Montana News
Comprehensive coverage of Montana’s statewide news—politics, environment, communities, and culture—delivered with trusted reporting and a local lens.
Judge blocks Election Day voter registration changes
Late voter registration, allowing Montanans to sign up to vote so long as they’re in line before polls officially …
Woman drowns in Stillwater River, investigation underway
Officials in south-central Montana are investigating the death of a woman whose body was found in the Stillwater River earlier this week.
Montana tribes sue over Indian Education for All compliance
Montana tribes and the parents of 18 students filed a lawsuit Thursday alleging state education leaders are violating a constitutional requirement to teach abo…
Democrats stand behind Biden public lands pick amid pushback
A U.S. Senate panel deadlocked Thursday on President Joe Biden's pick to oversee vast government-owned lands in the West, as Democrats stood united behind a no…
Wildfire smoke drives people indoors in low-vaccinated areas
Missoula's new downtown library was teeming with people who might typically spend a Saturday afternoon hiking, biking or otherwise making the most of Montana's…
As wildfire smoke spreads, who's at risk?
Smoke from wildfires in the western United States and Canada is blanketing much of the continent, including thousands of miles away on the East Coast. And expe…
Housing costs emerge as key to Montana's labor shortage
Montana's economy has largely healed from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic but is facing a labor shortage fueled partly by a lack of affordable housing,…
Black bears that entered Missoula-area houses euthanized
Montana wildlife officials euthanized two black bears this month after they broke into separate houses in the Missoula area, wildlife specialist Jamie Jonkel s…
Montana offers funding to help farmers, ranchers with stress
Financial pressures, unpredictable weather, drought, long work days and social isolation can cause stress and take a toll on the mental health of Montana's farmers and ranchers, officials say.
Colleges offer construction worker certificate program
Two-year colleges in Montana are teaming up to provide a job site readiness certificate program for people interested in joining the construction trades as demand for workers in that field increases.
Despite Canadian easing, US extends land border restrictions
The U.S. government on Wednesday extended the closure of the land borders with Canada and Mexico to nonessential travelers until at least Aug. 21.
Coal production in Montana declines 23% in 2020, demand down
Coal production in Montana fell by 23% in 2020, compared to the previous year, as demand for coal and the electricity it is used to generate declined during th…
Lawmaker continues to press Missoula County election allegations
Four months have passed since allegations of voting irregularities in Missoula County's 2020 election made their way to the floor of the Montana House. But acc…
Monster wildfire tests years of forest management efforts
Ecologists in a vast region of wetlands and forest in remote Oregon have spent the past decade thinning young trees and using planned fires to try to restore t…
Massive wildfires in West bring haze to East Coast
Wildfires in the American West, including one burning in Oregon that's currently the largest in the United States, are creating hazy skies as far away as New Y…
Highway patrol finds video but still faces damages in crash
The Montana Highway Patrol found video it said was missing but will still face penalties in a lawsuit from a Wyoming man who accused a trooper of making an ill…