(The Center Square) – Wyoming lawmakers passed legislation to expand education savings accounts and property tax protections in 2025. However, the legislature remained divided on substantial spending increases to boost particular school capital construction projects. The Club for Growth Foundation reviewed 875 floor votes in the Wyoming legislature, with a specific focus on 19 votes Read More…
Idaho Governor Brad Little has appointed Don Hall to fill the District 25 House seat vacated by Lance Clow. Hall, who currently serves as Chairman of the Twin Falls County Commission and is a former Mayor of Twin Falls, will complete the remainder of Clow’s term, which runs through November 30, 2026. “I am honored Read More…
Gov. Kelly Armstrong today informed legislative leaders that he has tentatively set Jan. 21 for a special session of the 69th Legislative Assembly to act on anticipated federal funding for North Dakota’s Rural Health Transformation Program. North Dakota submitted its funding application to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on Nov. 3. The Read More…
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…
(The Center Square) – Former presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has withdrawn his name from the Wyoming general election ballot. The son of former U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy and nephew to President John F. Kennedy petitioned the state to appear as an independent candidate for president on Aug. 26. “Following his notice of Read More…
(The Center Square) – For Patrick Bell, the race to represent northeast Washington in Olympia won’t be over until the last ballot is cured and counted. “I’m suspending the campaign until certification on August 20th, to focus on curing eligible ballots of voters who cast Republican votes,” he told The Center Square. Bell is a Read More…
(The Center Square) – Voters in Wyoming have a new way to find out where to vote. Secretary of State Chuck Gray said voters can go to his “Wyoming Votes” webpage and provide information about their residence to locate their polling place this year. “The enhancements made to our polling place locator provide a great Read More…
Governor Brad Little has appointed Brandon Shippy to fill the vacant District 9 Senate seat left by Abby Lee, marking a significant addition to Idaho’s legislative roster. Shippy, a native of Payette County, brings a wealth of community involvement and entrepreneurial experience to his new role. He is the owner and operator of Shippy Sprinkler Read More…
(The Center Square) – South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem said Monday she plans to us an $80.7 million budget surplus to offset prison construction costs. The $80 million surplus includes $24.3 million, which was above the forecast for fiscal year 2024 and $56.4 million saved by reductions in state government spending, according to Noem. “South Read More…
(The Center Square) – North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum’s tenure spans the presidencies of Donald Trump and Joe Biden. He said there has been a difference between how the two approach energy policy. As governor, he has battled with the Biden administration over oil and gas leasing guidelines that he has said would hinder production Read More…
(The Center Square) – A bill that bans China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia or Venezuela from owning agricultural land in South Dakota took effect Monday. The bill also prohibits any of the countries from leasing agricultural land unless it is for research and is no more than 320 acres or is for the contract Read More…
(The Center Square) – Gov. Mark Gordon is hosting a Town Hall to address what he calls “a barrage of proposed rules” for energy industries and public lands. The Town Hall is scheduled from 1 pm to 4 pm on Tuesday, June 25th at Gillette College’s Technical Education Center. State agency leaders will be on hand, along with Read More…
(The Center Square) – U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, introduced a bipartisan bill this week in hopes of supporting ranchers who graze their livestock on federal lands. Wyden filed the Operational Flexibility Grazing Management Program Act with U.S. Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyoming. “After embracing the Bureau of Land Management pilot program, ranchers in eastern Oregon worked closely Read More…
(The Center Square) – A group called the New Economic Frontier is asking the North Dakota Secretary of State to approve a petition that could put the legalization of recreational marijuana on the November ballot. The potential measure is spearheaded by Burleigh County Commissioner and former Bismarck Mayor Steve Bakken and 27 others. The measure Read More…
A citizen-initiated ballot measure to establish an age limit for congressional members is on the ballot in North Dakota’s primary election on June 11, 2024. The campaign, Retire Congress North Dakota, submitted 42,107 signatures for the initiative on Feb. 9. At least 31,164 signatures needed to be valid to qualify for the ballot. On March Read More…
