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…
HELENA – Montana health leaders are reminding the public to take precautions this spring to avoid exposure to hantavirus. Hantavirus is spread through urine and droppings from infected rodents – most commonly deer mice – and can lead to a serious respiratory disease. The Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services says spring and Read More…
MISSOULA, Mont. — The deadline for the Miss Montana to Normandy project is only days away. Crews are working around the clock to make sure the historic DC-3/47 is ready for the trip to Normandy, France, to mark the 75th anniversary of D-Day and honor the 57,000 Montanans who served in the war. The plane Read More…
BUTTE – NorthWestern Energy reports that their Montana customers are being targeted by a scam threatening immediate utility shut offs. Customers report that they receive a call and a recording plays, telling the customer to call a 1-800 number to avoid having their utility service interrupted. Customers who called the phone number report that the person Read More…
GREAT FALLS – Hollis Fudge, along with two of his children, is deaf and he and his wife, Amanda, feel it is important for them to have a good community to be involved in. “I want to encourage the hearing community to be involved and take advantage of deaf perspective,” Amanda said. Hollis said they Read More…
Lucky Minerals Inc (CVE:LKY) (OTCMKTS:LKMNF) said Tuesday that a Montana judge has issued a ruling related to the company’s exploration license at its Emigrant project in southwestern Montana and the company has a strong case to appeal it. Judge Brenda Gilbert of Montana’s Sixth District Court recently made a ruling against Lucky Mineral’s and Montana attorney-general Read More…
Last week Montana’s Republican Sen. Steve Daines hosted a roundtable in Missoula to talk with police and prosecutors about the devastating toll methamphetamine is taking on western Montana. The event also offered a revealing look at the business end of the meth trade. Local meth-cooking operations are generally an anomaly. Home brew labs are certainly Read More…
MONTANA – Governor Steve Bullock and the members of the Montana Broadcasters Association (MBA) today announced the renewal of a media campaign of TV and radio public service announcements that focus on raising awareness about suicide prevention in Montana. The media campaign first launched in April 2017. “Suicide has broken the hearts of so many, on Read More…
HELENA, Mont. (AP) – Officials say Montana is now complying with federal driver’s license rules after years of resisting the REAL ID Act. Montana Department of Justice officials said Monday the notification from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security means Montanans will be able to use their Real ID-compliant licenses and identifications to board domestic Read More…
BILLINGS – A Billings high school sophomore got the chance to meet some ranking Montana politicians after she won the Montana “Teenpreneur” challenge. Kathryn Brower and her business, 406 Lips, rose to the top out of about 87 participants. She creates lip balm holders made out of fabrics. Brower was inspired to create the holder after she ruined a load Read More…
BILLINGS, Mont. — A nine-mile (14.5-kilometer) stretch of abandoned railroad in southwest Montana will be resurrected to once again carry Yellowstone National Park-area tourists. The Billings Gazette reports that the Custer Gallatin National Forest last week announced approval of a nonmotorized, multi-use path along the old Oregon Short Line rail bed between West Yellowstone and Read More…
Former North Dakota health-care administrator Craig Lambrecht has officially assumed his role as Kalispell Regional Healthcare’s new chief executive officer, bringing with him more than 16 years of experience in health-care leadership and ambitious plans for the organization. Lambrecht’s propensity for leadership began long before he launched into the business side of health care in Read More…
Bozeman commissioners continued their push for citywide high-speed internet, which would take a lot of buy-in from businesses and developers to become a reality. City commissioners declared broadband an essential piece of Bozeman’s infrastructure with a unanimous vote Monday. “The future belongs to the connected and the internet is both the workplace and the marketplace Read More…
CORVALLIS – The latest man to be honored by Representative Greg Gianforte (R-MT) for his continuing service as a veteran believes many former soldiers are anxious to keep serving and can make a real difference in their communities. Former US Army Ranger and Green Beret Doug Mason is the latest Montanan to be awarded the Read More…
