Helena, MT

Columbus, OH

Great Falls, MT

Montana Free Press

“Great Falls This Week” is reported and written by Matt Hudson. Send your news and tips to mhudson@montanafreepress.org. Taxpayers will get a break from the 2024-2025 Great Falls Public Schools budget, but the situation leaves the district with a funding gap to cover. The GFPS Board of Trustees passed...

School district, city finalize budgets

This excerpt is published by agreement with The Permissions Company, LLC on behalf of Milkweed Editions, milkweed.org. Copyright © 2024 by Chris La Tray. All rights reserved. It may not be republished without the express consent of The Permissions Company, LLC. Chris La Tray wil host book release events...

‘They were always here’

Montana State

A highly anticipated update to how Yellowstone National Park manages bison is setting the stage to expand the animal’s range in Montana, tribes and conservationsts say. After years of work, Yellowstone released its new bison management plan this summer. More than 27,000 people commented on the document, which calls for more bison compared to the previous plan from 24 years ago. It also incorporates management changes that have been put into effect over the past two decades, including a surge in bison hunting near park boundaries and a new program to transfer live, disease-free bison to tribal nations.

Yellowstone National Park plan sets the stage for bison expansion in Montana

HELENA — With roughly $1.5 million in pandemic-era education funding set to expire next month, Superintendent of Public Instruction Elsie Arntzen announced a plan Tuesday to route those federal dollars directly to classrooms across Montana. The spending strategy, crafted in partnership with the nonprofit crowdsourcing platform DonorsChoose, will let...

OPI announces last-ditch spending strategy for federal COVID-19 funds

Florida State

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Lake Panasoffkee, FL

Akeena

Catfish Johnny’s, a beloved seafood restaurant known for its fresh catches and lively atmosphere, faced a temporary shutdown following a state inspection. This popular dining destination, which has delighted locals and tourists alike for 33 years, was briefly closed after the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) flagged multiple violations.

Florida’s Favorite Seafood Spot Closed After State Inspection

Maine State

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Sagadahoc County, ME

Lewiston, ME

The Maine Monitor

Editor’s note: This story contains references to suicide. When a bill to strengthen Maine’s yellow flag law went into effect earlier this month, Sagadahoc County Sheriff Joel Merry said he felt a sense of relief.

Law enforcement officers can now get a warrant to take someone into protective custody

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The Lens

This year’s area of low oxygen in the Gulf of Mexico is larger than average, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced on Thursday. The “dead zone” is approximately 6,705 square miles , as measured last week. Within NOAA’s 38 years of measuring the dead zone, this year’s assessment marks the 12th-largest area of low to no oxygen, which can kill fish and marine life.

Gulf ‘dead zone’ larger than average, larger than expected for 2024, scientists announce

Oregon State

This story is excerpted from the MT Lowdown, a weekly newsletter digest containing original reporting and analysis published every Friday. While much of Montana’s landscape currently features a small number of large, ongoing blazes, the state’s southeastern corner contains several new fires that grew rapidly over the last several days.

The Montana Fire Report: Aug. 17–23

Texas State

Missouri State

CJ Coombs

When I learned the brown tarantula is also native to Missouri, I gasped, and when I say I'm not too fond of spiders of any genus is an understatement. It's psychological. They have too many legs.

It's mating season for the Texas brown tarantula also known as the Missouri tarantula

Mississippi State

Hinds County, MS

Mississippi News Group

A Mississippi Attorney has been charged with multiple Counts of introducing contraband into a Correctional Facility as well as consipiracy according to a press release from Hinds County Sheriff Tyree Jones.

Mississippi Attorney Charged with 3 Counts of Introducing Contraband into a Correctional Facility

Trailer Empire

As the real estate industry braces for a significant shift with new regulations set to take effect on August 17, the Consumer Federation of America (CFA) is offering crucial advice for homebuyers navigating these changes. The CFA’s latest guidance emphasizes negotiating agent compensation at 2 percent or less of a home’s sale price, aiming to empower consumers and challenge long-standing industry practices.

