Montana In Fifth Year In A Row Of Drought Conditions
As Montana enters its fifth consecutive year of drought conditions agricultural producers are facing the increasing challenge of sustaining their livelihoods in increasingly arid climates. The 2025 Drought Outlook from the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation highlights the ongoing struggle with last fall’s dry and hot weather further depleting soil moisture across the state.
CDC reports drop in overdose deaths
New data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows a 27% decline in drug overdose deaths from 2023 across the U.S. last year. Montana reported 170 overdose deaths a 7.61 percent drop. Across the country this is the second consecutive year that drug overdose deaths have declined following the increases observed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Gianforte analyzing bills affecting wildfire policy and home insurance in Montana
Governor Greg Gianforte has signed several bills that make tweaks to Montana’s wildland fire policies and look to create more insurance transparency as the primary months of the 2025 wildfire season approach. One bill is focused on home insurance policies and ensuring Montana homeowners know the source of wildfire risk scores that some insurance companies use to assess risks and liabilities when deciding whether to insure a property and for how much.
Fines for aquatic invasive species violations increase under new law
A 2019 study by the University of Montana’s Flathead Lake Biological Station estimated that if mussels colonized all of Montana’s water bodies it could cost the state between $384.5 million to $731.4 million in mitigation costs lost revenue and property value losses. To prevent infestation of Montana waterways a new law increases the fines for anyone who knowingly or negligently introduces any aquatic invasive species into Montana or fails to stop at a watercraft check station.
‘It’s Been 50 years’: New Public Transit Bill Could Become Law
Legislation is awaiting a decision by Governor Greg Gianforte and if House Bill 764 becomes law it would make changes to Montana’s urban transportation districts and bus systems. It would open up cities with larger transportation systems to expand their reach outside town. Under current law transit systems owned by a municipality can’t serve communities outside the city limits.
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Story House Incorporated has announced plans to transform the currently-vacant former Roseburg Forest Products facility in Missoula’s Northside neighborhood into a 47-acre 400,000-square-foot film and television production campus. The real estate and media company’s new project will be the first large-scale soundstage facility of its kind in the state.
The paddle fishing season begins today with new rules in effect for anglers. This opening day in the yellow tag area on the lower Yellowstone River is designated for catch-and-release only while the first harvest day for yellow tags is scheduled for Friday. The green tag area now includes the Missouri River downstream of Fort Peck Dam where anglers can snag paddlefish seven days a week with an unused green tag but catch and release is not permitted.
A rule change package for childcare centers in Montana went into effect after the end of the 2025 legislative session. It brings with it a new requirement that all day care centers must accept religious vaccine exemptions. The new rule is drawing criticism from some childcare centers whose directors say their hand is being forced and from families concerned with their children’s health.
Funding worries have temporarily shelved the purchase of land near the Kalispell Center Mall for a future library branch. A lack of fundraising partners and an unsigned capital campaign agreement are hindering fundraising efforts.
A rail bridge maintenance project near the bottom of the Blackfoot River will go forward this summer. It will include installing riprap and bags of a cement-like material to stabilize the rail bridge to prepare for the removal of two old highway piers which are the pylons that support it left standing downstream from the bridge after the Montana Department of Transportation replaced the nearby Interstate 90 bridge several years ago.
