Last week at its regularly scheduled business meeting, the Montana Public Service Commission (PSC) voted down a motion to request an interim 10.25% rate increase for Montana Dakota Utilities’ natural gas customers. The motion to approve the double- digit rate increase was offered by Commissioner Bucacek. The motion failed on a 1-4 vote. Commissioner Bucacek voted in favor of her motion while president

Neither of the candidates for Chief Justice of the Montana Supreme Court thought they were destined for the highest court in the state. Instead, Jerry Lynch and Cory Swanson both say they decided to run because they saw the need for a candidate who offered a different judicial philosophy to the ones on the ballot. The campaign has come to symbolize the state of the judiciary in Montana –

The number of pertussis cases in the United States has increased this year compared with recent years and appears to have returned to its more typical pre-pandemic patterns. Between 2016–2019, an average of 17,800 people in the U.S. were sickened with pertussis each year. As of Oct. 5, 17,579 people in the U.S. have been reported with pertussis infection, which is a notable increase from the

Montana State University’s Department of Agricultural Economics and Economics and MSU Extension will host the 18th annual Agricultural Economics Conference from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday, Nov. 8, at the Best Western GranTree Inn, 1325 N. Seventh Ave. in Bozeman. The conference is part of the College of Agriculture’s annual Celebrate Ag week, which honors the state and university’s joint agricultural

Dr. Aaron J. Franke has joined the Sidney Health Center cancer care team as a full-time medical oncologist. Since August 2023, Franke has been serving the community as a locum physician at Sidney Health Center. His decision to transition to a long-term role reflects his strong commitment to providing high-quality care to patients in the MonDak region. Franke brings a wide-range of knowledge

A joint disposition recommendation was agreed upon regarding Connor Jeffrey Shipstead in district court on Wednesday, Oct. 16. Shipstead admitted to committing two violations of his probation conditions. He admitted to not obeying laws and ordinances during an incident in Billings and to being in criminal possession of dangerous drugs on April 11, 2024. Based on the recommendation by both

Following pressure from U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, the Biden Administration’s Department of Education announced it has reversed its decision to defund a critical program for Montana’s rural students, and will award a total of $29,750,000, or $4,250,000 per year for seven years to the Montana University System’s Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Program (GEAR UP). In a

As Halloween nears, costumes, decorations, and horror movies are sure to generate scares. Something else that might generate a scare is the prevalence of youth using tobacco and nicotine products. Our young people are increasingly turning to new types of tobacco and nicotine products. Nearly ninety percent of youth tobacco use initiation and addiction occur before the age of eighteen. Nicotine

As winter weather conditions approach, alerts used to express the danger of seasonal cold air will change, according to National Weather Service staff. Terms like “Wind Chill Warning” and “Wind Chill Watch” will no longer be used moving forward, according to NWS press materials released earlier this fall. Beginning this winter, above terms will be replaced with different ways to describe