A federal judge has issued a preliminary injunction preventing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from using Medicaid data obtained from Washington and 19 other states for immigration enforcement purposes. The order also bars the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) from sharing such data with DHS. The injunction comes after Washington and Read More…
U.S. Senator Steve Daines visited the Bull Mountains Mine in Musselshell County on Friday, celebrating what he called a major victory for Montana jobs and American energy. The mine, one of the state’s three large-scale active coal operations, had faced the prospect of closure in recent years but will remain open due to a provision Read More…
Tyler Newcombe has stepped down as executive director of the Montana Republican Party (MTGOP) after serving in the role since January, the party announced this month. “It has been an incredible honor to work with such a dedicated team on advancing conservative values across Montana,” Newcombe said in a statement. “I’m proud of what we Read More…
Governor Brad Little signed Executive Order 2025-05, known as “The Idaho Act,” aimed at creating efficiencies in state government, reducing spending, and supporting public schools while implementing federal tax cuts for Idahoans. The order directs state executive branch agencies — excluding K-12 public schools — to identify opportunities for consolidation, revert unfilled positions, reduce contract Read More…
The state Legislature last week passed a resolution to examine how it might set up monetary compensation to support those wrongfully incarcerated upon their release. House Joint resolution 36, which passed through the Senate on Thursday following a 34-16 vote, requests an interim study for appropriate compensation for the wrongfully convicted. The results of the Read More…
Helena – Republican candidate for Attorney General Jon Bennion has signed on to a brief from the Attorney General’s office that asks a federal appeals court not throw out Obamacare (the Affordable Care Act) even though the part of the law has been ruled unconstitutional. Mr. Bennion, a former lobbyist and current Justice Department aide, Read More…
John MacDonald was once on a police ride-along when someone called 911 on a belligerent man outside a bar. When officers arrived, they knew the person by name. He wasn’t drunk — he was off the medication for his mental health disorder. MacDonald, a lobbyist for the city of Missoula, said officers took the man Read More…
There may be a new candidate running for the Montana gubernatorial election in 2020. In an statement sent to KFBB, a spokesperson for Congressman Greg Gianforte wrote, “With the strong encouragement he receives as he meets with Montanans throughout the state, Greg is seriously considering a run for governor.” Gianforte was sworn into Congress in Read More…
As progressives continue to challenge the Democratic Party’s moderate members, former President Barack Obama says he fears that some may be going a step too far. During an Obama Foundation town hall in Berlin on Saturday, he warned that without compromise, the conflicting ideologies could spur infighting among the left. “One of the things I Read More…
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — The North Dakota Legislature is honoring former lawmakers who have died since the last session in 2017. The House on Tuesday is honoring 27 representatives and the Senate is honoring eight senators during afternoon floor sessions. READ FULL STORY
BISMARCK — A North Dakota Republican state senator from Mayville has resigned due to health issues. Arne Osland, who was in his second session in the state Legislature, notified Legislative Management Chairman Sen. Ray Holmberg of his resignation in a letter dated Monday, March 18. “It has been my honor and privilege to serve the Read More…
Out of 503 bills introduced in the Wyoming Legislature this year, about 43 percent of them made it Gov. Mark Gordon’s desk. When Wyoming’s chief executive takes his pen Friday to the final 13 bills passed by the Wyoming Legislature, he will be considering three of the most contentious pieces of legislation to emerge from Read More…
HELENA – U.S. Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) met Friday with leaders from the skilled trades in Helena, to discuss ways to encourage more students to consider apprenticeship programs. Daines visited the Montana Electrical Joint Apprenticeship and Training Center, operated by local chapters of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and the National Electrical Contractors Association. Read More…
Montana’s Republican Rep. Greg Gianforte accused Washington Gov. Jay Inslee of killing Colstrip during a heated exchange on climate change Tuesday at a House Energy Committee hearing. The exchange between Inslee and Gianforte occurred when Montana’s Republican lawmakers interjected Colstrip into broader discussions about climate change and energy on Capitol Hill, first in the House Read More…
