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Republican Zack Wirth picked to fill Montana House District 80 vacancy
Commissioners from Lewis and Clark and Powell counties on Tuesday picked Zack Wirth, a Republican rancher from south of Wolf Creek, to fill the House District 80 seat vacated by Becky Beard’s appointment to Senate District 40. All three Lewis and Clark County commissioners voted to appoint Wirth to the seat, while the Powell County […]
Committee hears proposed changes to Montana’s alcohol licensing laws
Getting a bloody Mary or Montana microbrew before your next flight out of the Treasure State could get easier if one of several proposed bills heard Tuesday moves forward. The House Business and Labor Committee heard testimony Tuesday morning on proposed amendments to Montana law that involve alcohol: Expanding opportunities for bars within Montana’s airports. […]
Four Montana communities to receive $3.3M to renovate, build affordable housing
Four Montana communities will receive federal funding from the Montana Housing Division to preserve or build a total of 66 affordable homes for lower-income single mothers, seniors and families, the Department of Commerce announced Tuesday. About $3.3 million total will be allocated to the Colorado Apartments in Belgrade; Bigfork Senior Housing in Bigfork; Meadowlark Senior […]
Activists protest GOP supermajority on first day of 2023 Montana Legislature
A group of Montanans came to the state Capitol in Helena on the first day of the 2023 legislative session to show and tell the Republican supermajority they feel their agenda does not represent Montana as a whole. Some of them were self-identified Democrats and activists, many with the groups Occupy MT Legislature and Moms […]
Thirteen bison die after being hit by semitruck north of West Yellowstone
Thirteen bison were killed or euthanized after they were hit by a semitruck Wednesday evening north of West Yellowstone on U.S. Highway 191, according to the police department there. The crash happened around 6:30 p.m. near mile marker 4. West Yellowstone Police Chief Mike Gavagan said in a news release the semitruck hit all the […]
Montana Republicans to form election integrity committee for 2023 session
Montana Republicans will form a select committee for the 2023 legislative session to discuss the state’s elections laws and processes months after a judge struck down three voting laws they passed in 2021 that restricted voting access. Multiple lawmakers confirmed three members from each chamber — two Republicans and a Democrat from both the Senate […]
Joint commissioners meeting to pick HD 80 representative moved to Helena
The meeting at which commissioners from Lewis and Clark and Powell counties will pick a new representative for House District 80 next Tuesday will be held in Helena instead of Deer Lodge, a county official said Wednesday. Commissioners will now meet at 2 p.m. Jan. 3 at the City-County Building, 316 N. Park Avenue, in […]
Gianforte to appoint next Commissioner of Political Practices from open field
The field is wide open for Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte to select the next Commissioner of Political Practices after a Nomination Committee failed to find consensus Wednesday on applicants who interviewed for the job. The committee of two Republicans and two Democrats put forth two motions at the end of the meeting – one from […]
Panel picks three nominees for consideration for Montana HD 80 vacancy
A joint panel of Lewis and Clark County and Powell County Republicans on Tuesday picked three nominees to send to county commissioners to fill the House District 80 seat vacated by Becky Beard earlier this month when she was picked to fill the Senate District 40 seat. In no particular order, the committee advanced Hailey […]
Committee to interview applicants for Commissioner of Political Practices job Wednesday
Lawmakers on the Nomination Committee will meet Wednesday to interview five people who applied to be Montana’s next Commissioner of Political Practices and decide whether any of them should be forwarded to Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte for appointment and Senate confirmation. The five applicants who will be interviewed in Wednesday’s 2 p.m. meeting are Chris […]
Arctic air breaks cold weather records across Montana
The Arctic air mass that moved into Montana late Tuesday night has broken decades-old records in parts of the state and will threaten record low maximum temperatures on Thursday, according to forecasters. Temperatures in central and western Montana reached the -30s and -40s early Thursday morning and are only expected to warm to the -10 to […]
EPA proposes settlement for Clean Water Act violations on Blackfeet Reservation
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday announced a proposed settlement with a tribal water company on the Blackfeet Reservation that has agreed to pay $40,000 to settle violations of the Clean Water Act at two treatment facilities. Two Medicine Water Company agreed to the proposed settlement after it was found to have failed to […]