Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen led a coalition of 21 states in filing an amicus brief supporting President Donald Trump’s decision to reduce the workforce at the Department of Education, a move aimed at returning more educational authority to state governments. The brief was filed on Monday in the case State of New York v. Read More…
The Wyoming Supreme Court heard arguments Wednesday regarding the classification of abortion as healthcare, a case that could significantly impact the future of abortion access in the state. The state is challenging a Teton County judge’s ruling that abortion is a form of healthcare, arguing that laws passed in 2023, which could impose a near-total Read More…
Governor Kelly Armstrong signed Senate Bill 2214 into law today, officially approving the merger of the North Dakota Securities Department into the North Dakota Insurance Department. The consolidation aims to streamline regulatory oversight of the state’s financial services industry. Under the new law, regulatory authority will be unified under the elected insurance commissioner. The merger Read More…
Two bills aimed at laying the groundwork for a nuclear energy industry in Montana have passed the state legislature and are awaiting the governor’s signature. House Bill 623 would permit the establishment of nuclear waste storage facilities in the state. This measure aligns with national Nuclear Regulatory Commission requirements, which mandate that nuclear power plants Read More…
If you missed Wednesday’s debate between Republican US House candidate Matt Rosendale and Democrat Kathleen Williams, don’t worry, you can watch the full debate right here at the bottom of this post. Plus, there’s a couple of other big Montana PBS debates still left to air in the coming days. Republican Congressman Greg Gianforte and Read More…
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said in a new interview she’s confident that Democratic socialists like herself can push Joe Biden “in a more progressive direction” once he’s elected to the White House. Speaking to Just the News in an interview Tuesday, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez said she shares Sen. Bernie Sanders’ view that Mr. Biden, the Democratic presidential nominee, should focus his message on Read More…
A recent American Statistical Association report revealed that Montana is one of two states that could lose a potential seat in the House of Representatives as a result of the Sept. 30 enumeration deadline. The American Statistical Association is a professional association that supports the development of statistical science through publications, advocacy and education. After temporarily halting Read More…
At a Thursday meeting that Democrats decried as an illegal attempt by GOP lawmakers to rein in Gov. Steve Bullock’s emergency powers during the coronavirus pandemic, Republicans recommended several legislative rule changes – but denied it was any sort of a “partisan power grab.” The Joint Rules Committee meeting, instigated and attended only by Republicans, Read More…
CASPER, Wyo. — Casper attorney and former Chief Justice of the Wyoming Supreme Court Michael Golden was presented with the Wyoming State Bar’s Gerald R. Mason Professionalism Award on Tuesday, Sept. 15. Golden’s award was presented Tuesday “during a small awards luncheon held in conjunction with the Bar’s Virtual Annual Meeting.” Wyoming State Bar President Read More…
BELGRADE — Vice President Mike Pence touted the work President Donald Trump has done over the last four years at a rally here on Monday and portrayed the November election as a battle between Republicans who are working to uphold Montana values and Democrats who back destructive liberal policies. Pence spoke at the Big Yellow Read More…
Speaker Nancy Pelosi faces growing calls from within her own ranks — including from some of her most vulnerable members — to take quick action on a coronavirus relief bill even if there’s no agreement with Republicans or the White House over the issue. But Pelosi, supported by her leadership team and most committee chairs, Read More…
Sen. Ted Cruz walked back any expression of interest in being on the Supreme Court after being included on President Trump’s shortlist to be nominated to the nation’s highest bench. Speaking to Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures,” Cruz was blunt when asked by host Maria Bartiromo if he would want the job. “You know, I don’t. It Read More…
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Jabari Brisport, the Democratic socialist running to represent part of Brooklyn in the state Senate, see themselves as moles “on the inside” for the progressive, anti-capitalism movement, they said in an interview. Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Brisport, who won the Democratic primary for the state Senate’s 25th district with AOC’s endorsement, made Read More…
One man died Saturday night in a pedestrian-vehicle crash west of Highmore. A 2011 Ford Taurus was westbound on U.S. Highway 14. The driver, 44-year-old Jason Ravnsborg of Pierre, told the Hyde County Sheriff’s Office that he had been involved in a car-deer crash. The driver was not injured. The pedestrian’s body was discovered Sunday Read More…
HELENA — U.S. Sen. Steve Daines leads his Democratic challenger, Gov. Steve Bullock, by three percentage points and President Trump leads Democratic nominee Joe Biden by seven points in Montana, according to a poll released Friday by AARP-Montana. The poll, which surveyed 800 people by telephone from Aug. 30-Sept. 5, said Daines led Bullock 50 Read More…
