In The News

Six internet providers are expected to extend broadband service to nearly 46,000 homes and businesses in rural Montana with nearly $126 million from the Federal Communications Commission. The FCC announced Monday it will grant $9.2 billion to internet providers from its Rural Development Opportunity Fund over the next 10 years, following an auction that FCC Chairman Ajit Pai called “the single largest step ever taken to bridge the digital divide.” Big winners in the auction include Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which received nearly $886 million to expand broadband in 35 states. That includes nearly $73 million for more than 29,000 sites

The Federal Communications Commission completed an auction that selected companies who will increase high-speed internet access to Montana and the rest of rural America. The companies include cable operators, electric cooperatives, telephone companies, satellite companies and fixed wireless providers. The work is expected to be mostly completed within six years of a 10-year contract. In Montana, Senators Jon Tester and Steve Daines welcomed the news, which provides $125 Million to bring high-speed internet to over 45,000 locations across the state. Nationally, $9.2 billion is being spent on the upgrades from the FCC’s Rural Development Opportunity Fund. Tester said he will

Minor league baseball in Montana will continue on, after a recent agreement between Major League Baseball and the Pioneer League became official. U.S. Sens. Jon Tester and Steve Daines both fought for the Pioneer League, which includes three teams in Montana, to stay affiliated in some way with the MLB. “Big Sky Country is professional baseball country, which is why I am pleased to announce that I successfully worked with MLB and our minor league teams to keep America’s favorite pastime in Montana,” said Tester. “The roots of our Pioneer League clubs run deep, and I’m going to keep working

Rural internet providers across the country are waiting on the federal government to finish giving directions on what to do with recently banned Chinese equipment. The delay is adding uncertainty and costs to efforts to narrow Montana’s digital divide. Craig Gates is the CEO of Triangle Telephone Cooperative, a small telecom company based in Havre, MT that provides service to about 20,000 customers in rural Central Montana. It’s expensive to provide internet and cell coverage in areas where customers are spread out, and big companies tend to stay away. Looking for a cheaper way to bring high-speed internet to the

Note: Information for this report came from the offices of U.S. Sens. Jon Tester and Steve Daines and the U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana A push to get more resources, information and investigation for murdered and missing Indigenous persons years in the making took a major step forward this week with the launching of a pilot program on the Flathead Indian Reservation. At a council meeting of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Indian Reservation — CSKT — the CSKT Council and U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana Kurt Alme launched a pilot project

BILLINGS – As Montana gets ready for its first shipment of the COVID-19 vaccine, state health officials are also busy making sure disbursement is set up and ready to go across the state. Gov. Steve Bullock announced this week that Montana will get over 9,700 doses of the Pfizer vaccine. Officials at both Billings Clinic and St. Vincent Healthcare say they are ready to take them. Bullock says Montana’s first allotment will focus on vaccinating the more than 40,000 health care workers in the state. Those with St. Vincent Healthcare say they are registered with the state of Montana to

BILLINGS- Funding for small businesses, unemployment, schools and local governments is about to run out nationwide as Congress continues to negotiate terms for a second round of COVID-19 stimulus relief funds. However, Montana Republican U.S. Sen. Steve Daines believes lawmakers are close to reaching an agreement if they can get past bipartisan disagreements for how money should be allocated. Daines spoke with MTN News Thursday afternoon from his Washington, D.C., office on a Zoom call. He discussed the importance of a second bill having much of the same relief as the first. Money from the CARES Act, which Congress passed

U.S. Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT), who worked to save Montana’s Minor League Baseball teams when Major League Baseball (MLB) announced it would cut ties with 42 minor league teams across the country, on Monday applauded an agreement by MLB and Montana’s minor league teams that retains professional baseball in the state. “Professional baseball in Montana helps bring our communities together and drive our local economies,” Sen. Daines said. “I’m very glad that after months of negotiations, MLB and Montana’s minor league teams have come to an agreement to allow Great Falls, Missoula, and Billings to continue playing professional baseball in

According to ALS News Today, about 14,000 people in the U.S. are suffering from ALS, or Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, a disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, slowly crippling the patient. There is currently no known cause or cure and Social Security Disability Insurance requires a five-month waiting period for treatment. The U.S. Senate this week passed a bipartisan bill presented by Montana Sen. Steve Daines that “will allow Montanans with ALS to receive both Medicare and Social Security Disability Insurance benefits in the first month the patient is under disability,” according to a Dec. 2