HURST: Unions learn government the hard way
By Dustin Hurst | Watchdog.org
HELENA — The Montana Board of Personnel Appeals delivered a harsh lesson about state government to unions: Lawmakers have the final say.
Last week, the board upheld an earlier ruling that the Legislature, not the governor, has the power and duty to determine state worker pay.
The ruling riled unions, including the 17,000-member MEA-MFT, the state’s [...]
MT jobless rate drops slightly; some counties still hurting
By Dustin Hurst | Watchdog.org
HELENA — Montana’s latest job report shows a slight improvement in the Treasure State economy.
The Montana Department of Labor and Industry announced the state’s unemployment rate dropped to 6.1 percent in April from 6.2 percent in March.
Montana’s rate is lower than the national average, which sits at 8.1 percent.
The state’s economy has weathered the [...]
HURST: GOP gov candidate really, really wants his stolen novel returned
By Dustin Hurst | Watchdog.org
HELENA — Sometimes good stories fall in my lap and sometimes they end up in my mailbox.
And once in a great while, those stories end with calls to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
My post office box is where I recently found an envelope with no return address containing an unmarked computer disk. [...]
Faulty plank in MT gubernatorial candidate’s platform
By Dustin Hurst | Watchdog.org
HELENA — It’s the talking point small government and tea party types love: Drug testing for people on the government dole.
It’s a part of GOP gubernatorial candidate Ken Miller’s campaign platform, but it’s likely a faulty plank for the former Laurel state senator.
Read More →HURST: Why is a senator’s campaign threatening a reporter?
By Dustin Hurst | Franklin Center
HELENA — Dear U.S. Sen. Jon Tester,
We have a saying in Montana, something along the lines of the manure rolling downhill. I guess we’re here to find out whether in politics the manure sometimes defies gravity and rolls uphill, too.
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