The Center Square) – Teachers in South Dakota will see raises and a new minimum salary under a bill Gov. Kristi Noem signed into law Wednesday. Noem also signed a literacy bill into law, which will appropriate $6 million to the Department of Education to fund professional development in literacy education for teachers. The teacher Read More…
(The Center Square) — Wyoming Republican Sen. John Barrasso will not say whether he’ll run for Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s position next year. As the Senate Republican Conference chair, he is widely speculated to run. “That election doesn’t occur until later in November. To me, the key election is the one earlier in November. Read More…
(The Center Square) – A bill that would allow the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission to supersede city and county decisions on pipelines passed the House of Representatives on Wednesday after a lengthy debate. Senate Bill 201 states the PUC can overrule local jurisdictions if “such rules, or regulation, or ordinances, as applied to the Read More…
(The Center Square) – North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum said Wednesday that Lt. Gov. Tammy Miller has his complete support in her bid to take his place. Burgum announced last month he would not seek a third term. Voters approved a ballot measure in 2022 limiting governors to two four-year terms but grandfathered in current Read More…
(The Center Square) – Over two-thirds of voters in Mountain West states say they are worried about land, water and wildlife in the region, according to a recent poll. The Conservation in the West Poll, by the State of the Rockies Projects at Colorado College, found 67% of voters expressed worry about “about the future of nature, meaning Read More…
(The Center Square) – More states are taking preemptive steps against the policy of universal basic income. The South Dakota House State Affairs Committee recommended approval of a bill Friday prohibiting cities and counties from creating guaranteed income programs as other states consider similar measures. Senate Bill 115 defines guaranteed income as “a plan funded Read More…
(The Center Square) – North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum said Monday he would not seek a third term. Burgum’s current term expires in December. He was first elected in 2016. “We’ve made incredible progress these past seven years, from record tax relief and historic investments in infrastructure, education and other priorities, to guiding our state Read More…
(The Center Square) – A bill providing educational savings accounts for school choice failed last year to gain traction in the Idaho Legislature. Boise State University’s Eighth Annual Public Policy Survey indicates that might change in 2024. Idaho spends about $8,000 per student on K-12 education. The question posed by BSU to a representative sample Read More…
(The Center Square) – Money from Seattle’s tax on sweetened beverages is still below pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels, and city officials say they’ll push for a new revenue stream. In 2022, sweetened beverage tax revenues increased by about 11% [$2 million] from 2021 levels to approximately $21 million. The pandemic caused the tax revenue to drop Read More…
(The Center Square) – The South Dakota House Taxation Committee recommended that tax cuts enacted last year become permanent. The Legislature cut the sales tax from 4.5% to 4.2%, with the reduction expiring in four years, a move added by the Senate, according to Rep. Chris Karr, R-Sioux Falls, the bill’s sponsor. Karr cited a Read More…
The Center Square) – Understanding how a home mortgage works, how credit cards and debt can pile up and how to make a budget are critical financial life skills. But many students graduate high school without ever learning those skills, then find themselves deeply in debt for years to come. If a bill sponsored by Read More…
(The Center Square) – A bill introduced in the Washington State Legislature would ban the sale of new gas-powered small engines and equipment such as leaf blowers, which supporters say would lead to cleaner, quieter alternatives. Critics of House Bill 2051 argue that it could undermine small businesses that rely on them and inappropriately ties state Read More…
(The Center Square) – U.S. Rep. Harriet Hageman, R-Wyo., is seeking a second term, she announced on Thursday. “We need more strong conservatives here in the House,” Hageman said in a video posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. “We need to flip the Senate and we must take back the White House.” Hageman entered office Read More…
Casper Republican Reid Rasner said he turned down two requests from political groups to run for office before he started seriously considering taking on Wyoming’s senior congressional delegation member U.S. Sen. John Barrasso in the 2024 election. By the time the third request came around, he said the idea started marinating in his head. “I saw the Read More…
The National Parks Service has denied Gov. Kristi Noem’s latest application for a permit to have fireworks at Mount Rushmore. Noem applied for the July 2023 permit last summer. KELOLAND News reached out to the NPS to find out what happened with that request. A spokesperson for the NPS said after careful consideration, the parks Read More…
