Category: News Article

Amtrak has announced it will reduce service on its long-distance trains including The Empire Builder that runs along Montana’s Hi-Line en route from Chicago to Portland and Seattle. Amtrak plans to reduce long-distance services to three days a week starting Oct. 1. “Due to the long-term impact of COVID-19 on ridership, Amtrak has made the decision to operate with reduced capacity through Fiscal Year 21,” Amtrak Government Affairs and Corporate Communications Public Relations Manager Marc Magliari said. He said Amtrak’s goal is to restore daily service on these routes as demand warrants, potentially by the summer of 2021. Amtrak Executive

Once again public lands brought a divided government together. We saw this last week as I helped bring my colleagues from both sides of the aisle together to pass the bipartisan “Great American Outdoors Act” out of the U.S. Senate. This is one of the greatest conservation victories in fifty years, and the strong, bipartisan support we saw in the Senate last week shows that even during some of the starkest political divides in our nation, we can come together to do what’s right. As a fifth-generation Montanan, I know how important protecting our public lands is to our way

BILLINGS — U.S. Sen. Steve Daines is making another push to preserve affiliated professional baseball in Montana. Daines, a Montana Republican, introduced the “Support Baseball in Communities Act” on Thursday in Washington, D.C. The bill would deem Major League Baseball teams ineligible to participate or benefit from the Paycheck Protection Program or emergency lending programs within Title IV of the CARES Act if it moves forward with plans to reduce the number of minor league franchises across the country. The 30-year Professional Baseball Agreement expires in September, and representatives from Major League Baseball and Minor League Baseball have held off-and-on negotiations

Montana businesses have received more than $1.75 billion in mostly no-payback federal loans from the Paycheck Protection Program, according to figures released this week. The U.S. Small Business Administration reported Monday that 22,583 loans had been issued to Montana businesses. The program is by far the largest source of small business assistance offered by the federal government in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. By comparison, the state government received $1.25 billion to cover COVID-19 expenses, including expenses of local governments. “Montana certainly took advantage of that program,” said Brent Donnelly, Montana district director of the U.S. Small Business Administration. “As

Montana Republican Sen. Steve Daines will introduce legislation today to remove a potential roadblock to forest management projects on federal land. Daines’ bill would remove a requirement — imposed as a result of a lawsuit five years ago — that the Forest Service consult with the Fish and Wildlife Service on land management plans when “new information” emerges about potential effects on endangered species. In practice, the requirement means the Forest Service must reconsult with the Fish and Wildlife Service on forest management plans that have often been in place for years, even when a specific project isn’t in question. That takes

The U.S. Senate Indian Affairs Committee held its first hearing Wednesday on the Montana Water Rights Protection Act. The legislation would settle long-disputed water rights claims of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes. The bill would prevent costly litigation over thousands of water rights claims filed by the tribes, and would fund the rehabilitation of the Flathead Indian Irrigation Project. Montana Republican Sen. Steve Daines spent much of his time during the hearing asking U.S. Department of Interior Assistant Secretary Tim Petty about whether the department supported the bill. Petty said the department supports the bill over costly litigation, but

Republican Sen. Steve Daines of Montana introduced legislation Monday that would impose stiffer fines for landing unauthorized aerial vehicles in national forest wilderness areas. The proposal comes after Samuel Schwerin, 48, landed a helicopter last month in the Bob Marshall Wilderness in northwest Montana. A horseback rider alerted the Forest Service after seeing the helicopter parked alongside the Flathead River, according to a Justice Department news release. “Wilderness areas were created to be free of motorized activity, including helicopters,” U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said. The pilot was charged the maximum fine of $500. Daines’ bill, S. 4028, would raise the maximum

Montana’s U.S. senators announced that $1 million in federal funding is on the way to the state to to help communities combat meth use and trafficking in Montana. Sens. Jon Tester, D- Mont., and Steve Daines, R-Mont., announced that a $1 million U.S. Department of Justice grant was awarded to the state. The grant is from the Community-Oriented Policing Service — COPS — Anti-Meth Task Force funding, awarded will help stem the flow of meth and other dangerous drugs into Montana communities and help local officials prevent the manufacture of dangerous drugs in across the state. “Meth use is a serious problem

BOZEMAN- A new veterans Community-Based Outpatient Clinic will replace the existing VA clinic in Bozeman.  The new 12,000 square foot facility will be twice the size of the former location and will offer primary care, behavioral health, laboratory and telehealth services to veterans. Both senators from Montana, Senator Tester and Senator Daines, were involved in helping to open the facility. “I’m excited to announce that Bozeman is on track to receive a new, state-of-the-art facility to serve veterans in the area,” Tester said via press release, “I look forward to the completion of this new clinic, which will provide a wide-range of