In The News

The third annual Montana Energy Summit will take place in Billings on May 30 and 31, hosted by Senator Steve Daines, featuring a host of industry and government officials. After meeting with President Trump during his lunch hour to discuss his priorities, Senator Daines said the conversations that began two years ago at the first summit will continue. “We’re going to continue to focus on how to unlock Montana’s great energy potential,” said Daines. “We’re starting to move out thinking now and we’re thinking bigger. It used to be about North American energy independence, but now we have an opportunity

A growing group of Senate Republicans — eager to break the logjam on nominations and must-pass spending bills — is pressing Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to cancel the August recess later this year. The effort, led by Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.), is a repeat of last year’s push in which a coalition of mostly newer GOP senators said that they would skip the annual August break if necessary to complete the legislative work that had gone unaccomplished. But the call takes on a new resonance this year, after President Trump said in March that he would refuse to sign

Legislation introduced in Congress this week would expand the capacity for water storage and include funding for the Blackfeet Tribe water rights settlement, along with other issues identified as Western state priorities, including floodwater protection. Sens. Steve Daines, chairman of the Western Caucus, and John Barrasso, chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, said the measures are included in America’s Water Infrastructure Act of 2018. “This is an important first step for Montana families, farmers, ranchers, the Blackfeet Tribe and Western states,” Daines said. “Inclusion of funding for the Blackfeet Tribe water rights settlement and for watercraft inspection stations

On April 25, the U.S. Senate declared May 5, 2018, the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Native Women and Girls. The resolution was introduced by Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) in honor of Hanna Harris, a member of the Northern Cheyenne tribe, whose birthday is on May 5. She went missing in 2013; when her remains were found, authorities discovered that she had been raped and murdered. Missing and murdered Indigenous women (MMIW) is an epidemic in North America. On some reservations, Native women are murdered at a rate of 10 times the national average, and four out of five Native women have experienced violence in

  Rod Ostermiller is ready to hit the ground running. The 48-year-old Billings native officially took the reins as U.S. marshal for Montana on Wednesday, after being approved by the U.S. Senate and confirmed by President Donald Trump. A formal swearing in ceremony will likely take place in June. Hired onto the force at age 21, he’s worked his way up the ranks. “It’s a huge honor,” Ostermiller said in a recent interview. The post of U.S. marshal is a political appointment, and Ostermiller said it’s relatively rare to see someone like himself — a career deputy — be named to the

Marita Growing Thunder, 19, is sitting in the grass on a warm spring afternoon at the University of Montana campus in Missoula where she studies art. Growing up, she said, her mom was always talking about aunt Yvonne. “Everyday she’s like, ‘Oh that reminds me of what Yvonne used to do or she used to say all the time,’” Growing Thunder said. Yvonne was the family comedian. She made goofy faces, danced at pow-wows and got into little fights with her sisters. But then about ten years ago, Yvonne was beaten to death by her husband. “It was a closed

U.S. SENATE — This week, the U.S. Senate passed Senator Steve Daines’ bill to recognize May 5th as the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Native Women and Girls.  Daines introduced the legislation to honor the memory of Hanna Harris, a member of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe who was murdered in July 2013. The resolution commemorates the lives of all American Indian and Alaska Native women and girls who have gone missing or been murdered. “Tragically, Hanna Harris is just one of the many native women who go missing or are senselessly murdered,” said Daines. “We must do more to call attention to

Tariffs aren’t the only issue on the table when it comes to U.S.-China relations. That fact was a major takeaway from our recent trip to China, where we met with some of the country’s top business and political leaders. The United States has been a consistently dominant economic force in the world for over a century, but China is catching up. It isn’t the country it was as recently as five years ago. With a middle class of over 400 million, China is certainly past its days as a “developing” nation, although it prefers the world doesn’t see it for

Sen.  (R-Mont.) said Wednesday that his office in Missoula, Mont., had been vandalized. Daines tweeted that an investigation into the vandalism is underway. “It’s disturbing that folks have turned to vandalizing my Missoula office, but thankful my staff is safe. Law enforcement is currently investigating the situation and we are watching it closely,” Daines said on Twitter. The junior Montana senator also posted pictures of the damage, showing broken windows and shards of glass scattered across the office.  The Hill has reached out to Missoula law enforcement for updates on the case.