South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley has expressed strong support for President-elect Donald Trump’s nomination of former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi as the next U.S. Attorney General. “I served with, and was impressed by, Pam as Florida’s Attorney General,” Jackley said in a statement. “She is an experienced prosecutor who will strengthen the relationship Read More…
he Montana Department of Commerce announced today that 26 rural safety agencies will receive more than $1.4 million in grant funding to enhance emergency service capabilities in areas experiencing increased tourism. The funding, allocated through the Montana Emergency Tourism Assistance Grant Program (METAP), aims to strengthen public safety across rural communities. “Emergency services are critical Read More…
In a bipartisan effort to safeguard and improve America’s public lands, Senator Steve Daines (R-Mont.) and Senator Angus King (I-Maine), joined by Senators Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) and Mark Warner (D-Va.), have introduced the “America the Beautiful Act.” This landmark legislation seeks to reauthorize and enhance the National Parks and Public Land Legacy Restoration Fund (LRF), Read More…
Montana Governor Greg Gianforte has begun accepting applications and nominations to fill a district court judge vacancy in the Seventh Judicial District, which serves Dawson, Prairie, McCone, Richland, and Wibaux Counties. The vacancy was officially announced on November 18, 2024, following a notification from the chief justice of the Montana Supreme Court. Qualified attorneys in Read More…
CHEYENNE – Facing deficits in a fast-approaching legislative budget session, Wyoming lawmakers are looking at diverting money that would have otherwise gone to savings to pay for services. For Rep. Mike Madden, R-Buffalo, identifying such diversions is part of a four-pronged approach to addressing the state’s budgetary woes. “We’ve got to look at diverting away Read More…
MONTANA – Governor Steve Bullock has called the Montana Legislature back to Helena for a special session to balance the state’s budget. The session will begin at 12:00 p.m. Tuesday, November 14, 2017. “I have put forth a set of reasonable and thoughtful proposals to balance Montana’s budget for consideration by the Legislature,” Gov. Bullock said. Read More…
Thursday the Governors Office said they were closer to reaching a deal which would resolve the $200 Million budget deficit. Friday Republicans said that is not the case at all. House Speaker Austin Knudsen wants to make it very clear there is no budget deal. He said they are not even close to a deal. $227 Million, that is Read More…
Like three other vulnerable Senate Democrats seeking re-election next year in states where President Donald Trump won, Sen. Jon Tester in Montana sports strong job approval ratings at home. But Tester has an additional edge compared to Democratic Sens. Joe Donnelly in Indiana, Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, and Joe Manchin from West Virginia, according Read More…
Donna Brazile, former interim chair of the Democratic National Committee, said Hillary Clinton gained control of the political party before she won the presidential nomination in an effort to squeeze out Bernie Sanders. She began investigating whether Clinton “rigged the nomination process” as emails hacked from the DNC and published by WikiLeaks last year had Read More…
Wyoming voters prefer spending reductions over tax increases to balance the state’s budget and are open to cutting administrative education spending, according to a poll released Tuesday by the Wyoming Business Alliance. The survey also showed that voters were opposed to increasing “sales and property taxes” in order to balance the state budget by a Read More…
The Wyoming Legislature will have an additional $141 million in revenue to use while setting a budget for the next three years, a new report shows. The annual document, released Tuesday by the Consensus Revenue Estimate Group, also reveals that the state earned $244 million more than expected during the fiscal year that ended in Read More…
https://cpa.ds.npr.org/kufm/audio/2017/10/MN-PR-senate-update-10-31-17_0.mp3 Both of Montana’s senators questioned federal oversight of a multi-million dollar contract between Montana-based Whitefish Energy and the Puerto Rican electric utility during a Senate committee hearing today. Senators Jon Tester and Steve Daines grilled administrators overseeing power restoration efforts in Puerto Rico during the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Read More…
HELENA – The company that owns Montana’s only private prison has offered $30 million to help solve the state’s budget crisis – if the Bullock administration would extend the company’s contract for another 10 years, MTN News has learned. The money would come from a fund set aside to help the state buy the privately Read More…
(HELENA) The Montana Supreme Court has found that voter-approved Constitutional Initiative 116, commonly referred to as Marsy’s Law, is unconstitutional. The court concluded that the initiative made at least five substantive and not closely related to changes to the Montana constitution. Montana’s Constitution requires a separate vote for each unrelated change to the constitution. The court Read More…
Helena – Governor Steve Bullock has appointed Billings personal injury attorney Don Harris as the new district court judge in Yellowstone County. Mr. Harris will replace Judge Russ Fagg who retired earlier this year. Mr. Harris is currently a partner at the law firm of Harris, Gannet & Varela PLLC. He received his undergraduate and Read More…
