Medicaid expansion saves Montana businesses a lot of money, Gov. Steve Bullock said Tuesday. He made that point as the state legislative session opens, because if state lawmakers don’t vote to reauthorize it, Medicaid expansion will expire in June. Bullock released a new report today saying Medicaid expansion provided health insurance to 16 percent of Montana’s private sector workforce in 2016 and 2017.

An unprecedented move by the National Park Service could free up millions of dollars for staffing and cleaning-up trash and restrooms at Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks during the partial federal government shutdown.

The 66th meeting of the Montana Legislature gavels in at noon Monday setting the 90-day timer for major state policy debates. An early conflict will be over a proposal to change to the rules of the House in way that could reset the political balance-of-power in the Capitol.

When the roughly 10 percent of adult Montanans with a substance-use disorder commit a crime, the state lacks enough drug courts to help them stay out of incarceration and navigate treatment. That’s according to a new report on Montana treatment courts released Thursday. Most, about 90 percent, of those Montanas with a substance-use disorder aren’t receiving treatment for their illness.

The Montana Democratic Party’s new executive director is no stranger to state politics. Monica Lindeen replaces Nancy Keenan , who led the party since 2015. Lindeen served eight years as the State Commissioner of Securities and Insurance, and then lost the 2016 Secretary of State race to Republican Corey Stapleton. On Wednesday Stapleton announced he’s running for governor.

Current Republican Secretary of State Corey Stapleton plans to run for governor in 2020. Stapleton says he’s the right person for the job once Governor Steve Bullock terms out of the office in 2020.

U.S. Senator Mike Lee probably won’t get a Christmas card this year from Montana Senator Jon Tester. That's because Tester says he's, “A little frustrated with Senator Lee at this moment in time.”

Montana Governor Steve Bullock says Medicaid expansion has bipartisan support going into the 2019 legislative session , and is confident it will pass.

Montana’s senior senator is not convinced that high level, closed-door budget negotiations in Washington D.C. will avert a partial government shutdown. "Look, I would say at this moment in time it’s 50-50," Democratic Sen. Jon Tester says.

The federal Environmental Protection Agency is preparing to hand off long-term management of the Libby Superfund site to the state in 2020. A state advisory team is getting ready to budget for unforeseen cleanup and monitor the site. State Rep. Steve Gunderson says the Libby Asbestos Superfund Advisory Team’s goal is to ensure the EPA’s remediation plan lasts into the future, and that homeowners won’t have to pay for any future cleanup.