A Catholic-run Indian boarding-school group in southeastern Montana has commissioned an investigation into student deaths and unmarked graves at its three schools during their century-plus history. The three schools are St. Labre Indian School, a pre-K through 12th-grade school in Ashland, just beside the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation; Pretty Eagle Catholic Academy (previously called St.

In an effort to recruit and support volunteer firefighters and first responders in Montana, U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., recently introduced the bipartisan Volunteer First Responder Housing Act to expand affordable housing options for volunteer firefighters and first responders, especially in rural and under- served communities. The bill is also supported by Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.),

Five legislators received awards for support of agriculture and rural Montana during the Montana Farm Bureau Summer Conference June 5-7 at the GranTree Inn in Bozeman. Rep. Josh Kassmier, HD 27, Fort Benton, Sen. Mike Lang, SD 17, Malta and Rep. Ken Walsh, HD 71, Twin Bridges, received the Outstanding Friend of Farm Bureau Award. This award is given to the senator and representative who had

State Superintendent Elsie Arntzen said on Thursday, July 13, that the state could see 1,000 teacher vacancies going into the upcoming school year — or roughly one in 10 positions. “A thousand new teachers or teachers will be requested within our 928 schools across our state, our 402 school districts,” Arntzen said during the Montana Board of Public Education meeting. Teacher pay has

U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, who is leading the Senate’s bipartisan investigation into the Chinese spy balloon that was first spotted over Montana in February, has announced he will offer a bipartisan amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act, the annual must-pass defense bill, to assess commercially available technology that can and is being used in foreign espionage programs. “This

A one-day volleyball camp was held this week for the girls in the community, grades 8-12 in the morning, and grades 5-7 in the afternoon. The guest coach was Becky Hoffman, varsity coach for Plentywood. Mary Zerbe, who organized the camp, said 34 girls participated and that it was a very positive, encouraging day. The first practice for the Lustre Christian High School volleyball team is Aug. 11.

Last week, U.S. Rep. Matt Rosendale (MT-02) voted in favor of the Fiscal Year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act. The legislation includes two amendments introduced by Rosendale. The first would prohibit the Department of Defense from using taxpayer dollars for gender reassignment surgery and gender hormone therapy, while the second limits the U.S. military’s ability to detain American

In Montana, the state’s largest newspaper publisher, Iowa-based Lee Enterprises, has announced that it’s cutting the number of days it prints a newspaper to three and switching the delivery from paper carriers to the U.S. Postal Service in most locations, but the corporation promises the three print editions will have a “Sunday feel.” But in Montana, unionized newsroom employees have