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‘We’re coming for you’: Daines outlines GOP’s strategy to retake the U.S. Senate
Even though he was speaking in South Dakota, Sen. Steve Daines had a message for Montana – and Ohio and West Virginia. “If you’re a Democrat and you’re running in those states, we’re coming for you,” Daines told an enthusiastic crowd who had gathered to hear former U.S. President and current Republican front-runner Donald J. […]
No man is above the law: Knudsen’s 41 charges were a long-time coming
I have covered courts in seven different states, and have been a journalist since 1996. I have seen attorneys who were so silver-tongued that they brought jurors to tears. I have seen some attorneys so woefully inadequate and broken that they were threatened by judges to be sent to jail right along with those poor […]
To be or not to be a candidate. That is the question for Arntzen.
Is Elsie Arntzen running for Congress? Or is she just exploring? Yes. That’s the official answer from the “Elsie Arntzen for Congress – Exploratory” committee. But what seems to be a word choice or a nuance is something with larger implications, including federal fundraising and tracking requirements. The Federal Elections Commission allows politicians to explore […]
Elementary students have to rely on a tarp, not the law.
You ever wonder what the Second Amendment looks like? It’s a concept more than an object; many Montana politicians think the Second Amendment looks like something with polished steel or that it comes in a camouflaged matte finish. But the clearest representation of the Second Amendment to me isn’t any particular firearm, it’s a Billings […]
Federal judge tells Forest Service that Red Lodge logging project still doesn’t pass muster
A federal judge has stopped a large logging project near Red Lodge because the United States Forest Service ignored that new maps it used to help determine the scope of the timber plan potentially cut out thousands of acres of the threatened Canada lynx habitat. The project would span more than 21,000 acres in the […]
Montana education chief claims evidence of litterboxes in schools. Department provides none.
Many Montana school districts started class this week. School supplies lists for students included the normal things – pencils, notebooks, maybe even some glue sticks. But no district is requiring cat litter. Still, Montana’s top state education official, Superintendent of Public Instruction Elsie Arntzen, has repeated unsubstantiated claims of school districts across Montana providing litterboxes […]
Federal judge considers stay in abortion case affecting Montana, Kansas and Virginia
A federal judge in Virginia will likely stay – or pause – a case regarding medical providers and mifepristone, a drug commonly used as part of chemical abortions, because of similar challenges in Texas and Washington. Groups from Virginia, Montana and Kansas had filed the suit in the Charlottesville division of Virginia and asked Judge […]
Court says DEQ can enter Zortman-Landusky mine site to clean up mine owner’s ‘disturbances’
In a move that officials said will protect nearly $100 million of money spent to clean up the decades-long toxic effects of gold mine waste near the Fort Belknap Indian community, the Montana Department of Environmental Quality on Monday announced that a Phillips County judge said the state could immediately begin clean-up efforts after the […]
Former lawmakers propose ballot initiatives that would open primaries, require a majority winner
Editor’s note: This story was updated to correct the number of times Frank Garner won an election. Frank Garner won four elections to the Montana Legislature and they were contested. The former police officer from the Flathead area was a Republican in a place known for its conservative politics. Even he admits the final results […]
Group notifies U.S. Forest Service it plans to sue over Mud Creek logging project
The Center for Biological Diversity filed a notice with the U.S. Department of the Interior, the U.S. Forest Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, alerting them it intends to sue the federal government for approving a large timber sale in the southern Bitterroot mountain range. They said the plan will harm two already […]
Federal judge halts ‘Black Ram’ logging project in Kootenai National Forest
A federal judge has halted an expansive logging project in the Kootenai National Forest, often referred to as the “Black Ram Project,” after finding that the U.S. Forest Service made critical errors in evaluating the project, especially its impact on grizzly bears. The Black Ram Project encompasses more than 90,000 acres of federal forest land, […]
Laurel residents tell court they were cut out of public process in gas plant permitting
When Yellowstone County District Court Judge Jessica Fehr asked assistant county attorney Levi Robison where residents who object to the Laurel Generation Station methane-fired power plant could lodge complaints, he answered, “Neither the city nor the county had the authority.” That was – and remains – the crux of the problem that brought the matter […]