Category: News Article

Montana Public Radio: Daines: US – China Beef Agreement Nearing Resolution

U.S. Senator Steve Daines says he thinks American beef is almost back on the menu in China.   “We’re now engaged at the highest levels in their government and telling them this is a very important issue for the United States,” Daines says.   Last September, China announced it was ending its 13-year ban on U.S. beef imports after a 2003 Mad Cow disease scare in Washington State. Since then, trade reps have been working on an agreement that would get U.S. beef back in Chinese markets.    Daines, Montana’s Republican Senator, says he thinks the final details are about

KBZK: Sen. Daines sees New Markets Tax Credit Program working at Universal Athletics

BOZEMAN -Senator Steve Daines toured the new Universal Athletics headquarters Monday, a new facility in Midtown Bozeman, that was made possible through the New Markets Tax Credit Program.   Universal Athletics is the third business that the New Markets Tax Credit Program, or NMTC along with the Montana and Idaho Community Development Corporation has financed in Bozeman. Universal Athletics was originally located on East Main in downtown Bozeman, but as the company expanded they were running out of room. Instead of having to move to a location where the costs would be lower, NMTC allowed universal athletics the opportunity to

KBZK: Daines asks TSA to approve GPIA X-ray machine request

U.S. Senator Steve Daines (R-MT) is urging the Transportation Security Administration to fulfill Glacier Park International Airport’s request for a third X-ray machine. Nearly 500,000 passengers flew in and out of GPIA in 2016 as the airport say a record number of travelers fifth consecutive year. Also, all-time monthly passenger records were set in 10 of the 12 months for the airport last year. Sen. Daines noted the spike in tourism across the region and notable ridership through GPIA in a letter to the TSA. “G-P-I provides reliable air service for nearly 250-thousand passengers per year, enabling economic growth and allowing thousands of

Missoulian: Zinke halts plan to transfer National Bison Range to tribal control

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has reversed course on plans to hand management of the National Bison Range to the Bureau of Indian Affairs.   His move casts doubt on the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes’ plans to take control of the wildlife sanctuary in the middle of the Flathead Indian Reservation.   Saying he was committed to not selling or transferring public land, Zinke said Wednesday that the tribes “would play a pivotal role in our discussions about the best path forward.”   “I took a hard look at the current proposal suggesting a new direction for the National Bison

Billings Gazette: Yellowstone investigation finds inappropriate conduct toward female workers

Federal investigators say there is credible evidence of unwelcome conduct toward female workers in Yellowstone National Park. Alcohol, inappropriate contact and remarks that female employees said made them feel “uncomfortable and degraded” were revealed during a seven-month investigation into Yellowstone’s maintenance division. The report was issued Wednesday by Interior’s inspector general, who concluded that harassing workplace behavior by male employees had gone on for years because of actions or inactions of men in charge of the maintenance division. “We found credible evidence that male supervisors and staff in the Maintenance Division unit created a work environment that included unwelcome and

Billings Gazette: Daines secures national parks week

National parks will get a week of observance this month, a gesture U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., said should raise awareness later about needed park maintenance. During last year’s centennial of the National Parks Service, roughly 331 million visitors went to national parks. Yellowstone National Park recorded 4.2 million visits. Glacier National Park reported nearly 3 million visits. “They truly are something that sets America apart. It’s part of our national heritage, as Americans,” Daines said. “We’re known for our national parks.” Daines said the Senate’s unanimous vote to recognize national parks for the week beginning April 15 was a

Billings Gazette: Daines bill would make sure those who buy federal buildings can maintain them

Inspired by the bizarre tale of Billings’ once-blighted federal courthouse, the U.S. Senate will consider raising the standards for who can bid on abandoned federal buildings.   U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., wants the government to make sure buyers of federal property have the resources to clean up the buildings and keep them from turning into eyesores or health hazards that communities are eventually stuck with.   Daines had Billings’ federal courthouse in mind when he introduced his bill Friday. The federal government sold the old James F. Battin Federal Building at auction was in 2013. The federal government was

Billings Gazette: Tester, Daines say no more Syria bombings without Senate approval

Montana’s congressional delegation is cautioning President Donald Trump not to proceed with any more Syrian bombings without Senate approval. U.S. Sens. Jon Tester and Steve Daines say they didn’t oppose Thursday night’s bombings but think it’s time Congress update the Authorization for Use of Military Force, which addresses military action in Afghanistan and Iraq but not Syria. The attack against a Syrian air base was the first U.S. assault against the government of President Bashar al-Assad. The lawmakers issued statements about the bombing after participating in a confidential, all-Senate briefing by the Trump administration. “Before further military intervention in Syria

Ravalli Republic: Lead versus non-lead bullets: Demonstration to provide insights of the differences between the two

Any hunter worth his salt wants to know the animal he shoots won’t suffer. For that reason alone, many sportsmen have been hesitant to change from lead bullets to another alternative. On Sunday, at the MPG Ranch in Florence, hunters will have a chance to see first hand what happens to lead and copper bullets when they strike an animal. The two wildlife biologists offering the demonstration say it will offer a whole other view to what’s become a controversial issue in some quarters. Leland Brown and Chris Parish are lifelong hunters who have been taken their demonstration to a

Washington Post: Senate Republicans go ‘nuclear,’ pave the way for Gorsuch confirmation to Supreme Court

Republicans on Thursday cleared the way for Judge Neil Gorsuch to be confirmed to the U.S. Supreme Court, overcoming a historic Democratic blockade by changing the rules of the U.S. Senate — a move that highlighted the fierce partisanship that has seized Congress.  The long-anticipated rules change now means that all presidential nominees for executive branch positions and the federal courts need only a simple-majority vote to be confirmed by senators.  The GOP decision to ram through the rules change is also likely to further divide an increasingly partisan Senate. Several senators openly fretted that eliminating the minority party’s right