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Air tour management plan for Glacier National Park completed Friday
An air tour management plan for Glacier National Park was completed Friday, setting guidelines meant to preserve the park’s resources. The plan was established by the National Park Service and Federal Aviation Administration and is part of the National Parks Air Tour Management Act of 2000. It will allow air tour operators to provide up […]
Political leaders in Montana mourn loss of longtime Butte public servant
Politicians in Montana issued condolences after the loss earlier this week of former lawmaker, executive director for the Montana Democratic Party and 2022 legislative candidate Art Noonan. Noonan died of a heart attack at 70 years old, according to reporting from the Montana Free Press. “Susan and I join the family, friends, and community of […]
Knudsen joins call to label fentanyl a ‘weapon of mass destruction’
Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen joined a bipartisan group of 18 attorneys general last week in calling on President Joe Biden to classify fentanyl as a Weapon of Mass Destruction. The 18 attorneys general called on the Biden administration to take” decisive action” in response to the nationwide increase in overdose deaths related to fentanyl. According to […]
FWP: Two Montana men plead guilty to bull elk poaching
BILLINGS – A Missoula man and a Ballantine man were recently sentenced on separate felony cases for illegally killing trophy elk, according to a news release from Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. The news release from FWP said the following: Alex St. Marie, 37, from Missoula, was sentenced in Fergus County District Court after pleading […]
Secretary of State: No special session to be held
The Montana Secretary of State’s Office said Thursday a special session will not be held in response to last month’s call for a gathering to distribute some of the state’s budget surplus, estimated then at $1.5 billion. “With only 53 legislators replying affirmatively, a majority of the legislators (greater than or equal to 76) failed […]
Grizzly bear confirmed to have killed livestock euthanized near Choteau
A collared grizzly bear confirmed to have killed livestock was euthanized near Choteau on Friday, according to a press release from Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. The bear was first collared last year after it was suspected of killing a calf and later was documented to have visited two other livestock conflict sites (one calf […]
DEQ: Air quality alerts continue as counties in western Montana reach unhealthy levels
The Montana Department of Environmental Quality has issued air quality alerts for most western Montana counties where air quality has reached unhealthy levels, and improvements aren’t expected until Tuesday. In a news release Monday, the DEQ said many active wildfires in western Montana, Idaho, and eastern Oregon are putting out smoke that has blanketed much […]
Former Montana State Prison employee sentenced to five years in prison for role in drug case
A Montana State Prison employee who helped inmates transfer drugs to each other was sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty to helping move drugs into the state prison, the Montana Attorney General’s office announced in a press release Friday. In 2019 and 2020, Charles Blattler helped inmates of the prison send and […]
Montana to receive $6 million in e-cigarette settlement
Montana will receive more than $6 million as part of a multi-state settlement with e-cigarette manufacturer JUUL. The multistate investigation that led to the settlement revealed that JUUL engaged in an advertising campaign that appealed to youth, even though its e-cigarettes are both illegal for them to purchase and are unhealthy for youth to use. […]
Men charged with starting Gibson Flats fire switch plea to guilty
The three men charged with felony arson in relation to the Gibson Flats fire, which burned down more than a dozen homes and other structures, switched their pleas to guilty at a court appearance on Tuesday. The fire devastated the community south of Great Falls last December, with wind driven flames ripping through the dry […]
Judge says hunting, conservation coalition can participate in elk management lawsuit
A district court judge has ruled that a group of Montana hunting and conservation groups can intervene in a lawsuit concerning game management in Montana, according to a news release Thursday from the Montana Citizens’ Elk Management Coalition. Tenth Judicial District Court Judge Heather Perry granted the groups’ motion to intervene on Wednesday afternoon, acknowledging […]
New apprenticeships in Montana skyrocket in light of state program, Governor’s office says
The number of new apprenticeships in Montana in 2022 is on track to surpass the number for 2018, 2019, and 2020 combined, Gov. Greg Gianforte announced in a Wednesday press release. Run by the Department of Labor & Industry, Montana’s Registered Apprenticeship program enables workers to receive paid, supervised, on-the-job training in more than 100 […]