65

Percentage of SNOTEL sites across Montana reporting snowpack levels in the 25th percentile or less, according to the latest Montana Water Supply Outlook Report. 

Homelessness in Missoula a strain on city’s people, economy, study finds 

The report, commissioned by the Missoula Economic Partnership, details the effects of homelessness on people experiencing it and on the community, and highlights the challenge of managing homelessness while working to reduce it. 

Montana Free Press

Potential Pyramid buyers meet with officials, seek to keep mill open

State, federal leaders and prospective buyers are considering federally protected loans or cooperatives to keep Pyramid Mountain Lumber running, members of a stakeholder meeting told the Missoulian on Friday.

Missoulian

TDS Telecom installs new internet in Missoula, building competition

The 8-gigabit fiber internet is being installed in phases in neighborhoods across Missoula, with plans for 1,700 homes to have access by the end of the year.

KPAX

Wye planning envisions 15,000 homes, small city in 50 years

On Monday, county officials took a deep dive into planning efforts around the Wye, an area that has seen little guided growth over the past 50 years. But as the City of Missoula fills in, the Wye is expected to emerge as the next population center and, it could one day become an incorporated city of its own.

Missoula Current

St. Pat's nurses' union reaches labor agreement with Providence

The roughly 650 nurses who work at St. Patrick Hospital in Missoula have reached an agreement with Providence on a new labor contract. The union members voted to ratify the agreement late last week.

Missoulian

Property taxes put governor and local government leaders at odds

Debate over blame for rising residential property taxes has driven a wedge between Gov. Greg Gianforte and local-level officials.

Montana Free Press

Montana counties sending out supplemental property tax bills following court ruling

Montana counties have mailed out supplemental tax bills—an extra charge required after a court ruling ended county leaders’ attempt to challenge how property taxes are calculated.

KPAX

Abortion initiative reignites Republicans' frustrations with Montana Supreme Court

A campaign for a constitutional abortion rights amendment in Montana may soon begin collecting signatures to put the measure before voters this fall. But that process has been pushed back by Republican officials challenging the initiative’s content and by legal rulings.

MTPR

Three-year-old sex education law draws a legal challenge

The lawsuit argues that a 2021 law affecting in-school discussions about sexuality negatively affects LGBTQ students.

Montana Free Press

Montana Supreme court rules voter restriction laws passed in ’21 unconstitutional

The Montana Supreme Court released a massive 125-page opinion on March 27 striking down permanently four voting laws passed by the 2021 Legislature, saying that they impermissibly got in the way of residents exercising their right to vote.

Daily Montanan

Montana Public Service Commission hears testimony on climate petition 

The Montana Public Service Commission heard nearly four hours of testimony about a petition that regulators adopt a rule to require them to consider climate change effects in their decisions about utilities and related costs.

Daily Montanan

Native UM student works to create missing persons database

Haley Omeasoo, a Ph.D. student in forensic and molecular anthropology, hopes to use DNA analysis to return the remains of Native Americans to their families and tribal groups.

UM News

Kalispell officials begin PFAS sampling

After “forever chemicals” were detected in two of the city’s 11 drinking water wells last year, city staff has begun sampling more wells and have applied for grants to replace water sources and mitigate contaminants.

Flathead Beacon

Report: Female grizzly bears could be in Bitterroot Ecosystem in four years

On paper, the federal government is trying to figure out whether to restore grizzly bears to the Bitterroot Ecosystem, but the bears appear to have their own plans.

Daily Montanan

Environmental groups sue USFWS over its decision not to restore federal protections for Northern Rockies wolves 

Plaintiffs argue the feds relied on "unfounded assumptions" and "flawed" population models in a February 2023 finding that wolves in the Northern Rockies are not facing an extinction threat.

Montana Free Press

Fury over Wyoming wolf torture allegations sparks demands for steeper penalties, reform

Incident that’s putting the spotlight on Sublette County is being compared to some of the most infamous animal welfare fights in history.

WyoFile

How a mainstream racist group revived the terroristic tome 'Siege'

A foundation that sought to mainstream racist pseudoscience and pro-segregationist viewpoints established a publishing house that produced and promoted literature encouraging neo-Nazi terrorism, Hatewatch found.

Southern Poverty Law Center

One way to help a journalism industry in crisis: Make J-school free

The cost of a journalism education has become an insurmountable barrier for exactly the kind of people we need the most. And those who, with great effort, manage to overcome that barrier, carry a weight that could limit their professional options.

The New York Times