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…
A legal battle between the state of Idaho and a transgender inmate seeking to undergo gender- confirmation surgery may be headed to the nation’s highest court. Gov. Brad Little announced Thursday that Idaho has appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a lower court’s ruling requiring the state to pay for inmate Adree Edmo’s Read More…
When it comes to sexual assault allegations against a conservative nominee to the Supreme Court of the United States- #BelieveWomen. When it comes to sexual assault allegations against a Democrat- #BelieveMen. That’s how the National Republican Senatorial Committee’s (NRSC) Nathan Brand sums up the news that liberal Gov. Steve Bullock (D-MT) is now defending former Read More…
Even after the White House’s delayed response to the coronavirus outbreak, unprecedented job losses and a bruising recession, investors and betting markets are still putting their money on President Trump to win re-election. The big picture: Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden holds a sizable lead in most national and individual swing state polls — but money managers Read More…
Kamala Harris was written off as a possible vice presidential pick for Joe Biden last year after a cutting debate performance where she seemed to suggest he was racially insensitive. Now, Harris is not only in top contention, but Biden aides, surrogates and major donors see her as the best fit at the onset of Read More…
(CNN)A liberal super PAC set up to help Democrats take back the Senate will spend $700,000 on a new ad to attack Sen. Steve Daines, a Montana Republican, sending another signal that Democrats are expanding the map to compete in even deep-red states as they try to flip the Senate in 2020. Senate Majority PAC told Read More…
The Democratic-led committee threatened to subpoena Bezos if he does not comply. Amazon’s stock fell after the announcement. Seven bipartisan members of the committee said in a letter to Bezos that a recent Wall Street Journal report on Amazon’s use of third-party seller data appears to show that Amazon may have misled Congress in previous statements. “If Read More…
The FBI took steps in early 2017 to close its investigation into former Trump adviser Michael Flynn before abruptly reversing course, according to new documents filed in Flynn’s pending legal effort to rescind his guilty plea for lying to federal agents. The filings indicate that by Jan. 4, 2017, the FBI had drafted a document Read More…
BOISE, Idaho — Two civil rights groups that filed a federal lawsuit challenging a new Idaho law banning transgender women from competing in women’s sports have asked for a preliminary injunction to prevent the law from taking effect July 1. The American Civil Liberties Union and Legal Voice filed the request Thursday. READ FULL Read More…
With so much of our attention rightly focused on all of the coronavirus news, and the economic fallout from the COVID-19 closures- much of the election news has been pushed off to the sideline. But, as absentee ballots are soon to be shipped out to voters all across Montana- the important primary debates will come back Read More…
Montana’s Democratic governor, Steve Bullock, who has called for eliminating super PACs, appears to have a new outside super PAC backing his Senate run. The Big Sky Voters PAC—a Montana-based super PAC—was created April 23 and looks positioned to boost Bullock’s Senate bid against incumbent Republican senator Steve Daines. Its treasurer previously held the same role for Read More…
Republicans Brian Putnam will challenge incumbent David Dunn – currently in his first term – for the Montana House District 9 nomination in the June 2 primary election. The winner of the primary election will be uncontested in the Nov. 3 general election. Early voting begins May 8. David Dunn Age:32 Family: Bachelor, dog, cat, Read More…
WASHINGTON — Joe Biden’s remarkable comeback from the depths of a fifth-place finish in the New Hampshire primary to all but locking up the Democratic nomination this month can be traced to his overwhelming support among black voters. And one critical endorsement — from South Carolina Rep. Jim Clyburn — helped reinforce that support at a tenuous moment in his Read More…
A planning commissioner for the city of Vallejo, Calfornia has resigned from his position after throwing his pet cat and appearing to consume an alcoholic beverage during a publicly-accessible Zoom meeting between city officials, Vallejo Times-Herald reported. During the Planning Commission’s meeting on April 20 — the group’s first teleconference amid the coronavirus pandemic — Chris Platzer told Read More…
Former Montana congressman Ron Marlenee, a Republican who served for eight terms representing the state’s old eastern district, died Sunday in Bozeman. He was 84. Marlenee, a farmer and rancher from Scobey in Montana’s northeastern corner, won the eastern district congressional seat in 1976 and was re-elected seven times. He then lost a close statewide Read More…
