Government & Politics
Tranel touts record of delivering for Montanans while running for Congress as a ‘fighter’
When Monica Tranel was fighting NorthWestern Energy as a staff attorney for the Montana Consumer Counsel, she said the monopoly utility “essentially did a data dump on me.” “I was the only person against NorthWestern’s bevy of lawyers and support staff,” Tranel said. “And I read the documents. It took me forever, but I went […]
Walking Child emphasizes prayer in school, saving small ag and helping America’s veterans
Charles Walking Child likes to say that he’s throwing his war bonnet in the race to unseat incumbent Republican Congressman Matt Rosendale in the Republican primary for Montana’s Second Congressional District. His heritage is Anishaabe-Ojibwe and he said that America doesn’t need more politicians, but it needs the type of leadership from Indian Country – […]
Misinformation, violence and a paper shortage threaten midterm elections, officials say
Members of a U.S. Senate panel and election administrators raised a bevy of concerns Thursday about the challenges elections officials will face this fall, saying problems ranging from a lack of paper to coordinated misinformation campaigns could affect confidence in U.S. democracy. A bipartisan panel of current and former elections officials and experts told the […]
Many states have yet to spend millions of federal money to tackle COVID
The Biden administration in March 2021 announced it was investing $2.25 billion to address COVID health disparities, the largest federal funding initiative designed specifically to help underserved communities hardest hit by the virus. Two months later, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention awarded grants to every state health department and 58 large city and […]
Is the COVID pill reaching those who need it most? The government won’t say.
As the nation largely abandons mask mandates, physical distancing, and other COVID-19 prevention strategies, elected officials and health departments alike are now championing antiviral pills. But the federal government isn’t saying how many people have received these potentially lifesaving drugs or whether they’re being distributed equitably. Pfizer’s Paxlovid pill, along with Merck’s molnupiravir, are aimed […]
Report: Montana tourism rebounds in 2021 to near pre-pandemic levels
Montana’s tourism industry continued to bounce back in 2021, according to a new report from researchers at the University of Montana, with non-resident spending surpassing pre-pandemic levels and visitation numbers nearly reaching their former heights. Around 12.5 million tourists spent $5.15 billion in the state last year, contributing roughly $387 million in state and local […]
Report says hundreds of state legislators have joined far-right Facebook groups
More than 1 in 5 Republican state lawmakers across the country have joined at least one far-right Facebook group, according to a new report. Together the lawmakers sponsored 963 bills during the most recent legislative sessions, said the group that wrote the report, which describes the far-right efforts as anti-human rights. The Institute for Research […]
Jan. 6 investigators want Georgia’s Loudermilk to explain pre-attack U.S. Capitol tour
The U.S. House panel investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol on Thursday asked Republican Rep. Barry Loudermilk of Georgia to appear before the committee to answer questions about a tour of the Capitol that Loudermilk gave the day before the assault. But Loudermilk and the top Republican on the House Administration […]
ACLU: State violating court order blocking changes of new birth certficate law
The ACLU of Montana is threatening further legal action against the State of Montana over allegations it is not complying with a judge’s ruling in April that temporarily blocked a recently passed GOP-sponsored bill that changed the process to alter the sex designation on a birth certificate. In April, Yellowstone County District Court Judge Michael […]
DEQ: Numeric nutrient criteria will remain in effect for now
The Montana Department of Environmental Quality is delaying implementation of revised water quality standards following a letter from federal regulators warning that some of the changes violate the U.S. Clean Water Act, state officials said this week. In the mean time, Montana’s existing numeric standards for nitrogen and phosphorous pollution in the state’s wadeable streams […]
Under fire from Congress, FDA chief says baby formula shortage will improve soon
WASHINGTON — U.S. Food and Drug Commissioner Robert Califf told Congress Thursday that the infant formula shortage will likely begin to improve in the coming days, though he declined to explain to unhappy lawmakers why his agency didn’t act sooner on a whistleblower report that detailed safety issues at an Abbott Laboratories facility in Michigan. […]
Congress clears $40B in Ukraine aid for Biden’s signature, but some in GOP balk
WASHINGTON — U.S. senators voted overwhelmingly Thursday to send President Joe Biden a $40 billion aid package for Ukraine that will provide additional economic, humanitarian and military support to the country. The 86-11 vote marks the second time Congress cleared a multibillion-dollar package since Russia invaded in late February. Negotiators opted both times to increase […]