News. Her father, Mike Huckabee, served as Arkansas’ governor from 1996 to Read More…
HELENA, Mont. — By TOM KUGLIN Independent Record Two northwest Montana lawmakers are considering a number of bills that could moderately or significantly change the way Montana manages wolves. Sen. Bob Brown and Rep. Paul Fielder, both Republicans from Thompson Falls, have drafted legislation ranging from including wolf licenses in big game combination licenses and Read More…
As Joe Biden becomes America’s 46th president today, some North Dakota lawmakers are looking to preemptively curb the impact his executive orders could have on the state. House Bill 1164 would allow North Dakota to exempt itself from applying certain presidential orders. Under the bill, orders could go unenforced if the attorney general deems them unconstitutional and Read More…
Former Wyoming Senate President Hank Coe of Cody has died at the age of 74. According to the Cody Enterprise newspaper, Coe died Thursday afternoon of pancreatic cancer. The paper says he was diagnosed with the disease in November. Coe served in the Wyoming Legislature for three decades, including stints as Senate president and Vice President. He Read More…