MISSOULA, Mont. – Volunteers are working hard to get a former firefighting plane ready to travel to France for the 75th anniversary of D-day. The 75-year-old WWII area Dakota DC-3 known as Miss Montana hasn’t flown since it landed in Missoula in 2001. But that won’t stop volunteers from getting her back in the air. Read More…
HELENA, Mont. — An Albanian national who talked about joining ISIS and attacking random people to avenge a shooting at a New Zealand mosque was arrested at a gun range in Montana, authorities said Thursday. Fabjan Alameti, 21, appeared before a U.S magistrate judge Thursday on charges of possession of a firearm by an unlawful Read More…
Two conservation groups filed a federal lawsuit this week, challenging the 2018 Flathead Forest Plan. WildEarth Guardians and Western Watersheds Project say the 10 to 15 year management plan for the 2.4 million acre forest decreases habitat protections for wildlife, including grizzly bears, Canada lynx and bull trout. “Such as increased potential for road building, Read More…
BILLINGS – The Montana Human Rights Bureau has ruled in favor of a former Yellowstone County employee who says she was discriminated against because she is transgender. Eleanor Andersen Maloney, a former deputy county prosecutor, was denied health-insurance benefits for medical costs related to her gender transition procedure, according to a Wednesday release from the Read More…
GREAT FALLS – A retired Great Falls priest intends to plead guilty to a receipt of child pornography charge. Court documents indicate that Lothar Konrad Krauth, a retired Catholic priest, plans to change his plea to guilty at a hearing next week. Court documents state Homeland Security agents received a cyber report from the National Read More…
HELENA – A new report shows a slow decline in Montana’s homeless, although there’s still the population of one of our small towns that don’t have shelter on any given the night. That’s the data shared Monday as the first-ever statewide conference on homelessness opened in Helena. The numbers, which are based on the most Read More…
A district judge on Friday overturned a state decision allowing a Creston water-bottling facility to begin production near the Flathead River, ruling that the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation erred when it granted a permit that would have allowed a company to produce more than 1 billion 20-ounce bottles per year. The order Read More…
BOZEMAN – The Montana High Tech Business Alliance reports that the state’s high-tech companies generated more than $2 billion in revenue in 2018. Many of those high tech businesses are found in Bozeman and have cropped up as the area’s rapid growth continues. “Most of my clients when I started were out of state and Read More…
HELENA – The Helena Civic Center celebrated the commissioning of 60 new officers from the Montana Law Enforcement Academy on Friday. Montana Attorney General Tim Fox commended the class for choosing a profession that runs toward danger and not from it. Many graduates and attendees wore green in honor of Trooper Wade Palmer, the Trooper Read More…
If you are planning on driving anywhere and look up from the pump at the price of gas, you might be noticing an uptick in cost. According to the fuel price tracker Gas Buddy, prices are expected to climb for the sixth straight week across the country. Right now, the average price of gas across Read More…
MISSOULA, Mont. — This is the time of year people get excited about winning cash from a number of contests. Hannah Stiff is the Montana Marketplace Manager for the Better Business Bureau, and says many Montanans are getting notices they have won contests through e-mail, phone calls and pop-up messages on the internet. “Maybe it’s Read More…
KALISPELL, Mont. — Dozens of Montana National Guard soldiers have returned home following a nine-month deployment to Afghanistan. The Daily Inter Lake reports soldiers from the 495th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion arrived at Glacier Jet Center in Kalispell late Saturday, greeted by a crowd of family and friends. U.S. Army Cpt. Dan Bushnell says the Read More…
GREAT FALLS – Youth Dynamics reports that every year almost 4,000 Montana children enter foster care due to abuse, neglect and other serious difficulties within their families. “There’s nowhere near that many homes,” Youth Dynamics Family Development Coordinator Bethany Grohs said. Grohs says there is a need for more couples to become foster parents, “I would Read More…
