Montana Public Radio

Alan Olson

Legislators Hear Testimony On Bill Expanding Workers’ Compensation

By James Bradley & UM Legislative News Service • Feb 24, 2021
Rep. Andrea Olsen (D) - HD 100.
Montana Legislature

Lawmakers on the House Business and Labor Committee heard testimony Wednesday on several bills that would change workers’ compensation, including one that would allow essential workers to receive benefits if they contract COVID-19.

Nonprofits Call For Increased Oil, Gas Leasing Fees On Public Lands

By • Oct 4, 2019

A recent report from a pair of environmental advocacy groups says a third of the public lands leased for oil and gas development came with a price tag of $2 per acre or less.

Transportation Restrictions Slow Montana Oil Sales

By • Aug 29, 2019


An association of oil and gas industry members from Montana met in Billings this week to talk about issues the industry is facing, like transporting crude oil.

Federal Judge Blocks Construction On Keystone XL Pipeline

By • Nov 9, 2018
Pipes for Keystone XL Pipeline.
shannonpatrick17 (CC-BY-2.0)

A federal judge in Great Falls Thursday night blocked the construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline until the U.S. government further studies its impact on the environment and climate.

The controversial pipeline would carry crude oil from Canada to U.S. refineries in the Gulf Coast. The 36-inch-wide Keystone XL would pass through six eastern Montana counties and near the Fort Peck Indian Reservation.

US Delays Oil, Gas Sales In Montana After Climate Ruling

By Matthew Brown - Associated Press • Apr 25, 2018
Oil pump.
Dan Boyce

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — U.S. officials delayed lease sales on federal oil and gas reserves beneath more than 160 square miles (414 square kilometers) of public and private lands in eastern Montana in response to a recent court ruling on climate change, a U.S. Bureau of Land Management spokesman said Wednesday.

Oil And Gas Cleanup Could Cost Taxpayers Billions, Says New Report

By Nate Hegyi • Feb 27, 2018

The vast majority of the nation’s oil and gas wells are located here in Mountain West. But a new report says once those wells run dry it could cost taxpayers billions of dollars to clean them up.

“This is a huge red flag,” says Aaron Weiss with the Center for Western Priorities.

The conservation group says it would cost taxpayers more than six billion dollars to clean up all the wells on federal land.

Montana Producers 'Cautiously Optimistic' As Crude Oil Prices Spike

By • Jan 3, 2018
Oil well.
(PD)

Crude oil prices hit a new high Wednesday. MTPR's Edward O’Brien has more on what that means for consumers and what’s left of Montana’s oil producers

U.S. crude notched above $61 a barrel, Wednesday. That’s the first time that’s happened in two-and-a-half years.

Environmental Groups File Suit Over Trump Methane Rules

By • Dec 19, 2017
Gavel.
(PD)

Government watchdog groups are challenging the Trump administration in court over its move to suspend methane emission rules for oil and gas production on federal lands.

Oil, Conservation, And Tribal Groups Sound-Off On Zinke's Nomination To Interior

By • Dec 15, 2016
U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke.
Courtesy Ryan Zinke

On Thursday morning, Congressman Ryan Zinke issued his first press release since media outlets broke the news he was President Elect Donald Trump’s top pick for Secretary of the Interior. In it, he wrote, "I am honored and humbled to be asked to serve Montana and America as Secretary of Interior."

The confirmation unleashed a mixed bag of reactions.

Montanans Vote To Keep Same-Day Voter Registration

By Lee Banville • Nov 5, 2014

Montanans rejected efforts to curb late voter registration Tuesday.

The legislative referendum, LR-126, would have ended the ability for people to register to vote as late as Election Day, which has been allowed in Montana since 2006.

With 78 percent of precincts in, the Associated Press reported that 56 percent had voted to keep same-day registration and 44 percent had voted to end it.

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