HELENA – A judge on Wednesday rejected a request from a group fighting the state’s campaign finance laws to immediately rule some disclosure requirements unconstitutional. Montana has been attempting to penalize Western Tradition Partnership for not reporting expenditures from previous state election campaigns. The Virginia-based group filed a lawsuit claiming that what the state is […]

The spotlight shines bright on the University of Montana football program, as it should. The Grizzlies are one game away from playing in their third FCS national championship in four years. But down in Helena, a quieter dynasty built on mostly homegrown talent continues to reign as one of the best NAIA college football programs […]

Sens. Jon Tester and Max Baucus were two of only 20 Democratic senators to vote in favor of a balanced budget amendment earlier today. The Senate rejected two separate proposals to add a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution, following the footsteps of the House, which fell 23 votes short of the required two-thirds […]

There seem to be two motivations behind the current buoyant enthusiasm in Congress over crowd funding for entrepreneurs: (1) the democratization of funding for startup companies (no longer requiring such investors be wealthy) and (2) the job creation that is expected to result from creating more startup ventures. In my earlier post, Crowd Funding – […]

We have previously reported on the bipartisan support Montana’s politicians have expressed for the Keystone XL Pipeline, which would run from Alberta through Eastern Montana and four other states en route to a refinery in Texas. Now, Congressman Denny Rehberg and Sen. Jon Tester, who square off next year in the race for Tester’s Senate […]

Kalispell police arrested a 19-year-old California man in connection to a home invasion during which the homeowner was stabbed in a fight with the intruder. Dante Kier, of Santa Barbara, Calif., is accused of entering a residence on the southeast side of Kalispell on Dec. 12 and attacking a man who was at home with […]

Wednesday 12/7 7:30 a.m. An employee at a business on Highway 2 East was reportedly beating up his fellow employees. 8:21 a.m. Reportedly, a black and white dog ran around a Somers resident’s yard and barked all night 12:00 p.m. A woman on Shady Lane said that a man in Boston, Mass., has been stalking […]

The U.S. Postal Service announced last week it was moving forward with plans to possibly consolidate more than 250 mail-processing centers across the country and requested an advisory opinion from the Postal Regulatory Commission on the matter. The announcement created some confusion and many thought USPS had made a final decision to close sorting facilities […]

When Melanie Nelson lost almost half her customers at her Lakeside coffee drive-thru during the recent economic recession, she began reevaluating everything. With three young children and a husband working in an unpredictable construction environment, Nelson sought sustentance. She found it by “stirring up a revolution.” Using her background as a barista, Nelson began making […]

A “giant mess” is how Los Angeles City Councilman José Huizar sees the conundrum over the expansion of medical marijuana, which is seen across the city in the growing number of patients with prescriptions, dispensaries popping up faster than Starbucks shops, and neighborhood complaints about rising crime and traffic. The root of the “mess”? The […]

Bigfork freshman Makena Morley isn’t accustomed to finishing anywhere in the standings except first place, but I’m willing to bet she’s happy with her ninth place finish at Saturday’s National Foot Locker Cross Country Championships in San Diego. After all, she was competing against the best high school runners in the nation and she was […]

Local band Marshall Catch was in Hawaii to help commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attacks during a ceremony on Dec. 7. We wrote about the band and its attempts to raise money to get to Honolulu and play “The Ballad of the USS Arizona” for the event, and it looks like they […]

Montana’s newest federal judge says his upcoming move to Missoula will feel like coming home. Kalispell attorney Dana Christensen was confirmed for the U.S. District Court by the U.S. Senate last Monday, replacing U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy. Molloy will continue to serve while on senior status. Born and raised in Missoula, Christensen moved to […]

The fifth-ranked Montana Grizzlies will play their Football Championship Subdivision semifinal against top-ranked Sam Houston State this Friday. The game in Huntsville, Texas will be on ESPN. Sam Houston State is 13-0 and beat Montana State 49-13 Saturday morning in Huntsville. It’s the second time the Bearkats have met the Grizzlies in the FCS semifinals […]

Tuesday 12/6 10:30 a.m. “Black ops” technology was suspiciously stolen from a Columbia Falls business. 10:39 a.m. Someone on Highway 35 in Kalispell reported that last night their vehicle was stolen, wrecked and returned. 10:43 a.m. A big truck reportedly drove at high rates of speed and jumped the curb at Kmart. 11:06 a.m. A […]