Montana reported 57 COVID-19 cases and the COVID-19 death of one person according to a Sunday update to the state case mapping and information website. Active cases in Montana are at 1,014. COVID-19 has killed 1,546 Montanans. Active COVID-19 hospitalizations were at 50 as of the update. In total 4,909 people in Montana are reported to have be...
Glacier National Park Revises Ticket System Announcement
Glacier National Park officials have clarified an upcoming ticketed entry system for Going-to-the-Sun Road this summer. They first proposed visitors validate their seven-day tickets on the first day in an effort to manage congestion and avoid potential closures because of the pandemic and road construction but have since removed the requiremen...
Montana Supreme Court Justices Issued Subpoenas From Legislature
Legislative leadership issued a new round of subpoenas for all seven Montana Supreme Court justices and the court administrator Thursday in an ongoing inquiry into the GOP’s claims of misconduct through the court’s email system investigating the judiciary for polling judges on pending legislation regarding the courts. Democrats hav...
New Survey Shows Majority of Montanans Oppose Colstrip Bill
A bill to spend $2 billion in federal COVID-19 relief money inched forward in the Senate on Thursday passing a preliminary vote in the same form as it emerged from a budget panel last week. House Bill 632 appropriating money coming to the state from the federal American Rescue Plan Act passed second reading 32 to 18. If what’s been nickn...
Legislative Bill Could Potentially Change Daylight Saving Time
Under a bill advancing through the Legislature, if enough other states around Montana moved to year-round daylight-saving time, the Treasure State would follow suit. Lawmakers have weighed doing away with the twice-yearly springing forward and the falling back either through adopting daylight saving time permanently or only keeping Mountain St...
Annual Maintenance To Voter List Now Law In Montana
Thursday evening COVID-19 Panel Chair and Deputized public health official Senator Jason Ellsworth was notified that a member of the government affairs committee has tested positive for COVID-19 and because the Legislature’s contact tracer requires time to do her work the decision was made to postpone today’s legislative floor sessions out of ...
State Water Bill Becomes Law
House Bill 286 the state land water bill has become law. It clarifies the state may only obtain an ownership interest in a water right or ground water development work diverted from private land if a court determines the state is an owner or is in possession of a deed transferring ownership of the water right to the state. Montana Stock Growe...
Montana Ranked In Bottom Half Of Safest States During Pandemic
With around 23% of the population fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as of Wednesday and vaccination being an essential being an essential component for full reopening of the economy. Wallet Hub today released its report on the safest states during the pandemic. Montana ranks 37th across five key metrics. The business processing outsourcing com...
FCC Announces New Relief Program For Tribal Lands
The Federal Communications Commission recently announced a new program that will provide a discount for broadband service for households struggling to pay for internet service due to the pandemic. The program gives discounts of up to $50 per month towards broadband service and up to $75 per month for those living on tribal lands. This week Voi...
New Test To Detect Chronic Wasting Disease Developed
Scientists at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in Hamilton have developed a new way to test live animals for chronic wasting disease that holds promise for one day detecting the illness in the wild. Chronic wasting disease is an always fatal infection that afflicts deer elk and moose and, since 2017, Montana Fish Wildl...