The Blackfoot Valley's News Source Since 1980
The Blackfoot Valley's News Source Since 1980
Sorted by date Results 26 - 50 of 1092
Montanans are increasingly reporting that their quality of life is declining, according to a recent University of Montana poll. Sixty-two percent of Montanans contacted by pollsters say their quality of life has gotten worse over the past five years. That's a seven-point increase compared to 2022 when the Crown of the Continent and Greater Yellowstone Initiative last put that question to likely Montana voters. "It's quite clear that residents all over the state - even out on t...
Growing populations and tourism in western Montana are straining aging roads, leaving state and local governments to fix problems or make improvements with limited funding, according to transportation officials. While development-driven infrastructure upgrades are nothing new, the Montana Department of Transportation is trying to keep afloat amid "explosive" growth around Missoula and Kalispell, said Joel Boucher, a state engineer for a nine-county district that includes...
The City of Helena/Lewis and Clark County Heritage Tourism Council (HTC) is recognizing National Historic Preservation Month with proclamations and a historic photo display. The Board of County Commissioners are scheduled to issue a Proclamation at their regular 9 a.m. Tuesday meeting on May 14. The Proclamation for the Helena City Commission is scheduled for 6 p.m., Monday, May 20. Both public meetings are in the Commission Chamber, room 330, on the third floor of the City-Co...
An open house at the Lincoln Library April 24, designed to gather the first round of information for updates to the Lewis and Clark County Comprehensive Growth Policy, saw only light turnout. About eight people showed up to the event facilitated by the planning and design firm SE Group, which is partnering with the county on the growth policy update. They provided input on ta variety of topics that will be taken into account as the county develops the policy updates The open...
Lincoln Solid Waste Customers: Beginning May 1, aluminum recycling will be moved from the Lincoln Senior Center to the Lincoln Transfer site. When bringing your aluminum to the site, please be sure to remove it from any trash bags or boxes. Plastic bags in the aluminum recycling bin soils the load. Paper recycling has been discontinued at this time. The recycling bins located at the Senior Center will be removed from the parking lot. Please call 406-447-8313 with any questions....
HELENA, Montana – Lewis and Clark Public Health officials, in collaboration with PureView Health Center, St. Peter's Health, United Way of the Lewis and Clark Area, Rocky Mountain Development Council, and the Montana Department of Health and Human Services, are overseeing a first-of-its-kind community health survey in a multi-county area that spans Lewis and Clark, Jefferson, Powell, Broadwater, and Meagher counties. Scheduled for late June, the Community Assessment for Public...
HELENA – Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen, along with 24 other attorneys general, filed a lawsuit Thursday against the Biden Administration’s unlawful electric vehicle (EV) mandate that threatens the economy, puts jobs at risk, and undermines the reliability of the electric grid. This is the 42nd lawsuit Attorney General Knudsen has filed against the Biden administration. The new emissions rule, put in place by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), forces unattainable standards on passenger cars, light-duty tru...
Helena, MT - Lewis and Clark County Public Health (LCPH) is teaming up with St. Peter's Health and the Helena Police Department to enhance and expand behavioral health and crisis intervention services through the Mobile Crisis Response Team (MCRT) Community Coalition. "When someone in our community experiences a behavioral health crisis, be it mental illness or substance misuse, we have a team of first responders that can partner with law enforcement and help take the lead on...
Five days a week, a short train rolls out of the rail yard in Whitefish with empty freight cars destined for the Flathead Valley's three surviving wood products mills in Columbia Falls and Evergreen. At one time, short trains like this could be found all over western Montana, serving mills in places like Libby, St. Regis, Darby and Pablo. But today, this is one of the few "local" freights left in the region. Since 1990, about three dozen mills have closed in western Montana,...
About every 20 years, Lewis and Clark County tackles the thorny issue of drafting a new, updated policy to plan for anticipated changes as the result of population growth in the county. Later this month, Lewis and Clark County will host a series of open house meetings to gather information from residents on the direction the county should take in develping a new Comprehensive Growth Policy. Since the county adopted its current policy in 2004, the county has seen a population i...
Gov. Greg Gianforte announced Tuesday that the state is deploying a small number of Montana National Guard troops to the nation's southern border, describing the action as an effort to help the state of Texas police cross-border drug trafficking in light of what he described as inaction by the federal government. According to the announcement, 10 Montana National Guardsmen have volunteered for active duty as part of Texas' Operation Lone Star. The Guardsmen are scheduled to...
Gasoline prices are ending the week several cents higher on average than the week prior, according to AAA data. For now, prices have remained relatively stable given analysts' forecast that drone attacks on Russian oil and gas infrastructure might drive prices for oil higher. "Renewed Ukrainian attacks on Russia's oil infrastructure and increasing tension in the Middle East spiked oil prices recently," AAA spokesperson Andrew Gross said in a statement this week. "And with the...
