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Cascade County approves municipal election canvass after delays
Merchant supporters believe this is the first time the canvass has been conducted in accordance with the law, where other residents see this process as a departure from norms and a foreshadowing of future delays and confusion to come with the handling of longer ballots with state and federal candidates in 2024.
Former Deputy Attorney General running for Supreme Court chief justice
Broadwater County Attorney and former Deputy Attorney General for the state Cory Swanson filed Wednesday to run for Montana Supreme Court chief justice. Swanson made the announcement on the conservative radio show Montana Talks this morning. “When Montanans go to court, they expect a fair judge who will issue rulings based on the facts and […]
Former Blackfeet Operations Manager pleads not guilty in tribal theft case
A former operations manager for the Blackfeet Tribe pleaded not guilty Tuesday to charges accusing him of stealing thousands in COVID-19 relief funds from the tribe. James McNeely, 43, of Browning, was charged with theft from an Indian tribal government receiving federal funding, wire fraud and theft from an Indian tribal organization in October. McNeely […]
Cascade County Commission votes to restructure chairperson selection process
Commissioners Joe Briggs and James Larson, two traditional conservatives on the three-person commission, voted to pass an ordinance Tuesday to restructure how the chairperson is selected — from a set rotation to an internal selection process. Grulkowski said she was “disappointed” at what she perceived as lack of help from Briggs and Larson and a “two against one mindset.”
Abortion advocates submit ballot issue affirming right to terminate pregnancy in Montana
Planned Parenthood Advocates of Montana submitted a ballot initiative last week to put before the voters the option to add the right for someone to make decisions about their pregnancy, including abortion, as a constitutional right in Montana.
Cascade County Commission tables election canvass amidst ballot tally confusion
Cascade County Commissioners hit pause on completing the canvass for the recent municipal election over questions of ballot counts out of Belt and Cascade.
Montana Supreme Court sides with state, orders counties levy full statewide school mills
After most of Montana’s counties tried to lower your property tax bill, arguing the state was levying too much, the Montana Supreme Court unanimously said Wednesday the state had it right after all. The Montana Supreme Court ordered counties levy the amount calculated by the state for schools in a ruling Wednesday, the full 95 […]
More than 1,400 voters in Kalispell may have been disenfranchised. Cascade County to miss deadline
More than 1,400 voters in Kalispell were disenfranchised in the most recent municipal election after the Flathead County Elections Office sent ballots with the wrong candidates due to a clerical error.
Court sides with state over criminal jurisdiction on the Flathead Reservation
A district court judge sided with the State of Montana after Lake County argued the state should be financially responsible for federal criminal oversight on the Flathead Reservation.
District court judge sides with Missoula County in election data case
The Missoula County Elections Office didn’t misuse its voter database during the 2020 or 2022 elections, contrary to allegations first levied by a couple of local Republicans. That’s according to a Missoula district court judge, who sided with the county in a lawsuit alleging election fraud stemming from the 2020 election cycle. False claims of […]
Library association opposes proposal ending master’s degree requirement
You may not need a graduate degree to be a library director in Montana’s larger cities — and library advocates think that idea hurts their work. A group lobbying for library interests in the state adopted a resolution opposing a state library commission proposal to end the requirement for library directors in Montana to have […]
Legislators unanimously pause rule on religious exemptions for vaccinations at childcare centers
Allowing religious exemptions from vaccination requirements at childcare centers was voted down again by legislators Thursday after the proposal was included in a new rule package from the state health department. The Children, Families, Health, and Human Services Interim Committee voted unanimously to halt the implementation of a rule package, which included other largely agreed-upon […]