Governor Greg Gianforte got a fire briefing Monday from the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation which showed there are eight active large fire incidents in Montana and the state remains in preparedness level 2. Since January 1st there have been over 2,502 fire starts in the Treasure State burning 915,000 acres. The five largest...
Montana Among States That Lack Sufficient Retirement Funds
Many state governments have failed to make necessary investments in their retirement system and Montana is one of 26 who does not have funding for over 25% of its pension obligations. According to the Big Sky Business Journal, Montana’s public pension fund has $11.9 billion in assets well shy of its $16.4 billion in obligations. In 2021 the Mo...
FWP To Hold Public Hearings This Week On Hunting Regulations
Meetings will be held across Montana starting this week to discuss potential hunting regulation changes for 2022 and 2023. Fish Wildlife and Parks will hold the meetings by region to allow the public to hear directly from its staff and ask questions about the proposed changes. FWP biologists have worked on the potential changes with a focus on...
Montana Veterans Now Able To Receive Free Flu Shots
The Montana VA Health Care System will kick off the 2021 flu shot season Tuesday across the state. Veterans can receive their free flu shots with walk-in and drive-up flu clinics. Veterans can also to get their free flu shots through primary care appointments or at community locations. The flu vaccine gets updated annually and veterans should ...
School Bus Drivers Currently Needed Across Montana
School districts and bus companies across Montana are scrambling to fill vacant school bus driver positions despite offering perks paid training and higher wages. The Montana Free Press reports in some districts the bus driver shortage has resulted in earlier student drop-offs later pickups fuller buses and canceled sporting events but transpo...
Yellowstone National Park Records One Of Its Driest Seasons On Record
Compared to the 30-year average, some areas of Yellowstone National Park received less than one quarter the amount of precipitation in June and throughout much of the summer the park saw some of its driest conditions since the 1930 Dust Bowl era. This summer’s dry weather also meant the Park Service went into an immediate suppression policy f...
Public Lands In Lincoln To Be Managed By New Conservation Group
A group people has agreed to a proposal for managing 200,000 acres of public lands surrounding Lincoln a town northwest of Helena through a mix of conservation forest restoration and outdoor recreation. Karyn Good is a resident of Lincoln and believes the group came up with a well-balanced plan. https://northernbroadcasting.com/wp-content/uplo...
MDT Recruiting Snowplow Drivers Ahead of Winter Season
The Montana Department of Transportation is looking to hire for hundreds of snowplow driver positions across the state by recruiting early and looking for part-time temporary drivers. As an incentive they can hire people with no experience and train them to operate the snowplows and then get their commercial drivers’ license. Currently there a...
District Judge Blocks New State Abortion Laws
Yellowstone County District Judge Michael Moses issued an 11th-hour halt to enforcement of three state laws restricting abortion Thursday afternoon, just before 4 o’clock just hours after he was assigned to preside over a Planned Parenthood legal challenge. He granted a temporary restraining order sought by Planned Parenthood one day bef...
Doctor Shares Message To Patients Wary Of Vaccination
Despite Montana hospitals being well over capacity due to the latest surge of COVID-19 cases there are many residents still hesitant to get vaccinated. As a strategy to dispel his hesitancy against the initial series of COVID-19 vaccines Dr. Seth Cohen from the University of Washington Medical Center shares his approach with his patients. http...