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 Attorney General Tim Fox announced Dec. 4 a consumer protection lawsuit against Purdue Pharma, which manufactures opioid medication Oxycontin. Fox’s office claims that Purdue should be held partly responsible for the prescription opioid epidemic. In a press release, Fox said: “As our investigation revealed and our complaint alleges, for years, Purdue knew the Read More…
Northwest Montana’s county commissioners want to see more fire-scorched timber salvaged from Lolo National Forest. The Forest Service is racing to complete the assessments, environmental reviews and public review processes required for area salvage operations to proceed. If timber isn’t cut within one year of a wildfire, weather and insect damage can render it useless. Read More…
Special Olympics Montana has canceled the 2018 State Winter Games in Whitefish, a move that leadership says is part of its attempt to revamp the way the organization serves athletes, coaches and volunteers across the state. The games were scheduled to run from March 4-6 at Whitefish Mountain Resort. According to Bob Norbie, president and Read More…
Montana saw an increase in November in the number of sexual harassment complaints filed such as those that have toppled the great and near great across America, but a state official hesitates to say if it is reflecting the national trend. In 2017, Montana has seen 25 sexual harassment complaints, said Tim Little, attorney for Read More…
MISSOULA, Mont. – In a highly anticipated announcement, The University of Montana is officially naming Bobby Hauck the 37th head football coach for the Grizzlies. Director of Athletics Kent Haslam will formally reintroduce the returning coach in the Washington-Grizzly Stadium Canyon Club this morning at 10:30 a.m. READ THE FULL STORY.
The Montana State Fund’s board of directors has decided to withdraw a lawsuit seeking to stop the state from putting a $30 million charge on some of the fund’s investment holdings. During an emergency meeting Wednesday afternoon, the board voted 5-2 to pull out of the lawsuit, filed earlier this month in district court in Read More…
MISSOULA — Montana officials are working on determining how much timber burned in summer wildfires at Lolo National Forest is salvageable. The Missoulian reports nearly 10 percent of the 3,125-square mile (8094-sq. kilometer) national forest in western Montana was burnt. Lolo National Forest Supervisor Timothy Garcia says based on their Forest Plan allocations and past experience with Read More…
(HELENA) Montana state leaders paid their last respects Friday morning to former Governor Judy Martz, the state’s first female governor. Montana Highway Patrol troopers and Butte-Silver Bow police escorted Martz’s family from Butte to Helena. When they arrived at the Montana State Capitol, Gov. Steve Bullock, Lt. Gov. Mike Cooney, Attorney General Tim Fox and other Read More…
HELENA – Judy Martz, the first and only woman to serve as Montana’s governor, has died at age 74. Martz, who had pancreatic cancer, died in Monday morning at her home in Rocker, west of Butte. A Republican from the Democratic stronghold of Butte, Martz served a single term as governor, from 2001-2004. READ THE Read More…
HELENA – Montana officials have decided to decommission all but one of the state’s old airway beacons that pilots used to rely on to find their way at night. More than 1,500 airway beacons used to dot the landscape nationwide but modern navigation equipment made them obsolete. Federal officials began decommissioning the beacons in the Read More…
Puerto Rico’s power authority is working to cancel a controversial contract it awarded to a small Montana-based utility company. Ricardo Ramos, the CEO of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, said he is “asking for a resolution” that would allow for the cancellation of the contract with Whitefish Energy. The $300 million deal with the two-year-old Read More…
MISSOULA – A Missoula man who won a 14-year fight to erase a rape conviction was freed from jail last week and will spend another 200-plus days under state supervision, for a probation violation – but then he’ll be an entirely free man. A state judge last Thursday placed Cody Marble on conditional release for Read More…
Columbia Falls Aluminum Company has reimbursed the federal government for some of the costs of investigating its former Columbia Falls plant. The aluminum mill was permanently closed in 2015 and declared a Superfund site last year. The company is currently investigating the site under the Environmental Protection Agency’s oversight and direction. In its Agreement on Read More…
