The Montana Historical Society is accepting nominations for the 37th Montana Statehood Centennial Bell Award, which recognizes an outstanding schoolteacher for excellence in teaching Montana history. This year’s award will honor a teacher in grades 7 through 12 who has demonstrated exceptional work teaching Montana history during the 2025-26 school year. Nominations must be submitted Read More…
State officials are inviting public input on a proposed overhaul of Montana’s workforce development strategy, aimed at better aligning education, job training, and industry needs across the state. The Montana State Workforce Innovation Board is seeking comment on proposed updates to the state’s Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) plan, part of a broader effort Read More…
Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen is leading a 24-state coalition urging the Trump administration to investigate the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and the National Science Foundation, and to cut off federal grant funding tied to a climate science chapter used in a judicial reference manual. In a letter sent this month to Read More…
Montana’s Land Board approved a series of revenue-generating actions at its March meeting expected to produce more than $1.63 million for the state’s trust beneficiaries, including support for public education. The actions approved by the board included an estimated $1,093,308 from timber sales and $532,944 from an oil and gas lease sale. Combined, the measures Read More…
A University of Montana economist says since mid-February and COVID-19 Montana’s economy has declined too quickly to adequately measure, but one analysis shows a two-year recovery. “The downturn that is all around us right now in the economy as we sit here in the month of May will easily eclipse the largest downturn that we’ve Read More…
MISSOULA, Mont. — Montana State University officials say a Kenny Chesney concert scheduled for July 5 at Bobcat Stadium has been postponed. Chesney postponed his entire tour, with plans to reschedule for 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic. Tickets will be valid for the rescheduled show date. Officials will also offer refunds for 30 days after Read More…
A California man pleaded guilty to a single count of blackmail in U.S. District Court in Missoula on May 7, four days before he was set to stand trial on a host of additional criminal charges alleging a years-long extortion and harassment campaign targeting wealthy Whitefish philanthropist Michael Goguen and his family. The defendant, Bryan Read More…
MISSOULA, Mont. — If it’s not enough that our state leaders and doctors are asking you to keep social distancing and wearing masks as Montana businesses reopen, they now have some celebrity manpower behind the cause. “The Dude” himself, Jeff Bridges, stars in a new public service announcement campaign launched by the Montana Hospital Association. Bridges Read More…
Visitors will be able to enter Yellowstone National Park from Wyoming beginning Monday, but the entrances on the Montana side of the border will remain closed until at least June 1. Yellowstone Superintendent Cam Sholly announced the park’s phased reopening plan Wednesday on a conference call with Grand Teton National Park Superintendent Gopaul Noojibail and Read More…
Myndi Holbrook is among the scientists working on the front lines for research regarding COVID-19 and those seeking a vaccine for the virus. Holbrook, who graduated from Whitefish High School in 2015 and earned a microbiology degree from Montana State University, is a post-baccalaureate fellow at Rocky Mountain Laboratories in Hamilton. “It’s a very unique Read More…
Pressure is intensifying on county officials to remove Dr. Annie Bukacek from the Flathead City-County Board of Health after she defied state and local policies surrounding the coronavirus outbreak and spread misinformation. According to a letter from city leaders in Whitefish, Bukacek’s recent actions “rise to the level of malfeasance, violate the public trust and cannot Read More…
Montana, and Bozeman especially, is a tourist magnet. People flock here for a variety of reasons: the wide-open spaces, our proximity to the first national park, the world-class skiing, the small-town feel. But with COVID-19 shutdowns and quarantines still in effect, businesses that depend on nonresident travelers are feeling the pressure. “June, July, August, September, Read More…
Phase One of reopening in Montana allowed students to return to schools. In Musselshell County, Melstone Public Schools reopened on Thursday. The board voted on April 28 to give kindergarten through eighth-grade students an option to return. Melstone operates on a four-day week and has eight days left starting on Monday. “Just to give the Read More…
KULR- The national restaurant chain, Wendy’s, is facing some shortages of beef. However, they have not run out of beef here in the Treasure State. According to Jonna Jones, Director of Marketing for Wentana, the shortage is hitting Wendy’s first, because they serve fresh beef. READ FULL STORY
