News you can use
News you can use
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HELENA — Montana Republicans have voted to join a lawsuit seeking to limit their primary elections to those registered with the GOP. The Republican State Central Committee approved the motion by an 83-43 vote Saturday in Helena. They will join a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in September against the state and its open primaries. The lawsuit currently includes 10 Republican county central committees. It asks a federal judge to strike down as unconstitutional Montana laws allowing any registered voter to participate i... Full story
HELENA — More than 20 media groups, including The Associated Press, have asked a Montana court to hold the state House Republican Caucus in contempt for holding an unpublicized meeting in apparent violation of state open-meetings law. The Great Falls Tribune discovered the Nov. 13 Republican caucus meeting being held in the basement of a Helena hotel. The Tribune reported that about 50 lawmakers were discussing the 2015 legislative session. Montana party caucus meetings must be open to the public after courts ruled in 1998 t... Full story
HELENA — A federal judge in Montana has overturned the state's ban on gay marriage. U.S. District Judge Brian Morris ruled Wednesday that Montana's constitutional amendment limiting marriage to between a man and a woman violates the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in September that Idaho and Nevada's bans are unconstitutional. Montana is part of the 9th Circuit, and Morris cited the Circuit Court's opinion in his ruling. The move comes after f... Full story
HELENA (AP) — Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Amanda Curtis has posted her first and perhaps only television ad, a major accomplishment for a candidate who entered the race in mid-August with no money. The ad features Curtis meeting with Montanans and appealing to working families with her "one of us" message. "I come from a family that's a lot like most other Montana families," Curtis says. "And the reason that I've stepped up to the plate is the chance to be the voice for working families like mine." The ad started running... Full story
HELENA (AP) — Montana ranks fifth in the country for employment growth, but it faces slower growth in the future as many members of an aging workforce retire, state officials said Friday. The Department of Labor and Industry's Labor Day report shows the unemployment rate has dropped steadily since 2010. At 4.6 percent, it's now the 11th lowest in the nation. "Businesses have created more than 12,000 jobs in the first part of 2014, and that's truly a record-breaking pace for our state," Gov. Steve Bullock said in presenting t... Full story
HELENA (AP) — U.S. Sen. John Walsh of Montana said Thursday he is dropping his campaign for office amid allegations that he plagiarized large portions of a 2007 research project he wrote for a master's degree. In a statement to supporters, the former National Guard commander said he is leaving the race but will keep the seat he was appointed to until his term ends in January 2015, when the winner of November's election is sworn in. "I am ending my campaign so that I can focus on fulfilling the responsibility entrusted to m... Full story
HELENA — Leaders of the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians say the time has come to remove the words "halfbreed" and "breed" from the names of creeks, lakes and other places around the state. Nicholas Vrooman, who works with the tribe, presented a bill draft to that effect during a recent meeting with the State-Tribal Relations Committee. He says the words are racist terms that demean American Indians. The bill would require state and other agencies to identify places with the terms and remove them from maps and signs w... Full story
HELENA — This week largely has been about the numbers as candidates filed second-quarter fundraising reports and information came out about their personal assets. Here's a look at the week's most interesting and important developments in Montana's election campaigns: FOREST MANAGEMENT "MISUNDERSTANDING" Republican U.S. Rep. Steve Daines was one of more than two dozen representatives who signed a letter to House Speaker John Boehner last week urging him to reject proposals in the Senate that "address forest management p... Full story
HELENA, Mont. (AP) — This week, candidates have been busy introducing legislation and laying out their campaign platforms. Here's a look at the week's most interesting and important developments in Montana's election campaigns: BILLIONS FOR COAL: Democratic U.S. Sen. John Walsh, who is trying to keep the seat he was appointed to earlier this year, gave a lukewarm reception to President Barack Obama's plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from coal-fired power plants. Now he wants the federal government to spend at least $... Full story
HELENA — The candidates in Montana's U.S. Senate race traded jabs this week over campaign donations from politicians blocking the North Fork Watershed Protection Act. Here's a look at the week's most interesting and important developments in Montana's election campaigns. DAINES, WALSH SPAR OVER CAMPAIGN DONORS: Democratic U.S. Sen. John Walsh criticized his Republican opponent, U.S. Rep. Steve Daines, for fundraising with and taking campaign donations from U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pennsylvania, one of three senators who b... Full story
HELENA (AP) — Four gay couples are suing Montana over its constitutional ban on same-sex marriage. That leaves North Dakota and South Dakota as the only two states with gay marriage bans and no lawsuits seeking to overturn them. The Montana lawsuit was being filed Wednesday in federal court in Great Falls, with help from the Montana ACLU. It lists as plaintiffs four Montana couples who are either unmarried or were married outside the state. The lawsuit alleges the ban denies same-sex couples the freedom and dignity a... Full story
HELENA — Leaders of an American Indian tribe in Montana awaiting federal recognition say they are closer than ever to that goal. The Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians Council Chairman Gerald Gray spoke with Gov. Steve Bullock last week. Gray says recently proposed rule changes for recognizing American Indian tribes would put a nod from the U.S. government within their reach. Federal officials say the proposed rule changes are in the midst of a months-long finalization process. The landless tribe has been recognized by t... Full story
