Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen is leading a 26-state coalition urging the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a Hawaii law that imposes broad restrictions on where law-abiding citizens can carry firearms. The coalition filed an amicus brief in the case Wolford v. Lopez, arguing that Hawaii’s so-called “sensitive places” firearm restrictions violate the Second Amendment. Read More…
Montana Commissioner of Securities and Insurance James Brown announced a significant settlement with Vanguard Marketing Corporation and The Vanguard Group, Inc., resolving an investigation into unexpected capital gains tax distributions from Vanguard’s Target Retirement Funds in 2021. The settlement addresses concerns that affected Montana investors and others nationwide. The investigation, conducted alongside the U.S. Securities Read More…
President Donald Trump has nominated Kurt Alme to serve as the U.S. Attorney for Montana, a move that has garnered strong support from Montana’s U.S. Senators Steve Daines and Tim Sheehy. Alme, who previously held the position during Trump’s first administration, brings extensive experience and a proven track record to the role. Senator Steve Daines Read More…
Community leaders, local businesses, and young athletes gathered this week to break ground on the highly anticipated Signal Peak Energy Ice Arena, a new multi-sport facility set to transform youth athletics and recreational opportunities in Billings. The arena, which will be built at Amend Park, will feature two full-sized ice sheets, indoor sports courts, outdoor Read More…
The first wave of Covid-19 peaked in the Flathead Valley exactly a year ago this week. Active cases in the county climbed to nearly 2,500 — the highest of the entire pandemic — and statewide hospitalizations and deaths were rising at an alarming rate. While vaccinations were still being developed at that time, promising research Read More…
The Kalispell Chamber of Commerce recognized local leaders during its 117th annual Grand Event on Nov. 10, honoring local attorney Tom Esch with its oldest and most prestigious award for his work facilitating the Kalispell Core Area Development and Parkline Trail projects. In addition to handing out the 50th iteration of its “Community Legacy” (formerly Read More…
BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) – On September 25, Amtrak’s “Empire Builder” derailed in northern Montana resulting in several injuries and three deaths. Many first responders and good Samaritans worked together to help those onboard, including a Roosevelt County man who was honored by Senator Steve Daines. Sixty-one-year-old Daniel Hutchinson is a rancher, Navy veteran, and foster Read More…
GREAT FALLS, Mont. – Back in 2016, James Parker Shield of the Little Shell Tribe created the National Native American Hall of Fame (NNAHOF) to honor those who have accomplished a lot in their life. He saw there was a need for the NNAHOF after seeing a hall of fame for almost everything else. “Native Read More…
LIVINGSTON, Mont. – The residents of Park County are not alone when trying to find affordable housing options in a booming Montana housing market, but a recent needs assessment shows worrisome concerns for area housing. The Park County Housing Coalition launched by the Park County Community Foundation and Human Resource Development Council of District IX Read More…
MISSOULA, Mont. — A mobile team of medical and behavioral health specialists in western Montana has reduced the number of people going to the emergency room or jail. Members of the Missoula Mobile Support Team respond to calls with local law enforcement and sometimes on their own with known clients. READ FULL STORY
HELENA, Mont. – In just six days, Montana Millionaire tickets are now sold out. Only 250,000 tickets were available, and the Montana Lottery says this is a record for sales. “W O W!! Montana!! You blow our minds!! Montana Millionaire sold out in a record-breaking SIX DAYS! Every last one of you who got a Read More…
The second week of rifle season brought fewer hunters to south-central Montana check stations. In fact, overall hunter numbers were at “near historic lows” except for Lavina, where the number of hunters and harvested deer and elk “were the highest in recent history,” according to the Billings Gazette. Tallies for 2020 are not available because Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks closed check Read More…
HELENA, Mont. — The Montana School Boards Association has voted to leave the National School Boards Association next summer. The Montana Association also voted Monday to work with other state school boards associations to create a new national federal advocacy organization. READ FULL STORY
LOLO — Adam Wulf of Lolo is bringing holiday cheer to the neighborhood with his giant pumpkins! When reporter Katie Miller last talked with Wulf, he was just planting the seeds, but now he’s estimating his pumpkin came in at more than 700 pounds! Wulf lives in Lolo with his wife and son, and for years Read More…
State Superintendent Elsie Arntzen today announced Montana is initiating a new student growth assessment pilot. The Montana Alternative Student Testing (MAST) Pilot Program is a partnership with participating school districts and MetaMetrics, Inc., and is overseen by the Montana Office of Public Instruction. The pilot is designed to lessen the burden of federally mandated testing Read More…
