A U.S. judge has ordered a convicted killer from Montana's Crow Indian Reservation released from custody after part of his conviction was overturned. State budget director Dan Villa will leave that position in about 5 weeks, to become the next executive director of the Montana Board of Investments. A committee of Montana lawmakers unanimously approved a revised sexual harassment and discrimination policy for the state legislature Thursday. A 55-year-old Oregon man who said he and his buddy were

The Bitterroot National Forest has kicked off a 45-day objection period focusing on bicycle access in two wilderness study areas: the Blue Joint WSA south of Darby in the Bitterroot mountains along the Idaho border and the Sapphire WSA southeast of Hamilton. Wildfire activity has moderated in western Montana in the wake of wet and cool weather earlier this week, but crews remain hard at work as temperatures start to rise again. The president of the Montana Senate is asking the attorney general

Wildfire activity has moderated in Western Montana in the wake of wet and cool weather earlier this week, but crews remain hard at work as temperatures start to rise again .

The Montana Supreme Court has upheld a state judge's decision to remove Montana Green Party candidates from the November ballot. Montana is receiving $3 million in federal grant money to improve election security. Governor Steve Bullock is standing by his comments over the weekend that he'd support a ban on some semiautomatic weapons such as the AR-15 rifle.

Montana's Democratic governor is saying for the first time that he'd support a ban on some semiautomatic weapons. Rain in western Montana Monday did little to slow fire growth across the state. The Montana Board of Investments is expected to formally name current State Budget Director Dan Villa as manager of the Montana Investment fund Tuesday.

For the second year running, the historic Lake McDonald Lodge will close for the season early because of a fire burning in Glacier National Park. The Flathead county sheriff issued an evacuation warning at noon today for residents between Moose Creek Road and Whale Creek Road north west of Polebridge following significant growth of the Whale Butte Fire. A federal appeals court says U.S. wildlife officials did not consider all environmental factors when it decided against designating a Montana

A federal judge has ordered the U.S. State Department to conduct a more thorough review of the Keystone XL pipeline's proposed pathway after Nebraska state regulators changed the route. The Trump administration is pledging to work more closely with state and local officials to prevent wildfires and fight those in western states. Governor Steve Bullock is in Iowa talking up his ability to win in Trump country, but he is still deflecting questions about a 2020 presidential run.

A unanimous Montana Supreme Court has rejected a tobacco industry-funded group's request to rewrite the ballot statement of a citizen's initiative to raise the state's tobacco taxes. The Flathead County Sheriff’s Office has issued an evacuation warning for a small number of residents near Essex just northwest of the Izaak Walton Inn along Highway 2 due to the Paola Ridge Fire. The Howe Ridge Fire in Glacier National Park that has destroyed multiple structures on the north end of Lake McDonald is

Glacier National Park this morning confirmed nine cabins inside the park at Kelly’s Camp, including the Big House, burned Sunday night, along with a handful of outbuildings and two boat houses. The Flathead County Commission voted unanimously this morningto enter Stage 2 fire restrictions, joining most other land management agencies in northwest Montana. The National Park Service says more than 940,000 people visited Yellowstone National Park in July, which is typically the park's busiest month

Officials in Glacier National Park now say that, “a number of structures were lost last night” in the Howe Ridge wildfire that was sparked by lighting Saturday. They estimate the size of the fire on the north end of Lake McDonald at 1,500 to 2,500 acres and have offered no estimate of containment. The lightning-caused Wigwam fire started Saturday near Ennis has led to the evacuation of 15 structures and 4 people in the Haypress Lakes subdivision. There are also pre-evacuation notices in-place