Government & Politics
A good return on investment: New report shows Montana senators benefit from defense lobbying
A new report this week looking at the defense industry and lobbying shows intercontinental ballistic missile contractors directed millions towards politicians and efforts to support a new system, which would be located in Montana, Wyoming and North Dakota. Those lobbying efforts appear to have largely been effective as the United States plans to replace its Minuteman […]
University of Montana dean resigns post after eight months
The dean of humanities and sciences at the University of Montana has stepped down just eight months after taking the reins of the flagship’s cornerstone college. “Throughout the months of academic planning in which we have been engaged this year, it has become clear to me that aspirations I have for the college cannot be […]
Congress passes giant $1.9 T COVID relief bill
WASHINGTON — A sweeping $1.9 trillion coronavirus stimulus package is headed to President Joe Biden’s desk after the U.S. House passed the latest pandemic relief measure Wednesday on a party-line vote. The massive bill includes a new round of $1,400 direct checks for many Americans, as well as an extension of expanded unemployment checks to assist […]
Merrick Garland confirmed as the nation’s Attorney General
WASHINGTON—The U.S. Senate Wednesday confirmed Merrick Garland to serve as U.S. attorney general in a 70-30 vote. Last week, the Senate Judiciary Committee advanced his nomination in a 15-7 vote. Garland served as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. As attorney general, he’ll lead the Justice Department as the […]
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 […]