A tenured professor at the University of Montana announced through his attorney that he has resigned amid an investigation into his blog. This comes after a student newspaper reported the blog shared homophobic and misogynistic views. Rob Smith’s statement, which was shared on Twitter, said the university previously told him his blog, which he says expresses Read More…
MISSOULA, Mont. – As available housing continues to be a challenge across the state, rent is also skyrocketing, forcing some Montanans out of their current home and looking for a more affordable one. Arabella Dowell moved to Missoula at the end of December 2020. She signed a six month lease for an apartment and when Read More…
Montana recorded its first confirmed case of bovine tuberculosis in more than 50 years in a beef herd in Blaine County, the state veterinarian confirmed. Meat inspectors discovered a single cow with bovine TB at a processing plant in Minnesota. It was traced back to the Blaine County herd, Dr. Marty Zaluski, Montana Department of Read More…
Former chairwoman of the Montana Native Women’s Coalition, Meredith McConnell has been sentenced for stealing federal grant funds for unapproved travel to Las Vegas, Nevada, and other unauthorized expenses. McConnell was found guilty at a trial on April 2 by a federal jury on all counts in a superseding indictment, including theft from a program receiving federal Read More…
GREAT FALLS — Memorial arrangements have been announced for Chief Earl Old Person, who died in Browning last Wednesday at the age of 92 after a battle with cancer. He was the longest serving elected tribal official in the U.S. Old Person was elected to the Blackfeet Tribal Business Council in 1952 and served for Read More…
BUTTE — As universities across the country deal with dwindling enrollment, a recent report out of Montana Tech shows the Butte university had an enrollment increase in the fall, albeit a very minimal one. “We’re really pleased with it; again, looking at the trends of higher education across the country, in particular those schools similar Read More…
BILLINGS, Mont. – Plans are underway to bring a sobering center to Billings. The Gratitude in Action Foundation said it would be a place for people to sober under medical supervision and then, be offered services as needed. “We have been working on the sobering center for a few months,” Director of Development at the Gratitude Read More…
SHEPHERD — A U.S. Army veteran in Shepherd is on a mission to raise money to create a long lasting memorial in Yellowstone County honoring every soldier from Montana who was killed in action in Iraq and Afghanistan. Frederick Baker, known to his friends as Rick, grew up in Shepherd and Huntley and served as Read More…
The demand for statewide childcare services outstripped supply before the start of the global pandemic. COVID-19 exacerbated the problem. State officials hope a new pool of federal grant money will bolster the availability of childcare services. The state health department Thursday announced the funding is now available through the American Rescue Plan Act. The $31 million can help registered Read More…
It was the early afternoon of June 17, 1876, when a bullet ripped through Cpt. Guy Henry’s cheek. For several hours, he was one of more than 2,000 people fighting in the largest battle of the Plains Wars. The fighting involved the United States government, committed to confining the Indigenous peoples of the continent to reservations, and the Cheyenne and Read More…
GREAT FALLS — The proposed Touro University College of Osteopathic Medicine took a big step closer to reality on Wednesday with a ground-breaking ceremony near the corner of 26th Street South and 18th Avenue, close to Benefis Health and Great Falls Central Catholic High School. A large crowd gathered to hear representatives from Touro, Benefis, Read More…
MISSOULA — The University of Montana confirmed to MTN News Thursday morning that the Dean of the Alexander Blewett II School of Law, Paul Kirgis, submitted his resignation. University spokesman Dave Kuntz said Kirgis sent an email to UM President Seth Bodnar shortly after 5 p.m. Wednesday announcing his resignation. READ FULL STORY
HELENA, Mont. – Multiple police and sheriff’s offices in Montana have had grants approved that will help them obtain and train new canine units. The canine units will help local law enforcement crackdown on illegal drugs being trafficked into Montana according to the Department of Justice. “Dangerous drugs like methamphetamine and fentanyl are coming in Read More…
BILLINGS — The family of soldiers in the Montana National Guard 1063rd Maintenance Company said goodbye to their loved ones in Billings on Saturday before a 400-day deployment to Southwest Asia. The 147 soldiers in the 1063rd are primarily from Montana and headquartered in Billings with a detachment that drills in Dillon. The company will Read More…
