Government & Politics
Senate confirms Marcia Fudge as HUD Secretary
The U.S. Senate Wednesday confirmed U.S. Rep. Marcia Fudge of Ohio in a 66-34 vote to lead the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Vice President Kamala Harris is scheduled to swear in Fudge at 3:30 p.m., Wednesday. Fudge, a Democrat who represents the 11th Congressional District, will be the second Black woman to […]
Stoneking: ‘What if I lose another parent?’
After the pandemic hit Montana last March, Jennifer Stoneking felt her anxiety spike. She’d experienced anxiety before, but the 24-year-old felt more urgent panic attacks. “It would be scary to go outside,” said Stoneking, of Missoula. She doesn’t want to use the word if it’s inappropriate, but she believes she may have suffered agoraphobic tendencies, […]
Regan confirmed as EPA chief
The U.S. Senate confirmed Michael Regan as the new EPA administrator Wednesday evening by a vote of 66-34. Regan, the outgoing Secretary of the Environment in North Carolina, is the first Black man to serve in the EPA’s top leadership role. “It’s a profound responsibility,” Sen. Tom Carper, a Delaware Democrat, said, a few hours […]
Haaland confirmation still moving forward despite block by Daines, Lummis
The Senate is expected to vote within days on the confirmation of U.S. Rep. Debra A. Haaland to lead the Interior Department, despite procedural barriers Republicans from Montana and Wyoming announced Tuesday. Republican Sens. Steve Daines of Montana and Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming placed holds on Haaland’s nomination, meaning the chamber now must take an […]
Montana debates bill to exempt churches from political reporting
The beginnings of legislation that would exempt churches in Montana from reporting political campaign contributions have their roots in a lawsuit nearly 20 years ago. Senate Bill 162, carried by Sen. David Howard, R-Park City, would allow churches to be exempt from reporting political expenditures. Proponents of the bill say it protects the ability of […]
Montana man charged in Capitol riot was brought back to country by Daines when COVID hit
A Dillon man arrested Saturday for his alleged role in the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol was stuck in Morocco when the COVID-19 pandemic hit the United States, and U.S. Sen. Steve Daines helped get him home then. Isaac Sturgeon, 32, was arrested at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York on […]
Biden reinstates bird protections gutted under Trump
The Interior Department on Monday revoked a Trump administration policy that would have undercut a century-old law protecting migratory birds. The move strengthens federal regulators’ authority to enforce the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, a 1918 law that allows the government to prosecute polluters whose actions are responsible for the deaths of about 1,100 protected bird […]
Montana among leaders on banning organ transplant discrimination
Griffin Dalrymple is an energetic 7-year-old who loves going to school in Eureka, Montana. But two years ago, the boy described by his mother, Jayci, as a “ball of fire” was suddenly knocked back by severe bacterial pneumonia that hospitalized him for two weeks. As her son lay in the intensive care unit with a […]
Good news for grandparents: If you’re vaccinated, you can visit family, CDC says
WASHINGTON — People who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 can safely socialize inside with other vaccinated individuals without wearing masks or maintaining distance, federal health officials advised Monday in their first formal guidance for vaccinated Americans. Perhaps more critically at a time when more than 90% of Americans are still waiting to be fully vaccinated, the […]
Montana looks at next steps for Colstrip
Less than two years ago, just over the border in Campbell County, Wyoming, around 700 coal workers lost their jobs when the Eagle Butte and Belle Ayr mines shut down. It is a fate many in Montana’s coal country, like the home of the Colstrip power plant, fear is in their future. Colstrip Republican Sen. […]
Menegat: ‘It’s been every man for himself’
Susie Menegat misses hugging her son, and she used to enjoy tickling the ivories in the afternoons while her husband, Lan, cooked dinner. Menegat, 77, had learned Beethoven’s “Fur Elise” and Billy Joel’s “New York State of Mind,” but she hasn’t played much in recent months. “I realize I will never be a good piano […]
Here’s how we’re faring through the pandemic
The snow crunched under our skis along the Going-to-the-Sun Road last week, and at times, the images of Mount Vaught and Mount Cannon on a still Lake McDonald showed perfect twin reflections. A chubby dipper bounced with vigor in the lake. I peeled off my coat and long sleeve shirt, and my friend and I […]