In The News

The U.S. Supreme Court was split as it declared Tuesday private religious schools can receive money from a Montana tax credit program, and people in the state were no less divided on hearing the news. The country’s high court said a rule written by the state Department of Revenue to implement a 2015 law was unconstitutional because it prohibited students from using a scholarship funded through a tax credit program for attending religious private schools. The department had argued if the money went to religious programs, it would violate a no-aid provision in the state Constitution that stops state money

The U.S. Supreme Court delivered a major victory Tuesday to parents seeking state aid for their children’s religious school education in a case that put Montana center stage. The court ruled 5-4 on Espinoza vs. the Montana Department of Revenue, in an opinion written by Chief Justice John Roberts, that states offering scholarships to students in private schools cannot exclude religious schools from such programs. The court stopped short of requiring states to fund religious education, ruling only that programs cannot differentiate between religious and secular private schools. “A state need not subsidize private education. But once a state decides

BILLINGS, Mont. — A divided U.S. Supreme Court rules that religious schools in Montana can be eligible for a state scholarship program funded by tax credits. The court’s 5-4 decision ruled in favor of three Montana mothers in Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue. The three mothers, the plaintiffs in this case, applied for the state-funded scholarships to keep their children enrolled at Stillwater Christian School in Kalispell. Today’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling strikes down the Montana Constitution’s ban on state aid to religious schools. The ruling is a victory for parents, like Kendra Espinoza, who want to use these

BILLINGS — U.S. Sen. Steve Daines of Montana is calling on the U.S. Postal Service to review and correct policy after a Billings veteran’s remains were lost in the mail. Daines recently sent a letter to the USPS inspector general asking for an in-depth investigation into the matter, which took place during the COVID-19 pandemic. Billings veteran Donald Tyler died from COVID-19 while traveling with his wife Christine Tyler overseas in March. Don was a U.S. Air Force veteran who served in Vietnam and made a career working as a federal law enforcement officer. Last month, Christine finally received her

U.S. Senator Steve Daines has announced that the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) will be directing $35,166,221 in Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) funds to Montana’s small and rural counties. Ravalli County will receive $2,671,717. “PILT payments provide critical support to Montana’s rural counties,” Daines said. “I’ve worked hard to support the PILT program which provides critical resources for essential services like emergency response efforts and transportation in Montana’s rural counties. Given the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, this funding is more important than ever.” The federal government directs PILT funds to local governments to offset the loss

Consistency is important especially when running a business but circumstances brought about by the pandemic have shifted the way people do business across our state. That holds true for the Sullivan family in Dixon. Right alongside the National Bison Range near Dixon sits the Sullivan family ranch. From the beginning, it’s been a family business. “When I met Chris, he had always wanted to do bison, and that sounded exciting to me. We started with just 20 young ones and built it into what we have today,” said Stacy Sullivan. Everything down to the logo was given careful thought and

U.S. Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) on June 24 led a Republican bill that would remove the so-called Cottonwood decision, which the senator considers a roadblock to responsible forest management efforts on federal lands. “Even the Obama Administration agreed that the Cottonwood decision was flawed and crippled forest management,” Sen. Daines said last week. “This law has tied the hands of our land managers, prevented them from following the best available science in management decisions, and diverted resources for a paperwork exercise yielding no conservation benefit.” In 2015, the Ninth Circuit Court ruled in Cottonwood Environmental Law Center v. United States

A $1.9 billion measure to help settle a long-disputed water rights deal between the state and federal governments and the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes received its first congressional hearing on June 24, with both of Montana’s U.S. senators and a senior Interior Department official praising the legislation as the best course of action to avoid costly litigation, modernize outmoded irrigation systems in the Flathead Valley and mitigate historic damage to natural resources. Introduced last December by U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, R-Montana, and co-sponsored by U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana, the Montana Water Rights Protection Act is the product of

Several employees stood among wooden dressers, dining room tables, couches and chairs to greet Sen. Steve Daines as he visited the showroom for Black Timber Furniture in Four Corners on Friday morning. Black Timber Furniture received $65,000 from the federal paycheck protection program, a $349 billion initiative that provides loans to small businesses. The program was part of the $2.2 trillion congressional coronavirus relief package. When Gov. Steve Bullock issued a stay-at-home order in late March, Black Timber owner Todd Fullerton had to close his Four Corners showroom. He was able to keep operating his Belgrade manufacturing facility because, as