Montana Public Radio News

Community members of western Montana's Swan Valley are deciding what the future of the recreation destination should look like.

Gov. Greg Gianforte toured a correctional facility in Boulder Tuesday that serves as overflow space for the Women's Prison. State Corrections director Brian Gootkin says the Riverside facility is helping to ease backlogs, but a new women's prison is still needed.

Last school year, the state implemented a new standardized test designed to make sure students are meeting state and federal requirements. But teachers say the rollout has been a mess.

A federal program launched in 2021 offered billions of dollars for states to improve internet access. The funding was supposed to bring high-speed fiber optic service to rural areas. But companies using other technology, like satellites, won most of the locations.

Weather forecasters say chances are increasing for excessive rainfall in parts of western Montana this week, bringing the threat of flash flooding.

Temperatures can vary widely across a city, even in the same neighborhood. As the climate heats up, volunteers in Missoula are mapping hot spots in their community.

Helena voters next month will decide the fate of a more than quarter-billion-dollar public school bond. District officials say their buildings are crumbling, and without new facilities or major improvements, students and teachers could be forced to make painful compromises. Helena Independent Record education reporter Sonny Tapia has been following the story and joined MTPR's Austin Amestoy with more.

A wind energy development project in southeast Montana is facing pushback from neighbors. At the same time, the Trump administration is pushing for further investment into gas and oil energy. Montana Free Press' Tom Lutey joined Elinor Smith to explain.

As the song says, “don't go chasing waterfalls” — unless you're a research team looking for an elusive bird that only nests in the “splash zone.” MTPR's Ellis Juhlin recently joined one such group on a scouting trip.

State wildlife officials will take up a proposal Thursday to overhaul hunting regulations in order to reduce wolf numbers statewide. But locals near Yellowstone National Park say the proposal would impact the region's vulnerable wolf population and the economy built around it.

State economists say a lack of affordable child care has sidelined tens of thousands of parents from full-time work over the past few years. A grant program for employers is aimed at helping solve that problem.

Summertime at the county fair means rides, farm animals and lots of food. Whether it's turkey legs, cotton candy or corn dogs – trash goes along with ready-to-go food. But a collaboration between vendors and local organizations at the Western Montana Fair is working to divert that waste away from landfills.

A weed-control contractor stirred up outrage after driving a utility terrain vehicle nearly nine miles through the Blackfoot River. Powell County has been fined $500. Conservation groups are now calling on officials to pursue criminal charges.

A Missoula middle-school Lego engineering team won national recognition this summer for their big idea to clean the Earth's oceans. MTPR's Austin Amestoy visited the students at the Western Montana Fair to learn more.

Montanans who need help shopping for health insurance or enrolling in Medicaid may soon be on their own. The Trump administration is cutting federal funding for a service that helped people get insured.

Last month, a Missoula native became the youngest woman to swim the length of Flathead Lake. The 28 mile swim took Bella Seagrave from Somers to Polson.

This summer's weather has been a far cry from the scorching heat, bone-dry conditions and smokey air Montanans have come to expect this time of year. Meteorologists say more of this cooler, wetter weather is likely this month.

A Missoula-area factory that produces trim and siding for houses is set to lay off more than 100 employees next month. It's the third closure of its kind in the county in the last year.

Montana law enforcement Friday arrested a man suspected of killing four people in Anaconda. The news brought some relief to residents of the tight-knit community.

Montanans with marketplace health insurance plans will pay significantly more starting next year. That's because premiums are likely to spike just as federal benefits that help pay those bills expire.

Community Medical Center in Missoula is the latest hospital to stop offering treatments like puberty blockers or hormone therapy to kids. The Trump administration has subpoenaed hospitals for data on gender affirming care, and threatened to prosecute providers.

There have long been restrictions to protect Libby residents from drinking water contaminated by a former lumber mill. But a new report finds more properties outside the city may be at risk.

The Montana Supreme Court last year ordered state environmental regulators to redo their assessment of a power plant near Laurel. The new report is out, but environmental advocates aren't happy.

A lawsuit filed Wednesday argues Gov. Greg Gianforte unconstitutionally appointed a sitting legislator to lead an executive agency. It's the fourth time the governor has tapped a state lawmaker for a political appointment.

A federal judge Tuesday ordered wildlife managers to reevaluate whether wolves should be placed back under federal protections.

The manhunt for the suspected shooter who left four dead in an Anaconda bar continues five days after the incident. State officials gave an update on their efforts Tuesday as residents of the town struggle to come to grips with the shooting.

Thank you to everyone who donated, volunteered and sent words of encouragement this week. You raised nearly $495,000 (and our spirits)! Our funding challenges are far from over, but your generosity gives us room to maneuver as we navigate the new public media landscape. Supporters like you are why public radio works. Thank you!

As human-driven climate change makes winters shorter, ticks are spreading to new parts of the country. And when ticks find hospitable homes, they bring new tick-borne illnesses to the humans who live there. Now, surveyors in Montana are searching for invasive ticks to track and prepare for the diseases they can carry.

Law enforcement is still searching for the suspect accused of shooting and killing four people in an Anaconda bar Friday. Michael Paul Brown was last seen west of town in a heavily forested and mountainous area.

A U.S. Forest Service office in Missoula will close as part of President Donald Trump's push for consolidation. A department memo says all nine regional offices will be phased out over the next year.

Federal funding making up 11% of our budget has just been eliminated. The impact is immediate. Your support today is vital. Make a sustaining donation in any amount now to help keep MTPR strong for another 60 years!

Just about one year ago, hurricane-force winds blasted through Missoula county. They caused millions of dollars in damage to homes, business and trees. Extreme weather wasn't contained to Missoula last year. Late summer storms also blew through the Bitterroot Valley, causing severe damage along the way.

Today's question is about a huge pile of what turns out is not exactly dirt. It's actually a new specialty landfill at the center of a years long controversy over what we do with some of the stuff we throw away and who bears the environmental cost. Learn more now on The Big Why.

A mining company is exploring the possibility of building a new mine underneath a wilderness area in northwest Montana.

Montana's Flathead Valley cherry industry relies heavily on migrant labor. This year, President Donald Trump's immigration policies threw the industry into a new level of uncertainty. This year, workers hesitated to cross state lines.

The U.S. Forest Service is moving forward with a plan to roughly double the acreage for prescribed burns across the Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest.

The U.S. Department of Education Friday released billions of dollars in funding previously approved by Congress and withheld by the Trump administration. Montana schools were considering staff and program cuts to make up for the state's $26 million slice of funds.

Montana health officials will ask federal regulators to approve work requirements for Montanans on Medicaid expansion. The state also wants enrollees to pay premiums and co-payments for doctor visits.

A pair of Montana sisters grew up jumping rope together. Now, they're taking their shared sport to the world stage, competing for Team USA at the International Jump Rope Union World Championships in Japan.

The state psychiatric hospital has a new CEO. This will be the fifth leader of the embattled facility in the past four years.

The median home value across the state rose by two thirds in the last 4 years. Montana Free Press' Eric Dietrich crunched the numbers and joined MTPR's Elinor Smith to break them down.