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Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Mont., has resigned as a delegate to the Republican National Convention over the GOP's position on the transfer of federal lands to states. Zinke told The (Billings) Gazette that he still plans to give a speech Monday to the convention about national security. But he says he's withdrawing as a delegate because the GOP platform is "more divisive than uniting." The party's platform committee this past week endorsed draft language that calls on Congress to pass legislation that would shift some federally...
1 states sue over restrooms transgender students can use LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Ten states sued the federal government Friday over rules requiring public schools to allow transgender students to use restrooms conforming to their gender identity, joining a dozen other states in the latest fight over LGBT rights. The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Nebraska and included nine other states: Arkansas, Kansas, Michigan, Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota and Wyoming. The filing comes after 11 states s... Full story
GREAT FALLS — A former member of the Chippewa Cree Tribal Council has pleaded guilty to embezzling money from the tribe and failing to pay income taxes for several years. The plea agreement calls for Brian Kelly Eagleman to pay $683,000 in restitution to the tribe and the Internal Revenue Service, according to federal court records. Eagleman, 53, pleaded guilty Thursday in U.S. District Court in Great Falls to embezzlement from an Indian tribal organization, theft from an Indian tribal organization and income tax evasion. H... Full story
KALISPELL (AP) — Montana authorities say a grizzly bear has killed a person in the Flathead National Forest just outside Glacier National Park. Flathead County Sheriff Chuck Curry tells the Flathead Beacon (http://bit.ly/29dSG1Y) the person was killed Wednesday afternoon about a mile from the West Glacier KOA campground. He did not identify the person killed or provide details about the circumstances surrounding the death. Curry says authorities are looking for the bear. Neither the sheriff nor a spokesman for Montana F...
HELENA — Former Montana Sen. Conrad Burns, a former cattle auctioneer whose folksy demeanor and political acumen earned him three terms and the bitter disdain of his opponents, died Thursday. He was 81. Burns died of natural causes at his home in Billings, Montana Republican Party Executive Director Jeff Essmann said. "He was a colorful figure who loved people, politics and to serve," Essmann said. "He brought a common-man, common-sense approach to his work in the Senate and returned to his home in Billings when his work was...
HELENA (AP) — Former Montana Sen. Conrad Burns, a former cattle auctioneer whose folksy demeanor and political acumen earned him three terms and the bitter disdain of his opponents, has died. He was 81 Montana Republican Party Chairman Jeff Essmann says Burns died Thursday afternoon of natural causes at his home in Billings. Burns defeated two-term U.S. Sen. John Melcher in 1988 and rose to one of the most influential positions in Washington. The Republican used his influence on the Appropriations Committee to set the c... Full story
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Four tank cars leaked an estimated 35,000 gallons of oil after a train hauling fuel from North Dakota derailed in rural northeastern Montana, authorities said. The spill marked the latest in a series of wrecks across the U.S. and Canada that have highlighted the safety risks of moving crude by rail. No one was reported injured in the accident Thursday night that triggered the evacuation of about a dozen homes and a camp for oil field workers, according to state and local officials. It comes after r...
BARRY WILNER AP Pro Football Writer GLENDALE, Ariz. — Ten years removed from his last Super Bowl win, Tom Brady wasn't letting this one slip away. Sure, the brilliant Brady needed a huge play by an undrafted rookie to preserve New England's 28-24 Super Bowl victory over Seattle on Sunday night. But Brady's imprint was all over the Patriots' sensational fourth-quarter rally for their fourth NFL championship of the Brady-Bill Belichick era. "You know, whatever it takes," the r...
HELENA — A Republican state lawmaker has agreed to pay a $4,000 fine and not run for public officer for four years to settle a lawsuit that accuses him of breaking campaign finance laws. The agreement with Rep. Mike Miller of Helmville was filed in District Court in Helena on Friday. Commissioner of Political Practices Jonathan Motl filed a civil action against Miller and eight other Republican legislative candidates stemming from the 2010 primary election campaign. Motl says the candidates coordinated with and took i... Full story
ILLINGS — Federal regulators on Friday ordered a pipeline company to make major upgrades to a line that spilled almost 40,000 gallons of oil into Montana's Yellowstone River and fouled a local water supply. The order comes after Bridger Pipeline of Casper, Wyoming, announced plans to bury its line deeper beneath the Yellowstone to protect against future accidents. The Department of Transportation order would make that improvement mandatory and require identical action where the line runs beneath the Poplar River in n... Full story
HELENA — Montana government agencies would be barred from going after a reporter's sources or information through companies like Google under legislation proposed in a House committee Thursday. Republican Rep. Daniel Zolnikov of Billings introduced the measure in the House Judiciary Committee. He said while Montana has one of the best media shield laws, his bill would close an electronic communications loophole. "My bill does not change existing law, but adds to it based on a new age of digital communications," he said. T... Full story
HELENA — Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock's latest plan to accept federal money to expand Medicaid coverage has been formally introduced. Bullock announced the measure called the Healthy Montana Plan with sponsor Rep. Pat Noonan at the Capitol on Monday. Under House Bill 249, people earning 138 percent or less of the federal poverty level would qualify to receive Medicaid. Adults making up to $16,105 per year and a family of four earning up to $32,913 would qualify under the bill. Republicans rejected the expansion in the 2... Full story
