News
Bear responsible for fatal Ovando attack remains elusive as more details around incident emerge
Campsites are closed until Sunday in Ovando as wildlife agents continue to search for the grizzly bear responsible for a fatal attack on a bicycle camper early Tuesday morning. In a news release Wednesday, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks said the bear initially awoke the bicycle camper — identified as Leah Davis Lokan, 65, of […]
Democratic attorney and PSC candidate launches Congressional bid
The Democratic primary for Montana’s newly created U.S. House seat is now competitive. Monica Tranel, an attorney based in Missoula and former Olympic rower who mounted a run for the Montana Public Service Commission in 2020, announced Wednesday that she’s entering the race for the seat, joining state Rep. Laurie Bishop on the Democratic side. […]
Gianforte appoints Grubich to fill Cascade County judge opening
Gov. Greg Gianforte has appointed the first judge using a new judicial selection process created by recently enacted legislation that abolished the Judicial Nominating Commission and gave the governor the wide latitude to fill judicial vacancies. David Grubich has been chosen to fill the Eighth Judicial District vacancy. He was one of two finalists selected […]
Ambulance, EMS services in Montana, rural areas disappearing
DUTTON, Mont. — Vern Greyn was standing in the raised bucket of a tractor, trimming dead branches off a tree, when he lost his balance. He fell 12 feet and struck his head on the concrete patio outside his house in this small farming town on the central Montana plains. Greyn, then 58, couldn’t move. […]
Glacier reports 41 percent increase in visitors on Going-to-the-Sun Road
On opening day this year, the number of visitors to Glacier National Park’s Going-to-the-Sun Road soared compared to its 2019 season. In a news release on Friday, the park said it saw a 41 percent increase in vehicles on the road compared to opening day in 2019, with the overall number of cars and trucks […]
UPDATED: 15 more Montana counties designated as natural disaster areas
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has designated 15 more Montana counties as natural disaster counties as 91 percent of the state faces abnormally dry or extreme conditions, according to a pair of news releases put out by the Governor’s Office on Tuesday. As of Tuesday, the USDA had designated 31 of Montana’s 56 counties as […]
Judge blocks Legislature’s attempt to get out of subpoena lawsuit
A Lewis and Clark County District judge followed the Supreme Court’s lead in denying the Legislature’s request to dismiss a lawsuit that challenges the extent of the Legislature’s power to subpoena members of the judiciary despite the withdrawal of subpoenas at the center of the two cases. Because the Legislature failed to file a brief […]
Biden administration to issue executive order on country of origin labeling
WASHINGTON—The White House will unveil an executive order in the coming days that directs the U.S. Department of Agriculture to clarify that meat can only receive a “Product of USA” label if that livestock is raised in the U.S. rather than abroad, press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters Tuesday afternoon. “The EO directs USDA to […]
The long journey of water from Yellowstone geysers to the ocean
Yellowstone’s hot spring waters ultimately flow for thousands of miles before entering the ocean. But waters enter two different oceans—the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean. There are numerous hot springs and a lot water flowing in Yellowstone, but what is the fate of the hot water erupted from Old Faithful Geyser, for example? Where does that water […]
Even with hospital pricing transparency, the price is often anyone’s guess
A colonoscopy might cost you or your insurer a few hundred dollars — or several thousand, depending on which hospital or insurer you use. Long hidden, such price variations are supposed to be available in stark black and white under a Trump administration price transparency rule that took effect at the start of this year. […]
The pandemic’s twin — grief — will outlast COVID-19
Cassandra Rollins’ daughter was still conscious when the ambulance took her away. Shalondra Rollins, 38, was struggling to breathe as COVID overwhelmed her lungs. But before the doors closed, she asked for her cellphone, so she could call her family from the hospital. It was April 7, 2020 — the last time Rollins would see […]
Students in limbo with mental health support in schools
Some parents of Montana students received a letter in the mail this month saying the mental health services their children receive in public schools were being suspended. Funding and services for students are on the line, and school officials are worried. To keep counseling going, they worry they’ll be left with holes in their budgets […]