Free Republic

Wyoming lawmakers appear ready to change the state’s wolf management law to accommodate an agreement that Gov. Matt Mead and U.S. Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar reached last year on ending federal protections for the animals in the state. Under the agreement, wolves could be shot on sight in much of the state. The Republican governor has made wolf management a priority, saying the animals threaten agricultural interests and other wildlife. Officials say there are about 300 wolves in the state, and Mead has said the population grows by 10 percent every year. Under the deal, Wyoming would commit to...

Diane Sands is used to having her name taken in vain. That's just part of being a liberal from Missoula in the Montana Legislature. But her name surfaced recently in a way that offended and troubled her at a profound level. A possible witness in a federal drug investigation was asked whether Sands might be part of a conspiracy to sell medical marijuana. The questions came from Drug Enforcement Administration agents from Billings who were investigating medical marijuana businesses, and Sands learned about the inquiry from the witness' attorney. "So now, if you're a state legislator who has been working...

Firearms manufacturers looking for a favorable, pro-gun political climate are moving to Montana. The Flathead Valley in the northwest corner of the state has had a steady gun manufacturing industry for decades, and it's now looking to expand. Despite 10 percent unemployment in the area, gun industry jobs have increased during the economic downturn. Manufacturers now say they can't find enough trained machinists for all the jobs they have to offer. From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Robert Siegel. The firearms industry is booming in Montana. Throughout the economic downturn, the state's gun manufacturers have added jobs....

Montana farmers have filed a class action suit against former New Jersey governor Jon Corzine, charging that the failed financial firm run by Corzine stole millions from their accounts to pay off its spiraling debts, and that Corzine's "single-minded obsession" with making MF Global a big player on Wall Street led to the firm's collapse. MF Global's clients included 38,000 wheat farmers, cattle ranchers and others who "hedged" their crop prices by placing millions in MF Global accounts. Those accounts were supposed to be "segregated and secure," according to the federal suit, meaning MF Global could not draw on those...

Helena, Mont. (AP) -- The Montana Supreme Court is setting up a possible challenge to aspects of the high profile U.S. Supreme Court decision that granted political speech rights to corporations. The state court decided Friday to restore Montana's century-old ban on direct spending by corporations . . .

POLSON — It’s a highly specialized business, carving rifle and shotgun stocks out of blocks of walnut and maple and then custom-fitting them to each gun and gun owner. Kelly Clairmont said there are maybe 100 people in the United States who do it for a living. “And four of them are right here in Polson,” he said. And all four of them got their starts with Bob James, a longtime custom stock maker in Polson. The others eventually formed their own company, S&S Plus, while Clairmont in 2009 bought out James’ business, which is now called Montana Custom Guns,...

Dem Keystone support creates tougher fight for Reid, ObamaBy Alexander Bolton - 12/16/11 04:08 PM ET Republicans want to jam Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on the Keystone oil sands pipeline and the Democratic leader will have a tough time resisting, given support within his caucus for the project. GOP leaders have made clear to Reid that they will not approve an extension of the payroll tax holiday unless it includes language to speed up construction of the pipeline. Senate Republicans estimate as many as 14 Senate Democrats support the project. Labor unions have also voiced strong backing, complicating...

Who was the ONLY Member of the US House of Reps to vote NO on WW I and II? And Why?

BILLINGS - Republican Presidential candidate Newt Gingrich holds a substantial lead in Montana according to a new poll of likely voters. The poll shows the former House Speaker leading Mitt Romney by over 25 points in Montana. The new survey from Public Policy Polling out of North Carolina, shows Gingrich favored by 37-percent of the likely voters surveyed in Montana. Texas Congressman Ron Paul is second with 12-percent, while Romney stands at just 11-percent. Michelle Bachmann is tied with Herman Cain with 10-percent, while RIck Perry, Jon Huntsman, and Rick Santorum all polled only single digits. Public Policy Polling says...

A 75-year-old lawyer who fought private property rights battles alongside Idaho U.S. Rep. Helen Chenoweth and her Nevada rancher husband Wayne Hage in the 1990s is still cultivating the Sagebrush Rebellion's roots. Fred Kelly Grant has been slowed by age and heart surgery, but he's in demand from counties — and tea partyers who attend his $150-per-person seminars — as conservative elements in the West's continue to clash with the federal government. California's Siskiyou County is paying Grant $10,000 to help block removal of four Klamath River dams. Montana and Idaho counties have enlisted him to trim hated wolf populations...

