Free Republic

Facing the toughest election since his first win in 2006, Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mt) is investing $640,000 in an ad campaign aimed at convincing voters that his Republican opponent Tim Sheehy "will be a puppet for shady special interests. He's taking thousands of dollars from special interests. He won't be an independent voice for the common people of our state like I am." Ironically, lobbyists have donated more than $458,000 to Tester in the last two years making him the biggest Congressional recipient of lobbyist cash over for the time span. Tester was also the intended beneficiary of $6 million...

Senator Jon Tester took more money from lobbyists than any senator last year. Now, the Montana Democrat claims his Republican opponent is captive to private interests. Tester’s new $640,000 television ad campaign claims Tim Sheehy, who secured the Republican Senate nomination Tuesday, is "shady," because he’s "taken hundreds of thousands in lobbyist cash." Lobbyists have donated more than $458,000 to Tester from 2023-2024, besting his Democratic colleague Sen. Bob Casey (D., Pa.), who raised $356,169. No Senate Republican incumbent comes close to Tester, who received more money from lobbyists than former House speaker Kevin McCarthy (R., Calif.). Tester faces one...

Montana State Auditor Troy Downing won the contested Republican primary to replace the retiring Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-MT), who announced earlier this year he would not run for reelection in the solidly Republican seat. Downing won the race for Montana’s 2nd Congressional District with 37.9% of the vote with 4% of ballots tallied. The Associated Press called the race in Downing’s favor at 9:27 p.m. local time.

In the wake of rising property taxes, food inflation, and outrageous rents, Montana’s 4th largest county, Flathead County, could be facing a lawsuit in excess of $200 Million dollars because of an error by the Flathead County Clerk & Recorders Office, headed by Debbie Pierson. ... The property in question is a 500+ acre tract of land in Somers, MT and was once wholly owned by Thorco, Inc., who has been trying to re-acquire the property for over 10 years. After several protracted court battles, settlement hearings, and even a hearing in front of the Montana Banking Oversight Committee, Thorco...

A bright green fireball illuminated the night sky over Montana, U.S., at approximately 05:45 UTC on May 21, 2024 (23:45 LT, May 20). The American Meteor Society (AMS) received 65 reports from users in Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Washington, U.S., as well as in Alberta, Canada. This event follows an exceptionally bright meteor over Spain and Portugal on May 18. The meteor was described as unreal, massive, and a once-in-a-lifetime event. “That’s crazy! Mad props to the person that was able to get this footage,” one eyewitness wrote on X.

A Montana couple who lost custody of their 14-year-old daughter after refusing to let her transition claims the teen was taken by the state without a warrant. Todd and Krista Kolstads filed state and federal lawsuits claiming their child, born Jennifer but currently identifying as Leo, was taken from them because they opposed their gender transition due to their religious beliefs. In one of the suits, they claim the state's Child Protective Services lied to a court judge in order to take the 14-year-old child without a warrant, as reported by the Daily Montanan. The teen was removed from their...

Montana‘s Jon Tester is running for his fourth term in the U.S. Senate and he’s found himself an interesting political target: his own political record. On key issues from illegal immigration to hunting, Tester is openly campaigning against the political positions he took as a lawmaker. The longtime senator has attempted to distance himself from his own record as he likely faces his most difficult campaign yet. Tester has never been up for reelection with former President Donald Trump, who won Montana by double-digits in both 2016 and 2020, on the other side at the top of the ticket. Montana...

Hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Federal Bureau of Investigation agents in San Jose, California arrested Filippo Molinari, an Italian immigrant who sold subscriptions to L’Italia, a popular newspaper in his Italian American community. While held in custody, Molinari asked why he was being detained, only to be told that his arrest was “by order of the President.” A few days later, FBI agents forced Molinari and approximately 500 other “enemy aliens”—including more Italian nationals as well as Japanese and German immigrants from California—onto a train bound for an internment center in Missoula, Montana. Later, Molinari recalled how cold...

Since 2009, Lee Crafton, or Lee Horselogger as he prefers to be called, has been traveling across the country in a horse-drawn carriage, and now he's on his fifth trip. His journey started in 2006 when he lost his ranch in East Glacier, Montana after 27 years and dropped out of his Ph.D. program. Lee took his life savings of $75 and a couple of horses and decided to explore the nation, traveling at just three miles an hour. Needless to say, Lee is not your typical 63-year-old. But one year prior to his career change, Lee was diagnosed with...

Democratic Montana Sen. Jon Tester appears to be changing his tune on supporting the Republican-led Laken Riley Act, named after the 22-year-old nursing student who was allegedly murdered by an illegal alien in February on the University of Georgia’s campus.Tester voted with Democrats on March 23 in blocking GOP Sen. Ted Budd’s amendment he described as being a “modified version” of the Laken Riley Act to the second government funding package. The senator is now co-sponsoring the bill, according to a press release on Thursday, which would require federal officials to detain illegal aliens who commit “burglary, theft, larceny, or...

