eports April is always a fast-paced month at the Legislature, and this year is no different. The Senate has been busy voting on a lot of bills that covered a wide variety of topics. I am confident that the bills we passed will improve lives of Montana’s in many ways, however nothing is perfect. This past week the Senate passed two critical appropriations bills that will help our state move

U.S. Sens. Steve Daines, R-Mont., and Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., introduced a bipartisan bill, the “Wildland Firefighter Recognition Act,” to support wildland firefighters. The bipartisan bill would require the Office of Personnel Management to create a job series for wildland firefighters that would help with recruitment efforts and boost morale. “In recent years Montana’s wildland

Montana gas prices have risen 1.6 cents per gallon in the past week, averaging $2.73/g on Monday, April 19,, according to GasBuddy’s daily survey of 615 stations in Montana. Gas prices in Montana are 5.1 cents per gallon higher than a month ago and stand 86.2 cents per gallon higher than a year ago. According to GasBuddy price reports, the cheapest station in Montana is priced at $2.63/g while

Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte has signed two bills to help address the crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons in Montana. “Montana faces a tragic trend of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons, and we must bring all resources to bear in state and tribal government as well as law enforcement to end it,” Gianforte said. “These new laws equip the state with the tools needed to

Lifeline. The “988” hotline will connect callers with suicide prevention and mental health crisis counselors. Contact numbers on your cell phone will likely have to be reprogrammed with the “406” in order to work. The “988” National Suicide Prevention Lifeline will become available starting on July 16, 2022. Until that time, people can still use 800-2738255 (TALK).

The House of Representatives voted Monday to keep a controversial bill alive that would limit trangender women’s rights by sending the legislation to a conference committee to rectify differences between the House and Senate versions. House Bill 112 would bar transgender women from competing on women’s sports teams. It narrowly passed the Senate on a 29-21 vote with an amendment that would

National Republican leaders conducted a forum to voice their displeasure with President Biden’s cancellation of the Keystone XL pipeline. The forum, titled “President Biden’s Cancellation of the Keystone XL Pipeline and American Jobs,” was hosted by Rep. David B. McKinley, R-W.Vir., Republican leader for the Environment and Climate Change Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce

The Wolf Point Lions Club announced that it will have its annual pancake breakfast from 6-11:30 a.m. on Saturday, May 1, at the Wolf Point Elks Event Center. All proceeds from the event will go to Borge Park’s playground. Tickets cost $8 each. Children, 5 years and younger, eat for free. Sponsors include Agland Co-op, J& M Distributing and McDonald’s.