Sen. Jon Tester (D) and his Republican opponent, Rep. Denny Rehberg, have been inundated with hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of TV ads, including several just in the past month. The spending is emblematic of the state’s relatively inexpensive media markets and the race’s competitiveness and potential to swing the Senate majority. It also puts the Montana race on track to be among this cycle’s most expensive in terms of spending by outside interest groups. Sources in the state disagree on exactly how much has been spent against each candidate. According to a Republican-compiled breakdown of spending that was...

  Congressman Denny Rehberg meets with Montana State Bureau of Land Management Director Jamie Connell in his office to express his concerns about the draft policy.  Click herefor full-res image.  Image approved for re-printing or broadcast.  WASHINGTON, D.C. – Montana’s Congressman, Denny Rehberg, today sent a letter to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and Bureau of Land Management Secretary Bob Abbey asking them to revise a draft policy that empowers federal land managers to prohibit “recreational shooting� on public lands.  Yesterday, Rehberg voiced his concerns with this policy at a meeting with Jamie Connell, Montana State Director for the Bureau...

The endorsement of a powerful gun-rights group is up for grabs in a key Senate race. The National Rifle Association’s (NRA) decision on whether to endorse Democratic incumbent Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) or Republican Rep. Denny Rehberg (Mont.) could be the deciding factor in what is expected to be a close contest. Political analysts say that the winner of this election could determine which party will control the Senate in January of 2013. Tester and Rehberg have strong gun rights voting records. The NRA gives Tester an A grade and Rehberg an A+. A Montana State University-Billings poll released earlier...

The endorsement of a powerful gun-rights group is up for grabs in a key Senate race. The National Rifle Association’s (NRA) decision on whether to endorse Democratic incumbent Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) or Republican Rep. Denny Rehberg (Mont.) could be the deciding factor in what is expected to be a close contest. Political analysts say that the winner of this election could determine which party will control the Senate in January of 2013.

A 72-year-old day care owner convicted of repeatedly assaulting a toddler in his care has lost his bid to be classified as a low-risk sex offender. The Montana Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected an appeal from Albert Gaub, who with his wife formerly ran the Cuddles and More daycare center from their home in Missoula. Gaub pleaded guilty in 2010 to assaulting the girl, who was not quite 2 when the attacks began, over a period of 18 months. He was sentenced in January to 30 years in prison with 15 suspended, and later classified as a Level 2...

"We need to re-evaluate what is required in our lives, so that we have a sense of satisfaction. What really counts? One friend of mine has reduced it to this: you should get up in the morning and ask 'what do I need,' not just "what do I want?'" -- Tom Brokaw, Morning Joe 11-1-11. "Of course, one of the reasons I bought it was to be able to get away from the frantic life I lead and to have some privacy." -- Tom Brokaw, explaining his purchase of an interest in a 4,000-acre mountain retreat in Montana. Tom Brokaw:...

SEATTLE- The U.S. Border Patrol has quietly stopped its controversial practice of routinely searching buses, trains and airports for illegal immigrants at transportation hubs along the northern border and in the U.S. interior, preventing agents from using what had long been an effective tool for tracking down people here illegally. ... The situation is similar in upstate New York... instead of checking buses or trains, agents have spent shifts sitting in their vehicles gazing out at Lake Erie and Lake Ontario..."They're already bored," the agent said. "You grab the paper every day and you go do the crossword."

Skiers and boarders beware: Ski areas are opening but the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) hopes to tumble one symbolic guardian from your sport's terrain. Anti-religionists aim to remove a statue of Jesus from near the top of Chair 2 at Montana's Whitefish Mountain Resort. Local Knights of Columbus erected the figure in the 1950s. Many members were World War II veterans wanting to replicate sculptures they saw while fighting in the European mountains. The U.S. Forest Service, cowed by false assertions that religious displays on public land are illegal, wants Jesus gone. And the FFRF intelligensia waves its misleading...

1. Ben Nelson, D-Neb. 2. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo. 3. Jon Tester, D-Mont. 4. Scott Brown, R-Mass. 5. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah 6. Dick Lugar, R-Ind. 7. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio 8. Bill Nelson, D-Fla. 9. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine 10. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash.

Drunk 11-Year-Old At Occupy Missoula, Adult ArrestedMISSOULA COUNTY By Kevin Maki UPDATED: 6:59 pm MDT October 20, 2011 MISSOULA, Mont. -- Missoula police say an 11-year-old boy turned up drunk on the courthouse lawn, from the Occupy Missoula encampment early Thursday morning. That's the group protesting corporate greed. Police say one of the camp's occupants bought the youngster alcohol. Twenty-seven year old John Skinner was charged with endangering the welfare of a child. The police report said Skinner encountered the boy and a friend outside a downtown Missoula bar. Police say the friend asked Skinner to buy them alcohol. They...

