The second week of rifle season brought fewer hunters to south-central Montana check stations. In fact, overall hunter numbers were at “near historic lows” except for Lavina, where the number of hunters and harvested deer and elk “were the highest in recent history,” according to the Billings Gazette. Tallies for 2020 are not available because Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks closed check Read More…

HELENA, Mont. — The Montana School Boards Association has voted to leave the National School Boards Association next summer. The Montana Association also voted Monday to work with other state school boards associations to create a new national federal advocacy organization. READ FULL STORY

State Superintendent Elsie Arntzen today announced Montana is initiating a new student growth assessment pilot. The Montana Alternative Student Testing (MAST) Pilot Program is a partnership with participating school districts and MetaMetrics, Inc., and is overseen by the Montana Office of Public Instruction. The pilot is designed to lessen the burden of federally mandated testing Read More…

Former chairwoman of the Montana Native Women’s Coalition, Meredith McConnell has been sentenced for stealing federal grant funds for unapproved travel to Las Vegas, Nevada, and other unauthorized expenses. McConnell was found guilty at a trial on April 2 by a federal jury on all counts in a superseding indictment, including theft from a program receiving federal Read More…

GREAT FALLS — Memorial arrangements have been announced for Chief Earl Old Person, who died in Browning last Wednesday at the age of 92 after a battle with cancer. He was the longest serving elected tribal official in the U.S. Old Person was elected to the Blackfeet Tribal Business Council in 1952 and served for Read More…

BUTTE — As universities across the country deal with dwindling enrollment, a recent report out of Montana Tech shows the Butte university had an enrollment increase in the fall, albeit a very minimal one. “We’re really pleased with it; again, looking at the trends of higher education across the country, in particular those schools similar Read More…

SHEPHERD — A U.S. Army veteran in Shepherd is on a mission to raise money to create a long lasting memorial in Yellowstone County honoring every soldier from Montana who was killed in action in Iraq and Afghanistan. Frederick Baker, known to his friends as Rick, grew up in Shepherd and Huntley and served as Read More…

GREAT FALLS — The proposed Touro University College of Osteopathic Medicine took a big step closer to reality on Wednesday with a ground-breaking ceremony near the corner of 26th Street South and 18th Avenue, close to Benefis Health and Great Falls Central Catholic High School. A large crowd gathered to hear representatives from Touro, Benefis, Read More…