News you can use
News you can use
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Colleen Rast has run an ebay store out of the Kalispell area for more than a decade. It had grown enough that, when the economic downturn took her husband's job a few years ago, she turned Great Sky Gifts pro, for some more income. She has since hired two employees and rents a warehouse space to handle all her merchandise, but she fears that new tax laws gaining momentum in Washington could halt her business' growth. Montanans are some of the most fortunate Americans for many reasons, including the freedom from sales taxes. B...
Montana's federal lawmakers are starting a new push to pass a bill, which stalled in Congress last session, to help Montana's major industry — agriculture. "One in five Montana paychecks relies on our agriculture industry. Passing a full five-year Farm Bill will support our number one industry in Montana while helping reduce the deficit by $23 billion, " Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., said in a press release. "Reducing the deficit while supporting jobs is a win-win, and I'll keep working to make sure the Farm Bill works for M...
WASHINGTON — The Senate has voted to confirm Chuck Hagel to be the nation's next defense secretary. The vote Tuesday was 58-41, with four Republicans joining Democrats in backing President Barack Obama's nominee. The vote ended a contentious fight over the president's choice for his second-term national security team. Republicans opposed the former two-term Republican senator from Nebraska, casting him as out of the mainstream and overly critical of Israel. But Democrats stood together for Hagel, a twice-wounded Vietnam c...
A delegation of 18 Havreites, mostly Havre High students, were in Washington Monday to take part in a celebration of American unity. The group, brought together by HHS teacher John Ita, witnessed the formal swearing in of President Barack Obama for a second term. The students were attending the festivities not as a celebration of partisan victory but as a celebration of America and what it stands for. The 18 didn't know who was going to win the election when they signed up for the trip. The deadline to register was before...
An international committee again is working to expand operations of a border crossing north of Havre, trying to increase connections between Montana and its Hi-Line and the hot Alberta economy, including its massive energy operations. The Wild Horse Border Committee is organizing a request to expand hours of operations at the Port of Wild Horse north of Havre, with a major goal of setting a three-year pilot program of expanded hours instead of going year-by-year to set a longer period of summer hours. "We're not able, with...
DENVER (AP) — Imagine a political change favored by an overwhelming majority of voters but mostly ignored by politicians. That's what campaign finance activists in Colorado and Montana are facing these days. They're scratching their heads at why politicians aren't talking more about campaign finance just two months after voters in both states, by wide margins, approved a ballot measure calling for federal changes to limit campaign spending. Activists gathered in the Colorado Capitol basement Friday to remind politicians of t...
A Rocky Boy rancher testified in Washington Thursday about the need for Congress to give some disaster assistance to livestock producers. "We've had it all. We had the blizzard of 2010-2011 in which we lost numerous heads of livestock, and that following spring we had unprecedented rainfall events that actually completely changed the landscape of our ranch and neighboring ranches," LaSalle testified before the Senate Agricultural Committee. "So we went from one extreme to the other within last year, and now we are at the...
A smile radiated from Sarah Laszloffy's face as she recited the oath of office on the floor of the Montana House of Representatives. At only 21 years of age, she became the youngest member of Montana's 63rd Legislature. "It was surreal," said the new Republican lawmaker from Laurel. "It's really humbling, and I can't believe that it's actually happening." Photo by Jacob Baynham/Community News Service, UM School of Journalism. Sara Laszloffy stands in hte Montana House on her first day in office. Laszloffy isn't the only...
HELENA — A measure aimed at undermining any potential federal ban on assault weapons was endorsed by the Montana Senate on Tuesday as it speeds toward the governor's desk. House Bill 302 would prohibit local authorities from enforcing any federal ban on certain semi-automatic weapons. Supporters argue it is needed to send a strong message to Congress that the state does not want such a ban. "I view this bill basically as pushback to the discussion in Washington, D.C.," said state Sen. Jennifer Fielder, R-Thompson Falls. "...
HELENA, Mont. (AP) — A Montana Supreme Court justice and a Billings district judge are being recommended to fill two open federal judgeships, U.S. Sen. Max Baucus' office said Monday. The Montana Democrat will recommend that District Judge Susan Watters take U.S. District Judge Richard Cebull's Billings seat and that Supreme Court Justice Brian Morris replace U.S. District Judge Sam Haddon of Great Falls. "Judge Watters and Justice Morris are exceptionally qualified and highly respected individuals who I have no doubt will s...
HELENA — U.S. Sen. Max Baucus is announcing priorities that include more help for jobless veterans, energy development and renewed focus on fixing the nation's debt. AP Photo/The Independent Record, Dylan Brown U.S. Sen. Max Baucus addresses the Montana Legislature Thursday afternoon,in the House Chambers in Helena. Baucus also says his New Year's resolution is to bring the troops home from Afghanistan after 11 years fighting in that country. Baucus spoke to the Montana Legislature on Thursday. The state's senior senator i...
HELENA (AP) — Former state Sen. Corey Stapleton says he will challenge Democratic U.S. Sen. Max Baucus in 2014. The Billings Republican announced his intention to run in a video on his website, www.coreystapleton.com . He says in the video that if elected, he will work to balance the budget and solve the nation's financial problems. Stapleton lost a bruising Republican primary for governor last year that was won by former U.S. Rep. Rick Hill. Hill went on to lose the general election against Democrat Steve Bullock. R...