"That Montana meat cutter became I guess the number one recipient of lobbyists dollars in all of Washington." Donald Trump Jr. endorses Tim Sheehy for Montana senator, says Jon Tester godson claimed he 'sold out' to the Washington swamp. At a recent Republican rally in Missoula, Montana, Donald Trump Jr. revealed that Democratic Senator Jon Tester’s godson admitted to him that Tester sold out to the swamp and supports Republican nominee Tim Sheehy for the senate seat. Speaking before a crowd of over 300 attendees, Trump Jr. expressed support for Republican nominee Tim Sheehy in the Montana Senate race, painting...

Left-wing activists in Montana have officially launched their signature collection effort to enshrine abortion into the state constitution. “On Tuesday, Montanans Securing Reproductive Rights announced that it has officially launched its signature drive to get the required 60,000 signatures from Montanans by June 21 to qualify the measure on the ballot,” The Hill reported. The constitutional initiative, called CI-128, would “expressly provide a right to make and carry out decisions about one’s own pregnancy, including the right to abortion. It would prohibit the government from denying or burdening the right to abortion before fetal viability.”

BUTTE, Mont. — Montana is known for plenty of large wildlife, like bears, mountain goats and elk. But elephants are a new one. Butte resident Mataya Smith was driving south on Harrison Avenue with her husband, who alerted her to the strange scene at noon on Tuesday. “I though he just meant it was in the parking lot. And then I looked up and was like, ‘No, there is an elephant in the road!’” said Smith. “My coworker pointed out, ‘There’s an elephant!’ Started jumping up and down, pointing out the window,” Civic Center Town Pump co-manager Josh Hannifin said....

A Mexican drug cartel used death threats to force a tribal leader to back out of testifying to Congress this week, according to another tribal leader who did show up to tell lawmakers just how much power the drug lords have accumulated.Jeffrey Stiffarm, president of the Fort Belknap Indian Community in Montana, said he didn’t want to name the fellow leader who backed out, but he said the threat seemed real and credible.“One thing that we really seem to overlook all the time is the threats, the death threats we get from cartel leaders,” he told the House Natural Resources...

The Senate Majority PAC and an affiliated nonprofit have injected themselves into Ohio and Montana Republican primaries this cycle... Groups aligned with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer have meddled in several Republican primaries this election cycle, a tactic that has been underway a number of years. The Senate Majority PAC (SMP), which works to elect and keep Democrats in Congress' upper chamber, has targeted Republican primaries in at least two states for the 2024 elections. SMP tends to maneuver using other groups to conceal its involvement until after the primaries. It mainly targets swing states by boosting candidates supported by...

Republicans are gearing up for what could be an epic showdown for majority control of the Senate with several contentious elections around the country later this year. Democrats control the U.S. Senate with a 51-49 majority, but Republicans are looking at a favorable Senate map in 2024, with Democrats defending 23 of the 34 seats up for grabs. Three of those seats are in red states former Donald Trump carried in 2020 - West Virginia, Montana and Ohio. Five other seats, one of which is held by an independent, are in key swing states narrowly carried by President Biden in...

In the ongoing Gun Free School Zone Act (GFSZ) case in Billings, Montana, the trial date is currently set for March 25, 2024. The process is a long and difficult one for Gabriel Metcalf and his mother, Vivian. Because this is a criminal, not a civil, case. Gabriel’s freedom is at risk. The current judge, Federal District Judge Susan P. Watters, has ruled the GFSZ to be constitutional, and the Montana Establishment of Individual Licensure law is insufficient to be an exception to the GFSZ. Going through the process of a challenge to the constitutionality of a criminal charge is...

16 Republican AGs seek answers from Wells Fargo CEO Charles Scharf... ... debanking ... Wells Fargo is pushing the Biden administration's anti-gun and anti-traditional energy policies and discriminating against customers who don't fall in line with their political beliefs," Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen... As attorney general, it's my job to protect Montanans from discriminatory business practices. I will continue to investigate and fight against any illegal actions that could impact Montana businesses and consumers." ... Wells Fargo unexpectedly closed the business and personal accounts of Bradon Wexler, the owner of Florida-based firearms dealer Wex Gunworks, with a vague explanation...

Today we're joined by Todd and Krista Kolstad, Montana parents who find themselves entangled in an ongoing months-long custody battle for their 14-year-old daughter. The couple candidly open up about the challenges they faced and the heartbreak they endured after losing custody of their daughter. Montana's Child and Family Services gained custody of their daughter when they refused to affirm her newfound "gender identity" as a boy. We delve into the origin of the dispute, starting as a seemingly minor disagreement and escalating into a legal battle that no parent could anticipate. The Kolstads courageously navigate through the difficult terrain...

A 34-year-old Billings woman accused of leaving chicken heads on her then-boyfriend’s bed, trashing his apartment, and vandalizing his car, faces potential jail time over allegations she failed to control her alcoholism. The woman, Michelle Suzanne Niedge, was put on two years of probation in March 2022 after she pleaded guilty to felony criminal mischief and misdemeanor assault before Sixth District Judge Brenda Gilbert. Gilbert sentenced the woman to 31 days in the county jail and two years of probation. Niedge also was fined $700 and ordered to pay $2,666.95 restitution to her victim. About five months of a county...