In The News

The Trump administration proposed Thursday that as part of its new budget it would eliminate federal subsidies for flights from Billings to five rural communities in Eastern Montana. The cuts would target the 39-year-old Essential Air Service, which subsidizes Cape Air flights from Billings to Glasgow, Glendive, Havre, Wolf Point and Sidney. Without the program, Cape Air would unlikely be able to afford to continue operating the service, which peaked during the Bakken boom earlier this decade. The program has bipartisan support from Montana’s two senators. In 2016, at least 37,106 passengers boarded subsidized Cape Air flights in Montana, down 15 percent

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke signed an order Thursday overturning a ban on using lead ammunition on wildlife refuges. Zinke signed the order on his first day in office, overturning a policy implemented by former Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) Director Dan Ashe on Jan. 19, the Obama administration’s last full day in office. Ashe’s policy banned the use of lead ammunition and fishing tackle on all FWS wildlife refuges that allow hunting or fishing, as well as in all other hunting or fishing regulated by the agency elsewhere. It was meant to help prevent plants and animals from being poisoned by lead left on

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Montana Farm Bureau Federation (MFBF) has presented Montana Senator Steve Daines a “Friend of Farm Bureau Award.” Daines received the award from MFBF members who were in the national’s capital for the American Farm Bureau Advocacy Conference. “We are very honored to present this award to Senator Daines. He has been a real champion for agriculture and rural Montana,” said MFBF Director of National Affairs Nicole Rolf. “Whether it’s supporting good legislation to protect farmers from harmful rules and inconsistent regulations, protecting the safety net provided in the Farm Bill, working to preserve important tax provisions

Ryan Zinke has been sworn as secretary of the Interior. The U.S. Senate’s Wednesday confirmation triggered Zinke’s resignation from Congress and a special election to replace him. Zinke became the first Montanan to serve in a U.S. Cabinet. Approved by the Senate 68 to 31, the Whitefish native is the nation’s 52nd Interior secretary. Montana’s U.S. Sens. Jon Tester, a Democrat, and Steve Daines, a Republican, both voted to confirm Zinke. “First, I want to say thank you to the people of Montana,” Zinke said in a statement announcing his resignation. “It has been an honor to serve you in Congress,

The Senate on Wednesday overwhelmingly confirmed Rep. Ryan K. Zinke to head the Interior Department, putting in place a secretary who’s poised to reverse Obama-era restrictions on energy development on public lands. The confirmation of Mr. Zinke, a Montana Republican and former Navy SEAL, was held up by Democratic leaders in the Senate for over a month. While Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, New York Democrat, voted against him and urged his colleagues to do the same, 16 Democrats ultimately voted in favor of Mr. Zinke. He was approved by a vote of 68 to 31. Mr. Zinke’s confirmation is a major step forward for President Trump’s so-called “America

Conservation groups in Montana criticized President Donald Trump for directing federal agencies Tuesday to roll back a rule implemented under the Obama administration that expanded the scope of waters falling under the federal Clean Water Act. They argued Trump’s move is a backward step that could lead to pollution of seasonal streams and wetlands. Business and farm groups, who viewed the Obama-era rule as federal overreach, unnecessary and burdensome, agreed with Trump’s executive order. Here’s the issue: In April 2014, the EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers proposed the Clean Water Rule, which defined the scope of ‘‘waters

Protecting some of the nation’s most wild and scenic lands has drawn heated debate in the Montana Legislature this month. A bill to release seven wilderness study areas from consideration for inclusion in the National Wilderness Preservation System has pitted those who want the lands to be released against those who see the measure as a quick fix. House Joint Resolution 9 has stirred up discussion among stakeholders since it was introduced to the Natural Resources Committee by Rep. Kerry White, R-Bozeman, on Feb. 17. On Feb. 24, the committee took executive action on the partisan resolution and passed an

U.S. Senator Steve Daines was in Helena today, February 22, speaking to the Montana State House of Representatives, on the heels of a left-leaning protest held in front of the State Capitol on Tuesday. Though Daines didn’t say the name of Donald Trump or Barack Obama during the opening of his speech, it was clear that Daines was optimistic about the party now in control of Washington D.C. “Our federal government was designed to be limited with limited powers and the rest was reserved for the states,” said Daines. “However, as we have seen in the past 8 years there

Montana residents came out swinging during Sen. Steve Daines’ telephone town hall Thursday night, and they didn’t let up over the next 90 minutes. They called on the Republican to explain why he silenced Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., on the Senate floor, his vote for Betsy DeVos for the secretary of education post and his plans to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Daines said his town hall, which was announced on Twitter 90 minutes before its start, was the 13th one he has done over the last two years, and more than 200,000 Montana households had the opportunity to connect with