In The News

Last month, Rep. Ryan Zinke requested funds to acquire new helicopters at Malmstrom Airforce Base. During that time in a House Armed Services Committee hearing, Zinke pressed Admiral Cecil Haney about the use of out-of-date Huey helos at Malmstrom. “From talking to folks on the ground [at Malmstrom] and looking at it, and I concur, these are aging helicopters as well as they don’t have the lift and capacity. If they do get an alert situation, they just don’t have the hover time for the distances in Montana and I assume, Minot,” Zinke saidd. “Congressman, absolutely,” Haney said. “The Air Force

It’s been just weeks since Zeesy Bruk was appointed the 2016 Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals Champion Child from the state of Montana. Yet already, the 5-year-old child of Rabbi Chaim and Chavie Bruk, co-directors of Chabad-Lubavitch of Montana, has been hailed by fans near and far, including U.S. Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.), who released a video statement in which he called her a “very special” and “very courageous” little girl. Since birth, Zeesy has battled a rare genetic metabolic disorder characterized by the deficiency of a protein required for glucose to cross the blood-brain barrier, something that was only recently diagnosed and is now

Members of the Montana congressional delegation are pressing the Air Force to make a decision regarding the planned replacement of the UH-1N Hueys flown at missile bases, including Malmstrom Air Force Base. Last week, Rep. Ryan Zinke sent a letter, with 14 other lawmakers, to the House Armed Services Committee and House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee requesting that funds be included in the fiscal year 2017 defense appropriations and authorization bills to replace the Hueys. The Hueys at Malmstrom are flown by the 40th Helicopter Squadron, which is part of Air Force Global Strike’s 582nd Helicopter Group. The group includes the

Hamilton’s Caitlin Gillespie has been appointed to the U.S. Air Force Academy. She had been nominated by all three Montana Congressmen earlier. Caitlin, a senior at Hamilton High School, already has completed her first solo flight as a pilot (see photo) and will continue to head to the sky with classes at the academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado. She has been captain of track and basketball teams, is an honor student and is a delegate to American Legion’s Girls State. Senator Steve Daines said in a news release, “I was proud to personally congratulate Caitlin on her appointment to the

Oil and gas may be in a downturn, but communities in the area continue to make positive strides forward when it comes to regional development and infrastructure. One of those strides could include a new Amtrak stop in Culbertson. Amtrak officials have confirmed they have been evaluating the neighboring community for a stop for about three years now. “We know that it makes business sense to stop at Culbertson,” said Marc Magliari, a spokesman with Amtrak. “There’s a long distance between Wolf Point and Williston. Where we are now is talking with Culbertson about where the stop would be. It

A self-driving car can’t get you out of a traffic jam. That’s something Republican Sen. John Thune learned from the passenger seat of a modified Chrysler 300c from Continental on Tuesday as the Senate Commerce Committee explored autonomous driving technology. “We went out into Virginia. Of course we hit the 395 traffic,” said Thune, R-S.D., who is the committee chairman, referring to the interstate heading south from Washington. “Evidently driverless cars are not going to help our traffic jams.” Once the car reached suburban Arlington, it switched into self-driving mode. “It’s really amazing, just way more than I’ve seen or thought possible,”

Law­makers are push­ing ahead with two bills that would tweak cer­tain parts of the Fed­er­al Com­mu­nic­a­tions Com­mis­sion’s con­tro­ver­sial net-neut­ral­ity rules—the sig­na­ture In­ter­net-policy achieve­ment of the Obama ad­min­is­tra­tion. But even as Re­pub­lic­ans try to chip away at the sweep­ing In­ter­net reg­u­la­tions, the real at­ten­tion re­mains fixed on the D.C. Cir­cuit Court of Ap­peals, which is ex­pec­ted to soon rule on the broad­band in­dustry’s law­suit against the FCC. As long as a Demo­crat is in the White House, the courts pose the only real threat to the reg­u­la­tions, which re­quire that In­ter­net traffic be treated equally. Demo­crats con­sider the rules cru­cial for

Senator Steve Daines on Monday applauded the House of Representative’s passage of legislation to ensure the completion of two hydroelectric facilities in Montana. The legislation would provide for the reinstatement and three-year extension of a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) license for Clark Canyon Dam Hydro Project in Dillon, Montana and a six-year extension of the FERC license for the Gibson Dam Hydro Project near Augusta, Montana. “The Gibson Dam and Clark Canyon Dam are two projects that are critical for tax revenue and jobs in Montana communities,” Daines stated. “I’m excited to see bipartisan support for the completion of

The Obama administration is reportedly poised to indict the Iranian hackers responsible for infiltrating a New York dam in 2013. The anticipated move is widely seen as an attempt to deter Tehran’s rapidly developing cyber program, and head off concerns that the country will use a new influx of resources from its recently struck nuclear deal to fund cyber warfare efforts. “It’s a pretty big deal,” said Adam Segal, a cyber policy specialist and senior fellow at the Council on Foreign relations.  But conservatives worry it will do little to deter Iran. If the White House publicly blames Iran for