Montana’s unemployment rate increased to 3.3 percent in November, continuing a streak of more than four consecutive years with unemployment at or below 3.4 percent, state officials announced. The state’s jobless rate remained well below the national unemployment rate of 4.6 percent for November, leaving Montana about 1.3 percentage points lower than the U.S. average. Read More…
MoFi, a nonprofit community development financial institution serving Western states, has received an $85 million New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) allocation from the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund. The award comes as part of a record $10 billion allocation round that included 142 organizations nationwide. The New Markets Tax Read More…
Montana Supreme Court Justice Laurie McKinnon is facing a misdemeanor charge of reckless endangerment of emergency personnel stemming from a November traffic stop in Broadwater County, a case that has drawn added scrutiny because of her public comments and separate, pending ethics complaints. McKinnon, 66, was cited after a Broadwater County sheriff’s deputy alleged she Read More…
Attorney General Austin Knudsen and Gov. Greg Gianforte on Tuesday recognized Human Trafficking Prevention Month by encouraging Montanans to learn the warning signs of human trafficking and report suspicious activity to help stop the crime. Human trafficking is a form of modern-day slavery in which traffickers—often part of organized criminal enterprises—exploit adults or children for Read More…
Montana State Prison Warden Lynn Guyer submitted his letter of resignation last week after almost two years on the job and amid a public health crisis through which the state correctional system has been carefully treading. Montana Department of Corrections spokesperson Carolynn Bright on Wednesday confirmed Guyer had submitted his letter of resignation on July Read More…
GREAT FALLS- William Edward Miller Jr. has been sentenced to 1 year deferred with unsupervised probation after a plea deal was reached earlier this year. Miller Jr., plead guilty to one of the 64 counts of sexual abuse of children after detectives found several photos and disturbing web searches on his cell phone and laptop. Read More…
Montana Highway Patrol Trooper Wade Palmer retired Monday afternoon after an eight-year career. Trooper Palmer is taking a medical retirement after sustaining multiple gunshot wounds to the face, head, and neck while searching for a suspect in March of 2019. His survival after such critical injuries has been called miraculous. On Monday, Palmer, accompanied by Read More…
PRAIRIE GROVE, ARK. — Columbia Falls bull rider Matt Triplett hit a home run aboard Louisville Slugger in the second round Saturday night at the Professional Bull Riders Buckin’ at the Ranch stop here. Triplett unleashed a 92-point effort to seal the Touring Pro Division victory and $10,000. He also had an 86.5-point ride Read More…
BIG TIMBER — The streets of Big Timber are quiet, but that’s not uncommon for this small community on a Sunday afternoon. Amy Smith has worked as the head chef at the Grand Hotel downtown for thirty years. She says people in town know how to keep to themselves, which is why she believes the Read More…
KALISPELL, Mont. — The Kalispell Public Schools Board of Trustees had a meeting Tuesday night to talk about their back-to-school plans. The superintendent went over phases and what school might look like. In phase two, the governor’s order requires group sizes not to exceed 50 people. READ FULL STORY
MISSOULA, Mont. — Montana Gov. Steve Bullock has issued a directive requiring face coverings at indoor public spaces and at larger outdoor gatherings in counties where four or more people are known to be currently infected with COVID-19. Bullock says too many people continue to meet in large gatherings and too few are wearing masks. The Read More…
At the base of the Montana State Capital, construction began on the Tribal Flag Plaza on July 13. The plaza will showcase flags from Montana’s eight Tribal Nations, next to the United States and Montana flags. Construction of the project comes a little over a year after Governor Bullock signed the bill, paving the way Read More…
GREAT FALLS — On July 6, the Retail Industry Leaders Association sent a letter to the National Governors Association asking governors to require face masks while shopping or in public places nationwide, barring any medical exemption. Governor Steve Bullock has encouraged Montanans to wear face masks when in public and social distancing is not possible, Read More…
(CNN)Almost three years after a tiny Montana company ignited a firestorm of controversy when it signed a massive contract to repair Puerto Rico’s hurricane-battered electricity grid, the firm’s CEO has won another disaster relief deal: supplying the federal government with protective gear in the fight against the coronavirus. A new company co-led by Andy Techmanski, Read More…
