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BILLINGS, Mont. — A divided U.S. Supreme Court rules that religious schools in Montana can be eligible for a state scholarship program funded by tax credits. The court’s 5-4 decision ruled in favor of three Montana mothers in Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue. The three mothers, the plaintiffs in this case, applied for the state-funded scholarships to keep their children enrolled at Stillwater Christian School in Kalispell. Today’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling strikes down the Montana Constitution’s ban on state aid to religious schools. The ruling is a victory for parents, like Kendra Espinoza, who want to use these

The U.S. Supreme Court delivered a major victory Tuesday to parents seeking state aid for their children’s religious school education in a case that put Montana center stage. The court ruled 5-4 on Espinoza vs. the Montana Department of Revenue, in an opinion written by Chief Justice John Roberts, that states offering scholarships to students in private schools cannot exclude religious schools from such programs. The court stopped short of requiring states to fund religious education, ruling only that programs cannot differentiate between religious and secular private schools. “A state need not subsidize private education. But once a state decides

The U.S. Supreme Court was split as it declared Tuesday private religious schools can receive money from a Montana tax credit program, and people in the state were no less divided on hearing the news. The country’s high court said a rule written by the state Department of Revenue to implement a 2015 law was unconstitutional because it prohibited students from using a scholarship funded through a tax credit program for attending religious private schools. The department had argued if the money went to religious programs, it would violate a no-aid provision in the state Constitution that stops state money

Doug Benevento’s nomination as EPA’s deputy administrator, imperiled by Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst’s anger with the agency over ethanol standards, is receiving a quiet boost from Montana’s Senate delegation. Both Republican Sen. Steve Daines and Democratic Sen. Jon Tester say they have lobbied their colleagues who sit on the Environment and Public Works Committee to support Benevento’s nomination. “Senator Tester supports Benevento’s confirmation and is hopeful his fellow senators will support him,” said Tester’s communications director, Sarah Feldman. “He believes Montana will continue to benefit” from Benevento’s “responsiveness on Superfund.” Sen. Tom Carper of Delaware, ranking Democrat on the EPW

U.S. Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) on June 24 led a Republican bill that would remove the so-called Cottonwood decision, which the senator considers a roadblock to responsible forest management efforts on federal lands. “Even the Obama Administration agreed that the Cottonwood decision was flawed and crippled forest management,” Sen. Daines said last week. “This law has tied the hands of our land managers, prevented them from following the best available science in management decisions, and diverted resources for a paperwork exercise yielding no conservation benefit.” In 2015, the Ninth Circuit Court ruled in Cottonwood Environmental Law Center v. United States

Consistency is important especially when running a business but circumstances brought about by the pandemic have shifted the way people do business across our state. That holds true for the Sullivan family in Dixon. Right alongside the National Bison Range near Dixon sits the Sullivan family ranch. From the beginning, it’s been a family business. “When I met Chris, he had always wanted to do bison, and that sounded exciting to me. We started with just 20 young ones and built it into what we have today,” said Stacy Sullivan. Everything down to the logo was given careful thought and