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) argued Wednesday that many Americans should protest economic insecurity by refusing to work after coronavirus-related restrictions are lifted. “When we talk about this idea of reopening society, you know, only in America does the president — when the president tweets about liberation — does he mean go back to work. When Read More…
In 2017, actress Alyssa Milano became one of the early advocates for the #MeToo movement when she tweeted, “If you’ve been sexually harassed or assaulted, write ‘me too’ as a reply to this tweet.” Legions of women went public with their stories in response. Two-and-a-half years later, Milano took to Twitter again — this time, to explain Read More…
CHEYENNE, Wyo. – Wyoming House District 45 Representative Charles Pelkey, who also serves as the Minority Whip said today in a Facebook post that Governor Gordon is “suddenly under a lot of pressure to “reopen” the economy no matter what the recommendations from health officials might be.” Gordon’s first of three orders was placed in mid-March in response Read More…
U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., outlined the importance of a phased reopening of the Montana economy while discussing COVID-19 relief efforts on Capitol Hill during a virtual chat with the Kalispell Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday morning. Daines said the good news is that Montana has seen a steady decline in confirmed COVID-19 cases – Read More…
A meeting between protesters demanding an end to restrictions on businesses in Wyoming and Gov. Mark Gordon on Monday was by turns confrontational and civil as the protesters shouted chants at the Republican and later thanked him for his time. Gordon appeared unexpectedly at Cheyenne’s Rally for the Choice to Work, engaging the 50 or Read More…
If any projects should be moving forward right now- it’s infrastructure, it’s boots on the grounds, it’s shovel ready jobs that put money into the pockets of hard working Americans. And, oh by the way- a Montana firm landed the contract. We’re talking about the effort to build a wall on our nation’s Southern border. Read More…
Montana U.S. Senator Steve Daines announced Saturday that nearly $3.5 million will be directed to the Montana Board of Crime Control. “This funding will play a critical role to ensure our law enforcement on the front lines have the resources they need to protect our communities during the coronavirus outbreak,” Daines said in press release. Read More…
HELENA — Republican gubernatorial candidate Greg Gianforte has loaned another $500,000 of his own money to his campaign, increasing his personal contributions to $1.05 million – about a third of his total funding. Even without the personal loans, Gianforte, Montana’s U.S. representative, has easily out-raised his two Republican rivals in the year-long campaign for Montana’s Read More…
The battle over whether for-profit Alaska Native corporations should get a slice of the $8 billion in coronavirus relief intended for U.S. tribes exploded Thursday into a Twitter fight among U.S. senators, an Alaska-born Interior Department official and the governor. Let’s get you caught up: Congress has agreed to give $150 billion in relief Read More…
Groups in Montana collecting signatures to get ballot initiatives included in the November election are pushing the governor and secretary of state to eliminate requirements for in-person signature gathering and notarization. New Approach Montana, a group working to legalize recreational marijuana, has sued Secretary of State Corey Stapleton over the state’s prohibition on electronic signature collection. The group Read More…
Some of Sen. Bernie Sanders’ top campaign surrogates spoke to the New York Times about what it means that their former candidate, the leader of a massive grassroots movement, has endorsed the presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden. Why it matters: Convincing progressives to support Biden is viewed as key to building the coalition needed to defeat President Trump Read More…
Critics are blasting Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for staging a “photo op” Tuesday in the US ZIP code hardest hit by the coronavirus. A small group gathered in the virally blighted neighborhood of Corona, Queens, in AOC’s district, to hear a pitch for the Federal Emergency Management Agency to offer funeral assistance. Read More…
HELENA — In the past three months, investment funds owned by U.S. Rep. Greg Gianforte have bought stock in several pharmaceutical and consulting firms doing work related to the coronavirus outbreak. Yet those purchases are a tiny fraction of the more than 200 transactions that Gianforte’s investment funds publicly reported since Jan. 1, as they Read More…
