Author
Healthcare officials say they’ll follow CMS rules, not HB702, in order to keep operating
On Tuesday, Gov. Greg Gianforte “reaffirmed” Montana’s vaccine mandate ban, a state law that was passed by the Legislature earlier this year that disallowed many employers from requiring vaccines as a condition of employment. But while a federal court halted a vaccine or testing requirement developed by Occupational Safety and Health Administration from going into effect, many […]
‘Nobody is above the law’: Man whose conviction was overturned talks about moving on
Hoang Vinh Pham speaks English haltingly, sometimes in broken phrases. Despite struggling for words on occasion, he speaks clearly and understands perfectly a concept that he said kept him going while sitting in Montana State Prison in Shelby. “I don’t believe that they did right. Nobody is above the law,” Pham said. “They are supposed […]
‘An Absurd Result’ looks at first Montana case of DNA-overturned conviction
When Jule Banville first met Linda Glantz, she knew she had the story of a lifetime. Really, it’s a story of at least several lifetimes – one of Linda Glantz, one of Jimmy Ray Bromgard and one of Ronald Tipton. It’s also a story about science, justice and the letter of the law. And, it’s […]
An unknown soldier: Man leaves little evidence of his heroics on the battlefield
In a little house that looks more like a hovel, Franklin Delano Roton passed away in January. The tiny house in Billings is small, even by the standards of the modest neighborhood that surrounds it. After a diligent search by the local funeral home, the body was turned over to the county – the normal […]
Missed messages: Arntzen’s statements overshadowed by shooting joke
In the understandable furor over Montana Superintendent of Public Instruction Elsie Arntzen’s participation in a forum in which a lawyer jokingly suggested the remedy for any superintendent who advocated vaccination or mask mandates was to “shoot ‘em,” it was easy to miss some equally shocking rhetoric that wasn’t said as a joke. You may recall […]
UM, school board distance themselves from doctor accused of spreading COVID-19 misinformation
A medical doctor affiliated with the University of Montana’s physician training program and who has been given “time-outs” on Facebook for spreading misinformation as well as calling for Dr. Anthony Fauci to be “executed for the crimes he has committed on humanity” will continue to teach through the university. Dr. Justin Buls, the Kalispell site […]
War of words: Case involving transgender lobbyist against Baptist minister moves ahead
In a libel lawsuit that pits a conservative Baptist minister turned news website publisher against a transgender Native American lobbyist, recent court filings turn on two seemingly disconnected questions. First, whether the lobbyist heckled a Montana state Senator; and, secondly, whether the lobbyist’s sometimes explicit rants on social media disqualify her from legal protection. Adrian […]
Love yourself and your life a little bit more and maybe we’ll get through this pandemic
You don’t appreciate life until you’ve looked a dying man in the eyes and know that you get leave and he doesn’t. But, that’s exactly the lesson I learned as a young, inexperienced hospital chaplain. I remember one particular hard day in which it seemed as if death was around every corner. A motorcycle accident […]
Knudsen, Montana join lawsuit against Biden’s vaccine orders
Nearly as soon as U.S. President Joe Biden announced vaccine mandates for all federal workers and contractors, the Montana Attorney General vowed to use his office to fight back, and on Friday, Austin Knudsen, along with state attorneys general from nine other states brought suit in federal court in the Eastern District of Missouri. The […]
Court hears voting rights challenge case, may consolidate two similar lawsuits
A Yellowstone County District Judge heard oral arguments in a lawsuit challenging the Legislature’s changes to voting laws from the Montana Democratic Party and Western Native Voice, a group lobbying and representing American Indians in Montana. The Friday morning hearing focused on what standards the court would use to scrutinize the new laws, which change […]
Rosendale introduces VA telehealth bill
Montana’s lone Congressman, Matt Rosendale, introduced legislation Friday that would require the Veterans Affairs to develop a telehealth strategy while also creating a baseline inventory of devices that veterans utilize when accessing telehealth. Rosendale, a Republican, has introduced other telehealth bills, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, because he has said that Montanans […]
Judge halts Colstrip mining expansion
A district court judge has halted plans to expand part of a coal mine near Colstrip because the state’s Department of Environmental Quality ignored state and federal rules, relied on inadequate testimony, and failed to protect an already imperiled body of water. Judge Katherine Bidegaray said the DEQ wrongfully permitted an expansion of the Rosebud […]