North Dakota Supreme Court Justice Daniel Crothers has notified Governor Kelly Armstrong that he will retire from the state’s highest court on February 28, 2026, after more than two decades of service. “Justice Crothers has faithfully served the citizens of North Dakota and applied the laws of our state with the utmost dedication, fairness and Read More…
In a 5–2 decision, the Montana Supreme Court has approved the ballot statement for Constitutional Initiative 132 (CI-132), paving the way for signature gathering to begin on a proposed constitutional amendment that would enshrine nonpartisan judicial elections. The ruling allows supporters to begin petition drives immediately, with the goal of putting the measure before voters Read More…
Governor Larry Rhoden announced that South Dakota will participate in President Donald J. Trump’s school choice initiative, part of the broader One Big Beautiful Bill program. The initiative allows states to opt in and offers families expanded educational options through tax credit scholarships. “Our students are the future of our state, and we must equip Read More…
Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte has been elected Chair of the Republican Governors Association (RGA), placing him at the forefront of the GOP’s national effort to expand its roster of governors ahead of the 2026 election cycle. The announcement came during the RGA’s 2025 Annual Conference, where Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves was selected as Vice Chair Read More…
Some GOP voters want a primary challenge but most would back Trump West Long Branch, NJ – In the run-up to 2020, fewer than 4-in-10 voters back a second term for President Donald Trump. The Monmouth University Poll finds a sizable number of GOP voters who would like to see Trump face a primary Read More…
A bill to help retain teachers in rural areas was introduce into the Montana House of Representatives. House Representative Llew Jones introduced Bill 211, and it had its first hearing in the education committee last week. The bill would build a program that would address recruitment and retention of K-12 teachers in areas that have Read More…
HELENA – The Montana House Friday narrowly endorsed a bill requiring a two-thirds majority of both the House and Senate to enact a tax or fee increase, or new tax or fee. House Bill 148, sponsored by Rep. Forrest Mandeville, R-Columbus, won endorsement on a 53-47 vote, with all 42 House Democrats and five Republicans Read More…
HELENA – State Auditor Matt Rosendale on Friday pitched his proposal to crack down on drug-benefit managers and thus drive down prescription-drug costs in Montana – but ran into a wall of competition from health insurers and their drug managers. “Believe me, if I thought this bill could lower my health-care (premium) payment, I would Read More…
Mayor Bill de Blasio on Wednesday ripped Montana Gov. Steve Bullock for not telling his administration that a senior staffer had been fired for sexual harassment before he was hired by City Hall. “Clearly they had information and when DOI reached out, they did not share the information they had,” de Blasio said about the Read More…
The State of Wyoming’s legislature is considering moving away from Daylight Saving Time and efforting a measure that would allow the state to stay in standard time all year. Republican Rep. from Park County, Dan Laursen is helping to push the bill forward, he says the bill would send a message to the federal government Read More…
House Democrats provided a detailed offer Thursday — with dollar figures — of their opening offer in Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding negotiations. The plan does not include funding for a border wall sought by President Trump. In her weekly news conference Thursday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi addressed the ongoing negotiations over border security, making Read More…
HELENA, Mont. — A pair of bills under consideration by Montana lawmakers would make changes in a $6 fee used to help fund state parks and trails. The Independent Record reports Republican Sen. Terry Gauthier, of Helena, is proposing Senate Bill 24, which would raise the fee to $9. Money would go for state parks and Read More…
HELENA, Mont. — Montana Gov. Steve Bullock’s spokeswoman says the governor thought a former senior staffer of his wouldn’t harass any more women after being fired from the Democratic Governors Association. Bullock spokeswoman Ronja Abel said Tuesday that it’s clear that Kevin O’Brien’s 2015 firing from the DGA hadn’t been enough since O’Brien was forced out Read More…
In first weeks of the legislative session Gov. Steve Bullock and the Republican Majority are trading barbs over how the state should pay for big public projects, including university system improvements and maintenance in towns and counties. On Wednesday GOP leaders revealed plans for a new system for how Montana borrows money for public works Read More…
CHEYENNE – One day, Casper Republican Jerry Obermueller wanted to test whether Wyoming’s low tax rate had an effect on prices across the state. Phoning friends in Seattle and Nebraska, he asked them to buy a number of products from chain stores that he had purchased in Wyoming. Obermueller wanted to see if there were Read More…
