HELENA – The U.S. Bureau of Land Management says it will reconsider more than 100 oil and gas leases in eastern Montana and western North Dakota, as part of a settlement agreement with environmental groups. Earthjustice and the Western Environmental Law Center filed suit in federal court last year, on behalf of WildEarth Guardians, Montana … Read more
Triple-digit temperatures broke records across parts of the Northern Plains on Wednesday, as forecasters warned strong winds could stoke out-of-control wildfires and said the dangerous conditions would sweep into the central Plains by Thursday. The National Weather Service warned of “extremely critical” fire conditions across 22,600-square-miles in northern Montana including the cities of Great Falls … Read more
St. Peter’s Health said Tuesday it has purchased Creative Horizons Learning Center, a Helena child care facility, to expand its operations and to help more employees in need of child care. The center is near the health system’s North Clinic and will be called Peter’s Place North. St. Peter’s said it “welcomed” all 55 children … Read more
Helena-based Anderson ZurMuehlen Technology Services, the largest Montana-based CPA and business services firm, recently reported a cybersecurity attack against its cloud systems, but said there was no evidence that clients’ data was exposed. An AZTS spokesperson said in a recent email to clients that it appeared to be part of a choreographed attack that “targeted … Read more
Montana VA will have a virtual female veterans town hall at 5 p.m. Friday. The town hall will spotlight all the services available to Montana’s women veterans, including health care, information on reproductive and fertility services, breast and cervical cancer screenings, services for survivors of military sexual assault and intimate partner violence, and resources and … Read more
FIRE DANGER REMAINS HIGH…. LINCOLN – A wildfire sparked Tuesday [Sept. 6] is burning west of Lincoln near the intersection of Highway 200 and Highway 141. Eight aircraft, four engines and one initial attack crew were responding to he Arrastra Fire discovered at 2:55 P.M. yesterday, according to the Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest. Lincoln … Read more
A District Court judge partly ruled against the city of Helena, which sought to dismiss a lawsuit filed in January alleging its street maintenance district violated Montana laws. An order and opinion filed in August stated portions of the lawsuit will be allowed to proceed while others were dismissed. The petitioners, three Helena business owners, … Read more
A fire started Labor Day morning northwest of Helena had burned over 75 acres, according to an update on mtfireinfo.org Tuesday. As of Monday night there were 75 personnel at the Murray fire, named after nearby Murray Creek. No structures had been burned, no injuries were reported and no evacuations ordered, fire officials said. According … Read more
CUT BANK – School bus drivers are hard to find and that has some Montana Schools getting creative. In rural school districts such as Shelby and Cut Bank, the ability to find CDL-certified drivers under the new federal requirements has presented quite a challenge, officials said. Both districts have been hit hard by the shortage … Read more
GREAT FALLS – The decline in college enrollment is spreading throughout the country, but two local schools say they’re seeing a different picture. The University of Providence and Great Falls College-MSU both saw a slight increase this year in students enrolling compared to last fall. Both schools said they are expecting this trend to continue. … Read more