Category: News Article

For Col. Ron Allen, the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, “started like any other.” He was a captain at the time, working at the Pentagon. Now he’s the commander of the 341st Missile Wing at Malmstrom. That morning, he woke up at 6 a.m. as usual and headed to work. Not long after arriving, office chatter turned to the attack on the World Trade Center happening in New York City. “We all knew then our nation was under attack,” Allen said during a ceremony in the Malmstrom chapel Friday. But work continued at the Pentagon, and he was headed to

A bill to overturn a temporary ban on federal coal leases — while also giving state and local governments a bigger say in leasing — was approved Thursday by the House Natural Resources Committee. Western lawmakers have been demanding for months that federal officials end the coal-leasing ban, which Department of Interior officials imposed last spring while they tried to determine whether the public is getting a fair royalty payment on federal coal. U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Mont., authored the bill, which added a twist to the leasing ban debate by creating a royalty policy committee from which state, tribal and energy

WASHINGTON – A House panel approved legislation Thursday that would grant Montana’s Little Shell Tribe recognition by the federal government. The House Committee on Natural Resources voted 23-13 to approve legislation that includes the Little Shell federal recognition bill, bringing the tribe headquartered in Great Falls one step closer to receiving the designation it has spent more than 35 years trying to obtain. The Little Shell recognition was introduced by Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Mont. If the legislation is eventually signed into law, the Little Shell would become the last tribe in Montana to be federally recognized. Instead of being an

The Bitterroot Valley’s Sapphire Community Health Clinic has been awarded a $10,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The funding was announced by U.S. Senator Steve Daines of Montana this week. The funding is part of over a million dollars awarded to 17 Montana community health centers. Other centers included facilities in Billings, Livingston, Chinook, Miles City, Shelby and Hardin. The Sapphire health center is at 303 North 3rd Street in Hamilton and has recently added mental health services.  They also offer many medical services including: acute care for minor illnesses and injuries, urgent care, DOT

The Amtrak stop in Shelby will get $953,954 from the Federal Railroad Administration for safety improvements, Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., announced Wednesday. This project will upgrade two pedestrian and motor vehicle crossings in Shelby, by extending the existing Amtrak platform and installing fencing, signage, two quadrant gates and a wayside horn advance warning systems. The project is located along Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway’s east-west mainline with 45 to 50 BNSF freight trains and two Amtrak trains — the Empire Builder — operating through Shelby. “Improving the safety and reliability of Montana’s rail network is critical to connecting people

Seventeen community health centers in Montana will share $1,050,217 in grants from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., said Tuesday. Those centers include: •Billings: Yellowstone City-County Health Department: $92,615. •Helena: Lewis & Clark County: $46,032. •Missoula: Missoula County: $120,395. •Great Falls: Cascade County: $53,788. •Billings: Montana Migrant & Seasonal Farm Workers Council Inc.: $95,456. •Livingston: Community Health Partners Clinic: $57,015. •Butte: Butte-Silver Bow Primary Health Care Clinic, Inc: $76,071. •Libby: Lincoln County Community Health Center: $72,755. •Chinook: Sweet Medical Center Inc.: $19,893. •Miles City: Custer County Community Health Center Inc.: $55,774. •Cut Bank: Glacier Community Health Center Inc.: $80,566. •Havre: Bullhook Community Health Center Inc.: $86,546.

APGAR – A couple hundred people – including an Instagram star, a United States senator and three fake mountain goats – gathered on the shores of Lake McDonald on Thursday evening while a perfect day in Glacier National Park transformed into a different sort of beauty. As a ceiling of storm-threatening clouds moved over the valley and the lake kicked into big-wave action, Jacob W. Frank readied his camera on the balcony of the Village Inn at Apgar. Frank did not request that the crowd below on the rocky shoreline say “cheese,” but he did ask them to say “Happy

HELENA –U.S. Senators Jon Tester and Steve Daines are part of a bipartisan effort to overturn a recent rule change they say could cost Montana gunsmiths thousands of dollars. According to letters sent to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry by Republicans and Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, the concern is that anyone who modifies a firearm could be classified as a “manufacturer.” They would then have to register with the government as part of the International Traffic in Arms regulations and pay a $2,250 annual fee. Helena gunsmith Dennis Erhardt tells MTN News

Senator Steve Daines today announced $853,333 in funding for the Montana Manufacturing Extension Center (MMEC) for the next year and a half, which strengthens Montana small manufacturers through partnerships and guidance. “Manufacturing plays an integral role in supporting hardworking families across our state,” Daines stated. “Manufacturing jobs pay an average of 17 percent higher wages than non-manufacturing jobs and I’m proud to support funding to create more of these high-paying jobs.” In Montana, manufacturing plays a critical role in creating good-paying jobs:In 1996, there were 1,489 manufacturers in the state of Montana employing 22,500 people. In 2016, there are 2,841

As local business owners, organization leaders and local officials look to jumpstart the local economy, a group of commerce leaders got a chance to ask one of their two Senators in Congress for help bringing their issues to Washington, D.C. U.S. Senator Steve Daines, R-Mont., hosted a roundtable discussion on Thursday at the Lincoln County commissioners meeting room that focused on the local economy and the hopeful future envisioned by the stakeholders in attendance. More than 20 people squeezed into the county commissioner’s meeting room on Thursday afternoon. “What we saw here today was a wonderful cross section of the