Montana
Gov. Gianforte announces his budget for the 2023 Montana Legislature
Gov. Greg Gianforte unveiled his proposed price range Thursday, a fiscal roadmap that he mentioned is poised to characterize the most important tax minimize in Montana historical past.
The price range, which the governor described as “constructed for hardworking Montana households,” gives $1 billion in revenue and property tax reduction to Montanans within the coming years, a $500 million discount in every. The price range should go earlier than the 2023 Montana Legislature, the place Gianforte’s Republican colleagues earned a supermajority following the midterm elections, for remaining approval.
“I essentially consider hardworking Montanans ought to preserve extra of what they earn. And with inflation at a excessive not seen in 40 years, offering Montanans with tax reduction is all of the extra necessary,” Gianforte mentioned throughout a Nov. 10 press convention.
He known as on native officers throughout the state to observe his lead, saying that “native governments shouldn’t spend and tax Montanans out of their residence.” Municipalities, he mentioned, ought to put renewed emphasis on tax reform.
A historic surplus of roughly $1.5 billion undergirds the spending plan. Gianforte mentioned he’ll use the monetary leeway to supply a toddler tax credit score, restore and put money into state amenities, bolster schooling and spur housing improvement. The biennium price range, if accepted, would take impact in July 2023 and run by way of June 2025.
After offering Montanans with tax reduction, Gianforte’s proposed price range was designed with three most important pointers: make repairs, save for emergencies and repay debt.
The price range features a $300 million funding in a “generational dedication” to Montana’s behavioral well being companies, together with therapy for substance abuse points. Particularly, the cash will go towards bettering companies on the Montana State Hospital in Heat Springs, which noticed federal accreditation stripped this 12 months.
In the same vein, the price range places practically $200 million towards fixing up and increasing the state jail.
The price range additionally directs $200 million towards water and sewer infrastructure initiatives, which native officers might use to spur residential improvement in counties and municipalities, based on the Montana Free Press.
The price range additionally gives households with a toddler tax credit score of $1,200 – per youngster, per 12 months – gives an adoption tax credit score of $5,000, doubles the state’s rainy-day fund, places $100 million in direction of repairing roads and bridges, and practically triples the fireplace funding fund. It additionally boosts schooling efforts statewide, together with doubling the Massive Sky Scholarship fund and increasing funding for the Educate Act by 40%.
The price range will “make Montana debt free by 2023,” paying off all basic obligation debt, Gianforte mentioned.
“Montana taxpayers entrust us to be good stewards of their hard-earned {dollars}. I’m proud our price range, constructed for hardworking Montana households, fulfills that belief,” he mentioned.
Gianforte deferred most questions on Thursday about his plans and the specifics of the price range for subsequent week when the complete price range textual content is on the market. The official doc shall be formally launched on Nov. 15.
Reporter Kate Heston might be reached at kheston@dailyinterlake.com.
Montana
The gunshot story from Montana’s Tim Sheehy gets even more ‘confusing’
Control of the U.S. Senate might very well come down to the race in Montana, where Sen. Jon Tester is facing a tough challenge from Republican Tim Sheehy. The bad news for the Democratic incumbent is that recent polling leaves little doubt that he’s the underdog, but the good news for Tester is that the GOP has nominated a rival with an unfortunate record.
As regular readers know, Sheehy, for example, has used racist rhetoric when talking about Native Americans — which is indefensible under any circumstances, and which is especially foolish in a state with a sizable Native population. He has also accused women who support abortion rights of having been “indoctrinated.” Sheehy has also been accused of plagiarism, doctoring footage in a campaign commercial, disparaging firefighters, flubbing the basics of the impeachment process, having a controversial lobbying background, and exaggerating his successes in the private sector.
In case that weren’t quite enough, the candidate wrote in his book that he was discharged from the military for medical reasons, but NBC News reported last month that the discharge paperwork indicates that he resigned voluntarily and it does not list any medical condition that forced him out.
But most important is the question of how and when Sheehy was shot. NBC News reported over the weekend:
Montana’s Republican Senate candidate Tim Sheehy struggled in a new interview to give a clear explanation about the circumstances surrounding a 2015 incident in a national park that led to his treatment for a gunshot wound and receipt of a fine. In the interview with radio host and former Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly, which was posted online Thursday, Sheehy left Kelly confused, and she warned him that the voters in Montana were unclear about what happened.
The conservative host told the Senate hopeful that his version of events is “so confusing,” and it was a rare instance in which I found myself in agreement with Kelly.
Let’s circle back to our recent coverage and review how we arrived at this point.
The Republican candidate, a retired Navy SEAL, has told Montana voters that he has a bullet stuck in his right forearm “from Afghanistan.” It’s the sort of claim that signals to the public that Sheehy wants to be seen as tough, while simultaneously reminding people about his military service.
And while it certainly appears that there’s a bullet lodged in Sheehy’s right forearm, there’s reason to be skeptical about how it got there.
The Washington Post reported back in April that Sheehy visited Montana’s Glacier National Park in 2015, at which point he told a National Park Service ranger that he accidentally shot himself when his Colt .45 revolver fell and discharged while he was loading his vehicle in the park. Soon after, the Post’s article added, a ranger cited Sheehy for allegedly discharging his weapon in a national park illegally, relying on the Republican’s version of events, and the relevant reports were filed.
