Montana/Region

House Speaker to campaign for Zinke in Billings

Published on Tue, 10/25/2016 - 4:33pm

BILLINGS, Mont. — House Speaker Paul Ryan is scheduled to stop in Billings this weekend to campaign for U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke.

The Billings Gazette reports the Wisconsin Republican will speak to the public Sunday morning at the Corporate Air hangar at Billings Logan International Airport. The doors open at 9 a.m.

Zinke is seeking a second two-year term as Montana's lone congressman. His challenger is Democrat Denise Juneau, the outgoing superintendent of public instruction.

Helena woman sues Interior Department over sexual assault

Published on Tue, 10/25/2016 - 4:32pm

KALISPELL, Mont. (AP) — A Helena woman who was sexually assaulted by a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service employee while on a work trip has filed a lawsuit, saying she has been subject to retaliation and harassment in the workplace.

The woman filed a federal lawsuit on Oct. 18 against the Department of Interior, former co-worker Lawrence Lockard of Bigfork and Interior Secretary Sally Jewell.

Former state employee files wrongful discharge lawsuit

Published on Tue, 10/25/2016 - 4:31pm

HELENA, Mont. — A former auditor for the Montana's health department has filed a wrongful discharge lawsuit against the state.

Carol Bondy alleges that she was fired last year in retaliation for reporting the apparent misuse of state and federal funds by agencies receiving grants or contracts.

Bondy says when Department of Public Health and Human Services officials failed to act on her concerns, she reported them to the federal government.

DPHHS officials declined to comment on the lawsuit, which was filed Oct. 18.

Montana judge sparks outrage with no prison time for incest

Published on Mon, 10/24/2016 - 4:16pm
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HELENA, Mont. — A judge's decision not to order prison time for a Montana man who raped his 12-year-old daughter has sparked outrage from afar and calls closer to home to toughen the state's law, which allows such lenience in certain circumstances.

Enacted in a wave of similar legislation around the country after the killing of a 9-year-old Florida girl in 2005, the Montana statute requires a minimum sentence of 25 years in prison for anyone convicted of rape, incest or sexual abuse of a child 12 or younger.

Congolese refugees share their joys, foibles and discoveries

Published on Mon, 10/24/2016 - 4:11pm
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MISSOULA, Mont. (AP) — Gilbert Hategeka laughed as he told the story of himself.

The heating unit in his new home in Missoula was quiet when Hategeka, his wife and their four young sons moved in after spending most of the previous 18 years in a refugee camp in Uganda, reported the Missoulian.

"I saw the heater but it wasn't on, wasn't working," Hategeka said through a Swahili-speaking interpreter. "After about five days it just turned on and started vibrating. It vibrated the whole house."

Election guide: Governor, US House races top full Montana ballot

Published on Mon, 10/24/2016 - 4:08pm

HELENA, Mont. — After enduring months of political ads filling the airwaves, fliers clogging mailboxes and candidates knocking on doors, Montana voters get to decide on Nov. 8 who will represent them.

Absentee voting is underway for a full ballot topped by races for governor, U.S. House, state Supreme Court, four statewide offices and the Legislature. Here's a look at the choices voters face:

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GOVERNOR

Montana State University raises over $300 million

Published on Mon, 10/24/2016 - 4:05pm

BOZEMAN, Mont. — Montana State University has brought in $308 million to hit a fundraising goal two years earlier than planned.

The Bozeman Daily Chronicle reports (http://bit.ly/2eHZ4NQ) the money will be spent on scholarships, classrooms and other projects.

The university set out to have $300 million raised by the 125th anniversary of the school's founding in 2018.

MSU Alumni Foundation president and CEO Chris Murray said this was the biggest fundraising campaign ever in Montana.

Emails show machinations behind Clinton's shift on Keystone XL pipeline

Published on Fri, 10/21/2016 - 4:39pm
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WASHINGTON — Hacked emails show Hillary Clinton's campaign wrestled with how to announce her opposition to construction of the controversial Keystone XL pipeline without losing the support of labor unions that supported to project.

Emails published this week by WikiLeaks show debate and confusion within the Clinton camp as it faced down the unexpectedly strong primary challenge by liberal Sen. Bernie Sanders, who opposed the pipeline.

Secretary of state: Voters should handle ballots themselves

Published on Fri, 10/21/2016 - 4:38pm

HELENA, Mont. — Montana's secretary of state, responding to complaints of people offering to deliver voters' absentee ballots for them, said Friday that residents should mail in or hand their ballots directly to their election office unless they know and trust the people who are handling them.

Official: Montana's mining future could lie in ordinary rock

Published on Fri, 10/21/2016 - 4:34pm

Montana's mining future could lie in ordinary rock 

BUTTE, Mont. — A Montana official says the state's mining future could lie in ordinary rock.

The Montana Standard reports that rock mining provides anything from construction gravel to decorative stone. Montana Department for Environmental Quality geochemist Garrett Smith said nearly half the state's mining land is used for rock quarries and rock picking.

Smith made the remarks during a Thursday presentation at the Minerals and Mining Symposium at Montana Tech in Butte.

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