Category: Government
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Commissioners Reject Bike Trail Master Plan
By Evelyn Pyburn Yellowstone County Commissioners unanimously rejected the Billings Area Pedestrian and Bicycle Master Plan, which was presented to them by the City –County Planning Department. Besides the commissioners, the plan goes before the Yellowstone County Planning Board, the Billings City Council, and the Policy Coordinating Committee (PCC) for approval. As the plan was…
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Aeronautics Board Allocated $3.2 million
The Montana Aeronautics Board has allocated more than $3.2 million in funding for fiscal year (FY) 2026. This funding is designated for a range of airport infrastructure enhancement initiatives. A portion of the annual grants and loans is intended to match 95/5 Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) funding for substantial airport construction projects. Requests totaling approximately…
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26 Attorneys General File Brief Supporting Deportation of Gangs
By Sarah Roderick-Fitch, The Center Square A coalition of state attorneys general is filing an amicus brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, urging the court to lift a nationwide restraining order that is “preventing” the “immediate deportation” of “Tren de Aragua gang members.” Leading the effort are Virginia Attorney General…
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State’s First Arraignment Court Now in Session
By Evelyn Pyburn Yellowstone County has a new addition to its judicial system – -a new court that focuses upon arraignments. It is being operated in the county department of Justices of the Peace. Judge Jeanne Walker and Judge David Carter have been presiding over the court for about a month. Creating an arraignment court…
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State Got Fewer $$$?Last Year
The state of Montana’s General Fund tax revenues declined in 2024, according to Terry Johnson, former chief revenue forecaster for the state of Montana, now retired. In Fiscal 2024, total general fund revenue collections were $3.32 billion, with 76.9% collected from income (individual and corporation) taxes. These revenues are used to finance a variety of…
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SBA to Require Citizenship Verification
In the coming days, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) will promulgate a new policy requiring SBA loan applications to include a citizenship verification provision to ensure only legal, eligible applicants can access SBA programs, announced U.S. Small Business Administration Administrator Kelly Loeffler. Lenders will be required to confirm that applicant businesses are not owned…
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BSEDA Announces New Executive Director
Big Sky Economic Development (BSED) announced that Paul Green has been selected as the organization’s next Executive Director. Green has resigned his position as Director of the Montana Department of Commerce in order to accept the position. Green was appointed as Commerce director in January 2024. BSED conducted a national search to replace retiring BSED…
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Energy Handouts to Cost Taxpayers $421 Billion
New Treasury Department numbers show that soaring federal handouts for wind and solar dwarf all other energy-related provisions in the tax code and will cost taxpayers $421 billion by 2034. The 10-year cost of federal tax expenditures for wind and solar has increased 21-fold since 2015, according to a report in Substack. In 2005, Scientific…
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County Sets New Rate for State, Feds to Hold Prisoners in YCDF
The Yellowstone Board of County Commissioners passed a resolution increasing the inmate reimbursement rate for Montana Department of Corrections an Federal inmates, held at the Yellowstone County Detention Facility (YCDF). The Montana rate will increase from $82.80 to $117 per inmate/day. The Federal government rate will increase from $85 to $117 per inmate day. For…
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Budget Discussions Unveil Issues in County Government
What havoc is inflation inflicting upon the budget of Yellowstone County? What aspects of county operations place the greatest pressure on its budget? Why are there fewer concerts at Metra Park this year? How will the purchase of gravel mines save the County untold millions? How will a new technology circumvent the mischief of inmates? …