U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke says he wants to speed up a proposal to block new gold mining claims on forested public land near Yellowstone National Park and will consider blocking other types of mining. The Missoula Police Department took a report this morning from a man claiming he’d just shot someone in a downtown apartment and was holding several hostages. U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke's dormant campaign committee recently sold a motorhome at a steep discount to a Montana

The Gallatin county attorney says he won't release a mug shot of Republican Representative Greg Gianforte that was taken today when he was booked and fingerprinted after pleading guilty to assaulting a reporter in May. An aggressive aerial assault Thursday saved numerous homes and held a lightning-caused fire south of Helena to just 76 acres. Montana officials say they recently discovered dead fish in the Yellowstone River and are waiting on test results to know if they were killed by the same

A mandatory evacuation order is in place for residents southwest of Helena on Holmes Gulch Road and Martinez Gulch Road. There’s also a pre-evacuation advisory for the South Hills area. There will be a community meeting at 8 tonight at the Montana City fire station number 1. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke today recommended boundary revisions for some national monuments, after being directed to review them by President Donald Trump in April. He gave those recommendations to the President, but did

A couple of days of calm weather has blanketed much of Western Montana in thick smoke, but a cold front is moving in. The Montana Supreme Court has upheld a verdict and fine against a former state legislator who took illegal corporate contributions. A judge has ruled a small population of grizzly bears in Montana and Idaho near the Canadian border can be considered endangered. A company behind a private Montana resort community in Big Sky has paid the state more than $90,000 in penalties.

After saying yesterday that burnout operations on the Lolo Peak Fire were likely responsible for destroying two homes and several outbuildings, fire managers are now saying they need more information to be sure. A timber sale that aims to reduce fire danger has been approved by the Bitterroot National Forest near last year’s Roaring Lion fire site. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says they are reopening the public comment period on the future of the National Bison Range.

A judge has ordered Congressman Greg Gianforte to be photographed and fingerprinted for assaulting a reporter in May, opening the door for the Republican representative's mug shot to be plastered in opponents' campaign ads in next year's election. Fire managers say a burnout set by firefighters is most likely what led to the loss of two homes and eight outbuildings in the Lolo Peak Fire. The Secretary of the Veterans Administration visited Montana today, and made an announcement that many

Two homes southwest of the town of Lolo were destroyed last night by the fast-growing Lolo Peak Fire. Montana will be getting FEMA funding to help with the costs of the Lolo Peak Fire. Montana's capital city today removed a memorial to Confederate soldiers that has been in a public park since 1916. Montana's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate held steady at 3.9 percent in July.

The 15,000 acre Lolo Peak Fire is quickly outgrowing law enforcement’s ability to secure the estimated 600 homes now evacuated along the Highway 93 and Highway 12 corridors. Missoula County Commissioners are now considering turning to the Montana National Guard for help. The evacuation area for the Lolo Peak Fire was extended further south down the Highway 93 corridor this afternoon. It now stretches from mile marker 78 south of Lolo all the way to the north end of Florence.That area under the

All three members of Montana’s congressional delegation have now commented on the events in Charlottesville. State climatologist Kelsey Jencso says what folks are seeing this summer -- extreme fires, sudden droughts, snowpacks melting quickly -- may be a vision of Montana’s future. Helena’s City Commission has been debating and taking public input on the future of a Confederate memorial. Crews managing the Blue Bay Fire on the east shore of Flathead Lake began a controlled burn.

The size of the mandatory evacuation area along US Highway 12 west of Lolo has been reduced. Montana Insurance Commissioner Matt Rosendale says many homeowners insurance policies can help out with evacuation expenses. A controversial copper mine near White Sulphur Springs is one step closer to becoming a reality.