Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen testified Tuesday before the U.S. House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Federal Government Surveillance on the missing and murdered Indigenous persons crisis, outlining jurisdictional challenges that hamper coordination among tribal, federal and local law enforcement in addressing the issue. During the hearing, titled “Missing and Murdered Indigenous People: Strengthening Public Read More…
The Montana Department of Environmental Quality has received $20.78 million to cover reclamation costs at the long-idled Montana Tunnels Mine near Jefferson City, following the latest bankruptcy proceeding involving Montana Tunnels Mining Inc. The payment is tied to a structured sale of the property to Silver Bow Mining Corp. and Silver Bow Tunnels Corp. and Read More…
Nominations are now open for the 2026 Montana Governor’s Veteran Commendation, Gov. Greg Gianforte announced. “Our veterans answered the call to serve our country, and many continue that service long after taking off the uniform,” Gianforte said. “The Montana Governor’s Veteran Commendation gives me the honor and opportunity to recognize these outstanding men and women, Read More…
Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen has joined Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird in asking the U.S. Supreme Court to stop a multistate antitrust lawsuit seeking to block Paramount Skydance’s proposed $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. The filing puts Knudsen at the center of another major national antitrust fight, this time on the opposite Read More…
BOZEMAN, Mont. — Former New York Giants linebacker and Montana State star Corey Widmer has declined his nomination to the Montana Football Hall of Fame, saying the sport “destroyed my life.” Widmer said after numerous concussions he fears he suffers from chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a degenerative brain disease. He has depression and memory problems, suffers Read More…
Helena Public Schools leaders called Wednesday a day to remember, as they kicked off the district’s biggest building project in decades. They held groundbreaking ceremonies for three new school buildings, at Bryant, Central and Jim Darcy Elementary. The new construction was made possible by a $63 million bond, approved by district voters last year. “This Read More…
Pondera County Sheriff Carl Suta has agreed to resign from his position, following months of legal battles. Two misdemeanor charges against Suta were resolved without trial recently. On Friday, March 16, Suta pleaded no contest to one charge of partner/family member assault, and also agreed to a deferred prosecution on a charge of official misconduct. Read More…
MISSOULA–University of Montana president Seth Bodnar says he’s restructuring the university’s administration to put a greater emphasis on enrollment and student success. Bodnar said Monday he plans to combine the communications, admissions and financial aid offices. Communications director Paul Short will oversee the combined office until a vice president of communications, outreach and enrollment is Read More…
On Wednesday, many Missoula County Departments will be discussing the impact of recent budget cuts on their ability to serve the public. County Attorney Kirsten Pabst says she will be discussing at least two major set-backs. “Our trial expenses, the program that used to reimburse us for expert witnesses, transcripts, witness fees and things like Read More…
The Forest Service will be receiving a property tax bill from Mineral County this year. County Commissioners Laurie Johnston, Roman Zylawy and Duane Simons signed the letter March 9 requesting property tax revenue for 2017. The “historic letter” as defined by Rep. Denley Loge, describes the plight Mineral County is facing as options to fund Read More…
A Montana chef competes in an upcoming episode of “Guy’s Grocery Games.” Bob Marshall, longtime chef and owner of Biga Pizza. competed in the Pizza Play-offs. The episode airs Wed., March 21 at 10 PM Mountain Standard Time. Guy’s Grocery Games launched in 2013 as a sequel to Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. READ THE FULL Read More…
MISSOULA – Filmmakers are looking for Montanans to play roles in a feature about Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber. Actor Sharlto Copley, who’s appeared in District 9, Elysium and Maleficent, is set to star. The film is written and directed by Tony Stone. Hopeful actors gathered at the Missoula Community Theater Sunday, eager to snag one Read More…
HELENA — The Montana State Fund board voted unanimously Friday to reduce workers’ compensation rates an average of 8 percent, marking the 12th year the rates have remained flat or gone down and representing a 52 percent decline since 2006. Montana State Fund is the state’s largest workers’ compensation provider and insures 25,000 businesses and Read More…
ASMSU Student President is stepping up and taking action. Kylar Clifton is hoping to get a medical amnesty policy. By doing this, he hopes students will come forward if someone has taken a dangerous amount of alcohol or drugs. To break it down, if a student sees someone who is in need of serious help Read More…
Montana made the bracket. The University of Montana Grizzlies made it into the NCAA March Madness tournament, according to the brackets posted by NCAA March Madness on Facebook Sunday. The Griz will face off against The University of Michigan in the opening round played in Wichita, Kansas. READ THE FULL STORY.