Norway's Statoil will build more crude shipping capacity in the Williston Basin of North Dakota and Montana as part of its $4.4 billion bid for Austin-based Brigham Exploration a company executive said on Monday. The Norwegian state oil company said it would build more shipping capacity, with a focus on pipelines, but did not commit itself to any specific pipeline project. Analysts said that because of the deal's steep cost, the oil major will have to invest in infrastructure projects to recover some of its investment as it ramps up production. Statoil is looking to enter the Bakken and Three...

Yesterday, at a Senate Banking Committee hearing, Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., attacked U.S. companies that do business with Iran, singling out Koch Industries, despite the fact that Tester has taken money from companies that also did business with Iran. "Recently I heard that one of America's largest companies, Koch Industries, was in the business of supporting Iran through energy development. Um ... if they are doing there are probably others that are doing it," Tester said yesterday. Koch Industries issued the following statement in response to Tester's statement: Koch Industries voluntarily decided several years ago to stop sales to Iran,...

So if somebody wants to build a coal-fired plant they can. It’s just that it will bankrupt them… – Barack Obama speaking to San Francisco Chronicle, January 2008 The United States has the world’s largest coal resources. In fact we have 50 percent more coal than Russia, the country with the next largest reserves. But coal use in the United States is under assault. Before becoming President, Barak Obama promised to bankrupt coal companies. As President, he has tried various strategies to force Americans to use less coal. After failing to pass a national energy tax (cap-and-trade), the President vowed...

The Obama administration is taking steps to extend new federal protections to a list of imperiled animals and plants that reads like a manifest for Noah's Ark - from the melodic golden-winged warbler and slow-moving gopher tortoise, to the slimy American eel and tiny Texas kangaroo rat. ... With a Friday deadline to act on more than 700 pending cases, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service already has issued decisions advancing more than 500 species toward potential new protections under the Endangered Species Act... Patrick Parenteau, an environmental lawprofessor at the University of Vermont. "They are moving through this large...

A grizzly bear killed a Michigan man whose body was found by hikers last week in Yellowstone National Park, officials said Monday. The victim was identified Monday as John Wallace of Chassell, Mich.

As late as April of 2011, the Water Management Chief for the Corps of Engineers, Omaha District, expressed an opinion in an e-mail to a concerned citizen that the mountain snow melt this year would "be nothing to write home about." This internal e-mail, among many others recently released through a Freedom of Information Act request by Gannett's Washington Bureau, exposes that assertion as a gross misstatement of known facts. The e-mails reveal that a cadre of hydrologists, engineers, and National Weather Service (NWS) officials had repeatedly warned the chief, Ms. Jody Farhat, beginning in January about the danger posed...

When it comes to energy, America is lucky to be next to Canada, whose proven oil reserves are estimated by Oil and Gas Journal at 175 billion barrels. This ranks just behind Saudi Arabia (260 billion) and Venezuela (211 billion) and ahead of Iran (137 billion) and Iraq (115 billion). True, about 97% of Canada's reserves consist of Alberta's controversial oil sands, but new technologies and high oil prices have made them economically viable. Expanded production can provide the U.S. market with a source of secure oil for decades. We would be crazy to turn our back on this. In...

From page 3: For McConnell, Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) is widely expected to get the nod, given his conservative credentials, ties to McConnell and his work in the Biden group. But if Republicans stay united, they’d need one additional Democrat to break ranks and back a cuts-only approach - so McConnell may want to choose a senator with bipartisan appeal who is loyal to leadership, like either Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) or Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio). At a townhall in Winchester, Ky. on Monday, McConnell told a crowd that he wanted “significant entitlement reform” to be part of...

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced Tuesday he's naming Sen. Patty Murray to co-chair a powerful "super committee" charged with finding more than $1 trillion in deficit cuts this fall. Murray will be joined by Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass., and Max Baucus, D-Mont., on the panel, which was established last week by hard-fought legislation to increase the national debt. Murray, who is chairwoman of the committee to elect Democratic senators, is a longtime protector of Democratic priorities such as Medicare, Social Security and veterans' benefits, as are Kerry and Baucus. Reid, D-Nev., said in a statement that Murray has "a...

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., will appoint Democratic Sens. Patty Murray of Washington, Max Baucus of Montana, and John Kerry of Massachusetts to the new super committee tasked with finding $1.2 trillion in additional deficit reduction by November 23, according to a senior Democratic aide familiar with Reid’s decision, which is expected to be made public as early as Wednesday. Additionally, Murray is expected to co-chair the committee, officially named the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, along with a still unnamed House Republican. A spokesman for Reid did not respond to a request for comment. Reid’s decision to...

