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…
Flights were conducted over northeastern Montana this winter in search of feral pigs after sightings were reported, but none were found. Feral pigs are a destructive invasive species with a bristly attitude and hide and sharp tusks that have expanded in number to 6 million in 35 states. READ THE FULL STORY.
BOZEMAN – The 40-year-old rule barring spectators from golf courses in Montana has been a hot-button topic in the sports scene with a lot of outcry from parents. But now one of the biggest golf organizations in the country has thrown its weight into the issue. The American Junior Golf Association, one of the biggest Read More…
MISSOULA, Mont. — Missoula police say at approximately 7:14 a.m. Sunday a body was discovered on the tracks at the Montana Rail Link facility between Orange and Van Buren streets. No word yet on the victim. READ THE FULL STORY.
This week, high school girls from around Montana have come to Helena for an opportunity to learn more about how their government works. On Sunday, about 130 high school girls from around Montana met at Carroll College’s Guadalupe Hall to check in for the annual American Legion Auxiliary Montana Girls State program. During the weeklong Read More…
In the book, “Montana Women From the Ground Up, Passionate Voices in Agriculture and Land Conservation,” you will find the stories of women who are strong, independent farmers and ranchers. The book was written by Kristine Ellis and was released this year. The book is a compilation of women across the state and their stories Read More…
Tired of scalpers reselling tickets at inflated prices, longtime concertgoers Joel Martin and Henry Vinson decided to develop a better system. The Montana State University graduates created a web app, Sellout, to eliminate what the pair see as the biggest issues with modern-day ticketing. After buying a ticket, the app obscures its barcode until the Read More…
Republican U.S. Senator Steve Daines kicked off the 2018 Montana Energy Summit saying energy production is the catalyst to winning in the global economy. “Energy production can be either an opportunity or a threat to the U.S. economy,” Daines said. He said China will become the largest importer of oil and Montana can help the Read More…
WHITEFISH – From the outside, the house looks like a modern addition to the farmland, a modest, two-storied building with a slanted roof; the wood and metal visible give it a clean feel, but nothing too different from other homes in the valley. Then you get closer – inside-the-walls closer. The walls that are at Read More…
Families heading to Yellowstone National Park this weekend can expect to see an increase at the gate. “Yellowstone, like other parks in the national parks in the system is having a slight entrance fee increase,” said YNP Public Information Officer Jody Lyle. “Starting June 1, it will be $35 per vehicle to enter Yellowstone National Read More…
KALISPELL, Mont. — According to Montana foster care workers, 3,952 kids are in foster care, and they say that number is increasing. The problem is the number of foster families is not. Youth Dynamics care manager Mary Wolf sees kids in need all the time. “Most of the youth we work with have a diagnosis Read More…
Montana State University’s president says renovating Romney Hall isn’t sexy, it’s mundane deferred maintenance. At the Montana Board of Regents meeting Wednesday in Havre, MSU President Waded Cruzado defended the Bozeman campus’ request to the governor and 2019 Legislature for $32 million to modernize the historic building and turn it into classrooms. Given the huge Read More…
A Glendive woman who claims the Bureau of Indian Affairs violated a tribal order when it handcuffed her and removed her two grandsons from the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation in 2015 filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday in which she is seeking $1 million in damages. BIA agents used an “invalid Minnesota warrant” to seize Patsy Read More…
The man the Belgrade School Board wanted to lead the district as superintendent has turned down the job leaving trustees to go back to the drawing board. It is unclear why Tony O’Brien, a superintendent in Newcastle, Okla., turned down the job, two trustees said Wednesday. The board voted 6-1 to offer the post to Read More…
HELENA – Montana Attorney General Tim Fox, along with the attorneys general of Ohio and Washington, led a bipartisan coalition of 39 state and territory attorneys general calling on congressional leaders to promptly pass measures to help hold opioid manufacturers accountable for their role in the opioid epidemic and stem diversion. The coalition sent a Read More…
Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke met with ranchers and farmers affected by the Lodge Pole Complex Fires. Zinke made his first stop on a 10-day tour at the Fort Peck Interpretive Center on Sunday. He started with a few words about the U.S. and energy independence. “We should be energy dominant,” Zinke said. “That’s a wise Read More…
For all of Montana’s exquisite colors and variegated beauty, in the right light, with the right eyes, it can be seen as a vast blank canvas. That’s how director and screenwriter Michael Polish and his actress wife Kate Bosworth see the Treasure State through the lens of filmmaking potential, not just as a pretty backdrop, Read More…
U.S Representative Greg Gianforte (R-MT) honored Patricia Spoonheim, better known as “Piano Pat,” with his weekly “Spirit of Montana” award on Friday. In a press release Gianforte said that she was chosen for “entertaining countless patrons from Montana and across the globe at the Sip ‘n Dip Lounge since 1963.” Gianforte’s statement about Spoonheim is Read More…
Lincoln County will soon receive $4.1 million in payments from the U.S. Forest Service, thanks to reauthorization of the Secure Rural Schools program. Approximately two-thirds of that amount will go into the county’s road budget, with the remainder going to local school districts, according to Lincoln County Commissioner Jerry Bennett. Under the SRS program, created Read More…
The National Park Service on Thursday granted a key permit for the rebuilding of Sperry Chalet. The project has been moving quickly through the regulatory process. Last month, the Park Service released a draft environmental assessment with four options for rebuilding the chalet that burned last summer in the Spraque Fire. Of these, the “preferred Read More…
HELENA – Governor Steve Bullock today announced he will appoint Gene Walborn to serve as the Director of the Montana Department of Revenue. “It is fitting that 28 years ago today Gene started with the Department of Revenue and now he’s taking over the reigns as Director,” said Governor Bullock. “I’m confident Gene will lead Read More…
Glacier High School football coach Grady Bennett has been named the Most Spirited Coach by Varsity Brands. The announcement was made Saturday during the Varsity Brands School Spirit Awards. Glacier High School will receive $3,000 as part of the award. The award recognizes a successful coach who makes the connection between athletic involvement, academic achievement Read More…
Facing public opposition to a proposed cell tower on top of Flathead High School, the Kalispell public school board voted 7-1 Tuesday night against entering into a lease agreement with Verizon Wireless, halting the project from moving forward. Led by a grassroots group called the Committee for Responsible Information on the Health of Children and Read More…
BILLINGS — The developer of the largest home ever built in Billings is facing federal charges for allegedly faking his own abduction in Virginia in a scheme to “disappear” with his mistress last month. Larry Price was charged in U.S. District Court in Virginia with giving false statements to investigators. Price, who developed the 26,000-square-foot Read More…
BILLINGS – The old James F. Battin Federal Courthouse has been vacant for several years. WC Commercial and EEC, Inc. have been removing asbestos and remodeling what is now known as the Stillwater Building. The first tenant, Yellowstone County, will soon move into a third floor office at 316 North 26th Street. Crews worked on Read More…
over 2,400 students received 3,344 degrees from the University of Montana on Saturday inside the Adams Center. They also enjoyed their commencement speaker, Griz Alum and Chief Operating Officer for Nike Corporation, Eric Sprunk, who looked ahead at what the future might hold. “I don’t believe anybody born after today will need a drivers license Read More…
What do you think? Does Netflix need to pay up? I took the poll shortly before noon on Thursday and nearly 65% of those who answered the question, over 13,000 people, seemed to agree with me: Netflix needs to compensate Glasgow, Montana photographer Sean Heavey. PetaPixel.com notes: “Photographer Sean R. Heavey was watching the hit Read More…
Winter still reigns in the upper reaches of Glacier National Park. Its mountains remain coated with snow, and a dark layer of clouds cloaked their tips May 2. But as the ALERT rescue helicopter flew over Lake McDonald, bound for Sperry Chalet, Orrin Webber wasn’t concerned. “We’re gonna have good visibility, that’s for sure,” the Read More…
