U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development in Montana and Wheatland Memorial Healthcare are pleased to announce that the USDA will invest more than $19 million to build a new health care facility in Harlowton. “Everyone deserves quality, accessible health care, no matter where they live, which is why it is critical that we invest in Read More…
The Montana Highway Patrol trooper who was run over by a suspect’s vehicle following a pursuit near Eureka is headed out of state to continue his recovery. Trooper Lewis Johnson was seriously injured on Feb. 16 and was flown by ALERT helicopter to Kalispell’s Logan Health to receive life-saving care. He suffered multiple critical injuries, Read More…
A California man admitted to trafficking methamphetamine after law enforcement officials found roughly a pound of methamphetamine in his vehicle during a traffic stop in Livingston. Michael Romie Cervantes, 48, of Fresno, California, was sentenced to six years in prison, followed by four years of supervised release. According to court documents, a Montana Highway Patrol Read More…
When tragedy strikes and a Native American is murdered or disappears on one of the 324 federally recognized reservations across the country, the majority of these cases are within federal jurisdiction, requiring federal law enforcement to investigate. And statistics show these communities see a disproportionate amount of violence and missing persons cases. More than 82% of American Read More…
Billings students will have to wear masks for the foreseeable future after Superintendent Greg Upham extended the mask mandate on Thursday. Parents responded to the news Friday while waiting to pick up kids after school. “You know, I would love to see them go away but it’s not that big a deal,” said Kara Eaton, Read More…
MISSOULA, Mont. – Being recognized as one of the country’s most innovative new programs, Missoula County’s Calibrate program received a $600,000 grant award from the federal Department of Justice. This prosecution-led diversion program differs from treatment courts in the area. Treatment courts are programs that take place after convictions, where participants of Calibrate are enrolled Read More…
A lawsuit has been filed against the City of Whitefish regarding the recent denial of a proposed hotel just off Highway 93 on the south end of town. Rimrock Companies, the Florida-based company that proposed the project, filed a lawsuit last month in Flathead County District Court claiming the city unlawfully denied the proposal. It’s Read More…
BOZEMAN, Mont. – A staffing shortage of substitute teachers mixed with COVID concerns and full-time teachers calling out sick is affecting some of the biggest school districts in Montana. At the beginning of the 2021-2022 school year in September, human resource directors at some of the biggest school districts across the state from Billings, Bozeman, Butte, Read More…
WEST GLACIER — Retiring Glacier National Park Superintendent Jeff Mow has a sense of satisfaction for what his staff accomplished during his eight-year assignment. But he also looks ahead to the challenges his successors are going to face in the years to come. If there’s a development historians will notice about the past decade in Read More…
After more than a year of the COVID-19 pandemic delaying progress on the new Whitefish High School (WHS) sports complex, the topic is back at the forefront for school administrators and trustees, but with some big potential changes on deck. The Whitefish School District (WSD) recently identified looming classroom capacity constraints at the current high Read More…
MISSOULA, Mont. — The new year in Montana brings the legalization of recreational marijuana. Marijuana businesses are allowed to be open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. and a 20% state sales tax is included in the purchase. Adults can now buy up to one ounce of marijuana and are allowed to have two mature plants Read More…
BOZEMAN, Mont. – Strong winds and unstable snowpack has created moderate to low avalanche danger with a possibility of large avalanches across the Bridger, Gallatin and Madison mountain ranges. The Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center (GNFAC) said frigid temperatures in the single digits along with heavy snowfall in the past two weeks and strong wind Read More…
UPDATE: 1/2/2022, 3:35 PM – NWS Great Falls issued a Flood Advisory near Logan for low land flooding. As of Sunday afternoon the flood waters have not reached the county road but there is widespread lowland field flooding. There is considerable ice jams and all the rivers near Headwaters State Park. GREAT FALLS – Officials Read More…
A woman with four previous DUIs is once again accused of driving impaired, this time allegedly plowing through a ditch and smashing a snowman in front of multiple witnesses. Christine Lois Simmons, 73, was booked into the Flathead County Detention Center on Christmas Eve, charged with felony DUI. READ FULL STORY
If you bought ticket number 233771 or ticket number 100451 in the Montana Millionaire raffle, today is a good day – those were the two winning numbers, each worth one million dollars. The winning numbers were announced at Montana Lottery headquarters in Helena on Tuesday morning. The tickets were sold in Butte and Missoula. READ FULL STORY
GREAT FALLS — Montana’s minimum wage will increase from $8.75 per hour to $9.20 per hour beginning on Saturday, January 1, 2022 – an increase of 45 cents per hour. Montana law requires that the minimum wage be adjusted annually based on changes in inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index all Urban Consumers (CPI-U) from Read More…
MISSOULA, Mont. — After a nationwide search, the University of Montana announced they have hired Dr. Pardis Mahdavi to serve the university as the new Provost, Executive Vice President, no. 2 administrator, and academic officer. Mahdavi currently serves as Dean of Social Sciences at Arizona State University. In previous years, she has served as acting Dean Read More…
