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Whoever wins the race for Montana's Superintendent of Public Instruction in the general election on Nov. 5 - Republican Susie Hedalen or Democrat Shannon O'Brien - they will inherit an office in disarray. A recent legislative audit of the Office of Public Instruction, which the superintendent leads, found more than $67 million in questionable spending of federal education funds, including one school district that used the money to buy massage chairs for the teachers' lounge. "...
Tom Lawrence Special to the Nation's Center News BILLINGS, Mont. - A third trial date has been set for Sterling Brown, the Camp Crook man charged with murdering a Montana man. Brown, who has been charged with murdering Isaac Carrier at his Fallon, Mont., home on Jan. 23, 2023, is now set for trial on Aug. 11-22, 2025. The case was originally set for March and then scheduled to start on Sept. 30, but it has been pushed back once again. In addition, the trial has been moved...
The Montana Cowboy Hall of Fame & Western Heritage Center (MCHF & WHC) recently announced their 17th class of inductions into the Montana Cowboy Hall of Fame. The inductees were chosen from a field of candidates nominated by the general public. Inductees are honored for their notable contributions to the history and culture of Montana. "The Hall of Fame exists to honor those who have made an impact in their part of the state and represent Montana's authentic Western heritage...
With political polarization strengthening across the country, even the races far down on Montana's ballot are feeling the heat of identity politics. The state auditor is arguably the lowest-ballot race there is, but the position is responsible for supervising the state's insurance and securities industries and investigating fraud. Two years ago, Republican Jim Brown mounted a campaign for the state Supreme Court, trying to secure a spot on the high court by stressing his...
With early voting already begun in Montana, the League of Women Voters of Montana offers voters a nonpartisan election resource: VOTE411.org. This “one-stop shop” for election information provides Montana voters with simple, accessible tools to help them navigate the voting process. VOTE411 provides personalized candidate information, voter registration details, polling place locations, and other helpful election information for all voters nationwide. “From local ballot initiatives to important state races, it is crucial vote...
The annual open enrollment period for Medicare D and Medicare Advantage plans start October 15, 2024 and ends December 7, 2024 to change your plan effective January 1, 2025. The plan you are currently enrolled in should send you a packet of information in October regarding the plan’s benefit for 2025. Each year Medicare and Medicare Advantage plans can restructure their benefits. They are allowed to change their premium cost, deductibles, copayments and what drugs they will cover. If you are happy with the plan you have, j...
Many Americans express concern about how the political system is or is not working, but Montana voters will get a chance to change up the way elections are run in a way supporters hope will benefit more moderate candidates. The changes are included in two separate constitutional amendments, CI-126 and CI-127, on this fall's ballot. CI-126 would amend the Montana Constitution to change the voting process to a "top four" primary election. This means that all candidates...
Montana’s annual youth-only deer hunt is set for Oct. 17 and 18. This year, the hunt happens over the two-day Montana teachers’ convention, when students are out of school. The two-day youth hunt is open to: legally licensed 12- to 15-year-olds who have completed hunter education and who are accompanied by a nonhunting adult at least 18 years of age properly certified and legally licensed apprentice hunters 10 to 15 years of age who are accompanied by a nonhunting adult mentor at least 21 years of age. This hunt is for dee...
Montana's Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte is running for his second term against a political first-timer, Democrat Ryan Busse, in an election that some think is already decided thanks to the state of Montana politics. Gianforte's campaign has adopted an aura of inevitability. According to recent polling from AARP, Gianforte has a 16-point lead over Busse. Gianforte is spending roughly half of what Busse is on his campaign. He isn't organizing big rallies or seeking out the...
Ask Bozeman attorney Ben Alke what prompted him to launch his long-shot campaign to unseat Attorney General Austin Knudsen and he is quick to rattle off stories of what he sees as partisan overreaching by Knudsen. Back in 2021, for example, Knudsen sent Montana Highway Patrol officers to question hospital officials about their unwillingness to prescribe Ivermectin to a Covid patient. The hospital later complained it amounted to harassment, but the Department of Justice said...
The Montana Newspaper Association surveyed candidates for the state legislature, Public Service Commission and statewide offices about their positions on government accountability, transparency and the right to know. Of 281 candidates receiving survey, 111 responded, or about 40%. Among respondents -including Republicans, Democrats, and Independents, from Butte to Wibaux-there is a consensus that the right to know is imperative for our state's democracy. While the low return...
On a Wednesday September evening in Whitefish, two men sat next to each other recording a live podcast in a crowded bar. On the left was Ryan Busse, the 54-year-old former firearms executive and Democratic candidate for governor of Montana, in a baseball cap and jeans. On the right sat Brian Schweitzer, the two-term Democratic governor of Montana from 2004 to 2012. While the men have similarities ― both in dress and ideology ― the political environments surrounding their bid...
The wheels of justice continue to turn slowly for Isaac Carrier's family as a set trial date for Sterling Brown, the second suspect charged in connection to the murder of the Fallon resident nearly two years ago, is still pending. In December of 2023, a trial for Brown was postponed for the second time after his representing attorney, Lance Jasper out of Missoula, filed a motion to delay the trial. Carrier was found deceased in his Fallon apartment following a fire on Jan....
