Report: Most Montanans agree tourism benefits outweigh negative impacts
According to University of Montana Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research 68% of respondents to a 2024 survey agreed the benefits of tourism outweigh the negative impacts but feel local communities are becoming more overcrowded. Residents in Central Montana saw the largest increase in positive sentiment up to 70% while residents of Southeast and Southwest Montana dropped their views on visitors.
Record-Low Water Levels in Flathead Lake Impact Summer Recreation and Tourism Again in 2024, Says Energy Keepers Official
Record-low water levels in Flathead Lake during the summer of 2023 had a negative impact on recreational activities and the local economy particularly tourism and this year is looking to be the same. Energy Keepers Director of Asset Optimization Eve James talked about why today on Voices of Montana.
Eve James
Lakefront boat storage and dock access could be impacted if low water level forecasts materialize. June has been notably dry so far, and the extended weather forecast indicates continued below-normal precipitation.
Double Arrow Fire Near Seeley Lake and Hilger Valley Fire Near Helena Among 28 Active Montana Wildfires This Week
A new fire, called the Double Arrow Fire, was reported just before 6:30 this morning east of Seeley Lake, burning about 1 acre. Seeley Lake Rural Fire District, DNRC, and the forest service are responding, with plans to bring a helicopter from Helena to assist in firefighting efforts. And the Hilger Valley Fire was first discovered Monday afternoon 20 miles north of Helena, near Gates of the Mountains on Interstate 15 and has grown to 318 acres at 15% contained. Currently there are 28 active Fires with 7 starting in the last 24 hours and 31 this week. So far this year there’s been 425 wildfires.
Montana Supreme Court strikes down three abortion laws
The Montana Supreme Court upheld a lower court’s decision Tuesday to overturn three state laws without a trial that would have imposed additional restrictions on abortion. With its ruling in Planned Parenthood of Montana versus The State of Montana the high court affirmed Montanans’ explicit right to privacy and confirmed it prevails independent of changes at the federal level.
Missoula Billings governments settle wrongful ‘swatting’ case for $53,000
Three local Montana governments have settled a 2022 wrongful “swatting” case where a fake 9-1-1 call from Billings led to a SWAT team responding to an unsuspecting Missoula family’s home in the middle of the night. The settlement will give the Maldonado family $53,250 split equally through the City of Missoula Missoula County and the City of Billings and in turn release the governments from future liability.
New forecast sinks summer lake level to historic low
Last week Energy Keepers predicted Flathead Lake would reach a maximum level of 2,892.3 feet by mid-June but the most recent forecast though drops that estimate by one foot. The projected water level may limit the use of some private docks but public boat ramps are expected to remain fully accessible during the summer. Full pool is typically 2,983 feet between June 15th and September 15th.
Montana Department of Corrections eyeing Butte Boulder Hardin for new women’s prison
The Montana Department of Corrections said Tuesday it is considering Hardin Butte and the greater Boulder area as it determines where to put a new women’s prison. Boulder and Butte are under consideration because the department already owns property in those locations. It’s working with Hardin because a representative of the community reached out directly. As of Tuesday about 84% of Montana’s nearly 300 incarcerated women were held at Montana Women’s Prison in Billings and the remainder were serving sentences at the Riverside Facility in Boulder.
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An international exhibition is putting faces and names to Montana’s missing and murdered Indigenous people at the Missoula Art Museum. The collection features twenty-nine paintings that give life to thirty Indigenous people from across the state who are missing murdered or have died and will be on display through September 13th.
Leaders from across the state spoke Tuesday in Billings to acknowledge the 1825 treaty between the Crow Tribe and the federal government. In the heat of the day a commemoration walk took place from the New Day parking lot to the top of the Rims. This was followed by a prayer and a presentation on the history behind the Crow flag.
Air Force Two landed at Butte’s Bert Mooney Airport about 2:30 Tuesday afternoon. Vice President J.D. Vance got off the plane the plane and got into a vehicle in a motorcade. It headed west on I- 90 out of the Mining City and toward I-15 south toward Dillon. His office released no information about his visit or where he was going.
Starting July 1st Yellowstone County’s non-union workers will get raises. Tuesday the county commission approved increases of 3.25% to 3.75% for employees who are not part of a labor union with the exception of detention officers and elected officials.
The Gallatin City-County Health Department is reporting an additional case of the measles and has identified two more public exposure sites. This brings the total measles cases in Montana to 20 with two hospitalizations.
