Northern News Network Headlines

Vaccine Bill Clears Legislature

With Mother’s Day around the corner and mothers regaining jobs lost due to COVID-19 at a faster rate than fathers, the personal finance website Wallet Hub today released its report on 2021’s best states for working moms. Montana ranks 23rd based on 17 key metrics. The data set ranges from the median women’s salary to the female unemployment ra...

Governor Gianforte Details Planned Use For ARPA Funds

According to state health officials about 96% of Montanans who have received their first COVID-19 vaccine have been returning to get their second dose but about 14,600 are at least two weeks overdue for their second shot. Over 332,000 Montanans are now fully immunized or nearly 39% of the 865,000 people who are eligible. The state health depar...

BNSF Railway Suing Center for Asbestos Related Disease

According to Libby clinic Center for Asbestos Related Disease, at least 400 people exposed to Libby asbestos have died of asbestosis mesothelioma or other lung disease from the W.R. Grace Vermiculite mine. The Montana Supreme Court has held Grace liable and BNSF Railway liable for spreading asbestos amid the dust that blew of its cars while tr...

Weekend Helena Burn Postponed

Thursday, Gallatin County Sheriff’s evacuated residents of a mobile home park, where law enforcement negotiated with a man armed with a pistol and taser, who had taken a woman hostage. Gallatin County said on Twitter shortly before 3 p.m. the hostage had been released. Sheriff Dan Springer stated in a press conference, the situation began abou...

Senator Daines Responds To Biden Address

A Hamilton woman who shot and killed her husband following an alleged abusive relationship was sentenced to a suspended 20-year commitment to the Montana Department of Corrections. Joanne Evelyn Campbell, 61, wiped away tears as she appeared via video link during her sentencing hearing Thursday before Ravalli County District Court. Campbell wa...

Paddlefish Opens May 1st. on Upper Missouri

This year’s Montana paddlefish seasons kicks off on May 1 with the opening of the Upper Missouri River section from Fort Benton downstream to Fort Peck Dam. Paddlefish anglers must have a white harvest tag, which is issued through a lottery system, to participate in catching and keeping a paddlefish from this section of the river. FWP mails th...

Lake Elmo to Open for Motorboat Testing

Boat owners will be able to test their gasoline engines on Lake Elmo in Billings Heights during two Saturdays in May. Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks officials will waive the normal ban on gasoline-powered motorboats from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. May 15 and May 22. For most of every year, only electric trolling motors are allowed on boats launched...

Gasoline Boats Can Test Engines At Lake Elmo Next Month

James Bradley from the UM Legislative News Service reports the federal government already earmarked the majority of the money in the American Rescue Plan Act, or ARPA, but it still needs to be allocated to specific projects. Kalispell Republican Representative Frank Garner, the bill’s sponsor, said he was happy with the bill. Boat owners will ...

Lewwistown Streets and Sidewalk Improvement Projects Begin

The Lewistown Street and Sidewalk Improvements project are underway. Width restrictions are active on US Highway 87 with a max width of 12 feet. Crews have begun paving approaches along the Truck Bypass. Along Main Street, crews will be raising manholes, water valves, and patching sidewalks. Temporary lane striping is expected within the next ...