Montana Wyoming and Idaho had petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to remove some of the region’s grizzly bears from protections under the Endangered Species Act but Wednesday the federal agency announced its decision to keep them protected and proposed changes to its management approach. A new recovery zone would include Washington and parts of the northern Rocky Mountain states.
The 25th annual Montana Chamber of Commerce business days begins today in Helena. The two-day event will focus on legislative and public policy issues relevant to business. It coincides with the start of the legislative session in odd-numbered years and candidate filing in even-numbered years. This year tickets sold out by November 1st to over 500 business leaders.
More than half the women killed in the United States are murdered by a current or former partner and of those domestic violence homicides half involve guns. Prosecutors in Montana have used a 1994 federal law to reduce danger in domestic violence situations but the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has ruled convictions under Montana’s partner or family member assault statute do not qualify for the federal ban. It remains unclear whether this will open the door to Montana convictions being overturned.
The 50th Annual Economic Outlook Seminar put on by the Bureau of Business and Economic Research will begin Tuesday January 28th at the Helena Great Northern Hotel followed by 8 other cities through March 12th. In addition to an in-depth look at Montana’s economy it will feature keynote speaker Paul Gladen University of Montana associate vice president for research and economic development who will discuss artificial intelligence and what it means for Montana businesses.
With financial improvement being a popular New Year’s resolution and credit scores having fallen in all 50 states over the past year today the personal-finance website WalletHub released its updated report on the States with the Largest Credit Score Decreases to highlight where people are in the most financial danger. Montana ranks 42nd overall. In the third quarter of 2024 the average Montana credit score was 692.
The Montana Senate’s first vote of the session made several key committees go dark “until further notice” after a motion to amend the body’s rules. The rules package went to the Senate Rules Committee Wednesday morning and lawmakers amended the rules again to eliminate the Executive Branch Review Committee altogether. The amendment’s passage sets up another vote on the rules resolution for this afternoon.
The Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation has made a $9.4 million gift to fund a signature initiative for the Phyllis J. Washington College of Education at the University of Montana. The effort will offer solutions to some of the state’s biggest challenges in K through 12 education and behavioral health and give children the support they need to thrive.
Montana will offer a new drug treatment program soon along with housing assistance through Medicaid. Federal health officials have already given the state the green light to use Medicaid dollars for both programs. Montana is the third state to use Medicaid funding for this style of drug treatment using small rewards to motivate people to remain sober.
The cab portion of the Helena fire tower has been removed as part of a construction and restoration project on the structure that was built in 1874. The goal is to retain as much of the original material as possible. Dick Anderson Construction began work on the historic Helena fire tower just before Christmas but now there will be a delay while waiting for the properly dried timbers to be processed.
Lewis and Clark County will end Motor Vehicle Department appointments after this month to adjust to a new computer system. The State of Montana Credentialing and Registration System aims for more processes to be accessed online shortening in-person visit times. Other changes are expected to come with the transition that will be announced next week.
