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Articles written by Tom Lutey


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  • Regier, Ler elected to lead 2025 Montana Legislature

    Tom Lutey, montanafreepress.org|Updated Nov 15, 2024

    Senate and House Republicans, selecting leaders who will preside over the 2025 Legislature, chose Senator-elect Matt Regier, R-Kalispell, as Senate president and Rep. Brandon Ler, R-Savage, as speaker of the House in caucuses Tuesday. The GOP holds majorities in both chambers for the eighth straight session of the biennial Legislature. Democrats chose Sen. Pat Flowers, D-Belgrade, and Rep. Katie Sullivan, D-Missoula, as minority leaders of their respective caucuses. The full...

  • Troy Downing wins Montana's eastern U.S. House race

    Tom Lutey, montanafreepress.org|Updated Nov 7, 2024

    Republican Troy Downing has won Montana's eastern U.S. House race by a wide margin over Democrat John Driscoll. Returns Wednesday morning showed Downing with a 66% vote share, or 174,247 votes. Driscoll, with 89,545 votes, or a 34% vote share, got the most bang for his buck. The Democrat was determined to spend less than $5,000 on the election. On Wednesday, Downing told Montana Free Press he is already lobbying Republican House leadership for committee assignments and a...

  • Tester, Sheehy make closing arguments at Missoula debate

    Tom Lutey, montanafreepress.org|Updated Oct 3, 2024

    Montana's major party candidates for U.S. Senate exchanged parting shots Monday in a final debate before in-person voting begins Oct 8. Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Tester characterized Republican Sheehy as a rich out-of-stater who would privatize health care while limiting abortion access. Sheehy said he wasn't lucky enough to be born in Montana because he "couldn't control where my mother's womb was when I crawled out of it." He repeatedly portrayed Tester as someone who has bee...

  • Watchdog challenges pro-Tester committee's financial reporting

    Tom Lutey, montanafreepress.org|Updated Sep 20, 2024

    In the second half of 2023, a secretive political action committee began running television ads against Republican U.S. Senate candidate Tim Sheehy. There were no details about who was funding Last Best Place PAC, how much money it had to spend, or who was working for the committee. The secrecy continued into the first quarter of this year when the Campaign Legal Center filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission about Last Best Place PAC's lack of disclosure. In...

  • Montana lands $700 million for major transmission project

    Tom Lutey, montanafreepress.org|Updated Aug 8, 2024

    Montana will receive $700 million to advance the nation's first transmission project bridging the eastern and western grids, a step described as critical to U.S. energy reliability. The U.S. Department of Energy grant, announced Tuesday by Gov. Greg Gianforte in a press release, will advance the North Plains Connector, a 415-mile, high voltage, direct-current line between Montana's Colstrip substation and Center, North Dakota. The 525-kilovolt line could be the first...

  • Film and TV crews spent $334 million in Montana during last two years, legislators told

    Tom Lutey, montanafreepress.org|Updated Jun 27, 2024

    Film and TV companies spent $334 million in Montana over the past two years, according to numbers released to state legislators on Monday. Television, including the filming of the "Yellowstone" franchise, was the big contributor with $275.7 million spent between July 2022 and May 2024. "Obviously very big numbers," said Gina Lavery, of Econsult Solutions, Inc., an analyst hired by the state. "These are honestly double what we saw the previous cycle, which makes sense because...

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