This story is adapted from the MT Lowdown, a weekly newsletter digest containing original reporting and analysis published every Friday. The federal Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement has indicated it will reject a law the 2023 Montana Legislature passed to loosen water quality laws that govern coal mining. In a letter dated March 28, Jeffrey W. Fleischman with the agency’s Casper area office, flagged components of House Bill 576 as “inconsistent with” and “less effective than” federal laws such as the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act. Because federal law prevents ..read more

Mexican restaurants — or at least restaurants with some Mexican dishes on the menu — are all over Big Sky Country. Much like Americanized versions of Italian classics such as pizza and pasta have found their way onto our dinner tables, so too have tacos, burritos, nachos and enchiladas come to dominate many American diets.  Over time, these dishes have morphed into meals that are a big departure from the original versions. This happens for a variety of reasons, including convenience, lack of access to particular ingredients, and a lack of cultural and historical understanding of the cuis ..read more

Five days a week, a short train rolls out of the rail yard in Whitefish with empty freight cars destined for the Flathead Valley’s three surviving wood products mills in Columbia Falls and Evergreen. At one time, short trains like this could be found all over western Montana, serving mills in places like Libby, St. Regis, Darby and Pablo. But today, this is one of the few “local” freights left in the region.  Since 1990, about three dozen mills have closed in western Montana, a list that will soon include Pyramid Mountain Lumber in Seeley Lake and Roseburg Forest Products in Missoula, bo ..read more

The MT Lowdown is a weekly digest that showcases a more personal side of Montana Free Press’ high-quality reporting while keeping you up to speed on the biggest news impacting Montanans. Want to see the MT Lowdown in your inbox every Friday? Sign up here. In Montana, there aren’t a lot of resources for people suffering from intense, destabilizing mental illnesses. There might be local hospital providers, a few short-term crisis beds or the local jail. But for hundreds of people a year facing mental health emergencies, most roads lead to the Montana State Hospital in Warm Springs. The public f ..read more

Students at Capital High School in Helena had their schedule interrupted by a moose Friday morning after it wandered onto the campus, resulting in a shelter-in-place order as school and city officials responded. Around 9 a.m., the school’s principal, Brett Zanto, alerted students that a moose, which had been sighted near or on the school campus the past three days, was on the loose and for students to remain in their classrooms. “I think Fish and Game and law enforcement tried to push it over the fairgrounds a couple days ago,” Zanto told Montana Free Press. “Well, now it’s back again today a ..read more

This story is adapted from Capitolized, a weekly newsletter featuring expert reporting, analysis and insight from the reporters and editors of Montana Free Press. Want to see Capitolized in your inbox every Thursday? Sign up here. Candidates for federal office in Montana have reported their fundraising numbers for the first quarter of 2024, providing a picture of the state of several campaigns ahead of closely watched elections in Montana this year.  By far the highest-profile race in the state is the U.S. Senate contest between Republican businessman Tim Sheehy and incumbent Democrat Jo ..read more

A state court in Helena on Thursday partially barred the Montana Office of Public Instruction and its elected leader, Superintendent Elsie Arntzen, from requiring a new wave of public charter schools to comply with school opening laws that were in effect prior to the 2023 legislative session. The injunction, issued by Lewis and Clark County District Court Judge Michael McMahon, temporarily resolves a dispute between Arntzen’s office and other Montana education leaders over the implementation of House Bill 549. The law, passed with bipartisan support, established a system of charter schools go ..read more

Get an insider’s look into what’s happening in and around the halls of power with expert reporting, analysis and insight from the editors and reporters of Montana Free Press. Sign up to get the free Capitolized newsletter delivered to your inbox every Thursday. April 18, 2024 Candidates for federal office in Montana have reported their fundraising numbers for the first quarter of 2024, providing a picture of the state of several campaigns ahead of closely watched elections in Montana this year.  By far the highest-profile race in the state is the U.S. Senate contest b ..read more

Republican lawmakers on Thursday convened a hearing to discuss the constitutional abortion rights initiative that could appear on the November ballot, despite an April court order finding that the Legislature’s consideration would have no bearing on CI-128’s signature-gathering campaign. The hearing before the Law and Justice Interim Committee was not attended by any Democratic lawmakers and hardly any supporters of the constitutional initiative to explicitly protect abortion rights in Montana. But Republicans and members of the public used the opportunity to oppose the proposal and criticize ..read more

Two transgender women with Montana ties are challenging the state’s near-total ban on residents updating their birth certificates and driver’s licenses to reflect their gender identity. The lawsuit marks the second challenge to the state’s birth certificate policy since 2021.  The lawsuit, filed in Lewis and Clark County District Court on Thursday, specifically challenges three elements of Montana law as unconstitutional: a Department of Public Health and Human Services administrative rule restricting birth certificate changes, a similar policy within the state’s Motor Vehicle Division ..read more