State Rep. Tom Winter, a Democrat from Missoula, is running for Montana’s sole seat in the U.S. House in 2020. The seat is held by U.S. Rep. Greg Gianforte, a Republican who is expected to announce a 2020 bid for governor. Winter, 32, is the first to announce for the U.S. House seat. In 2018 Gianforte Read More…
HELENA- The future of public funding for preschool programs in Montana is now uncertain after two proposals to increase the state’s contribution missed an important deadline in the Legislature. The House Education Committee voted down both bills last week. They needed to pass the House by Monday to remain alive. House Bill 225, sponsored by Read More…
The second 2020 Democratic primary debate will be held in Detroit on July 30 and 31, the Democratic National Committee announced Tuesday. The debate, which CNN will broadcast, will be in the battleground state of Michigan, which Democrats lost in 2016 to President Donald Trump. There will be a total of 12 presidential primary debates Read More…
Montana Attorney General Tim Fox joined with the Ohio attorney general, both Republicans, to oppose a ruling by a federal judge in Texas that struck down the Affordable Care Act last year. The ACA, also known as Obamacare, is still in place as the case moves through the appeal process. The Texas judge in Read More…
A former Nevada lawmaker has accused former Vice President Joe Biden of kissing and touching her during a campaign event, an allegation that Biden — a possible presidential contender for 2020 — said he doesn’t recall. The allegations were laid out in a first-person piece written by Lucy Flores, a Democrat who at the time was Read More…
The chairman of the House oversight panel threatened Friday to subpoena testimony and documents related to the addition of a citizenship question to the 2020 census. Rep. Elijah Cummings, the panel’s Democratic chairman, said officials at the Commerce Department withheld key documents about the decision despite repeated follow-up requests. In a letter to Commerce Secretary Read More…
Stacey Abrams is set to reveal soon whether she’ll run for president or senator or something else. But in recent months, the Democrat has mounted a nationwide, largely below-the-radar effort to expand her donor and political network that will make her an instant force whatever she decides. Abrams has traversed the country meeting with top Read More…
BILLINGS – It’s not an election year in Montana, but it didn’t take long for politics to take center stage in Helena. Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock can’t run again after finishing his second term next year, which leaves the race for governor wide open. Secretary of State Corey Stapleton surprised everyone when he announced on Jan. Read More…
HELENA – The Montana House Friday endorsed a bill increasing the license fee paid by most investment advisers and stockbrokers doing business in Montana — a bill that raises about $8 million a year and could be part of the final budget picture at the 2019 Legislature. The House voted 59-40 to advance House Bill Read More…
BISMARCK — North Dakota senators voted Monday, March 18, to repeal the state’s law prohibiting drivers from leaving their car running while it’s unattended, a ban that’s often ignored during the state’s frigid months. READ FULL STORY
CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon vetoed a bill Friday that would have allowed the Legislature to sue the state of Washington over coal exports. It’s important for Wyoming to “speak with one voice” on coal-export litigation, Gordon said. Wyoming is the top coal-producing state. Wyoming’s coal industry seeks to export more coal Read More…
MISSOULA, Mont. — Many outdoorsmen are still celebrating after President Donald Trump signed the Public Lands Package into law. The U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resource Committee Chairman, Lisa Murkowski and Senator Steve Daines discussed the recent legislation at the Wild Sheep Foundation in Bozeman Sunday. The president signed the bipartisan John D. Dingell Jr. Read More…
NorthWestern Energy recently announced its support of the Montana Energy Security Act of 2019, which includes language to define greater details of a potential purchase of an additional share of Colstrip Unit 4. Montana State Sen. Tom Richmond (R-MT) introduced the measure allowing NorthWestern Energy, which services Nebraska and South Dakota in addition to Montana, Read More…
Scott Sales, Montana Senate President, was a guest on The KMMS Morning Soapbox with Tom and Shane today. In a KMMS exclusive interview Sales announced his proposed run for Montana Secretary of State replacing Cory Stapleton who is running for Governor of Montana. (Listen to the entire interview below) Scott has served as both the Read More…
WASHINGTON — Beto O’Rourke raised $6.1 million in his first 24 hours as a presidential candidate, according to his campaign, surpassing Bernie Sanders and every other 2020 Democrat who has disclosed their figures. O’Rourke’s campaign announced Monday that he had taken in $6,136,763 in online contributions in the day after declaring his candidacy Thursday morning. Read More…
Joe Biden is carrying a 20th century voting record into a 21st century political dogfight. During more than 40 years in public life, Biden has taken an array of stances at odds with today’s Democratic Party consensus. As he now prepares for his third presidential campaign, that record could hamper him in a big field Read More…
