Montanans in Missoula, Billings and Kalispell today joined nationwide protests against abortion bans in southern states. At the Missoula County Courthouse speakers expressed outrage over legislation in Alabama, Georgia, Ohio and Missouri to a crowd of about 200 people.

The Montana Department of Justice announced plans Tuesday to hire a new specialist focusing on missing persons cases in the state. The position was created during the last legislative session amid public outcry over the high rate of Native American women and girls who are murdered or go missing.

Former Speaker of the House Austin Knudsen announced Monday that he is seeking the Republican nomination for Montana’s Attorney General race in 2020. Knudsen served as a representative from Culbertson in the state Legislature from 2011 to 2017, serving as Speaker of the House during his last four years. He’s the second Republican to enter the Attorney General race.

Here’s a riddle: When is a wildland firefighter not technically a firefighter? Answer: When he or she works for the federal government. That’s because the feds designate them as "forestry technicians." That irks many firefighters who put it all on the line as a changing climate means wildfire seasons are now longer and fires burn bigger and hotter.

Gov. Steve Bullock is in Iowa for the next few days after launching his 2020 presidential campaign in Helena Tuesday. Bullock is the first of the more than 20 Democratic candidates to be endorsed by a statewide elected official from Iowa.

Gov. Steve Bullock’s presidential campaign says it’s raised $1 million in its first day. However details on where that money is coming from are not yet publicly available. The million dollars cash-on-hand would rank Gov. Bullock 16th among Democratic presidential candidates, according to the most recent federal campaign filings.

A coalition of state, federal, tribal and private organizations dedicated to protecting the Columbia River Watershed from aquatic invasive species (AIS) met in Polson Wednesday. They said building connections between local groups and water managers will be crucial to prevent the spread of zebra and quagga mussels in Montana.

U.S. Sen. Steve Daines continues to pressure the U.S. Forest Service to reconsider proposed mountain bike closures in two Montana wilderness sudy areas. U.S. Forest Service Chief Vicki Christiansen vows the agency will meet with mountain biking groups who want to regain access to two wilderness study areas in the Bitterroot National Forest.

In the hours after Gov. Steve Bullock announced his candidacy for president in 2020 in an early morning video release on YouTube he met with local press outlets near downtown Helena in a half empty first floor office space — his new campaign headquarters. "I’m excited about this next adventure," Bullock said. "I think that what we’ve done in Montana, both electorally and in getting government to work, is something that a lot of people can learn from.”

Montana Gov. Steve Bullock is the latest candidate to join the crowded field of Democrats vying to unseat President Trump in 2020. Bullock waited until the Montana Legislature ended to announce his long-rumored candidacy. Now he'll find out if his statewide popularity will translate to a national stage. Bullock spoke with MTPR's Sally Mauk about his just-launched campaign and why he'd rather be president than a U.S. senator, and his positions on some key national issues.