The final decision reverses a Biden-era authorization that allowed non-production bison to graze on more than 63,000 acres of federal land, ending a four-year legal and political fight by Montana’s governor, attorney general, and congressional delegation. The Bureau of Land Management issued a final decision canceling the American Prairie Reserve’s bison grazing permits on more Read More…
The governor held a town hall in Sidney and visited a string of small businesses and nonprofits across five counties, using the tour to tout property and income tax reforms ahead of the next legislative session. Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte brought his 56 County Tour to the state’s southeast corner this week, holding a town Read More…
Montana has topped the nation in year-over-year increases in single-family home permits, according to a new report from the National Association of Home Builders. The Washington, D.C.-based trade association, which represents over 140,000 members in the residential construction industry, reported that seven states recorded year-over-year increases in single-family permits in January. Gains ranged from 25.5 Read More…
Governor Greg Gianforte announced that the Montana Registered Apprenticeship Program (MRAP), administered by the Montana Department of Labor and Industry (DLI), reported record participation in 2025, reinforcing its role as a key driver of workforce development in the 406 JOBS initiative. “The Montana Registered Apprenticeship Program is opening doors for hardworking Montanans to earn while 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…
After 25 years as the conductor of the Bozeman Symphony, Music Director Matthew Savery resigned Thursday amid an investigation into his conduct. A release from Great Falls law firm Ugrin Alexander Zadick, P.C. confirmed the resignation on Friday. “Matthew expresses his gratitude for and appreciation to the symphony for the opportunity to serve Read More…
Facing a nationwide shortage of teachers — and special-education teachers in particular — schools in Montana are feeling it acutely as the number of students receiving special-education services is on the rise. Statewide there are 18,803 students receiving special-education services. This is a more than 10 percent increase over the past five academic years. In Read More…
WASHINGTON, D.C.- Former Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has a new job with a lobbying firm led by former aides of President Trump. Zinke, also a former Montana congressman, is now a senior adviser at Turnberry Solutions, which was formed in 2017 by Jason Osbourne, Mike Rubio and Ryan O’Dwyer, who all worked on Trump’s 2016 Read More…
The Montana Supreme Court is allowing a Bozeman man to enter a new plea agreement or stand trial in two sexual assault cases against him. Jerry Joe Henderson appealed his Gallatin County District Court sentencing to the high court and argued that state law does not allow no contest pleas, like the one he Read More…
Tom Vogele was born in Glendive in 1950. He grew up ranching with his grandparents in the hills just south of town. As a child, Voglele demonstrated a talent and love for all things mechanical, which quickly turned to obsession. This obsession took him far away from his roots in rural … READ FULL STORY
Montana’s Child and Family Services Division is tasked with safeguarding the wellbeing of some of the society’s most vulnerable citizens, but in recent months the agency has been criticized by sources who claim longstanding mismanagement has fostered a broken system. Nearly 20 sources with knowledge of Northwestern Division VI of Child and Family Services in Read More…
The University of Montana says it has found asbestos contamination in a second preschool facility. The Missoulian reported Friday that testing found asbestos on surfaces at the Craighead Child Care Facility. University officials say the asbestos levels didn’t pose a health hazard, but the children were moved and the facility was closed for cleaning. The Read More…
At a Glance Temperatures have remained below zero more than a week in North Dakota and Montana. Those streaks rank among some of the longest on record, but are not record breaking. Many locations east of the Rockies saw temperatures trend milder after the polar-vortex driven cold outbreak in late-January, but one region of the Read More…
A tongue-in-cheek online petition has a creative solution to paying off the national debt – although Montanans may have mixed feelings about it. The Change.org petition proposes simply to “Sell Montana to Canada for $1 Trillion to eliminate the national debt.” It goes on to say “We have too much debt and Montana is useless. Read More…
MISSOULA- Health officials say the amount of confirmed flu cases is on the rise, with over 200 cases reported in Missoula County alone, and nearly 500 new cases reported across the state last week. “When you have more people interacting together, you have more illness out in the community; people are going to get sick. Read More…
From the outside, ADF International is just another industrial building people pass on the way out of Great Falls, but the inside tells a different story. “They see a large building, a large yard and they think it’s impressive. But I don’t think they understand really the scope of the work we do in the Read More…
Veterans helping veterans. The Montana Veterans Meat Locker distributed meat to veterans at Messiah Lutheran Church on Saturday. Each veteran received some combination of 12 to 15 pounds of deer, elk, moose, beef and pork. Hunters donated big game and ranchers contributed beef and pork. The church served a meal with the help of the Read More…
VIRGINIA CITY – Montana’s historic Old West saloons are setting the scene for the set of supermodel Cindy Crawford’s latest photoshoot – and yes, that’s a live wolf and bear. Cindy Crawford and photographer David Yarrow organized the photoshoot as part of a fundraiser for animal conservation, according to Elijah Allen, executive director with the Read More…
Late January in the Flathead means its skijoring time in Whitefish. The 16th annual Whitefish Winter Carnival World Invitational Skijoring races up the ante this year with teams traveling from all over the West to compete for more than $20,000 in cash and prizes. The skijoring event will be held this weekend at Big Mountain Read More…
If the Custer County Commissioners accept the Veteran Administration’s offer of the old VA medical center in Miles City, one of the side benefits could be that Miles Community College (MCC) acquires more student housing. During a meeting Tuesday the MCC Board of Trustees and the commissioners discussed the VA proposal … READ FULL STORY