Travelers heading to Montana this summer may face sticker shock at the rental car counter. Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport (BZN) has been named the most expensive airport in the country for car rentals, according to a new survey from travel website Cheapcarrental.com. The survey, which analyzed rental rates across 100 U.S. airports for the peak Read More…
Attorney General Austin Knudsen today announced the appointment of Billings attorney Emily Jones to the Montana Judicial Standards Commission, a key body responsible for upholding the integrity and ethical standards of the state’s judiciary. With more than 15 years in private practice, Jones brings extensive legal experience to the commission, which investigates allegations of judicial Read More…
Governor Greg Gianforte and U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz has signed a historic Shared Stewardship Agreement between the State of Montana and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, launching an ambitious new partnership to accelerate forest restoration and wildfire risk reduction across the state. The agreement establishes a long-term framework to dramatically increase Read More…
Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen announced Friday that his office has opened an investigation into Lee Enterprises following a February cyberattack that compromised the personal information of nearly 40,000 employees and subscribers, including an undisclosed number of Montanans. Lee Enterprises, based in Davenport, Iowa, owns several major newspapers in Montana, including the Helena Independent Record, Read More…
The Montana Board of Regents is moving to approve 2 percent raises for 13 of its highest-paid administrators, including the two flagship campus presidents and the commissioner of higher education. The regents, meeting for two days in Missoula, expressed strong support for the raises, which will go to some of the state’s highest paid employees. Read More…
Updated: Nov 11, 2018 8:50 PM MST In observance of Veterans day, the only veteran elected to statewide executive office spoke in front of dozens of current and retired service members at the historic fort Missoula. Montana Secretary of State Corey Stapleton was the guest speaker at the Veterans day opening ceremonies for the 100th anniversary of Read More…
BILLINGS – MetraPark announced Monday that “Weird Al” Yankovic will perform at the Rimrock Auto Arena next summer. Yankovic will bring the Strings Attached Tour to Billings on Aug. 25. Here’s the full press release: Weird Al” Yankovic will bring his tour to Rimrock Auto Arena on August 25, 2019. His Strings Attached tour is a Read More…
A group of local food and retail union members have appealed the city’s decision to approve site plans for WinCo Foods, requiring review by the Bozeman City Commission before the grocery retailer can move forward with plans. The six workers from Bozeman and Belgrade broadly criticized nearly every aspect of WinCo’s plans in their appeal, Read More…
Just days after he was formally elected as Flathead County’s next sheriff, Brian Heino is building his team. Heino has selected two long-time Flathead County Sheriff’s Office veterans and one new face to join him when he takes over as the county’s top lawman on Jan. 1. Wayne K. DuBois, a police sergeant in Richland, Read More…
It’s no secret that outdoors recreation in Montana is big business. Gov. Steve Bullock wants to see the growth continue. The state’s outdoor recreation economy generates more than $7.1 billion in annual consumer spending and employs more than 71,000 people each year, making it the second largest sector of the state’s economy, according to the Read More…
HELENA – Members of Montana’s law enforcement community and others told Sen. Steve Daines on Thursday they were understaffed and underfunded in the growing war on drugs. “Meth is out of control here in the state,” said Stacy Zinn-Brittain, a regional agent with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA). Daines, R-Mont., had assembled a roundtable Read More…
If you need a hotel room near Bozeman this weekend, good luck. With both a Montana State University football game and President Donald Trump’s rally on Saturday, local hotels and the airport are gearing up for a busy weekend. While Bozeman hotel workers say rooms almost always sell out on weekends, hotels out in Read More…
University of Montana Police have released photos and are asking for the public’s help in identifying two men who reportedly attacked a bus as they disembarked near UM housing at the Lewis and Clark Village on South Higgins Avenue. “We got a report of disorderly conduct on one of the UM transportation buses,” said UM Read More…
FRENCHTOWN – The Montana Department of Transportation held an unusual Construction Carnival to thank the Frenchtown community for its patience with six months of construction work. After more than six months of road construction in Frenchtown, MDT wanted to thank the community for being patient, and organized the free family event at Frenchtown High School Read More…
