In The News

A year and six months after her sister disappeared, Kimberly Loring will tell Congress what went wrong in the search, where law enforcement misstepped and why the nation needs to pay attention. The cases of missing and murdered Indigenous women has become a crisis, she’ll say. Ashley HeavyRunner Loring, 20, disappeared in June 2017. Kimberly Loring has been looking for her ever since. Ashley Loring is one of an unknown number of missing Native women and girls. The AP reported that no one knows how many are missing because the disappearances are sometimes unreported, aren’t documented thoroughly and aren’t part of

A bill sponsored by U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., to address a terrifyingepidemic passed the Senate last week.  The bill to help address the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women epidemic unanimously passed the Senate Thursday night, just a few weeks after the Senate Indian Affairs Committee unanimously voted to send Savanna’s Act to the Senate floor.” The bill is now on its way to the House before it will reach the president’s desk. Roosevelt County Undersheriff, John Summers said, “I don’t know a whole lot about this act, but it’s got to be a good thing.” Summers went on to

BILLINGS – A congressional measure that has interest in Montana as well as many other western states has cleared a hurdle in the process of becoming a bill, Thursday in the U.S Senate. Savanna’s Act secured all unanimous votes, keeping the bill alive and headed for approval in the U.S House of Representatives before heading to the president’s desk. Introduced by Senator Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, the measure has secured bipartisan support from Montana’s delegation. The bill is named for Savanna LaFontaine-Greywind, who was abducted and killed in Fargo, North Dakota. Savanna’s Act requires the Department of Justice to

Sen. Steve Daines said Tuesday that his recent trip to Turkey and Afghanistan reminded him that the “end game” is a political settlement with the Taliban and an Afghan government that can function on its own. However, the situation in the war which is now in it 17th year is complex, Daines said, adding a U.S. withdrawal now would have devastating consequences and put Americans at risk. In a telephone call with reporters, the Montana Republican said he visited troops with the Kalispell-based 495th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion now serving in Afghanistan on an air base north of Kabul. They are

Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., visited Kalispell-based National Guard troops in Afghanistan during a whirlwind weekend trip. During a Tuesday conference call with reporters, Daines described the soldiers he met with the 495th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion as “some great Montanans, some great Americans.” He said he met most of the troops from the 495th at Bagram Airfield, north of Kabul. But he said he also connected via teleconference with others in the battalion who were spread across Afghanistan. Daines said he was impressed by the soldiers’ focus on their mission. He said he fielded no complaints and witnessed many smiles

Jason Gleason has made something good out of a horrific loss and received national recognition for his work and sacrifice to his community. Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., recently honored the 46-year-old Great Falls resident as his “Montanan of the Week” for his work as a nurse practitioner for veterans, for his military service and for his work in stroke prevention. “Montana is incredibly lucky to have a health care professional like Jason Gleason serving our veterans,” Daines said Nov. 13, reading into the Congressional Record. “He is truly an excellent example of someone who puts service before self. He understands that

Acting EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler will visit Butte and Anaconda this week, Sen. Steve Daines’s office announced Monday. Wheeler, named to the post after the resignation of Administrator Scott Pruitt resigned in July, will be the first head of the agency to visit the Butte-Anaconda Superfund complex since Administrator William Reilly came at the behest of Sen. Max Baucus in 1990. Katie Schoettler, Daines’s press secretary, said the senator and Wheeler will visit both cities Friday. They will be joined by EPA Region 8 Administrator Doug Benevento; Dave Palmer and Bill Everett, chief executives of Butte-Silver Bow and Anaconda-Deer Lodge

This week, one of the most qualified Supreme Court nominees ever nominated to the bench, Judge Brett Kavanaugh, will testify before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee. Other than sending our sons and daughters to war, confirming a Supreme Court Justice is the most consequential vote I will take as a United States Senator. For Montana, and the rest of the nation, the impacts of this decision will last forever — because while laws come and go, judges serve for a lifetime. That’s why it’s critical we confirm the right person to serve on our nation’s highest court. Montanans overwhelmingly want

BOZEMAN, Mont. – Acting Director of the National Park Service, P. Daniel Smith, addressed lawmakers from around the country during a roundtable event in Bozeman Friday morning. He stressed the need to fund deferred maintenance projects which currently total more than $11 billion. “You name a park and a state in the west and it’s a tremendous part of our deferred maintenance,” said Acting Director Smith. He says Yellowstone is over $500 million in deferred maintenance. Projects that have been put off in Yellowstone include sewer. The visit is part of a three day trip to Montana put on by