Senate Republicans moved forward Tuesday with a bill shielding NorthWestern Energy from financial losses associated with the Colstrip Power Plant. Senate Bill 379 obligates customers of the utility to pay off the undepreciated book value of the power plant regardless of whether it continues to operate. The bill also provides a formula for dete...
Pinwheels For Prevention Kicks Off Strengthening Families Month
More than 1,000 bright blue pinwheels were placed around the State Capitol Tuesday in honor of April being Strengthening Families Month. A $10,000 sponsorship from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Montana will be used to distribute an additional 4,300 throughout the state. They represent efforts to ensure the healthy development of children while rec...
Montana SBA District Director Discusses Shuttered Venues Operators’ Grant
Secretary of Veterans Affairs Denis McDonough and Senator Jon Tester toured the veterans home during a stop in Butte Tuesday that regional veterans politicians and others brought to the mining city. Tester the current chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs had helped secure $20 million for the project as had other politicians fro...
General Karen Gibson Talks About Her New Position In The U.S. Senate
SafeWise has announced the release of its 7th annual 5 safest cities in Montana report for 2021. Glendive kept the top spot for the second year in a row and had the lowest violent crime rate in the state with just 5 total violent crimes reported. Dillon comes in second with Columbia Falls third. Glasgow is rated the 4th safest city in Montana ...
United Way of Yellowstone County Celebrates 60 Year Birthday
With around 19% of the U.S. population vaccinated and states opening up more as a result the personal finance website Wallet Hub today released updated rankings with the states with the fewest coronavirus restrictions. Montana ranks 10th across 13 key metrics on data sets ranging from whether restaurants are open to whether the state has requi...
Billings Experiences Crime Hike in 2020 Due To Pandemic
With 71% of people whose jobs can be done remotely working from home all or most of the time during the pandemic, Wallet Hub today released its report on the best states for working from home. Montana ranks 46th when compared to all the states and the District of Columbia across 12 key metrics. Data sets range from the share of workers working...
Secretary of Homeland Security Set To Meet With Western State Sheriffs Association
Rumble strip installation on highways in western Montana will begin this month, though start and end dates are still yet to be determined. Studies show they can reduce crashes by 42% and severe injuries from them by 73%. The Western States Sheriffs Association will meet with the Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas Wednesday to di...
WGFD is amping up fish stocking throughout Wyoming
It’s spring in Wyoming and that means the Wyoming Game and Fish Department is amping up fish stocking throughout the state. Travis Trimble, Game and Fish assistant fish culture supervisor, said this year’s stocking plans are similar to 2020 when Game and Fish stocked 7.1 million fish in Wyoming waters. About two-thirds of those 7.1 million fis...
This Is National Library Week But May 3rd It Will Hit Home To Missoula Public Library Patrons
A new 20,000-square-foot clinic, which will serve about 5,000 veterans and have more room for staff areas, will open today at the Fort Harrison VA Medical Center in Helena. Veterans will remain in a single appointment room and each provider will come to them in a one-stop shop approach. The Montana VA Health Care System facility also has six e...
Montana Chamber Of Commerce Looking For Ideas Where To Spend COVID Relief Infrastructure Funding
Montana did not report any additional COVID-19 cases or deaths Monday due to a system update to the Department of Public Health and Human Services’ reporting database Sunday, which prevented reporting cases to Monday’s update. As a result new cases which would have appeared in Monday’s update will now be reported within the ...