Montana’s spring turkey season opened on Saturday, April 15. Southeast Montana’s turkey populations are relatively stable across the region and handled the drought conditions well, according to FWP Region 7 upland game bird biologist Justin Hughes. However, populations of turkeys that are more isolated on the plains in mediocre habitat will be impacted more by recent weather patterns than turkeys

Applications for the State Hail Insurance Program are now available through the Montana Department of Agriculture. Producers can insure crops against hail damage at the maximum coverage rate of $75 per acre for dryland and $114 per acre for irrigated land. Rates charged are a percentage of the insured amount and vary by county. A detailed list of rates by county and crop can be found online

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks is proposing changes to the Wildlife Habitat Conservation Lease Program and is seeking public comment on a supplemental environmental assessment. A habitat conservation lease is a voluntary, incentive-based agreement between FWP and private landowners in which the landowner agrees to land management practices that protect wildlife habitat and FWP pays the landowner

Lee Enterprises, which owns four of the state’s major daily newspapers, cut at least 15 newsroom positions at its papers across Montana during the past week — a move employees said has shrunk already skeleton staffs and battered journalists’ morale. “Morale was already low, but it’s going to get lower,” said Victor Flores, Lee’s sportswriter covering Montana State University

Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 1, the Lower Energy Costs Act, including a provision from U.S. Rep. Matt Rosendale (MT-02), the Restore Onshore Energy Production Act. This provision would require the Biden Administration immediately resume onshore oil and gas lease sales in compliance with the Mineral Leasing Act. “The Biden Administration’s attack on domestic energy

The Montana House on Thursday, April 13, advanced a bill that aims to ban TikTok in Montana, narrowly rejecting an amendment from Rep. Katie Sullivan that sought to change the bill so it applied to any social media company selling or transferring user data to a foreign adversary. “We can make this count in Montana by coming up with a piece of policy that gets everybody to respect the privacy

In celebration of National Public Health Week, the Department of Public Health and Human Services has announced that its Public Health and Safety Division has been recognized as a Healthy People 2030 Champion from the federal Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. Healthy People 2030 is the fifth iteration of the Healthy People initiative, which sets 10-year data-driven objectives

Music students did well at the district music festival held Friday and Saturday at Poplar High School. Debby Cattell’s 30 member choir, grades 7-12, earned superior ratings on Shine Jesus Shine and God Bless America and an excellent on sight reading. The band, under the direction of Dan Marasco, earned all superior ratings on Toccata & Chorale by Curnow and Come Thou Fount

The Roosevelt County Library board held its regular meeting March 25. Attendees included Roosevelt County Library acting chair Joyce Harvey, trustees Helen Welte, Perry Lilley Sr. and Vernie Madison, Froid Library director Sheri Harvey and Roosevelt County Library director Janet Livingston. The purchases for surveillance cameras were the only non-ordinary purchases. The last of the security