HELENA – The Montana Department of Environmental Quality says it needs more time to produce the draft environmental impact statement for a proposed copper mine in Central Montana. Sandfire Resources America, the company previously known as Tintina Resources, has proposed the development of the Black Butte Copper Project near White Sulphur Springs. According to Montana Read More…
Former Chippewa Cree Tribal Chairman Kenneth Blatt St. Marks was arrested Wednesday by Hill County deputies for violating an order of protection filed by his ex-wife, Thursday’s Hill County Sheriff’s dispatch log says. Karen St. Marks, ex-wife of Kenneth St. Marks, called the deputies at 4:13 p.m Wednesday and he was arrested on Highway 87, Read More…
BNSF Railway, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Montana Department of Environmental Quality are looking to stabilize a short section of the north shore of Flathead Lake to ensure contaminants from the Somers Tie Plant Superfund site do not contaminate the largest natural freshwater lake in the West. On Feb. 27, officials with BNSF, Read More…
POPLAR — A Fort Peck Tribal officer has indicated he will plead guilty next week to burglarizing the Fort Peck Tribal Law and Justice Building. Mikkel Shields, 33, is charged in U.S. District Court in Great Falls with four counts of burglary. As part of a plea agreement, Shields will only plead guilty to a Read More…
BILLINGS – As students and School District 2 are in talks about how best to handle a planned walk-out later this month, some students are opposed to it. The walkout is part of a larger movement across the country, set for the one-month anniversary of the shooting at a Florida school that left 17 dead. Read More…
HELENA – Bishop George Leo Thomas of Helena has been named the new bishop of Las Vegas by Pope Francis. Bishop Thomas will be installed as Bishop of Las Vegas on May 15, 2018 after serving as bishop of Helena for nearly 14 years. George Leo Thomas was born in Anaconda and raised in nearby Read More…
Scrolling through the Instagram account managed by U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, a conservative Republican from Bozeman, it’s clear he’s hewed a well-established groove in the firmament of Western outdoors pursuits. Populating the first-term senator’s social media feed are pictures of him on backpacking trips deep in the Beartooth Mountains; him bagging ungulates on sunbaked foothills Read More…
18 year-old MacLean Kaiser is being held in the Ravalli County Jail without bond for allegedly posting an online threat to the Darby High School using Snapchat. Sheriff Steve Holton said the incident was first investigated by the Darby Marshal’s office. “Yesterday the school district got some information regarding a Snapchat post referencing the recent Read More…
BUTTE, Mont. — It’s official. Meth is back in Montana and it’s more dangerous than ever. Opioid abuse has gotten a lot of the headlines in recent years but in Montana, methamphetamine has slowly become the drug that law enforcement officials deal with frequently. What used to be made in Montana labs in the eighties Read More…
BOZEMAN, Mont. — The city of Bozeman will loan close to $1.7 million to the Bozeman Sports Park Foundation. The loan will be used to install artificial turf fields at the Bozeman Sports Park. The decision was made at Monday night’s city commission meeting. Construction on the park started last year. Total cost for the Read More…
The Great Falls Public School Board accepted the resignation of former Great Falls High School teacher Levi Johnson during Monday night’s meeting. Johnson, who resigned in late January, is alleged to have had an inappropriate sexual relationship with a 17-year-old student. The School Board voted unanimously to accept Johnson’s resignation in lieu of termination. The Read More…
Montana is the sixth most prosperous state in the country, according to new research from Prosperity Now. The Prosperity Now Scorecard tallied up 62 measures in five areas and says Montana rose from 10th place in 2017 to sixth place this year. READ THE FULL STORY.
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…