CFA Urges Buyers to Cap Agent Fees at 2% Amidst Real Estate Industry Shake-Up

Salem, OH

Northern Kentucky Tribune

Every day, 8-year-old Emma sits in a small garden outside her grandmother’s home in Salem, Ohio, writing letters to her mom and sometimes singing songs her mother used to sing to her.

Thousands of parents die of overdoses; advocates say their kids need more help

Gillian May

I’m a former nurse and recovering alcoholic, and I’ve been concerned by the lack of health education given to the general public about the dangers of mixing alcohol with certain medications. The common practice is to place warnings on medications that they should not be combined with alcohol. Although some doctors will provide warnings and some education, they often don’t because education takes up a lot of time in a busy healthcare environment. Plus, many doctors underestimate the ability of patients to retain education. Lastly, discussing this may prompt people to stop taking their vital medications so it becomes a risk/benefit issue.

Opinion: Why You Shouldn’t Mix These Medications With Alcohol

Denver, CO

David Heitz

More dangerous substances are entering the Denver drug supply, Harm Reduction Action Center warned in a newsletter this week. “The Iron Law of Prohibition posits that as law enforcement becomes more intense, the potency of prohibited substances increases,” HRAC Executive Director Lisa Raville wrote in the newsletter. That is exactly what is happening, she said.

Dangerous substances entering Denver drug supply

Libby, MT

BILLINGS (AP) — A health clinic in a Montana town that was polluted with deadly asbestos will ask a federal appeals court on Wednesday to reverse almost $6 million in fines and penalties after a jury determined it submitted hundreds of false claims on behalf of patients. The jury...

Montana asbestos clinic seeks to reverse $6M in fines, penalties over false claims

Chicago, IL

NewsNinja

Some people have had a flattering experience of being well-over 21 and being carded at a local bar or restaurant. But one woman was more confused than thrilled when it happened at her local Target.

'I have to ask': Target shopper gets stopped by security guard at entrance. She is puzzled as to why

Louisiana State

During my childhood, when my family visited relatives “across the river,” in Bayou Plaquemine, Bayou Goula, Caddo, the Pointe, and White Castle, my siblings and I would sometimes race up and down the levees, some distance away from the cows grazing there. At the summit of the hill, you could see the Mississippi River waters through stands of trees and brush. It never occurred to me that our “playground” was the living testimony of Black men, prisoners of the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola whom the state of Louisiana had re-enslaved in the convict leasing system.

No longer ‘half slave, half free’

Colorado State

A bill quietly introduced this spring in the Colorado legislature to decriminalize the possession of drug paraphernalia obtained by harm reductionists has become law. As low-key as the legislation was introduced, the bill was signed into law without fanfare June 6. It garnered little to no media attention.

Colorado legalizes needles, pipes for meth and crack if obtained by harm reduction group

Jacksonville, FL

Jacksonville Today

Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters said he will consider more DUI patrols if voters legalize recreational marijuana use in Florida. Voters will consider Amendment 3 in November. It would allow adults 21 or older to possess, purchase or use marijuana products and marijuana accessories for non-medical purposes.

More DUI patrols possible if marijuana issue passes

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks is asserting the water rights it holds in 10 Montana rivers to keep more water in cold-water fisheries facing low flows wrought by this winter’s meager snowpack. FWP water rights and instream flow specialist Stephen Begley told Montana Free Press that the department has...

Montana asserts its water rights to protect fisheries, recreation on several major rivers

East Helena, MT

Clancy, MT

Canyon Creek, MT

Marysville, MT

Jefferson City, MT

Elliston, MT

Winston, MT

Basin, MT

Boulder, MT

Avon, MT

NewsBreak

Helena schools cut $2.5 million in budget, nearly 40 staff positions

The Helena School Board of Trustees approved about $2.5 million in budget cuts, including the elimination of nearly 40 positions, for the upcoming school year during...

Helena schools cut $2.5 million in budget, nearly 40 staff positions

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