A female Montana Army National Guard soldier graduated from the U.S. Army Sniper Course at Fort Benning Georgia Friday becoming the first woman in history to complete the course. Northern News Network’s Eric Young reports. https://northernbroadcasting.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/11-09_832.mp3
Montana Expected To Receive $3 Billion Through Infrastructure Bill
The $1 trillion plus Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act will become law when President Joe Biden signs it. Montana is expected to receive $2.82 billion for highway projects with an additional $225 million set aside for bridge replacement in the state. About $144 million will go to airports in Montana. Whether there is a timeline on when mo...
Billings Pediatrician Offers Vaccine Recommendation For Teenaged Kids
Children aged 5 to 11 are now eligible to get a smaller dose of COVID-19 vaccine but what should be done if a child is about to turn 12 soon? Billings Clinic Pediatrician David Higgins. https://northernbroadcasting.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/11-09_637.mp3
BNSF Railway Files Lawsuit Over Vaccine Mandates
BNSF Railway filed a lawsuit Sunday against its major unions over its mandate to require all its employees to get vaccinated against the coronavirus. Norfolk Southern and Union Pacific have filed similar lawsuits. The unions which have filed some of their own lawsuits in response argue that the railroads should have negotiated with them before...
New Report Reveals Massive Turnover Rate At Office Of Public Instruction
According to a recent termination report from the Montana Office of Public Instruction, 180 employees have left OPI in the past five years — a turnover rate of nearly 90%. The Montana Free Press Reports 57 staff members left due to “personal reasons,” 45 employees left to pursue other career options, and 38 employees retired since January 2017...
Impact Statement Released For Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service recently released the revised Helena–Lewis and Clark National Forest Land Management Plan and final environmental impact statement. The 2.9-million-acre forest is expected to drive management for the next 15 years. The plan recommends protections for 45 rivers or streams as wild and scenic wh...
Iowa Deer Test Positive For COVID-19
A recently released Iowa study found about one-third of 280 captive and free-ranging deer had tested positive for COVID-19 raising concerns about deer being a reservoir for the virus to mutate. Jennifer Ramsey wildlife veterinarian for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks calls the recent research concerning because there’s a lot of uncertainty ab...
BLM Digitize Easements Of Montana Land With Public Access
The Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service have digitized easements identifying access routes to 450 tracts of public land including about 29,600 acres in Montana and Idaho that had previously been identified as landlocked. Efforts are also underway via legislation introduced in Congress. Both the House and Senate are considering the MA...
Vaccinated Travelers Can Now Pass Through The U.S. – Canadian Border
The United States has kept its land border with Canada closed to non-essential travel since the start of the pandemic in March 2020 but today will allow travelers from Canada as long as they’re fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Travelers entering by land will not have to show proof of a negative COVID-19 test but should be prepared to v...
Montana Tribes Voice Concerns Over Final Congressional Map
Tribal nations and organizations say they’re frustrated with the congressional map Montana’s redistricting and apportionment commission has chosen. Chair Maylinn Smith broke a tie in favor of a map drawn by Republican commission members. Ta’jin Perez with the Native American advocacy group Western Native Voice says tribes in the state have exp...