This is the final installment of a three-part series on MTN-MSU’s post-election poll BOZEMAN – Gov. Steve Bullock, a Democrat, and Republican U.S. Sen. Steve Daines are Montana’s most popular politicians on a statewide level, according to an MTN News-Montana State University post-election poll of state voters. Bullock’s approval rating came in at 60 percent Read More…
SAN FRANCISCO—Before a campaign forum that would help to define her nascent political career, Kamala Harris, then a 38-year-old prosecutor, was bracing for questions about an uncomfortable topic: her relationship with the mayor of San Francisco, Willie Brown. Harris’ consultant, Jim Stearns, had warned his candidate that her opponents would dredge up her ties to Read More…
Two conservative lawmakers introduced a measure this week to cap growth in state budgets in anticipation of the next boom — during which they say Wyoming could save enough money to avoid any future tax increases. The proposal is being carried in mirror House and Senate bills by Sen. Bo Biteman (R-Ranchester) and Rep. Chuck Read More…
Wyoming may soon become the first state in the U.S. to provide clear banking permissions for cryptocurrencies and digital assets. A bipartisan group of state legislators introduced SF0125 to the government on Friday, which, if passed, would classify digital assets as property within existing laws. It would also establish “an opt-in framework for banks to Read More…
CASPER — A bill to increase Wyoming’s wind tax blows through Cheyenne nearly every year, and every year it dies. Some lawmakers don’t support the increase because they are afraid of depressing wind investments in Wyoming. For some the tax is unattractive on principle, or because they believe the current wind product tax — unique Read More…
The vast majority of freshman House Democrats are not quite ready to “impeach the motherf*cker.” Over the last two weeks, Axios reached out to every single one of the 64 new House Democrats, and only a tiny fraction said they were on board with impeachment. The big picture: There’s been a cable news feeding frenzy Read More…
White. Male. Old. A Wall Street billionaire. At first glance, Michael Bloomberg would seem to have zero appeal in a Democratic Party where progressive populism is on the rise and activists and elites say it’s time for a woman or a person of color to win the White House. But unlike any of the other Read More…
Several Democratic politicians – known collectively as “the governors” among elite donors – have been in contact with Wall Street’s top political financiers as they each consider running for president in 2020, CNBC has learned. The group includes former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and Montana Gov. Read More…
This is the first of a three-part series on MTN-MSU’s post-election poll BOZEMAN – Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Tester defeated Republican challenger Matt Rosendale last November largely on his strength among independent voters, an MTN News-Montana State University post-election poll shows. And while President Donald Trump visited the state an unprecedented four times in 2018 Read More…
HELENA – A Montana state senator is throwing his support behind an effort to take grizzly bears off the endangered species list. State Sen. Mike Cuffe (R-Eureka) is proposing a resolution that would urge Montana’s congressional delegation to introduce federal legislation to delist the grizzly. The senator said he believes the grizzly population has recovered Read More…
Bozeman – 2018 Democrat congressional candidate and former state legislator Kathleen Williams told Lee Newspapers she’s running in 2020 but will not say which office she’ll seek. According the Billings Gazette, Williams says she will run again in 2020 and the she is “keep my options open”. Williams raised over $4 Million in her bid Read More…
A state legislator is trying to clarify what kind of information can go on the campaign flyers sure to fill mailboxes across Montana during the 2020 election cycle. House Bill 139, introduced by Rep. Kimberly Dudik, a Democrat from Missoula, would require printed election material referencing another candidate’s voting record to provide specific bill numbers, Read More…
HELENA — Taxes are shaping up to be one of the big debates of the 2019 Montana Legislature. The budget estimates from the governor’s office and the Legislative Fiscal Division are roughly the same — about $10 billion over two years to fund a variety of state agencies and programs. The budget includes everything from Read More…
The New York Times has discovered that Kevin O’Brien, Governor Steve Bullock’s top political advisor and former campaign manager was “quietly ousted” from his job with New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio over sexual harassment claims in 2018. Mr. O’Brien has been a key advisor to Mr. Bullock since he was elected Attorney General Read More…
