Many Montanans will ring in the new year with higher health insurance costs.
Many Montanans will ring in the new year with higher health insurance costs. People making more than 400% of the poverty level will no longer get the Affordable Care Act extended subsidies. The premium tax credits were expanded in 2021, allowing more people to qualify at lower cost. Bradley Cook a former adjunct biology professor at the University of Montana who lives in Hamilton is now going with a direct health care provider with much cheaper premiums. It covers office visits and routine health care but his current plan does not include coverage for catastrophic events such as a cancer diagnosis. He has a sinus infection at the moment and says canceling his Affordable Care Act health insurance has him thinking differently about what is usually a simple illness.
Bradley Cook
Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks Director Christie Clark Reflects on 2025 as Busy Year; Some Changes Anticipated for 2026
On this last day of 2025 we’re looking back at the year gone by. Today on Voices of Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks Director Christy Clark said it was a busy year, but some things will be the same in 2026.
Christy Clark
Smith River Float Permit Applications Open January 1
Adventure seekers—get ready to mark your calendars. Applications for the highly coveted smith river float permits open this Thursday, January first. The sixty-mile stretch is so popular that Montana fish, wildlife and parks use a lottery to issue spots. You have until February fifteenth to apply online at the f-w-p website. Remember—new rules are in effect this year. All floaters are now required to pack out human waste using hard-sided portable toilets. Good luck!
Most of Montana’s Congressional delegation brings back bill to reclassify 100,000 acres of public lands
Senator Steve Daines introduced a bill this month called the Montana Sportsmen Conservation Act to reclassify three Wilderness Study Areas Middle Fork Judith Hoodoo Mountain and Wales Creek. Montana Senator Tim Sheehy and Representative Troy Downing co-sponsored the bill. WSAS are pieces of federal public lands where development, and motorized vehicle use are not allowed.
School choice advocates are eager for upcoming scholarship tax credits
In 2026 a federal scholarship tax credit program will offer individuals up to $1,700 in tax credits if they donate to qualified student scholarship organizations. Students awarded scholarships can put them toward public or private school expenses. Montana’s tax credit programs reward donors who give to private and public school scholarships. The federal program was put into President Donald Trumps “Big Beautiful Bill.”
School choice advocates are eager for upcoming scholarship tax credits
In 2026 a federal scholarship tax credit program will offer individuals up to $1,700 in tax credits if they donate to qualified student scholarship organizations. Students awarded scholarships can put them toward public or private school expenses. Montana’s tax credit programs reward donors who give to private and public school scholarships. The federal program was put into President Donald Trumps “Big Beautiful Bill.”
Emergency authorization fast-tracks 33,000-acre timber project along Rock Creek, Clark Fork
The 33,000-acre Tyler’s Kitchen logging and fuels reduction project near the mouth of Rock Creek has been approved by the Lolo National Forest. Its stated goal is reducing wildfire risk in a high-priority area along the Clark Fork River. It overlaps with one of two areas within the Lolo forest that were identified several years ago as national priorities for wildfire risk reduction.
