Controversial wilderness and banking bills rile Montana's House and Senate elections; support — or lack of — for single payer health care could play a central role in the House Democratic primary; a new online poll shows President Trump remains much more popular in Montana than in the rest of the country; and pleas for campaign donations are ratcheting up as the June primary gets closer. Sally Mauk, Chuck Johnson and Rob Saldin discuss these stories and more, on this episode of "Campaign Beat."

The hundreds of millions of federal tax dollars that Medicaid expansion is bringing to Montana have added thousands of jobs here and significantly boosted the state’s economy. It’s enough of a boost to pay for Montana’s share of the jointly-funded health program. That’s according to a new report by Economist Bryce Ward with the UM’s Bureau of Business and Economic Research. He summarized it for a legislative oversight committee Thursday.

Montana's congressional delegation is criticizing President Trump's order to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, saying that the decision will harm the state's farmers and ranchers.

Democratic Congressional candidate Grant Kier stumped in the Flathead Valley this week. Kier had beers with 35 members of the Flathead Big Sky Rising advocacy group in Whitefish Wednesday night, and hosted coffee for a half-dozen Flathead Democrats in Kalispell Thursday.

Ongoing budget cuts mean the State of Montana has ended a contract that paid a big health insurance company $6 million a year to manage Medicaid recipients. That’s more than twice as much as it allocates to the state health department for similar work.

The Park Service is sitting on an $11 billion repair backlog. Crumbling roads account for about half of those deferred expenses. Tennessee Republican Senator, Lamar Alexander, is lead sponsor of a new bill to increase park infrastructure funding using revenue from energy production on federal lands and offshore drilling.

A nurse in the Flathead Valley will ask a Montana district court Thursday to suspend a state law that limits who can and cannot perform abortions. She’s being represented by the American Civil Liberties Union. Only physicians and physicians assistants can legally perform abortions in Montana. It's a felony for others to perform the procedure.

Democratic candidate for Congress Lynda Moss made a campaign stop in Kalispell Wednesday night. She chatted with a half dozen voters over craft beer at a fundraising event at Kalispell Brewing Company. Moss talked about her background working in collaborative grassroots projects, like Leadership Montana, and serving two terms in the Montana senate. She was noticeably absent from a candidate forum hosted by the Gallatin County Democrats two weeks ago. Moss says she instead attended a meeting

Montana’s retirement system is in good shape compared to the rest of the country. That’s what national pension researchers told state lawmakers today. Keith Brainard, the Research Director for the National Association of State Retirement Administrators told a legislative committee that since the Great Recession, the big question for state pension plans is, "are they sustainable?"

The latest legislative analysis says Montana's state budget could be in the black by the end of 2018. The monthly state revenue estimate issued today says Montana could end up $13 million ahead of what was forecast in last year's regular legislative session budget bill.