North Dakota and Montana have an estimated 3.0 to 4.3 billion barrels of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil in an area known as the Bakken Formation. A U.S. Geological Survey assessment, released April 10, shows a 25-fold increase in the amount of oil that can be recovered compared to the agency's 1995 estimate of 151 million barrels of oil.

Tractors lumbering down country roads are as common as deer in rural Montana, but the federal government wants to place new driving regulations on farmers and ranchers. “It’s a huge deal for us,” said John Youngberg of the Montana Farm Bureau. After years of allowing state governments to waive commercial driver’s license requirements for farmers hauling crops or driving farm equipment on public roads, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is poised to do away with the exceptions. Regulators are suggesting that all wheat shipments be considered interstate, even when farmers making short hauls to local grain elevators aren’t crossing...

Liberal group Americans United for Change is teaming up with a trio of large unions to air television ads attacking House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) and seven potentially vulnerable Republicans for stance on raising the debt ceiling. The targets: Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nev.) and Reps. Denny Rehberg (R-Mont.), Steve King (R-Iowa), Lou Barletta (R-Pa.), Chip Cravaack (R-Minn.), Bobby Schilling (R-Ill.) and Ann Marie Buerkle (R-N.Y.). All are potentially vulnerable members who live in inexpensive media markets. Rehberg is running for Senate. The unions participating in the six-figure ad buy are the Service Employees International Union, the American Federation of...

I find it sad that Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., refuses to stand up against President Barack Obama's new budget. In order for them to raise the debt ceiling, the Democrats need to find the money to do so. It's ironic that the tax hikes Tester wants is about the same amount needed to implement the president's budget. Instead of looking internally, and working hard to make meaningful budget cuts, Tester is saddling the American taxpayer with $2 trillion in new taxes. It is time for the people of Montana to call Tester and ask him to stand up for us,...

<p>BILLINGS, Mont. -- Federal regulators knew potentially contaminated bark and wood chips were being sold from a Superfund site in the asbestos-tainted town of Libby, Mont., for three years before they stopped the practice.</p> <p>That revelation comes in a letter from the Environmental Protection Agency to U.S. Sen. Max Baucus.</p>

Missoula, MT --(Ammoland.com)- You may remember that following the 2009 legislative session, Helena Mayor and lobbyist for the Montana Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association (MSPOA), Jim Smith, filed a complaint against me with the Montana Commissioner of Political Practices (CPP). In that complaint, Smith alleged that I had violated Montana law by illegally lobbying the Legislature without having been registered as a lobbyist with the CPP. I responded that I was merely exercising my First Amendment rights to speak to legislators and to you. Montana law requires people to register as lobbyists if they are paid to influence the Legislature...

MISSOULA, Mont.—With a homemade .22-caliber rifle he calls the Montana Buckaroo, Gary Marbut dreams of taking down the federal regulatory state. He's not planning to fire his gun. Instead, he wants to sell it, free from federal laws requiring him to record transactions, pay license fees and open his business to government inspectors. For years, Mr. Marbut argued that a wide range of federal laws, not just gun regulations, should be invalid because they were based on an erroneous interpretation of Congress's constitutional power to regulate interstate commerce. In his corner were a handful of conservative lawyers and academics. Now,...

Contractors in northeastern Montana are building 72 mobile housing units in Miles City to alleviate what officials say is a serious housing shortage for oil field workers based in Bainville. "We're out of room," said Garth Harmon of Blaze Enterprises, a Bainville native who is developing the camp. "We've got people already every place we can shove them." ... A boom in oil activity in the Williston Basin

An ExxonMobil pipeline running under the Yellowstone River in south central Montana ruptured late Friday, spilling crude oil into the river and forcing evacuations. The pipeline burst about 10 miles east of Billings, coating parts of the Yellowstone River that run past Laurel — a town of about 6,500 people downstream from the rupture — with shiny patches of oil. Precisely how much oil leaked into the river was still unclear. But throughout the day Saturday, cleanup crews in Laurel worked to lessen the impact of the spill, laying down absorbent sheets along the banks of the river to mop...

The U.S. Justice Department says that marijuana dispensaries and licensed growers in states with medical marijuana laws could face prosecution for violating federal drug and money-laundering laws... Deputy Attorney General James Cole said a 2009 memo by then-Deputy Attorney General David Ogden did not give states cover from prosecution. Starting in February, 10 U.S. attorney's offices have asserted they have the authority to prosecute medical marijuana dispensaries and licensed growers in states with medical marijuana laws. Prosecutors, the states complained, are not even willing to declare that state employees who implement such laws are immune from prosecution.

