Montana News

Motorists rejoice! Glacier National Park opened the full 50 miles of its iconic Going-to-the-Sun Road Wednesday. After weeks of plowing, installing guard rails and removing rock debris, park officials have deemed the road safe for vehicular traffic.

Congressman Greg Gianforte has been assigned to serve on two congressional committees — one focused on natural resources, and the other on government oversight. Republican Greg Gianforte announced his committee assignments on Wednesday. As a member of the House Natural Resources Committee, Gianforte will help craft policy on a wide range of topics, including public lands , mining, wildlife and Indian country.

Democratic Senator Jon Tester held a digital town hall Tuesday night to answer questions about the Republican health care proposal awaiting action in the U.S. Senate. The hour long Facebook live event came hours after Senate Republican leaders announced a delay on the vote for their long-awaited plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, also known as “Obamacare”.

Governors from the western U.S. converge on Whitefish this week for the annual Western Governors Association. Monday, they talked about international trade agreements between the U.S. and Canada. The round table discussion between 10 western governors, a Canadian ambassador, and the premier of Saskatchewan, began with a question about the ongoing softwood lumber trade dispute between the two countries.

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke says removing bureaucratic obstacles to development on federal land can create jobs and offer hope to nearby communities. Zinke spoke Tuesday at the Western Governors' Association annual meeting in his hometown of Whitefish, Montana. He says the Interior Department and other land management agencies need to better cooperate, and hinted of major changes in store.

The Trump Administration is moving to roll back an Obama-era policy that was designed to protect over half the nation’s streams from pollution. The Environmental Protection Agency and Army Corps of Engineers Tuesday, outlined the process to unravel the 2015 rule defining which small waterways are covered under the Clean Water Act .

Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke visited his hometown in Whitefish today to address the Western Governors Association. Secretary Zinke is currently running a review of more than two dozen of the country’s largest National Monuments , including Montana’s Upper Missouri River Breaks, to determine whether the Monument designations should be revoked or reduced in size.

Montana’s Republican U.S. Senator says that while he has not yet decided if he’ll support the Senate health care bill , one issue would be deal breaker for him. As written, the Senate health care bill de-funds Planned Parenthood for one year. And that’s just fine with Montana’s Republican and pro-life U.S. Senator Steve Daines:

Both of Montana’s senators will host virtual town halls this week ahead of the U.S. Senate vote on its version of a bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act .

“Repeal and replace” is not just a mantra for Republicans in the U.S. House and Senate, it’s also a rallying cry for constitutional reform on the Blackfeet Reservation. "We've been at this for 82 years," says Joe McKay, a member of the Blackfeet Tribal Business Council. For the past three years, McKay’s spearheaded an effort to reform the Blackfeet Nation’s current constitution, written in 1935.