Montana
Vulnerable Montana Democratic Sen. Jon Tester to face Trump-backed Republican Tim Sheehy in key November race
![Vulnerable Montana Democratic Sen. Jon Tester to face Trump-backed Republican Tim Sheehy in key November race](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/newspress-collage-o7cee3s2q-1717565981604.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&1717551644&w=1024)
Democratic Sen. Jon Tester and Republican political newcomer Tim Sheehy emerged victorious Tuesday in Montana’s Senate primary elections, finalizing the candidates for a key race in November that could determine the balance of power in the US Senate.
Tester, a three-term incumbent, faced little opposition in the Democratic primary, winning his race with more than 97% support.
Sheehy, a former Navy SEAL and businessman who had been endorsed by former President Donald Trump, also cruised to victory, garnering 73.5% support in the GOP primary.
“It’s official. I’m facing off against Mitch McConnell’s handpicked candidate Tim Sheehy for Montana’s U.S. Senate seat,” Tester wrote on X Tuesday night. “And I’m going to win.”
“I have farm equipment that’s been in Montana longer than Tim Sheehy,” the 67-year-old senator snarked in a separate post.
Despite his confidence, the Montana Democrat faces a tough re-election battle in a deeply red state.
Tester is the only Democratic member of Montana’s congressional delegation.
The state also has a Republican governor and both chambers of the statehouse are GOP-controlled.
Montana voters backed Trump in the 2020 presidential election by a 16.4 percentage-point margin, and by a 20.4-point margin four years earlier.
Tester’s previous general election victories have also been narrow.
In 2006, he was elected to the Senate by a 0.9 percentage point margin. He did better in 2012, winning re-election by 3.7 percentage points, before falling back a bit in 2018, when he emerged victorious by only 3.5 percentage points.
“America is at a crossroads and we need a new generation of leaders to save our country,” Sheehy wrote on X after his primary win.
“I am humbled and honored by all the support and look forward to finally retiring the #1 recipient of lobbyist cash and pro-Biden liberal #RetireTester” the 37-year-old candidate added.
Tester has a 5.5-point edge over Sheehy, according to a RealClearPolitics average of polls, though polling in the race has been limited to only a couple of surveys, and none since March.
Democrats currently have a 51-49 edge over Republicans in the upper chamber.
![](https://newspub.live/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/np-logo.png)
Montana
Week Six Of Summer Giveaway Fun In Montana!
![Week Six Of Summer Giveaway Fun In Montana!](https://townsquare.media/site/12/files/2024/05/attachment-I%25E2%2580%2599m-Wilbur-I%25E2%2580%2599m-just-a-puppy-and-still-figuring-out-my-size.-Wanna-watch-me-play-tug-of-war-2024-05-28T063826.226.jpg?w=1200&q=75&format=natural)
We are so excited to be teaming up with our friends over at Kenyon Noble and having our annual 100 Days Of Summer event.
The most asked question during this event is: “What are the prizes?!” Hold your horses, my friends, I am about to show you. Every week I will let you know what is up for grabs that week and how you can get qualified to win. Hint hint…you will have multiple opportunities to score these prizes.
Week Six Prize:
Weber Q 1200 Grill
Go hiking in nature with a grill as vibrant as the scenery. Travel on or off the beaten path, camp in the woods or near the water. Explore the world with big taste and your Q 1200 portable gas grill by your side.
With Kenyon Noble’s garden center open, you will be able to find all of the most colorful flowers you desire. They even have starter plants for peppers, peas, tomatoes and more. You can grab all the supplies you need for your home or garden, or shop at Kenyon Noble.
Every week we will let you know what prize is up for winning and how you can quickly get in on the fun. All you have to do is, download the XL Country App so you are on top of our 100 Days of Summer Code Words, listen for the keyword, and then enter it in. That’s it! You can also enter your key word below! Good Luck!
cc: Kenyon Noble, Kenyon Noble Summer 2024
The Best “Old School” Diners In Montana
For those who love a walk down memory lane, Montana has more than a couple of “Old School” diners that have been serving locals and visitors across The Treasure State for decades. We take a look at the very best.
