New Amtrak locomotives are cleaner, faster and more fuel efficient than predecessors and they recently began service pulling the Amtrak Empire Builder train westbound from Chicago to Seattle. Locomotives 301 and 302 are among the first of 75 locomotives being delivered through 2024. These ALC-42 locomotives are an important part of Amtrak’s sustainability initiative and are considerably more

Montana Farm Bureau Foundation announces its 2022 Youth Speech Contest which is open to students in the seventh, eighth and ninth grades. Contestants must submit a transcript of their speech by March 15, which will be judged prior to the convention. The top 20 contestants will be invited to compete by presenting their speech March 31 from 8 a.m. to noon at the FFA Convention in Bozeman.

screen, test, and educate state correctional employees and inmates. The CDC responded that while the state offered a clear plan for the money, some of the aid had to support local governments in making places like jails and police lockups safer. “The recipient needs to clearly state how confinement facilities that are not operated by the State Department of Corrections will be included,” CDC

to provide all three distributors and state regulators with aggregated data and analytics about where drugs are going and how often, eliminating blind spots in the current systems used by distributors; •Use data-driven systems to detect suspicious opioid orders from customer pharmacies; •Terminate customer pharmacies’ ability to receive shipments, and report those companies to state regulators,

The FBI Salt Lake City Field Office encourages all interested students enrolled in accredited high schools in Utah, Idaho and Montana to apply to attend the Teen Academy, which will be held virtually April 11-14 from 4 to 6 p.m. each day. The FBI Teen Academy provides an opportunity for high school students to catch a glimpse behind the scenes of the FBI. Upon completion of Teen Academy, high

The Fort Peck Tribes announced new health orders after the regulations were passed by the tribal health board on Wednesday, Feb. 16. Changes includes that tribal casinos can now operate at 100 percent capacity. All patrons and employees must wear a mask at all times and machines must be sanitized between each use. A curfew is no longer in effect. Masks are required of all individuals over the

Voters will decide on three positions on the Poplar School Board this year. Positions are up for election for one one-year term, one two-year term and one three-year term. Filing deadline for candidates is at 4 p.m. on March 24. Individuals may obtain petitions for nomination from school clerk Judy Linthicum. Election day is Tuesday, May 3.

Local electrician Ken Landsrud explained the potential benefits of adding antibacterial air curtains to buildings during the Wolf Point School board meeting Monday, Feb. 14. Landsrud said the blowing air from the UVCAire by Powered Aire is offered to kill viruses and germs for when individuals enter a building. He suggested putting a curtain at each school building’s entrance as well as the

The Wolf Point School board, on a 4-0 vote, approved a new contract for superintendent of schools Loverty Erickson during the monthly meeting on Monday, Feb. 14. The new three-year contract runs from July 1, 2022, and ends on June 30, 2025. The contract calls for Erickson to have a salary of $115,000 for the first two years of the contract and $118,000 for the 2024-2025 school year. Her current

The Wolf Point School board heard about improvements made by students during the monthly meeting held on Monday, Feb. 14. “Teachers are doing fantastic,” Wolf Point’s curriculum director Sarah Chambers said to trustees. “New things are being thrown at them left and right.” Chambers noted that elementary students are trending toward 50 percent reaching grade level expectations. Usually,