Through a new immigration enforcement agreement announced Thursday by Attorney General Austin Knudsen with the Department of Homeland Security Montana Highway Patrol troopers and Division of Criminal Investigation agents are authorized to arrest illegal aliens in Montana. They will work together with Immigration and Customs Enforcement to deport them.
Last December former state Senate President Jason Ellsworth tried awarding a no-bid contract funded by leftover committee funds to a longtime friend and business associate in a manner that would have kept the deal out of view. Two parallel investigations into allegations against the Republican from Hamilton will now proceed one by the state justice department into potential criminal charges and another by the state Senate into possible ethics violations that govern lawmakers’ behavior.
Initial filings for unemployment benefits in Montana dropped last week compared with the week before. New jobless claims fell to 888 in the week ending February 15th down from 918. Kentucky saw the largest percentage increase in weekly claims jumping by 145.5%. The Virgin Islands saw the largest percentage drop in new claims of 45.9%. Total U.S. unemployment claims rose to 219,000 last week up 5,000 from 214,000 a week earlier on a seasonally adjusted basis.
Montana has been experiencing a prolonged period of sub-zero temperatures and arctic cold fronts with short periods of warmth and officials warn this abrupt shift in weather patterns can change unexpectedly necessitating vigilance and awareness of potential ice jam flooding. They advise signing up for local alerts listen to local radio reports and evacuate early if you are in a high risk area.
House Bill 245 to continue Medicaid expansion cleared a key vote in the Montana Senate Thursday. It lifts the recurring sunset provision that has required the program to be repeatedly reauthorized by the Legislature. The program has been in place since 2015. As of November it covered about 76,000 Montanans with annual incomes up to 138% of the federal poverty level or about $15,650 for an individual.
Renovations are complete and Harbor Freight Tools has opened its doors at the old Bob Ward and Sons sporting goods store in Butte. The newest business in the Mining City will have an official opening March 8th. It is the 7th Harbor Freight to open in Montana and hired locally with between 25 and 30 new jobs.
Wholesale buyers can now register for the Made in Montana Trade Show for Food and Gifts set for Friday March 7th at the Lewis and Clark County Exhibit Hall in Helena. That day will offer a wholesale market open exclusively to store buyers who are looking to purchase goods for resale. The event is the place to see sample and purchase the newest products and developments in the Made in Montana food and gift industry.
The St. Mary repair project is moving ahead. In an email Senator Steve Daines says the Interior Department has approved the project and federal funding that had been held up will be restored. The St. Mary pipelines were built to provide water in 1915 to northern Montana.
Montana’s House Business and Labor Committee has passed House Bill 429 that could open the door for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to become reserve assets. The measure would create a special revenue account to invest in precious metals stablecoins and digital assets with an averaged market cap above $750 billion over the last calendar year. It is the fourth crypto reserve bill to reach the House at the state level in the US.
In the Crazy Mountains northwest of Big Timber about 3,435 acres of federal lands have been exchanged for 5,505 acres of private property in Sweet Grass County. According to the appraisals the private lands were valued at more than $9.6 million while the federal holdings were more than $8.48 million.