Abortion pills will remain legal in Wyoming for now, after a judge ruled Thursday that the state’s first-in-the-nation law to ban them won’t take effect July 1 as planned while a lawsuit proceeds. Attorneys for Wyoming failed to show that the ban wouldn’t harm the plaintiffs before their lawsuit is resolved, Teton County Judge Melissa Read More…
North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum took another step toward entering the race for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, posting a YouTube video on Monday touting his rise from a small town boy to a self-made software entrepreneur and a successful governor who has cut red tape and taxes. Although the video doesn’t mention it, Burgum has signed Read More…
After 75 days and 990 bills, the 2023 Legislative Session has come to an end in North Dakota. The 2023 Legislature was memorable. How it’ll be remembered probably depends on your political leanings. Maybe you’ll remember it as the session where lawmakers finally did away with abortion, or the session where the majority of North Read More…
As the subject of electric vehicles becomes central to environmental agendas, lawmakers wonder if the batteries’ adverse effects can weather political dependencies and a tight time. “The administration is getting the cart before the horse. We have to create an environment where we are harvesting those raw materials to build the EV batteries here in Read More…
Wyoming is home to a wealth of mining and coal-fired power generation infrastructure that will eventually be decommissioned, razed and shipped away, even as the state courts dozens of new manufacturing and other industrial projects. But a new report finds opportunity in repurposing such facilities — which include railspurs and industrial-scale connections to the power Read More…
South Dakota legislators and Governor Kristi Noem are engaged in a back and forth contest over tax cuts. The Governor is pushing for the elimination of state’s portion of the sales tax on groceries (4.5%), while lawmakers have backed a cut in the overall sales tax rate from 4.5% to 4.2%. House Majority Leader Will Mortenson of Pierre Read More…
North Dakota Representative Kelly Armstrong is in Bismarck to talk about the work he is doing in Washington, D.C. Armstrong addressing both the North Dakota Senate and House. He told state lawmakers about four new bills just introduced in the U.S. House including an online notary bill and Pick Sloan Irrigation bill which gives farmers Read More…
A bill introduced at the legislature about bicycles and horses might soon make a small but significant difference for some people in North Dakota. As the law currently stands, bicycles and horses are considered vehicles in North Dakota state law. House Bill 1506 would change that. Although that might not seem like a big deal, Read More…
A proposed Wyoming law geared toward making fewer sex offenders able to get their names off the sex offender registry died in the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday after lawmakers said the bill’s language confused, rather than clarified, the issue. Committee Chairman Sen. Bill Landen, R-Casper, said he wants to resurrect a better version of Read More…
North Dakota lawmakers will return to Bismarck next week to prepare for the 2023 Legislature, where they will lobby for prime committee assignments and get briefings on legislative procedures and ethics. The three-day organizational session that begins Monday also includes such mundane work for lawmakers as filling out paperwork and desk selection, where seats are Read More…
Wyoming continues to make advances in female political representation, adding four more women to the Legislature this election cycle. Twenty out of 93 legislators who will serve constituents in the upcoming general session will be women, including eight women who were elected to their first term. Yet, as many celebrated the incoming additions to the Read More…
Dozens of House Republicans are expected to attend House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s fundraiser for Rep. Liz Cheney’s Wyoming GOP primary opponent, Harriet Hageman, on Wednesday evening in an increasingly bitter contest over fealty by party members to former President Donald Trump. McCarthy and Cheney have had a contentious relationship due to her criticisms of Trump. Tensions rose after Cheney Read More…
The Wyoming Legislature completed its redistricting process on March 11. Representatives passed a bill with new legislative maps with less than two hours to go before they’d be in violation of the state’s constitution. The plan creates three new districts — two in the House, one in the Senate — bumping the state’s total to Read More…
Last month, Jamie Smith, a Democrat and Minority Leader in the House of Representatives, issued a challenge against Republican Governor Kristi Noem. Saturday, Smith met with some of his supporters and those who are interested in his campaign in Rapid City. Smith says he’s running for Governor, because he believes people are ready for a Read More…