News you can use
News you can use
Sorted by date Results 988 - 1012 of 2820
HELENA (AP) — House Republicans advanced a plan Thursday to end same-day voter registration that critics blame for long lines on Election Day, but supporters argue improves access to the voting booth. The measure, which cleared an initial 61-39 House vote on Thursday along party lines, would end voter registration the Friday before Election Day. Supporters of House Bill 30 argue the deadline provides ample time for voter registration, while freeing up county officials to deal with just traditional voters on Election Day. "Why...
HELENA (AP) — The state Senate has endorsed a bill that would criminalize the employment of illegal immigrants. House Bill 297 would suspend the license of a business that employs illegal immigrants and would allow the prosecution of whistleblowers who provide false reports of illegal labor. The bill passed an initial Senate vote Wednesday along party lines. It has already passed the House Republican Sen. Verdell Jackson of Kalispell says the measure would discourage illegal immigrants from taking Montanans' jobs, while p...
HELENA — The Montana Senate has wrapped up the final day of the 2013 session after more in-fighting and maneuvering over a bipartisan budget deal. The Senate approved the deal and adjourned Wednesday — but only after stalling for several hours over whether to accept the compromise bill passed earlier by House Republicans. The Senate's conservative faction ultimately backed off its attempt to block the last-minute deal. The conservative Senate leaders have been on the losing end of several major votes this session. Dem... Full story
HELENA — State health officials say there have been an unusually high number of outbreaks of gastroenteritis in Montana this year. The Department of Public Health & Human Services says 20 outbreaks have sickened nearly 500 people throughout the state, most in assisted living and nursing homes. The 20 outbreaks is more than twice the number usually reported by late April. Symptoms of gastroenteritis — commonly referred to as the stomach flu — include diarrhea, vomiting, nausea and stomach pain. Most individuals recover in on...
HELENA — Jared Yates spent 11 hours in the Capitol's windowless basement last Thursday, printing hundreds of copies of bills and amendments hours after the legislator parking lots cleared. "It's down and dirty, copies in and copies out," he said while squaring up a stack of papers hot off the press. "If it comes in here in the evening, it has to be ready for the next morning. That's just the way it is." Community News Service/Amy Sisk Kathy Baird, left, and Sandy Bradford work on the House rostrum keeping track of bills. His...
HELENA — Gov. Steve Bullock and the Montana Legislature moved closer Tuesday to an agreement on the remaining big pieces of the state budget and eyed an early adjournment. Bullock said a gap of only about $30 million remained between lawmakers considering the two-year, $10 billion spending plan. Both sides were working late to reach agreement on the priorities. Bullock was asking lawmakers for more funding for child protective service, prisons, and law enforcement in booming oil fields and other areas. He said more than $6 m...
MISSOULA (AP) — Former University of Montana wide receivers coach Shalon Jermaine Baker is facing charges alleging he assaulted his pregnant girlfriend. The Missoulian reports (http://bit.ly/15kVH6y ) Baker, of Missoula, was ordered held on $100,000 bail Thursday on charges including aggravated assault. Court documents say Baker's girlfriend told police the two argued on Thursday over whether he cheated on her. She says he strangled her and slapped her in the face. Baker was a receiver and punt returner for the Grizzlies f...
MISSOULA (AP) — A 49-year-old Missoula woman who police say was too drunk to stand when her vehicle was pulled over faces a sixth drunk driving charge. The Missoulian reports (http://bit.ly/12vclxR) that Jane Kae Louise Collins was charged Friday in Missoula County Justice Court. Police say Collins struck several parked vehicles Thursday morning while driving a GMC Yukon and was pulled over and arrested at about 6:30 a.m. Police say Collins was not able to perform a range of field maneuvers that include standing on one l...
HELENA — Even the architects of a surprising bipartisan House budget deal didn't expect the unprecedented unanimous vote from the chamber on Tuesday. "I had no idea in my wildest imagination," Republican Rep. Duane Ankney of Colstrip said after a 100-0 vote on a roughly $9 billion spending plan. "Wow," said Democratic Rep. Galen Hollenbaugh of Helena. The chamber broke into applause Tuesday morning after endorsing the budget in a little over an hour — a process has taken days in the past. There was no debate or dissent — alth...
HELENA (AP) — The Senate is backing a bill that reduces from five days to 24 hours the time hunters have to wait after purchasing a license to hunt black bears. Republican Sen. Fred Thomas of Stevensville says House Bill 278 would allow for consistency in the law by requiring the same waiting period to hunt bears as that for wolves. Opponents argued the measure would increase incidences of poaching. They point to a 1994 Fish, Wildlife and Parks study that concluded that Montanans preferred the five-day waiting period. Some 2... Full story
BILLINGS — A Lewistown judge said he fears he's done a "soul-wrenching injustice" to a man he freed from prison after more than 27 years, only to see him ordered back behind bars by a higher court. AP Photo/Matt Gouras, File In this Aug. 2, 2011 file photo, District Judge E. Wayne Phillips, right, speaks to witness Susan Mohler in Lewiston during a hearing in the case of Barry Beach. Phillips says he fears he did a "soul-wrenching injustice" to Beach, a man he freed from prison after 27 years, only to see the man ordered back...
WASHINGTON (AP) — A senior Democratic senator who helped write President Barack Obama's health care law stunned administration officials Wednesday, saying openly he thinks it's headed for a "train wreck" because of bumbling implementation. "I just see a huge train wreck coming down," Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., told Obama's health care chief during a routine budget hearing that suddenly turned tense. Baucus is the first top Democrat to publicly voice fears about the rollout of the new health care l...
