Northern News Network Headlines

Montana Board of Oil & Gas Conservation Moves To Plug Abandoned Wells

The Montana Board of Oil and Gas Conservation told its staff last week to proceed with a change of operator request for the Well-Done Foundation that wants to take over 68 orphan oil and gas wells and intends to plug them. The Shelby-based nonprofit organization says that the move will save taxpayers more than $2 million that Montana would nee...

Big Timber Nonprofit Providing Mental Health Services Across Montana

Catalyst for Change is a nonprofit organization based in Big Timber that provides mental health services to individuals and communities across the state through tele-health. Founder and Executive Director Amber Martinsen-Blake explained on Voices of Montana the program started out of necessity for local student mental health services when ther...

Board of Education Warned Of Constitutional Violation Prior To Lawsuit

Online news outlet The Daily Montanan along with The Montana Federation of Public Employees union have filed suit in Lewis and Clark County District Court asking a judge to void the actions of the Board of Public Education over what they believe was an illegal decision in cutting out public comment and participation. Board Chairwoman Tammy Lac...

Well-Done Foundation Approved To Cap Over 60 Orphan Wells

The Montana Board of Oil and Gas Conservation told its staff Thursday to proceed with a change of operator request for the Well-Done Foundation that wants to take over 68 orphan oil and gas wells and intends to plug. The Shelby-based nonprofit says the move will save Montana taxpayers more than $2 million that the state would need to pay to ha...

Montana Legislature Updating Public Record Access

Montana’s Special Select Committee on Judicial Accountability and Transparency met this week to discuss state policies and procedures for managing public records. During the meeting Executive Director of the Legislative Services Division Susan Fox detailed its process to digitally convert all publicly accessible files and why it was necessary...

Montana Electric Co-op Association Highlights Impact Of Snake River Dam Removal

A proposal to remove dams along the lower Snake River in Idaho has been presented to the U.S. Congress to preserve the native salmon population but has been met with opposition across the Pacific Northwest. Montana Electric Cooperatives’ CEO Gary Wiens argued recently on Voices of Montana this would be counterproductive to meeting carbon-free ...