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FWP asks for info on wolverine illegally shot, skinned near Wisdom
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks officials said Thursday they want information on who illegally shot and skinned a wolverine this month northwest of Wisdom. There is no current hunting or trapping season for wolverines in Montana, though Montana holds the largest wolverine population in the Lower 48, according to the National Park Service, and the […]
Second lawsuit challenges changes to Montana voter registration law
A second lawsuit has been filed seeking to block the state from enforcing a bill passed in the 2023 session that implemented new voter registration requirements that several organizations say violate both the state and U.S. constitutions. The latest lawsuit challenging House Bill 892 was filed at the end of last month on behalf of the […]
After efforts rejected this summer, Zinke introduces bill to require feds to ‘fill’ Flathead Lake
After a team of federal, state and tribal officials flatly rejected pressure largely from a group of Montana Republican officials this summer to raise Flathead Lake levels at the expense of Hungry Horse Reservoir, Western Montana’s Republican U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke has introduced a bill to require Flathead Lake levels stay within a foot of […]
Chronic wasting disease confirmed in Yellowstone National Park for first time
Chronic wasting disease has been confirmed for the first time in Yellowstone National Park in a mule deer found dead near Yellowstone Lake, park officials said Tuesday. The mule deer, an adult buck, died mid-October after making its way to the southeastern part of the national park during the past seven months, a Yellowstone National […]
Interim committee wrestles with Montana’s childcare capabilities, low wages, and staff retention
Montana’s Economic Affairs Interim Committee wants to take a deeper look during the next year into ways to boost wages for childcare workers, and continue to find funding sources as federal pandemic programs that have helped keep childcare providers afloat during the past three years expire. Committee members received a multi-hour update on childcare in […]
Judge temporarily blocks cumulative fee hike for Montana marijuana dispensaries
A district court judge last week granted a 60-day preliminary injunction blocking the State of Montana from assessing and collecting increased fees from businesses that operate multiple marijuana dispensaries across the state – changes passed by the legislature this year in the final days of the session. The state and attorneys for three Montana marijuana […]
Gianforte asks for federal grant for Butte veterans cottage after vetoing use of only state funds
After vetoing the use of only state money appropriated by lawmakers to build a sixth cottage at the Southwest Montana Veterans Home in Butte earlier this year, Gov. Greg Gianforte and his administration have requested federal money to be used for the project instead. But even if the request for the money is approved, it […]
NASA Apollo 8 commander Frank Borman, of Billings, dies at 95
Retired former NASA astronaut Col. Frank Borman, who commanded the Apollo 8 mission that was the first to take humans around the Moon in 1968, died Tuesday at age 95 in Billings, which he had called home for the past 25 years. NASA announced Borman’s death Thursday afternoon. The Wall Street Journal reported, citing Borman’s […]
Group sues in attempt to block Absaroka-Beartooth trout poisoning, restoration project
A Missoula-based environmental group has filed a federal lawsuit in its latest effort to block a planned project to poison a 45-mile stretch of waterways in the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness over several years to kill off rainbow trout and replace them with Yellowstone cutthroat trout. Wilderness Watch sued the USFS Wednesday in the U.S. District Court […]
Morrison backs out of Supreme Court chief justice race, endorses Lynch
Former state auditor John Morrison announced Tuesday he was bowing out of the race to be Montana’s next Supreme Court Chief Justice and endorsing the only other candidate in the race so far, former federal magistrate Jeremiah “Jerry” Lynch. “I do not want to waste resources or create divisions that could undermine our shared commitment […]
Knudsen, Jacobsen file to run for re-election in 2024
Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen and Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen, both Republicans, will seek re-election in 2024, according to campaign filings made over the past week. Montana’s Campaign Electronic Reporting System shows Jacobsen filed for re-election on Nov. 2 and Knudsen did so on Monday. Knudsen released a statement Tuesday in which he touted […]
Zinke, Daines introduce bills seeking to block Palestinians from US
U.S. Sen. Steve Daines and U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke, both Montana Republicans, have in recent weeks introduced bills seeking to block Palestinians from entering the United States, and in Zinke’s case, to expel any who have recently come to America. Last week, Zinke introduced a bill he called the “Safeguarding Americans from Extremism” (SAFE) Act, […]