Montana News

The company responsible for cleanup at the Columbia Falls Aluminum Company Superfund site released results of their site evaluation on Thursday. The evaluation confirms that groundwater beneath the former aluminum smelter facility has elevated levels of cyanide, fluoride and other contaminants, leached from legacy landfills used from 1955 until 1980. The studies also indicate that the contamination is not moving toward wells used for drinking water in nearby neighborhoods.

The Montana House has endorsed what would be the state's first fuel tax hike in 24 years. The bill would raise the state's tax on gas by 8 cents a gallon and on diesel by 7.25 cents a gallon.

In Montana, more than 47,000 people qualify for tax credits that lower their monthly health insurance premiums. Those tax credits were created by the Affordable Care Act, what some people call Obamacare. Many of those people would see big changes if the Republican healthcare bill in the works in Congress now becomes law.

The search for nominees to be Montana’s next top political cop ended this afternoon during a short meeting of legislative leaders. The majority and minority leaders of the Montana House and Senate approved Jeff Mangan, a former Democratic legislator who owns a consulting firm in Great Falls, to join the Commissioner of Political Practices nominee list.

Hours before the Trump administration issued permits to resurrect the Keystone XL pipeline Friday morning a group on the Fort Peck Reservation in northeastern Montana set out on a prayer walk to protest the pipeline.

A bill intended to save counties hundreds of thousands of dollars in the upcoming special election for Montana's vacant U.S. House seat brought heated testimony and debate Thursday in the Capitol. Senate Bill 305 would allow counties the option of running the May 25 election entirely through mail-in-ballots. Great Falls Republican Senator Steve Fitzpatrick introduced his bill to the House Judiciary Committee:

About 150 people came to a campaign event in Missoula today for U.S. House Candidate Rob Quist . The Democrat called it a "rally for public lands." Quist addressed the crowd on a warm, sunny afternoon, wearing his usual cowboy hat:

State lawmakers and Governor Bullock have ended a stalemate over nominees for Montana's next Commissioner of Political Practices . The handshake agreement was reached outside the public hearing process. Republican Senate President Scott Sales and Democrat Steve Bullock met in the governor's office a little before noon on Wednesday and reached an agreement on a list of nominees to replace Jonathan Motl as Commissioner of Political Practices.

Nearly a dozen brewers testified at the Montana Legislature today on a bill that would raise a small brewery's production cap six fold. Matt Leow with the Montana Brewers Association says raising the 10,000 barrel limit for small operations to 60,000 would unleash potential for Montana brewers.

A popular city park in Hamilton will stay where it is thanks to a special election this week. Bitterroot Valley residents are notoriously skeptical of proposed bond issues. But Hamilton Police Chief Ryan Oster says local voters made an exception Tuesday to preserve Claudia Driscoll Park: