Northern News Network Headlines

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 ...

Montana To Increase Public Access To Court Records

The Montana Supreme Court recently announced a plan to increase public access to the state’s district court records through an online public portal that would allow people access to some court records from their own computers rather than at a local courthouse. In a public meeting last week the Court Administrator for the Judicial Branch Beth M...

Nonprofit Working To Get Montana Native Americans More Civically Engaged

Native Americans in Montana may want to become civically engaged but struggle with where to start. Ronnie Jo Horse, head of Western Native Voice, a nonprofit nonpartisan organization working to get more native people in Montana involved in elections, says one factor that can motivate and empower people to get involved is explaining the relatio...