A new trial date has been set in the case of Richard Rutledge. During a scheduling hearing in October, attorneys agreed to have Rutledge taken to the state hospital for a full mental evaluation. Since that time, a trial was tentatively set for March. Because of the amount of discovery and that the defense just recently added a co-counselor, the trial was moved to the week of July 18 during

Herman Munoz Esparza was sentenced for four different charges during a hearing in district court on Tuesday, Jan. 25. Esparza originally faced 11 charges including three felonies after a vehicle chase that went from Wolf Point to Valley County on Aug. 27, 2021. Based on the recommendation of a plea agreement, District Judge David J. Cybulski sentenced Esparza to six years, none suspended,

( Publisher’s Note: Each week, the Roosevelt County Sheriff’s Office distributes an inmate roster with the names of persons incarcerated at the jail and does not necessarily mean there is a new charge or conviction.) Prisoners housed in the Roosevelt County Detention Center included: Elishia Brady, 24, Bainville, partner/family member assault. Michael Burke, 42, Browning, hold for other

A case before the Montana Supreme Court could change how police in Montana search cell phones by creating more precise contours around what law enforcement can access when carrying out searches on digital devices. The ACLU of Montana filed a friend-of-the-court brief with the Montana Supreme Court last week arguing police illegally searched a Butte man’s phone in 2016. While the search did

U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte and U.S. Rep. Matt Rosendale, R-Mont., are pushing the Biden administration to issue exemptions to the healthcare worker vaccine mandate for health facilities where Montanans’ access to care, especially in rural communities, is jeopardized. Many hospitals, especially in rural Montana, cannot afford to lose another health care professional,

Aaron Quinn was recently awarded the Civilian Service Commendation Medal for his exceptional leadership in completing the Fort Peck Flow Test Environmental Impact Statement, all while serving as lead biologist, lead author and project manager for this report. The Fort Peck Montana Flow Test EIS analyzed the predicted benefits and environmental impacts and lays out alternative plans, identifying

More than 20 candidates filed with the Montana Secretary of State’s Office on Friday, Jan. 28, including two Congressional candidates — one in each district. Twenty-five candidate filings were processed on Friday, with more than 20 candidates visiting the Secretary of State’s Office at the Capitol to make their candidacy official. Twenty-three legislative candidates filed on Friday,

Montana’s unemployment rate hit a new record low in December, dropping another 0.3 percentage points to end the year at 2.5 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The number of unemployed Montanans is at its lowest level since BLS began the data series in 1976. “After just one year, our Montana Comeback Plan is working. Our unemployment rate is the lowest it’s