HELENA – The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a challenge to Montana’s campaign-contribution limits, letting the 24-year-old law stand. The high court, without comment, denied the appeal of a 2017 appellate court ruling that upheld Montana’s monetary limits on what individuals, political-action committees and political parties can give to state candidates. Jaime Read More…
U.S. Sen. Steve Daines will do something no senator has done in 75 years: serve on both the Senate Finance and Appropriations committees, a move expected to give Montana unusual clout and gird Daines for the 2020 elections. The assignment gives Montana a seat at the table on the committee responsible for prescription drug prices, Read More…
Republican Montana Sen. Steve Daines introduced a bill on the Senate floor Thursday that would withhold the pay of members of Congress during future government shutdowns. Daines’s introduction of the bill, sponsored by Republican Texas Sen. John Cornyn, comes hours after Daines announced he sent a letter requesting the secretary of the U.S. Senate withhold Read More…
MISSOULA, Mont. — One day following the beginning of Montana’s 2019 legislative session, Gov. Steve Bullock presented a report on the benefits of Medicaid expansion. The current funding plan is set to expire in June. The governor was a strong proponent of I-185. The initiative would have funded Medicaid expansion by increasing the tobacco tax. Voters Read More…
House Democrats have formally proposed creating a new committee on climate change, without many of the main factors that progressives wanted in the panel’s structure. Democratic leaders unveiled the plans for the “Select Committee on the Climate Crisis” late Tuesday as part of a package of rules to govern House proceedings for the next two Read More…
Wednesday morning, recently reelected Montana Democratic Sen. Jon Tester broke some exciting news by telling Montana College Democrats that their state’s governor, Steve Bullock, would challenge incumbent Republican Sen. Steve Daines in his 2020 reelection bid. Minutes later, Bullock’s chief of staff offered a contrary view: Not only was Bullock not ready to announce, he’s Read More…
As state lawmakers prepare to convene for the 66th session of the Montana Legislature, slated to begin Jan. 7, it’s widely agreed that crafting a bill to continue Medicaid expansion will dominate the 90-day term, a prediction that, coupled with Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock’s spending and tax proposals, sets the stage for another budget battle Read More…
CHEYENNE –- The Wyoming Legislature could act this year to make the state one of only three in the country that prevents any child under the age of 18 from getting married. Currently, Wyoming law sets the legal age for marriage at 16, but allows for a child younger than that to get married, if Read More…
The Montana Democratic Party has named Monica Lindeen as its new executive director, replacing the outgoing Nancy Keenan, who is retiring. Lindeen, 56, was most recently executive director of YWCA Helena, following eight years as the state Commissioner of Securities and Insurance. She was previously vice chair of the party and served eight years Read More…
BOZEMAN, Mont. — Close to 200 bills have already been introduced in the State House and Senate for this upcoming 2019 legislative session in Helena. From education to housing, here’s a summary of three standout bills: Senate Bill 52 would revise the laws on how sexual assault kits are processed in the state. The bill aims Read More…
US Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke will leave his post at the end of the year, in the latest high-profile departure from President Donald Trump’s administration. When announcing it on Twitter, Mr Trump did not give a reason for Mr Zinke’s departure but the former congressman from Montana has come under scrutiny for his use of Read More…
In a 6-1 decision Tuesday, the Montana Supreme Court overturned a legal opinion by Attorney General Tim Fox, ruling that Gov. Steve Bullock acted within the law when he circumvented the Montana State Board of Land Commissioners to finalize an eastern Montana conservation easement. As a result of the ruling, the Land Board will Read More…
During a stop for his book tour in Missoula on Monday night, former Vice President Joe Biden discussed his 2020 prospects, saying he believes that he is the “most qualified person” to be president, noting a decision is coming in the next two months, and acknowledging he’s a “gaffe machine.” “I’ll be as straight with Read More…
A federal jury Monday found U.S. Rep. Bob Brady’s top political strategist, Ken Smukler, guilty of nine of 11 counts of repeatedly flouting campaign finance laws in a case that once threatened to ensnare the congressman himself. Smukler, 58, who has helped dozens of Democrats win public office over the last 30 years, was convicted of coordinating Read More…
Trial for Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Alpine, and his wife and former campaign manager, Margaret, was set during a hearing on Monday for Sept. 10. Duncan and Margaret Hunter appeared in federal court in downtown San Diego for a planning hearing stemming for their Aug. 21 indictment. The two face 60 counts of crimes including conspiracy Read More…