The House Judiciary Committee on Monday, Jan. 13, held a hearing on proposed legislation to create a fund for the Montana Missing Indigenous Persons Task Force, which bill proponents say will allow the force to better fulfill its mission of addressing the crisis. “The Montana missing Indigenous person epidemic has devastating effects for Native people across Montana who live in fear and frustration

Workers in Montana’s manufacturing sector saw their wages increase by nearly $8,000 on average over the past year, according to a new report released by the Montana Manufacturing Extension Center at Montana State University. The 2024 Montana Manufacturing Report provides a wide variety of data about manufacturing in the state. It includes the results of surveys given to manufacturers and

Arden Unrau, an Lustre Christian High School graduate of 1965, died Jan. 4, 2025. His memorial service is Feb. 1, at 11 a.m. at Mt. Ranier Christian Center, Enumclaw, Wash., where he and Darlene moved only a few years ago. They farmed in Lustre all their lives, and their girls, Melissa and Bethany graduated from it’s schools. The honor roll and honorable mention is out for LCHS for the first

A long-simmering battle between Yellowstone National Park officials and the Gianforte administration in Montana came to a head on Tuesday, Dec. 31, with state officials suing the park in federal court for its bison management plan. The new case, filed in federal court in Billings, argues that park officials have intentionally cut Montana out of management plans or ignored the park’s own science

For Montana’s elderly citizens, nursing home residents, and others who struggle to travel long distances for medical care, access to trusted eye care close to home is essential. Yet, outdated laws in Montana restrict highly trained doctors of optometry from performing certain in-office procedures that could safely and effectively be done in their offices. It is time to modernize these regulations

As the 69th Montana Legislature meets this winter, lawmakers are spending time thinking about policies they believe will make the state better. The Montana Transparency Project believes one straightforward option is a law standardizing fees for Right-to-Know requests. While we’ve been assisting Montanans with information requests this year, we’ve heard time and again from folks confused

or moved the mutual fund shares sooner than originally anticipated. The states found gaps in Edward Jones’s supervisory procedures in this respect. As part of the settlement, Edward Jones will pay each of the 50 states, Washington, D.C., the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico an administrative fine of approximately $320,000. Montana was a lead state in this investigation, so it received an

laundry list of concerns and challenges Montana officials say they’ve had with Yellowstone’s overall management. It also alleges that park officials intentionally tried to limit Montana’s access to information about the changes it planned, and ignored requests from state officials to meet and collaborate. In February 2022, the state claims officials started changing management plans