Serving Proudly As The Voice Of Valley County Since 1913
Serving Proudly As The Voice Of Valley County Since 1913
Sorted by date Results 101 - 125 of 151
Montana has a rising wave of conservationists from near and far choking the interests of our state’s historical and economical foundation. Squeezing slowly, our governor, the American Prairie Reserve and Bureau of Land Management have tightened their grip, choosing the health of bison population over the well-being of one our state’s most important contributors, our farmers and ranchers. The BLM’s recent prefatory approval given to the APR regarding grazing permits for bison is a scary foreshadowing of further decline of the use of priva... Full story
Governor Steve Bullock, First Lady Lisa Bullock, and the Governor's Office of Community Service recognized RuthAnn Hutcheson of Glasgow on Friday, February 12 at the state capitol for her outstanding service to the community as a part of the 2016 ServeMontana Award winners. For the past 25 years, RuthAnn has planned, organized, and run the Valley County Thanksgiving Day Dinner to serve meals to 150 people each year. RuthAnn is known for always jumping in to help others by serving with the...
A group of Montana state agencies and conservation organizations is seeking nominations for the second round of inductees to the Montana Outdoor Hall of Fame. The MOHOF honors individuals who have contributed to the restoration and conservation of Montana’s fish, wildlife and other outdoor amenities. “Montana’s Outdoor Hall of Fame recognizes Montana’s historical and contemporary conservation leaders,” said Montana Gov. Steve Bullock. “We need to capture and share the important stories of the men and women who’ve championed Montana’s out...
Recently the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) granted Montana an extension of time to conform to the “REAL ID” law passed by Congress in 2005. In a nutshell the REAL ID law demanded that state driver license and identification cards conform to federal requirements concerning information and data sharing as laid out by DHS, and that these identification documents have the approval of DHS. Only state issued identification documents that met DHS standards would be valid for entrance to Federal Buildings (I hope the Post Office was not one of...
Recently, Montana's Gov. Steve Bullock joined with Canadian Consul General Marcy Grossman in welcoming guests to a retirement reception in honor of Honorary Consul Shirley Ball of Nashua. The reception, held in the governor's reception room at the Montana State Capitol building, was hosted by the Canadian Consulate and attended by about 50 people. Ball retired after serving for 10 years as the Honorary Consul for Canada in Montana. The Honorary Consul job requires that the person provide...
“It [is] more a duty [of an Attorney General] to save an innocent than to convict a guilty man.” We know we do not live in a perfect world where only the guilty are convicted and the wrongly accused go free, but prosecutors can sometimes seem more interested in winning convictions than in remembering these words of Thomas Jefferson. Kimberly Nees was 17 years old in 1979 when she was brutally beaten to death near the town of Poplar. Barry Beach, also 17, was one of several classmates who were interviewed in her murder. No charges were bro...
Governor Steve Bullock was joined by Sen. J.P. Pomnichowski, former Governor and soil scientist Brian Schweitzer, and students from Longfellow Elementary School, as he hosted a ceremonial signing of SB 176, making the Scobey Soil the official state soil of Montana. The bill was brought forward at the request of the students, and carried by Pomnichowski. “Today we’re not only making the Scobey Soil the official state soil of Montana, we’re also showing these students that if they can make an impact on their state and community, regardless of ho... Full story
After a lot of work on a bill that passed both through the Montana Senate and House, Sen. John Brenden-R was disappointed yesterday as his bill SB 284 was vetoed. The bill would allow county commissioners to approve the relocation of wild bison and allow them to ask for conditions if they saw a need. The bill passed in the the house and senate by the end of March with some amendments. It went up for the vote again in April and passed both the house (59-40) and senate (32-18). The governor made...
It was a very well thought out argument at the last Glasgow School Board Meeting on Thursday, April 16. Glasgow Head Start Coordinator Pam Ost spoke out to the trustees about thinking about saving a part of the old Irle School building, to be used as a place for Head Start and other pre-kindergarten programs that may one day become part of the district. Her proposal was to form a committee to report back to the board at the next meeting with recommendations on the two story structure, that would include the kitchen. She spoke to the school...
A Montana Senate panel put about $50 million into the state budget bill last week, after Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock said the budget crafted by House Republicans was unacceptable. The panel added about $25 million in amendments to House Bill 2, the $4 billion state general fund budget for the next two years. The amendments injected some of the money the governor asked for in his budget proposal. The committee also added another $25 million in what’s known as a supplemental appropriation, which covers some debts for the remainder of this f...
A chicken-sized bird has gotten energy industry advocates and conservationists, Republicans and Democrats working together to prevent it from becoming the next native Montana species listed as endangered or threatened: the sage grouse. “This isn’t a political winner for any politician,” said Sen. Brad Hamlett, D-Cascade. “You’re tasked with the responsibility of looking out for the best interests of the state.” In this case, that means balancing energy interests and conservation to keep the vulnerable aviary species under state control. Th...
Last week Speaker of the House Austin Knudsen presented House Bill 402 to the House Appropriations Committee. Knudsen is proposing a bill that would give a little more back to the eastern Montana areas directly impacted by the gas and oil industry. Gov. Steve Bullock proposed his own infrastructure bill this session that would use $45 million from bond sales to help our side of the state with water and sewer systems, and roads and bridges that are in need of repairs or upgrades. House Bill 5 proposes $391 million in cash and bonds to help...
FOR The Courier Montana’s unemployment rate continued its decline in December, down 0.1 percentage points to 4.2 percent. The unemployment rate has decreased by over a full percentage point during 2014. The U.S. unemployment rate declined to 5.6 percent. The U.S. unemployment rate remains over a point above Montana’s rate, but has also decreased by over a full percentage point over the year. Valley County is no longer in the top 10 for the lowest unemployment rate, it rates at 11, with an unemployment of 3.1 percent. Over the last year it’s gon...
