In the 15 years since the famous “Citizens United” court case, which opened the floodgates for more spending in political races, the amount of money spent on federal elections has increased 2,800 percent. Former U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, a Democrat from Montana who was unseated by Republican Tim Sheehy, outspent his opponent in 2024 and still lost, with estimates of the single Senate seat race

Officials in Blaine and Phillips counties filed poaching charges against a Montana man who allegedly killed deer and elk on private property last fall. Marvin Cole, 20, of Lodgepole, was charged with one felony and nine misdemeanor violations between the two counties. The charges allege his role in the unlawful killing, possession, waste and sale of deer and elk antlers. In November 2024,

With a flurry of bill signings and vetoes, Gov. Greg Gianforte finalized Montana’s next two-year budget last week, striking hundreds of millions of dollars approved by legislators in what he described as an effort to eliminate unnecessary spending. Among the spending nixed by Gianforte’s veto pen, applied to standalone bills and specific items in the state’s main budget bill, were higher

A bill restricting when Montanans can register to vote — including eliminating most of Election Day — would disproportionately affect Indigenous peoples living in rural parts of the state, according to new court documents filed on Tuesday. The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, the Blackfeet Nation, the Fort Belknap Indian Community, and the Northern Cheyenne Tribe, as well as tribal

The Montana Department of Justice’s Office of Consumer Protection is warning Montanans of fraudulent text messages from scammers claiming to be from the Montana Motor Vehicle Division and asking the recipients to pay fines or traffic tickets. MVD does not send texts asking for money for unpaid tickets or toll road fees. To pressure recipients into providing their personal information and/or