Dear Editor: Did you and other taxpayers of Roosevelt County receive a $1,000 stipend that the county commissioners gave to themselves and all county employees on March 2? I have enclosed a copy of a request for information as to the amount the county received through the CARES Act, Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economics Security Act and other information to try and understand how the commissioners

Montana is the only state in the U.S. that has unisex rates for all insurance. A bill in the Legislature seeks to undo that. House Bill 379, sponsored by House Majority Leader Sue Vinton, R-Billings, would allow insurance companies to charge different rates for males and females. The bill passed the House of Representatives 70-28 last month before moving to the Senate Business, Labor and Economic

U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., is cosponsoring the “Protect and Serve Act,” to help protect law enforcement officers by creating federal penalties for individuals who deliberately target local, state, or federal law enforcement officers with violence. “Montana law enforcement officers put their lives on the line every single day to keep our families and communities safe,” said Senator Daines.

The Town Pump Charitable Foundation is offering $1,000 grants to public libraries in Montana to help fund summer youth-reading programs. Libraries can apply now through April 30 at www. townpumpfoundation.com using the Keep Kids Reading application. Grants will be awarded in May 2021. The total grant pool is $60,000. “The Town Pump Charitable Foundation appreciates the critical role

Lawmakers in the House of Representatives began debating the state’s two-year budget on Monday, March 22. Rep. Llew Jones, R-Conrad, is the chair of the House Appropriations Committee and the sponsor of House Bill 2, the main budget bill. “The only job that a Legislature actually has to do is pass a budget,” Jones said during the bill’s first debate in the full House. “In our

The Montana House took up House Bill 2, the main funding bill, on Monday, March 22, and Rep. Frank Smith, D-Poplar, was unhappy with decisions made during the session. Cuts for suicide prevention, prisons and mental health were some of the areas that Smith was most disappointed bout. “Every time, we try to amend it, it gets killed 66-33. The 33 are Democrats,” Smith said. “The whole HB

The state of Montana looks like it’s ahead of the game when it comes to COVID vaccinations. Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte announced last week that the goal has changed in the state regarding when vaccinations will be available for all Montanans. Instead of the previous mid-July goal, Gianforte said the goal is now April 1 for all residents over the age of 16. President Biden has announced

Lawmakers on the House State Administration Committee heard public comment Tuesday, March 16, on yet another bill that would change judicial elections in the state. Senate Bill 271 would add a single sentence to Montana code, but has the potential to vastly change judicial elections by allowing candidates to announce political endorsements. Sen. Carl Glimm, R-Kila, is the sponsor of the bill.

A bill seeking to ease permitting requirements for gravel pits in rural areas and make it harder to call a public hearing on new facilities is drawing clear battle lines in the Montana Legislature, as property owners say it cuts them out of the process. In a hearing that lasted for more than two hours on Monday, March 15, the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Steve Gunderson, R-Libby, called the bill —