All eyes are on Eastern Montana as an oil spill has taken to national headlines. The Bridger Pipeline LLC running along the Yellowstone River experienced a broken pipeline that spilled oil into the river, just seven miles upstream from Glendive. The 12-inch steel pipeline was placed in the area in the 1955. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reported Monday night that the first estimates of the spill could possibly be higher than the original 50,000 gallons estimated on Saturday. It has been reported that the change of pipeline pressure...
As many as 2,000 temporary high-paying blue-collar jobs will be created in Montana if the U.S. government approves the much publicized Keystone XL pipeline. More than twice as many similar private-sector construction jobs, however, will result from state government approval of the "Build Montana" program proposed by Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock and sponsored in the legislature by Republican Rep. Jeff Welborn of Dillon. The Montana proposal includes badly-needed improvements in infrastructure in Montana's end of the Bakken energy development,...
The 2015 Montana Legislature convened Jan. 5, and ceremonial and educational events welcomed the 150 lawmakers from all over the state to Helena. During the swearing-in ceremonies, the leaders of each party said they hoped the parties would work together to better the state. “I look around this room and see 50 individuals dedicated to making Montana a better place,” said new Senate President Debby Barrett, R-Dillon. Barrett is the first woman elected Senate president, and she spoke about increasing the power of the legislative branch. “It...
Gov. Steve Bullock and Montana Department of Commerce Director Meg O'Leary the award of $150,000 in funding for events across – including the Governor's Cup Walleye Tournament on Fort Peck Lake. The $12,000 Gov Cup grant is an accomplishment for the Glasgow Chamber of Commerce & Agriculture, which submitted the sponsoring grant application. State officials said funding program helps Montana's tourism industry bring new revenue into the economy. The funding is being made available through the Mon...
It was a day for Montana's history books. While the topic is still controversial and will likely face another battle in court, U.S. District Court of Montana Judge Brian Morris ruled in favor of four same-sex couples who were suing for marriage on Wednesday, Nov. 19. His decision led to several marriages in the last week of same sex couples celebrating the decision. Yellowstone County saw some of the first marriages in the state for same-sex couples. It also had some controversy as a few clerks refused to marry couples, but they were told by a...
This was released by Gov. Bullock's office. Governor Steve Bullock released his budget proposal for the 2017 biennium. The proposal aims to build on and maintain the state’s fiscal strength, while making common sense investments that will allow the state’s economy to continue to grow. In his proposal, Bullock encourages the Legislature to follow his lead as they construct a budget for consideration, by: 1. Leaving a $300 million ending fund balance on June 30, 2017, that will ensure that state is prepared to weather any rainy day. 2. Ens...
It's the hot topic on every social media outlet, on the television, on radio and all over the nation's news business. Rising panic on Ebola in the United States. I learned in the last few weeks that this panic is so great, that you could lose friends over a joke on Ebola, I also learned that trying to get on an airplane and joking about Ebola is a big no-go. So why all of a sudden a panic on the virus? Maybe it's because people who have suffered the true flu understand the pain a virus can leave you in with no help in sight. The truth of the...
"I don't want to borrow on the highway future," Director of Montana Department of Transportation Mike Tooley said at a meeting that took place at the Cottonwood Inn in Glasgow on Friday. Tooley came to the Highway 2 Association quarterly meeting, and he was able to address officials from along the Hi-Line. With increased traffic, some smaller communities along the Hi-Line have been concerned with maintenance and possible upgrades to Hwy. 2. The Hwy. 2 Association has been pushing "4 for 2" for... Full story
As flood waters receded in late August, Valley County Disaster and Emergency Services Coordinator Rick Seiler started working on figuring how much damage existed. Those numbers began to rise in Valley County, along with those in nearby Musselshell, Petroleum, Blaine and Carter counties and the Fort Belknap Reservation. The preliminary assessment of damages in Valley County added up to almost $958,000. Combined all areas are at about $1.6 million in damages, with Fort Belknap reporting around $53,000, Carter County $37,000, Musselshell $55,000...
Montana’s unemployment rate was at 4.7 percent in August, a slight increase of one-tenth of one percentage point from July. The jobless rate in Valley County, meanwhile, is now sitting just under 3 percent. At 2.9 percent, only 124 residents are reported as unemployed. In August, the U.S. unemployment rate also improved, decreasing by 0.1 percentage points to 6.1 percent. The county rate is considerably better than in neighboring counties. Phillips County is reporting 4.1 percent, or 85 people unemployed, and Roosevelt County is at 5.7 p...
Valley County's unemployment rate rose slightly in July and sits at 3.1 percent – with just 133 people reported as unemployed in the county. It was a similar story statewide. Montana’s unemployment rate was at 4.6 percent in July, a slight increase of 0.1 of a percentage point from June. Still, the Big Sky State's unemployment rate has decreased by 0.7 of a percentage point since January. The U.S. unemployment rate, meanwhile, also nudged up 0.1 of a percentage point to 6.2 percent. “With more than 12,000 jobs created since the beginning of th...
FOR THE COURIER Gov. Steve Bullock declared a disaster for areas in central and eastern Montana after severe storms and heavy rains hit the area from August 21 through August 24. This will allow Bullock to mobilize state resources and the Montana National Guard, as well as expend funds to meet the contingencies and needs that may arise from the emergency. “With the severity and intensity of the storms we saw last week and the damage that resulted, it is important that the state provide relief to those jurisdictions that need our a...