The Wyoming Public Service Commission moved to delay finalizing its investigation into the state’s largest utility on Tuesday, after an energy company made an eleventh-hour request to include additional evidence in the case. Commissioners had initially scheduled public deliberations on its investigation into PacifiCorp for Tuesday afternoon but ultimately delayed the proceeding. The commission determined it Read More…
The Montana Contractors Association on Wednesday endorsed Republican Greg Gianforte for governor, citing his opposition to a 2020 ballot measure that would legalize recreational marijuana in Montana. “The recreational marijuana initiative is a very, very troubling initiative,” said Bob Warren, president of the contractors’ group. “The MCA board voted to fight this with all our Read More…
Vice President Mike Pence is coming back to Montana for a rally with Senator Steve Daines (R-MT) in Belgrade on Monday. Congressman Greg Gianforte (R-MT) and Republican US House candidate Matt Rosendale will also be prominently featured. According to an eventbrite page created by the Montana Republican Party, the event will take place at the Big Yellow Read More…
Bozeman Mayor Chris Mehl resigned Wednesday, a day after all four city commissioners asked him to step down over allegations that he bullied city staff and interfered with city administration. “It’s been an honor to serve Bozeman for more than 10 years, and I thank the voters for that repeated opportunity,” Mehl said in an Read More…
MISSOULA, Mont. — Montana’s top politicians are responding to a new lawsuit Gov. Steve Bullock filed Tuesday against the USPS and Postmaster General Louis DeJoy calling on a judge to undo new changes with the Postal Service. In the suit, Bullock cites DeJoy’s “unlawful actions that have directly harmed Montanans by impeding the flow of mail.” Read More…
A Biden administration-in-waiting is slowly taking shape. On the Saturday of Labor Day weekend, the Biden transition team announced a long list of new hires, advisers and co-chairs to lead the effort to staff up a potential administration. “This is a transition like no other, and the team being assembled will help Joe Biden meet Read More…
PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) — The final field appears set for the South Dakota Legislature’s seats that are being contested in the November general election. All 70 representatives and 35 senators will hold 2-year terms, but many of the races have already been settled in Republicans’ favor because they are running unopposed. The latest list includes a handful Read More…
NEW YORK — Top state Democrats joined Gov. Andrew Cuomo in ridiculing President Donald Trump after he threatened to kill federal funding for New York and other cities that “permit anarchy, violence, and destruction.” Trump has ordered a review of cities’ treatment of law enforcement, threatening to ax funding for any jurisdictions that are defunding or disempowering Read More…
North Dakota’s Democratic-NPL Party on Friday endorsed a new candidate for state insurance commissioner, days after the state Supreme Court ordered the party’s nominee removed from the ballot. The party’s Executive Committee endorsed Mutual of Omaha insurance agent Jason Anderson, of Fargo, to replace Bismarck critical care respiratory specialist Travisia Martin, whom the court Read More…
The Montana Public Service Commission (PSC) has opened an investigation into what led to the loss of water to the North Star Subdivision on Sunday Aug. 30. The PSC will be holding a show and cause hearing on Friday Sep. 11 for North Star to answer questions about the incident. Around 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, North Read More…
With Nov. 3 approaching, Montana’s secretary of state candidates are offering starkly contrasting visions for the state’s top election office. Both candidates have emphasized greater election security but have different plans to achieve it. The secretary of state race doesn’t catch the headlines of Montana’s high profile gubernatorial and U.S. Senate contests but Montana State Read More…
U.S. Sen. Steve Daines is asking Gov. Steve Bullock’s office to release more information on COVID-19 cases and deaths within Montana’s senior care facilities. Daines announced Friday that he had sent a letter to Bullock, saying the state’s data was giving “an incomplete picture of the impact of COVID-19 on Montana’s senior communities.” READ FULL Read More…
Montana’s Battle of the Steves started at the buzzer. On the morning of March 9, the last day to file as a challenger to U.S. Senator Steve Daines, the first-term incumbent held a commanding lead in his bid for reelection. Daines, a former software executive and reliable Republican ally of President Trump, was considered a Read More…
Bozeman city commissioners Tuesday night worked through goals for the upcoming Montana legislative session, drawing off of the city’s strategic plan to identify some potential priorities for the lawmaking session set to begin in January 2021. Major goals identified in a report presented by city manager Jeff Mihelich and echoed by several commissioners were a Read More…
