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…
BOZEMAN – Montana State University announced its spring headcount this week: 15,496 students, a record, and one that marks 10 straight years of spring enrollment growth. This spring’s number is up almost 300 students compared to the same time last year, according to Tony Campeau, the university’s registrar. University leaders credited the growth chiefly to Read More…
A Montana Department of Labor employee announced on Wednesday that he was quitting in protest of officials who “hunt down” undocumented workers. In a series of tweets, Jordon Dyrdahl-Roberts said he put in his notice at the department because he’d been asked to help prepare information for ICE officials to use in finding undocumented workers. Read More…
Rene Elena Carter, a former Helena teacher, has been charged with sexual intercourse without consent involving a student several years ago. Carter appeared in Lewis & Clark County Justice Court on Thursday. READ THE FULL STORY.
The ski town of Big Sky, Montana, is a modern-day Western boomtown. From little more than a post office in 1973, it has become one of the world’s most exclusive ski resorts. And not surprisingly, it has encountered some growing pains. The biggest problem is water. Rapid growth in Big Sky threatens to deplete groundwater, Read More…
In the summer before this year’s football season, on a warm and sunny July day, Tom Brady reclined on a massage table in an airy room furnished with dark wood and stone, a chandelier made of antlers hanging from the ceiling and the lush Montana countryside visible through the windows. His Patriots teammates were hanging Read More…
In a shipyard in Newport News, Va., 10,000 shipbuilders are assembling the millions of pieces that will become the USS Montana. The components come from every state, but it’s the items from Montana that will add some personality to submarine, which is 40 percent complete. The USS Montana SSN-794 will carry a Montana flag that Read More…
WHITEFISH — Maggie Voisin straightened her multi-colored K2 skis, leaned forward slightly and took flight, spinning around and sticking the 180 with the grace expected of someone who does this sort of thing for a living. She proceeded to hit another small ramp and spin smoothly back into a forward-facing position, eliciting oohs and aahs Read More…
U.S. Representative Greg Gianforte (R-MT) was in Hamilton on Monday to honor WWII and Korean war veteran Jack Henley. Gianforte presented Henley with a certificate of his tribute made on the House floor back in November. Henley joined the Army right after graduating from high school in 1943 and attended boot camp in South Carolina. Read More…
HELENA — U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos has approved Montana’s plan for the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), which requires states to develop education strategies which show how federal requirements will be met. “I congratulate you on this very significant accomplishment,” DeVos wrote in a Jan. 19 letter to State Superintendent of Public Read More…
BILLINGS – Noted actor (and part-time Montana resident) Bill Pullman visited Billings this week to promote a new film called “The Ballad of Lefty Brown.” The film was shot in and around Ennis and Bannack. The film’s director, Jared Moshe, told Deadline.com: “I fell in love with Bannack. I even did a little re-write of Read More…
BIGFORK – A small earthquake shook the area north of Bigfork on Sunday . There have not been any reports of injuries or major damage. The quake was measured by the U.S. Geological Survey as magnitude 3.0. It happened at about 6:44 p.m. on Sunday at a depth of about 6.1 miles, according to the Read More…
BOZEMAN, Mont. — A new study using data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration shows Montana has the worst drivers in the country. This is the third time in four years Montana has topped the list. “It’s not a good category to win, if you want to call it that,” said Montana Highway Patrol Read More…
Montana’s top technology official and a key architect of the state’s IT consolidation, will be stepping down, officials confirmed to Government Technology. Chief Information Officer Ron Baldwin, who was appointed to lead the State Information Technology Service Division (SITSD) by Gov. Steve Bullock in January 2013, will be leaving “for a role outside of state Read More…
HELENA – Montana state prisoners are getting another chance to overcome addiction. Montana Department of Corrections officials announced Tuesday that 30 inmates are the first accepted into a new chemical dependency treatment program at the state prison in Deer Lodge. The secure, remodeled facility provides a 90 to 180-day intensive therapy program and has three Read More…
More than three decades ago, the lawsuits against W.R. Grace & Co. began cropping up with relative obscurity, brought by former miners and their families who were exposed to the asbestos-laced vermiculite mined in Libby. People were dying. And as that trend became clear in the mid-1980s, the first of many lawsuits asserted that company Read More…
On a map, or from the frozen skin of Dickey Lake, David Guild’s and Bill Krywolt’s properties look similar. Both are long, narrow lots about one acre in size, with a few pines and steep slopes plunging toward about 100 feet of lakeshore each. Krywolt reaches the water via a switchbacked path; Guild has a Read More…
Terry Sargent of Great Falls claimed a $100,000 prize in the Montana Millionaire lottery drawing. Sargent, a military retiree from Great Falls, won the prize on a Montana Millionaire ticket he bought at the Holiday Station Store on 15th Street North in Great Falls. He found out he won right after the winning numbers were Read More…
A whitefish native is headed to the Olympics. Maggie Voisin suffered a broken ankle in the Sochi Olympics, a heartbreak for the 15-year-old. This year, she will have the chance to finish what she started. READ THE FULL STORY.
