News

News from Northern Rockies Coordinating Group  MISSOULA — Stage I fire restrictions will go into effect at 12:01 a.m. on July 29, 2023, for Flathead County, Sanders County and all State land and private classified as forested land throughout those counties. Factors influencing this decision include drought conditions with dry forest fuels, very high fire danger across the area, strained fire suppression resource availability at the area level, a continued hot and dry weather pattern, and frequent human-caused wildfires. Restrictions are intended to minimize unwanted human ignition sources to better allow firefighters to focus on naturalIy caused fires. For the year to date, ...

News from  Zero to Five Montana  HELENA — Zero to Five Montana has received a grant to build on the organization’s early childhood work aimed at improving outcomes for Montana’s tribal communities. The funding was awarded by Zero to Three, a national organization focused on c...

News from MT Fish, Wildlife & Parks HELENA — Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks is advising anglers that full fishing closures and hoot-owl restrictions will be in effect starting July 26 on portions of some rivers and creeks in western and southwestern Montana. Full fishing closures prohibit ...

RONAN — Six Ronan Middle School students have tossed their hats into the ring for this year’s “Paint the State” art competition with each creating artwork with anti-meth messaging that’s displayed in various locations in Ronan.  RMS teacher Bill Becker recruited Anaka Ha...

News from Big Sky Public Relations on behalf of the Montana Department of Transportation RONAN — Excavation operations continue this week at the project’s north end, north of Baptiste Road. Traffic will be traveling on the southbound lanes, and drivers should anticipate traveling on a gravel...

News from Justin Franz, Montana Free Press FLATHEAD LAKE — Elected officials in northwest Montana are expressing frustration after the Bureau of Reclamation, which manages the many dams and reservoirs of the Columbia River Basin, rejected a plan to send water from the Hungry Horse Reservoir to rai...

MONTANA — Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks officials in northwest Montana are considering instituting “hoot owl” fishing restrictions for the first time on the Flathead River, as well as others, as warm weather and low streamflows threaten the region’s trout, particularly westslope ...

News from the Dept. of Labor and Industry HELENA — Montana reached its 20th consecutive month of unemployment below 3 percent in June, according to data compiled by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Montana Department of Labor & Industry. Since Governor Greg Gianforte was elected,...

RONAN — Ronan’s annual Crab Fest will return to the Lake County Fairgrounds on July 28 with presale tickets already quickly running out.  Started by the Ronan Chamber of Commerce years ago, Crab Fest used to be a smaller endeavor held in the city park each year. In contrast, this year wil...

News from Glacier National Park WEST GLACIER — Glacier National Park officials, in coordination with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, euthanized a food-conditioned, five-year-old female grizzly bear on Thursday, July 20. This action was taken after the bear received multiple food rewards from u...