A beef processing plant near Livingston plans to open by 2022 to butcher meat for food banks and ranches with direct retail sales. The Producer Partnership’s should be capable of processing 300 animals a month. In the past year the group has donated 80,000 pounds of hamburger to the Montana Food Bank Network and Tom Lutey of the Billings...
Gianforte Signs Vaccination Bill Into Law
Governor Greg Gianforte has signed House Bill 702 bill into law. It is now illegal for most businesses or organizations to require staff visitors patients or customers be vaccinated in order to access a facility. Previously, hospitals and other medical providers were still able to require that staff be vaccinated against baseline vaccinations ...
Sunday COVID-19 Update
Montana reported 41 COVID-19 cases Sunday according to an update to the state case mapping and information website. Active cases in Montana are at 1,123. COVID-19 has killed 1,592 Montanans. As of the update Active COVID-19 hospitalizations were at 70 and in total 5,091 people in Montana are reported to have been hospitalized because of COVID-...
WGFD Green River virtual meeting regarding Proposed Changes
The Green River Region of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department will hold an online virtual meeting to discuss proposed changes to Chapter 46 (fishing) and Chapter 22 (watercraft) regulations. The virtual Zoom meeting will be held at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, May 18. Interested people can register here to attend. Once registered, you will receive an e...
National Bison Range Opens To The Public
The Bison Range Restoration Act was signed into law last December 27th. Now in federal trust ownership for the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, it opens Saturday near Moiese. A daily or annual pass per vehicle will be required to enter the Bison Range at a new rate is $10 per car daily up from the previous $5 day pass. An annual pass ...
Legal Challenge To SB 140 Denied By Supreme Court
The state Supreme Court denied former Republican and Democratic state officials’ motion Thursday to expand their legal challenge against Senate Bill 140 that granted the governor a broader selection to fill judicial vacancies after they motioned the court to include Senate Bill 402 the backup to the original legislation. The justices noted bil...
Gianforte Signs Two Tax-Reducing Bills Into Law
Governor Greg Gianforte signed two bills into law Thursday. Senate Bill 159 reduces Montana’s top income tax rate to 6.75% beginning next year. Senate Bill 399 reduces it to 6.5% in 2024 simplifies Montana’s tax code and reduces the number of tax rates from seven to two. Montana will stop supplemental unemployment insurance payment...
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Awards Grant For Wetland Restoration In Montana
Several people wearing red gathered on the steps of the Big Horn County Courthouse Wednesday with most of them carrying signs with the name of a young woman who had just turned 18 when she went missing. About 78,000 Indigenous people live in Montana, although they comprise less than 7% of the state’s population. According the data from the sta...
Yellowstone National Park To Resume Large Group Tours
Last year Yellowstone National Park wouldn’t allow bus traffic in the park to thwart the possibility of spreading COVID-19. This year Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks have authorized the resumption of large group tours with a few stipulations. All passengers must either be vaccinated for COVID-19 or tested 72 hours before the t...
Senator Daines Comments On Recent Back-To-Work Initiative
Legislation recently signed into law allows any Montana voter to bring a petition placing a minor party on the ballot. It also sets out deadlines for petitions that seek to place a third party on the ballot for statewide elections. The law also requires opponents of a minority party petition drive must disclose spending on the effort similar t...