BOZEMAN — Hamilton High School and Corvallis Middle School defended their state championships by claiming the team trophies in the annual Montana Science Olympiad state tournament held at Montana State University on Friday, April 19. Both schools will now move on to represent Montana at the National Science Olympiad tournament held at Michigan State University Read More…
The emergence of fentanyl as a deadly drug threat has placed Montana at the forefront of trafficking activities, driven by the staggering profit margins associated with this potent substance. With just a two-milligram dose capable of proving lethal, the economic allure for traffickers is immense. A kilogram of fentanyl, which can potentially result in the Read More…
BOZEMAN — A 3-foot tall robot with blinking LED eyes delivered a shovel to Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte on Wednesday afternoon at the groundbreaking for Gianforte Hall at Montana State University, a new three-story building which will house computer science and related fields of study. The Gianforte Family Foundation donated $50 million to help fund Read More…
MISSOULA – Between performing in front of crowds exceeding 26,000 and committing to a lengthy season that spans July through April, the University of Montana Dance Team knows how to face a challenge together. The team is about to take on a new and historic challenge: dancing on behalf of the University and the entire Read More…
LAUREL – It was an opportunity to try something wild and crazy. That’s what a Laurel blacksmith said about the History Channel show, “Forged In Fire: Gladiators of the Forge.” John Lockie’s passion and knowledge of blacksmith skills transferred over well to showing his talents in the timed competition. “It’s a hobby run amok,” said Read More…
The Missoula Human Trafficking Task Force filled in cracks of the sidewalk down the Hip Strip on April 8 in partnership with other local organizations. It is part of The Red Sand Project, a way to bring awareness to sexual violence. READ THE FULL STORY
With starting running back Isaiah Ifanse out for the spring as he recovers from offseason surgery, it has opened the door for other running backs to step up and take more reps in Montana State’s practices. Head coach Brent Vigen has emphasized the importance of building depth at all positions, especially after last season when Read More…
Beginning at 8 a.m. Friday, April 15, 2022, select roads in Yellowstone National Park will open to the public for the season, weather permitting. On Saturday, April 16, entrance fees will be waived in celebration of National Park Week. READ THE FULL STORY
Many in Billings are mourning the loss of Parker Hopkins, a local photographer who was the victim of a fatal accident Tuesday morning on Billings West End. Yellowstone County Sheriff Mike Linder says his office got a call around 8:20 a.m. Tuesday to an area on the 1600 block of South 32nd Street West. Linder Read More…
April is Child Abuse Prevention Month, and the Montana Department of Justice is hosting training in Helena for forensic interviews in child abuse cases. “Working with child victims of crime and abuse is very different from working with an adult victim, and it requires specialized training because children do not think as adults do. We Read More…
A Montana judge says, after more than 25 years on a federal appeals court, he’s ready for his successor to be chosen. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals announced Tuesday that Judge Sidney Thomas, of Billings, has announced plans to assume senior status, effective when his replacement takes office. According to a statement from the court, Read More…
Missoula County and the Poverello Center will hold a virtual public hearing at 5:30 p.m. Monday on developing single unit housing for 20 homeless veterans. The Poverello Center bought the Clark Fork Inn on West Broadway, for $1.5 million. The total price is $3.6 million. Organizers are applying for a $600,000 community development block grant. Read More…
It’s been over 10 years since a staff Sergeant Travis Atkins died at the age of 31 in combat. In May 2019, he was honored at the White House with the Medal of Freedom by President Donald Trump for his sacrifice. His son accepted the award on his behalf. Atkins gave his life protecting his Read More…
The Denver Broncos announced on Friday that they agreed to terms with former Montana State linebacker Alex Singleton on a one-year deal. Singleton, who played for the Bobcats from 2011-2014, last played for the Philadelphia Eagles and led the team in total tackles the last two seasons, a span in which he started 19 games. Read More…
Before more than 100 individuals were told to move out of their rooms at the FairBridge Inn and Suites in February, displacing many of them and drawing outcry from the community, Cassidy Kipp of Community Action Partnership of Northwest Montana (CAPNM) had already been receiving stacks of applications from people in desperate need of housing. Read More…
