The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation is planning to spend between $150 million and $200 million to overhaul the 65-year-old Hungry Horse Dam in northwest Montana. A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit seeking to block a tree-thinning project in the Elkhorn Mountains near Helena. A retired Roman Catholic priest is scheduled to appear in federal court in Great Falls on Tuesday to be formally charged with receipt of child pornography.

Kalispell Regional Healthcare says the Montana Nurses Association released “blatantly false information” when it announced Wednesday it was filing charges against Kalispell Regional for allegedly violating federal worker rights laws. A Montana judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by an Idaho mining company seeking to overturn its designation as an industry "bad actor" because of pollution tied to its CEO. A former Missoula County sheriff's deputy has been charged with a felony after fellow officers

Montana's schools superintendent is setting out her legislative priorities, including a proposal to make it illegal for teachers and other school staff to have sex with students, even if the student has reached the legal age of consent. The state of Wyoming has filed notice it will appeal a judge's decision to restore federal protections for grizzly bears in and around Yellowstone National Park. A federal judge has lifted a gag order on the Anaconda Superfund cleanup.

U.S. Sen. Jon Tester's chief of staff says the senator “misheard” a question last night that lead to his comment that Montana Gov. Steve Bullock would run for the U.S. Senate in 2020. The Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission will vote on Monday to proceed with a rule related to the management of grizzly bears in and around Glacier National Park if the bears are removed from the endangered species list. Grand Teton National Park officials are taking public comment on a plan to kill or relocate

Montana Legislature has advanced a proposal to prohibit discrimination, harassment and retaliation and set a confidential process to report and investigate complaints. A forum on the future of populism scheduled for next week in Missoula has been canceled because speaker Steve Bannon is not available. Anaconda residents are one step closer to finding out more details about the final Superfund cleanup deal and plan that’s been under wraps for the last four months. Court records show an officer

State and federal officials are proposing approval of a major coal mine expansion in southeastern Montana even as the mine's owner goes through bankruptcy proceedings with plans to sell the property. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke unleashed a scathing personal attack today against the top Democrat on the congressional committee that oversees Zinke's agency. Colstrip operator Talen Energy was sued today by a former parent company over claims of responsibility for worker pensions and environmental

Recounts have been requested in two Montana legislative races from the Nov. 6 election. A Montana man has been convicted of assaults on minors for beating his girlfriend's sons with a belt and rubbing hot sauce in their eyes. Senators Steve Daines and Jon Tester threw their support behind an effort to revive the Land and Water Conservation Fund today.

NorthWestern Energy customers will soon be seeing a credit on their bills due to the utility's savings under the federal tax cut enacted last December. A Texas physician can keep his 70 million-year-old dinosaur skull fossil in an ownership fight with the U.S. government. A Missoula women’s group awarded a $10,000 grant yesterday to the Missoula Food Bank and Community Center for a program focused on engaging women who have lived in poverty.

The $26.1 million campaign to decide whether to raise tobacco taxes to pay for Montana's Medicaid expansion program was the state's most expensive ballot measure in at least the last 16 years. Officials say a hunter killed a grizzly bear in Montana, south of Gibson Dam. Montana State University has agreed to pay $175,000 to a former student who filed a civil lawsuit alleging the school was negligent in its hiring a convicted sex offender as a music teacher.

The company that wants to build the Keystone XL Pipeline is asking a Montana judge to change his order blocking the oil pipeline to allow pre-construction work to continue. The Environmental Protection Agency has denied a petition from an environmental organization to ban M-44 devices, known as cyanide bombs, on public lands. Natural gas price spikes are translating into unusually high cold-weather heating bills for many Americans.