Montana News

Government agencies that manage grizzly bears have been reviewing their bear spray recommendations. And they’ve agreed to a few clarifications. The Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee (IGBC) says bear spray is one of the best ways to prevent or end a bear attack. The IGBC, however, stops short of making specific product endorsements in its educational materials.

A new tax on medical marijuana proposed by Governor Steve Bullock would add an estimated million plus dollars a year to government bank accounts. That’s almost 3 times more than the governor’s office says will eventually be needed to support the state’s medical marijuana reform.

Last month, current Superintendent of Public Instruction Denise Juneau lost a hard-fought campaign against Ryan Zinke for Montana’s sole House seat. On Friday, we chatted about the legacy she leaves as superintendent, her reflections on her campaign for Congress and what comes next.

The University of Montana’s incoming interim president, Dr. Sheila Stearns, is stepping out of retirement and back into academia. Stearns will lead UM as it conducts a national search for a new permanent leader. Outgoing president, Royce Engstrom, has held that position since late 2010. Engstrom’s stepping down at the end of this month amid an ongoing enrollment decline.

A Montana conservation group says it expects a special environmental protection agreement it signed with Stillwater Mining to remain in effect after the sale of the company, which was finalized today. In 2000, previous company owners signed a "good neighbor agreement" with Billings-based Northern Plains Resource Council. The agreement lays out specific environmental protections beyond what government regulations require.

On Wednesday night, 75 people crowded into the Swan Lake Club House to hear a first of its kind in Montana proposal that would transfer management of some National Forest land to the state .

An effort by Democratic leadership to get some so-called "silver bullet" bills this legislative session , like they had in 2015, was denied by Republicans this week in a rules committee. The term "silver bullet" was created in the 2015 session to describe the process of moving legislation from a committee onto the House floor with a simple majority vote. That usually requires a supermajority, which makes it easier for a majority party to block bills they don’t like.

A new survey shows that more Montanans are turning to the internet for news than any other source. And it says most Montana online news consumers are getting it via their smartphones.

A month after his reelection, Governor Steve Bullock today announced new people will be running nearly half of his appointed cabinet director positions in his second term. Bullock announced the exit of six cabinet members during a press conference in the state Capitol today. So far, he’s made picks to fill half the vacancies.

Forty-five acres of trees killed by a major wildfire last summer are slated for harvest. The Bitterroot National Forest today announced it’s moving forward on the salvage project in the Roaring Lion draining southwest of Hamilton.