In The News

DENVER — Does a river — or a plant, or a forest — have rights? This is the essential question in what attorneys are calling a first-of-its-kind federal lawsuit, in which a Denver lawyer and a far-left environmental group are asking a judge to recognize the Colorado River as a person. If successful, it could upend environmental law, possibly allowing the redwood forests, the Rocky Mountains or the deserts of Nevada to sue individuals, corporations and governments over resource pollution or depletion. Future lawsuits in its mold might seek to block pipelines, golf courses or housing developments and force everyone

Hurricanes such as Harvey, Irma and Maria are unstoppable. They rip at our coastlines and tear at our hearts. The yellow, orange, red, even purple colors on the Doppler radar and weather maps this summer have been horrific to see, but that’s nothing compared to the images of flooded streets and wrecked homes. Those images inspired Americans to band together and do what we could for our neighbors in the South. In crises such as these, Americans show what they’re truly made of: unwavering resolve and kind hearts. But if you could, return to the weather map, zoom out for

Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) introduced the “CBO Show Your Work” Act Thursday, legislation designed to improve the legislative process by making the Congressional Budget Office more transparent and accountable. “Congress does need a scorekeeper to provide budgetary estimates for the policy changes it considers,” Sen. Lee said. “But at a bare minimum, that scorekeeper should be forced to show how its models work. Currently the CBO doesn’t have to do that.” “That is why I have introduced the CBO Show Your Work Act of 2017,” Lee continued. “This bill would require the CBO to publish its data, models, and all details

Back in February, the Ekalaka Eagle reported that Belle Wendelburg was recognized by Senator Steve Daines as Montanan of the Week for her continued work in serving her community. Wendelburg retired from Dahl Memorial in July of 2016 after working there for more than 20 years. In his statement of recognition in the official Congressional Record, Daines wrote, “Throughout the past 20 years, Belle has remained faithful in her love for her home and the eastern Montana prairie. I want to express my deep gratitude to Mrs. Belle Wendelburg for her dedication and service to her community, Montana, and our

Republican congressional leaders are quietly preparing to pass a “clean” debt ceiling increase, according to multiple senior GOP sources — setting the stage for a high-risk showdown with rank-and-file Republicans this fall. Trump administration officials, led by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, are imploring Congress to raise the $19.8 trillion debt limit with no strings attached by the end of September. And Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Speaker Paul Ryan — well aware they need Democrats to pass any debt bill through the Senate — are on board, albeit begrudgingly so. But beyond the leadership, there are few Republican takers,

Authorities released the name of the firefighter who was killed by a falling tree while fighting the Lolo Peak fire on Wednesday. Missoula County Sheriff TJ McDermott said that 29-year-old Brent M. Witham of Mentone, California, died in the accident. Medical crews were called around 3 p.m. Wednesday after a firefighter was struck by a tree while working with a crew in the McClain Creek area south of Lolo. Efforts were made to get Witham down to a landing zone where he could be evacuated by helicopter. The Type I Incident Management Team battling the 6,500-acre lightning sparked blaze that’s burning 10

Some additional federal money is on the way to Lincoln Country to help the city of Libby continue asbestos clean up. Congressman Greg Gianforte (R-MT) and U.S. Senator Steve Daines (R-MT announced on Wednesday that that the Montana Department of Environmental Quality has been awarded a $1.6 million grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. “The work continues to provide the people of Libby with a clean, healthy place to live, work, and raise a family,” Gianforte said. “This grant from the EPA will help the community in this ongoing effort.” “The community of Libby deserves a clean environment and this grant

Montana’s two U.S. Senators disagree with the decision to abandon work on health care to focus on other legislative priorities.  Tuesday’s announcement comes after yet another failure by the Republican majority to scrap the Affordable Care Act, more commonly known as Obamacare. U.S. Senator Steve Daines, R-MT, has been a vocal supporter of “repeal and replace.”  Still he disagrees with the decision by his party’s leadership to drop health care for now. “Failure is not an option,” Daines says. He says a fix is needed because Montanans are being harmed by the increasing premiums and the financial penalty imposed for not complying with the mandate to

A bipartisan group of senators are calling on Congress to adopt security standards for for internet-connected devices bought by the government in a bid to further secure the nation’s computer systems from cyberattacks. The Internet of Things (IoT) Cybersecurity Improvement Act of 2017 would mandate that connected devices purchased by the government meet specific security standards if passed as lawmakers look to safeguard against cyberattacks spread by IoT products in the wake of a debilitating outbreak last October blamed on the Mirai botnet, a network of infected devices harnessed by hackers to cause large-scale internet outages in the U.S. and