MIN Weekly News Roundup

Week ending March 23, 2025

Another period of strong winds is expected to impact the western foothills Sunday night and to spread across the plains Monday. Be aware if you have outdoor or travel plans. Active weather continues into early next week, with periods of rain and snow showers, and blustery, windy conditions. Current indications are for warmer and drier weather emerging by the middle of the week.

AJ Otjen and Dan Steffensen on April 29,2024, at the Fort Rockvale restaurant, their frequent meeting place while writing, Burned Over: The Survival of Montana Fireman Dan Steffensen. Steffensen is looking forward to being back on the fireline this season. (photo by Denise Rivette)

CALL TO ACTION: "I Don’t Want to Go into My Backyard and Use a Handgun, but I Will” - This Is Not How a Hero's Life Should End

BEAD Director Evan Feinman Resigns, Provides His Clear-Eyed Assessment of the Current Situation on His Way Out the Door

Trump Fires Only Democrats on Federal Trade Commission

(Isuri.Kumbukage, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons)

Reminder: Leave Baby Animals Alone, and Be Mindful of Diseases

House Midsession Report

Senate Midsession Report

James Klempel of Joliet Honored for 30 Years as Hunter Education Instructor

Montana Farmers Troubled by Tariffs

Senate Ethics Committee Led by Mandeville Adopts Final Report Detailing Facts of Ellsworth Contract

Ursus Arctos Horribilis aka Grizzly Bear (Alan Vernon, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons)

Bears are Waking Up, Time to be Bear Aware

Tippet Rise Art Center Announces Its 2025 Concert Series Lineup

A St. Patrick Limerick

The Cabinet Mountains Wilderness Area in northwest Montana. Credit: Scott Butner via Flickr

With Roadblocks in the Rearview, Hecla Forges Ahead with Lincoln County Mine

Former Legislators Could Immediately Become Lobbyists Under Senate Bill

How Trump’s Executive Order to Expand Timber Production Affects Montana

Bill Would Fund School Meals for Families Who Can’t Pay

Nearly 1,000 Attend Billings Town Hall, Raising Concerns While Congressional Leaders a No-Show

Joint resolution asks for interim public transportation study into trains, buses, air traffic

Bills Aimed at Closing Ag Property Tax Loopholes Fall Short as Lawmakers Balk at Raising Taxes

Bill Aims to Ensure Public Records from Governor’s Office are Open, Limit ‘Executive Privilege’

Governor’s ‘Slush Fund’ May Get Legislative Oversight

Trump Rolls Back Biden Coal Policies

Trump Administration Approves More Coal Mining in Decker

Tribal Health Leaders Say Medicaid Cuts Would Decimate Health Programs

Several Changes This Year for Paddlefishing in Montana

Two Bills Aim to Resolve Law Enforcement Dispute Between State, Lake County and CSKT

Commentary: Flowers Emerges as a Leader by Finding Common Ground

Superintendent Hedalen Attends DOE Order Signing in D.C., Thanks Trump for ‘Historic Action’

In Wake of Department of Education Cuts, State Superintendent Reassures, but Union President Sounds Alarm

Federal Court Says Bozeman Municipal Judges Don’t Have Immunity in Bail Bonds Case

Raises for State Workers and Legislators Pass Initial Senate Vote

Proposal to Rejigger Marijuana Tax Revenue Advances

Piper Cordes, a freshman from Wall, South Dakota, competes as a member of the Montana State University rodeo team. (Jack Power/MSU Creative Services)

Montana Has an Official State Sport — Rodeo

Trump Administration Reappoints Alme U.S. Attorney for Montana

State’s Largest Newspaper Company Settles Suit for Giving Personal Information to Facebook

Montana Looks to Draw Closer to Ireland by Creating Trade Commission

A frequent visitor to the Treasure State takes a break from a raft float on a popular stretch of the Blackfoot River. (Keila Szpaller/The Daily Montanan)

House Preliminarily Approves ‘River Census’ Study Bill

Blackfeet, Salish Rapper’s New Album Celebrates Culture, Identity

Monarch butterfly in flight (ImagePerson, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons)

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Reopens Public Comment Period for Monarch Butterfly Endangered Species Act Listing Proposal

Seabear Company Recalls Smoked Salmon Chowder and Alehouse Clam Chowder Because of Possible Health Risk

Fired Fed Workers Won Their Jobs Back, but Many Linger in ‘Administrative Leave’ Limbo

EXECUTIVE ORDER: Achieving Efficiency Through State and Local Preparedness

Daines Discusses Upcoming Trip to China As Well As President Trump’s Tough Actions on Venezuelan Gangs and Houthi Terrorists

Federal Appeals Court Sides with Corner-Crossing Hunters in Wyoming Dispute

NATO's Position on Ukraine

Medicaid Cuts Rippling Through Rural America Could Bring Hospital Closures, Job Losses

Trump Urged to Reconsider Order Gutting Agency That Gives Grants to Libraries, Museums

Judge Tells Trump Administration to Explain Deportation of Venezuelans to El Salvador

Trump DOJ Refuses to Answer Judge's Questions About Deportation Flight Details

Supreme Court Chief Justice Roberts Pushes Back Against Trump Call to Impeach Judges

Legal Groups Lose Bids in Suits Related to Guantanamo Bay Detainees

How Trump Carved a Pathway for His Mass Deportations Through Executive Orders

Trump Ban on Transgender Troops Blocked in Court

President Trump Proclaims Today National Agriculture Day

Congressman Blames Trump Team for Ending Telehealth Medicare Benefit; Not Quite Right

Sunrise on Friday, March 21, 2025 (photo: Denise Rivette)