The Gallatin County sheriff said he is looking into the history of a yellow patch on both arms of Gallatin County deputies’ uniforms in the wake of national movements to get rid of imagery offensive to Indigenous people. In the center of the patch is a depiction of a Native American with long hair Read More…
Two employees at two different state health offices in Billings have tested positive for COVID-19. The positive cases came from the Office of Public Assistance (OPA) and Child and Family Services Division (CFSD). The CFSD employee tested positive last week and the OAF employee tested positive this week, according Jon Ebelt, public information officer for Read More…
The Helena City Commission heard testimony Thursday for and against keeping uniformed police officers in Helena public schools. The city held the first meeting in a planned review of the Helena Police Department’s operations, announced in the wake of nationwide calls for police reform after the death of George Floyd. City leaders decided to focus Read More…
A Montana University System task force has changed course on face masks, recommending that students and employees be required to wear face coverings this fall, rather than being urged to do so, to limit spread of the coronavirus. The MUS Healthy Fall 2020 Task Force reached consensus on the recommendation Wednesday during an online meeting Read More…
There is no dearth of extravagant homes in America. Celebrities and prominent personalities in different fields of work are often seen indulging in big-budget real estate deals to own some of the fanciest homes on earth. If you are on the lookout for a home that you wish left you astonished, we have just the Read More…
International students attending the University of Montana could be forced to leave the country this fall if the flagship institution is forced to revert to online only instruction due to COVID-19. The Trump administration this week said international students attending U.S schools who switch to online classes will be required to leave or risk violating Read More…
BILLINGS, Mont. – The number of active cases in Yellowstone County prompted Senator Steve Daines to host a virtual roundtable with county medical leaders. According to Mayor Bill Cole, Yellowstone County is the epicenter for coronavirus, with 16 out of the 45 new cases reported Sunday coming out of Yellowstone County. City health leaders met Read More…
After nine years as an offensive lineman in the NFL, Glendive native Mike Person is retiring, as first reported by the Billings Gazette. “It just felt like the time. It had to come at some point and it just felt like the right time,” Person told MTN Sports by phone. Person was a seventh-round pick Read More…
A Montana Technological University student whose personal experiences inspire her dream of being an engineer has been named a 2020 Barry Goldwater Scholar, one of the nation’s top accolades for STEM students. Kathryn Bozer, a junior from North Liberty, Iowa, will receive up to $7,500 from the Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Read More…
To protect public health and reduce overall spread of COVID-19, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks has temporarily cancelled all in-person Hunter and Bowhunter Education classes. Please take advantage of the opportunities to get certified now. If you require Hunter Education, please take the free, online-only course using code MThnDbeHtbWkJf20 at hunter-ed.com/montana. You must be 12 years of Read More…
BILLINGS — U.S. Sen. Steve Daines of Montana is calling on the U.S. Postal Service to review and correct policy after a Billings veteran’s remains were lost in the mail. Daines recently sent a letter to the USPS inspector general asking for an in-depth investigation into the matter, which took place during the COVID-19 pandemic. Billings Read More…
At the Black Lives Matter rally this month in Bozeman’s Bogert Park, Shane Doyle stood on the stage before the large crowd, beat a hand-held rawhide drum and sang a Crow Indian honor song. The moment felt hopeful to Doyle, 48, a member of the Apsaalooke or Crow Tribe. Native Americans are Montana’s Read More…
BOZEMAN — At least one Montana State football player has tested positive for COVID-19, multiple sources close to the program told MTN Sports. The case comes after the university opened up some of its facilities for voluntary athletics-related workouts on June 1, the same day that Governor Steve Bullock announced that Montana was moving into Read More…
MISSOULA — One Salish and Blackfeet musical artist is joining the Confederated Salish Kootenai Tribe in their campaign to create awareness about COVID-19 for Flathead Reservation youth. “I think I was inspired by the Navajo Nation because I didn’t want my people to go through the same thing,” said Shadow Devereaux. Devereaux is a Salish Read More…
A federal appeals court on June 22 upheld a Montana judge’s 2019 order awarding $3.1 million to a Columbia Falls man who sued BNSF Railway for wrongful termination after he was injured on the job. The case involves Zachary Wooten, who sued BNSF in 2016 alleging the company violated the Federal Rail Safety Act (FRSA), Read More…
