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Deb Haaland signs the Confederated Salish and Kootenai-Montana Compact
Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland signed the Confederated Salish and Kootenai-Montana Compact on Friday, formally executing the Montana Water Rights Protection Act enacted by Congress on Dec. 21, 2020, the U.S. Department of Interior announced in a news release Friday. “Together, these actions pave the way to improving the Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes’ […]
Gov. Gianforte, MT congressional delegation react to Afghan refugees coming to Missoula
Gov. Greg Gianforte said on Thursday he plans to welcome fully-vetted Missoula-bound Afghan refugees fleeing the humanitarian crisis stemming from the end of the war in Afghanistan. “Montana welcomes our fully-vetted Afghan allies who worked alongside us, have left their homes in the face of the Taliban’s reemerging, merciless terror, and seek freedom and safety,” […]
Missoula breaks two more COVID-19 records Thursday
As hospitals in the county continue to be pushed to their limits, Missoula announced it surpassed two COVID-19 records on Thursday when it reported 46 active hospitalizations and a seven-day average for new daily cases among 100,000 people of 86. The previous high for active hospitalizations was 43, set on Nov. 7, 2020, and the […]
Yellowstone National Park: Woman suffers significant thermal burns in park
At Old Faithful early Thursday morning, park rangers provided initial care to a 19-year-old woman from Rhode Island with second- and third-degree burns to 5 percent of her body, the park said in a news release. The park said she was later life-flighted to Idaho and her condition was not available to the park. The […]
Glacier sees drop in Going-to-the-Sun traffic with ticketed entry
After implementing a new ticketed entry system this year, Glacier National Park saw a 12 percent decrease in vehicles on Going-to-the-Sun Road from Memorial Day weekend through the end of August compared to 2019, according to a news release Thursday from the park. Generally, Glacier National Park reported 2,354,475 visitors through August, a busy year […]
Gianforte solicits applications for two judicial vacancies
Gov. Greg Gianforte said he is accepting applications for judicial vacancies in Yellowstone and Gallatin counties. First reported by the Billing’s Gazette, Yellowstone County District Court Judge Gregory Todd, the county’s longest sitting judge, will retire on Dec. 31, 2021. The other vacancy was created by the state legislature at the proposal of Gianforte to […]
Yellowstone announces August 2021 was most-visited August on record
Yellowstone National Park hosted 921,844 recreation visits in August 2021, making it the most-visited August on record, according to a news release from the park. This is a 4.5% increase from August 2020 (881,829 recreational visits) and a 12% increase from August 2019 (820,006 recreation visits), the park said. Previously, the busiest August on record […]
Missoula expected to break active COVID-19 case record Wednesday morning
Missoula County reported the highest amount of daily new cases on Saturday with 157 and said in a press release Tuesday that it is on track to break its record high of active cases by Wednesday morning. The county’s record of active cases came in November 2020 with 1,217. On Tuesday, the Missoula City-County Health […]
Gov’s budget office gets new director
Gov. Greg Gianforte will be getting a new budget director starting Oct. 1 as the current director, Kurt Alme, transitions out of his role to return to Billings to be with his family, the governor’s office announced in a news release on Tuesday. Alme will be replaced by Buffalo Republic Sen. Ryan Osmundson. Osmundson was […]
State and Montana State Prison employees agree to reconvene in Sept. as negotiations continue and possibility of strike looms
Contract negotiations between the Montana State Prison and the state are ongoing as of Monday afternoon, with both parties agreeing to meet in mid-to-late September, according to the Montana Federation of Public Employees. The two groups met Thursday for the first time since the employee union voted 60-0 to engage in concerted activity, bringing the […]
Three Yellowstone County residents die of COVID-19 related illness over the weekend
Yellowstone County health officials are hoping the Federal Drug Administration’s full approval of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine will help slow the spread of the infection as deaths and cases rise in the county and hospitals fill up. In a press release on Monday, Riverstone Health reported that three people had died from a COVID-19 related […]
‘Hoot owl’ restrictions lifted for some Montana rivers
Several “hoot owl” restrictions currently in effect on portions of some Montana rivers have been lifted. Restrictions will be lifted on: Missouri River from the Cascade boat ramp to Holter Dam (river mile 2,166.2 to 2,202.1) Madison River from Ennis Dam to the border with Yellowstone National Park (river mile 40 to 131) Stillwater River […]