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The most significant infrastructure bill in over a quarter of a century was passed by the just adjourned 2017 legislatives session. It was the six-cent increase in motor fuel taxes which will make it possible for Montana to continue to match federal dollars for highway maintenance and construction at a ratio of seven federal dollars to one Montana dollar. The highway infrastructure bill was passed by an embattled coalition of Democrats and Republicans. Its passage was necessary to assure our roads and highways will be...
Several people who want to be the Democrats' nominee to replace Rep. Ryan Zinke pitched their candidacies to the Hill County Democrats during their monthly meeting in the Havre Eagles Club Tuesday The forum took place the night before Montana Republican U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke was confirmed as secretary of the interior. Under Montana law, a special election will be called 85 to 100 days after Zinke resigns from Congress to take up his new duties. Montana Democrats, Republicans...
HELENA (AP) — Six of Montana Gov. Steve Bullock’s cabinet members will be leaving the administration before his second term begins next month, and replacements have been found for two of them so far, the Democratic governor said Friday. The governor thanked the departing appointees for their service in a news conference at the state Capitol. “Every large organization goes through change, and the state of Montana is no different,” Bullock said. High-level staffing changes are not unusual when officials are re-elected, and Bul...
DILLON TABISH Flathead Beacon POLSON (AP) - From his office atop a hill on the south end of town, Thomas Acevedo can see the impressive reach of Flathead Lake stretching into the northern horizon beyond his home - the Flathead Indian Reservation - and providing a vital source of sustenance to the region. From the same perch, he said he can envision the continued growth of a family of Salish and Kootenai businesses under his watch that are setting a global standard among...
In 1978 Max Baucus was elected to the U.S. Senate starting a record 35 years of representing Montana. In 1978, Pat Williams was elected to the first of a record nine consecutive terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. Also in 1978, something happened in New York City that foreshadowed a political event in Montana 38 years later. In 1978 the ABC television network canceled the prime time show “The Six Million Dollar Man.” “The Six Million Dollar Man” was a successful science fiction television series starring Lee Majors...
The Havre City Council voted unanimously Monday night to reject a request to sign onto a letter asking the federal government to revisit a decision denying a request to expand a section of U.S. Highway 2 to four lanes. Highway 2 Association president and former state Rep. Bob Sivertsen told the council Monday that he wants the meeting with Montana Department of Transportation Director Mike Tooley to discuss revisiting a 2004 Environmental Impact Statement. The EIS returned a federal decision to build an improved two-lane with...
Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., has penned a letter to President Barack Obama requesting that he take up several issues with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau when he comes to Washington, D.C., for a state dinner in March. Obama extended the invitation to Trudeau in December for the March 10 dinner at the White House. In the page-and-a-half letter dated Jan. 26, Tester said that the U.S. relationship with Canada is “critically important to our economy, national security and environment.” Tester said that joint U.S. and Can...
Like much of the rest of Montana, Hill County Democrats were blindsided Monday by the news that Lt. Gov. Angela McLean will resign. Gov. Steve Bullock's office said McLean will resign to accept the position of director of American Indian and Minority Achievement and K-12 partnerships in the office of the state's Commissioner of Higher Education. McLean will continue as lieutenant governor until her successor is chosen. McLean will leave office just 22 months after being...
HELENA — Superintendent of Public Instruction Denise Juneau is considering challenging U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke for Montana's U.S. House seat next year, a spokeswoman for the Democrat said Wednesday. Juneau, 48, has been the state's public schools superintendent since 2009 and is the first female Native American elected to statewide office in Montana. "Denise is seriously considering a run for office because she sees an opportunity to bring a Montana work ethic and her record of getting things done to the U.S. House," s...
With optimism and a fierce sense of urgency about making gains in the upcoming elections, Hill County Democrats gathered at the Eagles Club Wednesday night for the annual Pasma-Peck dinner, headlined by Gov. Steve Bullock. Named after legendary Havre Democratic political organizer Jim Pasma and state Rep. Ray Peck, the dinner serves as a major fundraiser and a chance to rally the party faithful. "If we don't get Steve Bullock re-elected and we don't get more Democrats in the L...
Staff and wire report WASHINGTON — A House committee is moving swiftly to get rid of labels on packages of meat that say where the animals were born, raised and slaughtered — a rule pushed in the last decade by the members of Montana’s congressional delegation. The House Agriculture Committee will consider a bill to repeal a “country of origin” labeling law for meat today — two days after the World Trade Organization ruled against parts of it. The labels tell consumers what countries the meat is from: for example, “b...