HELENA — The Montana Department of Labor & Industry has announced residents can now access an additional 13 weeks of unemployment insurance benefits due to the expanded passage of the recent stimulus package of the CARES Act. Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation provides 13 weeks of additional benefits to individuals who have exhausted their regular unemployment insurance Read More…
When Anthony Nelson was a kid growing up in Minnesota, he already knew he wanted to retire in Northwest Montana near Glacier National Park. “I was one of those kids who always visited every summer,” Nelson said, and through those trips he fell in love with the Glacier Park and the surrounding area. On guided Read More…
When the Flathead City-County Health Department ordered bars and restaurants to close their doors to the public to prevent COVID-19’s spread on March 19, Cypress Yard General Manager Morgan Cawdrey began a takeout service in hopes of maintaining some business. But Cawdrey ended up halting takeout and delivery to allow his employees to shelter in Read More…
Montana gym owners started a petition in an attempt to have Gov. Steve Bullock allow gyms to reopen under Phase One. A gym owner from Billings created the petition and has close to 5,000 signatures, as of May 3rd, 2020. MTN news spoke with the general manager at Crossroads Fitness Center, a supporter of the Read More…
MISSOULA, Mont. — Gov. Steve Bullock gave Montana churches the green light to open back up under his phased plan to reopen the state, but there are strict guidelines. Now, churches are navigating how to reopen and also keep people safe. The team at Valley Assembly in Sheridan worked through new protocols before reopening. Even so, Read More…
Montana State University is planning to reopen the Bozeman campus to students this fall and is working on ways to protect students, faculty and employees from the threat of coronavirus. MSU President Waded Cruzado said in a statement Thursday that MSU wants to keep people safe while offering “a high-quality, on-campus educational experience.” “Thankfully, as Read More…
Although not needed right now, a training project has the Montana National Guard building a 90-bed surgical medical facility in Billings. If ever needed, the beds would be for non-acute and non-COVID patients for Montana and across the region. The guard has built similar projects in the state and around the world. It gives the Read More…
Commercial air service into Missoula International Airport has fallen to a trickle over the past month, and airport officials are bracing for a challenging future as airlines respond to the economic headwinds. Fewer than 125,000 passengers are passing through airport security nationally on a daily basis, leaving commercial air travel just 5% of what it Read More…
You can check out the full map by clicking here. Montana’s jobless claims numbers were worse than nearly every other state in the Rocky Mountain West and Great Plains Region stretching from Canada down to Mexico. This is also interesting news from another standpoint- why is Montana’s economic data so much worse than North and South Read More…
Researchers at the University of Montana and two Missoula-based biotech companies with ties to venture capitalist Mike Goguen are engaged in separate efforts to develop a COVID-19 vaccine and gain authorization for a mass-scalable viral test. Inimmune, a private company involved in UM’s vaccine work and founded by nationally reputed vaccine scientists, is also gearing Read More…
HELENA- On Wednesday, Governor Steve Bullock outlined protocols to increase testing capacity in Montana. A part of the state’s core preparedness responsibilities in the Reopening the Big Sky plan is ensuring those who are symptomatic can be tested for COVID-19 and trace contacts Bullock said. A testing target of 60,000 tests for the virus per Read More…
When Bryan Kirkland started taking appointments for haircuts Monday, the schedule filled up fast. Kirkland, co-owner of The Barbershop and Shaving Parlor, had 67 messages from people who couldn’t get a spot on his list. “They were so ready to come back to get their hair cut,” Kirkland said. READ FULL STORY
HELENA — Montana main street and retail businesses that closed their doors due to COVID-19 restrictions, were able to open up again Monday as part of the State’s “Phase One” of reopening. Gov. Steve Bullock told MTN this milestone was only possible because Montanans took the virus seriously. “We’re one of the few states in Read More…
MILES CITY, Mont. — Miles City Community Improvements is a non-profit organization in Miles City that has donated Chromebooks to teachers in the Miles City School District. According to Miles City Community Improvements board member Marc Ingraham, Miles City Community Improvements has donated 20 Chromebooks to teachers in the Miles City School District. Ingraham says funding came Read More…
HELENA — Spring sports in Montana are officially canceled. The Montana High School Association and executive director Mark Beckman sent a release on Wednesday afternoon following Gov. Steve Bullock’s press conference detailing the gradual re-opening of Montana, beginning with “Phase 1” this weekend. In that press conference, Bullock said schools would have the option to Read More…
