Government & Politics
Sidney Health Center vaccine mandate protest meeting draws around 50 SHC employees
Around 50 healthcare workers from the Sidney Health Center gathered at Fellowship Baptist Church on Monday night to hear from state leaders like Attorney General Austin Knudsen and Hamilton Sen. Theresa Manzella speak against the hospital’s decision to follow a federal vaccine mandate for healthcare workers, which a federal judge has temporarily struck down. “It […]
Gianforte appoints Belgrade judge for Gallatin County judicial vacancy
Gov. Greg Gianforte has appointed Belgrade judge Andrew Breuner to fulfill a judicial vacancy in Gallatin County District Court, the governor’s office announced on Wednesday. The vacancy filled by Breuner was created by the legislature’s addition of a district judge position to the Eighteenth Judicial District this past legislative session. “Andrew Breuner is a talented […]
Montana ramps up sequencing efforts to monitor for new omicron variant
The state health department and its partners have increased their capacity to conduct sequencing of COVID-19 samples in an effort to monitor for the new omicron variant as it continues to pop in various countries around the world, including Wednesday’s report that it’s in America. “As a new variant emerges, we want to double or […]
Judge Molloy: ‘How would you draft the statute?’
Montana lawmakers collectively said they want clean campaigns, but U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy grilled a couple of lawyers Tuesday on whether one of the legislature’s expressions of that goal, the Clean Campaign Act, tramples on the right to free speech and equal protection, as an incidental political committee alleges. In a brief hearing in […]
Vaccine mandate for health care workers halted nationwide by Louisiana judge
A federal judge in Louisiana on Tuesday issued a ruling blocking nationwide the Biden administration mandate requiring millions of health care workers be vaccinated against COVID-19. A suit challenging the mandate was led on behalf of multiple states by Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry, a Republican, and U.S. Judge Terry Doughty granted the states’ request […]
Democrats risk losses in 2022 if they give up on paid leave, advocates say
WASHINGTON — When paid family leave was briefly dropped from congressional Democrats’ massive social spending and climate bill earlier this fall, the outcry was swift. Women and caregivers suddenly were calling lawmakers and advocates, and they were sharing their own stories on social media in huge numbers, said Dawn Huckelbridge, director of Paid Leave for […]
House mulls how to address Boebert’s anti-Muslim remarks
WASHINGTON—U.S. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said Tuesday that Democrats are weighing what to do about Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado in connection with anti-Muslim comments she made about a colleague in the House. “We’re considering what action ought to be taken,” said Hoyer, a Maryland Democrat, at a briefing with reporters. Hoyer would […]
Knudsen, Manzella to speak at anti-vaccine-mandate event in Sidney on Monday night
Attorney General Austin Knudsen and Hamilton Sen. Theresa Manzella will be among those to speak at an event in Sidney on Monday night pushing back on the Sidney Health Center’s recent decision to follow a federal vaccine mandate that requires all hospitals receiving federal Medicaid or Medicare funds to vaccinate their employees. According to Jordan […]
Coburn becomes first Black LGBTQ person elected in Montana
Bozeman City Commissioner Christopher Coburn shattered the rainbow ceiling, so to speak. But really, he couldn’t have done it any other way. Coburn, a public health specialist at Bozeman Health and a Missoula native who happens to be Black and queer, said, “I really can’t be something other who I am.” Though Coburn’s election marks […]
Biden’s immigration plans face new test in the U.S. Senate
WASHINGTON — Nearly 100 House Democrats are pushing the Senate to expand immigration protections in President Joe Biden’s massive social spending and climate bill, and advocates say that it may be a last opportunity for years to advance any reform. The letter to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York and the chairman of the Judiciary […]
Ninth Circuit asks state whether federal government can be held liable for sexual assault
In Montana, if a citizen is sexually assaulted by a state, county or municipal law enforcement officer, the victim can sue the agency for which the officer works. But in Montana, it’s unclear whether that same principle applies to a federal law enforcement agent because the officer is a federal employee. That’s the central question […]
Montana Supreme Court decides who owns the Ekalaka Fire Department
Who owns the Ekalaka Fire Department? If you said, “Ekalaka,” you’d be right. But the question wasn’t exactly that straightforward and was settled recently by the Montana State Supreme Court after more than a century worth of disagreement, culminating in the suit decided by the highest court in the Treasure State. The Ekalaka Volunteer Fire […]