NorthWestern Energy plans to merge with South Dakota Utility NorthWestern Energy announced Tuesday it will merge with South Dakota-based Black Hills Corporation. The all-stock tax-free merger will create a singular electric and natural gas utility company in eight states and serve roughly 2.1 million customers. The deal is set to be completed ...
Warm dry weather ahead as crews continue work on Montana fires Several large wildfires continued to burn around the state Monday as hot weather will hit triple digits this this week causing some concern for fire managers. Northeast Montana is under a Heat Advisory until Wednesday evening with daytime highs expected to be between 95 and 105 deg...
Montana gears up for upcoming elections with new ballot changes Counties across Montana are preparing for the next round of elections with a focus on engaging voters and ensuring a smooth voting process. Election administrators across the state have been going to trainings from the Secretary of State getting information about each of the diffe...
Fewer People Camping In Yellowstone National Park This Year So far this year fewer campers are choosing to stay in Yellowstone National Park campgrounds according to the National Park Service’s online statistics page. The website shows a nearly 30% drop in recreational vehicle camping through this July when compared to July 2025. Overnight ten...
Most Big Sky Country major waterways flowing at normal to above-normal levels As we enter the homestretch of summer most of Big Sky Country’s major waterways are flowing at normal to above-normal levels. A handful of key streams are significantly below their typical summer volume however. As of early August data from 49 U.S. Geological Survey ...
In Montana 46% of rural hospitals don’t have doctors 24/7 in emergency rooms A first of a kind study found that in 2022 at least 7.4% of emergency departments across the U.S. did not have an attending physician on-site 24/7. In Montana for small rural hospitals it was 46% the third-highest rate in the country. Rural ERs may see fewer pat...
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 opera...
Montana officials tell BLM they want more coal available to mine in Powder River Basin The Gianforte administration wants the U.S. Department of Interior to open up millions of acres of coal land in eastern Montana’s Powder River Basin for future leasing but a group of nine environmental organizations from Montana Wyoming and other weste...
BLM seeks public comment on proposed sapphire mine near Hauser Lake The Bureau of Land Management is looking for public comment on a proposed Montana Sapphire Mining Company permit on public land on the shore of Hauser Lake outside Helena. If approved it would conduct placer mining and processing to recover sapphires from McCune Bar gravels o...
July Was Historic Month For New Business Registration In Montana A record nearly 7,000 new business registrations were filed in Montana last month topping the previous monthly best of roughly 6,700 in April. So far this year nearly 45,000 new business registrations have been filed with the Secretary of State’s Office. Montana has experienced r...