More recently, however, Sheehy told the Post that he lied to the National Park Service ranger and that he was actually shot while serving in Afghanistan.
The ranger who interacted with the future Senate candidate, Kim Peach, isn’t buying it. In fact, Peach told The New York Times that he remembers seeing Sheehy at the hospital in 2015 “with a bandage on his arm,” presumably because he’d just accidentally shot himself.
The article added, “Because it is illegal to discharge a firearm in a national park, Mr. Peach said, he and Mr. Sheehy went out to Mr. Sheehy’s vehicle, where Mr. Peach temporarily confiscated the gun and unloaded it, finding five live rounds and the casing of one that had been fired.”
The Times also spoke with one of Sheehy’s former SEAL colleagues, Dave Madden, who recalled swapping war stories with the Montanan about their experiences, and Sheehy never said anything about having been shot.
“Mr. Madden said he was surprised when Mr. Sheehy began talking more recently about having been shot that spring in Afghanistan, and that he became convinced that Mr. Sheehy had invented the story,” the article added.
The question isn’t whether Sheehy lied. The question is when and to whom he lied.
To be sure, the GOP candidate remains adamant that he was shot in Afghanistan and lied about the park incident to protect his former platoonmates from facing a potential investigation.
As Sheehy has explained it, he believed that if he’d told the truth in 2015, it might’ve been reported to the Navy, prompting questions about whether the wound was the result of friendly fire or from enemy ammunition. But the Post reported that it would’ve been “highly unlikely that a civilian hospital would report a years-old bullet wound to the Navy.”
In theory, the candidate could release the relevant medical records and put the matter to rest. In practice, Sheehy now says there are no such medical records.
No wonder Kelly found all of this “so confusing.”
As for the significance of this, Sheehy doesn’t have much of a record to fall back on, so if he lied about getting shot in Afghanistan, it does dramatic harm to one of the key pillars of his entire candidacy. Watch this space.
This post updates our related earlier coverage.
Montana
Good Morning, Montana (Monday, November 4, 2024)
Wishing everyone a good day! Here are some things to know for today:
WEATHER: Increasing clouds. Wind will increase throughout the morning, with gusts of 40-50mph across north central Montana this afternoon and evening. Scattered rain and snow showers during the evening. High temps in the upper 40 and low to mid 50s.
Suspect shot after stabbing a police officer in Helena. Click here.
Great Falls tattoo shop faces backlash. Click here.
New law requires Montana counties to tally votes throughout the night. Click here.
COMING UP:
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 8: A fundraiser to benefit the Miller family as they navigate the diagnosis of a brain tumor in their youngest, little Ms. Jewel Miller. Event runs from 5pm to 8pm at the Highwood Community Hall. There will be music by The Lucky Valentines, food and fun, as well as a live and silent auction. Dinner served at 5-6. Auction from 6-7 with live music to follow. For more information, call Jenna Baum at 406-733-6062.
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 8: There will be free Developmental Health Screenings for Children (birth – age 5) at the Children’s Museum of Montana (22 Railroad Square) in Great Falls. Event is from 9am to 1pm. Developmental Screeners, Hearing Checks, Dental Health Checks, Vision Checks, and more. Sponsored by Benchmark Human Services, Great Falls Public Schools, Montana School for the Deaf & Blind, Alluvion Dental, Lions Club. To reserve a spot, call 406-268-6400; walk-ins are also welcome. For more information, call Barb Walden at 406-403-0087.
Here is today’s joke of the day! Share with your friends: Why did the strawberry cry? He found himself in a jam!
Email your best joke to montanathismorning@krtv.com
For Behind The Scenes, Follow Montana This Morning on Instagram – click here!
Montana
Democrats Say Montana’s Senate Race Has Gotten Closer
Democrats are growing more optimistic about Sen. Jon Tester’s reelection chances in Montana in the campaign’s final days, according to party strategists, hopeful that a late surge of support for the senator has at least put him within striking distance of Republican nominee Tim Sheehy.
After bottoming out at the end of summer, Tester’s poll numbers have bounced back in recent weeks, according to one Democratic strategist familiar with the race, who, like others interviewed for this story, emphasized that the three-term senator’s hold on the Senate seat remains precarious. But his support has grown enough that allies think the incumbent — long considered the Democratic senator most likely to lose his reelection — has at least now moved within a poll’s margin of error.
“I would say flip a coin, and then call it heads or tails before it hits your hand,” said former Democratic Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer. “And that’s how this thing is going to end.”
-
Sports1 week ago
Freddie Freeman's walk-off grand slam gives Dodgers Game 1 World Series win vs. Yankees
-
News1 week ago
Sikh separatist, targeted once for assassination, says India still trying to kill him
-
Culture1 week ago
Freddie Freeman wallops his way into World Series history with walk-off slam that’ll float forever
-
Technology1 week ago
When a Facebook friend request turns into a hacker’s trap
-
Business3 days ago
Carol Lombardini, studio negotiator during Hollywood strikes, to step down
-
Health4 days ago
Just Walking Can Help You Lose Weight: Try These Simple Fat-Burning Tips!
-
Business2 days ago
Hall of Fame won't get Freddie Freeman's grand slam ball, but Dodgers donate World Series memorabilia
-
Business7 days ago
Will Newsom's expanded tax credit program save California's film industry?