On Thursday morning, May 4, House District 75 representative Marta Bertoglio made an appearance at the Boulder Transition Advisory Committee meeting. The grueling legislative session had just ended, and Bertoglio said she was still processing, and still recovering. Nevertheless, she was happ… Read Article As legislators come home, county eyes results
Housing in Montana has been one of the main battlegrounds for debate this legislative session. Lawmakers from both parties made promises to their constituents and while Democrats and Republicans came in with vastly different ideas on how to manage the housing crisis, they settled on a compro… Read Article Lawmakers address housing crisis
Childcare in Montana covers less than half of the estimated need in the state according to 2021 data from the Department of Labor and Industry. A bill that passed a final vote in the Senate 29-20 Friday would allocate $7 million more a year to the Best Beginnings scholarship program so more … Read Article Legislators prioritize childcare
It’s a historic time for the Montana State legislature, as transgender lawmaker Zooey Zephyr (D-Missoula) was banished by the House of Representatives on April 26, just days before the end of the legislative session. Read Article First barred Montana lawmaker was Basin resident
Montana is closing in on becoming the first state in the nation to ban the social media platform TikTok. The House of Representatives passed a bill 54-43 Friday that would penalize app stores for providing anyone within Montana’s borders access to TikTok. The Senate passed the bill on a 30-t… Read Article Tik tok ban passes legislature
Editor's note: this bill died in committee on Tuesday, March 28 Read Article Bill aims to offer tax breaks to lenient landlords
The House Agriculture Community listened to overwhelming support from 25 individuals on a bill that would encourage the availability of fresh produce for Montana families through the Montana Food Bank. Read Article Supporters Say Bill Would Bring More Local, Fresh Produce to Montana Food Banks
In the last 11 years, the city of Havre has had 255 water main breaks. The city’s public works director, Dave Pederson, says 46 of those breaks happened in the last two years alone. Read Article Lawmakers Hear Testimony on Bills That Would Fund $1.3 Billion in Water, Sewer and Other Infrastructure Projects
The House Taxation Committee heard testimony Thursday on a bill that would extend and expand tax cuts to Montana employers that pay for training and education for their employees in certain trades. Supporters say the Montana Trades Education and Training tax credit – or MTECH – helps address… Read Article Bill considers extending, expanding tax cuts for employee training
Those in Jefferson County who testified in favor of changes to combine House Districts 75 and 76 to form Senate District 38 may see the results they are looking for, as the state Districting and Apportionment Commission approved a redistricting map and delivered it to the Montana’s 68th Legi… Read Article Legislators to review redistricting
The House State Administration Committee heard testimony Monday on a bill that supporters say would improve the security of Montana’s elections. House Bill 173 would require the manufacturer of vote counting machines to certify they are free of any external communication devices as well as a… Read Article Legislature hears testimony on vote counting machines
HELENA – The 68th Montana Legislative Session kicked off on Monday, Jan. 2, in Helena. Senators and Representatives took an oath to uphold the constitution and were sworn in during simultaneous ceremonies in their respective chambers at the state Capitol. Read Article First week of 68th Legislative Session sees legislators sworn in, updates for fentanyl control
Editor's note: This story has been updated since original Dec. 21 publication Read Article Drug task force makes major bust in southwest Montana
Dec. 16, 1862, 160 years ago: William A. Clark is born in Colorado. Clark would serve as an attorney in Virginia City for 25 years before being elected to Congress in 1895. In 1912, he would become Judge for the Fifth Judicial District from 1912 until his death in 1921. Most notably, he was … Read Article This month in Montana history
Montana ballot initiative LR-131 failed muster among voters this week, with ballot counts Thursday morning showing the Montana Born-Alive Infant Protection Act was shot down by more than 22,500 votes. Read Article Montanans reject LR-131 ‘Born Alive’ referendum
The polls have closed and the race to count Jefferson County voters’ ballots has wrapped up. As unofficial results indicate, some candidates won their races by a landslide, while others required a photo finish. Read Article Grimsrud elected sheriff; Hagerty joins commission
One Montana Supreme Court contest is getting the most attention – and the most campaign cash – but there’s another race on the ballot, too. Read Article Veteran Justice Rice seeks a fourth term; challenger D’Alton vows to serve just one