STEVENSVILLE – Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks said the trapping of a young grizzly in the Bitterroot may be “uncommon” but it serves as a good reminder to carry bear spray no matter where you are in the Montana outdoors. The “sub-adult” male grizzly — kind of like a teenager — was caught over the Read More…
Three more Montana tribes will gain access to a United States Department of Justice database. The Blackfeet Tribe, Crow Tribe, and the Northern Cheyenne Tribe will be able to use the Tribal Access Program for National Crime Information (TAP) in 2019. The Justice Department started TAP in August of 2015 and has expanded the program Read More…
LAUREL – A Laurel school resource officer is on administrative leave pending an investigation into alleged sexual contact with a student. Laurel Police Chief Rick Musson said the city administrator was tasked with leading the internal investigation by Laurel Mayor Tom Nelson. The officer’s name has not been released. On Monday afternoon, Laurel Schools Superintendent Read More…
Despite wildfire-related closures and travel restrictions on the beloved Going-to-the-Sun Road for part of the month, visitation in Glacier National Park was up 11.7 percent in September. Approximately, 434,600 people visited Glacier in September, up from 389,137 people in September 2017. Major wildfires have impacted the west side of the park for the last two Read More…
MISSOULA, Mont. (Billings Gazette) — A 66-year-old man who was caught watching child pornography as he fled Washington state on a bus with $10,000 strapped to each of his legs pleaded guilty Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Missoula. Eric Franklin Rosser pleaded guilty to accessing the internet with intent to view child pornography after Read More…
The city of Kalispell has resumed its search for a new police chief. The city suspended its search in June after it didn’t interview any of the candidates who submitted applications. On Tuesday City Manager Doug Russell said the city wants to have a new chief in place as soon as possible, but said interviews Read More…
The Montana Law Enforcement Academy in Helena will be hosting an installation of over 100 human silhouettes this week. The human figures aren’t just an art project though, they are there to tell many tragic but true stories of domestic violence and death in Montana. Natalie Adorno with the Montana Law Enforcement Academy explains why Read More…
Marilyn Bartlett took a deep breath, drew herself up to her full 5 feet and a smidge, and told the handful of Montana officials that she had a radical strategy to bail out the state’s foundering benefit plan for its 30,000 employees and their families. The officials were listening. Their health plan was going broke, Read More…
BUTTE – Montana Attorney General Tim Fox presented the 2018 Matt Dale Outstanding Advocate of the Year Award to a Butte police officer in a ceremony Friday morning. Butte-Silver Bow Officer Dan Murphy was nominated by his colleagues and honored at the event held at the courthouse rotunda on Friday. Officer Murphy was nominated for Read More…
For the 11th year in a row, Montana State University has set a new enrollment record, with 16,902 students attending this fall. The Bozeman campus gained 199 students over last year’s enrollment of 16,703, an increase of 1.2 percent. That was slightly below the university’s prediction that it would gain 240 students. Total headcount increased Read More…
The University of Montana continues the effort to align its budget with the current and future enrollment as officials plan for the next three years. Provost Jon Harbor said the university has been going through a planning process for the past three years. “The goal is to match resources with the needs that we have, Read More…
Kalispell Regional Healthcare has reached a much-anticipated settlement with the Department of Justice in a whistleblower lawsuit alleging its physicians received illegal compensation in exchange for patient referrals to in-house services, according to a federal court order filed Wednesday. The order, submitted by U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy, dismisses the case with prejudice — meaning Read More…
Montana is moving ahead with the idea of creating a reinsurance program for the state’s health insurance market. The program may reduce premiums between 10 and 20 percent, said Governor Steve Bullock and Department of Administration Director John Lewis. A bipartisan workgroup will evaluate new ways to address high insurance prices for Montana residents. The Read More…
In-home health care providers in Montana will likely see a pay increase in the next year after preliminary revenue projections are giving the state the green light to dole out money for the raises. A piece of legislation that called for the pay increase passed during the 2017 Legislature, but another bill, known as the Read More…
Kara Landolfi said she felt “super excited” as she helped greet hundreds of hungry people at Monday’s opening of Rendezvous, Montana State University’s newest and largest $18.2 million dining hall. “I think it’s going to be one of the greatest gathering spots on campus,” said Landolfi. She is farm-to-campus coordinator for MSU, bringing Montana-grown beef Read More…
