Four-term Democratic state Rep. Jean Price of Great Falls has died. Flooding shut down a long stretch of Interstate 90 and covered other roadways across Montana today with the still-frozen ground unable to absorb the rapidly melting snow and ice jams causing water to spill over river banks. A state-funded preschool program is on a fast track in the state legislature.

A backcountry avalanche warning has been issued for several mountain ranges in northwestern Montana, while parts of central and northeastern Montana are under flood warnings and advisories. Acting U.S. Interior Secretary David Bernhardt is ordering federal land managers to give more consideration to public access concerns when selling or trading public land. The Republican plan to continue Medicaid expansion will result in half of the 96,000 people currently enrolled in the program losing health

A man killed when the car he was driving on the wrong side of the highway collided with a semi tractor trailer has been identified as 62-year-old Martin J. Elison, of Missoula. A tax cut on social security income passed by both the state House and Senate is moving forward. Montana legislators are considering a bill that would create a screening program in Montana schools for a specific learning disability.

The wife of a Montana Highway Patrol trooper wounded while investigating a fatal shooting says her husband suffered three gunshot wounds and is currently in a medically induced coma at a Utah hospital. One person was killed in a head-on collision Wednesday afternoon just east of Missoula. Police in Bozeman are investigating an apparent murder/suicide after the bodies of a man and a woman were found in a residence on the northwest side of the city. A bill that would fund Montana drug treatment

A Montana legislative committee heard testimony today on a bill to legalize betting on college and professional sporting events as long as it's done in bars with full liquor licenses. A jury has acquitted a Montana man of six animal cruelty charges after prosecutors accused him of being responsible for the deaths of 15 horses found in a pasture. The engineering college dean at Montana State University says he doesn't see the collapse of two gym roofs on campus as a failure by engineers who

A judge has set bail at $2 million for a man accused of fatally shooting one person and injuring three others, including Montana Highway Patrol Trooper Wade Palmer. Dozens of Montana National Guard soldiers have returned home following a nine-month deployment to Afghanistan. Montana State has decided not to renew the contract of men's basketball coach Brian Fish, whose teams posted a 65-92 record over the past five seasons.

A Montana Highway Patrol trooper who was shot early this morning and sustained critical injuries was flown to Salt Lake City for treatment this afternoon. A federal appeals court has upheld a Montana judge's ruling barring construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada. A couple of hundred Missoula high school students walked out of class today demanding tough action on climate change.

Last month's harsh winter weather has delayed a pilot project that aims to stop the rise of toxic water in Butte's Berkeley Pit. The operator of a leading neo-Nazi website claims it's too dangerous for him to travel to the U.S. to be questioned under oath for a lawsuit accusing him of terrorizing a Montana real estate agent's family. State legislators are considering giving counties greater powers for managing aquatic invasive species.

Gov. Steve Bullock said today he's backing state legislation that aims to prevent foreign money from influencing state elections by closing a loophole created by the U.S. Supreme Court's Citizens United ruling. Three Montana parents are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a state court's decision to end a tax credit program for private school scholarships because it would have benefited religious schools. Some Verizon Wireless cellphone users in Billings and Bozeman had been having

The Montana Senate has endorsed a bill to give the state health department oversight of private residential programs for troubled children. A former Montana athletic trainer accused of sexually abusing students has pleaded guilty to a federal charge of coercion and enticement. The University of Montana has reopened McGill Hall after officials detected "unacceptable levels" of asbestos in dust inside the building.