In The News

GREAT FALLS — The new Great Falls Veterans Affairs clinic hosted a grand opening Friday morning with a ceremony dedicated to veterans and clinic staff. The event, which was open to vets and the public, had remarks from Montana VA Health Care System representatives, as well as Governor Steve Bullock, U.S. Senators Steve Daines and Jon Tester, and Clarence Sivertsen, the vice chairman of the Little Shell Chippewa Tribe. Small groups were offered tours to see the new facility, which is the first in the Montana VA system to implement the Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT) model. “Now we have

With the U.S. Senate deadlocked as the additional $600 in weekly federal unemployment benefits meant to supplement state benefits expires at midnight Friday, both of Montana’s senators called for action while placing blame on the other party. In Montana, the enhanced federal pandemic unemployment compensation to eligible Montanans totaled $549 million, according to the state Department of Labor and Industry. Total unemployment payments made in Montana were $769.6 million from April 13 to July 24, meaning the $600 federal payments made up 71% of everything paid out. On Friday, a spokesperson for Sen. Steve Daines, a Republican, said the senator

This is an important year for the Environmental Protection Agency and for America’s environment. This year marks the agency’s 50th anniversary and commemorates the 40th anniversary of the Superfund clean-up program, which was created to address America’s most contaminated properties. Throughout July, EPA is highlighting the success of programs like Superfund as part of our “Cleaning Up and Reusing America’s Land” month. During the Trump Administration, criteria air pollutant emissions have dropped 7% — making air quality the best it’s been since modern record keeping began — and our water is among the cleanest on the planet. I am proud

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler got an up-close and personal look at the federal agency’s impact in Kalispell during a tour on Friday. Wheeler came from Washington, D.C., to join U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., and local business leaders on a tour of brownfield sites throughout the city that have been redeveloped, thanks to $2 million in EPA funding. “We’re very happy Administrator Wheeler took the time to come to Kalispell,” said Katharine King, assistant director of Community and Economic Development with the city of Kalispell. “The EPA brownfield program has been a great resource for property owners

At a U. S. Senate Finance hearing on Tuesday, Senator Steve Daines posed questions to two Department of Homeland Security personnel on importing vital medical supplies from countries like China. “It’s long overdue that we end our reliance on foreign countries like China to produce medical equipment, supplies and life saving drugs,” said Daines. “That’s why I’ve taken swift action to put America first in leading the effort in Congress to support ‘Made in America’ manufacturing as well as jobs. I was able to secure $10 billion in the CARES Act to accelerate the development and manufacturing of drugs and

As details about a fourth round of the federal COVID-19 relief spending surface in the Senate, Montana lawmakers are putting forth what they would like to see in the bill. U.S. Sens. Steve Daines, a Republican, and Democrat Jon Tester are focused on several proposals ranging from a replacement for the Paycheck Protection Program to getting relief to local governments. Time is expiring on key programs created by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act passed by Congress in late March. Better known as the CARES Act, the March bill was a $2 trillion response to a pandemic, which

U.S. Sen. Steve Daines and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler visited with Kalispell city officials and EPA Region 8 Administrator Gregory Sopkin on June 24 to tour several Brownfields sites, which are now part of the Kalispell Core and Rail Redevelopment project. The project, which has paved the way for the Glacier Rail Park and the future Parkline Trail in downtown Kalispell, is a result of a Brownfields Area-Wide Planning grant in combination with a Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant and public and private funds. The Rail Park, former CHS Country Store, CHS Agronomy Center and

MISSOULA — The Missoula Urban Transit District will receive nearly $6 million in funding to help cover software upgrades to keep buses running on schedule and to increase messaging for Paratransit services. The funding was announced on Wednesday by U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao and followed Thursday by Sens. Jon Tester and Steve Daines, who called public transit a key piece of the nation’s transportation infrastructure. “These funds are a critical investment that will help hard hit workers and state agencies keep the wolf away from the door and make sure infrastructure in rural America is not cast aside during

KALISPELL — U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler joined Montana Sen. Steve Daines on Friday for a tour of Brownfields grant sites in Kalispell. “This is an example of how we work together with our communities and the EPA to restore, reclaim and redevelop lands that previously weren’t able to be used for anything that’s economically viable,” said Sen. Daines. Administrator Wheeler and Senator Daines toured the Glacier Rail Park, the CHS-Agronomy Center and SunRift Brewery and Restaurant. The EPA’s Brownfields Program provides direct funding for assessment, cleanup, environmental job training and more. Since 2010, Kalispell has received more