The University of Providence continues with President Tony Aretz’s big, bold and fast mission to reinvent itself with three new construction projects. Thanks to a $25 million investment from the school’s partner Providence St. Joseph Health, work on a new University Center, wrestling facility and updates to the Student Union could begin as early as November. Read More…
Both President and Mrs. Trump both spoke on Thursday about the epidemic of opiod drugs in the U.S,, however Montana Attorney General Tim Fox also emphasized the challenge of both alcohol and methamphetamine. “Attorney General Fox appreciated the president’s announcement of a state of emergency over the opiod epidemic,” said. spokesman Eric Sell. “It’s important Read More…
On Thursday afternoon, Kathleen Williams announced that she will be running as a Democrat for Montana’s lone House seat. Williams is the fifth Democrat to enter the race. She is a former state legislator and said she believes her experience in Helena will help her in Washington, D.C. Dorothy Bradley, another former state legislator, and Read More…
According to the Legislative Fiscal Division, the 2017 wildfire season is expected to cost the state $74.2 million as wildfires burned nearly 1.3 million acres. During the 2017 Legislative session, lawmakers budgeted $32.3 million to fight fires for the fiscal years 2018 and 2019. This year’s fire burned through that entire amount as well as Read More…
Montana marijuana providers appear to be moving a little slower than normal when it comes to following the law. According to Mary Anne Dunwell from the Montana Department of Revenue, taxes for the months since July were due on October 15th and so far, some payments are quite high. “It’s about $7.5 million in provider Read More…
YELLOWSTONE COUNTY, Mont. – A Washington man is being held in the Yellowstone County Detention Facility following a traffic stop Thursday morning that uncovered 80 one-pound sealed bags of marijuana in his car. According to court records, on October 12th at 10:55 a.m. Anthony Fujimoto, 33, was stopped for failing to signal a lane change Read More…
As of this month, Montana non-profits will have an easier time using gambling to raise money. “Effective October 1, non-profits that have registered with our department can sell raffle tickets online,” said Angela Nunn from the Montana Gambling Control Division. “The second piece of that is that they can also sell raffle tickets outside of Read More…
Montana logged its first avalanche death of the 2017-18 season south of Bozeman Saturday. Two skiers — accomplished mountaineer Hayden Kennedy and his girlfriend, Inge Perkins — trekked to the upper reaches of Imp Peak in the southern Madison Range. Around 10,000 feet above sea level they accidentally dislodged a mass of snow 150 feet Read More…
On Wednesday, top Republican state leaders gathered in a conference call with the media to discuss their views of the current budget crisis in Montana. There is currently a $200 million shortfall in crafting a constitutionally mandated balanced budget. Speaker of the House Austin Knudsen began by calling out Governor Steve Bullock for making budget Read More…
BILLINGS – Yellowstone County District Judge Russell Fagg heard his last case Tuesday before hanging up his robe after 22 years on the bench. Fagg estimated that he’s presided over 25,000 cases, but one stands out in his mind. The year was 1996 and the defendant Gino Gonzalez, who was 17 at the time. “He killed a Read More…
The exterior shell of Nicole Harkin’s life exudes accomplishment. The 1993 Flathead High School graduate’s resume is stuffed with achievement — a law degree, Fulbright Fellow in Germany, a research associate for a federal project on government oversight, a long stint as an analyst with the U.S. Government Accountability Office. Harkin’s personal life seems right Read More…
MISSOULA – The Montana High Tech Jobs Summit hosted by and for tech companies to encourage the development of the tech sector within Montana is underway. The event at the University of Montana is being hosted by U.S. Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) will wrap up on Monday in Missoula. “We have some of the leaders in Read More…
BILLINGS – The Veterans of Foreign Wars club in south Billings did not show the Patriots and the Buccaneers on Thursday night in response to protests by NFL players. Veterans at the club said they don’t like players kneeling during the National Anthem but understand their right to protest. Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1634 has not been showing Read More…
Following a conference call on Tuesday afternoon, the Montana Board of Regents offered the position of UM President to Seth Bodnar, and he accepted. Bodnar becomes the 18th president of the university. Associate Commissioner of Higher Education Kevin McRae said late Tuesday afternoon that the decision did come more quickly than was anticipated. “Last week, Read More…
BILLINGS – Officials at MSU Billings announced last week they will begin a search for a permanent chancellor. On Monday, Montana State University President Waded Cruzado was in Billings, hosting a community forum for the public to discuss the search. Many of those in attendance expressed their support for the universities interim chancellor, Dr. Ron Larsen. Larsen has been at Read More…
LAS VEGAS – Las Vegas-based Allegiant Air has announced a number of initiatives to help after the mass shooting on the Strip. Allegiant will arrange for family members of victims for free travel to Las Vegas. If you or your family members need to fly to or from Las Vegas, please write the airline at communications@allegiantair.com. Read More…
Montana’s two Republican Congressmen in Washington, D.C. urged the Trump administration this week to approve two massive mining projects in Northwest Montana. On Sept. 28, Sen. Steve Daines and Rep. Greg Gianforte sent a letter to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke and Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue to green light Hecla Mining Company’s Rock Creek and Montanore Read More…
MISSOULA – Neptune Aviation’s venerable P-2-V tankers have flown missions over thousands of wildfires, providing safety not only in the Northern Rockies but all over North America for the past quarter of a century. The distinctive workhorses are now being retired at the end of this long and volatile fire season. When Neptune Aviation was founded Read More…
KALISPELL, Mont. – More than 1,600 racers braved the rain, hail and cold temperatures for The Fifth Annual Pink Me Up race in Kalispell to support survivors and remember those lost. “Cancer runs in my family and my aunt died from cancer and we figured we’d be out in beautiful Montana enjoying the rain and Read More…
WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court is leaving in place a 70-year prison sentence for a Montana man convicted of shooting a German exchange student who was trespassing in his garage. The Supreme Court declined Monday to hear the case of Markus Kaarma. Kaarma was convicted of the 2014 death of 17-year-old Diren Dede, who had Read More…
BILLINGS – The Montana Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that it would not rehear arguments in a wage dispute between Billings police officers and the city. The high court’s decision sends the case back to the district court for further review. A judge in Park County District Court previously ordered the city of Billings to pay Read More…
The UM presidential candidate with the closest ties to Missoula appeared before a packed house in the University Center Theater on Friday after noon. He is Seth Bodnar, whose wife Chelsea grew up in Missoula and attended Hellgate High School, so Bodner and his family are familiar with the city and with the university and Read More…
HELENA – Officials announced a new Montana National Guard program that will allow limited hunting on Fort Harrison grounds. It’s called the Purple Heart Deer Program. Each year it will allow up to five Purple Heart recipients to hunt big game in Fort Harrison’s training area. National Guard leaders said the program is a way to Read More…
HELENA, Mont. – Montana officials will ask those who receive a permit to float the Smith River to help record algae blooms on the water next year. On Thursday the state Department of Environmental Quality and the Fish, Wildlife and Parks department are launching a project to collect data that’s difficult for researchers to obtain Read More…
HELENA, Mont. – Numbers from the state show Montana public school students’ standardized test scores did not increase from last year to this year. The test scores released on Tuesday show about half of all public school students graded as at least proficient in English language arts and about 40 percent as proficient in math, Read More…
HELENA, Mont. – Wildfire smoke and the danger of new fires have prompted federal wildlife managers to postpone the annual roundup at the National Bison Range in western Montana. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said Tuesday the roundup was scheduled for Oct. 2 and 3. No new date has been set. Range manager Jeff Read More…
https://cpa.ds.npr.org/kufm/audio/2017/09/MN-Piikani-money-09-11-17.mp3 When the Blackfeet Tribe learned its tribal members were about to start receiving payouts from a massive federal court settlement, the tribe wanted to get ahead of some of the problems that can arise when a lot of money floods a cash-based society. “There was about 150 some million dollars that was injected into Read More…