In The News

MISSOULA – Some big names were under the Big Sky today. Senator Steve Daines hosted a tech summit that brought leaders from Microsoft, Facebook, and T-Mobile to the University of Montana. These big names could mean big opportunities for some local businesses. Brad Smith, President of Microsoft, is one of many big names to speak at the Montana High Tech Jobs Summit. “It’s an amazing experience to have that kind of access at an event like this,” said Chris Hamilton, Product Manager of onX. Onx is a Missoula-based mobile app used by hikers to create maps of the back-country. Hamilton

Like you, I’m grateful I get to call Montana home. I’ve always said one of the best decisions I ever made was picking my great-great grandmother, who homesteaded east of Conrad and got our family to Montana. Montana offers an unmatched quality of life — we offer a work force that is unmatched with a strong work ethic that is passed on from generation to generation in Montana. And now with technology, we can grow more good-paying jobs that allow Montanans to stay in the state we love. That’s because technology has removed geography as a constraint. We can build

In the wake of one of the worst fire seasons in Montana history, lawmakers in Washington, D.C., have called for more logging and thinning in forests as a way to “fireproof” the state and create more jobs at lumber mills. But several wildfire experts contend that fires will keep burning and sending smoke into valleys, especially during unusually hot and dry periods like this summer. While there isn’t a clear scientific consensus on the best approach to manage such fires, a common theme among experts who spoke to the Missoulian is that more forest management alone isn’t the answer. “Often

The gadget that transformed a Las Vegas terrorist’s semiautomatic rifles into machine gun-style weapons is under criticism, but Montana’s congressional delegation isn’t ready to ban the device — at least not yet. The aftermarket devices known as “bump stocks” are in the sights of some congressional leaders who say the products should be restricted, if not banned. The National Rifle Association indicated Thursday that it, too, thought bump stocks should be subject to additional regulation. Montana Sens. Jon Tester, a Democrat, and Steve Daines, a Republican, said hearings on bump stocks were in order. They stopped short of saying they

Montana’s senators are trying to reverse a controversial federal court case out of Bozeman they say is partly to blame for the state’s devastating wildfires. But some environmentalists say it’s actually an assault on the Endangered Species Act. At a congressional hearing last week, Republican Senator Steve Daines said there’s a saying in Montana: “Either we’re going to manage the forests, or the forests are going to manage us.” And he says a recent 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling known as the Cottonwood decision means the forests are managing Montana. Daines testified alongside Democratic Senator Jon Tester in

Senator Steve Daines returns from a two-day trip to South Korea and then to Taiwan. Senator Daines told ABCFOX Montana the trip to South Korea overall was a success. He helped to expand the markets for Montana products. Also, he got a first-hand look at the nuclear threat of North Korea. First from the air, Senator Steve Daines hopped aboard a Blackhawk helicopter to the Korean demilitarized zone looking into North Korea. “It was chilling you see face to face the threat. It makes us that much more grateful for the men and women, who put their lives in harm’s

In strongly worded letters to the Secretary of Agriculture and to the acting head of the Food Safety and Inspection Service, all members of Montana’s congressional delegation — U.S. Sens. Steve Daines and Jon Tester and U.S. Rep. Greg Gianforte — are calling for investigations into the FSIS and its treatment of Butte’s Riley Meats and other small Montana meat processing plants. The letters follow a two-day series, “Through the Meat Grinder,” in The Montana Standard and other Lee Montana newspapers last week detailing a pattern of nonexistent regulations being applied to Riley’s Meats and several other Montana plants. In

The cyber threats made against families and schools in the Flathead Valley earlier this month got national attention Wednesday when U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., probed FBI Director Chris Wray to explain how his bureau is working to bring the criminals to justice. “Cyber-terrorism is an emerging threat that has become all too real in Montana,” Daines said. The senator told the FBI director the threats made against the Columbia Falls School District promised harm and demanded a ransom, forcing the closure of more than 30 schools for three days and impacted more than 15,000 children. “This is unprecedented. We

Cyber-crimes are being committed all across the United States and Montana is no exception. On Wednesday, U.S. Senator Steve Daines spoke with the Federal Bureau of Investigation about the recent cyber threats in the Flathead Valley. “Cyber-terrorism is an emerging threat that has become all too real in Montana,” said Daines. “Two weeks ago, the Columbia Falls School district received cyber-threats promising harm and demanding ransom. This forced the closure of more than thirty schools across multiple school districts and affected over fifteen thousand Montana children. This is unprecedented. We have not seen that before.” The culprit responsible for the