The pending closures of Missoula County's two largest wood products employers, announced separately this month, will have effects beyond the local economy, limiting options for landowners and other mills throughout the region and making forest management projects more expensive, according to local and industry officials. "It's not just the facilities and jobs that are impacted at those facilities," said Todd Morgan, director of the University of Montana's Forest Industry...
BOZEMAN – The Museum of the Rockies will host the third annual “Dinosaurs and MOR!” festival April 12-14, bringing together top paleontologists, dinosaur enthusiasts and a lineup of activities for all ages. Events include family-friendly programs, junior paleontologist passport stations and 18 presentations by scientists from around the globe. For more information and to purchase tickets to any of these events, visit museumoftherockies.org/dinos. “Dinosaurs and MOR!” f...
LINCOLN, Mont.: This summer, the Montana Department of Transportation and Sletten Construction, in cooperation with Lewis and Clark County, will replace the Dalton Mountain Road Bridge over the Blackfoot River, located three miles west of Lincoln. Sletten Construction was awarded the contract to build the bridge for $3.9 million. Starting in early April, initial work will begin with crews trimming and removing trees. The traveling public should expect flaggers and short...
LINCOLN – Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte stopped by Hi Country Snack Foods Wednesday, March 20 as part of several Ag Week visits around the state highlighting Montana's 27,000 farms and ranches and related businesses. Hi Country has emerged as one of the states leading value-added agriculture businesses after transitioning to the use of Montana-grow beef for its products. In 2022, Montana Manufacturing Association and Montana Chamber of Commerce recognized Hi Country as the v...
Continuing a series of campaign reversals, Republican Montana Congressman Matt Rosendale announced Friday morning that he will not seek re-election to the state's eastern U.S. House district. Rosendale, a hardliner who was elected to the House in 2020 after serving as Montana State Auditor, launched a long-anticipated campaign for the U.S. Senate Feb. 9, only to call it off six days later. Then, at the end of February - by which point several Republicans had already begun...
Addressing his property tax task force at the group's first formal meeting Wednesday, Gov. Greg Gianforte had two big messages: Figure out how to bring some permanent tax relief to Montana homeowners - and don't do it by recommending a statewide sales tax. "As we and all Montanans know too well, property taxes are too high. That's why we're here - Montana homeowners need relief," Gianforte said, detailing a list of goals that includes slowing how fast property taxes are...
Montana Congressman Matt Rosendale, who just last week announced a highly anticipated run for U.S. Senate, is dropping his campaign after former President Donald Trump - the ultimate kingmaker in modern GOP politics - endorsed his primary opponent Tim Sheehy last Friday, shortly after Rosendale's announcement. "I have long been a supporter of the President, and remain so. But I have been forced to calculate what my chances of success would be with Trump supporting my...
Department of Public Health and Human Services officials announced today that, effective immediately, the agency will process applications to change sex markers on Montana birth certificates pursuant to a 2022 administrative rule on the subject and consistent with a 2023 law. “DPHHS must follow the law, and our agency will consequently process requests to amend sex markers on birth certificates under our 2022 final rule,” DPHHS Director Charlie Brereton said. “This notification serves to keep the public apprised of the law a...
The federal agency that oversees the Endangered Species Act announced late last week that it will not add Northern Rockies wolves back onto the list of threatened and endangered species. In an announcement on Feb. 2, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said that its decision was based on its analysis of "the best available data" from federal, state and tribal sources, academic institutions and the public. The agency found that the number and distribution of gray wolves, paired...
Six and a half years ago Dalton Mountain Road bridge was closed due to failing piles. Although it re-opened a few weeks later as a one lane bridge, the lingering question has been: when will it be replaced? This year finally seems to be the year, as the Montana Department of Transportation opened bids Feb. 1 for the bridge's replacement. At the. Feb. 2 Lincoln Government Day meeting, Lewis and Clark County Public Works Director Jenny Chambers said the Montana Department of...
The NorthWestern Energy rate hike that the Montana Public Service Commission adopted in October will stand following a decision from the commission this week. The increase was originally forecast to raise residential customers' electricity bills by 28 percent, but a reduction in NorthWestern's property tax bill and a "true-up" process designed to square NorthWestern's forecasted market power purchases with its actual expenditures have brought that figure down slightly. The...
Republican Governors across the country sent President Biden a letter on January 22 in opposition to proposed federal rules they say would unduly restrict the vehicle options available to Americans and force the use of electric vehicles. Among those signing the letter were Idaho Governor Little, Montana Governor Gianforte, and Wyoming Governor Gordon. The Governors wrote: "We are writing today on behalf of the American consumer to urge you to change course on your current mand...
Among several changes to Montana's income tax system that took effect at the beginning of the year is a provision that makes income from tips subject to state taxes. The shift aligns Montana with the federal tax system, in which tips have long been taxed alongside salaries and wages. It also means that many service-sector workers will likely have their state income tax obligation increased by hundreds of dollars a year. The change was made by the 2021 Legislature as part of...