Well, sporties, are you ready for 4,200 to 7,300 wolves in the Northern Rockies? Back in April, you’ll remember that Congress stuffed a “bipartisan” rider (Section 1713) into the 2011 Appropriations omnibus (Public Law 112-10). This rider supposedly de-listed Rocky Mountain gray wolves outside Wyoming, by reinstating the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (FWS) so called “2009 Rule,” shot down by federal judge Donald W. Molloy last August. Section 1713 went into effect May 5. The same day, two lawsuits were filed before Molloy by Alliance for the Wild Rockies (AWR)/Wild Earth Guardians (WIGs) and Center for Biological Diversity (CBD)....

MISSOULA- The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation filed a note it plans to appeal any decision that adversely affects a state's right to manage fully recovered wolf populations. U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy is expected to decide whether Congress acted within Constitutional bounds when it delisted wolves in parts of the West. "We are protecting our right to appeal to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals any decision that results in another setback for conservation and science-based wildlife management," said RMEF President and CEO David Allen. An unfavorable ruling may stop wolf hunts planned for this fall in both Montana...

Billions of dollars are still being wasted by the U.S. government on improperly paid unemployment benefits despite a federal crackdown. Over the past two years the states and U.S. government have made nearly $30 billion in improper payments to individuals who were not qualified to receive benefits. ... The number of people receiving a weekly benefit check, for example, more than tripled to a record 12 million in January 2010 from 3.4 million in December 2007... Total claims are now running just under 8 million. As a result, the cost of unemployment insurance skyrocketed from $32 billion in the year...

KALISPELL, Mont. – With its jagged peaks, glistening lakes and lush valleys, the Inland Northwest — stretching from eastern Washington to Montana's Glacier National Park — is a stunningly beautiful and remote part of the country. It also is a cradle for sometimes-violent anti-government activity — a reputation most recently rekindled by the search for David Burgert. The former Kalispell militia leader is accused of opening fire on sheriff's deputies on a remote logging road in Lolo National Forest. After a lull following the demise of the Idaho-based neo-Nazi Aryan Nations in 2000, anti-government and white supremacist groups and individuals...

A new poll found Montana Rep. Denny Rehberg (R) running statistically even in his 2012 challenge to Sen. Jon Tester (D). Democratic firm Public Policy Polling reported Rehberg taking 47 percent and Tester 45 percent, further evidence that this is one of the most competitive Senate races in the country.

HAVRE — Wet weather has left wheat crops in north-central Montana vulnerable to fungal diseases, officials say. Hill County Extension Agent Joe Broesder said the main battle is with stripe rust fungal infection, but tan spot and powdery mildew are also prevalent. "If the weather would straighten out, it would help with the others," Broesder said told the Havre Daily News. Arleen Rice of Taylor Aviation said the company has had to bring in more planes for aerial spraying. "You can walk out in the fields right now and the bottom of your boots turn red," she said. "We have...

This study comprehensively ranks the American states on their public policies that affect individual freedoms in the economic, social, and personal spheres. It updates, expands, and improves upon our inaugural 2009 Freedom in the 50 States study. For this new edition, we have added more policy variables (such as bans on trans fats and the audio recording of police, Massachusetts’s individual health-insurance mandate, and mandated family leave), improved existing measures (such as those for fiscal policies, workers’ compensation regulations, and asset-forfeiture rules), and developed specific policy prescriptions for each of the 50 states based on our data and a survey...

Earlier this year, the Transportation Security Administration halted a program that allowed airports to privatize their screeners, citing safety concerns, but airport administrators say TSA stopped the program with little warning and without adequate justification. The Daily Caller spoke with three Montana airports — Glacier Park International Airport, Missoula International Airport and Bert Mooney Airport — which all said they were encouraged by TSA to apply to for the privatization program — known as the Screening Partnership Program (SPP). All three airports’ applications were denied in January. One airport director even said TSA agents actively protested the airport’s attempt to...

MISSOULA, Mont. – Authorities searching a 30-square-mile swath of rugged Montana forest for a former militia leader and survivalist say the man was prepared for his shootout with sheriff's deputies and left several caches of food in the area.

Montanans protecting their state's Firearms Freedom Act have filed a brief with the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals asking whether the judges there will choose a "tyrannical" Washington or a federal government restrained by the Constitution. Quoting Alexander Hamilton's statement that the federalism system was intended to suppress "attempts of the government to establish tyranny," the brief filed by the Montana Shooting Sports Association, the Second Amendment Foundation and MSSA President Gary Marbut of Missoula states: "The government may argue that it is not, in its current incarnation, tyrannical. The national government usually abides by the law, typically protects its...