Montana Unemployment Edges Up to 3.4%, Still Among Nation’s Lowest
Montana’s unemployment rate ticked up to 3.4 percent in December, but the state still ranks among the top ten in the nation for lowest joblessness. Governor Greg Gianforte says the state’s long‑term stability is backed by continued job growth, with payrolls adding more than two thousand jobs last month, especially in construction and leisure. Montana’s labor force also expanded, bringing more than 1,100 new workers into the job market.
A Livingston Man Sentenced to Life for 2022 Murder.
Montana’s Attorney General Austin Knudsen says a Livingston man will spend the rest of his life in prison for a 2022 murder. A jury convicted 33‑year‑old Skyler Griebel in October of 25for shooting and killing Tyler Netto after a confrontation at a home in Livingston. Recently a judge rejected Griebel’s request for leniency and imposed a life sentence.
Montana Supreme Court Justice Pleads Guilty to Traffic Violation, Fined $285
Montana Supreme Court Justice Laurie McKinnon has pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor traffic violation. The charge, reckless endangerment of emergency personnel, stems from a November incident where McKinnon failed to slow down for deputies during a traffic stop near Townsend. McKinnon paid a two-hundred and eighty-five dollar fine, stating she wants to move past the distraction and return her full focus to the court.
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The U.S. Forest Service has finalized revisions to its regulation governing federal oil and gas resources on National Forest System lands. The revision modernizes and streamlines the process for managing energy development across millions of acres.
Thousands of Montanans around the state held protests Sunday and Monday in the wake of Alex Pretti’s killing by federal immigration officers in Minneapolis on January 24th and in response to the Trump administration’s immigration policies. Arguably, the largest occurred in Missoula, where a crowd of more than 1,000 people gathered, while Bozeman and Billings also saw large gatherings.
A massive earth-moving project southeast of Polson is reshaping the Lake County landfill. By the end of March, the facility is expected to be fully open, and able to digest the 18,000 tons of garbage that currently goes to Republic Services’ landfill in Missoula. The county hopes to save around $900,000 annually and still pay back the two federal loans, totaling $4.7 million, that allowed it to embark on the upgrade.
The Helena City Commission has approved a resolution to limit the local police department in helping federal immigration agents. Because of the 4-1 vote, the Helena Police Department will only assist the U.S. Department of Homeland Security when legally required. It thrusts Montana’s capital city into the national debate over concerns about public safety as it relates to Immigration enforcement.
A mother has filed a federal lawsuit in Missoula claiming the local school system failed to protect her daughter from bullying that led to her suicide in 2020. Janice Teeter, whose daughter attended C.S. Porter Middle School, accuses Missoula County Public Schools of 10 separate civil claims — including negligence, wrongful death and violations of her daughter’s constitutional right to an education.
