Montana News

Now that May 25 has been set as the date for Montana's special election to fill the seat Ryan Zinke vacated in the U.S. House of Representatives, the next step is picking candidates.

Before adjourning for a mid-session hiatus, the Montana House gave final passage to a slate of bills, but rejected — on a tie vote — a proposal that sought to criminalize physician-assisted suicide .

Montana’s political parties are getting ready for a sprint race to fill the seat of former Congressman Ryan Zinke. Zinke was confirmed as secretary of the Interior Department for the Trump administration this morning. Shortly after, Zinke released a letter resigning as Montana's lone voice in the U.S. House.

Crews in Whitefish have already fixed a water main burst that left many homes and businesses without water Monday morning, but public works managers say road repairs will likely last into summer. A leaky gasket, paired with a freeze-thaw pattern Sunday night, caused the burst, which Whitefish Public Works Director Craig Workman called "catastrophic."

State Auditor Matt Rosendale has approved a nearly 8 percent reduction in Montana's workers compensation costs. The decrease takes effect this summer. Rosendale says Montana's work comp rates have decreased ever since the 2011 legislative session:

"You got Big Crawdaddy here, it’s a little after 7:30. You are listening to KFGM Missoula ..." That’s 62-year-old Michael Cuslidge, who says you can call him just plain "Crawdaddy." He's a local musician, and a music junkie. And once a week, he drives up from the Bitterroot to DJ his show, "From the Big Easy to the Big Sky."

The Montana House endorsed a bill Monday that would require the state health department to work with other organizations to develop a plan to prevent child abuse and neglect .

A burst to the city's water main in Whitefish early Monday morning left much of the city without water for parts of the day. Crews worked quickly to isolate the rupture and restore water pressure to the system, but local businesses took a hit.

Montana’s former Republican Congressman Ryan Zinke is now President Donald Trump's secretary of the Interior. Zinke sailed through his Senate confirmation vote today with a 68 to 31 vote. Both Montana senators, Republican Steve Daines and Democrat Jon Tester , supported Zinke's confirmation.

The special election to fill Montana’s lone seat in the U.S. House of Representatives will be held May 25. Governor Steve Bullock made that announcement this morning just minutes after Ryan Zinke resigned the seat. Zinke's resignation came soon after the U.S. Senate confirmed him to be secretary of the Interior department.