Eighth-grader Ellette Whitcomb from Sussex School in Missoula will be heading to National Harbor, Maryland for the 2022 Scripps National Spelling Bee. Fifty-seven students from across the state gathered at Montana State University to compete in the 57th Annual Treasure State Spelling Bee. Some traveled a few minutes, others traveled hundreds of miles. READ THE Read More…
Community Action Partnership of Northwest Montana is looking to partner with a local landowner or donor for a housing project. The nonprofit is seeking one acre of land or more to place three modular units that will hold a total of 17 rental units. Community Action is open to purchasing, leasing or receiving the land Read More…
The Flathead Warming Center has been awarded a $30,000 emergency grant from the Whitefish Community Foundation to replace its roof after it began failing last month, according to a Whitefish Community Foundation press release. The leaking roof was deemed irreparable in February and its estimated cost is $42,000 to replace. The grant allowed crews to Read More…
After eight years with MetraPark, Ray Massie is resigning from his position as director of marketing, and he is saying the community is being misled regarding discussions about private management of the facility. “It is not going to save you money, as a taxpayer, you are not going to save any more money if the Read More…
People in Montana always love a hometown hero to root for on network competition reality shows, and they’ll soon find one in Stephen Yellowtail of Wyola, who will compete in the third season of the INSP network’s reality competition program, “Ultimate Cowboy Showdown.” “One day after one of the episodes, they asked, ‘Do you think Read More…
Commissioner of Securities and Insurance Troy Downing approved over $340,000 in restitution payments to victims of Metals.com. The victims, ranging in age from 60 to 77, received payments of $14,676 to $50,000. “Victims of securities fraud are often left emotionally and financially devastated. Thanks to the Securities Restitution Fund ─ promoted by this agency ─ and Read More…
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) have launched a new app that allows Montanans to access their hunting and fishing licenses with their phone. The goal is to help reduce the need to secure and carry around paperwork while people fish and hunt. MyFWP will store and display licenses, permits, and digital carcass tags, known as E-Tags, Read More…
The Gianforte Family Foundation will donate $50 million to Montana State University for construction of a building dedicated to its computing school, the university announced Friday. The building will be home to MSU’s Gianforte School of Computing — named for a previous contribution from the Gianforte Family Foundation — and other classes including cybersecurity and Read More…
Montana has seen a surge in opioid and fentanyl overdoses over the last several years and it has officials concerned. A January 2022 news release from Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen says Montana experienced a 116% increase in fentanyl-related deaths from 2019 to 2020. The release goes on to say Lewis & Clark County emergency Read More…
The Montana State Hospital in Warm Springs has been placed on “Immediate Jeopardy” status by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). CMS sent a letter to the Montana State Hospital saying the hospital violated patient rights and infection prevention control. CMS determined that the violations are so serious that it’s an immediate and Read More…
A new undergraduate program in Montana is hoping to recruit, prepare, support and retain K-12 teachers in the Treasure State. The new program will provide a stipend for a full-year in-classroom experience, possible district-provided housing and teacher leader coaching a release from the Office of Public Instruction says. “Solving Montana’s teacher retention and recruitment challenge Read More…
Not much is left of Butte’s iconic M&M after it was destroyed in a fire last May, but there’s a chance it could be rebuilt thanks to an economic grant that can get the process started. The Butte Local Development Corporation secured a $25,000 grant from the Big Sky Trust Fund Program to help the Read More…
Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks said in a news release that a poaching investigation in northeastern Montana that lasted more than two and a half years ended with several men being sentenced last month. The men were sentenced in the 16th Judicial District Court in Garfield County. READ THE FULL STORY
For generations, family-owned farms and ranches lined the Montana landscape. Now, families say big corporations and wealthy investors are moving in. Mariah Shammel woke up, fed the cattle and looked out over the neighboring pastures other Montana ranchers once cared for. “There’s three and four families that have worked those places that are now taken Read More…
Gov. Greg Gianforte is urging unvaccinated health care workers to consider using religious and medical exemptions ahead of an upcoming federal vaccine mandate deadline. Gianforte says health care workers should evaluate all their options. Gov. Gianforte says Montana’s unvaccinated health care workers have alternatives prior to Monday’s deadline when employees must have at least one Read More…
