News you can use
News you can use
Sorted by date Results 1032 - 1056 of 2820
HELENA — A plan to simplify income taxes was endorsed in the Montana House on Thursday as lawmakers continued to advance plans aimed at reducing taxes. House Bill 581 would reduce the seven different rates that range from 1 percent to 6.9 percent, and replace them with three rates ranging from 1 percent to 6 percent. The measure would also abolish most state credits and deductions. It was endorsed in a 67-33 initial vote in the House, even though it would get rid of credits dealing with everything from adoption to energy e...
HELENA— Tavern owners faced off against craft brewers at the Capitol Tuesday, arguing the upstart competition has been allowed to unfairly flourish with too few restrictions. Both sides packed a state House Business and Labor Committee hearing looking at two bills. One brought by the tavern owners, House Bill 616, would put new licensing requirements on the brewing industry. The tavern owners argue some breweries have grown into full-scale retail establishments not envisioned by the original law that allows tasting rooms. A...
HELENA — A proposal to allow people to salvage roadkill for food is in the fast lane to the Montana governor's office after the state Senate gave its initial backing. The measure calls for law-enforcement officers to issue permits to remove the carcasses of elk, deer, antelope and moose off the state's roadways. An earlier version would have allowed fur-bearing animals, upland game birds and migratory game birds to be scraped up, too. Supporters say the measure would stop good game meat from going to waste. Opponents q...
BILLINGS (AP) — The chief executive of a Montana mining company urged shareholders on Wednesday to reject a takeover by a group that includes former Gov. Brian Schweitzer. Stillwater Mining CEO Frank McAllister said a takeover could hurt the company's growth at a time when it's well-positioned to profit from anticipated increases in platinum and palladium prices. The comments came as the state's largest publicly traded mining company kicked off a six-week campaign to stall the takeover bid ahead of a May 2 annual shareholders...
WILLISTON, N.D. (AP) — The suspect in the fatal shooting of another man outside a Williston bar over the weekend has been apprehended in Billings, Mont. Authorities say the Montana Highway Patrol arrested 46-year-old Jonathan Peter Horvath Monday afternoon. Rod Ostermiller, the U.S. Marshal's Service Chief Deputy for Montana, told the Williston Herald that Horvath was taken into custody after being spotted in a field west of Billings. Authorities say 28-year-old Derrick Siegel, of Williston, died at a hospital after the s...
HELENA (AP) — A measure allowing people to carry concealed firearms without a permit in Montana's cities and towns is a logical addition to state law, Rep. Krayton Kerns told a legislative panel Monday. The Laurel Republican said his "permit-less conceal carry bill" would give city dwellers the same privileges as rural residents, who already can carry a weapon underneath a coat without a permit. "Right now I can walk down Main Street Laurel and I can carry a gun in my hand. I can carry it in my briefcase. I can carry it in m...
BILLINGS (AP) — Some victims of asbestos exposure in northwestern Montana have asked a state judge to deny $4 million in fees and costs requested by attorneys in a legal settlement with chemical manufacturer W.R. Grace and Co. In letters submitted to state District Court Judge James Wheelis, about 20 people, including victims, said the money should instead be spent on medical care for those sickened by asbestos dust from a Grace mine near Libby. Three letter writers supported the fee request. Court officials said Monday t...
HELENA, — A secretive conservative group that targeted moderate Republicans in the last two Montana elections and caused an upheaval in the state's election laws has revealed its board of directors for the first time. Doug Lair, Geoff Goble and Peter MacKenzie submitted a legal document to state district court last month identifying themselves as American Tradition Partnership directors. The filing was in response to state attorneys' demand for proof that ATP's new attorney had the authorization to represent the group in a l...
HELENA — Employers would be prohibited from requesting the username and password of an applicant or employee's social media account under a measure presented Thursday to the House Business and Labor Committee. Bill sponsor Sen. Anders Blewett, D-Great Falls, said the proposal would fill a void in Montana law to prevent employers from requesting the "keys to someone's personal life" on social media websites such as Facebook and personal email accounts. In 2009, the city of Bozeman requested that potential employees r...
HELENA (AP) — Democrats are offering to pay for the damage caused when they pounded mugs on their Senate desks during last week's attempt to drown out a floor session. Legislative Services Executive Director Susan Fox says the scratches and ring marks on the desks are an easy fix that will likely be made after the session ends. Fox did not have an estimate of the cost. The legislative standoff began last Friday when Democrats announced they wanted to make a motion to halt proceedings because of one of their senators was a...
GREAT FALLS (AP) — A bill that would require student-athletes to be removed from play after they show signs of having a concussion is headed to Gov. Steve Bullock's desk. The Senate passed Senate Bill 112 on Thursday. It is named for Dylan Steigers, a former Missoula Sentinel star who died after suffering a concussion at an Eastern Oregon football practice. Democratic Sen. Anders Blewett, the bill's sponsor, tells the Great Falls Tribune he expects Bullock to sign the measure into law. "It was great to see the legislation p...
HELENA (AP) — Gov. Steve Bullock says he is open to modifying the proposal to take federal money in order to expand Medicaid to the working poor. Bullock talked about spending and other issues on Friday, as the Senate prepares to take up the state's main budget bill. Bullock says the fate of Medicaid expansion and many other priorities are still up in the air with about two weeks left in the session. The governor has sparred with Republicans over Medicaid expansion all session. One plan passed the Senate, but has since s...
HELENA — Senate debate on a relatively minor bill dealing with so-called "dark money" in politics is leading to another row in the Republican caucus. The issue has split Republicans all session after anonymous groups' spending in recent elections has helped fuel bitter GOP primary battles. The wound was re-opened Friday during debate on a bill to require a new disclaimer on materials sent by groups that don't disclose donors. Senate Majority Leader Art Wittich of Bozeman agitated some in his caucus by alleging a "crossover c...
