Montana News

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UM Earns A+ Ratings for Preparing Future Elementary Educators to Teach Reading

The University of Montana recently earned an A+ grade for its undergraduate and graduate elementary teacher preparation programs for excellence in preparing future classroom leaders to teach reading. The recognition for UM’s Phyllis J. Washington College of Education comes from the National Council on Teacher Quality, a nonpartisan education policy organization. The achievement comes at Read More…

Knudsen Reports Rise in Meth, Cocaine Seizures; Fentanyl Seizures Decline

Cocaine and methamphetamine seizures in Montana increased sharply during the first quarter of 2026 compared to the same period last year, while fentanyl seizures continued a downward trend, Attorney General Austin Knudsen announced. “Fentanyl and other dangerous drugs continue to threaten communities, and the battle against the cartels that are bringing them into our state Read More…

Regional News

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Armstrong Appoints Three to ND Higher Education Board

North Dakota Gov. Kelly Armstrong appointed Minot entrepreneur Kevin Black and Grand Forks physician and healthcare administrator Dr. Joshua Deere to four-year terms on the State Board of Higher Education, along with Mayville State University student Kelby Azure to a one-year term as the board’s student member. Black, who has served on the board since Read More…

Court Blocks SD Abortion Pill Ad Ban

A federal judge on Friday blocked South Dakota from enforcing a new state law restricting advertising for abortion pills against a New York-based reproductive health nonprofit, dealing a temporary setback to the state’s effort to crack down on abortion pill information campaigns. U.S. District Judge Camela Theeler issued a preliminary injunction barring enforcement of House Read More…

UND rooftop radar sets sights on space security

On June 4, UND’s newest space-research project rose into view above campus as cranes lifted two antennas onto the rooftops of the Collaborative Energy Complex and Odegard Hall. That morning, workers installed the most visible pieces yet of UND’s new bistatic radar system, with “bistatic” referring to the physical separation between the radar’s transmitter and Read More…

Labrador Joins 49-State Push to Crack Down on Illegal Robocalls

Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador joined a bipartisan coalition of 49 attorneys general in calling on the Federal Communications Commission to strengthen rules that would cut off scammers’ access to legitimate telephone numbers, the latest step in a years-long multistate effort to combat illegal robocalls. “Idahoans are tired of scammers swindling their families and flooding Read More…

National News

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Justice Department Sues Maryland Over Sanctuary Policies

The Justice Department filed a lawsuit against Maryland and Attorney General Anthony Brown on Thursday over the state’s sanctuary policies, arguing they unlawfully obstruct federal immigration enforcement. The complaint, filed July 9 in U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, targets Maryland’s Community Trust Act, a 2026 law that broadly prohibits state and local Read More…

War Department Awards $86M to Develop Laser Weapons

The Department of War awarded two Other Transaction Authority agreements totaling $86 million to nLIGHT Defense and Lockheed Martin Aculight to develop high-energy laser weapons capable of defeating drone swarms and cruise missiles, with a total program ceiling of $847 million. The agreements, announced July 9, are being executed by the department’s Scaled Directed Energy Read More…

Former Afghan General Extradited to U.S. on Drug Trafficking, Weapons Charges

A former general in Afghanistan’s Border Force and first deputy speaker of the Afghan National Assembly’s House of the People has been extradited to the United States and charged with conspiring to import hundreds of kilograms of heroin and methamphetamine and provide an arsenal of military-grade weapons to a drug trafficking organization. Abdul Zahir Qadeer, Read More…