In The News

About 6,000 rural Montanans are one step closer to having high-quality well water available to their homes and businesses. Congress has authorized the Clean Water for Rural Communities Act, although the approval came four years later than originally assumed. This gives the Central Montana Regional Water Authority formal consent to seek federal funding to develop its rural water system. The system will service residents in and near nine communities west and south of the Big Snowy Mountains. “We’ve been working since 2014 to get authorization, so it is a big deal,” said Monty Sealey, project administrator. The act provides no

Red Sleep Mountain began its official return to the Flathead Indian Reservation on Friday as Interior Secretary David Bernhardt formerly signed papers transferring the National Bison Range to the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes. “The CSKT have strong and deep historical, geographic and cultural ties to the land and the bison, and their environmental professionals have been leaders in natural resources and wildlife management for many decades,” Interior Assistant Secretary Tara Katuk Sweeney wrote in a Friday email statement. “Interior is pleased to continue its partnership and work with them on the restoration of the NBR to federal trust ownership

A federal magistrate judge has ordered the Indian Health Service to release the report it commissioned on how the agency failed to protect Indigenous children from Stanley Patrick Weber, the doctor who sexually abused boys on the reservations in Montana and South Dakota for decades. The report includes interviews with South Dakotans and might identify the people and practices responsible for the Pine Ridge IHS failing to properly respond to reports of Weber’s behavior. The Journal and other media outlets requested the report under the Freedom of Information Act, but the IHS denied the request, arguing the report was exempt

U.S. SENATE — U.S. Senator Steve Daines announced that beginning this week, Montana small businesses heavily impacted by the pandemic are able to apply for the second round of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans.  “This PPP funding is critical for Montana small businesses who have been hit hard due to the pandemic,” Daines said.“This funding will help keep Montana small businesses open and their workers employed. I’m glad I was able to helpsecure it.”  Beginning today, some of Montana’s hardest hit businesses can begin applying for their first draw PPP loans, and beginning January 13, harder hit businesses can begin

Many Montana businesses are still struggling from the financial impacts of the COVID-19 shutdowns from last Spring, and many are still suffering under restrictions that remain in place. Now that another COVID-19 relief package was signed into law by President Trump, another round of Paycheck Protection Program funds are now available. DAINES: This PPP funding is critical for Montana small businesses who have been hit hard due to the pandemic. This funding will help keep Montana small businesses open and their workers employed. I’m glad I was able to help secure it. Senator Daines said the funding became available starting January

MONTANA — U.S. Senator Steve Daines announced the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service renewed a $250,000 grant to help reduce grizzly bear and human conflicts in Montana. “This funding is critical to help reduce grizzly-human conflicts in Montana as we continue working to delist the grizzly bear and return management to the state,” Daines said. The USFWS grant to the Montana Wildlife Services will include: Additional support through the Wildlife Services contract to address bear and human conflict. Leveraging existing Federal programs, such as grants provided under the Pittman-Robertson Act, to restore, conserve and manage animals and their habitat. Continually

Dr. Kenneth Chatriad took a break from his work to wipe down the 12 smooth, light blue plastic chairs spaced out in a Curry Health Center hallway. Chatriad, the center’s pharmacy manager, walked through his newly constructed immunization center. Though it was hard to tell under his mask and face shield, he was probably smiling. “It is an exciting day today, finally,” Chatriad said as he brought his attention back to new faces coming down the corridor. They were frontline healthcare workers, including Curry doctors and test takers at the University of Montana, and they quietly picked a socially-distanced seat

Federal officials on Monday proposed revisions to consultation rules under the Endangered Species Act that could streamline the process for approving timber projects on critical habitat. If enacted, the revisions would allow the Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service to circumvent consultation with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials over land management plans when new species are listed as threatened. Land management plans are broad documents that guide agency decisions on public lands. The plans don’t authorize specific projects like timber sales, though such projects must be consistent with the plans’ standards. The Endangered Species Act mandates that

U.S. SENATE — U.S. Senators Jon Tester and Steve Daines announced that Montana will receive more than $71 million from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to combat COVID-19 through large-scale testing and vaccination efforts. The year-end bipartisan COVID-19 relief and stimulus package allocates $61,517,133 for COVID-19 testing and provides $9,657,321 for vaccine distribution. Tester said, “With the news this week that Montana has passed the grim milestone of more than 1,000 COVID-19 deaths, these critical resources are needed more now than ever to help get this virus under control once and for all and get folks back