HELENA — The U.S. Army War College revoked Democratic Sen. John Walsh's master's degree after an investigation completed Friday concluded he plagiarized a research paper required to graduate, a college spokeswoman said. The Carlisle, Pennsylvania, college assigned an academic review board to the probe in August after The New York Times published a story showing Walsh borrowed heavily from other sources for the paper he wrote in 2007. Walsh was pursuing a Master of Strategic Studies degree at age 47, a year before he became M... Full story
BOZEMAN (AP) — Democrat John Lewis and Republican Ryan Zinke debated topics from health care to U.S. intervention in Iraq in a meeting Saturday that turned edgy as each candidate looks to set himself apart with absentee voting about to begin in the U.S. House race. Lewis, a longtime aide to former U.S. Sen. Max Baucus, and Zinke, a former state senator and Navy SEAL, are vying for Montana's open congressional seat. The third candidate, Libertarian Mike Fellows, was not invited to the televised debate. All three are c... Full story
The U.S. Senate narrowly killed debate on a bill that could have given Montana more control over corporate spending in elections, a bill one of its co-sponsors praised in a press conference shortly before the vote. And Democratic candidates for the House and Senate have seized on the issue in their campaigns, something co-sponsor Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., said was not the point of the bill. “I don’t know if it will pass or not,” he said during the press conference Thursday morning. “I think it should pass.” The amendment... Full story
North-central Montana Democrats heard from a recent addition to a U.S. Senate race as high school mathematics teacher, Montana Rep. Amanda Curtis, D-Butte, told them why she should go to Washington rather than U.S. Rep. Steve Daines. "I come from a family that is a lot different than Congressman Daines's purports to be ... from what it looks like in the commercials, mine is a lot different than that and is a lot like Montana families across the state," she said. "We often drov... Full story
HELENA (AP) - Montana Democrats selected a little-known state legislator named Amanda Curtis as their candidate for the U.S. Senate race after Sen. John Walsh dropped out amid plagiarism allegations from his time at the U.S. Army War College. Curtis, a first-term representative from Butte, now faces the challenge of introducing herself to Montana voters and making her case for them to choose her over well-funded Republican Rep. Steve Daines with less than three months until th... Full story
LISA BAUMANN MATTHEW BROWN Associated Press HELENA - Democrats will be hard-pressed in quickly finding a strong candidate for Montana's U.S. Senate election after incumbent John Walsh's abrupt withdrawal from the campaign in a plagiarism controversy. Walsh's decision to quit the campaign Thursday gave an instant shot in the arm to Republicans nationally. A net gain of six seats in the Senate would give the GOP a majority in both chambers of Congress. And Montana Republicans... Full story
HELENA (AP) — U.S. Sen. John Walsh of Montana said Thursday he is dropping his campaign for office amid allegations that he plagiarized large portions of a 2007 research project he wrote for a master's degree. In a statement to supporters, the former National Guard commander said he is leaving the race but will keep the seat he was appointed to until his term ends in January 2015, when the winner of November's election is sworn in. "I am ending my campaign so that I can focus on fulfilling the responsibility entrusted to m... Full story
Your daily look at news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about today. DEMOCRATS LOOK AT STEPS NEEDED FOR NEW SENATE CANDIDATE: Sen. John Walsh hasn't made a public appearance since the weekend, and Montana Democrats are reviewing the steps they would need to take to replace him with another candidate if he decides to withdraw from the Senate race. Walsh's campaign has been silent about whether he plans to keep campaigning amid allegations that he plagiarized a research paper while studying for a master's... Full story
HELENA (AP) — Sen. John Walsh was taking personal time at his Helena home as his campaign canceled events and avoided questions about whether the Montana Democrat plans to remain in the U.S. Senate race amid allegations that he plagiarized a research paper. Walsh was scheduled to be at a Jackson, Wyoming, fundraiser Tuesday with Colorado Sen. Mark Udall, but did not attend. His campaign also notified Gallatin County Democratic party members that the senator would not appear at a backyard meet-and-greet in Bozeman hosted by W...
HELENA — Sen. John Walsh of Montana on Tuesday postponed at least two upcoming events as his campaign declined to answer questions about whether he planned to remain in the U.S. Senate race amid allegations that he plagiarized a research paper. The Walsh campaign notified Gallatin County Democratic party members that he would not attend a backyard meet-and-greet in Bozeman hosted by Women for Walsh that was scheduled for Wednesday or a Friday talk on public lands at the county party's new headquarters. The campaign did not gi... Full story
BILLINGS (AP) — Montana's U.S. House candidates claim to offer "all-of-the-above" solutions to the nation's energy problems— a familiar mantra among politicians keen to give equal attention to fossil fuels and renewables such as wind and solar. Yet stark differences in the details of their proposals reveal a wide divide. Republican Ryan Zinke is a staunch fossil fuels advocate who questions humanity's role in climate change. Democrat John Lewis touts the potential for renewables that he says could transform the state's ene... Full story
HELENA - The Department of Defense has taken the unusual step of overseeing a plagiarism investigation being conducted by the U.S. Army War College against Sen. John Walsh because the Montana Democrat is a member of Congress, the college's provost said Tuesday. The department will review the recommendations of the school's academic review board, Provost Lance Betros said. Army Col. Steve Warren, a Pentagon spokesman, said Tuesday the decision on whether punishment is... Full story
HELENA — The Department of Defense has taken the unusual step of overseeing a plagiarism investigation being conducted by the U.S. Army War College against Sen. John Walsh of Montana, the college's provost said Tuesday. Defense Department officials told the Carlisle, Pennsylvania, college that the department's inspector general's office will decide whether any discipline is warranted based on the recommendations of the school's academic review board, Provost Lance Betros said. Normally, that decision is reserved for the s... Full story
HELENA — Montana Sen. John Walsh's thesis written to earn a master's degree from the U.S. Army War College contains unattributed passages taken word-for-word from previously published papers. The Democrat said Wednesday he was on medication and being treated for post-traumatic stress disorder from his service in Iraq when he wrote the paper. He said he also was dealing with the stress of a fellow veteran's recent suicide. Walsh said he made an unintentional mistake and did n... Full story
