The next chief of the U.S. Forest Service will be Tom Schultz a former state-level land and natural resource manager in Montana and Idaho and most recently a vice president at a logging company in that state. He’ll replace outgoing Chief Randy Moore who will retire Monday. The Forest Service is the second-largest land management agency by area...
The Montana Commissioner of Securities and Insurance James Brown is asking for comments on Digital Assets including cryptocurrency Bitcoin and other related financial instruments including Blockchain Tokens. The input from all U.S. citizens and not just Montana residents will help shape potential regulatory approaches that safeguard investors ...
Legislators heard a bill Monday that would increase DUI penalties for repeat offenders. House Bill 542 would make it so that a third dui conviction is a felony offense. Currently under state law standard DUIs are not a felony until the fourth offense. The Legislative Service Division estimates around 400 cases a year that would currently be ch...
76,543 children relied on the summer lunch program in 2024 but the Joint Subcommittee on Health and Human Services has voted to cut the $20 million of mostly federal money for the biennium out of the state budget. The state Legislature could still vote to restore the funds which provide a $120 grocery benefit per eligible child for the summer ...
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 depo...
Montana property owners saw on average a 20% hike on their tax bills last year and the Department of Revenue projects property taxes could again rise for residents by about 11% this year. Governor Greg Gianforte created a task force to look at the rising rates ahead of the session and Montana lawmakers are considering several ideas that it pu...
The U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana Jesse Laslovich is one of roughly 20 Biden-appointed U.S. attorneys whose termination came suddenly when his computer logged out on its own. Tuesday Laslovich said to find out everything getting shut down was unnerving and ultimately disappointing. It happened at the same time the U.S. Attorney’s O...
Nearly all of Montana’s federal delegation visited the state Capitol in Helena Monday. Republican Senator Tim Sheehy along with Representatives Ryan Zinke and Troy Downing approved of President Donald Trump’s swift action in addressing a number of issues important to the administration including huge slashes to federal expenditures and t...
Weekly influenza numbers continue to rise in Montana. For the weekend ending February 8th 1,612 influenza were reported an increase from 1,467 the week before. Hospitalizations also increased from 72 patients to 85 during the same time frame. So far this flu season 20 deaths have been recorded in Montana. The RSV positivity rate also climbed t...
Initial filings for unemployment benefits in Montana rose last week compared with the week before. New jobless claims increased to 931 in the week ending February 8th,up from 801 the week before. The District of Columbia saw the largest percentage increase in weekly claims jumping by 35.9%. The Virgin Islands saw the largest percentage drop of...