The Montana Army National Guard conducted a change of command ceremony on Saturday at Fort Harrison in Helena. Brigadier General Robert Sparing relinquished command to Colonel Donald Emerson in front of military personnel, congressional representatives, and friends and family. “Colonel Emerson brings an outstanding experience level with him. He’s a top notch professional officer and Read More…
Amtrak will close two ticket counters in Montana in early June with company officials citing the decision as a cost-saving move and the fact 90 percent of riders are buying tickets online or via telephone. The counter at the Havre station will close June 1 and the Shelby ticket counter will close June 3, an Read More…
Despite holding an initial lead during the Kentucky Derby, Bolt D’Oro lost steam halfway through the race and finished 12th. His owners say he was checked for any heart or lung issues, but seems to be fine. First-place finisher Justify won the race on some of the worst, muddiest conditions in the derby’s history. Owner-trainer Read More…
HELENA – A study commissioned by Montana’s lodging industry says rentals by Airbnb, the on-line lodging giant, generated $69 million of revenue last year in Montana, but likely didn’t pay state lodging taxes on that amount. Industry spokesmen this week that the Montana Legislature should pass a law to clarify taxation of Airbnb and other Read More…
BILLINGS – Authorities say 17 people have been arrested on drug and gun charges under an initiative targeting an increase in violent crime in southeastern Montana that’s blamed on the drug methamphetamine. The arrests were announced Monday by Federal and state prosecutors and local law enforcement in Billings. U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme says all but Read More…
The Kalispell School Board of Trustees approved Callie Langohr as the assistant superintendent for School District 5 on April 24, selecting the only principal Glacier High School has known to help steer the future of every public school student in Kalispell. Langohr will assume her new position on July 1. Before opening Glacier in 2007, Read More…
As the flatland flooding around northcentral Montana begins to recede, counties, road departments and ag producers are assessing the toll. At this point the basic assessment is that spring seeding is about a month behind where it should be at this point, and it could be two or three weeks before the ground dries out Read More…
Seth Bodnar, who took the reins as president of the University of Montana in January, sees a world that increasingly values people with diverse, interdisciplinary educations and employment capabilities. His own experience speaks to this assessment: graduate of West Point, “a liberal arts college with a bunch of military training;” Rhodes and Truman scholar who Read More…
Missoula City Councilman Jesse Ramos wants to see how much a private attorney is receiving in compensation for work on the Mountain Water Condemnation lawsuit, but says he has been blocked from seeing the information by city officials. Missoula Attorney Quentin Rhoades explains. “The Mayor, the city attorney, and apparently the private attorney who has Read More…
BILLINGS – In the summer, the field behind the Yellowstone Boys and Girls Ranch is full of fruit. “We had such a huge, I mean huge, amount of fruit last year,” said Jim Klempel, a teacher at YBGR. “Monday mornings we’d start at 6 in the morning and we’d pick all day.” That fruit is Read More…
Montana Attorney General Tim Fox is praising his doctor and advocating for cancer screenings after he was diagnosed with colon cancer last month. According to Fox, he went his doctor with symptoms of fatigue and back pain. “[My doctor] recommended some blood tests and asked if I ever had a colonoscopy,” Fox said. “I told Read More…
MISSOULA – It will take a combination of “cuts and curriculum” if the University of Montana is going to solve its on-going budget issues. And UM President Seth Bodnar says that’s going to take some “hard decisions”. Everyone on campus has known this day was coming, as the administration grapples with a way to not Read More…
(HELENA) Paul Jenkins and Freddie Lawrence, convicted for the 1994 murder of Donna Meagher and a robbery, have been ordered to be released from prison. The order freeing Jenkins and Lawrence comes just days after Lewis & Clark County District Judge Kathy Seeley overturned their convictions and ordered a new trial. In her ruling, Judge Read More…