HELENA — Bipartisan foes of so-called "dark money" behind many attack advertisements in politics are facing some opposition from traditional allies. AP Photo/Matt Gouras Republican State Sen. Jim Peterson discusses the plan he wrote with the governor to shed light on so-called "dark money" in politics at committee hearing on Thursday, in Helena. Republican state Sen. Jim Peterson and Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock are teaming up with a measure that aims to force more disclosure on third-party money in politics. They took t...
MISSOULA (AP) — Backers of a government-sponsored conservation effort to transplant Yellowstone National Park bison to Fort Peck and Fort Belknap Indian Reservations say a state judge erred in blocking the relocations because state law doesn't apply to moving bison on tribal lands. Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, Defenders of Wildlife and the National Wildlife Federation made the argument Friday to the Montana Supreme Court in an effort to have lifted a state judge's injunction last May preventing the bison relocations. The... Full story
WEST GLACIER (AP) — A Glacier National Park official says the annual battle to clear Going-to-the-Sun Road of snow has begun and progress is about equal with previous years. Spokeswoman Denise Germann tells the Missoulian (http://bit.ly/15bh9es) that crews started work the week of April 1 and have found below-average snowpack at elevations under 4,500 feet. But she says there is above average snowpack at elevations above 4,500 feet. The road that bisects the park is a major tourist draw, but clearing it of snow is a m... Full story
HELENA (AP) — A breakdown of the federal crackdown on marijuana trafficking by people operating under Montana's medical marijuana law. Time period 2010-2013 Investigations 3: Operation Smokejumper, Operation Weed Be Gone, Operation Noxious Weed People indicted 34 People convicted 33 Plea deals 31 Trials 2, both resulting in convictions Dismissals 1 Source: U.S. Attorney's Office. A look at the changes in the Montana pot industry The Associated Press HELENA (AP) — A look at how the number of Montana medical marijuana use... Full story
HELENA — If American society's tolerance for marijuana is now growing, then what happened in Montana illustrates just what can happen when the government decides things have gone too far. Pot advocates were running caravans, helping hundreds of residents in a day get medical marijuana user cards. Some doctors who conducted cursory exams on scores of people were fined. As the number of users quickly grew, so did a retail industry that led some to dub the state "Big High Country." AP Photo/Matt Volz Drug Enforcement Agent In C...
HELENA — It's white, frothy and enthusiasts say it's udderly healthy — but the sale of raw milk is illegal in Montana. That could change if state lawmakers pass House Bill 574, which would legalize the purchase of unpasteurized milk directly from small, unregulated dairies. Critics and state regulators say it could expose Montanans to serious illnesses. Supporters of the measure say it is very much in line with a growing movement that encourages locally grown organic food, farmer accountability and personal responsibility, an...
HELENA — Lawmakers filled the Capitol building this week, marking the beginning of Montana's 63rd Legislature. The 90-day session convenes under a new governor, Democrat Steve Bullock, who previously served as Montana's attorney general. Republicans control both houses of the Legislature – leaving the legislative and executive branches split between the parties, just as it was in 2011. GOP lawmakers outnumber Democrats 29-21 in the Senate and 61-39 in the House. Photo by Amy Sisk The Montana State Capitol will be the sce...
HELENA (AP) — A state judge has ruled that American Tradition Partnership violated Montana's state campaign-finance and election laws. Lee Newspapers of Montana reports that District Judge Jeff Sherlock of Helena on Friday ruled the group in 2008 acted as a political committee and must report its spending and donors. Sherlock cited the group's failure to turn over records requested by the court in making his decision. American Tradition Partnership claims tax-exempt status as a nonprofit social welfare organization that d...
GREAT FALLS (AP) — A late freeze last year that cut into hay production and a wet spring this year that is extending the hay-feeding season has resulted in a tight supply of hay and rising prices. The Great Falls Tribune reports (http://gftrib.com/16IX4Nf) that the average price for hay in Montana in April was $160 per ton. That's a 61 percent increase from a year ago. Montana ranchers say pastures aren't cut off by snow as they were last year, but the pastures aren't ready yet so hay is still being used. Rancher Shane C...
HELENA — Gov. Steve Bullock vetoed a measure Friday that he says would have allowed a way for anonymous political organizations to contribute to campaigns through religious groups. House Bill 217 would have exempted religious organizations from campaign finance reports. The measure would have given so-called "dark money" groups the opportunity to donate to campaigns through churches without any oversight or regulation, Bullock said in his veto letter. The Democratic governor also vetoed 11 other bills Friday, including one t...
HELENA, (AP) — Gov. Steve Bullock signed the Legislature's main budget bill Friday — but not after first using his line-item veto authority to strike a small portion of the spending. Bullock said in his line-item veto message that he needed to reduce spending. His office said the reductions cut about $30 million, roughly 0.4 percent of the two-year, $8 billion budget. House Bill 2 cleared the Legislature with the backing of minority Democrats and some Republicans. But Bullock said lawmakers did not stick to his goals of a s...
BILLINGS — Wolf hunting and trapping can resume near Yellowstone National Park after a Montana judge on Wednesday blocked the state from shutting down the practice. The restraining order from Judge Nels Swandal allows hunting and trapping to resume in areas east and west of the town of Gardiner. State officials closed the gray wolf season in those areas on Dec. 10 after several wolves collared for research were killed, drawing complaints from wildlife advocates. The closures prompted a lawsuit from sporting groups and a s...
HELENA — A sharply divided Montana Supreme Court has ruled that forcing a Hutterite religious colony to pay workers' compensation insurance for jobs outside the commune is not an unconstitutional intrusion into religion. The 4-3 decision upholds a 2009 law requiring religious organizations to carry workers' compensation insurance, which the Legislature passed after businesses complained they could not outbid the religious workers. The Big Sky Colony of Hutterites in northwestern Montana sued, saying the law targeted its r...
