Montana State Auditor James Brown announced his Securities Division prevented more than $1 million in fraud-related losses for Montanans in the second quarter of 2026, bringing the year-to-date total to more than $2 million. Working in conjunction with financial industry partners, the Securities Division prevented $1.15 million in fraud-related losses for 10 Montanans between April Read More…
Sen. Tim Sheehy rejoined the U.S. Navy Reserve in a ceremony at the Oval Office on Tuesday, where President Donald Trump administered the oath of enlistment to the Montana Republican and former Navy SEAL. Sheehy, who graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 2008 and completed SEAL training before serving as a Navy SEAL Officer Read More…
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…
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum joined Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte, Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon and Idaho Gov. Brad Little in Big Sky on Tuesday to announce a proposed federal rule that would give Western states significantly more flexibility to manage grizzly bears — the first major management reform since the species was listed as threatened under Read More…
Community Action Partnership of Northwest Montana is looking to partner with a local landowner or donor for a housing project. The nonprofit is seeking one acre of land or more to place three modular units that will hold a total of 17 rental units. Community Action is open to purchasing, leasing or receiving the land Read More…
The Flathead Warming Center has been awarded a $30,000 emergency grant from the Whitefish Community Foundation to replace its roof after it began failing last month, according to a Whitefish Community Foundation press release. The leaking roof was deemed irreparable in February and its estimated cost is $42,000 to replace. The grant allowed crews to Read More…
After eight years with MetraPark, Ray Massie is resigning from his position as director of marketing, and he is saying the community is being misled regarding discussions about private management of the facility. “It is not going to save you money, as a taxpayer, you are not going to save any more money if the Read More…
People in Montana always love a hometown hero to root for on network competition reality shows, and they’ll soon find one in Stephen Yellowtail of Wyola, who will compete in the third season of the INSP network’s reality competition program, “Ultimate Cowboy Showdown.” “One day after one of the episodes, they asked, ‘Do you think Read More…
Commissioner of Securities and Insurance Troy Downing approved over $340,000 in restitution payments to victims of Metals.com. The victims, ranging in age from 60 to 77, received payments of $14,676 to $50,000. “Victims of securities fraud are often left emotionally and financially devastated. Thanks to the Securities Restitution Fund ─ promoted by this agency ─ and Read More…
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) have launched a new app that allows Montanans to access their hunting and fishing licenses with their phone. The goal is to help reduce the need to secure and carry around paperwork while people fish and hunt. MyFWP will store and display licenses, permits, and digital carcass tags, known as E-Tags, Read More…
The Gianforte Family Foundation will donate $50 million to Montana State University for construction of a building dedicated to its computing school, the university announced Friday. The building will be home to MSU’s Gianforte School of Computing — named for a previous contribution from the Gianforte Family Foundation — and other classes including cybersecurity and Read More…
Montana has seen a surge in opioid and fentanyl overdoses over the last several years and it has officials concerned. A January 2022 news release from Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen says Montana experienced a 116% increase in fentanyl-related deaths from 2019 to 2020. The release goes on to say Lewis & Clark County emergency Read More…
The Montana State Hospital in Warm Springs has been placed on “Immediate Jeopardy” status by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). CMS sent a letter to the Montana State Hospital saying the hospital violated patient rights and infection prevention control. CMS determined that the violations are so serious that it’s an immediate and Read More…
A new undergraduate program in Montana is hoping to recruit, prepare, support and retain K-12 teachers in the Treasure State. The new program will provide a stipend for a full-year in-classroom experience, possible district-provided housing and teacher leader coaching a release from the Office of Public Instruction says. “Solving Montana’s teacher retention and recruitment challenge Read More…
Not much is left of Butte’s iconic M&M after it was destroyed in a fire last May, but there’s a chance it could be rebuilt thanks to an economic grant that can get the process started. The Butte Local Development Corporation secured a $25,000 grant from the Big Sky Trust Fund Program to help the Read More…
Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks said in a news release that a poaching investigation in northeastern Montana that lasted more than two and a half years ended with several men being sentenced last month. The men were sentenced in the 16th Judicial District Court in Garfield County. READ THE FULL STORY
For generations, family-owned farms and ranches lined the Montana landscape. Now, families say big corporations and wealthy investors are moving in. Mariah Shammel woke up, fed the cattle and looked out over the neighboring pastures other Montana ranchers once cared for. “There’s three and four families that have worked those places that are now taken Read More…
Gov. Greg Gianforte is urging unvaccinated health care workers to consider using religious and medical exemptions ahead of an upcoming federal vaccine mandate deadline. Gianforte says health care workers should evaluate all their options. Gov. Gianforte says Montana’s unvaccinated health care workers have alternatives prior to Monday’s deadline when employees must have at least one Read More…
In an 8-1 vote Tuesday, the Kalispell City Council approved on first reading a five-story $34 million downtown hotel development and a 250-space parking garage, as well as a land transfer of the prominent city-owned parking lot located on Third Avenue and Main Street. The parking garage, which would utilize tax increment financing (TIF), is Read More…
BILLINGS — A months-long battle will come to an end Monday night, when the Billings school board decides whether to keep two books allegedly depicting gay sex on the library shelves. The issue first arose in Fairfax County, Virginia, surrounding two coming of age stories: “Lawn Boy” a novel by Jonathan Evison and “Gender Queer: a Read More…
TOWNSEND — Four months ago, Lloyd Barrus was convicted of deliberate homicide by accountability in the 2017 killing of Broadwater County Sheriff’s Deputy Mason Moore. On Friday, Barrus was back in court in Townsend for a hearing that could determine where he’ll spend his sentence – in the Montana State Hospital or in prison. District Read More…
MISSOULA — Although there’s still some lingering uncertainty because of the latest pandemic surge, firefighters in Western Montana are preparing their teams for a return to Seattle to climb hundreds of stairs to help fight a critical disease. The Seattle Stairclimb, which has raised millions of dollars for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society has become a Northwest Read More…
BOZEMAN — Montana State University Extension will present a free, three-part webinar series, “Electric Vehicle Adoption in Montana: Understanding Opportunities and Issues.” The series is intended to provide individuals, community leaders and planners with a better understanding of the impact of the use of electric vehicles in rural communities. The webinars will be held from 9 to Read More…
The Montana Department of Justice investigated 68 human trafficking cases in 2021, an increase of 871 percent from the seven cases reported in 2015, and the actual number of cases investigated in the state last year is likely higher, reports the Great Falls Tribune. While the amount of trafficking in Montana is on the rise, experts Read More…
HELENA – After proclaiming January as Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month in Montana, Governor Greg Gianforte today teamed up with Attorney General Austin Knudsen to encourage Montanans to join the fight to end human trafficking. “Generating an estimated $150 billion worldwide per year, human trafficking is a form of modern-day slavery whereby traffickers, which Read More…
Whitefish City Council on Tuesday will consider a large-scale mixed-used development straddling Big Mountain Road. Developers behind the Mountain Gateway project are requesting a planned unit development and conditional zoning for the property. The council is meeting on Tuesday because of the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday on Monday. The meeting begins at 7:10 Read More…
On Tuesday, Jan. 11, Smith Valley School in Batavia announced staff shortages due to the rise in COVID-19 cases were forcing the school to close for the remainder of the week, the first pandemic-related school closure of the new year. Meanwhile, Kalispell Public Schools (KPS) Superintendent Micah Hill dispelled rumors circulating this week that administrators 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…