Montana Lt. Gov. Mike Cooney entered the race for governor today. The Montana Supreme Court has rejected author Jon Krakauer's request for records on how a state higher education official handled a rape allegation against a star quarterback. Thirteen people have been charged in a conspiracy to smuggle illegal articles into the Cascade County regional jail in Great Falls.

The Trump administration says it won't require electric utilities to show they have money to clean up hazardous releases from power plants, despite a history of toxic coal ash spills that have contaminated waterways. Whitefish needs a thousand new housing units by next year to keep up with demand. After decades of waiting, the Southwest Montana Veterans Home broke ground today in Butte.

Democratic state Rep. Shane Morigeau entered the race to become Montana’s state auditor yesterday, and affordable healthcare is at the forefront of his platform. A nonprofit foundation that raises money for projects in Yellowstone National Park has about $4.35 million in debt. Governor Steve Bullock said he could support the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline "if it’s done right."

A state district court judge concluded that Montana’s Republican-controlled utility commission violated the due process rights of a solar energy company. Montana has more than 34,400 medical marijuana cardholders, recently surpassing the peak of just over 31,500 reached in 2011 before the Legislature made it more difficult to qualify for a card. The U.S. District Court for Montana announced attorney Kathleen L. DeSoto of Missoula will serve as the next U.S. magistrate judge in the Missoula

Wildlife advocates are seeking a court order that would force U.S. officials to consider if grizzly bears should be restored to more Western states, following the animals' resurgence in the Northern Rockies. The three Montana companies offering health insurance policies on the individual marketplace are proposing reduced rates in 2020. The rate decreases range from 8-14.1%. Hail, excessive wind and heavy rain came to Eastern Montana yesterday, according to the National Weather Service.

The deputy secretary of state told lawmakers today that Corey Stapleton used a state vehicle to travel to his family home in Billings to 'tele-work,' and that legislative auditors were incorrect in saying he was commuting — which would violate state law. Montana Attorney General Tim Fox is using his recent trip to the U.S.-Mexico border to promote his campaign for governor, but state Department of Justice officials maintain the visit was for official business only. Republican Troy Downing says

The owner of the Yellowstone Club, and co-owner of three of the resort’s four liquor licenses that the Department of Revenue threatened to revoke, is a campaign donor to Gov. Steve Bullock. A coroner's inquest determined that four Great Falls officers were justified in the fatal shooting of a man who pointed a gun at them during a standoff. A Montana candidate for attorney general violated state campaign practices law by sending campaign-related emails to the work addresses of nearly 2,500

Montana's House speaker and other Republican lawmakers are criticizing Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock for flying the gay pride rainbow flag instead of the state flag over the weekend. The Yellowstone Club in Big Sky agreed to pay a $370,000 fine for multiple state liquor-license violations at club restaurants and bars. A second white-tailed deer in the northwestern Montana town of Libby tested positive for chronic wasting disease. It’s national Pride Month and, in Montana, Big Sky Pride is

Montana's unemployment rate dipped slightly to 3.6 percent in May, with the state seeing gains in payroll employment among the federal government and the accommodation and food service sectors. A judge says new legislation is complicating a lawsuit over whether Montana's health department was wrong to deny licenses to the state's largest medical marijuana business to start five new operations.

An audit found Montana's Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education overspent on lodging, travel and meals, including hotel rooms for members of the Board of Regents and staff before the previous two Cat-Griz football games. Authorities say a film producer from Massachusetts accidentally drowned while scuba diving in Canyon Ferry reservoir during a video shoot for a prospective U.S. Senate candidate. Wildlife officials in Idaho are urging black bear hunters to choose their targets with care