The Montana State Hospital has changed some policies, and plans to increase staffing and improve training. An agriculture organization that includes Montana farmers said today that the new steel and aluminum tariffs announced by the Trump Administration will take farm operations “to the breaking point.” Attorney General Tim Fox’s office is cheering a ruling by a federal judge yesterday.

The Montana Mining Association is asking the state Supreme Court to void a proposed ballot initiative that would require state officials to deny mining permits unless it proposed mines would not require perpetual environmental cleanup. Top EPA officials were in Butte today to explain details of the proposed Superfund cleanup that was agreed to in January, and get feedback from locals. Southwestern Montana remains a hot spot for potential flooding.

Campaign finance reports show Senator Jon Tester's campaign increased its spending on television and internet ads after President Donald Trump targeted him in April. Nearly 118,000 Montana voters have returned absentee ballots ahead of next week’s primary. A Missoula judge has dismissed an aggravated burglary charge against a bounty hunter accused of breaking into a house and handcuffing a bail jumper.

A Montana judge has chastised state environmental regulators over a mine exploration project near Yellowstone National Park. The state Board of Regents is asking the state for an additional $14.6 million in its next two-year budget so increased costs aren't completely passed on to students. Glacier National Park opened another section of Going-To-The-Sun Road to car traffic today.

U.S. wildlife officials have released a recovery plan for an estimated 1,000 grizzly bears in Montana - the largest grizzly population in the lower 48 - as they lay the groundwork to potentially lift protections for the animals. The head of Montana’s Democratic Party is asking for a congressional investigation into whether Republican Congressman Greg Gianforte lied to the police and the public when he assaulted a reporter last year. The state health department has hired consultants and paid over

A federal appeals court has upheld Montana's campaign finance reform law by rejecting a group's claims that it is vague and overly broad. Wyoming today approved its first grizzly bear hunt in 44 years. A veterans healthcare reform bill co-sponsored by Montana Senator Jon Tester cleared Congress today and is headed to President Trump, who is expected to sign it.

Receding water is allowing officials to better survey flood damage that occurred to homes in the Missoula area. However, officials warn that high water along the Clark Fork River continues and the danger of additional flooding is not over yet. A government wildlife worker who recently landed her "dream job" researching grizzly bears in a remote Montana mountain range is recovering from a surprise bear attack that left her with a fractured skull and other serious injuries. Montana Highway Patrol

Missoula County authorities are allowing flooding evacuees back home temporarily to check on their properties. Federal officials shut down an experiment on diseased wildlife from Yellowstone National Park after inspectors questioned government protocols for handling infected bison. U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials today said they are reviewing an encounter between a Border Patrol agent and two women who were speaking Spanish at a gas station in northern Montana.

A woman who reported a bear attack in a remote section of the Cabinet Mountains south of Libby earlier this week sustained serious injuries during her surprise defensive encounter with the animal, according to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. Montana transportation officials say crews are on pace to have the Beartooth Highway near Yellowstone National Park plowed and open by Memorial Day weekend. Montana's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 4 percent in April, slightly higher than the 3

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks staff are investigating a reported bear attack in a remote section of the Cabinet Mountains south of Libby. The National Park Service has approved plans to rebuild a century-old Montana hikers' dormitory that was destroyed in a fire last year in Glacier National Park. One of the six owners of the Colstrip power plant is offering $4.5 million in transition funding to the Colstrip community in anticipation of the coal-fired plant shutting down.