HELENA — A political action committee filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday challenging a Montana law a week after a state Republican lawmaker lodged a complaint about them alleging they are using a name that fails to identify the special interests of contributors, some of whom are fellow GOP legislators. Doctors for a Healthy Montana filed Read More…
Sen. Bernie Sanders endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden for president on Monday during a livestream with the two men, telling Biden “we need you in the White House.” “I’m asking every Democrat, I’m asking every independent, I’m asking a lot of Republicans to come together in this campaign to support your candidacy, which I Read More…
Senator Steve Daines (R., Mont.) asked President Trump to use “executive powers and existing authorities” as part of an effort to reinforce domestic pharmaceutical supply chains in the wake of the Wuhan coronavirus. “Moving forward, it is important that we incentivize innovation and the development of essential medical supplies and equipment in the U.S. in Read More…
Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell said he hopes to approve further funding Thursday to buoy small businesses devastated by the coronavirus pandemic. “I will work with Secretary Mnuchin and Leader Schumer and hope to approve further funding for the Paycheck Protection Program by unanimous consent or voice vote during the next scheduled Senate session on Thursday,” he Read More…
New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said the coronavirus pandemic has exposed the United States as a “brutal, barbarian society” for the “vast majority of working-class Americans.” As Ocasio-Cortez was discussing certain policies she wishes Congress would adopt to combat the coronavirus, including canceling rent payment and reforming healthcare, she blasted the U.S. as a “barbarian Read More…
North Dakota’s per capita rate of testing remains among the top 10 in the nation, while its rate of positives is hovering around 3.2 percent or so. State traffic statistics in some areas are down 53 percent as well. Meanwhile, eight states have both high testing rates and a low rate of positives, North Dakota Read More…
North Dakota’s Democratic-NPL Party has set its ticket for governor and lieutenant governor. Hours before the candidate filing deadline on Monday, Dickinson/Killdeer veterinarian and former Killdeer School Board member Shelley Lenz — who has been campaigning for governor the past two months — announced former state Rep. Ben Vig as her running mate. Read More…
Appearing on the KGVO Talk Back program on Monday, Montana GOP Chairman Don Kaltschmidt (Don K) made a bold statement that he believed that Democrat Governor Steve Bullock would not defeat Republican Steve Daines for the U.S. Senate. “It’s not going to happen, and let me tell you why,” said Kaltschmidt. “First of all, we Read More…
CHEYENNE – The Wyoming Legislature’s Management Council will meet at 7:30 a.m. April 16 to consider interim topics for joint interim committees. This meeting will include discussion of potential legislative responses to the current public health emergency caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, including consideration of the need for a special session. A meeting notice and Read More…
MILWAUKEE — The 2020 Democratic National Convention has officially been postponed until August due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Democratic Party announced Thursday. The convention was originally scheduled for July 13-17. It will now be held the week of August 17. “In our current climate of uncertainty, we believe the smartest approach is to take Read More…
WASHINGTON — Montana’s delegates in Congress are urging President Donald Trump to approve federal funding that would allow the Montana National Guard to assist in efforts against the coronavirus. The following is a press release from the offices of Rep. Greg Gianforte, Sen. Steve Daines and Sen. Jon Tester: Congressman Greg Gianforte and U.S. Senators Steve Daines and Read More…
BOISE, Idaho — Editor’s note: The above video discusses Idaho’s plans to prevent further spread of COVID-19 in Idaho with regards to the May primary election. Idaho Secretary of State Lawrence Denney formally made a request Friday afternoon to Gov. Brad Little to postpone the May primary election and close all polling locations amid Read More…
BISMARCK — North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum asked President Donald Trump on Sunday, March 29, to declare a major disaster for the state in response to the outbreak of COVID-19, the illness caused by coronavirus. If granted by Trump, the declaration would clear the path for North Dakota to receive federal aid based on Read More…