The pollster for President Trump’s campaign says that he believes Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) would have defeated Trump in the general election had he secured the Democratic nomination. Tony Fabrizio said at a Harvard University Institute of Politics event Monday that Sanders could have prevailed where Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton did not. “There’s no question that if Read More…
The former House speaker feels liberated—but he’s also seething about what happened to his party. WEST CHESTER, Ohio—He swings the golf club like a right-hander, which he is, but putts as a southpaw. Maybe it’s a metaphor for a conservative politician who often turned to liberals in crunch time, but I’m too busy losing $20 Read More…
DEER LODGE – Some members of Congress believe the country’s forest management just isn’t cutting it. “I’m of the firm belief if we don’t start managing our forests we’re going to continue to see these catastrophic wildfires,” said U.S. Rep. Greg Gianforte, R-Mont. Gianforte invited his Republican colleague from Arkansas, Rep. Bruce Westerman, to tour Read More…
Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke’s congressional campaign committee bought an RV from his wife then sold it to a friend a year later at a steep discount, a watchdog group said in a Federal Election Commission complaint that alleges an illegal scheme to convert political donations into personal cash. The June RV sale is one of Read More…
Special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into President Donald Trump’s campaign and Russian interference in the election has dramatically escalated, with authorities indicting former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and campaign official Rick Gates with money laundering, making false statements and other charges. It was also revealed on Monday morning that George Papadopoulos, a former foreign policy Read More…
WASHINGTON — The House on Thursday gave a significant boost to President Donald Trump’s promise to cut taxes, narrowly passing a GOP budget that shelves longstanding concerns over federal deficits in favor of a rewrite of the tax code that Republicans promise will jump-start the economy. The 216-212 vote permits Republicans to begin work on Read More…
A shadowy Bermudan company that has funneled tens of millions of dollars to anti-fracking environmentalist groups in the United States is run by executives with deep ties to Russian oil interests and offshore money laundering schemes involving members of President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle. One of those executives, Nicholas Hoskins, is a director at a Read More…
The last Montana legislative session was a tough one with a trim budget, but there is speculation the money is already running out. Ever since the session ended, there has been talk of either the legislature or governor Steve Bullock calling a special session. Montana House Finance chair Nancy Ballance believes the governor might announce Read More…
Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has directed millions of dollars in political contributions since 2014 to a network of Washington operatives that prominent conservatives have accused of profiting by misleading donors. Beneficiaries of Zinke’s largesse include groups linked to Washington-area political operative Scott B. Mackenzie, organizer of a Virgin Islands GOP political action committee that hosted Read More…
Some of the biggest names in technology have been lavishing millions on Congress during the third quarter, according to government documents — at a time when they’re under increasing regulatory scrutiny from Washington. The disclosures, required by the Lobbying Disclosure Act, revealed Google spent $4.17 million lobbying Congress this most recent quarter. Facebook spent $2.85 Read More…
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Senate voted Thursday to pass a budget resolution for next year that is mostly significant because it could make it easier for Republicans to pass major tax cuts, a top GOP priority. The 51-to-49 vote was split mostly on party lines. Only GOP Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky voted no. To Read More…
Washington (CNN)Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday that President Donald Trump is “getting a lot more done” than his criticism of the slow-moving Senate would suggest. “I think he’s getting a lot more done than he’s giving everybody credit for,” McConnell said. “I think his appointments, as I’ve Read More…
LAS VEGAS — The Democratic National Committee is reeling, facing a turnaround that’s proving a much bigger lift than anyone expected as it struggles to raise enough money to cover its basic promises. Many donors are refusing to write checks. And on-the-ground operatives worry they won’t have the resources to build the infrastructure they need Read More…
Movie mogul Harvey Weinstein is receiving significant criticism nationwide as many actresses have stepped forward to accuse Weinstein of sexual assault, harassment, and a cover-up of these stories by the press. As a high-profile political contributor, Weinstein’s donations have even been re-donated to charities by major politicians, including New York’s Andrew Cuomo. Interestingly, according to Read More…
The Democratic Party this week plans to name 75 people including lobbyists and political operatives to leadership posts that come with superdelegate votes at its next presidential convention, potentially aggravating old intraparty tensions as it struggles to confront President Donald Trump. The new members-at-large of the Democratic National Committee will vote on party rules and Read More…
Gov. Steve Bullock said Wednesday he needs a “willing partner” to call a special legislative session and address the state’s budget revenue shortfalls. Bullock met with the Chronicle editorial board Wednesday to talk about the decision he needs to make regarding budget cuts. READ THE FULL STORY.
