Montana PSC to take up data centers AI
The Montana Public Service Commission will be scheduling a meeting soon to gather information on data centers. Monday PSC President Brad Molnar said it will call on NorthWestern Energy to outline its current and potential plans to support them. This follows a series of recent announcements about new operations planned in the Treasure State.
Trump Administration Releasing Billions In Frozen Funds
The United States Department of Education has announced it will release more than $5 billion in previously withheld grant funding to states including Montana’s earmarked $26.3 million. The money is designated for various programs supporting teachers students and schools in Montana including migrant student education English language instruction and state grants.
Montana Gas Prices Dip Again After Weeks Of Rising Costs
Average gasoline prices in Montana have fallen 2.3 cents a gallon in the last week. According to GasBuddy dot com prices in Montana are 5.2 cents per gallon lower than a month ago and 28.8 cents a gallon lower than a year ago. Montana is currently ranked 12th in the U.S. when it comes to the average price of gas which is one spot higher than last week.
Study shows 100,000 working-age Montanans aren’t working
A lack of access to affordable childcare chronic illness or disability and criminal justice history are some of the barriers that are keeping an estimated 100,000 Montanans aged 16 to 54 out of work. That’s according to a recent study published by the Montana Department of Labor and Industry which showed there is a severe labor shortage for open jobs in the state as tens of thousands of people are not working.
Revenue department who will oversee Montana’s new alcohol cannabis agency
Kristan Barbour will head up the newly consolidated state Cannabis and Alcohol Regulation Division in the Department of Revenue. The alcohol trade has been overseen by the same office for roughly 50 years while cannabis providers in a far younger industry have asked for a more consistent regulatory environment.
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Flathead County Animal Shelter head Austin Hicks will take over as director of the county’s Emergency Communications Center starting August 18th after the position opened up in June when former Director Elizabeth Brooks’ left. Flathead County has struggled to recruit and retain dispatchers since 2021.
The Bureau of Land Management is providing energy developer Denbury Carbon Solutions with limited access to the Chalk Buttes in Southeastern Montana proposed for a large-scale carbon sequestration project. The move will give the subsidiary of Exxon Mobil Corporation more information about the viability of a proposal to inject 150 million tons of carbon dioxide a mile underground.
Stage 1 fire restrictions are in effect as of today in Yellowstone National Park due to a very high fire danger level. Smoking is prohibited except in an enclosed vehicle single-family dwelling developed campground day-use picnic area or within a 3-foot diameter area that is barren or cleared of all flammable material. Discharging firearms or setting off fireworks is always prohibited. Negligently starting a wildland fire may result in fines and/or imprisonment.
The Department of Public Health and Human Services is asking for input from health care providers and other stakeholders as it begins developing Montana’s application for federal Rural Health Transformation Program funding. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will likely require states to submit applications sometime this fall.
A new LendingTree analysis of Census data reveals that 36.5% of Montana businesses the third-highest share in the nation expect to charge higher prices in the next six months. 53.6% anticipate higher costs from their suppliers. The findings come just as Trump’s newly imposed import taxes on dozens of countries take effect.
