Author: Reilly Lowery

U.S. Senator Steve Daines today announced that USDA will be providing $19 billion in assistance for farmers and ranchers hurting from challenging market conditions due to the Coronavirus pandemic through the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP). Part of the funding will go to help Montana’s cattle producers who have seen a drastic decline in cattle markets during the pandemic. This follows Daines’ request earlier this month to USDA Secretary Perdue urging immediate action for Montana’s ranchers. “Montana farmers and ranchers drive our economy and feed not only America, but the world,” Daines said. “During this Coronavirus pandemic, the hardworking folks

Montana received a funding boost from the Centers for Disease Control on Thursday to enhance its testing capabilities as it prepares for a phased reopening and works to reboot its economy. Sens. Jon Tester and Steve Daines said the state will receive $5 million in funding earmarked for enhanced contact tracing and testing, and to protect vulnerable populations and high risk individuals. Gov. Steve Bullock laid out his plans for the phased approach this week. The state’s stay-at-home order will expire Sunday and some Main Street businesses will reopen on Monday. Others will follow shortly after. At the University of

The Center for Translational Medicine at the University of Montana recently received a $2.5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to identify and advance a COVID 19 vaccine. Montana Senator Steve Daines visited the campus on Thursday and received a tour of the center and spoke to the researchers about the effort to find a COVID 19 vaccine. “I had an outstanding brief from the scientists at the University of Montana who are doing cutting edge research on developing a vaccine for COVID 19,” said Daines. “To think that some of the best research and the best scientists

Researchers at the University of Montana are working to develop a COVID-19 vaccine with the help of a $2.5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health. The University of Montana has become a leader in vaccine development, ever since a team led by Jay Evans joined UM in 2016, after pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline downsized its operations in Hamilton, and the research team moved to Missoula. Evans and his team at UM’s Center for Translational Medicine began working on the vaccine after being contacted by the NIH in February, prompting them to get to work on COVID-19 research while the federal grant