PNS Daily Newscast - April 9, 2021
Pro-democracy groups in West Virginia urging support for the "For the People Act;" the debate rages on over Michigan's proposed trans sports ban.
2021Talks - April 9, 2021
A House bill pushing states on permit-to-purchase handgun laws aims to cut gun violence; HUD Secretary announces nearly $5B in rental assistance; and record numbers of asylum seekers turned back from U.S. are seeking sanctuary in Mexico.
Public News Service - MT: Rural/Farming

HELENA, Mont. -- A measure in Helena would give Montanans more freedom to buy food from neighboring farmers and ranchers, supporters say, but the bill is raising concerns among food-safety experts. Sen. Greg Hertz, R-Polson, the sponsor of Senate Bill 199, owns a grocery store and said there's dema

HELENA, Mont. -- Ranchers want to bring truth-in-labeling back for beef and pork in Montana. A proposal in the Montana Legislature would ask retailers to put up signs in front of beef and pork that clarifies the product was born, raised and processed in the United States. Otherwise, the meat would

COLSTRIP, Mont. -- Many landowners in southeastern Montana are displeased with Talen Energy's decision to challenge a cleanup plan for Colstrip's coal ash ponds. The company, which is part owner of the Colstrip power plants, says the $285 million plan for retired Units 1 and 2 is "grossly excessiv

HELENA, Mont. -- Maternity health specialists are getting together to overcome the daunting size of Big Sky Country and its impact on their profession. The Montana Obstetrics and Maternal Support or MOMS program at the Billings Clinic is connecting providers in urban and rural areas to tackle a tro

HELENA, Mont. -- A chorus of voices is growing louder for the Trump administration to withdraw William Perry Pendley's nomination as director of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Pendley's past as a self-proclaimed "sagebrush rebel" and his advocacy to sell public lands to states has put him in

HELENA, Mont. - This August is the fifth annual Montana Local Food Challenge. With the food supply chain and local businesses in a precarious state because of COVID-19, eating locally has added significance this year. During the challenge, Montanans are asked to eat something grown locally every da

MISSOULA, Mont. -- A new study finds rural Americans are at higher risk for COVID-19 than their urban counterparts but less likely to adhere to public health recommendations. The University of Montana's Research and Training Center on Disability in Rural Communities focused on people with disabil

HELENA, Mont. -- Montanans with disabilities face multiple barriers to care in the coronavirus pandemic, and those issues are compounded in rural parts of the state. Fewer than a quarter of Montana counties have Intensive Care Unit beds. Lillie Grieman, project director for the Research and Traini