The Little Blackfoot River on April 14, 2024. (Photo by Blair Miller, Daily Montanan) Montana’s winter is shaping up to have been among the worst for snowpack in 25 years and, combined with current outlooks, has water forecasters warning that streamflow levels this summer could be well below normal across most of the state. Early last month, Montana forecasters and water supply specialists said the state would need above-average snow during March and early April, and a wet and cool spring, to keep the meager snow left from melting away too quickly and causing low river and streamflows through ..read more

Homeless rights activists hold a rally outside of the U.S. Supreme Court on April 22, 2024 in Washington, D.C. The Supreme Court heard oral argument in City of Grants Pass, Oregon v. Johnson and Smith v. Spizzirri, a dispute over the constitutionality of ordinances that bar people who are homeless from camping on city streets. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch | Getty Images) WASHINGTON — A majority of U.S Supreme Court justices Monday seemed inclined to side with an Oregon town’s law that bans homeless people from sleeping outdoors, in a case that could have broad implications for local ordinances re ..read more

Montana State Prison in Deer Lodge. (Provided by the Montana Department of Corrections.) Two boilers at the end of their lifespan failed in the Montana State Prison at the end of March, affecting 170 inmates in a low-security unit at the Deer Lodge facility. Since the failure, it’s taken weeks for the 30-years-old boilers to be replaced.  New boilers are expected to arrive this week for installation, Montana Department of Corrections Communications Officer Carolynn Stocker said in an email to the Daily Montanan. In the meantime, Montana State Prison maintenance staff installed elect ..read more

Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media as he arrives with his attorney Todd Blanche in court for opening statements in his trial for allegedly covering up hush money payments at Manhattan Criminal Court on April 22, 2024 in New York City. Former President Donald Trump faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in the first of his criminal cases to go to trial. (Photo by Yuki Iwamura-Pool | Getty Images) Oral arguments in former President Donald Trump’s historic case in New York began Monday in a Manhattan courtroom where jurors will be tasked with deciding whether ..read more

Phishing scam illustration (Illustration via Pxhere.com | Creative Commons). Aging services in Cascade and Missoula Counties are urging vigilance for Medicare enrollees around a scam offering free services or equipment in exchange for Medicare numbers. Renee Labrie-Shanks, Director of the Statewide Senior Medicare Patrol Program at Missoula Aging Services says Medicare enrollees themselves are the “frontline defense against fraud.” “If someone offers free medical equipment and asks for your Medicare number, it’s a red flag. Hang up immediately,” Labrie-Shanks said in a statement. The U.S. Dep ..read more

Signage at an early voting center in 2016 in Minneapolis. (Photo by Stephen Maturen | Getty Images) Pulling off an election takes a lot of volunteers, and it takes some love — “love for every member society.” A first-of-its-kind study by a University of Montana faculty member recently investigated the motivations of people who serve on the frontlines of democracy and found public service is a top reason poll workers sign up for the job. Money is a motivator, too. Published in the current issue of the Public Administration Quarterly, the study was conducted by UM faculty member Christina Barsk ..read more

A billboard put up in Helena that opposes the slaughter of bison from Yellowstone National Park (Photo courtesy of Alliance for the Wild Rockies). The issue of how we treat wildlife reflects upon who we are as a people. It reflects our character. It reflects what we value in life or if we even value life at all. Perhaps we accept this as a given and with that being the case, we are willing to accept the darker side of who we are. But many of us refuse to accept that dark scenario, which is why people speak out when they do. When they see a wrong, they naturally want to make it right. The Gall ..read more

Nonprofit groups like Link Health worked in health centers to sign patients and community members up for discount internet through a national program that is set to run out of funds this spring. (Photo by LINK HEALTH) For Cindy Westman, $30 buys a week’s worth of gas to drive to medical appointments and run errands. It’s also how much she spent on her monthly internet bill before the federal Affordable Connectivity Program stepped in and covered her payments. “When you have low income and you are living on disability and your daughter’s disabled, every dollar counts,” said Westman, who lives ..read more

Photo illustration by Getty Images. “Oh, we come on the ship they call the Mayflower We come on the ship that sailed the moon We come in the age’s most uncertain hour And sing an American tune Oh, it’s all right, it’s all right It’s all right, it’s all right You can’t be forever blessed Still, tomorrow’s going to be another working day And I’m trying to get some rest That’s all I’m trying to get some rest.” — Paul Simon, “American Tune”   Paul Simon’s “American Tune” was released in 1973.  The melody is from 16th-century Germany; Simon probably heard it in Bach’s “Passion of St. Mat ..read more

The U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, April 9, 2024. (Photo by Jennifer Shutt | States Newsroom) WASHINGTON — Military and humanitarian aid could be on its way to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan within weeks after the U.S. House took a series of overwhelmingly bipartisan votes Saturday to approve $95 billion in emergency assistance — and the Senate appeared poised to agree. The approval in a rare weekend session ended months of deadlock. House GOP leaders struggled with whether they should block or provide aid amid ongoing wars in Israel and Ukraine as well as mounting concerns about ..read more