Serving Southern Jefferson County in the Great State of Montana
Serving Southern Jefferson County in the Great State of Montana
Sorted by date Results 301 - 325 of 432
Montanans have traditionally worked together to solve thorny issues related to wildlife conservation and public lands. That’s the Montana way. But, unfortunately, conflict has replaced collaboration as the status quo. In recent years, elk management has become one of the most divisive issues in the state, dividing groups who once worked together towards shared goals and harming our hunting traditions. Elk, in particular, have become politically charged. It’s time that the citizens of Montana take back elk management from the politicians and...
Governor Greg Gianforte launched the 2021 Montana Governor’s Veteran Commendation and is seeking nominations for the award. “Our veterans and their families have sacrificed so much in defense of our freedoms and our way of life. Even after their time in military service, many Montana veterans have kept the flame of service burning by helping others in their community,” Gov. Gianforte said. “I’m asking Montanans to help me identify and recognize these outstanding Montana veterans, and I look forward to honoring these heroes for their service t...
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the Department has begun accepting applications for up to $1.15 billion in loans and grants to help people in rural areas get access to high-speed internet. This announcement comes on the heels of the recently enacted Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which provides another nearly $2 billion in additional funding for the ReConnect program. USDA anticipates issuing a new Notice of Funding Opportunity to make the additional funds in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law available in...
As a hunter and angler who’s lived in the Upper Clark Fork River valley between Deer Lodge and Anaconda for more than 30 years, I can attest to the damaging legacy of mining on our waterways. In 1908, a massive flood carried toxic mine tailings from Butte down the Clark Fork River, contaminating the river and the floodplain. To this day, hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent to clean up these toxic mine tailings in Butte, Silver Bow Creek, and the river. For 30 years, I’ve worked with local citizen groups to fight for a proper cle...
Governor Greg Gianforte announced the number of employed Montanans hit an all-time high in October as Montana’s unemployment rate fell to 3.1%, a low achieved only six times over the last 45 years, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Total employment grew by nearly 2,400 jobs while the labor force expanded by nearly 1,200 workers. “By opening Montana for business, we have more Montanans working than ever before,” Governor Greg Gianforte said. “We’ll continue enacting policies that create more Montana jobs, increase opportuni...
While the 2022 Election Calendars have not been posted yet by the Secretary of State’s office, those who are interested in filing for the position of Jefferson County Commissioner should reach out to the County Election Office in January. A Declaration of Candidacy form must be submitted to the Jefferson County Election Administrator and a fee must be paid to file. The fee is based on the official’s salary. After the Declaration is filed with Jefferson County, paperwork has to be filed with the Commissioner of Political Practices. Specific dat...
In honor of Veterans Day on November 11, Governor Greg Gianforte issued a proclamation declaring Montana a Hidden Heroes State to recognize military caregivers. “Montana is proudly home to one of the highest numbers of veterans per capita in the nation. We’re also home to countless military and veteran caregivers, whether they’re parents, spouses, siblings, or friends,” Gov. Gianforte said. “By proclaiming Montana a Hidden Heroes State, we’re recognizing those who are serving these vital roles in our communities.” As a Hidden Heroes state,...
Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and Ranking Member Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) are championing bipartisan legislation to improve rural veterans’ access to medical disability examinations. Geography or mobility issues often limit rural and housebound veterans’ access to quality and timely medical disability examinations. The Senators’ Reform and Update Rural Access to Local (RURAL) Exams Act of 2021 aims to address this inequity by increasing transparency of the medical disability examination program and authori...
Governor Greg Gianforte issued the following statement regarding COVID-19 vaccination mandates by employers in Montana: “Despite President Biden’s efforts to mandate vaccinations for employers and their employees, Montana law remains the law of the land, and no employer in our state should use President Biden’s OSHA rule, now halted by a federal court, as a basis for imposing illegal vaccination requirements on employees.” Codified under Montana’s Human Rights Act, House Bill 702 prohibits discrimination based on an individual’s vaccination sta...
In Montana we don’t have to worry about a knock at the door at night followed by a gruff voice declaring, “This is the state police, and we want to talk to you.” Every four years we Montanans vote for our County Sheriff, the head of law enforcement for our counties. Likewise, in our local elections, we vote for city commissioners or council members and mayors who control the city police. Local control of law enforcement is a firmly established governmental principle here in Montana and in much of the rest of the nation. Even at the national lev...
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks recorded more than 2.9 million visitors at state parks from January through September of this year. Compared with the same time period last year, visitation decreased by 2%, and compared to 2019, it increased by 27.1%. After a record setting July, many parks experienced a decrease in visitation as smoke from regional wildfires enveloped much of Montana for extended periods. “As we look back on another summer of extremely high visitation at state parks across Montana, it’s clear they provide not only ext...
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks announces that the application period to apply for a shooting range improvement grant is now open. Completed applications must be received no later than Feb. 1, 2022. Montana’s Shooting Range Grant Program, administered by FWP, provides funding to nonprofit shooting clubs, organizations, local governments and school districts to build and improve public shooting ranges throughout the state. To learn more about the Shooting Range Grant Program and to download this year’s grant application, visit FWP’s websi...
The Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission is seeking public comment on proposed grizzly bear relocation sites. Senate Bill 337, which was passed by the 2021 legislature, requires the Fish and Wildlife Commission to approve all sites where grizzly bears will be relocated by FWP. FWP staff, working with other land management agencies, have assembled a list of potential release sites in each of the Cabinet-Yaak, Northern Continental Divide, and Greater Yellowstone ecosystems. All proposed relocation sites are located within current grizzly bear...