FLATHEAD LAKE — On the 60th anniversary of their organization’s founding, the Flathead Lakers presented their prestigious 2018 Stewardship Award to the University of Montana’s Flathead Lake Biological Station at their annual meeting. The Stewardship Award was given in recognition of the Bio Station’s sustained and outstanding contributions to the protection of Flathead Lake and Read More…
HELENA — Montana Insurance Commissioner Matt Rosendale says he’s finalized next year’s rates for companies that sell health insurance policies through the Affordable Care Act’s federal exchange. The rates approved Friday include premium rate hikes for two of the three companies. Rosendale’s office said in a statement the rate proposals contained no deficiencies. The commissioner Read More…
GREAT FALLS- Roberto Salaman Garcia, initially charged with two misdemeanor counts of sexual assault, has now also been charged with two felony counts of sexual assault. Garcia is a Thomas Carnival worker who has been accused of sexually assaulting four females while he was on the job as a ride operator at the Montana State Read More…
A two-week trial is slated to get under way in Gallatin County District Court this week in a dispute between a prominent Bozeman developer and a local construction supply company over a downtown hotel. Jury selection begins Monday for the civil trial between Andy Holloran and Kenyon Noble and its co-owner Rick Ogle. The trial Read More…
LAKE MCDONALD — The Howe Ridge Fire started Sunday as a small fire smoldering on a hillside overlooking Lake McDonald. By nightfall it had become a massive inferno spewing smoke and flames hundreds of feet into the air and forcing the evacuation of a section of Glacier National Park. Glacier National Park officials are still Read More…
The Billings, Montana kids are only two wins away from the Little League World Series. This, after a big win over Alaska earlier in the week. That’s what Coach Scott Sears told me Wednesday morning on our Montana Talks radio show. Sears is also a doctor at St. Vincent Healthcare in Billings and is coaching Read More…
HAMILTON – It’s not often that Ravalli County has the attention of the U.S. House of Representatives, but on Tuesday Hamilton played host to Congressman Greg Gianforte and his field briefing on wildfire management. Gianforte was joined by three officials who all stressed the importance of good wildfire practices, especially with Montana’s heightened wildfire danger. Read More…
A Bigfork man with a lengthy criminal record for felony theft and fraud was recently found guilty in U.S. District Court in Billings of 21 counts for running a Ponzi scheme. A jury found John Kevin Moore guilty Aug. 3 of 11 counts of wire fraud, nine additional counts of money laundering and one count Read More…
A small fire has been discovered in Yellowstone National Park. The Folsom fire was spotted near the headwaters of Blacktail Deer Creek on the Blacktail Deer Plateau on Saturday during a reconnaissance flight. It was caused by lightning. READ THE FULL STORY.
UPDATE KALISPELL – The Northern Rockies Coordination Group announced on Tuesday that the fire danger in Northwest Montana had been hiked to “extreme” with the exception of Glacier National Park — which remains at “very high.” Ali Ulwelling with the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation says that as this week may be the Read More…
HELENA – Data is driving new ways to market Montana as a tourist destination and is helping to convince visitors to find new adventures outside of Glacier and Yellowstone national parks. The main challenge of tourism marketing in Montana in the past was to get people to drive all the way to Big Sky Country Read More…
The competition had been fierce most of the day under the watchful eye of Cindy Ostrem-Johnston. Inside Libby High School, the health and physical education teacher had brought her son to school that day, and he had been entertaining himself by challenging Ostrem-Johnston’s teenage students at the ping-pong table, dispatching eager challengers one-by-one. He made Read More…
Rep. Greg Gianforte, R-Montana, recognized 11-year-old Emma Anderson of Kalispell with his Spirit of Montana commendation for her compassion, generosity, and willingness to reach out to those in need. Anderson is the creator of Emma’s Cuddle Bears. Launching the project with her allowance money and 20 teddy bears six years ago, she has sent over Read More…
With the apex of cherry season just weeks away, cherry growers along Flathead Lake are taking stock of the fruit on their trees and picking the varieties that ripen early. “So far this year the weather has been cooperating,” said Bruce Johnson, president of the Flathead Lake Cherry Growers Association. “We’ve been pretty dry for Read More…
Environment Montana, based in Missoula, released a report on Wednesday claiming that Montana is lagging behind adjacent western states when it comes to solar and wind energy production. Skye Borden with the Environment Montana Research and Policy Center referred to a recently released report called ‘Renewables on the Rise’. “Despite the fact that Montana has Read More…