BILLINGS – Rocky Vista University – Montana College of Osteopathic Medicine (RVU-MCOM) broke ground Monday for its new Billings campus. RVU-MCOM will be the first ever four-year medical school with a dedicated campus in Montana. Langlas & Associates began construction on the 12-acre campus and 135,000 square foot state of the art building on Billings Read More…
MISSOULA, Mont. — A district judge in Missoula has denied a request by several parents to halt mask mandates in Missoula schools while a legal challenge of the mandates is underway. The parents sued several Missoula schools in August over their mask requirements, arguing they violated the state’s constitution. READ FULL STORY
HELENA, Mont. – Tuesday, Sept. 28, is National Voter Registration Day, and the Office of the Secretary of State and election officials across Montana proudly recognized it while encouraging Montanans to register. “Registering to vote is the first step in ensuring your voice is heard on Election Day,” Montana Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen said. Read More…
HELENA — The Confederate Memorial Fountain that once stood in Helena’s Hill Park is currently in storage in an undisclosed location. Now, the group that originally donated it is asking to have it returned. Jewel Wellborn, the president of the Margaret Howell Davis Hayes Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, sent an email Read More…
BUTTE, Mont. — Workers wrapped up soil remediation at two schools in Butte after finding high levels of lead and arsenic. Now they’re working on three more. Out of 21 sites tested, five showed signs of lead and arsenic. “Butte High School, the Silver Bow Montessori school, West school, the former Lincoln school, which is now Read More…
MISSOULA — The University of Montana is reporting that for the first time in a decade, more students are enrolled than the previous year. UM officials say a 30% increase in the incoming class, as well as continued improvement in the retention rate, is responsible for the rise in enrollment. READ FULL STORY
Flathead City-County Health Officer Joe Russell said the health department will begin giving Pfizer booster shots, now that the Centers for Disease Control’s independent advisory committee has recommended certain people get a booster shot at least six months after the completion of their Pfizer vaccine primary series. Russell provided information from the Advisory Committee on Read More…
Amtrack CEO Bill Flynn released a statement regarding the Amtrak train derailment that happened in Buelow, Montana Saturday: “We are in mourning today for the people who lost their lives due to the derailment of the Empire Builder train Saturday, near Joplin, Montana, on the BNSF Railway, as well as the many others who were injured. We have no Read More…
National Auction was ready for about 200 to come out to the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks trophy sale in Billings Saturday. Some estimated the crowd as double that, and it was an opportunity for people, including non hunters to get some wildlife. “We are doing a live auction for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks,” Read More…
MISSOULA, Mont. — A Browning man, Steven Ray DeCarlo, has admitting to dealing methamphetamine on the Blackfeet Reservation, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The following was sent out by U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Montana: A Browning man accused of being a methamphetamine dealer on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation admitted to a trafficking crime today, Read More…
After two years of negotiations mired in deep division and characterized by back-and-forth public accusations, Logan Health administrators and unionized nurses found themselves in agreement last week when both sides expressed satisfaction with the union’s first contract. SEIU Healthcare 1199NW, which is representing Logan Health’s bargaining unit of 650 unionized nurses, announced that nurses voted Read More…
HELENA — The state Board of Pharmacy has issued an emergency order to help pharmacists oversee and administer more vaccines for Covid-19 or other diseases – after that power had been revoked by Gov. Greg Gianforte. The board issued the order last week, reinstating Montana pharmacists’ emergency authority to oversee other health-care professionals, such as Read More…
BUTTE — Both the State and the defense rested their cases in Lloyd Barrus’ deliberate homicide by accountability trial Monday morning, in which Barrus is accused in the death of a Broadwater County Sheriff’s deputy in 2017. The judge decided to dismiss the jury until Tuesday morning at 9 a.m. when closing arguments will begin. Read More…
HELENA, Mont. — American troops leaving Afghanistan is familiar to those Vietnam veterans who were pulled out of their war back in the 1970s. One veteran from Helena recently released a book about his time serving in the Vietnam War. Author and Vietnam Veteran John Quintrell said leaving Afghanistan and Vietnam have storming similarities. He Read More…
Jurors on Friday heard the last words Broadwater County Deputy Mason Moore ever spoke as he tailed a Chevy Suburban at 100 mph on U.S. 287 and relayed information to a dispatcher. The dispatcher alerted the Montana Highway Patrol and other law enforcement and then lost contact with Moore, and minutes later, a trooper came Read More…