The Montana Department of Labor and Industry has set up a “Rapid Response Event” to help the hundreds of Montanans who were recently fired in a mass federal workforce reduction find new jobs. The March 12th event will help to “guide affected workers back into the workforce.” Impacted workers who attend can also receive assistance filing unemployment insurance claims. in-person assistance will be available to those who go to any of the state’s 18 Job Services offices.
A federal class-action lawsuit names Governor Greg Gianforte and Superintendent of Public Instruction Susie Hedalen claiming special education students from Lewistown and Kalispell weren’t allowed to finish the school year because they turned 18 and 19 respectively. Disability Rights Montana says Montana is not providing federally required access to education for students past 18 years old when federal law requires access to age 22.
in the Montana Legislature House Bill 757 would change the way cultural and aesthetic grants from the state’s coal trust fund are presented with a ranked list of criteria rather than an alphabetical one. It would set up two lists to prioritize the groups applying for money for projects around the state. A section of the bill provides the opportunity for a waiver for applicants whose budget doesn’t exceed $100,000.
A study recently published by ViewHomes puts Montana Alaska and Wyoming as the top three states for fastest-selling real estate based on 150,000 Zillow listings in 2024. In Montana only 15.6% of residential properties sat on the market for more than 30 days while in Alaska that number is 17.6% and in Wyoming it’s 18.24%.
A nearly $10 million project to improve 2.5 million acres in northeastern Montana by the Bureau of Land Management has been put on hold along with two other similarly funded restoration programs in the state that involve numerous nonprofit partners that awarded funding last fall. An email from the Trump administration has resulted in the temporary pause on financial assistance agreements for work that was supposed to begin this spring.
The Montana World Affairs Council is Celebrating 20th Academic WorldQuest today and Tuesday at the University of Montana with more than 500 high school students from across Montana. The 2025 theme of “Celebrating Indigenous Cultures Around the World” will include many distinguished guests and cultural activities. The event will end in the annual world knowledge competition.
United Way of Yellowstone County is on the lookout for a new President and CEO as Kim Lewis prepares to retire in June after being with the organization since 2020. Lewis and her husband Pat will be moving to Puebla Mexico to serve as missionaries at a social outreach project of the Methodist Church of Mexico.
Montana lawmakers are trying to use this session to build a framework for the usage of artificial intelligence in the state. Senate Bill 212 would establish the Right to Compute Act which seeks to protect the individual use of AI and allow the state to restrict it in limited circumstances.
This year’s version of the “right to work” legislation that organized labor groups have tried to pass session after session was killed off in a weekend committee hearing. Senate Bill 376 would have prohibited union membership as a condition of employment. 14 Republicans joining all Democrats in voting against it.
Demand for homes in Missoula continues to outpace supply but local real estate experts say the market cooled off in 2024 and showed glimpses of returning to a healthy system for homebuyers. People sold more homes in Missoula in 2024 than in the last five years with new subdivisions adding to the home supply. At the same time though affordable homes are becoming more difficult to find.