HELENA (AP) — A $180 million state plan to build education and other buildings — including automotive-diesel technology building at Montana State University-Northern — in order to spur jobs is hitting a roadblock. The Senate Finance and Claims Committee agreed Wednesday in a bipartisan vote to table the plan. Chairman Rick Ripley of Wolf Creek says the bill was just too expensive. He says lawmakers need to start trimming priorities with just 15 days left to balance a budget. Gov. Steve Bullock wants to issue low-i...
HELENA (AP) — The state Board of Regents says it will agree to freeze tuition rates and reward schools for improving graduation rates if the2013 Legislature appropriates enough money to cover inflation and employee pay raises for the next two years. The regents on Thursday gave a unanimous voice vote in favor of the College Affordability Plan, or CAP — a deal negotiated with Gov. Steve Bullock and key legislators. The proposed "performance funding" would allow the regents to divide up about 5 percent of the system's sta...
BOZEMAN (AP) — A judge has found Bozeman police intentionally erased a portion of an audio recording made during a welfare check on a man who claims officers used excessive force against him. Soheil Jesse Verdi claims the officers caused him to fall and injure his skull when they used a stun gun against him in 2007. One of the officers was wearing a microphone. Attorneys for U.S. District Judge Richard Anderson agreed with Verdi in a ruling last month the segment was intentionally erased. The judge says he will instruct a j...
MISSOULA (AP) — Former U.S. Rep. Pat Williams has defended and repeated his contention that the University of Montana is recruiting "thugs" for its football team. The Democrat, who is now a member of the Board of Regents that oversees the Montana university system, first made his comments in a New York Times story on Thursday. Williams said university football players have been implicated in a spate of sexual assaults, vandalism and beatings. "The university has recruited thugs for its football team and this thuggery has g...
HELENA — A Montana lawmaker told colleagues Friday that students should be allowed to leave their guns locked in cars without fear of expulsion, a proposal opposed by those who argue the weapons have no place on school grounds. Republican Rep. Jerry O'Neil told the House Judiciary Committee that students sometimes inadvertently leave hunting rifles in their vehicles and shouldn't be punished for doing so. The Republican cited the 2010 suspension of a 16-year-old Columbia Falls student who left her hunting rifle in the t...
ST. ANTHONY, Idaho (AP) — Officials in Fremont County say two men who walked away from a Montana pre-release center were apprehended in southeastern Idaho while driving a pickup truck that had been reported stolen. The Idaho State Police says 22-year-old Jerron Michael Mitchell-Fuller of Glendive, Mont., and 29-year-old Christopher Lee Etheridge of Billings, Mont., were arrested early Thursday afternoon after a high-speed pursuit on U.S. Highway 20. Shortly before 11 a.m., the Idaho State Police was notified of two w...
MISSOULA (AP) — A Missoula police detective who investigates Internet sex crimes has filed a lawsuit against the police department alleging a female officer sexually harassed him. Missoula City Attorney Jim Nugent told the Missoulian (http://bit.ly/WNfB1Z ) the state Human Rights Bureau denied Detective Chris Shermer's claim against Lt. Sandy Kosena. Nugent said the contact allegedly began when Shermer flipped off the lieutenant that same day. Shermer's lawsuit, filed Wednesday, alleges Kosena grabbed him on the left b...
BILLINGS — What happened to bear 726? That's the number researchers assigned to a collared grizzly bear that disappeared from an agricultural research station along the Montana-Idaho border. Citing the unsolved disappearance, environmentalists Thursday called for renewed efforts to find out if it was illegally killed and studies on whether the federal facility is harming the region's protected bears. Three weeks after the 392-pound male grizzly was last located, its tracking collar was found roughly a mile away. It had b...
HELENA (AP) — The Montana House has rejected a proposal aimed at stopping people from bringing their own beer and wine into restaurants that don't have liquor licenses. House Bill 405 by Republican Rep. Roger A. Hagan of Great Falls would have made it a punishable crime for a restaurant without a liquor license to allow patrons to bring their own alcohol to consume on the premises. Hagan argued the activity is supposed to be illegal under current liquor license laws, but local officials have found it to be vague and u...
HELENA, — Gov. Steve Bullock is ramping up the pressure on lawmakers by taking his Medicaid expansion request, one of the legislative session's bigger issues, straight to his constituents. Bullock has been touring the state selling his proposal, and he pitched it Thursday to the Helena Chamber of Commerce. Access Health Montana would use federal money allotted in the federal health care bill to expand Medicaid to as many as 70,000 Montanans. The plan needs legislative approval. The Democrat argues the influx of federal m...
HELENA (AP) — Former U.S. Rep. Denny Rehberg is ruling out another political run as he leaves Congress after 12 years. Rehberg said Thursday on a radio program that he won't run for office again. Rehberg said on the Northern Broadcasting Network's "Voices of Montana" that he has had a good run and now plans to return to his Billings-area ranch that his wife has been running. The Republican lost his bid in November to replace Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Tester. Republican businessman Steve Daines will be sworn in Thursday to r...
HELENA — Federal prosecutors say two Montana hospitals will pay $3.95 million to settle allegations they gave doctors incentive payments for patient referrals. The hospitals received reimbursements for those payments through Medicare, which is prohibited. The settlement released Wednesday by the U.S. Department of Justice involves payments by St. Vincent Healthcare in Billings and Holy Rosary Healthcare in Miles City between 2003 and 2010. The hospitals are operated by Denver-based Sisters of Charity Leavenworth Health S...