In an 8-1 vote Tuesday, the Kalispell City Council approved on first reading a five-story $34 million downtown hotel development and a 250-space parking garage, as well as a land transfer of the prominent city-owned parking lot located on Third Avenue and Main Street. The parking garage, which would utilize tax increment financing (TIF), is Read More…
BILLINGS — A months-long battle will come to an end Monday night, when the Billings school board decides whether to keep two books allegedly depicting gay sex on the library shelves. The issue first arose in Fairfax County, Virginia, surrounding two coming of age stories: “Lawn Boy” a novel by Jonathan Evison and “Gender Queer: a Read More…
TOWNSEND — Four months ago, Lloyd Barrus was convicted of deliberate homicide by accountability in the 2017 killing of Broadwater County Sheriff’s Deputy Mason Moore. On Friday, Barrus was back in court in Townsend for a hearing that could determine where he’ll spend his sentence – in the Montana State Hospital or in prison. District Read More…
MISSOULA — Although there’s still some lingering uncertainty because of the latest pandemic surge, firefighters in Western Montana are preparing their teams for a return to Seattle to climb hundreds of stairs to help fight a critical disease. The Seattle Stairclimb, which has raised millions of dollars for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society has become a Northwest Read More…
BOZEMAN — Montana State University Extension will present a free, three-part webinar series, “Electric Vehicle Adoption in Montana: Understanding Opportunities and Issues.” The series is intended to provide individuals, community leaders and planners with a better understanding of the impact of the use of electric vehicles in rural communities. The webinars will be held from 9 to Read More…
The Montana Department of Justice investigated 68 human trafficking cases in 2021, an increase of 871 percent from the seven cases reported in 2015, and the actual number of cases investigated in the state last year is likely higher, reports the Great Falls Tribune. While the amount of trafficking in Montana is on the rise, experts Read More…
HELENA – After proclaiming January as Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month in Montana, Governor Greg Gianforte today teamed up with Attorney General Austin Knudsen to encourage Montanans to join the fight to end human trafficking. “Generating an estimated $150 billion worldwide per year, human trafficking is a form of modern-day slavery whereby traffickers, which Read More…
Whitefish City Council on Tuesday will consider a large-scale mixed-used development straddling Big Mountain Road. Developers behind the Mountain Gateway project are requesting a planned unit development and conditional zoning for the property. The council is meeting on Tuesday because of the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday on Monday. The meeting begins at 7:10 Read More…
On Tuesday, Jan. 11, Smith Valley School in Batavia announced staff shortages due to the rise in COVID-19 cases were forcing the school to close for the remainder of the week, the first pandemic-related school closure of the new year. Meanwhile, Kalispell Public Schools (KPS) Superintendent Micah Hill dispelled rumors circulating this week that administrators Read More…
Billings students will have to wear masks for the foreseeable future after Superintendent Greg Upham extended the mask mandate on Thursday. Parents responded to the news Friday while waiting to pick up kids after school. “You know, I would love to see them go away but it’s not that big a deal,” said Kara Eaton, Read More…
MISSOULA, Mont. – Being recognized as one of the country’s most innovative new programs, Missoula County’s Calibrate program received a $600,000 grant award from the federal Department of Justice. This prosecution-led diversion program differs from treatment courts in the area. Treatment courts are programs that take place after convictions, where participants of Calibrate are enrolled Read More…
A lawsuit has been filed against the City of Whitefish regarding the recent denial of a proposed hotel just off Highway 93 on the south end of town. Rimrock Companies, the Florida-based company that proposed the project, filed a lawsuit last month in Flathead County District Court claiming the city unlawfully denied the proposal. It’s Read More…
BOZEMAN, Mont. – A staffing shortage of substitute teachers mixed with COVID concerns and full-time teachers calling out sick is affecting some of the biggest school districts in Montana. At the beginning of the 2021-2022 school year in September, human resource directors at some of the biggest school districts across the state from Billings, Bozeman, Butte, Read More…
WEST GLACIER — Retiring Glacier National Park Superintendent Jeff Mow has a sense of satisfaction for what his staff accomplished during his eight-year assignment. But he also looks ahead to the challenges his successors are going to face in the years to come. If there’s a development historians will notice about the past decade in Read More…