overnor Greg Gianforte this week recognized Montana veterans for their service to the nation and their lasting contributions to their communities, presenting the 2024 Montana Governor’s Veteran Commendation during ceremonies in Beaverhead and Silver Bow counties. “Montana is stronger because of the selflessness and leadership of our veterans,” Gianforte said. “These men and women answered Read More…
Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen is warning Montanans about the dangers of 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH), a powerful opioid derivative that is being sold over the counter in gas stations, vape shops, and convenience stores across the state. 7-OH is a concentrated byproduct of the kratom plant and has been linked to a growing number of deaths. Read More…
The Montana Highway Patrol (MHP) command staff has wrapped up its annual district tour, a statewide effort to connect directly with troopers, captains, sergeants, and professional staff across MHP’s seven districts. The yearly tour provides an opportunity to strengthen internal bonds, set future goals, and celebrate accomplishments. This year, Colonel Kurt Sager and MHP leadership Read More…
Prosecutors with the Montana Attorney General’s Office on Thursday charged a 31-year-old Carter County man with three felony counts of sexual abuse of children for possession of explicit images and videos depicting a child under 12, including at least one image digitally altered using artificial intelligence. Shy Herbert McCutchan was arrested in Alzada by the 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…
The Montana Healthcare Foundation and the state have launched a new program aimed at reducing drug and alcohol use in pregnant women, new mothers and families. The three step plan provides support and care throughout a women’s pregnancy, and includes screening, counseling or higher levels of care, if needed. Care coordinators can then address social Read More…
BUTTE – The Montana East-West Shrine Game is five days away from kickoff, and the West team is starting to jell. They are practicing at Montana Tech’s Bob Green Field in Butte all this week. It was a rain-filled Tuesday morning for the West squad, but these players couldn’t be happier for the opportunity to Read More…
A former financial analyst at Kalispell Regional Healthcare said this week the whistleblower lawsuit filed against the hospital is a skewed and out-of-context snapshot of a complex business model that aimed to create the best possible health-care network for patients. Chris Hassler, the manager of financial analysis at Kalispell Regional for 16 years until she Read More…
Birmingham, Ala. • A year after a book on the brutal slaying of black teen Emmett Till revealed that a key figure in the case acknowledged lying, the federal government has reopened its investigation of the 1955 crime that helped build momentum for the civil rights movement. A federal report sent annually to lawmakers under Read More…
HELENA – Winning the lottery once was exciting for Cheyenne Long, but winning it twice in one day was unbelievable. Long, of Kalispell, won a total of $77,000 playing Power Play Gold Crossword, a Montana Lottery Scratch ticket. She bought another ticket the same day, and won again. “It was a super genuine and blissful Read More…
The National Weather Service (NWS) hasn’t confirmed whether or not an actual tornado struck down in Plentywood, Montana Monday night. Nonetheless, the storm wreaked havoc, flipping over airplanes and knocking out the beacon at the airport. Taylor Ordahl of Brooks Photography posted over a hundred pictures via Facebook, a couple are posted below also with Read More…
GREAT FALLS — The state trap shooting tournament begins Wednesday morning in Great Falls, but Tuesday at the range shooting range just south of Ulm, they let a few amateurs take their best shots. Members of the KRTV and KXLH news team were given guns and turned lose on some clay pigeons at media day Read More…
Last year, the Montana Highway Patrol created a drug interdiction team with hopes of slowing the trafficking of illegal drugs in the Treasure State. And the creation of that team has led to a record amount of drugs seized on the state’s roadways. “I never imagined the amount of drugs we would find,” Montana Highway Read More…
37 year-old Samuel Fawcett, a former school resource officer in Stevensville, was arrested on Wednesday and charged with sex crimes involving a minor child. Ravalli County Attorney Bill Fulbright said the investigation began in April. The charges came to light when the minor child was interviewed by First Step in Missoula, where it was revealed Read More…
DODSON – UPDATE: Sources now indicate that the animal may actually have been an escaped wallaby from a petting zoo on the Fort Belknap Reservation. Two people were injured in Montana Wednesday morning after swerving to avoid a kangaroo on the road. Trooper Matt Finley with the Montana Highway Patrol said he thought it was Read More…
Bozeman’s second high school hit another milestone Wednesday when the School Board approved $37 million worth of bids for the project’s interior, bringing the final cost of construction to $78.7 million. School trustees voted 8-0 at a special meeting to approve three dozen bids, for everything from carpentry and cabinets to paint and plumbing, gym Read More…
Montana Army National Guard soldiers based in Kalispell are one step closer to setting foot in Afghanistan. Sixty-eight members of the 495th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion deployed in mid-May, bound for a mobilization station at Fort Hood, Texas. According to Maj. Christopher Lende, chief of public affairs for the Montana National Guard, they are expected Read More…
HELENA – The Montana Department of Justice announced Tuesday they have developed a new website and hotline for survivors of sexual assault. The site features a video message from Montana Attorney General Tim Fox and is at www.dojmt.gov/SAKI. It includes: Links to survivor resources, including an interactive map to locate nearby services Crisis phone numbers Read More…