There were two suicides in Great Falls over the Christmas holiday weekend. State lawmakers are bringing several bills related to suicide prevention in the 2017 legislative session that starts Monday. A federal judge has denied Anaconda resident and Oregon wildlife refuge occupier Ryan Payne's request to withdraw his guilty plea. The Bitterroot National Forest’s first, newly updated travel plan in forty years is facing its first legal challenge.

A winter storm system could bring more snow and bitterly cold temperatures across western Montana on Sunday. The FBI is not actively seeking any suspects in the case of a Montana woman who was found dead in the trunk of her car in Spokane, Washington after telling her family she had been abducted from a rest stop north of Helena. A series of public hearings will begin next week on a proposal to limit motorized watercraft use on nearly 50 western Montana river and stream segments.

A bipartisan group of Montana’s top elected officials today condemned a series of anti-Semitic, online attacks happening in Whitefish. Great Falls State Senator Mary Sheehy-Moe says she plans to resign from the legislature in late January to help her daughter care for her infant triplets. Another Democratic state lawmaker wants the state party’s nomination for Montana’s lone U.S House Seat.

After putting in over 12 years and serving three governors, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Department director Jeff Hagener retired this week. Gov. Steve Bullock is urging Montana residents to reject the recent hateful speech against community members in Whitefish.

Federal regulators today approved a billion dollar energy storage project in Meagher County. A school bus delivering kids home in Whitefish yesterday afternoon slipped off the edge of the road and flipped over. More than a half-dozen Republicans have expressed interest in running for Congressman Ryan Zinke’s seat if he confirmed as Secretary of Interior next year. They include 29 year old state representative Daniel Zolnikov of Billings. The three-term state representative says that he is most

State representative-elect Amanda Curtis of Butte is the first Democrat to indicate interest in replacing Congressman Ryan Zinke if he is confirmed as Secretary of the Interior next year. She told MTN News today that she’s considering seeking her party’s nomination. A special master appointed by the U.S. Supreme Court says Wyoming is obligated to provide enough water to fill the Tongue River reservoir in southeastern Montana. A lawsuit filed today seeks to keep Montana Commissioner of Political

A preliminary report suggests that invasive mussels have not moved into Montana water bodies beyond the Missouri River Basin. The New York Times reported today on an online conflict in Whitefish that involves white supremacist groups. The administrator of Montana's state parks has left his position after eight years. An email sent to Fish, Wildlife and Parks staff today says Chas Van Genderen is no longer employed by the department, effective immediately.

State Senator Ed Buttrey said today that he’s running for Montana's U.S. House seat, should Ryan Zinke become President-elect Donald Trump's Interior secretary. Montana’s three Electoral College votes went to Donald Trump Monday, December 19. Before the electors gathered inside the state Capitol to cast their votes, protesters stood outside on the capitol steps. There were nearly 500 car crashes across the state this weekend as a cold front blasted the region, according to the Montana Highway

Remediation specialists are trying to contain a 7,000 gallon diesel spill in the Missoula rail yard. Today Governor Steve Bullock announced Montana’s unemployment rate is now at 4 percent, that’s down point three percentage points since October. Senate Republicans in Montana released a plan Friday, December 16, to tear down Governor Steve Bullock’s proposal for state funded preschool and instead start work on delayed state highway projects.

Congressman Ryan Zinke's decision to join President-elect Donald Trump's cabinet has exposed a potential constitutional flaw in a 2015 state law. Some Montana schools are postponing weekend extracurricular activities due to the snow and bitter cold in the forecast. A search for a man believed missing in the Yellowstone River near Columbus has been suspended.