News

Gianforte says no ‘larding up’ bills, line-item vetoes $23M in long-term infrastructure spending

BY: - May 26, 2023

Gov. Greg Gianforte this week line-item vetoed about $23 million in spending on 11 projects, including for a veterans cottage in Butte and a conservation area in Yellowstone County, that were part of a $1.2 billion infrastructure spending bill. The governor slashed the portions of House Bill 5 in a letter to legislative leadership sent […]

Montana begins process of ‘redetermining’ Medicaid eligibility for residents

BY: - May 26, 2023

Nearly 7,900 Montanans may lose Medicaid coverage by the end of the month. For comparison purposes, that’s roughly the number of people who live in Whitefish. And, even though the process, plans and communication have been anticipated, the state is beginning its initial round of “redetermination” for the federal medical insurance program administered through the […]

Montana Jewish Project ‘perplexed,’ ‘saddened,’ by Speaker of the House Regier

BY: - May 26, 2023

Speaker of the House Matt Regier has not communicated directly with the Montana Jewish Project since its director asked the reason Republican leadership took a rabbi off the schedule to lead prayer, according to the organization that celebrates Jewish life in Montana. On May 4, Montana Jewish Project Director Rebecca Stanfel asked Regier in a […]

Montana man convicted in Jan. 6 attack; Oath Keepers founder sentenced to 18 years

BY: - May 25, 2023

A federal judge in Washington, D.C., convicted a Dillon man this week of seven counts, including assault of police officers, tied to his actions during the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol attack, while former Montana resident and Oath Keepers founder Elmer Stewart Rhodes was sentenced to 18 years in prison for seditious conspiracy linked to […]

Trans couple ‘rattled’ after harassment in Target, LGBTQ+ merchandise thrown on floor

BY: - May 25, 2023

A transgender Missoula couple was told to “enjoy it while you can ” while shopping Thursday in the LGBTQ+ section in Target by a man who went on to throw merchandise from the section onto the floor. The man was later escorted by a Target employee out of the section, which includes clothing with rainbow colors, […]

Whitefish man charged with voter fraud in 2020 election

BY: - May 25, 2023

A Whitefish man was arraigned on two voter fraud charges Thursday in federal court in Missoula that allege he voted with another person’s ballot in the 2020 election. Donald Samuel Hill, 52, pleaded not guilty to two counts – false information in voting and fraudulent voting. Each carry penalties of up to five years in […]

Montana Assistant Attorney General Michael D. Russell argues on behalf of the state in the Held v. State of Montana case on May 12, 2023, in Lewis and Clark District County Court.

Judge allows Montana youth climate change lawsuit to proceed to trial

BY: - May 25, 2023

A Lewis and Clark County District Court judge this week denied the state’s request for summary judgment in the Montana youth climate change lawsuit, meaning the case is effectively guaranteed to proceed to the trial scheduled to start June 12 in Helena. Judge Kathy Seeley wrote in her Tuesday order in the Held et al […]

With debt default as soon as a week away, U.S. House jets off for holiday break

BY: - May 25, 2023

WASHINGTON — U.S. House members walked down the steps of the Capitol building Thursday morning to head back to their districts for a Memorial Day recess that began exactly one week before the country could default on the debt. House Democrats took to the floor after the final vote of the week to give a […]

UPDATED: Gianforte lauds U.S. Supreme Court’s rejection of Biden wetlands regulation

BY: - May 25, 2023

The U.S. Supreme Court in a major environmental decision on  Thursday overturned the Environmental Protection Agency’s definition of wetlands that fall under the agency’s jurisdiction, siding with an Idaho couple who’d said they should not be required to obtain federal permits to build on their property that lacked any navigable water. All nine justices agreed […]

U.S. Rep. Matt Rosendale, R-Montana, as questions of a witness at a House Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee hearing on a proposed rule from the Bureau of Land Management on Wednesday, May 24, 2023.

Rosendale calls BLM ‘activist organization’ ahead of hearing on land conservation proposal

BY: - May 24, 2023

Congressman Matt Rosendale continued to deride the Department of Interior and its efforts to better conserve public lands and protect natural resources in a House subcommittee hearing Wednesday a day before a public hearing on a newly proposed rule on conservation and landscape health. “It’s clear that [the Bureau of Land Management] has turned into […]

Biden student debt relief plan revoked in U.S. House vote

BY: - May 24, 2023

WASHINGTON — The U.S. House on Wednesday voted to overturn the Biden administration’s one-time student debt relief plan that is currently on hold awaiting a Supreme Court decision expected within weeks. Before the 218-203 vote on the resolution, the White House said President Joe Biden would veto it, arguing that the U.S. Department of Education has the legal authority […]

Bill appropriating grant funds for autism centers in Montana signed into law

BY: - May 24, 2023

The state is dedicating $400,000 in one-time grant funds for autism facilities to get off the ground in Montana, a move advocates said would help serve a community of people who have had to seek treatment in other states. Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte signed House Bill 952, sponsored by Rep. Courtenay Sprunger, R-Kalispell, into law […]