In education news, the Northwest Commission on colleges and universities approved Rocky Mountain College for their first doctoral program. KULR-8’s Mary Jane Belleza spoke with the college’s provost academic vice president, Stephen Germic who said the college’s plan will begin a doctor of occupational therapy degree program in January 2019. Students can expect new state Read More…
The Big Horn County Attorney in Hardin announced Thursday plans to crack down on women who use drugs or alcohol while pregnant. Big Horn County Attorney Jay Harris said this new approach is an effort to protect “innocent, unborn children victimized” by their mother’s substance abuse. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Read More…
With a resume that goes far beyond tremendous accomplishments at the University of Montana, a Grizzly will get his due! Division I-AA champion. All-American. Walter Payton Award winner. Grey Cup Champion. Canadian Football MVP, Hall of Famer and Coach of the Year. On Monday, the National Football Foundation announced that Montana Grizzly football great Dave Read More…
The Bakken. A well-known oil field stretching across North Dakota, South Dakota, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and of course, Montana. But Oklahoma investor ONEOK has released a statement with talk of a new pipeline starting right here in Montana, and stretching all the way to Kansas. The Elk Creek Pipeline would be an approximately 900 mile, 20-inch Read More…
President Trump signed an executive order and a presidential memorandum in Nashville on Monday afternoon directing his administration to use “all viable tools to accelerate the deployment and adoption of affordable, reliable, modern high-speed broadband connectivity in rural America.” According to the Federal Communications Commission’s 2016 Broadband Progress Report, 39 percent of rural Americans, roughly Read More…
With all the changes upon us with new technology, it should come as no surprise that there is now a way to utilize television spectrums to deliver broadband internet. Chuck Denowh, Montana spokesperson for the new coalition, Connect Americans Now (CAN), explained the importance and the purpose of CAN. “This issue has to do with Read More…
Is it your new year resolution to own a business, your chances of making that happen are looking better. One of the hardest parts of starting a business is coming up with the cash to get one up and running. What if I was to tell you that your could be the proud owner of Read More…
BILLINGS – Montana U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme issued a statement Friday on U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ decision to rescind the Cole Memo. The Cole Memo, issued under the Obama administration, gave guidance to U.S. attorneys saying prosecutors shouldn’t focus on states that legalized it, as long as they had strong, effective regulations to keep Read More…
HELENA, Mont.- A new program seeks to help victims of trafficking or kidnapping. Bryce Ackart, manager of the Helena Zip-Trip, said convenience stores are at the front lines for helping human trafficking victims and spotting their captors. The “More than Convenience, We Care” program has only been in place less than six months, but officials Read More…
MISSOULA, Mont. – Incoming University of Montana President Seth Bodnar faces a number of challenges as he takes the helm. Enrollment has fallen since 2010. Budget challenges remain. A process to set academic and administrative priorities is far from complete. Bodnar has a deep enthusiasm for the work of the institution, and he is optimistic Read More…
Five Montana Highway Patrol (MHP) troopers have been involved in crashes within the last month alone, according to a Facebook post by the MHP. In each case, drivers were not driving appropriately for the conditions. In some cases troopers were in their vehicles when their patrol cars were struck. Fortunately, there were no serious injuries. Read More…
During his election bid, Missoula City Council member Jesse Ramos was a vocal critic of the $25 million dollar “accounting error” discovered by a local citizen in the city budget. Now that he is in office, Ramos has a front row seat to Missoula’s most recent error, one that has already led to dramatic cuts Read More…
HELENA – Montana state Sen. Cynthia Wolken, who played a key role in the 2017 enactment of sweeping criminal-sentencing reforms in the state, will be the state’s new deputy director of corrections. State Corrections Director Reginald Michael announced Wolken’s hiring on Tuesday and said her role in the reforms “will prove invaluable to the (Department Read More…
Some of the most vulnerable people in our society are at risk of becoming a casualty of a disturbing crime. It could start as innocently as a young person befriending a stranger on the Internet, or a teenager feeling entrapped and looking for a way out. The criminals might use flirtation, or psychological manipulation, to Read More…
Like many young Montanans, Ella Anderson’s first time pulling a trigger was on a BB gun. She took to shooting right away and it wasn’t long before she was begging her parents to shoot the “big gun,” a bolt-action .22 rifle. On Christmas morning children across the state ripped wrapping paper from new BB guns, Read More…
A tractor-trailer crashed into and totaled a Gallatin County Sheriff’s vehicle on Saturday morning. The collision occurred on the Bozeman Pass on I-90, where Deputy Randy Schott had responded to the scene of an accident. Deputy Schott parked behind the accident scene to protect it when a semi truck slammed into his vehicle. No one Read More…
BILLINGS — The Office of Public Assistance will close 19 locations in Montana because officials say the Legislature’s recent budget reductions forced them to cut back. The Montana Department of Public Health & Human Services, which oversees Public Assistance, had to reduce its budget by $49 million, so it’s closing half of its 38 OPA Read More…
Senators Steve Daines and Jon Tester and U.S. Representative Greg Gianforte push a bill to honor the life of renowned Montana conservationist, Alex Diekmann, by naming an unnamed peak in his memory. The previously unnamed 9,765-foot peak will be named “Alex Diekmann Peak.” READ THE FULL STORY.
HELENA, Mont.- There are some shocking numbers out of the office of public instruction, last year, about 10 percent of Montana high school students attempted suicide. Now Superintendent Elsie Arntzen announcing her plan to help save Montana student’s lives. Arntzen selected 16 educators, parents, and experts to serve on the Suicide Prevention and Response Negotiated Read More…
MISSOULA, Mont. – The following is a press release from Montana Department of Justice: Attorney General Tim Fox announced today a $13.5 million settlement with Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (BIPI). This settlement is in regard to BIPI’s alleged off-label marketing and deceptive and misleading representations made in its promotion of four of its prescription drugs: Read More…
The Stimson Lumber Company owns forestland across the Pacific Northwest, but it sees challenges in Northwest Montana’s growing population. Barry Dexter, the firm’s director of resources, says that developing areas’ lands “come out of timber production and go into mini-ranches or home sites for folks, and so that’s a little challenging for a fire management Read More…
A reward has been offered for information about the murder of Matthew Grant. Grant’s body was found in Browning last December. The Federal Bureau of Investigation announced the reward of up to $10,000 during a press conference in Great Falls on Thursday. Grant had recently arrived in Montana from Canada and was reported missing on Read More…