Montana's secretary of state says that Russian hackers unsuccessfully probed the state's election systems for weaknesses in 2016. Two people died in a fiery, head-on collision on U.S. Highway 2 near Columbia Falls yesterday. Both vehicles caught fire. Hill County Attorney Jessica Cole-Hodgkinson is resigning in the face of ongoing criticism that she is unprepared to prosecute cases.

Montana officials say the state collected enough revenue to give $111 million to government agencies, the treasury and a new rainy day fund. Montana health organizations that eliminated staff and services amid state budget cuts are cheering Gov. Steve Bullock's announcement that funding will be partially restored, but they say long-term damage has been done. The Reynolds Lake fire southwest of Darby is now 60 percent contained, up from 50 percent yesterday. The fire did not grow yesterday and

Governor Steve Bullock says the reimbursement rate for Medicaid providers will be among the budget cuts restored after state revenue came in above his administration's projections. Ballot initiatives to continue Medicaid expansion in Montana and increase mining regulations have both qualified for the November ballot. Fire managers across Montana are reporting good progress today, from the Wawa fire on the CMR to the Highway 37 fire outside of Libby.

The Cascade County sheriff says the jail is so overcrowded he is no longer booking people charged with misdemeanors or non-violent offenses. The latest report on the Highway 37 Fire outside Libby says its size has remained steady at about 51 acres The Bacon Rind Fire, detected Friday evening above Gallatin Canyon about 20 miles south of Big Sky is now being estimated at 202 acres.

Yellowstone National Park ratcheted up it’s fire danger level on Sunday. The Fort Peck Tribal Council says tribal members are not allowed to possess marijuana on the reservation, even if they have a state-issued medical marijuana card. A new Superfund health study is getting underway in Butte, and this week there’s a chance for the public to learn more about it and weigh in.

A fire near the former vermiculite mine and a section of asbestos-contaminated forest outside Libby is drawing a quick response from crews working to control it. Missoula County officials are investigating after a body was found in the Clark Fork River in Missoula.

A new estimate puts the Reynolds Lake Fire in the Bitterroot National Forest at more than 1,000 acres. The Trump administration says it may pick a new Western headquarters for the Bureau of Land Management the next six to eight months. Secretary of State Corey Stapleton is asking the Montana Supreme Court to overturn a lower court’s ruling that removed Green Party candidates from election ballots this November.

Democratic U.S. House candidate Kathleen Williams says if elected she would not support Nancy Pelosi as the party's leader in the House. Fire danger bumped up to “very high” on the Kootenai National Forest today (7/18). Crews are holding the Zulu Fire, burning about 23 miles north of Libby, to 20 acres.

The Zulu fire that it is believed lightning started Sunday in the Kootenai National Forest north of Libby expanded to 20 acres today. Public comment from enthusiastic pet owners helped shoot down a proposal that sought to ban dogs and other animals from salons and barbershops in Montana. The Kootenai National Forest is slated to start five salvage timber sales in areas that burned last year, and one more is pending.

Republican state lawmakers failed to get enough support to call a special legislative session that some wanted to convene today. Glacier National Park lifted restrictions on tent campers today in the Many Glacier Campground. Montana Gov. Steve Bullock is set to be sworn in as chairman of the National Governors Association this weekend at a meeting in New Mexico.