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Montana Free Press
Proposed changes at Missoula post office ignite criticism, concern
A U.S. Postal Service review of Missoula’s mail-processing facility has sparked local concern about the potential move of some work to Spokane. Opposition to the proposed transfer, including from Sens. Jon Tester and Steve Daines, drew a response from the USPS seeking to “dispel myths” about the review ahead of a public meeting on Friday.
The rural workforce is changing. Colleges are scrambling to keep up.
HAMILTON — Lindsey Flather is exactly the type of student that colleges and employers in rural states know they must do a better job of reaching. A working mother in her thirties, Flather decided to pursue a new career in health care after moving to the Bitterroot Valley in 2018. It was, she thought, one of the only financially sustainable paths that interested her in this growing pocket of western Montana. And she is urgently needed. In Montana, 52 of 56 counties — including Ravalli County — are considered medically underserved, and nearly half of the state’s nurses say they plan on retiring or leaving the profession in the next five years.
Global company prepares to take on statewide public assistance contract
A global private company is beginning to release details about how it plans to handle its new $15 million state contract to deliver employment assistance and training for some Montanans who receive public food, cash and refugee resettlement assistance. The state health department under the administration of Gov. Greg Gianforte...
With candidates filed for Legislature, Democrats hope to edge into GOP supermajority
Beleaguered Montana Democrats are hoping this year’s legislative election cycle, the first conducted with new state House and Senate maps drawn following the 2020 census, might give them a chance to edge into the historic Republican supermajority that shaped the politics of the 2023 Montana Legislature. The minority party,...
Candidate filing deadline firms up 2024 election bracket
At 5 p.m. Monday, the window closed for candidates to file to run for elected office in Montana this year, officially setting the stage for a hugely consequential election season. Toward the top of the ballot — not counting the presidential contest between presumptive nominees Joe Biden and Donald Trump...
U.S., Canada and Ktunaxa Nation ink agreement to mitigate waterborne pollution
The International Joint Commission, a 115-year-old organization that’s charged with adjudicating issues involving waterways that span the U.S.-Canada border, will be taking a more active role in assessing and mitigating pollution in the Elk-Kootenai watershed. The commission’s involvement, announced today, comes after years of requests by Indigenous and First...
Nearly 900,000 acres of Montana in access limbo
When four hunters used a specially constructed ladder to step from one corner of public land in southern Wyoming to another, the ripples from that decision were initially small but have since ignited an impassioned debate that could open — or unequivocally restrict — access to more than eight million acres of public land across the West. Here, in the second of our three-part series, we explore why Montana lacks a clear “test case” on the legality of corner-crossing.
Top state election official weighed in on politicized Cascade County administrator hiring
This story is adapted from the MT Lowdown, a weekly newsletter digest containing original reporting and analysis published every Friday. As the Cascade County Commission was deliberating last month over who to appoint as the new local elections overseer for one of the state’s key political swing counties, Montana’s top election official privately weighed in on the conversation. In a Feb. 14 email to all three county commissioners, Republican Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen urged them not to hire former Cascade County Clerk and Recorder Rina Moore or any member of her past administration.
Ranch: The official condiment of Montana?
Did you know that March 10 was National Ranch Day? Probably not. No worries if you missed out, because Big Sky Country likes to celebrate ranch dressing every day of the year. I believe ranch is unquestionably Montana’s favorite condiment. It’s the white, herby, creamy stuff we pair with far more foods than your typical side salad. Ranch is so popular in Montana that it may very well deserve an official proclamation as Montana’s official state dip/dressing/sauce/condiment. Hear me out, people.
Dems rally around Tester as activists push him on Gaza ceasefire
This story is adapted 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 Democrats attended the party’s annual Mansfield Metcalf dinner March 2, a tony (and...
Matt Rosendale drops out of eastern Montana House race
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...
Democratic faithful rally behind Tester at annual ‘prom’
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. March 7, 2024. Montana Democrats...
Gianforte says state not responsible for tribal law enforcement in Lake County
Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte has informed the Lake County Commission that the state will not assume felony law enforcement duties on the Flathead Indian Reservation — despite pleas from local officials that they can no longer afford a decades-old arrangement. The decision likely sets the stage for the federal...
Beyond acknowledgments, land grant universities make up some impressive ground
This article is part of a three-part collaborative series produced by the Bozeman Daily Chronicle, ICT and Montana Free Press, and utilizes data obtained through the national news nonprofit Grist’s “Land Grab University” investigation. Beyond acknowledging the existence of a land-grant university dwelling on historically Indigenous lands,...
Missoula sidewalk project advances as council rethinks assessments
The Missoula City Council on Wednesday advanced a sidewalk project that revived discussion of the financial implications for property owners citywide. After the city first notified affected property owners in late October, a handful of Rose Park neighborhood residents voiced concern about their estimated assessments for the project, with one couple facing a $9,000 bill, spurring three council members to work to abolish the assessments.
Montana Supreme Court considers parental consent case for minors seeking abortion
The Montana Supreme Court on Wednesday heard arguments in a winding, years-long case about whether minors must receive parental consent for an abortion, revisiting a fraught legal question that Montana voters, lawmakers and residents have grappled with for more than a decade. The case stems from two restrictions that originated...
Court denies Gianforte’s request to stay ruling in veto lawsuit
A Lewis and Clark County district court judge on Tuesday denied a request from Gov. Greg Gianforte to stay enforcement of a prior order directing him to allow lawmakers to override his veto of a 2023 marijuana tax revenue bill. Judge Mike Menahan’s ruling on March 5 does not guarantee...
The money allocated to Montana’s new charter schools
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 “Glad You Asked.”. Over the past year, we’ve fielded many reader emails about charter schools in Montana. The curiosity is understandable —...
School leaders attribute budget crises to pandemic funding cliff, state funding frustrations
A wave of major budget cuts is hitting public schools across the state — a situation officials from four of Montana’s largest districts attribute to declining enrollment, inflexibilities in the state’s school funding formula, and a funding cliff facing schools as pandemic-era federal relief money runs out.
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