GREAT FALLS – A local man won the Montana Lottery’s top prize this week of $75,000, according to a press release. “It paid off really well,” said Arnie Depping, who bought the winning Slingo Trio Treasure ticket at the Holiday Station Store on 1428 3rd Street NW. He had cashed in a few winning lottery Read More…
A Montana State Fair carnival worker has been arrested in connection to a 2017 sexual assault. Lyle Oka made his initial appearance for one count of sexual intercourse without consent. In July of 2017, the Cascade County Sheriff’s Office responded to Benefis Health System for a report of a sexual assault, according to court documents. Read More…
BOZEMAN – Crews are working on the Upper Gym roof on Montana State University, cleaning snow off and assessing damage after the roofs of two adjoining gyms collapsed on Thursday and Saturday. In a post on the MSU website, President Waded Cruzado apologized for the events and expressed gratitude to students, facility, staff, and parents Read More…
BOZEMAN- Nonprofit Serenity Ranch, which provides equine therapy for women veterans, is trying to raise $300,000 after a barn roof caved under heavy snow. The Serenity Ranch’s double mission is to take in unwanted horses while providing equine therapy programs for female veterans. The owners were asleep in bed in the early hours of the Read More…
U.S. Customs and Border Protection recently proposed to cut hours for four of Montana’s 16 ports of entry. The proposal would affect ports in Morgan, Opheim, Raymond and Scobey. The following changes would take place if the proposal is passed. Port of Raymond, which is currently open 24 hours, would be closed between the hours Read More…
BOZEMAN — Glendive native and former Montana State offensive lineman Mike Person has agreed to three-year contract extension with the San Francisco 49ers, ESPN reported on Sunday. The deal will reportedly pay Person $9 million, with $3 million guaranteed. Person was set to become an unrestricted free agent next week before signing the deal Monday Read More…
Another weekend of tournament basketball is in the books. Thousands of fans packed into loud gyms over the past few weeks, but are they loud for the wrong reasons? Last month, the Montana High School Association released an op-ed titled, ‘Dear Mom and Dad – Cool It,’ telling parents and fans to stop the growing Read More…
For every 10 Montana teens who graduate from high school, six go on to some kind of college, but four don’t. That means thousands of kids get no training beyond high school. State legislators feel that’s a problem because so many Montana employers have complained they’re having a hard time finding well-trained, well-qualified people Read More…
BILLINGS, Mont. — Five bull bison from Yellowstone National park have been transferred to an American Indian reservation in northwest Montana under an effort to bolster herds of the animals outside the park. The Bozeman Daily Chronicle reports the animals were released into corrals on the Fort Peck Reservation on Friday. They’ll be under quarantine Read More…
A once in a lifetime hunt, quite literally! House Bill 390 in Montana’s 66th legislature is introduced to limit the harvest of certain game to one per lifetime. House Bill 390 states, “A person who has killed or taken any game animal, except a deer, elk, or an antelope, during the current license year is Read More…
BUTTE – Our latest blast of winter weather has NorthWestern Energy offering up some winter safety advice. The utility is looking to remind customers to make sure natural gas meters, as well as furnace and appliance vents, are free from snow and ice. Blocked vents could result in a loss of heat or buildup of Read More…
Sen. Steve Daines, R-Montana, sat down with a panel of Kalispell Regional Healthcare officials and employees on Wednesday to discuss the state’s ongoing struggles with drug abuse and how Flathead County is battling what has been, and continues to be, a “major crisis” throughout Montana. The panel highlighted a troubling increase in the number of Read More…
BILLINGS-Senator Steve Daines, R-Mont., visited the Rimrock Foundation in Billings last week. The senator talked with people at the Willow Way Program home. Willow Way allows mothers to go through detox and rehab while staying with their children. Daines learned the importance of these programs are for those going through treatment. “What would happen if you didn’t Read More…
Preventing invasive species from wreaking havoc on ecosystems and regional economies is among the world’s greatest challenges, and with the help of a grant from NASA an investigative team of researchers at the University of Montana’s Flathead Lake Biological Station is launching a new project enabling officials to predict the spread of aquatic invasive species Read More…