Together with the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS), Governor Greg Gianforte announced a new, statewide $3.8 million program to help eligible Montanans pay for water and wastewater expenses. “This program will go a long way to help ensure Montanans maintain access to water at their home, without worrying about disruptions to service,” Gov. Gianforte said. Data gathered from the larger cities across the state indicate that many households are 60 or more days past due with amounts ranging anywhere from $50 to $1,...
An Initial Private Applicator Training will be held Tuesday, November 16, 2021 at the Madison Valley Rural Fire District at 5037 US Highway 287 North in Ennis. This training class is brought to you, free of charge, by the Montana State University Extension office, Jefferson County Weed District, the Madison County Weed District and the Madison Valley Ranchlands Group Weed Committee. The course will cover the following topics of interest: • Pesticides in the Environment • Calibration of Pesticide Spray Equipment • Pesticide Laws • Reading...
Voting – it's a right and duty none of us should take for granted or fail to exercise. But lately, it's been the topic of a lot of debate. From vote-by-mail to voter ID to guaranteeing trust in the results, it seems everyone has an opinion about the best way to participate in our democracy. Join Braver Angels of Montana and Wyoming, the Wyoming League of Women Voters and the Wyoming Tribune Eagle for "Alternative Voting Methods for Better Governance," a two-part event evaluating the pros and c...
U.S. Senator Jon Tester announced $325,000 in Department of Justice (DOJ) Adam Walsh Act grant funding for the Montana Department of Justice to reinforce the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA). “Keeping Montanans safe from dangerous individuals is critically important,” said Tester. “Every Montanan has the right to safety and security, and we need to improve how we communicate across communities to crack down on violent crime. I’m proud to secure this funding for our law enforcement to investigate and prosecute offende...
Governor Greg Gianforte today announced the number of employed workers in Montana hit an all-time high in September and the unemployment rate fell to 3.3%, a low not seen since June 2007. “Montana is in the midst of a historic economic recovery. We’ve recovered all jobs lost since the start of the pandemic, and more Montanans are working now than in our state’s history,” Gov. Gianforte said. “As we lead the Montana comeback, we’ll continue making Montana more competitive with lower taxes and less red tape, so folks throughout our state can p...
Last week, the House Committee on Agriculture unanimously passed Congressman Matt Rosendale’s bipartisan bill to fund the remediation and restoration of damaged public lands. The National Forest Restoration and Remediation Act was introduced earlier this year with Representatives Kim Schrier, M.D. (D-WA), Joe Neguse (D-CO), and Doug LaMalfa (R-CA). This bill would allow the Forest Service to collect and keep the interest earned on settlement funds in order to supplement restoration efforts. “The National Forest Restoration and Remediation Act...
Democrats, led by President Biden, Chuck Schumer, Bernie Sanders and Nancy Pelosi, are rushing a reckless $3.5 trillion tax and spending spree bill through Congress that would reshape the very foundation of America and push the U.S. down the path of socialism. The Democrats’ massive bill is the largest spending bill in our nation’s history and will create all sorts of new entitlement programs. To pay for it, Democrats plan to hike taxes across the board, making this bill the largest tax increase in over 50 years. In fact, according to the Tax...
When the Montana Districting and Apportionment Commission adopted criteria and goals for dividing Montana into two Congressional Districts it included a goal of considering competitiveness in its decision-making. That made sense, for history is very clear: Montana, over the years, has been competitive between the two major parties. It is easy to look at the most recent election results of 2020 and declare that Montana is not a competitive state politically. But a landslide of sorts in one election does not define the state permanently. Our...
Montanans overwhelmingly reject Critical Race Theory in our classrooms. Since Brown v. Board of Education, we’ve worked to live up to our founding ideals and we hold true to the principle of equal treatment for every student. President Biden’s controversial nominee to head the Department of Education’s extremely powerful Office for Civil Rights (OCR), Catherine Lhamon, instead wants to make sure every school in America implements and adheres to Marxist ideologies disguised as so-called antiracism teachings. Ms. Lhamon’s nomination stalled...
Growing up in rural Utah, I had incredible public hunting opportunities just like so many in Montana have enjoyed for generations. I spent time with family and friends, pursuing mule deer and elk on both public and private lands in what were the defining moments of my upbringing. That all changed when a group called Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife took over my home state’s wildlife agency, and made hunting strictly something for the wealthy. The public gets the crumbs, reduced to a handful of licenses. Even worse, in many hunting areas the p...
The Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) announced today that $31 million in federal funding is now available to Montanan child care providers via an online application. “Access to child care is an essential piece to the state’s workforce and plays a critical role in supporting Montana’s hardworking families, our economy, and our businesses,” said DPHHS Director Adam Meier. “This funding will help address immediate challenges currently facing the child care industry due to COVID-19, and help resolve this longstand...
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that up to $3 million in funding for locally-focused environmental education grants is now available under the 2021 Environmental Education (EE) Local Grant Program. EPA will award grants in each of EPA’s 10 Regions, for no less than $50,000 and no more than $100,000 each, for a total of 30-40 grants nationwide. Applications are due Dec. 6, 2021, and the Request for Application (RFA) notice is now posted on www.grants.gov. “Tackling the climate crisis and delivering on our health and env...
