A bill that would open the American Indian tuition waiver to Montana tribal descendants failed last week on the Senate floor after a split 25-25 vote. House Bill 288, sponsored by Rep. Jonathan Windy Boy, D-Box Elder, was initially brought to revise the current American Indian tuition waiver to include any descendants of the 500-plus federally recognized tribes in the United States. The bill

Continuing his efforts to lower costs for Montanans and bolster education opportunities for rural communities, U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., introduced bipartisan legislation to make sure farm families aren’t paying higher costs to send their kids to college. “As a third-generation farmer, I know firsthand that onesizes- fits-all policies from Washington don’t work for Montana’s family

The drawings for Montana deer and elk permits and for nonresident combination licenses are complete and applicants can find their results online. You can see your results by visiting fwp.mt.gov, click on MyFWP Login in the upper righthand corner, then click on Lookup Draw Results, Register for Lists tab on the left-hand menu, or login to your MyFWP account. You may also sign up for an account

Hunters in Montana, along with Fish, Wildlife and Parks, are concerned about declining mule deer populations in much of the state. In response to this concern, FWP is embarking on research efforts to look into the declines and engage hunters about their attitudes on mule deer management and hunting. Mule deer numbers have typically been tracked over large areas using aerial surveys and declines

The Montana Historical Society is hosting a historic preservation award ceremony May 5. While the event is in Helena, the awards are for preservation efforts across Montana. Five entities will be recognized during the biennial event at the Myrna Loy Theater in Helena. The award recipients include historian Dr. Ellen Baumler (Outstanding Contributions to Historic Preservation, historian Chere

Montana’s unemployment rate reached yet another alltime low in March, ticking down to 2.3 percent from 2.4 percent in February, the fourth lowest rate in the nation. Montana’s unemployment rate has fallen for four consecutive months, and the number of unemployed Montanans reached an all-time low in March. Montana’s total employment and labor force continued to show strong growth in