KALISPELL, Mont. — There is a new billboard on Highway 93 in South Kalispell near Murdoch’s. It reads “I can’t breathe,” in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. READ FULL STORY
He was a strong backer of the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) as Montana’s congressman. And he got the ball rolling on historic conservation and infrastructure investments as President Trump’s Secretary of the Interior. Needless to say, former Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke was very pleased to see passage of the Great American Outdoors Act in the Read More…
BOZEMAN- As the state reopens Governor Steve Bullock will visit a Bozeman business that is re-opening with support from the state. The governor will visit Café M which received a $10,000 business stabilization grant from the state to cover expenses to reopen safely. He’s hoping to hear how the business is utilizing the $10,000 business Read More…
The Trump administration is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a federal judge’s decision and grant a key permit to allow the Keystone XL pipeline to move forward. If the high court sides with the administration, it could open the door for Canadian developer TC Energy to move forward with construction of the pipeline, Read More…
The former executive manager of the now-dissolved Flathead Joint Board of Control pleaded not guilty to a host of charges in U.S. District Court in Missoula on June 3, all related to her alleged misuse of board funds for personal expenses. Johanna Estella Clark could face significant fines and a lengthy prison term if convicted Read More…
There are some additional openings and services available at Glacier National Park. The west entrance gate will no longer close at 4:30 p.m. and Going-to-the-Sun Road is open to Avalanche and the campground is available for day-use parking. The restroom at the shuttle stop is also now available. Camas Road is now open and the Read More…
Tyler Stosich’s wheelchair is controlled by a straw. Normally, he doesn’t think twice about it. But COVID-19 turned normal on its head, so Stosich decided to innovate. “I was just sitting in the shower where my best ideas come to me, and I was like, man, I’m just going to route a piece of tubing Read More…
Bill Tietz, the hard-charging maverick whose tenure as Montana State University president laid the foundation for the Bozeman campus to become a modern research university, has died. “It is with great sadness that I write today with news of the passing of Montana State University President Emeritus William J. Tietz,” President Waded Cruzado wrote Read More…
HELENA, Mont. — The Department of Labor and Industry says Montana has paid out more than $10 million in potentially fraudulent unemployment claims during the COVID-19 pandemic. It also says it has stopped more than $220 million in fraudulent claims since late April. READ FULL STORY
When COVID-19 forced the temporary closure of Glacier National Park in late March, many residents of Northwest Montana assumed the pandemic would stall one of the region’s most prominent rites of spring — the plowing of the famed Going-to-the-Sun Road. Turns out, not even a global pandemic could halt the rumbling fleet of safety-yellow snowplows Read More…
The coronavirus pandemic could be a disaster or a blessing for Montana State University. It would be a disaster if hundreds of Montana students don’t show up for the fall semester, figuring they’d rather take a gap year than online classes. Even worse would be if hundreds of out-of-state students – on whom MSU Read More…
BOZEMAN, Mont. — Montana is moving ahead with its attempt to ease crowding on one of its most popular rivers. Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks has put forward a proposal for regulating fishing outfitters and easing crowding on the Madison River, one of the top fly-fishing destinations in the world. The proposal would cap the number Read More…
HELENA, Mont. – Montana Department of Commerce Director Tara Rice announced the state received a shipment of 30,000 surgical masks as a gift from Taiwan. The Export Montana team at the Montana Department of Commerce coordinated the shipment from Taiwan to the state’s warehouse. “The Montana Department of Commerce has long valued our state’s Read More…
MISSOULA — For the Class of 2020, their families and friends, this year has been surreal. So it seems fitting to add another special memory to an unexpected end to their school careers. All this week, the University of Montana has been paying tribute to the graduates of all five of Missoula’s urban high schools, Read More…
BOZEMAN — The Montana State University Black Student Union and the Montana Racial Equity Project hosted the Bozeman Rally for Black Lives Sunday afternoon. The event was one of many happening in solidarity nationwide after 46-year old George Floyd was killed in police custody last week in Minneapolis. Speakers at the rally addressed concerns for Read More…