Montana voters will decide two Supreme Court races this fall, and one is attracting an unusual share of partisan attention. Read Article Politics raises the stakes in Gustafson-Brown high court race
On Oct. 14, U.S. House of Representatives independent candidate Gary Buchanan stopped by the Boulder Monitor, where he shared the sense of optimism he’s been picking up on the campaign trail. Read Article U.S. House candidate Gary Buchanan drops by Boulder
Boulder Hot Springs Inn, Spa and Retreat Center is about to undergo some major renovations. Read Article Boulder Hot Springs exterior project expands
The Basin County Water and Sewer Board met July 19 at Basin Elementary School, where Brad Koon of Triple Tree Engineering made an appearance to visit with the board about moving forward with well improvements. The board had been consulting with Triple Tree, an engineering firm based out of H… Read Article Basin Water and Sewer Board moving forward with well improvement plan
Zack Koscielny has only been in charge of livestock and crops for four years, but the freckled farmer has already become accustomed to successive dry spells, including one last year that put large swaths of the Canadian prairies in exceptional drought. Read Article "Stop Fighting Mother Nature." How farmers adapt to extreme weather
When Carla and Darin Fisher opened Backslope Brewing in Columbia Falls in 2016, they knew they wanted to take care of their employees. Six years later, they offer competitive wages, health insurance, retirement benefits, long-term disability and even paid time off for their full-time employe… Read Article When your landlord is also your boss
A state judge has blocked a scheduled voter referendum on switching the elections that pick justices for the Montana Supreme Court from statewide to district-based elections. Read Article Judge blocks measure to elect Supreme Court by district
Clancy resident and Boulder Monitor columnist Jane Lee Hamman was honored in the U.S. Senate on March 14 as Sen. Steve Daines' "Montanan of the Month." Read Article Clancy resident Jane Lee Hamman honored in U.S. Senate
A woman experiencing delusions sat in Montana’s Cascade County jail for 125 days while waiting for a bed at the state psychiatric hospital. A man with schizophrenia spent 100 days last year in the Flathead County jail on the hospital’s waitlist, at times refusing food and water. A man compla… Read Article Long waits for Montana State Hospital leave psychiatric patients in jail
Attorneys on either side of a consolidated lawsuit challenging new state election laws delivered arguments March 10 before Yellowstone County District Court Judge Michael Moses, with much of the debate centering on one critical question: Do the laws, passed by the Legislature last year, infr… Read Article Attorneys argue over Montana voting rights
The biennial scramble for control of the Montana Legislature got its official start Monday with the state’s candidate filing deadline. Read Article Who’s running for the Montana Legislature this year
About half of Montana schools that had tested their water by mid-February under a new state rule had high levels of lead, according to state data. But the full picture isn’t clear because fewer than half of the state’s school buildings had provided water samples six weeks after the deadline. Read Article Dangerous levels of lead found in half of school water tested
Montana's elected officials reacted late Feb. 23 and early Feb. 24 to the ongoing invasion of Ukraine by Russia. Read Article What Montana politicians are saying about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
Do you ever look at items around your house and think they belong in a museum? Now they can be, for three days this spring at the Montana Historical Society in Helena. Read Article Make history with your own Historical Society museum display
The backers of a constitutional initiative that would cap property tax increases on Montana homeowners have been cleared by Montana’s secretary of state to start gathering the signatures they need to have the initiative placed on the 2022 ballot. Read Article Court pauses petition for property tax cap initiative
As yet another winter storm walloped western Montana last week, the Montana Department of Transportation was trying its best to keep the 12,923 miles of road in its care clear of snow and ice. But this year, it’s doing that with about 60 fewer people than normal, thanks to a national labor s… Read Article As winter roars, Montana navigates a snowplow driver shortage
As Montana’s tally of new COVID cases neared 1,000 each day in September, Shelly Stanley-Lehman worried about when the virus would reach her day care in Billings. Read Article Some groups are left out of Montana test giveaway program
When children ages 5 to 11 were approved for Pfizer’s lower-dose pediatric covid-19 vaccine in November, Annie Edwards was eager to get her daughter Hannah, then 5, the shot because of underlying health conditions she has stemming from her premature birth. Read Article In rural Montana, COVID shots for kids are scarce — and demand is mixed