Gallery Credit: Derek Wolf
Montana
Court Halts Massive Illegal Old Growth Logging Project in Montana's Little Belt Mountains
![Court Halts Massive Illegal Old Growth Logging Project in Montana's Little Belt Mountains](https://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Goshawkmale66-680x456.jpg)
Male American (Northern) Goshawk. Public domain.
On June 27, 2024, a federal court halted an illegal logging project on federal public lands in the Little Belt Mountains of Montana.
The Alliance for the Wild Rockies and Native Ecosystems Council filed their lawsuit to stop the Horsefly project in the Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest in April 2021. The project called for cutting and burning trees on 10,343 acres, which is more than 16 square miles. To enable the logging, the agency planned on bulldozing a stunning 40.7 miles of new logging roads in the Little Belt Mountains north of White Sulphur Springs, Montana.
The scope of the massive Horsefly landscape-altering proposal is alarming and because the project violated federal law, it had to be enjoined.
The Forest Service used a number of euphemisms in a transparent attempt to disguise what used to be more honestly called logging. For instance, the agency called 3,278 acres of commercial logging ‘intermediate treatment,’ 1,049 acres of clearcutting ‘regeneration harvest,’ 409 acres of clearcutting and possible burning ‘meadow restoration,’ and 465 acres of non-commercial logging ‘rearrangement of fuels’. They’re ‘rearranging’ them alright: from forest ecosystems to stump fields.
This is an ecosystem, not a private tree farm, and so we have to maintain the habitat for sensitive wildlife species. One of those species is the northern goshawk, which has been declining in population, and which the forest plan lists as an old-growth forest management indicator species. Due to the importance of this species, the law requires 100% of goshawk nets to be monitored annually.
In 2018, the entire Forest was surveyed for goshawks and the Forest Service found an alarming 47% decline in active goshawk nests, which the agency failed to disclose to the public in violation of the National Environmental Policy Act and the National Forest Management Act. The agency also ignored its own Forest Plan requirement to issue an evaluation report if active nests decline by 10%.”
The Court’s ruling was very straightforward on the failure of the Forest Service to follow the law. As the Order reads: “The Court agrees with Alliance that the Forest Service’s failure to disclose and evaluate the decline in active goshawk nesting territories violated both NFMA and NEPA. . . . Federal Defendants all but concede that the Forest Service’s failure to disclose the decrease in active goshawk nesting territories to the public in the EA and failure to comply with the Forest Plan requirement to conduct an evaluation report if active nests decline by 10% amounts to a violation of NFMA.” Yet the Forest Service continues to log the last remaining mature and old growth forests and goshawks are in trouble.
The Court’s order remanded the project authorization to the agency, and enjoined the project pending compliance with federal law. We follow the law every day, and the Forest Service must also follow the law. When a government agency violates the law, it must be held accountable in court. It’s not easy to fight the federal government, which has far more resources than we do, but nonetheless we are committed to making the government follow its own laws to protect our native wildlife and public land ecosystems. Despite attacks by politicians, intimidation tactics, and misinformation campaigns, we won’t be stopped. We are determined to continue with this critical work.
Please consider helping us continue to fight to protect old growth forests and make the Forest Service follow the law.
Montana
Search underway for a missing boater in Flathead Lake
![Search underway for a missing boater in Flathead Lake](https://ewscripps.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/792fa7f/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1280x672+0+24/resize/1200x630!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fewscripps-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F56%2Fa4%2Feb1bce8140d880c446161d155c15%2F11.png)
MISSOULA — The search for a boater in trouble on Flathead Lake continues.
Lake County Sheriff Don Bell has identified the missing person as 34-year-old Chad Hansen from Missoula.
He was last seen in the area north of Little Bull Island and south of Safety Bay.
Hansen became separated from his boat and witnesses who tried to help him weren’t able to.
Based on the accounts gathered from witnesses it is believed that he has died of drowning, a news release states.
Teams from Lake County, Flathead County, Missoula County, and Kootenai County, Idaho, are searching Flathead Lake in an effort to find Hansen.
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