By MICHAEL NOYES ENNIS – On Tuesday, Ennis School District officials sent more information to the Teachers’ Retirement System in response to that organization’s investigation of the contracts between the district and the superintendent. In July, the Teachers’ Retirement System (TRS) opened up an investigation into whether the district acted properly when they rehired Superintendent [...]Read More>>

By PHIL DRAKE HELENA – Montana’s top retiree gets $116,587 in annual benefits with 29 others receiving more than $70,000, according to a report prepared for a legislative committee reviewing pension costs for two state-sponsored retirement systems. The numbers are more than twice the average salary of the typical Montana worker, according to statistics. The [...]Read More>>

By PHIL DRAKE HELENA – The state’s Trustee Restoration Council on Thursday approved allowing the Fish Wildlife & Parks Department to purchase the 27,616-acre Spotted Dog Ranch near Avon for $15.2 million, but included only two of six conditions recommended last week by another panel. The proposal which includes using Natural Resource Damage Program funds [...]Read More>>

BY MICHAEL NOYES ENNIS – A state senator says he plans to question Office of Public Instruction officials about their recent decision that a school district without any significant adult education program can use adult education funds to build a new grade school/adult education center.      On Aug. 16, the Montana Office of Public Instruction [...]Read More>>

By MICHAEL NOYES ENNIS – A volunteer debate coach sued the Ennis School District board and its superintendent on Monday, claiming officials tried to deceive the Teachers’ Retirement System, violated state open meetings law, unlawfully used tax dollars, and failed to provide public records for review.      Dave Kelley, an attorney for more than 30 [...]Read More>>

By MICHAEL NOYES Montana dropped eight places Thursday in an annual ranking of the number of days taxpayers must work in each state to pay off their tax obligations.      Montana ranks 18th on the Center for Fiscal Accountability’s annual list for 2010.  According to the group’s calculations, state residents must work 225.3 days, or until [...]Read More>>

Gov. Brian Schweitzer says he once asked state Revenue Director Dan Bucks if there was a way to collect more tax revenue without raising taxes. On Monday, the governor said Montana had its most successful year ever as audit collections hit $78.3 million in fiscal year 2010. Audit collections have risen from $30 million in [...]Read More>>

BOZEMAN - Michael Noyes, investigative reporter with Montana Watchdog, was on the statewide radio show “Voices of Montana” on Friday, discussing Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia’s speech in Bozeman. Host Aaron Flint and Noyes touched on several highights of the justice’s speech and fielded questions from the public during the hourlong show. Scalia appeared Wednesday [...]Read More>>

By a 2-to-1 margin, voters in Montana disagree with the U.S. Department of Justice’s decision to challenge the legality of Arizona’s new immigration law, according to a report released Wednesday. A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of likely voters in the state finds 29 percent agree with the decision to challenge the law, but 60 [...]Read More>>

BY MICHAEL NOYES BOZEMAN – Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia’s back and forth with the audience at the Museum of the Rockies covered more than just legal matters as he touched on topics ranging from poker to fly fishing. (See main story here.)      Before beginning his remarks, Scalia noted he was glad to be [...]Read More>>