Montana

Bills on budget, infrastructure, sex assault get attention

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Clark

HELENA—Calls for unity across party lines abounded throughout the opening day of Montana’s 65th legislative session. Hundreds gathered in the Capitol rotunda on Jan. 2 as top state leaders were sworn into office. “Before any of us are Democrats or Republicans, we’re Montanans,” Gov. Steve Bullock told the audience in his first speech of the session. “And Montanans elected us to serve.”

The ceremony featured local school children performing Montana’s state song and Rep. George Kipp III, D-Heart Butte, performing two Native American songs. Continue Reading →

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Montana

Budget takes center stage in Legislature’s first week

By: |
Sesso

HELENA — Montana’s 2017 Legislature has begun to tackle a wide swath of issues, from public safety to infrastructure, from education to agriculture. But as the first of many bills were read in committee rooms around the Capitol last week, it became clear that everything this time around would focus on the budget.

During a Republican caucus Tuesday, House Speaker Austin Knudsen, R-Culbertson, told fellow party members that the challenges the entire Legislature faces in the coming months would be daunting. Continue Reading →

Opinion

Opinion: What we lose if we lose the grizzly bear

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Track

I’ve always been attracted to grizzly country, or in other words, I’ve always been drawn to wilderness. Perhaps there’s no way around it: having grown up in Montana it’s likely a key strain of my DNA. We don’t call it real wilderness in Big Sky Country unless the place is inhabited by grizzlies, or at least what few still remain. Continue Reading →

Culture

French baker to set up shop in downtown Billings

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Judd

Having spent most of his life working as an information technology expert on three continents, Francois Morin has a new home and is embarking on a decidedly different new career.

The 55-year-old Frenchman is planning to open a small bakery in downtown Billings this spring, concentrating on a handful of simple, traditional French breads. Continue Reading →

Opinion

Opinion: For MSU Billings, the day of reckoning has come

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MSUB Main Hall

The impending departure of Montana State University Billings Chancellor Mark Nook to become the president of the University of Northern Iowa raises the question of whether Montana and Billings are really invested in the future and success of MSU Billings.

In the past decade, MSUB has had four chancellors, four provosts and four deans of the College of Business. It also saw the departure of a long-time director of libraries. The MSU Billings Foundation has its third president in three years. Continue Reading →

Opinion

Only thing worse than Obamacare is … what?

By: |
DC

The most important issue before Montana legislators this session isn’t really even on the agenda. And it’s not their fault.

The fate of health insurance for millions of Americans, and for tens of thousands of Montanans, rests in the hands of a Congress dominated by Republicans, who have vowed to repeal the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, as one of their first items of business when Donald Trump takes over as president. The GOP also has vowed to replace Obamacare, but that could take years. In the meantime, uncertainty could damage or even destroy insurance companies, and millions of people could lose insurance. This has left Montana lawmakers in a quandary. Continue Reading →