Montana's major party candidates for U.S. Senate exchanged parting shots Monday in a final debate before in-person voting begins Oct 8. Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Tester characterized Republican Sheehy as a rich out-of-stater who would privatize health care while limiting abortion access. Sheehy said he wasn't lucky enough to be born in Montana because he "couldn't control where my mother's womb was when I crawled out of it." He repeatedly portrayed Tester as someone who has bee...
Montana lawmakers this month have trained a critical eye on funding for public schools, proposing new enhancements to the state's education funding formula and raising concerns about the handling of federal school funds by Montana's statewide education agency. The latter initially arose last week when state auditors in Helena presented legislators with a scathing report questioning the Montana Office of Public Instruction's handling of $67.5 million in federal money for...
Montana PBS will host a debate with Montana U.S. Senate candidates Jon Tester and Tim Sheehy at 7 p.m. Monday, Sept. 30. The one-hour debate will take place live in the Montana PBS studio on the Montana State University campus in Bozeman. It will feature incumbent U.S. Sen. Tester, a Democrat, and Sheehy, the Republican challenger, debating issues and answering questions from Montana PBS journalists John Twiggs and Anna Rau. There will not be a live audience in the studio during the debate. The format will allow Tester and...
In the second half of 2023, a secretive political action committee began running television ads against Republican U.S. Senate candidate Tim Sheehy. There were no details about who was funding Last Best Place PAC, how much money it had to spend, or who was working for the committee. The secrecy continued into the first quarter of this year when the Campaign Legal Center filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission about Last Best Place PAC's lack of disclosure. In...
It's fall and hunting season is upon us. Soon the mornings will be crisp and cold and the leaves will be turning. Under the Big Sky, this is the season many of us spend the whole year looking forward to. In the following forecasts, FWP outlines what hunters can expect for deer, elk and pronghorn seasons around the state. We also have a fairly in-depth upland game bird forecast. Along with this great information, we have some tips on being safe in bear country and the...
OTTER - Jim Gilliland sat at the kitchen table in his ranch house, sorting through the mess of papers strewn about before him. Promotional leaflets advertised soil rejuvenation services. Glossy flyers touted potential government assistance for fence reconstruction projects. Informational brochures offered access to livestock feed at reduced cost. Outside Gilliland's window, just 200 yards from his house, blackened ground marked the Remington Fire's farthest advance. The...
Eastern Plains Economic Development Corporation (EPEDC) recently announced a community grant award. By collaborating closely with Makoshika State Park, Friends of Makoshika, and the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation (RMEF), EPEDC successfully facilitated a grant from RMEF to support Makoshika State Park’s youth archery program. The Friends of Makoshika, in partnership with Makoshika State Park, have been awarded a generous $9,852 grant from RMEF. This crucial funding will be used to purchase essential equipment, including t...
Montana's two-day, youth-only deer hunt is coming up Oct. 17 and 18, and general deer season opens Oct. 26. Now is a good time to consider signing up for the Apprentice Hunter Program and the application is available on Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks' website at fwp.mt.gov/hunt/education/apprentice-hunter. The apprentice hunter program allows people ages 10 and older to hunt as apprentices with a mentor for two seasons without completing a Hunter Education course. People...
MILES CITY – The good news is that a very popular dinosaur fossil that was a fixture alongside one of Makoshika State Park's hiking trails has not been stolen, vandalized or damaged; rather, it has been excavated by Museum of the Rockies. It's a bit of a shock to visitors who have become accustomed to seeing the hadrosaur, or duck-billed dinosaur, vertebrae along the Diane Gabriel Trail. But its connection to the park will live on. The plan is for Museum of the Rockies to t...
The Montana Stockgrowers Foundation (MSF) is now accepting donations for its Wildfire Relief Fund which benefits Montana livestock producers affected by fires. Currently donations are focused on the Remington Fire in southeastern Montana, which as of Tuesday morning has grown to over 196,000 acres. In addition to financial support, which is the most immediate need, the Wildfire Relief Fund page also offers a form that can be filled out for in-kind donations like hay, feed, pasture, fencing supplies, etc. In-kind donation...
Mid-Rivers Telephone Cooperative, Inc., recently released a payment of capital credits to the cooperative’s members and patrons, with a capital credit retirement totaling $1,134,545.95. The 2024 retirement includes a portion of the 1996 patronage allocation and portion of the 2023 patronage allocation. Retirement and payment of capital credits is made only if the financial condition of the cooperative permits, as determined by the board of trustees. For the first time, Mid-Rivers was able to apply the retirement amounts as c...
For the second time in as many months, a state district court judge has sided with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks and hunting groups in a lawsuit over elk management. The dispute relates to a 2003 law directing Fish, Wildlife and Parks to manage elk "at or below" the sustainable populations established in the state's elk management plan. Two years ago, the United Property Owners of Montana, a membership-based nonprofit that promotes its members' business interests, sued FWP,...