The root cause of Montana's increasingly stifling housing market? Too few homes to go around, a researcher told a legislative committee studying the state's economic condition Monday. Read Article Rising housing costs driven by Montana home shortage, researcher says
Leaders of Montana’s K–12 and higher education systems convened on the University of Montana campus Friday to discuss strategic goals and ongoing challenges to improve the quality of education for students across the state. Read Article The state of Montana education
The U.S. House of Representatives approved a sprawling $1.2 trillion infrastructure package late last week, setting the stage for a massive federal investment in Montana's highways, bridges, water systems and broadband capabilities. Read Article Montana primed for infrastructure infusion
When state senators in South Carolina held two hearings in September about COVID treatments, they got an earful on the benefits of ivermectin—which many of the lawmakers echoed, sharing experiences of their own loved ones. Read Article As constituents clamor for ivermectin, Republican politicians embrace the cause
The drought that has dried out soils, drawn down rivers and reservoirs, and challenged agricultural producers, land managers, recreationists and wildlife continues to persist as hydrologists anxiously track the progression of the La Niña weather pattern, hoping for a wet winter to start reve… Read Article Montana’s worst drought in decades continues into fall
A recently created legal position within the Montana Legislature is being put to use for the first time to investigate actions by Republican Attorney General Austin Knudsen and other public officials toward St. Peter’s hospital in Helena earlier this month. Read Article Legislative special counsel to investigate attorney general’s actions toward Helena hospital
An effort by Montana’s independent districting commission to reconcile Republican and Democratic proposals for dividing the state into two U.S. House districts slid into a thicket last week, as public comment split on largely party lines and an initial work session saw the body’s partisan co… Read Article House districting negotiations snag on ‘what’s fair?’
Emilie Sayler’s roots run deep in southwestern Montana. She serves on a nearby town council and the board of the local Little League. She went to college in a neighboring county and regularly volunteers in the schools of her three kids. Read Article Fresh faces, fewer tools: Meet the new bosses fighting COVID
In one recent week, a New Yorker got a free COVID-19 test in a jiffy, with results the next day, while a Coloradan had to shell out $50 for a test two cities from her hometown after a frantic round of pharmacy-hopping. A Montanan drove an hour each way to get a test, wondering if, this time,… Read Article COVID testing, turnaround times are still uneven
St. James Healthcare plans to lead a slew of organizations in developing plans to combat substance use, and specifically opioid use, in five southwest Montana counties including Jefferson County, using a $1 million grant the health care system received from the federal government. Read Article Grant funds substance use treatment in Jefferson County, southwest Montana
Montana’s $2.7 billion in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds will have an impact on communities large and small in every corner of the state. And starting Monday, Oct. 4, the person overseeing the distribution of those aid funds will be a longtime Jefferson County resident. Read Article Who oversees ARPA funds? In Montana, it's a Clancy local with deep experience
Nurses fill the hospital room to turn a patient from his stomach to his back. The ventilator forcing air into him is most effective when he's on his stomach, so he is in that position most hours of the day, sedated and paralyzed by drugs. Read Article Overrun ICU: ‘The problem is we are running out of hallways’
As classes get underway this week and next, Montana school and county health officials are grappling with how a new state law that bans vaccine discrimination should apply to quarantine orders for students and staffers exposed to COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. Read Article Confusion, defiance over new school quarantine law
Montana’s medical community sounded an alarm in August, urging residents to get vaccinated and again wear masks in indoor public spaces to slow the spread of the increasingly concerning Delta variant of the coronavirus. Read Article With cases surging, Montana’s medical community urges vaccination and renewed masking
Montana’s Districting and Apportionment Commission voted on July 20 to finalize the criteria it will use to draw Montana’s new U.S. House and state legislative districts using data from the 2020 census. Read Article District-drawing commission finalizes its criteria