Hill County Commissioners voted unanimously Thursday to dissolve the Meadowlark Estates Water and Sewer District at the request of the state after residents of the area voted 22 to 3 to do so. In October, Hill County Commissioner Mark Peterson said Meadowlark Estates, many years ago, had planned to put in a water and sewer Read More…
HELENA, Mont. – The closing date for public comment on the 2022/2023 hunting regulation proposals has been extended from Jan. 14 to Jan. 21. Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) says this is a second opportunity to provide input on the draft regulation proposals. Biologists with FWP offered regulations proposals based on science that combine some Read More…
KALISPELL — One Glacier High School senior is a contributing way beyond the football field. Senior Noah Jensen created the Cleats for Kids program, which donates cleats to kids all throughout the Flathead Valley. Noah has been recognized for the impact he has made on the community with The Spirit Of Montana Award from Gov. Read More…
FORSYTH, Mont. – A $500 check was delivered by Rosebud County Sheriff Fulton and Deputy Stradinger to an organization that makes blankets for nursing home residents. Crocheted With Love was surprised with the donation Saturday. “With Covid still restricting interactions, the residents just came up and picked out a blanket,” the Rosebud County Sheriff’s Office Read More…
BILLINGS – Senator Steve Daines honored Will James Middle School teacher Hunter Jones, for his nearly two decades of supporting Montana veterans. A release from the office of the senator says Jones also makes sure to teach his students about those who serve our country and how to honor them. In September, Jones was recognized Read More…
BOZEMAN, Mont. – As game day nears, Montana State University Bozeman graduate Senator Steve Daines is ramping up a new, friendly rivalry with South Dakota State University graduate Senator Mike Rounds. “I’ve never seen a bobcat run from a jackrabbit,” Daines joked. “You’ve never seen a South Dakota jackrabbit have you?” Rounds replied. Before placing Read More…
A Flathead Valley woman accused of stealing tens of thousands of dollars from donors in an alleged cancer fraud scheme has been charged in Flathead County District Court. Amy Elizabeth Glanville, 46, of Kalispell, is charged with one felony count of theft. She faces a maximum of 10 years in the Montana State Prison. A Read More…
BOZEMAN, Mont. — From the moment Montana State took the field it was apparent they were ready to beat the best as they beat Sam Houston State 42-19 down in Huntsville, Texas. The Cats got things going when, Tommy Mellott, threw a deep ball to, Lance McCutcheon, early in the first getting the team across midfield. Read More…
TOWNSEND — In a press release sent Friday afternoon, Prickly Pear Land Trust (PPLT) says they acquired thousands of acres of farmland that will be added to its protected properties list. The Tri G River Ranch between Townsend and Toston is the second conservation easement in Broadwater County that PPLT has acquired. The easement will Read More…
On Monday afternoon, a Cascade County District judge sentenced a Great Falls woman for mitigated deliberate homicide for killing her mother in 2017. Pamela Jean Courtnage, 49, will spend 40 years committed to the care of the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services at the Montana State Hospital (MSH) in Warm Springs. She was Read More…
Glacier National Park will require tickets to enter the Going-to-the-Sun Road corridor in the 2022 summer season, park spokeswoman Gina Kerzman confirmed Friday. The park is also exploring the possibility of a ticketed entry system for the Polebridge entrance up the North Fork, she confirmed, but cautioned that has not been finalized. READ FULL STORY
The interim leader of Flathead County’s ImagineIF public library system resigned on Thursday, citing interference by a board of trustees that has devalued the institution by slashing salaries while entertaining motions to censor certain books and materials, particularly those that portray characters who are gay, queer or transgender. After serving in the director position for just four Read More…
MISSOULA, Mont. — Thanksgiving travel hit record highs at the Missoula airport, which is forcing officials to think about the kind of rush they will receive on Christmas. “We are just ticking up our expectations now for Christmas based on what we did for Thanksgiving, so we are actually coming up with some overflow parking plan Read More…
You’ll sooner have fewer options, when it comes to air travel in and out of Billings. Frontier Airlines is canceling all flights to both Billings and Bozeman until next August. Frontier Airlines confirmed the cancellations Thursday, providing this statement: “The Frontier business model is changing in many ways and we continually review our flight schedules Read More…
MISSOULA, Mont. — For the past ten years, the Veterans of Foreign Warfare (VFW) Post 2252 has hosted the Veterans Annual Food Drive. This year, their goal was to fill a moving van with food donations for holiday meals. The drive took place in the Rosauers parking lot on Saturday, where volunteers and Veterans came out Read More…
It’s been 86 years since the Jewish community of Helena, Montana sold its first synagogue, Temple Emanu-El, to the city of Helena for just one dollar. Now, the small Jewish community that remains in the town is trying to buy it for nearly $1 million from the Helena Catholic Diocese, which purchased the building in 1981. Rebecca Read More…
HELENA, MT- For decades, Sgt. Patrick McLaughlin has served the state of Montana with the Montana Highway Patrol. Before working for MHP, McLaughlin was a volunteer firefighter for the Belgrade Fire Department for many years, which launched his career in service. “Even before I met Pat he was serving this community as a volunteer fire Read More…
MISSOULA, Mont. — Fish, Wildlife & Parks is proposing to develop a new archery range at Big Arm State Park outside Polson, and expand the current range at Lone Pine State Park in Kalispell. The state would put in a new gravel parking lot, a covered firing line, and an elevated shooting platform at Big Arm. 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