Voter turnout rates among Montana’s youth have swelled in recent years, from nearly 18 percent in 2014 to just over 42 percent last year in 2018, according to a report from the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, or CIRCLE. The organization, which specializes in research on young people in the Read More…
A massive public lands package including a ban on new mining claims north of Yellowstone and the renewal of a popular conservation fund has now become law. On Tuesday, President Donald Trump signed S. 47, a broad legislative package including land designations and more affecting areas across the country. It sailed through the House and Read More…
Bozeman lawyer Matthew Monforton has asked the Gallatin County District Court to review the decision by the Office of the Commissioner of Political Practices to dismiss his ethics complaint against the office’s former commissioner, Jonathan Motl. Monforton, a former Republican state representative, is accusing Motl of illegally using public resources to oppose the 2016 reelection Read More…
The Montana School Choice case ruled unlawful by the Montana Supreme Court has officially been appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. Lead attorney for the Institute for Justice headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, Erica Smith, said the appeal was filed early Tuesday morning. “The Montana Legislature passed this program in 2015, and it’s been helping lots Read More…
(CNN)Bernie Sanders advocated for the nationalization of most major industries, including energy companies, factories, and banks, when he was a leading member of a self-described “radical political party” in the 1970s, a CNN KFile review of his record reveals. Sanders’ past views shed light on a formative period of his political career that could become Read More…
Facebook removed several ads placed by Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s presidential campaign that called for the breakup of Facebook and other tech giants. But the social network later reversed course after POLITICO reported on the takedown, with the company saying it wanted to allow for “robust debate.” The ads, which had identical images and text, touted Read More…
CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) – Gov. Mark Gordon has signed into a law a measure that aims to keep Wyoming’s coal-fired power plants online and in business by requiring a utility to try to sell the facility first before decommissioning it. The Wyoming Tribune Eagle reports Gordon on Friday signed Senate File 159, which was sponsored Read More…
BISMARCK — A panel chaired by North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum voted Monday, March 11, to pursue a legislative fix that would pay back state funds that the state’s land commissioner says have been shorted, putting it at odds with top Republican lawmakers. A Senate committee will consider a delayed bill addressing the issue Wednesday Read More…
HELENA – Republicans at the Legislature Monday introduced a plan to use nearly $80 million in bonds to finance state and local infrastructure projects in Montana over the next two years – including most of the $32 million renovation of Romney Hall on the Montana State University campus in Bozeman. House Bill 652, sponsored by Read More…
WASHINGTON – House Democrats find themselves in one of the trickiest battles on Capitol Hill, trying to prove their unity in the fight against President Donald Trump and on core issues they campaigned on last year. They had a remarkably effective first two months in the majority, defying Trump on his demand for a border Read More…
Former Vice President Joe Biden is in the final stages of preparing for a 2020 presidential campaign that is expected to launch next month, according to multiple people familiar with his planning. A formal kickoff is expected by mid-April and would all but cement the size and scope of the Democratic presidential field that currently Read More…
BISMARCK — Two revenue forecasts due next week will give North Dakota lawmakers a brighter path for budgeting in the session’s second half. Joint meetings of the House and Senate appropriations committees will hear the Moody’s Analytics forecast on Monday, March 11, then the IHS Markit forecast on Tuesday. Moody’s has long provided forecasts for Read More…
The executive director of Wyoming’s $8.5 billion pension fund will retire in July. Ruth Reyerson is departing after almost six years, staying on to help the transition as the Wyoming Retirement System searches for her successor. Staff praised Reyerson’s accomplishments, such as her “focus on building a strong management team at every level of the Read More…
BILLINGS – While the number of seniors in Montana continues to grow, the number of nursing home facilities in the state have decreased, a trend seen in many rural areas across the country. On Wednesday, U.S. Sen. Steve Daines of Montana talked about some of the challenges within the industry at a Senate Finance Committee Read More…