"If a(n insurance) mandate was the solution, we could try that to solve homelessness by mandating everybody buy a house." — Sen. Barack Obama, 2007. Growing up in a Montana family of 14, my parents taught us most important life lessons. One lesson driven home repeatedly: If a deal sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Such is the Obamacare deal. Everybody will be forced to buy health insurance … and that will magically mean better health care. Obamacare's Medicaid component is particularly egregious for Montanans. The...
Seldom does one have the opportunity to heap praise on any part of the government or, for that matter, see it actually fix a problem. Last Tuesday, the National Park Service was that happy exception. The service released the revised contract for the next concession in Glacier National Park that assures the preservation of the Red Buses, just as acting Superintendent Kym Hall promised Jan. 30. As the task of preparing the revisions seemed to drag on, many of the hundreds throughout North America who were closely following...
NYE — Shareholders of Montana's largest public company elected former Gov. Brian Schweitzer and three other outsiders to Stillwater Mining Co.'s board Thursday after alleging mismanagement by the current directors. But the shareholders also re-elected four current board members, including CEO Frank McAllister, meaning the two sides now have even numbers and will be forced to work together after an acrimonious struggle for control of the company. AP Photo/Matthew Brown This photo shows Stillwater Mining Co. Chairman and C...
Due to an apparent glitch in planning or communication, a public appearance today in Havre by the newest member of Montana's congressional delegation has been canceled. U.S. Rep. Steve Daines, R-Mont., had been scheduled to make a public appearance at Devon Energy in Havre today while travelling from Glasgow to Choteau on his Natural Resources Tour of the state, but his press secretary told the Havre Daily News Tuesday that the public appearance had been canceled. Daines was scheduled to meet with representatives of NorVal...
Although, as President Barack Obama said, neither side of the aisle got everything they wanted as part of the deal, U.S. lawmakers gave a New Year's gift to their constituents, working Tuesday to pass a tax bill that will keep income taxes from going up on 99 percent of Americans. Lawmakers also dealt with issues ranging from alternative energy to the federal farm programs. See related story on Page A8. The holiday vote split the Montana congressional delegation, with Democratic Sens. Max Baucus and Jon Tester voting for the...
Democratic Congressional candidate Rob Stutz had six opponents when he attended Denise Juneau's announcement that she would run for re-election as superintendent of public instruction at noon Tuesday. By Tuesday night, he was at the Havre Daily News, talking to reporters about his race. "Now there are eight, maybe more are coming," he said. More people seem interested in jumping into the race for the Democratic nod to succeed Dennis Rehberg, who is running for the U. S. Senate. But Stutz is not focused on his opponents in...
In two responses released Tuesday after President Barack Obama's State of the Union address, Montana lawmakers called for approval of the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline. Rep. Denny Rehberg, R-Mont., listed Obama's denial of a permit for the pipeline as an example of failed big-government policy. "They see higher taxes as the only way to reduce the deficit because spending less isn't even an option, " Rehberg said in his release. "This approach hasn't worked, and it's time for a new direction. What we need is true...
Montana's senior senator announced that today he will hold the first meeting of a special committee tasked with extending benefits that are hoped to help with the economic recovery. Democratic Sen. Max Baucus, who chairs the Senate Finance Committee, released an advisory Monday saying that the conference committee on payroll tax deductions, which he co-chairs with House Ways and Means Committee Chair Rep. Dave Camp, R-Mich., would meet today at 12:30 p. m. "Each member of this conference committee will bring a unique set of...
Rep. Denny Rehberg said that if last year seemed like a tough time in Congress, it likely will be worse this year, handing the blame to the president and saying it is the policies and philosophies of President Barack Obama and of Montana's Democratic senators that led him to run against first-term Sen. Jon Tester, this year. Rehberg said Friday that people ask him why he is giving up seniority, chairing an appropriations subcommittee and what is perceived to be a secure house seat to challenge Tester in the Senate. "I say, 'B...
Montana's U.S. senators have been busy in their time back in session after the election and say are ready to work to resolve the budget problems and avoid the nation falling off the "fiscal cliff." Senior Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont, has already done work on the issue in his position as chair of the Senate Finance Committee, and said he will work to make sure Montana is represented in the discussion. "The number one thing I hear from Montanans is get it done, and that's just what I'm working to do," Baucus said Wednesday. "Like a...
Montana State University-Northern is continuing to take steps ensuring its place among top national biodiesel researchers and producers. The U. S. Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration announced on Thursday a grant sending $647,748 to Northern "to support the North Central Montana Renewable Industry Initiative to commercialize green technology and create new high-skill, living-wage jobs. " The release says that the "project is expected to create 26 jobs and generate $90 million in private investment,...
Republicans and Democrats both tried to force President Barack Obama's hand on an oil pipeline planned to run through Montana, and succeeded. Obama Wednesday denied a permit for the Keystone XL Pipeline. Congress had tied to an extension of payroll tax reductions and unemployment insurance a requirement that a decision on the permit for the pipeline be made within 60 days. Obama said in a statement that the denial was not a judgement of the merits of the pipeline, but was due to the arbitrary deadline "insisted on by...
HELENA (AP) — Two Montana Democrats who could play a big role in the U.S. Senate's debate on gun control are not immediately closing the door on new restrictions. But U.S. Sens. Max Baucus and Jon Tester are taking a more cautious approach than some other pro-gun members of Congress who have expressed a willingness to bend on the issue. The two Democrats led a push in 2009 against early Obama administration discussions about reinstating the ban on what it considered to be assault-style weapons. Tester, who last month just won...
