Montana News

The president of Carroll College is leaving to take a new position in Texas. Dr. Thomas Evans assumed the helm of Carroll in 2012. Carroll is a private, four-year, Catholic college in Helena with an enrollment of nearly 1,500 students.

Lumber industry workers in Montana gathered in the capitol this afternoon to update the governor on the health of their businesses amidst a trade dispute between the U.S. and Canada.

A major study released Wednesday now says elk – not bison - are the primary source of new brucellosis infections in Greater Yellowstone Area cattle . That’s a significant change in thinking from 20 years ago when the scientific community blamed bison for most of the area’s brucellosis transmission cases.

The Veterans health system in Montana is preparing to roll out a new effort aimed at fixing problems with the troubled “ Veterans Choice ” program. Choice, launched by Congress in 2014, was supposed to help vets who live far from from VA facilities, or who have waited more than 30 days for care, get appointments in the private sector faster. It has been called a failure by many, although some vets have reported that Choice has improved their care.

New U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue is in Montana today and tomorrow for an agriculture summit being put on in Great Falls by Republican Senator Steve Daines .

The group that proposed the quiet waters initiative says they plan to try again. The group Backcountry Hunters and Anglers proposed the rule in May 2016 to reduce conflicts between motorized and non-motorized users. But on Friday The Montana Fish and Wildlife commission voted down their proposal that would have restricted the use of motorized boats on some Montana waterways.

Yellowstone National Park has increased the reward for information about the shooting of one of the park’s most well-known wolves . This more than a month after offering an initial reward.

U.S. congressman-elect Greg Gianforte could appear in court as early as Wednesday to face the misdemeanor assault charge police gave him last Wednesday . Gianforte missed his first opportunity to appear in court last Friday.

State and federal wildlife officials are investigating the death of a grizzly bear east of Missoula near Bonner. “This is an active, ongoing investigation and the service will share more information with the public when the circumstances of the case permit,” says Ryan Moehring, a public affairs specialist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Drought is not expected to be a major factor this year in Montana. Here’s something Montanans don’t frequently hear this time of year: “It’s very unusual for most of Montana to be as wet as it is at this point," says National Weather Service Meteorologist Bruce Bauck.