About 150 people gathered outside the Montana State Capitol in Helena Wednesday for a rally to push lawmakers toward supporting the reauthorization of Medicaid expansion which provides health care coverage to roughly 80,000 adults statewide. The expansion of the joint federal-state health insurance program will end in June unless the Legislatu...
Montana’s winter snowpack is growing after running about half of what is normal for early December. High-elevation snowpack across most of western Montana has nearly doubled since last month. Despite the recent improvements though snowpack remains slightly below normal across most of Montana. Montana’s mountain snowpack generally peaks in Apri...
Montana’s largest coal mine might be able to increase its coal production by 19 million tons. The federal Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement has prepared an environmental impact statement that allows for the expansion of the Spring Creek Mine near Decker. If approved the Navajo Transitional Energy Company will gain access to ...
The U.S. will rebuild a stockpile of bird flu vaccines for poultry that match the strain of the virus circulating in commercial flocks and wild birds. The outbreak has killed more than 130 million in all 50 states pushing egg prices from egg-laying hens to record highs. Montana has had over 82,000 affected poultry in 16 positive flocks since t...
Outdoor advocates have declared state marijuana tax revenues to be a priority for this Legislative session. The funding mechanism lawmakers established in 2021 prioritized outdoor recreation and public lands gut the Gianforte administration will be proposing a reduction in some of the accounts in order to fund water projects at the Department ...
Montana Wyoming and Idaho had petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to remove some of the region’s grizzly bears from protections under the Endangered Species Act but Wednesday the federal agency announced its decision to keep them protected and proposed changes to its management approach. A new recovery zone would include Washington a...
The bald eagle which has about 700 pairs with breeding grounds in Montana is now officially the United States’ official national bird after President Joe Biden signed legislation making it so. State wildlife agencies began aerial surveys of bald eagle nests in the early 1970s as the bird’s numbers plummeted because pesticides were workin...
Montana Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen officially launched the 69th Legislative Assembly and the 2025 Session Monday afternoon where legislators from across the state completed their oaths of office ahead of the Legislative Session. After being sworn into office, representatives and senators attended the first House and Senate Floor Sessi...
Norovirus sometimes known as the “winter vomiting bug” is making a big comeback it’s hitting Montana hard. The Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services warns the virus thrives in crowded places like schools daycares and family gatherings. Norovirus is also the leading cause of outbreaks from contaminated food in the US with about...
The Montana Supreme Court upheld Sandfire Resources’ mine permit Thursday. If found the state complied with the Montana Water Use Act when it issued a permit for the former Tintina Montana Incorporated’s Black Butte copper project near White Sulphur Springs to extract approximately 14 million tons of the metal. The Montana Supreme...
