Author: Reilly Lowery

  Rod Ostermiller is ready to hit the ground running. The 48-year-old Billings native officially took the reins as U.S. marshal for Montana on Wednesday, after being approved by the U.S. Senate and confirmed by President Donald Trump. A formal swearing in ceremony will likely take place in June. Hired onto the force at age 21, he’s worked his way up the ranks. “It’s a huge honor,” Ostermiller said in a recent interview. The post of U.S. marshal is a political appointment, and Ostermiller said it’s relatively rare to see someone like himself — a career deputy — be named to the

Marita Growing Thunder, 19, is sitting in the grass on a warm spring afternoon at the University of Montana campus in Missoula where she studies art. Growing up, she said, her mom was always talking about aunt Yvonne. “Everyday she’s like, ‘Oh that reminds me of what Yvonne used to do or she used to say all the time,’” Growing Thunder said. Yvonne was the family comedian. She made goofy faces, danced at pow-wows and got into little fights with her sisters. But then about ten years ago, Yvonne was beaten to death by her husband. “It was a closed

U.S. SENATE — This week, the U.S. Senate passed Senator Steve Daines’ bill to recognize May 5th as the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Native Women and Girls.  Daines introduced the legislation to honor the memory of Hanna Harris, a member of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe who was murdered in July 2013. The resolution commemorates the lives of all American Indian and Alaska Native women and girls who have gone missing or been murdered. “Tragically, Hanna Harris is just one of the many native women who go missing or are senselessly murdered,” said Daines. “We must do more to call attention to

Tariffs aren’t the only issue on the table when it comes to U.S.-China relations. That fact was a major takeaway from our recent trip to China, where we met with some of the country’s top business and political leaders. The United States has been a consistently dominant economic force in the world for over a century, but China is catching up. It isn’t the country it was as recently as five years ago. With a middle class of over 400 million, China is certainly past its days as a “developing” nation, although it prefers the world doesn’t see it for

Sen.  (R-Mont.) said Wednesday that his office in Missoula, Mont., had been vandalized. Daines tweeted that an investigation into the vandalism is underway. “It’s disturbing that folks have turned to vandalizing my Missoula office, but thankful my staff is safe. Law enforcement is currently investigating the situation and we are watching it closely,” Daines said on Twitter. The junior Montana senator also posted pictures of the damage, showing broken windows and shards of glass scattered across the office.  The Hill has reached out to Missoula law enforcement for updates on the case. 

A group of 41 Republican senators want President Trump to issue new regulations that would bar recipients of family planning grants from co-locating with an abortion clinic and promoting or referring clients for abortions. In a Monday letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, the senators called for an update to regulations governing Title X family planning grants, which are given to organizations that give reproductive healthcare to low-income families and expectant mothers. They say the agency’s current regulations undermine federal law that states federal funding cannot be used in programs in which abortion is a method of

The week of April 21 thru 29 marked National Parks Week, a time to celebrate the natural wonders and unique cultural heritage our parks protect and put on display. This year’s National Parks Week couldn’t come at a more opportune time – that’s because right now proposals in Congress to dedicate funding for deferred maintenance in the National Parks are gaining momentum. It is appearing likely that Congress will this year solve one of the most pressing issues affecting the future of our national parks. Deferred maintenance is a big problem for our parks. Currently there are thousands of scheduled