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Montana Free Press
Montana to Congress: Berkeley Pit ‘a unique opportunity’ for rare earth elements
A Montana legislative committee unanimously voted Wednesday to petition the U.S. Congress to support efforts to pull rare earth elements from the Berkeley Pit in Butte. Rare earth elements are used in a broad range of high-tech devices ranging from electric vehicles and computer hard drives to components of fighter jets, missiles and drones used by the Department of Defense.
Applications for state property tax assistance programs due April 15
Low-income Montanans seeking help paying their property tax bills have until Tax Day this coming Monday, April 15, to apply for aid through two state relief programs administered by the Montana Department of Revenue — including the flagship Property Tax Assistance Program intended to keep property tax bills from forcing low-income homeowners out of their homes.
Homelessness in Missoula a strain on city’s people, economy, study finds
Backers of a recently released report exploring the economic impacts of homelessness in Missoula hope it will better inform discussions that help to resolve the widening issue. The report, citing data and research, details the effects of homelessness on people experiencing it and on the community and highlights the challenge...
Three-year-old sex education law draws a legal challenge
The constitutionality of a 2021 state law governing parental notification of sex-related discussions in public schools is now being challenged by a coalition of Montana students, teachers and associations representing school counselors and psychologists. The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in Lewis and Clark County District Court by the ACLU of Montana,...
U.S. Senate hopeful’s company reported losses of more than $77 million in 2023
Bridger Aerospace, the Gallatin County-based aerial firefighting company founded by Republican U.S. Senate hopeful Tim Sheehy, announced a record-high annual revenue of almost $67 million when it released its 2023 earnings report last month. But the annual report the publicly traded company filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission...
Helena nonprofit faces deadline for deposit on affordable housing project
A Helena nonprofit risks losing a contract to purchase a hotel for an affordable housing project if it doesn’t reach its fundraising goal by the end of the week. The United Way of Lewis and Clark Area announced last month its plans to purchase the Helena Inn, 2300 N. Oakes St., and renovate it into affordable housing for individuals, couples and families while also providing supportive services such as addiction recovery, mental health treatment and financial literacy.
Environmental groups sue USFWS over its decision not to restore federal protections for Northern Rockies wolves
Environmental organizations filed two lawsuits Monday challenging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s decision not to restore federal protections for Northern Rockies wolves. The groups are asking the court to scrap USFWS’ February finding that federal protections are not warranted and produce a new analysis that gives greater weight...
Biscuits on the brain
After months and months of cold weather and short days in Montana, I am always ready for the thaw and the warmer days of spring and summer. We’ve earned those nice sunny days after the long and sometimes brutal winter. I think we all have different ways of celebrating those most perfect Big Sky Country days.
‘We have one chance to get it right’
Just north of Columbia Falls, high above the Flathead River at the foot of Teakettle Mountain, sits what could be one of the most valuable pieces of private land in the Flathead Valley, approximately 2,400 acres that was once home to the Columbia Falls Aluminum Company. There’s just one problem:...
Carbon sequestration talk bubbles up in Montana again
The MT Lowdown is a weekly digest that showcases a more personal side of Montana Free Press’ high-quality reporting while keeping you up to speed on the biggest news impacting Montanans. Want to see the MT Lowdown in your inbox every Friday? Sign up here. Readers who have kept...
Constitutional abortion rights amendment cleared for signature gathering
After a week of legal scuffling, the campaign behind a constitutional amendment to explicitly protect abortion rights in Montana can begin collecting the tens of thousands of signatures it needs to put the proposal on the ballot this November. The green light for the now-officially dubbed Constitutional Initiative-128, much anticipated...
Republican legislators look to ‘rein in’ state judiciary
This story is excerpted from Capitolized, a weekly newsletter featuring expert reporting, analysis and insight from the editors and reporters of Montana Free Press. Want to see Capitolized in your inbox every Thursday? Sign up here. Montana Senate Republican leadership this week announced the formation of a select committee to...
A legislative strategy to establish ‘more oversight of the judiciary’
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. April 4, 2024. Montana Senate...
Montana group launches coverage campaign after Medicaid unwinding
Late Thursday morning, representatives from Missoula community organizations packed into a conference room at Partnership Health Center to coordinate solutions to a collective problem: How to help thousands of people removed from state Medicaid programs in the last year regain health care coverage as quickly as possible. The campaign, titled...
Climate fix or pollution pipeline?
Ridge resident Dan Dinstel remembers his introduction to the Snowy River project, a proposal to inject 150 million tons of carbon dioxide thousands of feet below southeastern Montana’s sagebrush steppe. It came in the form of an announcement in the local newspaper, the Ekalaka Eagle, that the Bureau of...
Kirks’ Grocery a reflection of Billings’ messy creative side
Entering Kirks’ Grocery, a sense of discovery, of messy creative energy, of high art and low culture, unfurls across the space. Located on the South Side of Billings, just across the tracks from downtown, Kirks’ Grocery feels connected to the underground scene, the anti-hero hero, the place where everyone wants to hang.
Montana Supreme Court rewrites abortion ballot language; signature gathering moves closer
The Montana Supreme Court released its revised ballot language on Monday to describe a constitutional abortion rights amendment that voters may consider this fall, rejecting a version drafted last week by Attorney General Austin Knudsen. The unanimous ruling by six justices moves the initiative’s supporters, Montanans Securing Reproductive Rights, closer...
Push to poll Cascade County voters on reinstating clerk’s election duties falls short
This story is adapted from the MT Lowdown, a weekly newsletter digest containing original reporting and analysis published every Friday. An effort by supporters of Cascade County Clerk and Recorder Sandra Merchant to reinstate the election oversight duties stripped from her by county commissioners in December has proved unsuccessful. Petitioners looking to put the issue up for a reconsideration vote on the June primary ballot were still thousands of signatures short of the total required to qualify as of a late March deadline.
Property taxes put governor and local government leaders at odds
This story is adapted from the MT Lowdown, a weekly newsletter digest containing original reporting and analysis published every Friday. The supplemental property tax bills heading to property owners around the state this spring, made necessary by a November Supreme Court decision, represent a monumental headache for both local tax officials and homeowners.
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