State Rep. Tom Woods said Thursday he will challenge GOP Congressman Greg Gianforte for Montana’s at-large congressional seat in the House of Representatives. “Montanans deserve a government that is by people and for people,” the Bozeman Democrat said. “That principle is what this country was founded on. The principle of putting people first is what Read More…
Fourth-generation Montanan and 22-year District Judge Russ Fagg made a stop in Kalispell Monday to announce his candidacy for the U.S. Senate. A small crowd gathered for Fagg’s announcement in front of the Flathead County Courthouse on the crisp, clear morning. “It’s just about a perfect day in the Flathead Valley, and it’s an honor Read More…
Here are the highlights from Monday’s proceedings in the federal corruption trial of U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez. Menendez, a Democrat and New Jersey’s senior senator, is charged with doing official favors for his friend and co-defendant, Florida eye doctor Salomon Melgen, in exchange for expensive hotel stays, private jet flights and hundreds of thousands of Read More…
The last special legislative session in Montana was held a decade ago, when Gov. Brian Schweitzer, a Democrat, announced the “call” summoning lawmakers back to Helena in order to fund government and transfer money to pay for wildland firefighting. Today, Schweitzer’s Democratic successor, Gov. Steve Bullock, is in an even direr situation following an expensive Read More…
The Russians who worked for a notorious St. Petersburg “troll factory” that was part of Vladimir Putin’s campaign to influence the 2016 presidential election were required to watch the “House of Cards” television series to help them craft messages to “set up the Americans against their own government,” according to an interview broadcast Sunday (in Russian) with a former member of the troll factory’s Read More…
Five candidates are vying for two seats on the Kalispell City Council in the upcoming November election. The Beacon is publishing its first series of questionnaires with candidates for municipal elections this fall, starting with Kalispell. Absentee ballots are being mailed Oct. 18 and Election Day is Nov. 7. In Kalispell, incumbent Mayor Mark Johnson Read More…
Two Democrats running to challenge Republican U.S. Rep. Greg Gianforte in 2018 have raised more than a half-million dollars in campaign funds between them – and a third Democrat appears poised to enter the contest. Billings attorney John Heenan, the first Democrat to announce he would challenge Gianforte, reported raising $325,000 in August and September Read More…
I’m a hardcore, card carrying Tennessee conservative, and I’m running for the US Senate. Watch to find out why #TNSen → pic.twitter.com/ieaRjFrVYO — Marsha Blackburn (@VoteMarsha) October 5, 2017 Republican Rep. Marsha Blackburn’s Senate campaign announcement ad has been blocked by Twitter over a statement the abortion rights opponent makes about the sale of fetal Read More…
Granite County Commissioner Scott Adler is being investigated after locals complained that he used county resources on his personal property in early September. During a commissioner meeting recorded by QSPNLIVE last Tuesday, Adler admitted when questioned by resident Susie Browning, that this wasn’t the first time. Browning: “What equipment was used?” Adler: “A tractor, a Read More…
The state Legislature’s lawsuit against Gov. Doug Burgum over his vetoes does not cover Burgum’s veto of extra funding for township roads in non-oil producing counties. Nor does it seem likely that lawmakers will meet in special session to overturn the veto. That leaves 1,610 townships with $10,000 less in funding than they’ve had in Read More…
CHEYENNE, Wyo. (KGWN) – Representative Robert McKim of Afton has resigned from the Wyoming Legislature because of health reasons. McKim was chairman of the House Agriculture, State and Public Lands and Water Resources Committee. He served about eight years in the House. House Speaker Steve Harshman announced Wednesday that Rep. Hans Hunt of Newcastle will Read More…
Washington (CNN)Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon is expanding his efforts to unseat sitting Senate Republicans in primaries next year. In the two weeks since Bannon-backed former judge Roy Moore defeated Sen. Luther Strange in Alabama’s Republican primary, Bannon has expanded his map of targets in the 2018 midterms and ramped up his efforts Read More…
WASHINGTON — Erik Prince, the founder of the security contractor Blackwater, is seriously considering a Republican primary challenge for a Senate seat in Wyoming, potentially adding a high-profile contender to a fledgling drive to oust establishment lawmakers with insurgents in the mold of President Trump. Mr. Prince appears increasingly likely to challenge John Barrasso, a Read More…