Montana Democrats are working on a strategy for the state’s seat in the House of Representatives likely becoming vacant soon. A Billings contractor who has been convicted of defrauding the Chippewa Cree Tribe and bribing tribal officials has pleaded not guilty to new charges stemming from the corruption probe. The Greater Yellowstone Coalition says it’s cautiously optimistic about Congressman Ryan Zinke running the Department of Interior.

Media outlets, including the Washington Post, are reporting that Montana’s Congressman Ryan Zinke is president-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of the Interior. CNN is reporting that Zinke has accepted the nomination. A political nonprofit group dedicated to providing voters with unbiased facts about candidates is moving to Iowa. A $4 million dollar asbestos removal project is underway at the former federal courthouse in downtown Billings.

A spokeswoman for congressman Ryan Zinke says he discussed national security, sportsmen's rights and other topics during a closed-door meeting with President-elect Donald Trump at Trump Tower in New York today. An avalanche in southwestern Montana killed a skier over the weekend. A U.S. magistrate judge is siding with independent beef producers in their challenge over the way beef is marketed in Montana.

Six of Governor Steve Bullock's cabinet members will be leaving the administration before the Democratic governor's second term begins next month. Stillwater Mining Company officials say the company will be acquired by South Africa's Sibanye Gold Limited for $2.2 billion. Wildlife officials are urging hunters who killed snow geese in the Butte and Dillon areas to wait to eat the meat, after thousands of geese landed in the Berkeley Pit in Butte during a snowstorm on November 28.

A judge says he will not open to the public the long-running secret negotiations on the cleanup of the nation's largest Superfund site. Montana authorities want to put convicted murderer Barry Beach back in prison after he was granted clemency by the governor last year. The U.S. House has approved a water rights settlement with the Blackfeet tribe as part of a broader bill addressing water projects across the nation.

Medical marijuana advocates won a victory in court Wednesday. The Department of Public Health and Human Services announced Wednesday that there have been three times the number of norovirus outbreaks usually reported during this time of year. Montana lawmakers got a financial checkup on state pensions Tuesday.

Environmental groups are seeking to defend a new federal rule that would restrict how oil companies burn off excess natural gas extracted from public lands. Montana Department of Environmental Quality announced today that Moore Oil, Inc. has agreed to resolve multiple violations at one of the company’s facilities in Libby. Governor Steve Bullock’s nearly $10-billion-dollar budget proposal could mean Montanans will end up paying a little more for wine and cigarettes. Medical pot, too.

The results of a voter approved constitutional initiative were certified today by the Secretary of State. But officials did not say when the crime victims’ rights amendment takes effect. Federal officials have approved a $57 million dam and fish bypass on the Yellowstone River, but construction can't proceed until a judge signs off. Western Montana’s major suicide prevention collaborative relaunched under a new name today.

Debate over the constitutional amendment voters passed this year has now turned into a lawsuit filed with the Montana Supreme Court. Montana officials working to identify and contain invasive mussel populations are prohibiting the launch or removal of boats and docks from the Tiber and Canyon Ferry reservoirs. The Environmental Protection Agency says it plans to require mining companies to show they have the financial wherewithal to clean up their pollution so taxpayers aren't stuck footing the

University of Montana President Royce Engstrom is stepping down effective December 31st, as the university continues to face declining enrollments and budget cuts. An audit of the Office of the State Public Defender found the agency doesn't know how much money criminal defendants owe the agency, and that the office is not trying to collect the money while facing a three and a half million dollar budget shortfall. Workers who lost their jobs when the Weyerhaeuser Company shuttered its lumber and