Category: News Article

(KPAX) HELENA — Now that President Donald Trump has signed a $2.3 trillion COVID-19 relief and government funding package, Montana breweries and distilleries will receive some much-needed tax relief. The Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act was incorporated into the year-end legislative package. It makes a reduced tax rate on small brewers and distillers permanent, after it was initially approved for two years, then extended for one more. U.S. Sens. Jon Tester and Steve Daines both co-sponsored the bill and supported adding it to the spending deal. If the CBMTRA had not been passed, excise taxes on small breweries

BILLINGS — The last time we checked in with the Pub Station was back in May. They had already been shut down for two months because of the pandemic, and figured that financial help was on the way any time. It’s been seven months since then, and they still don’t have any money in their accounts – but they will soon. “What we accomplished nationally – what I read at least in the New York Times – I believe it was the biggest public investment in art in history,” said Pub Station co-owner Sean Lynch. The Save Our Stages provision

During the 2020 election, U.S. Senator Daines was hammered by detractors as beholden to insurance companies. Nothing could be further from the truth, as evidenced by a landmark insurance reform bill that passed last week, with Senator Daines as its foremost champion. While all eyes were watching the pandemic stimulus bill vote in the U.S. Senate on Monday, there was another significant bill that passed with little fanfare. The Competitive Health Insurance Reform Act (CHIRA) will remove antitrust exemptions from medical and dental insurance companies, and that change is expected to have a dramatic effect on insurance premiums in the

HELENA — Now that President Donald Trump has signed a $2.3 trillion COVID-19 relief and government funding package, Montana breweries and distilleries will receive some much-needed tax relief. The Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act was incorporated into the year-end legislative package. It makes a reduced tax rate on small brewers and distillers permanent, after it was initially approved for two years, then extended for one more. U.S. Sens. Jon Tester and Steve Daines both co-sponsored the bill and supported adding it to the spending deal. If the CBMTRA had not been passed, excise taxes on small breweries would

Who introduced you to hunting/shooting sports and at what age? As a fifth-generation Montanan, hunting has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. I started off shooting gophers in Montana when I was eight years old, with a Winchester .22. Describe your most recent hunting/shooting sports activity? With whom? Killed a nice buck antelope in October with my 6.5 PRC with 143g Hornady ELDX. Then helped my wife kill a very nice muley with the same gun, a month later. Describe your favorite shooting sport/hunting activity. Rifle hunting for antelope, deer, and elk in

President Donald Trump signed the bill that provides $900 billion in relief funds late Sunday night, saying that he will send a redlined version back to Congress with a formal rescission request to remove wasteful spending from the bill. “I want far less wasteful spending and more money going to the American people in the form of $2,000 checks per adult and $600 per child,” Trump said, adding, “I am signing this bill to restore unemployment benefits, stop evictions, provide rental assistance, add money for PPP, return our airline workers back to work, add substantially more money for vaccine distribution,

U.S. SENATE – U.S. Senators Steve Daines and Jon Tester celebrated their bipartisan bill, the “Montana Water Rights Protection Act,” being signed into law by President Trump. The bill permanently settles the century long CSKT water dispute, supports Montana jobs, modernizes rural infrastructure and protects the water rights of all Montanans.  “After years of a lot of effort, our bipartisan bill that settles the century long CSKT water dispute is now law,” Daines said. “This is a huge win for all Montanans. Our bill protects the water rights of all Montanans, savestaxpayer dollars, creates jobs, modernizes rural infrastructure, protects Montana agriculture and preventscostly litigation. I’m very glad I could play a direct role in getting this done, and I thank President

As the two approved COVID-19 vaccines roll out, their incredibly quick of development and production give us great hope the 2021 will bring the state, the country and the world some relief. It can’t come soon enough. One in one thousand Americans — at a minimum — have died of the virus in the past nine months, including more than 900 Montanans. Even as we navigate the bitter politics and division that led up to, and followed, last month’s election, one utterly apolitical thing must be pointed out: Montana’s newly re-elected senator, Steve Daines, has helped save lives, and is

A century-long debate over water rights in the state is nearing an end, providing certainty for farmers and ranchers in southwest Montana. The Montana Water Rights Protection Act passed the U.S. Congress this week as part of a major coronavirus relief and year-end appropriations package. It next needs President Donald Trump’s signature, which isn’t yet certain because he objected Tuesday to some of the package. It may have to return to Congress for revisions and another vote. Once the act becomes law, the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes will ratify it. The tribes will then relinquish thousands of water rights across the state, including

HELENA – Sen. Steve Daines and Sen. Jon Tester signed a bipartisan letter Wednesday to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to prioritize COVID-19 Telehealth Program funding in Montana and other rural states. According to an email from Sen. Daines’ office, Montana was one of three states that did not receive financial assistance for the program amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The following is the letter signed by Sen. Daines and Sen. Tester: