HELENA—Montana Department of Labor and Industry Commissioner Sarah Swanson has been elected chair-elect of the National Association of State Workforce Agencies, giving Montana a leadership role in a national organization representing workforce agencies across the country. Swanson assumed the position Sept. 17 during NASWA’s annual membership meeting at the 2026 NASWA Summit. The chair-elect serves Read More…
HELENA—Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen is leading a 20-state coalition urging the U.S. Supreme Court to take up a case challenging workplace diversity, equity and inclusion training at the Colorado Department of Corrections. The coalition filed an amicus brief in Joshua Young v. Colorado Department of Corrections, asking the court to review a Tenth Circuit Read More…
Army Sgt. Alvin C. York, an infantryman, received the Medal of Honor for valor due to his heroic actions during a World War I operation in France, actions that would be immortalized in the 1941 film “Sergeant York.” York was born Dec. 13, 1887, in Pall Mall, Tennessee. His father, William Uriah York, Read More…
BOZEMAN—Gov. Greg Gianforte and the Montana Chamber of Commerce will host the third annual Big Sky, Bright Future Economic Summit on Oct. 15 in Bozeman, with this year’s event focused on technology and innovation in Montana. The summit will bring together business leaders, policymakers and technology executives to discuss artificial intelligence, national security, precision agriculture, Read More…
HELENA—Montana Department of Labor and Industry Commissioner Sarah Swanson has been elected chair-elect of the National Association of State Workforce Agencies, giving Montana a leadership role in a national organization representing workforce agencies across the country. Swanson assumed the position Sept. 17 during NASWA’s annual membership meeting at the 2026 NASWA Summit. The chair-elect serves Read More…
MISSOULA—The Montana Department of Environmental Quality has committed $1.89 million in low-interest financing to the Wildflower Apartments in Missoula, marking the first loan issued through the state’s Multifamily Energy Retrofit Loan program. The financing will support energy-efficiency upgrades at the affordable housing complex near Missoula’s south hills, with a focus on heating, ventilation and air-conditioning Read More…
HELENA—Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen is leading a 20-state coalition urging the U.S. Supreme Court to take up a case challenging workplace diversity, equity and inclusion training at the Colorado Department of Corrections. The coalition filed an amicus brief in Joshua Young v. Colorado Department of Corrections, asking the court to review a Tenth Circuit Read More…
MISSOULA – University of Montana journalism student Casandra Evans had photographed Lady Griz Basketball Head Coach Nate Harris before, but never like this. Early on a recent Friday morning, she traded gymnasium hardwood for bedroom carpet, capturing Harris as he woke his daughters and got them ready for school. At the UM School of Journalism’s Read More…
COLUMBUS, Mont.—A strike involving hundreds of workers at Sibanye-Stillwater’s Stillwater Mine and Columbus metallurgical facilities has ended after union employees approved a new three-year collective bargaining agreement. The strike began Sept. 3 and lasted more than a month. Employees are expected to return to work Oct. 9. The agreement provides a 4.5% wage increase in Read More…
BOZEMAN – A Montana State University graduate student planning a career in cancer research is the first recipient of a newly established fellowship for emerging MSU scholars working to address and expand scientific understanding to advance human health. Chloe Rifai, a second-year doctoral student in biochemistry, said the $30,000, two-year award from the Kathryn Follis Read More…
Army Sgt. Alvin C. York, an infantryman, received the Medal of Honor for valor due to his heroic actions during a World War I operation in France, actions that would be immortalized in the 1941 film “Sergeant York.” York was born Dec. 13, 1887, in Pall Mall, Tennessee. His father, William Uriah York, Read More…
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – The No. 2 Montana Grizzlies traded blows with No. 13 Northern Arizona throughout the afternoon but fell to the Lumberjacks 49-44 in a ranked shootout at the Walkup Skydome on Saturday. The loss drops Montana to 5-2 overall and 3-1 in Big Sky Conference play, while Northern Arizona improves to 5-2 overall Read More…
Brett Griesbaum grew up on a corn and soybean farm in Palmyra, Missouri, and went to college to study agriculture science with a focus on horticulture and agronomy. He said that when it was time to consider his choice of graduate school, he deliberately chose a place where he could grow as a scientist by Read More…
BOZEMAN—Gov. Greg Gianforte and the Montana Chamber of Commerce will host the third annual Big Sky, Bright Future Economic Summit on Oct. 15 in Bozeman, with this year’s event focused on technology and innovation in Montana. The summit will bring together business leaders, policymakers and technology executives to discuss artificial intelligence, national security, precision agriculture, Read More…
Annie Buchholz’s interest in science was originally inspired by her grandmother, a University of Montana alumna, who earned her bachelor’s degree in microbiology in 1947. She was one of a select few women at the time to pursue a career in the sciences. That determination encouraged Buchholz to forge her own path and study chemistry Read More…
WASHINGTON—The U.S. Department of the Treasury said it has completed automatic enrollment for Trump Accounts, extending access to tax-advantaged investment accounts for eligible American children under age 18. Treasury said more than 60 million additional children now have accounts ready to be claimed following the completion of automatic enrollment. “Millions of children have already enrolled Read More…
HELENA—Gov. Greg Gianforte has named Larry Flynn director oAll Postsf the Montana Department of Transportation, elevating a longtime agency official who has spent more than three decades working for the department. Flynn replaces outgoing Director Chris Dorrington and takes over one of Montana’s largest state agencies, with more than 2,000 employees and an annual budget Read More…
A Montana-based nonprofit is expanding partnerships with data and investigative-technology companies in an effort to make human trafficking intelligence more accessible to law enforcement agencies across the country. DeliverFund said it is working with technology partners to integrate its trafficking intelligence into investigative platforms already used by police and other agencies. The goal is to Read More…
For some students, earning an undergraduate degree can create financial pressure to enter the workforce immediately, putting graduate school – and the specialized knowledge, research experience and expanded career opportunities an advanced degree can provide – seemingly out of reach. In this MSU file photo, a student works in a lab in MSU’s Norm Asbjornson Read More…
Students at Fort Peck Community College can now transfer directly into a bachelor’s degree program at the University of Montana College of Business under a new agreement between the two schools. The articulation agreement creates a 2+2 pathway for students who earn either an administration associate degree or a technology associate of applied science degree Read More…
BILLINGS—The Billings Cattle Punchers opened a new chapter for hockey in the Magic City with their first official home game at the new Signal Peak Ice Arena, drawing a sold-out crowd to the $17.5 million facility. Billings fell 5-3 in the opener, but the night still marked a major milestone for the city’s hockey community Read More…
BILLINGS, Mont. — A Billings man has been charged with felony criminal insurance fraud after state investigators alleged he filed a false claim involving several lawnmowers he reported stolen. Adam Walker told authorities in July 2023 that his truck, trailer and four lawnmowers had been stolen from outside his residence. Police later recovered the truck, Read More…
HELENA, Mont. — Montanans who purchased certain generic prescription drugs between 2009 and 2019 may be eligible for compensation from a series of settlements totaling about $96.5 million over allegations that drug manufacturers conspired to inflate prices. A federal court in Connecticut recently granted preliminary approval to a distribution plan involving Montana and 47 other Read More…
HELENA, Mont. — Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen is leading a 22-state coalition urging the Securities and Exchange Commission to examine whether Moody’s Corporation is complying with federal rules governing credit-rating agencies and potential conflicts of interest. In a letter to K. Scott Davey, acting director of the SEC’s Office of Credit Ratings, the attorneys Read More…
HELENA, Mont. — The Montana State Board of Land Commissioners has approved an oil and gas lease sale expected to generate more than $2.1 million for state trust lands, with the proceeds benefiting public education. The sale included 12 tracts in Musselshell, Sheridan and Toole counties. A single tract in Sheridan County generated a $2.14 Read More…
BILLINGS, Mont. — A Billings counselor has been ordered to pay nearly $48,000 to the state after pleading guilty to charges stemming from fraudulent Medicaid claims, according to the Montana Department of Justice. Melvera Parker, 69, pleaded guilty to felony Medicaid fraud and making a false claim to a public agency following an investigation by Read More…
On Wednesday morning at Montana State University’s new nursing education building, located on a tree-lined block between the Billings Clinic and Intermountain Health St. Vincent Regional Hospital campuses, the Mark and Robyn Jones College of Nursing began its next chapter. Hundreds of attendees applauded as MSU President Brock Tessman, nursing college dean Sarah Shannon, Billings Read More…
The Montana Supreme Court has vacated an injunction that would have placed a proposed data center initiative on Butte-Silver Bow County’s November ballot, saying it would not have granted the order had it known ballots had already been printed, mailed and, in some cases, returned. The court issued the new order Sept. 24, two days Read More…
The University of Montana enrolled 11,319 students this fall, marking the highest student headcount for the flagship campus since 2017. The significantly larger first-year class that arrived on campus this fall drove the growth. More than 1,500 first-time entering freshmen enrolled at UM this fall semester. This is the largest first-year class enrolled at UM in a Read More…
Delayne Lindeen, a junior studying business finance, transferred to Montana State University this past spring. Lindeen, who’d been attending college in Billings, said she wanted the experience of living a little farther from her hometown of Huntley. Coming from a graduating high school class of 50, she said it was a bit intimidating to enter Read More…
The Montana Historical Society is now accepting submissions for the Montana Headwaters Book Prize, a new annual award recognizing the best historical nonfiction books on Montana history. Submissions are open through Jan. 31, 2027, to authors and publishers of books published during the 2026 calendar year. The prize is funded annually by Larry Len and Read More…
Gov. Greg Gianforte recently joined officials from the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation and the U.S. Forest Service to visit the Blacktail Powerline Project near Lakeside on the Flathead National Forest, the first initiative announced under Montana’s Shared Stewardship Agreement. “Through our Shared Stewardship Agreement with the Forest Service, management partners are working Read More…
Montana’s unemployment rate held steady at 3.2% in August, remaining below the national rate and placing the state among the 15 lowest unemployment rates in the country. The national unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.1% in August, according to federal labor data. Total employment in Montana, including payroll, agricultural and self-employed workers, increased by 482 Read More…
Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen testified Tuesday before the U.S. House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Federal Government Surveillance on the missing and murdered Indigenous persons crisis, outlining jurisdictional challenges that hamper coordination among tribal, federal and local law enforcement in addressing the issue. During the hearing, titled “Missing and Murdered Indigenous People: Strengthening Public Read More…
The Steer-A-Year program in Montana State University’s College of Agriculture will return for the 2026-27 academic year and is seeking donations of young cattle and feed. Housed in the Department of Animal and Range Sciences, Steer-A-Year teaches students about the many aspects of raising cattle through a hands-on academic approach, while supplying locally raised beef Read More…
The Montana Department of Environmental Quality has received $20.78 million to cover reclamation costs at the long-idled Montana Tunnels Mine near Jefferson City, following the latest bankruptcy proceeding involving Montana Tunnels Mining Inc. The payment is tied to a structured sale of the property to Silver Bow Mining Corp. and Silver Bow Tunnels Corp. and Read More…
Nominations are now open for the 2026 Montana Governor’s Veteran Commendation, Gov. Greg Gianforte announced. “Our veterans answered the call to serve our country, and many continue that service long after taking off the uniform,” Gianforte said. “The Montana Governor’s Veteran Commendation gives me the honor and opportunity to recognize these outstanding men and women, Read More…
Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen has joined Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird in asking the U.S. Supreme Court to stop a multistate antitrust lawsuit seeking to block Paramount Skydance’s proposed $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. The filing puts Knudsen at the center of another major national antitrust fight, this time on the opposite Read More…
A University of Montana political science professor will spend the academic year sharing his expertise and research at one of the world’s most prestigious institutions. Dr. Robert Saldin, a political scientist and co-director of UM’s Democracy Studies Program, has been awarded the Leverhulme Visiting Professorship at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. The Read More…
Montana running back Eli Gillman added another chapter to his record-setting career Saturday, rushing for 147 yards and three touchdowns as the Grizzlies beat Utah Tech 35-14 at Washington-Grizzly Stadium. The fifth-year senior continued his climb through both the Montana and Big Sky Conference record books. After breaking Chase Reynolds’ Montana career rushing-touchdown record a Read More…
MISSOULA – Thousands of feet above Salt Lake City, chemistry students from the University of Montana spent this summer tracking air pollution. They collected airborne data over seven weeks as part of a major research campaign to understand factors driving poor air quality in Western cities. They are working to support efforts to make Read More…
The Montana Department of Environmental Quality is requesting public feedback on a draft programmatic environmental assessment for its Oil and Gas Registration Program, with comments due by Oct. 1, 2026. The Montana Environmental Policy Act requires DEQ to analyze impacts from all agency actions that may affect the state’s environment. As allowed under MEPA, and Read More…
Montana State was picked to finish second in the Big Sky Conference women’s golf preseason coaches’ poll, giving the Bobcats one of the league’s highest expectations heading into the 2026-27 season. The Bobcats received 88 points and two first-place votes from the conference’s 11 head coaches, who were not allowed to vote for their own Read More…
Kris Nord spent 42 years as a Grizzly coach. 42 years of service to one team would be a hall of fame worthy career in itself. But when you learn he spent decades coaching two and often three different programs all at once, you realize that level of dedication makes a hall of fame induction Read More…