An attempt by President Trump to exert federal control over mail-in ballots and who gets to vote in this year’s midterm elections appears to be unconstitutional, according to election watchdogs, but is similar to other recent federal attempts to influence how Montana elections are conducted.

How journalists, organizers and experts estimate crowd size.

With Trump administration changes to federal wildland fire service still in limbo, what does this mean for fire season?

A coalition of environmental groups has sued the Trump administration after it expedited permitting for a proposed copper and silver mine near Libby.

The U.S. Forest Service will move its headquarters from Washington, D.C. to Salt Lake City as part of an agency-wide reorganization, federal officials announced Tuesday.

With five measles cases recently identified, Lewis and Clark County health experts encouraged caution to prevent further transmission.

The number is slightly below the 10-year average of 278 and the lowest since the 2016-17 season.

Almost a year after Montana’s Legislature gaveled out, Gov. Greg Gianforte has signed a bill into law that redefines ‘male’ and ‘female.’ Here’s what it means.

Across the state, protesters waved signs, gave speeches and chanted slogans against the administration’s approach to immigration enforcement and the war in Iran.

Bozemanite and Trump nominee Katie Lane was vetted for a lifetime appointment to the federal bench on Wednesday by the Senate Judiciary Committee.

As Montana rolls out new federal funding, rural hospitals fear “right-sizing” could mean losing care.

After several hours of emotional public comment, Helena City Commissioners voted 4-1 to rescind a January immigration resolution that called for local police to “avoid” assisting federal authorities, citing great financial risk to the city budget.

Trump’s DEI crackdown spurred university regents to expand Montana’s tuition waiver for Native students. Some tribal lawmakers say the action confuses race with political identity.

Two of the four bail bondsmen involved in the fatal shooting of a fugitive in Missoula were unlicensed, having failed the required test numerous times, and the other two had received temporary licenses less than a month before the shooting, according to the Montana State Auditor’s office.

The start of the calendar year is typically a low-activity fire period, but 2026 has tested that rule.

The ruling directed an Anaconda judge to allow media to participate in the ongoing criminal case over the Owl Bar shooting in 2025.

Over the past three weeks, the state Department of Justice has threatened to sue the city of Helena. Appearing with the governor by his side Feb. 11, Attorney General Austin Knudsen accused the state capital of violating a state law that bans cities from giving refuge to undocumented immigrants.

Airports in Missoula, Helena and Butte are hosting donation drives for food and gift cards to support Transportation Security Administration agents who haven’t been paid since the partial government shutdown began in February.

State Sen. Wylie Galt’s constitutional initiative would cap most property tax increases by local governments at 2%. It’s the third property tax cap initiative attempting to qualify for the 2026 ballot.

Following public pushback, the department last Friday revised its guidelines that previously restricted event organizers from setting up equipment and using state resources for weekend gatherings, according to the General Services Division website.

Two seats on the state commission that oversees the utility rates paid by a majority of Montanans are on the ballot this year. The seats have each drawn multiple Republican candidates and one Democrat, and are likely to be filled by the winners of the Republican primary elections.

Visitors flock from all over the country for the renowned spectacle where light geese, swans, and other waterfowl birds descend in the hundreds of thousands over the course of a monthlong, 2,000- to 3,000-mile migration north.

The latest batch of property applications accounts for more than 65,800 living units, according to analysts from the revenue department. But those applications appear to cover less than half — about 45% — of the state’s overall rental stock, according to recent estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Whether rising oil prices, brought about largely by shipping challenges in the battle-plagued Strait of Hormuz, become a liability in elections this year will depend on how long fuel prices pinch consumers.

Several states, including Montana, have advanced legislation to protect crisis pregnancy centers, based on model legislation from a national anti-abortion group.

The Montana Department of Administration is considering revising a recent policy change that restricts weekend rallies at the Capitol in Helena, according to department director Misty Ann Giles.

