Montana

Alme confirmed by U.S. Senate as U.S. Attorney for Montana | Explore Big Sky

Published

5 months ago

October 15, 2025

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Alme confirmed by U.S. Senate as U.S. Attorney for Montana | Explore Big Sky

Confirmation follows long, bitter fight over Trump nominees in D.C.

By Jordan Hansen DAILY MONTANAN

Kurt Alme was confirmed by the U.S. Senate to serve as the U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana, following a bitter, partisan fight in Washington, D.C.

Alme, a former U.S. Attorney for Montana during President Donald Trump’s first administration, was confirmed in a 51-47 vote. Democrats and Republicans have fought for more than a decade about confirmation votes and the filibuster barrier of a 60-vote threshold to approve presidential appointments.

Kurt Alme. PHOTO COURTESY OF U.S. ATTORNEY’S OFFICE

Democrats blocked many of President Donald Trump’s appointments, but Republicans changed the rules in the Senate this fall to speed up the nomination process. Both parties have mounted similar rule changes to push through nominations during the last 10 years, the AP reported.

Trump took to social media this summer to criticize Senator Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, who is the Senate Judiciary chairman and oversees that process. Grassley has been on the committee since 1981.

Trump took aim at a so called “blue slip” process, which allows home-state senators to approve or block some nominees.

In late September, Republicans in the U.S. Senate moved to confirm 48 positions. Earlier this week, they moved through 107 more, which included Alme.

“For nine months, Senate Democrats engaged in historic obstruction of law enforcement, placing an unprecedented hold on all 93 U.S. Attorney nominees,” Grassley said in a statement. “Even as our nation reeled from horrific mass shootings, attacks on federal facilities and a devastating political assassination, Democrats have continued to deny American communities their top federal law enforcement officials.”

Alme is the former head of the Montana Department of Revenue and was also in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Montana between 2003 and 2010. A Great Falls native, Alme grew up in Dillon, Victor and Helena, graduating from Miles City. He holds degrees from the University of Colorado and Harvard University.

His appointment and confirmation received heavy praise across the state.

“Kurt has already done an incredible job in his interim capacity and we are thrilled to see his final confirmation by the U.S. Senate,” Sens. Steve Daines and Tim Sheehy said in a joint press release. “Kurt will crack down on drug trafficking and crime, protect our indigenous communities, and uphold the rule of law, and we look forward to seeing the continued impact that he will have on our great state.”

The Montana County Attorneys Association and the Montana Sheriff’s and Peace Officers Association both praised the appointment. Several organizations and people — including the Montana Nonprofit Association, Director of Montana Department of Corrections Brian Gootkin and former Missoula County Attorney Kirsten Pabst — sent letters in support of Alme to Daines and Sheehy.

His appointment received bipartisan support as well, including from Rep. Shelly Fyant, an Arlee Democrat who used to lead the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribal Council.

“I saw the work the U.S. Attorney’s Office did focusing on reducing methamphetamine and opioid related overdoses and violent crimes, which not only plague the Flathead Indian Reservation, but reservations throughout Montana and the Nation,” Fyant wrote in a letter to Daines and Sheehy. “Mr. Alme’s hands-on approach was greatly appreciated as he frequently visited Montana reservations and met directly with Tribal leaders about specific drug abuse and trafficking, public safety and Missing & Murdered Indigenous Persons (MMIP) issues.”

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Montana

Your guide to local sports events, plus what’s on TV

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9 hours ago

March 2, 2026

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Your guide to local sports events, plus what’s on TV

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Montana

Montana Department of Agriculture focusing on innovation in 2026

Published

21 hours ago

March 1, 2026

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Montana Department of Agriculture focusing on innovation in 2026

HELENA — You probably have goals and plans for 2026—the Montana Department of Agriculture does too.

“We’re really focusing on innovative agricultural practices,” Montana Department of Agriculture director Jillien Streit said.

It’s no secret that agriculture—farming and ranching—is not easy. There are long days, planning, monitoring crops and livestock, and other challenges beyond farmers’ and ranchers’ control.

(WATCH: Montana Department of Agriculture focusing on innovation in 2026)

Montana Department of Agriculture focusing on innovation in 2026

“We have very low commodity prices across the board,” Streit said. “We still have very high input prices across the board, and we have really high prices when it comes to our equipment, and so, it’s a really tough year.”