MISSOULA, Mont. — Gov. Steve Bullock announced the arrival of 5,000 nasal swabs from FEMA to help open access to more COVID-19 testing in Montana. The announcement comes on the same day the state reported zero new cases. “Just days ago, I joined Republican and Democrat governors in voicing concerns to the president about the shortage Read More…
Congressman Greg Gianforte visited with Q2 by Zoom on Monday morning and spoke about stimulus package expansion efforts, reopening businesses in Montana, and what it’s like to campaign in 2020. FULL STORY
It’s a good problem to have: how to spend $1.25 billion to restart Montana’s economy. That’s one of the big challenges as Montana begins to take steps to become one of the first states in the nation to lift its stay-at-home orders. Last week, Gov. Steve Bullock appointed a 26-member task force, charged with offering Read More…
MISSOULA — Some Anaconda area landowners still have a chance to force the Atlantic Richfield Co. remove more arsenic from their property. On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision that Montana’s courts and laws can play a role in federal Superfund decisions. However, the court also decided – not quite unanimously – Read More…
MISSOULA, Mont. — A Bozeman-area company flew more 250 donated shield masks to groups across western Montana Thursday morning. Bridger Aerospace manufactures defense equipment, but when COVID-19 cases started spreading in Montana, they made changes at their factory to begin producing face masks. Bridger Aerospace CEO Tim Sheehy said they’re working to make masks and donate Read More…
MISSOULA — Travelers flying to Montana for a taste of the outdoors has been one of the real bright spots in recent years, helping the state’s tourism sector generate a record $3.7 billion last year. But the COVID-19 pandemic has parked most of those planes. “The airline industry is going to be the one that Read More…
Holly Michels Montana reached 404 known COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, with at least 209 recoveries statewide and 21 actively hospitalized. That represents a gain of five cases since Tuesday, the same number of cases the state added Monday and Tuesday. Prior to this week, the last time the state added fewer than seven cases in a day was Read More…
HELENA — Montana Department of Labor & Industry Acting Commissioner Brenda Nordlund announced Tuesday that Montana has begun paying the additional $600 Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefit established with the passage of the recent federal stimulus package, or CARES Act. DLI began paying the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) benefit on the evening of Monday, April Read More…
MISSOULA — The University of Montana on Monday placed 63 employees on temporary furlough, saying the financial strain brought on by the coronavirus pandemic necessitated the decision. The university reached out to the individuals on Monday and issued a campus-wide memo later in the day announcing the decision. The workers will remain on furlough through Read More…
HELENA, Mont. — Montana Gov. Steve Bullock says he doesn’t have a timeline for things to return to normal in Montana after the coronavirus outbreak. He spoke to residents in a telephone town hall on Monday, saying he’ll continue issuing his stay-at-home orders in two-week intervals based on advice from medical professionals. Bullock says indicators such Read More…
Financial concerns also continue to mount during this pandemic. Scams aimed at seniors can always be a problem and even more now. State Auditor and Securities and Insurance Commissioner Matt Rosendale, a Republican, is warning Montanans about fraud exploitation. His office, along with the Montana attorney general, the U.S. Attorney and several other agencies formed Read More…
HELENA — Jim Murphy, Montana’s chief epidemiologist, has heard the same stories most everyone in the state has heard about residents who’ve made unsuccessful attempts to get themselves tested for COVID-19. But even as national headlines worry over testing backlogs in some parts of the country, he says testing constraints haven’t hampered Montana’s coronavirus response. Read More…
BILLINGS – Girl Scouts of Montana and Wyoming (GSMW) are sending cookie donations to hospitals throughout Montana and Wyoming during the pandemic, they announced Monday. GSMW are giving a total of 8,000 boxes of cookies as a thank you to healthcare employees at 13 hospitals in Montana and Wyoming. READ FULL STORY
KALISPELL — A seventh COVID-19 related death is being reported in Montana. The Flathead City-County Health Department confirmed Monday the first death related to COVID-19 in Flathead County. The individual was over the age of 65 and was a resident of Flathead County who had had underlying health conditions, according to a news release. “We Read More…
The Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) has seen about a sharp drop in reports of child abuse and neglect since the Governor directed schools to close to slow the spread of COVID-19. From Mar. 8-14, which was the week prior to the closures, 765 calls a week were made on average Read More…