Montana News

Governor Steve Bullock used his veto pen Thursday to kill what he calls "a regular political game" played by the Legislature , to restrict the governor’s use of the state airplane. The bill sponsored by Missoula Republican Brad Tschida would have blocked the governor from using the state plane for any activity related to state or federal political campaigns, unless the governor reimburses the state for the costs.

Twenty-one days before Montana selects its next U.S. Congressman , the Republican candidate stood among a crowd of more than 100 Christians in a small park in Great Falls, joining a national plea to God. This gathering outside the civic center downtown is a local observance of the National Day of Prayer . It’s been an annual event since the 1950s, when Congress made a law that the president would set aside a day each year for prayer.

Montana didn’t have a vote on the healthcare bill that passed the U.S. House today. The state’s seat has been vacant since Ryan Zinke resigned it in March to become interior secretary. Today the Greg Gianforte , Republican candidate to replace Zinke, talked to Montana Public Radio about the bill.

Donald Trump Jr. will make a return trip to Montana to stump for Republican congressional candidate Greg Gianforte . Trump Jr. was in Montana two weeks ago on Gianforte's behalf for two days of campaigning, fundraising and gopher hunting during a four-city tour.

The Environmental Protection Agency and BNSF Railway are responding to an unidentified sheen on the shoreline of Flathead Lake.

Montana’s tourism industry saw more people last year, but fewer dollars. That’s according to the latest update released today by the Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research at the University of Montana. In 2016 about 12.5 million out of state visitors came to Montana, that’s up 3 percent over 2015.

With less than a month left until Montana’s special election to replace former Representative Ryan Zinke, some voters are casting their ballots early.

The jail in Lake County is so overcrowded that there are more than 800 people on a waiting list to serve. The Lake County Sheriff’s Department is trying something new to deal with a shortage of cells.

Three Montana cities have passed school bonds for construction, including a $125 million bond in Bozeman to build a new high school and remodel the current one.

The big state budget bill landed on Governor Steve Bullock’s desk Monday, one of the final acts of the 2017 legislative session , which was gaveled to a close Friday. MTPR’s Capitol Reporter Corin Cates-Carney joins us for a look at what Montana lawmakers did and didn’t accomplish since convening in January.