News

 News from the office of Senator Tester U.S. SENATE — Following more than a year of efforts to get the United States Department of Agriculture to drop a proposed rule that would have kicked 700,000 low-income Americans off of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, U.S. Senator Jon Tester released the following statement on a recent U.S. District Court ruling striking down the proposal:  “I’ve said it from the beginning, the Trump Administration’s proposal to drastically cut SNAP benefits for low-income Montanans is cruel and unnecessary. Instead of trying to strip away what little help folks get to keep food on the table, USDA should be work...

News from the office of Governor Bullock MONTANA — Montana’s unemployment rate returned to a near-normal level of 5.3 percent in September after dropping from 5.6 percent in August. Economists typically consider normal unemployment levels to be between 4 percent to 5 percent.  The na...

News from the office of Senator Tester U.S. SENATE – Following years of efforts to provide Montana Tribal communities with more opportunities to develop reliable broadband infrastructure, U.S. Senator Jon Tester announced that seven Montana Tribes have received approval from the Federal Communicat...

News from the Montana Department of Commerce MONTANA — Montanans who have lost income due to the COVID-19 pandemic may be eligible for rent and mortgage payment assistance, but time is running out to apply for the monthly assistance. The Montana Department of Commerce announced Wednesday all appli...

News from the Lake County Election Office Voters are reminded that they cannot campaign for a candidate within 100 feet of the courthouse on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 3. Individuals will not be able to buy, sell, give, wear or display any badge, button, shirt, hat or mask within 100 feet of the courth...

News from the Montana Farmers Union MONTANA — The problem of food security is nothing new. “I found it to be very stressful when going to the store,” said Sheena Annala who is a mother of three from Great Falls. Just like many consumers Annala experienced a threat to food security duri...

News from St. Luke Community Healthcare St. Luke Community Healthcare was recognized with the Cardiac Recognition Award at the Montana Hospital Association’s annual virtual meeting in early October. The Cardiac Recognition Award is sponsored by the Cardiovascular Health Program within the state he...

News from the 2020 Census The U.S. Census Bureau ended its count of U.S. residents at the end of the day on Thursday, Oct. 15,  after a ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court allowed the Bureau to end the decennial count early.  Responding to the unprecedented impacts of COVID-19 this spring, t...

UM News Service MONTANA — In an invited, rapid-publication article for the journal Global Change Biology, University of Montana Associate Professor Philip Higuera tallies the statistics on the 2020 fire season, calling the numbers shocking, yet at the same time sadly predictable. By the end of ...

News from the Missoula Writing Collaborative The Missoula Writing Collaborative announces online writing classes in prose, poetry and how to create a writing practice for adult learners.  These classes will feature writers from the Missoula Writing Collaborative, including Dana Fitz Gale, Mark G...