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Montana Free Press
A beginner’s 12-month tortilla journey
Wide Open Table is a bi-monthly Montana Free Press column on all things food and cooking. Sign up for this newsletter here. Exactly 12 months ago, I started a culinary journey to learn how to make corn tortillas from scratch. As with other kitchen adventures I’ve undertaken over the years, this obsessive approach was meant to transform me from absolute newbie to intermediate proficiency as quickly as possible. And I’m here to report back on this amazingly fun and delectable undertaking.
Missoula passes rules restricting camping on city property
Nearly a year after declaring a state of emergency regarding homelessness and months of grappling with next steps, the Missoula City Council this week approved controversial rules restricting camping on city property. The rules, which take effect July 25, limit where and when people can camp on city property, including...
Montana’s D.C. delegation reacts to chaotic presidential debate
Montana’s federal delegation in Washington D.C. reacted in predictable ways Friday following a chaotic June 27 presidential debate between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump. The debate — the earliest presidential debate in history — was marked by a lackluster performance by Biden, leading to widespread discomfort...
Several ballot initiatives fall short on signature gathering
This story is adapted from the MT Lowdown, a weekly newsletter digest containing original reporting and analysis published every Friday. The individual backers behind four initiatives that have been gathering signatures in an effort to qualify for the fall ballot said this week that they haven’t been able to gather the tens of thousands of required voter signatures.
Fact-checking the first Biden-Trump debate of 2024
President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, the presumptive Democratic and Republican presidential nominees, shared a debate stage June 27 for the first time since 2020, in a confrontation that — because of strict debate rules — managed to avoid the near-constant interruptions that marred their previous encounters.
Rosendale splits from Republican caucus on IVF
This story is excerpted from Capitolized, a weekly newsletter featuring expert reporting, analysis and insight from the reporters and editors of Montana Free Press. Want to see Capitolized in your inbox every Thursday? Sign up here. U.S. Rep. Matt Rosendale is waging war on federally funded in vitro fertilization at...
Independent candidate Elena Evans cleared to run for PSC
Political newcomer Elena Evans of Missoula has qualified to appear on the November ballot as an independent candidate for the Public Service Commission, which weighs the interests of monopoly utilities against the concerns of customers. Secretary of state spokesperson Richie Melby confirmed Thursday that Evans collected enough signatures to appear...
Rosendale’s IVF line in the sand
Get an insider’s look into what’s happening in and around the halls of power with expert reporting, analysis and insight from the editors and reporters of Montana Free Press. Sign up to get the free Capitolized newsletter delivered to your inbox every Thursday. June 27, 2024. U.S. Rep....
Big Sky aims to limit the impacts of growth with upgraded wastewater system
BIG SKY — As the noon sun beat down, construction equipment humming across the land of the Big Sky Water and Sewer District put the final touches on six years of work. The new Water Resource Recovery Facility sits just east of the Town Center and a few hundred feet from the Gallatin River. The view from its deck showed a changing Big Sky. In the shadow of Lone Peak, workers built rows of condos that will send wastewater to be treated at the plant. In the opposite direction were stacks of concrete stored for the sewer district’s expansion.
Investigation, fines still in progress one year after 10 railcars plunged into the Yellowstone River
A year after 10 Montana Rail link railcars plummeted into the Yellowstone near Reed Point, sending nearly 412,000 pounds of molten asphalt into the river, federal authorities have yet to release their findings on the cause of the crash. The Federal Railroad Administration told Montana Free Press that the crash,...
Permanent birth control on the rise
HELENA — Sophia Ferst remembers her reaction to learning that the Supreme Court had overturned Roe v. Wade: She needed to get sterilized. Within a week, she asked her provider about getting the procedure done. Ferst, 28, said she has always known she doesn’t want kids. She also worries...
Tribes honor the birth of a rare white buffalo calf in Yellowstone
This story is published by agreement with the Associated Press. It may not be republished without the express permission of the Associated Press. WEST YELLOWSTONE (AP) — Dancing, drumming, singing and the retelling of how a mysterious woman brought a message of reassurance during hard times featured in Native American religious ceremonies Wednesday that commemorated a recent rare event in Yellowstone National Park.
Federal loan repayment plan partially blocked by courts
A pair of federal court injunctions have frozen elements of a student loan repayment plan scheduled to roll out next week, with one of the rulings arising from a lawsuit filed by Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen and Republican attorneys general in 10 other states. The injunctions, issued Monday evening...
Judge strikes down Montana law defining sex as only male or female for procedural reasons
MISSOULA (AP) — A judge on Tuesday struck down a Montana law that defined “sex” in state law as only male or female, finding that it was unconstitutional. District Court Judge Shane Vannatta in Missoula ruled the law, passed last year, violated the Montana Constitution because the description of the legislation did not clearly state its purpose.
Planned Parenthood says it will spend $40 million on abortion rights ahead of November’s election
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Planned Parenthood will spend $40 million ahead of November’s elections to bolster President Joe Biden and leading congressional Democrats, betting that voters angry at Republican-led efforts to further restrict access to abortion can be the difference in key races around the country. The political and...
‘When the berm breaks’: potential for catastrophe on the Clark Fork River
Despite a decades-long effort to remove heavy metals from the Clark Fork River after a flood more than a century ago washed tons of contaminated mining sediment into the river, a new study suggests the Clark Fork could face a similar disaster if a future flood breaches the berm at the Smurfit-Stone site.
Film and TV crews spent $334 million in Montana during last two years, legislators told
Film and TV companies spent $334 million in Montana over the past two years, according to numbers released to state legislators on Monday. Television, including the filming of the “Yellowstone” franchise, was the big contributor with $275.7 million spent between July 2022 and May 2024. “Obviously very big...
Pennsylvania woman drowns after being swept over waterfall in Glacier National Park
WEST GLACIER — A 26-year-old Pennsylvania woman drowned after being swept over a waterfall on the east side of Glacier National Park, park officials said. The woman fell into the water above St. Mary Falls at around 5:20 p.m. Sunday. She was washed over the 35-foot (11-meter) tall waterfall and trapped under water for several minutes, the park said in a statement.
Canadian environmentalists question plan to sell coal mines above Lake Koocanusa
This story is adapted from the MT Lowdown, a weekly newsletter digest containing original reporting and analysis published every Friday. It was originally published under the title “Downstream effects.”. A pair of Canadian environmental organizations have asked Canadian regulators to consider several issues that could throw a wrench in...
Lawmakers muse about health coverage for Montanans disenrolled from Medicaid
This story is adapted from the MT Lowdown, a weekly newsletter digest containing original reporting and analysis published every Friday. For more than a year, Montana’s state health department has been embroiled in a sweeping effort to “unwind” the state Medicaid program, conducting a mass eligibility review of every person enrolled in the public health program, which provides health coverage for many lower-income residents.
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