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mike Cooney Thursday unveiled his education plan, which calls for more spending on public schools and state colleges, state funding for preschool, and steps to reduce student debt. Cooney also said at a Missoula news conference that he wants to expand career and technical education in high school and middle schools. “Now Read More…
In the campaign money chase for Montana’s 2020 gubernatorial race, Republican Greg Gianforte and Democrat Mike Cooney are drawing pretty much from the same well – except when it comes to their own pockets. Gianforte, Montana’s U.S. congressman and a wealthy businessman from Bozeman, has loaned or donated about $2.6 million to his campaign – Read More…
On Tuesday, Republican primary voters will effectively choose their state’s next US senator. Sen. Mike Enzi, the four-term Republican incumbent who’s served as chair of the Senate Budget Committee since 2015, is retiring. He and the state’s junior senator, John Barrasso, have both endorsed former Rep. Cynthia Lummis for the seat. Lummis held Wyoming’s one and only House Read More…
KALISPELL, Mont. — Sen. Steve Daines made a trip to the Flathead Valley Monday morning to talk about a bipartisan forest management reform bill. Daines was joined by elected officials as well as conservation and timber leaders. The bill is about addressing wildfires, wildlife, watersheds and workers. READ FULL STORY
The following is a joint release from the MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative and the office of Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon. The State of Wyoming supplies 40 percent of the country’s coal used to power electric grids. The production of coal and other energy resources contributes over half of the state’s revenue, funding the government and Read More…
The Senate Intelligence Committee has sent a bipartisan letter to the Justice Department asking federal prosecutors to investigate Stephen K. Bannon, a former Trump confidant, for potentially lying to lawmakers during its investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. The letter, a copy of which was reviewed by The Times, was signed by Read More…
President Trump is withdrawing his controversial nomination of William Perry Pendley to lead the Bureau of Land Management. A White House official confirmed the Pendley nomination is being withdrawn. The nomination will not be officially withdrawn until the Senate returns from its annual summer recess in September, multiple sources said. The move to pull back Read More…
Crow Tribal Chairman A.J. Not Afraid, speaking for the tribe, has endorsed the reelection of U.S. Sen Steve Daines. In a proclamation posted to the Crow Tribe of Indians Facebook page, Not Afraid credited Daines, a Republican for working on several Indigenous issues for Montana tribes, including Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons, federal recognition for Read More…
(CNN)The first night of the Democratic National Convention is currently expected to bring a message of unity featuring Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, former first lady Michelle Obama and former Republican Ohio Gov. John Kasich, according to a source who has seen current convention plans. The speakers represent a wide political spectrum of support for former Vice President Joe Biden. Sanders is Read More…
In the first debate in Montana’s high-profile U.S. Senate race, Republican Sen. Steve Daines on Saturday repeatedly called Democratic challenger Steve Bullock a pawn of D.C. Democrats, and said Bullock is “too liberal” for Montana. “If we lose this seat, there will be no check on Nancy Pelosi’s radical agenda coming out of the House,” Read More…
Congressman Greg Gianforte invited the National Rifle Association to relocate to Montana, following efforts of attorneys general in New York and Washington, D.C. to dissolve the organization. “As a lifetime member of the National Rifle Association (NRA), I was frustrated to see far-left activists and elected officials in New York, Virginia, and Washington, D.C., Read More…
CASPER, Wyo — While out on his tractor baling hay, Wyoming House 38 Representative Tom Walters was happy to talk to Oil City News about room for growth in Wyoming’s agricultural industry, but wouldn’t say how many head of cattle he had. “That’s kind of an old Western tradition,” he said. “It’s like asking how Read More…
Montana Republican Sen. Steve Daines and California Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein introduced a bipartisan bill Tuesday aimed at protecting communities by increasing forest management and reducing environmental litigation. The Emergency Wildfire and Public Safety Act of 2020 would grant broad authority to federal agencies to push fuels reduction projects, create a new center providing Read More…
Greater Montana Foundation and Montana Broadcasters Association to cosponsor a debate for US Senatorial Candidates. Ron Davis, Chair, Greater Montana Foundation and Keith Teske, Chair, Montana Broadcasters Association, announced today that the two groups will hold a Senatorial debate between candidates Governor Steve Bullock and US Senator Steve Daines, on Saturday, August 8. The debate Read More…
HELENA — First Judicial Dist. judge James Reynolds has announced he will retire on October 2, 2020. A release from the Montana Supreme Court says Chief Justice Mike McGrath has notified the Judicial Nomination Commission. The commission is now accepting application for Reynolds’ replacement. The first Judicial District over sees Lewis and Clark and Broadwater Read More…