In The News

President-elect Donald Trump has asked Montana’s lone congressman, Ryan Zinke, to be secretary of the Interior, according to sources close to Zinke. Zinke met with Trump in New York City on Monday. He was reportedly in the mix for one of a handful of Cabinet positions that include the departments of the Interior and Veterans Affairs.  Zinke, a Republican, was flying back to Whitefish on Tuesday and could not be reached for comment.  U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., was meeting with The Gazette when the news broke. “The Interior is all about public lands. It’s about wildlife and national parks.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials have reportedly told Montana’s congressional delegation the Raymond Port of Entry will remain a 24-hour entryway into Canada, shelving plans to close it for six hours daily due to low traffic volume. Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., and Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., put out news releases last week stating that plans to reduce hours at the port 15 miles north of Plentywood had been scrapped. Daines said that he and fellow Montana Republican, U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke, met with CBP Commissioner R. Gil Kerlikowske, Commissioner urging him to abandon reduced hours at the port, which

Among its final actions before the 114th Congress closed session, the U.S. Senate followed the lead of Montana lawmakers Steve Daines and Jon Tester and passed the long-awaited Blackfeet Water Compact. The water settlement was included in the Water Infrastructure Improvements Act for the Nation Act, a water resources agreement that also includes legislation to address the Flint water crisis, provide drought relief in California and across the West. The U.S. Senate passed the bill on Dec. 10. President Obama is expected to sign it into law at the end of the month. “Today is a historic day for the Blackfeet Tribe,

Obamacare will go through some serious changes early in the new Trump presidency, Montana Sen. Steve Daines predicted on Monday.  “Now we’re playing with live ammunition,” Daines said during a visit to the Missoulian. “It’s a very real discussion. This time, it needs to be thoughtful and not jammed down.” Officially known as the Affordable Care Act, Obamacare was targeted for complete repeal by Republican congressional candidates and president-elect Donald Trump. While that’s likely to happen, Daines said it would go through a transition process to keep some of the popular parts of Obama’s healthcare program.  Those include expanded access

Sidney High School students received the opportunity to talk with an U.S. senator face to face when U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., took part in a Skype call on Wednesday afternoon. Brad Faulhaber, government teacher, said the call was part of the school’s civic engagement’s opportunities beyond the classroom. The classroom consisted of mainly seniors along with a junior and a couple of sophomores. Daines encouraged students to stay engaged in the political process. “We have an amazing country,” the Republican said. He also said they should consider being in political service. “I never dreamed I would be doing this

Max Sechena, a C.M. Russell High senior, was one of 25 Montana students nominated by Sen. Steve Daines for enrollment in a U.S. military academy. Sechena is applying for enrollment in both the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, N.Y., and the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. “I wanted to find meaningful work, and I thought the military was the way to do that,” Sechena said. “You know that soldier phase that I think every little kid goes through? That never really ended for me.” Sechena’s nomination is just one step in the lengthy journey to enrollment. Through the

Leaders of a statewide interagency strike team tasked with combatting the threat of invasive mussels announced Thursday they have expedited a five-month backlog of water samples and will have complete results by Dec. 19, while state lawmakers have voiced concern about the initial response. The Montana Mussel Incident Response Team was formed earlier this month in response to the recent discovery of mussel larvae in Tiber and Canyon Ferry reservoirs east of the Continental Divide, as well as in the Milk River near Malta and the Missouri River near York. Further analysis is underway to determine whether a full adult population

The VA Montana Healthcare System at Fort Harrison received two out of five stars on a secret rating system used by the Department of Veteran Affairs. USA Today obtained the rankings of 146 medical centers, which had previously been kept private for internal use, and published it on Dec. 7.   Medical centers are rated each quarter, and USA Today’s data initially included the fourth quarter of 2015. Veteran Affairs subsequently released which medical centers received a one or five star rating in the quarter that ended on June 30, but excluded facilities rated two through four. Fort Harrison was not included

A month after a 10-year trade agreement on lumber from Canada expired, a coalition of U.S. lumber producers has filed a trade complaint over those imports from our northern neighbor.  The U.S. Lumber Coalition filed the petition with the federal Commerce Department and International Trade Commission on Nov. 25, seeking duties imposed on Canadian softwood lumber that the coalition says is dumped into the U.S. market. The term “dumping” in this case refers to lumber sold at less than market value, and the coalition says duties would offset the harm that these imports have caused mills in the U.S. and