BILLINGS — Montana officials said Sunday that an oil pipeline breach spilled about 50,000 gallons of oil into the Yellowstone River near Glendive, Montana, but they said they are unaware of any threats to public safety or health. The Bridger Pipeline Co. spill occurred Saturday night, said Dave Parker, a spokesman for Gov. Steve Bullock. The initial estimate is that 1,200 barrels of oil spilled, which is about 50,000 gallons, he said. Some of the oil did get into the water, but the area where it spilled was frozen over and t... Full story
HELENA — Montana lawmakers said at the opening of the legislative session Monday that they will work together and show respect for one another during the 2015 legislative session after a contentious session in 2013. House Republicans and Democrats elected as the new House speaker Rep. Austin Knudsen, a 33-year-old lawyer from Culbertson. Knudsen said he looks forward to a productive session. "We here in this body can disagree without being disagreeable," he said. Knudson also told members of the House his role is not one o... Full story
GREAT FALLS (AP) — The Chippewa Cree Tribe is being required to pay up front for work on a $361 million water project after several tribal officials and companies were convicted on corruption charges related to the project, according to a federal official and the head of the tribal corporation building the project. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation typically would release money annually for federally-funded projects such as the pipeline on Montana's Rocky Boy's Indian Reservation. That changed about eight months ago in r... Full story
BILLINGS (AP) — Gov. Steve Bullock said Friday that Montana can meet the Obama administration's goal of reducing climate pollution while protecting energy-related jobs and avoiding the closure of coal plants that generate the bulk of the state's emissions. The White House plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions 30 percent from 2005 levels by 2030 has generated a backlash in many coal-dependent states. Republicans in Montana have sought to capitalize on the issue ahead of November's election, asserting the climate plan amounts t... Full story
HELENA - A delegation from Montana's Crow Tribe met with Israeli ambassador Ron Dermer back in March to present him with a resolution affirming Israel's right to exist and offer support from one nation that has fought to hold on to its territory to another one. A photograph shows the group crammed in the Washington office of U.S. Rep. Steve Daines, with the Bozeman Republican beaming over the unlikely gathering. The meeting illustrates the steps Daines has taken to win the...
PARIS — Diplomats from around the world pledged to fight Islamic State militants “by any means necessary” as Iraq asked allies to thwart the extremists wherever they find sanctuary. Iran and the United States ruled out coordinating with each other, leaving Baghdad’s government caught between two powerful and antagonistic allies. Neither Iran nor Syria, which together share most of Iraq’s borders, was invited to the international conference in Paris, which opened as a pair of French reconnaissance jets took off over Iraqi ski...
2 former BLM employees charged with fraud BILLINGS (AP) — Two former Bureau of Land Management employees in Virginia are charged with defrauding the government, one by abandoning his federal job and returning to Montana to work for the Chippewa Cree Tribe and the other by covering up his absence. Larry Ray Denny, of Box Elder, and John Grimson Lyon, of Clifton, Virginia, pleaded not guilty to wire fraud, false claims and theft of government property during recent arraignments in U.S. District Court in Great Falls, The B... Full story
HELENA — A Montana county attorney's office will change the way it responds to reports of sexual assaults under an agreement announced Tuesday that ends a federal investigation into whether gender bias played a role in deciding whether to prosecute rape cases. The changes by the Missoula County Attorney's Office will include training prosecutors, treating assault victims better, boosting investigation techniques and improving data tracking, communication and coordination, U.S. Department of Justice officials said. The a... Full story
HELENA — Republican candidates for Montana's open U.S. House seat took shots at one another Wednesday over their positions on abortion, gun rights, spending and health care in the final debate before Tuesday's primary elections. Many of the barbs were directed at former Sen. Ryan Zinke of Whitefish, who has raised more money than the four others contending for the GOP nomination. The debate in Kalispell included Zinke and: • State Sen. Elsie Arntzen of Billings • State Sen. Matt Rosendale of Glendive • Former state Sen. Co... Full story
BILLINGS (AP) - Montana is joining North Dakota and South Dakota as states that plan to curtail sage grouse hunting in response to a continued decline in the game bird's population. Montana wildlife commissioners on Thursday gave tentative approval to a proposal to cancel or scale back a two-month hunting season slated to open in September. Hunting advocates strongly oppose a closure, and Fish and Wildlife Commission Chairman Dan Vermillion says less drastic measures are... Full story
MISSOULA (AP) — More than 100 people carrying candles held a vigil Friday in the Montana city where a 17-year-old German exchange student was gunned down in a homeowner's garage. The gathering for Diren Dede brought scores of people to the Fort Missoula soccer fields, where balloons with German and American colors were displayed for the somber memorial. Dede was an all-state soccer player for Big Sky High School. He started playing soccer the day he arrived in Missoula in August and quickly made friends, said Kate Walker a... Full story
MISSOULA (AP) — The German consulate called for justice Wednesday after a homeowner fired four blasts from a shotgun into his garage, killing a 17-year-old exchange student who was inside. The investigation into the killing of Diren Dede of Hamburg should make clear that it is illegal to kill an unarmed juvenile just because he was trespassing, said Julia Reinhardt, spokeswoman for the consulate in San Francisco. "We consider what happened completely out of proportion to the probable risk," Reinhardt said. Dede's father, C... Full story
PORTLAND, Ore. — A voting rights lawsuit from members of three American Indian tribes in Montana — including tribes at Fort Belknap in Blaine County — will go forward after a federal judge rejected attempts by state and county officials to dismiss the case. Members of the Crow, Northern Cheyenne and Fort Belknap tribes want county officials to set up satellite voting offices to make up for the long distances they must travel to reach courthouses for early voting or late registration. Judge Donald Molloy said in a Wedne... Full story
