Montana-Canada Border Traffic Falls Sharply in 2025

Passenger and freight traffic across Montana’s northern border fell sharply in the first 11 months of 2025, with commercial freight seeing the sharpest decline from a for comparable periods in at least 30 years. The number of inbound people crossing also saw the steepest year-over-year percentage declines of recent decades outside of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Data from the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics indicates that full shipping container crossings into Montana for the first 11 months of the year fell 21% from its 30-year peak in 2024. Over the same period, individual crossings dropped 29%. The drop comes after years of sharp increases in freight and individual crossings coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Economy and tourism experts interviewed by MTFP pointed to President Donald Trump’s on-again, off-again tariff battle with Canada as a likely explanation for the drop.

Top Stories include Minnesota Governor Tim Walz

THE JUSTICE DEPRARTMENT 

On Tuesday, the FBI served subpoenas to five Minnesota government offices, including those belonging to Gov. Tim Walz [pictured here], Attorney General Keith Ellison, and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey.

The subpoenas are related to an ongoing investigation into these Democrats for an “alleged conspiracy to coerce or obstruct federal law enforcement” during ICE operations in Minnesota, Fox News reported.

“Whether it's a public official, whether it's a law enforcement officer, no one is above the law in this state or in this country — and people will be held accountable,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said. 

OMAR FACES NEW INVESTIGATION

Republicans are probing Rep. Ilhan Omar’s alleged skyrocketing personal wealth.

Wyoming Lawmaker Unveils Bill To Make Ivermectin Over-The-Counter

A Wyoming House Representative from Cheyenne wants to make it legal in the state to sell the controversial drug ivermectin over-the-counter.

Rep. Gary Brown, R-Cheyenne, this month unveiled House Bill 13, which would allow people in Wyoming to buy ivermectin without a prescription.

Used in some cases as a horse dewormer, ivermectin garnered controversy during the COVID-19 pandemic when President Joe Biden’s U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) discouraged its use with slogans like, “You are not a horse. You are not a cow. Serious y’all. Stop it.”

A group of doctors sued federal agencies in 2022, saying they waged a pressure campaign against them to block them from prescribing the drug.

The FDA settled that lawsuit in 2024.  

If it becomes law, Brown’s bill would also specify that the state doesn’t classify the drug as a dangerous substance.

Brown told Cowboy State Daily on Monday that after watching other states pass this change in recent years, “I became really interested in it.”

A Conservative Analysis of American Interest in Greenland

Robert Peters, January 20, 2026 

Greenland has been a national security concern of the United States since the 19th century. President Donald Trump is the most recent in a long line of American presidents expressing an interest in either acquiring Greenland or expanding the U.S. military footprint in Greenland in cooperation with Denmark.

Given Greenland’s strategic location, Trump’s interest is eminently rational—but the United States should address the valid security concerns raised by Trump without risking a breach with NATO.

American interest in Greenland goes back more than a century and a half. Secretary of State William Seward expressed interest in Greenland as early as the 1860s. American interest in purchasing territory from Denmark has a historical precedent, as the U.S. purchased the Virgin Islands from Denmark in 1917. The American military presence in Greenland dates to the 1940s, and President Harry S. Truman expressed an interest in purchasing Greenland from Denmark after World War II.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz Mobilizes National Guard Amid Anti-ICE Protests

Jacki Thrapp 01/18/26  

Minnesota National Guard members are wearing bright vests over their uniform so anti-ICE protesters can ‘distinguish them from other agencies.’

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz mobilized his state’s National Guard on Jan. 17 and will have soldiers wear bright yellow reflective vests over their uniforms so protesters can “distinguish them from other agencies” such as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), according to the Minnesota National Guard.

“These Soldiers are staged, and vehicles and personnel are ready to respond at locations across the metro.,” Army Maj. Andrea Tsuchiya, state public affairs officer for the Minnesota National Guard, confirmed to The Epoch Times in an email on Jan. 18.

McDonald's Owners Apologize After Browning Wrestling Team Denied Service

The owners of a McDonald’s in Ronan on Friday apologized after a viral video appeared to show an
employee refusing service to the Browning High School wrestling team. 

The 14-second video, reportedly recorded on Thursday, shows a man who appears to be an employee saying, “Browning school is not allowed. We’re not allowed to serve you guys.”

A student can be heard mumbling, “I guess they don’t like Indians here.” Browning is located on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation in northwestern Montana.

Located on the Flathead Reservation, Ronan is home to nearly 2,000 people, the majority of whom are white, according to U.S. Census data.

Tara Tatsey of Browning said her son, who is on the wrestling team, sent the video to her. She then shared it on Facebook, where it amassed more than 150,000 views and 650 shares in less than 24 hours.

The video sparked widespread outrage. Some Blackfeet community members speculated that the team was turned away for racist reasons, others suggested boycotting McDonald’s.

The Trump Administration is Reportedly Considering Granting Asylum to Jewish People from the UK

The Guardian: 

 Discussions are reportedly under way within Donald Trump’s administration about the US possibly granting asylum to Jewish people from the UK, according to the Telegraph, citing the US president’s personal lawyer. Trump lawyer Robert Garson told the newspaper that he has held conversations with the US State Department about offering refuge to British Jews who are leaving the UK citing rising anti-Semitism.

Garson, 49, said he felt the UK was “no longer a safe place for Jews”. He added that recent events – namely an Islamic terror attack on a synagogue in Manchester and what he described as widespread anti-Semitism following the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October 2023 – had led him to believe that British Jews should be given the option of sanctuary in the US. ... 

45 Hours On Hold: Torrington Man’s Insurance Nightmare Shows How Broken System Is

Renée Jean at renee@cowboystatedaily.com.

Torrington resident Roger Huckfeldt found himself in robocall hell trying to find someone who could help him get his 85-year-old mother a new health insurance provider after United Healthcare announced it was leaving Wyoming.

His story illustrates how far downhill customer service has trended, as well as the kind of difficulties Wyomingites are facing as they navigate a new health care landscape. 

UnitedHealth is one of multiple carriers that left Wyoming’s Advantage health insurance marketplace amid rising health care costs, changes to federal policies, and the expiration of the enhanced Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare) tax credits.

“UnitedHealth was an advantage plan provider in Wyoming and, back in October, they sent a letter to Mom saying you’ll have to find something else come the first of the year,” Huckfeldt said. “So, we immediately started the process of trying to find health insurance for mom.” 

‘I’m Not Going To Do This'

Huckfeldt started with a state advocacy group that helped him figure out where and how to start shopping for a new plan.  

“We looked through the government’s websites which, in my opinion, were difficult for me to navigate,” he said. “My 85-year-old mother would never have been able to get that done.  "She’d have thrown up her hands and said, ‘I’m not going to do this. I’m not going to have insurance, to heck with it.’”

Investigation Still ‘Active’ 8 Months After Idaho Twins Died Following Vaccinations

The Defender Staff

Eight months after 18-month-old twins died in their Idaho home, days after receiving the flu vaccine and other routine shots, Payette police told NBC Idaho news affiliate KTVB the case remains open. However, officials did not release any new information.

The parents told CHD.TV in May that police immediately treated them as suspects.

Last week, Payette Police Chief Gary Marshall told KTVB that the deaths of Dallas and Tyson Shaw remain “an active investigation” and that “there is no new information that can be released.”

Officials denied public records requests submitted to the Payette Police Department and the Ada County Coroner’s Office, citing the ongoing investigation.

Authorities have not released a cause or manner of death, and no toxicology or autopsy findings have been made public. It remains unclear whether investigators continue to view asphyxiation as a leading theory or whether alternative explanations are being considered.