Montana News

An anti-abortion bill that would force doctors to save a potentially viable fetus is a step closer to the governor's desk. It passed the Montana House on a near party line vote Wednesday, and would ban abortions if there is a better-than-half probability that a fetus can survive outside a mother's womb.

Larry Anderson arrived early for a meeting last Friday morning at the Flathead National Forest supervisor’s office in Kalispell. It was unseasonably sunny and warm outside, but he’d spend the next three hours listening to presentations in a conference room because of something that happened last summer.

Plowing began on the west side of Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier National Park today. Though Lauren Alley, a public affairs specialist for the park, says it’s hard to say when the road will be entirely clear. “That is always the question every year, how long will that take, and it really is variable year by year, it does take several months to get all that snow cleared off,” Alley says.

The University of Montana’s academic budget will decrease by about $3 million heading into the next school year. UM President Sheila Stearns made that announcement today. This year’s budget amounts to about $146 million.

A bill to address the high cost of air ambulance rides may not do anything if it passes in the state legislature . Because, as one lawmaker puts it, the proposed legislation may accomplish its goal even before it becomes law.

The House of Representatives gave preliminary approval Tuesday to a bill meant to preserve Montanans' right to bear arms by prohibiting the enforcement of any federal ban on firearms. Senate Bill 99 would establish the "Montana Federal Firearm, Magazine, and Ammunition Ban Enforcement Prohibition Act." The bill passed out of the Senate in February on a 30-to-20 vote.

Environmental and animal welfare groups are suing the federal government over its use of two widely used predator-killing poisons . Compound 1080 and M-44s, are effective tools to kill coyotes and other native carnivores. Bethany Cotton says that’s part of the problem; they’re too effective:

MTPR's Capitol Reporter Corin Cates-Carney recounts Monday's day-long debate over the state budget bill in the Senate.

Montana’s top insurance regulator is promoting a new healthcare coverage option that he doesn’t regulate. It's called Medi-Share , and is run by a Christian non-profit in Florida that markets it as a ministry where members pay into accounts that are used to pay medical bills for other members.

There’s long been an imbalance in the number of Montanans who need help beating alcoholism and drug abuse and the amount of treatment programs available. Lately, those consequences are showing up in the state’s foster care system. The number of children needing care due to drug use problems in their parents has doubled since 2010, and the number of babies born drug-affected has tripled since then. Those numbers are from a new report by the Montana Healthcare Foundation , which also says the