But innovation, including new practices, partnerships and technology use, can help navigate some of those challenges.

“We can’t make more time and we can’t make more land, so we need to start putting together innovative practices that help us maximize what our time and land can do,” Streit said.

Practices range from using technology like autonomous tractors and virtual fencing—allowing rangers to contain and move cattle right from their phones—to regenerative farming and ranching.

“It is bringing cattle back into farming operations to be able to work with cover cropping practices to invigorate the soil for new soil health benefits,” Streit said.

The Montana Department of Agriculture is working to help producers learn, share, and collaborate on new ideas to work in their operations.

The department will share stories of practices that work from farms and ranches across the state. Also, within the next year or so, Streit said the department is hoping to roll out technology to help producers collaborate.

“(It’s) providing a communication platform where people can get together and really help each other out by utilizing each other’s assets,” she said.

While not easy, agriculture is still one of Montana’s largest industries, and Streit said innovating and sharing ideas across the state can keep it going long into the future.

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Frontier Conference women: MSU-Northern, Montana Western pull upsets to advance to semifinal round

Published

1 day ago

March 1, 2026

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Frontier Conference women: MSU-Northern, Montana Western pull upsets to advance to semifinal round

BUTTE — MSU-Northern and Montana Western pulled a pair of upsets Saturday at the Butte Civic Center to wrap up the quarterfinal round of the Frontier Conference women’s basketball postseason tournament.

The fifth-seeded Skylights started the day with a red-hot shooting performance to down No. 4 Rocky Mountain College 82-74. Western, the sixth seed, used a third-quarter surge to defeat No. 3 Carroll College 65-56.

MSU-Northern (17-11) and Western (14-13) now advance to Sunday’s semifinal round, where the Skylights will play No. 1 seed Dakota State at noon and the Bulldogs will face No. 2 Montana Tech at 2:30 p.m.

MSU-Northern 82, Rocky Mountain College 74

MSU-Northern sizzled in the first quarter, making seven 3-pointers to take a double-digit lead, and put together a crucial third-quarter run to get past Rocky and advance to the semifinal round.

Becky Melcher splashed four 3s in the first 10 minutes, and Taya Trottier, Canzas HisBadHorse and Shania Moananu added one apiece as the Skylights built a 29-13 lead. Melcher scored 14 first-quarter points and finished with a game-high 30 on 10-of-19 shooting (7 of 15 from 3-point range). She added 11 rebounds, a blocked shot and three steals to her stat line.

Rocky battled back to tie the game at 36-36 in the second quarter on a Brenna Linse basket, but MSUN responded with consecutive triples from Trottier and Melcher and took a 44-38 lead into halftime. The Bears eventually stole the lead back in the third quarter following a 9-0 run capped be an Isabelle Heggem bucket.

But the Skylights again answered — this time with a 13-2 run to take a 60-51 lead. MSUN led 66-59 going to the fourth and wouldn’t trail the rest of the way. The Skylights trailed for less than two total minutes of the game.

As a team, MSUN made 14 of 26 3s in the game. Ciera Agasiva was 3 for 3 from behind the arc, and Trottier was 2 for 3. Trottier had 18 points, eight rebounds and six assists, while Agasiva had 13 points.

Paige Wasson led Rocky (20-9) with 29 points but was 0 for 10 on 3-point attempts. Heggem had a double-double of 21 points and 12 rebounds.

Montana Western 65, Carroll 56

After neither team led by more than five points in the first half, Western broke open a 25-25 tie game by outscoring Carroll 20-9 in the third quarter.

Bailee Sayler scored 10 points in the quarter, including making two 3-pointers, to help the Bulldogs take control. They led 45-34 going to the fourth, and Carroll wouldn’t get closer than six points the rest of the way.

The Fighting Saints were just 18-of-65 shooting (27.7%) for the game.

Sayler scored an efficient 22 points on 7-of-8 shooting. She was 2 for 3 from 3-point range and 6 for 7 at the free throw line. The Missoula native also had nine rebounds.

Isabella Lund added 16 points for the Bulldogs, and Keke Davis had 11 points and 11 rebounds.

Carroll (19-10) was led by Kenzie Allen with 12 points. Willa Albrecht and Meagan Karstetter scored 11 points apiece for the Saints.

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