The Missoula clinic started in 2020 and has seen an increasing number of animals, particularly in the last year. From 2024 to 2025, the clinic saw a 63% increase in the number of dogs and cats served.

The Montana Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld a slate of pro-construction housing laws that were proposed by a housing task force established by Gov. Greg Gianforte and enacted by the Legislature in 2023.

Charles Felix Jones, whose bail is set at $5 million, also told police he shot into the Helena Planned Parenthood clinic in 2023. A suspect in that case had not been previously identified.

Montana Libertarians — none older than 50, and none having previously run as Libertarians — are fielding candidates in every race for federal office, plus several down-ballot contests.

Shawn O’Donnell’s American Grill and Irish Pub in Butte hosts an annual soda bread contest around St. Patrick’s Day where community members come to taste and vote on the best bread. A two-year winner reflects on what the cultural staple means to her.

Fifty-seven Democratic state lawmakers — just shy of the state’s 60-member Democratic caucus — signed on to a letter Tuesday urging the governor to reconsider new guidelines banning permits for weekend rallies on the Capitol grounds.

Studies show few trees to log or fires to stop in remaining Forest Service undeveloped lands.

The governor asked the Montana Supreme Court to quickly resolve questions raised by some GOP lawmakers opposed to bipartisan property tax legislation passed in 2025.

The man facing homicide charges for the fatal shootings of four people at an Anaconda bar in 2025 is still undergoing treatment at the Montana State Hospital in Warm Springs in an effort to declare him fit to stand trial.

Even with the Legislature adding two more judges, the 13th Judicial District remains the state’s busiest.

Essex’s Izaak Walton Inn, a beloved old railroad lodge on the southern edge of Glacier National Park, has been listed for sale for $18 million. The offering comes just weeks after its owner closed it and other properties amid significant financial issues.

Posting losses in Kalispell's 2025 municipal elections wasn't just humiliating for Flathead County Republicans — it was dumbfounding. This month they did something about it.

A Missoula jury Thursday found Ravalli County did not violate the rights of impoverished people in its pretrial supervision program.  The lawsuit argued that the program requires pretrial arrestees who are not convicted to pay “exorbitant” fees to get out of jail and stay out.

Exclusive resort will not face a fine for watering golf course with illegal well water, but judge tells Crazy Mountain Ranch “to make damn sure” it follows law in future.

Locals in the small Montana town are indignant about how an unwanted development came to their backyard. Some are refusing to be pushed aside.

Republican and Democratic political leaders in Cascade County allege that two candidates running as Democrats are not really Democrats, but Republicans trying to “game” the upcoming election for the Montana Legislature.

Organizers of the upcoming “No Kings” rally in Helena say that a new state rule banning permits for weekend rallies on the Capitol grounds violates their First Amendment rights. State officials countered that the new rule, quietly instituted just last month, was intended to save money.

The process for gathering signatures for ballot issues has changed in recent years. Here are the new rules of engagement.

Ryan Busse, Russell Cleveland, Matt Rains and Sam Forstag make their first joint appearance since Republican incumbent U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke announced he won’t seek reelection.

Lawmakers on the State Administration and Veterans’ Affairs Interim Committee discussed subpoenaing Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen over the cost of 467,000 Trump/Jacobsen postcards and her response to a DOJ request for sensitive Montana voter data, among other issues.

Tribally run management and a deal with Yellowstone National Park are helping forge a future for coexisting with the iconic American bison.

Montana’s state health department says it’s on track to begin checking in July whether Medicaid recipients are complying with new federal work requirements — an overhaul of the agency’s vetting process shepherded by Republicans in Congress and the Trump administration.

District officials said that students in grades 4 through 6 will temporarily relocate to other schools as the building is repaired.

A federal court has directed federal dam managers to do more to protect fish along the Columbia and Snake river basins. Here’s what that means for northwestern Montana’s rivers, reservoirs and ratepayers.