Aaron Bolton

Montana’s hot real estate market is making it harder and more expensive to conserve grizzly bear habitats. Nonprofit conservation groups trying to connect isolated bear populations face the challenge of a growing human population and the rising cost of land.

State health officials Thursday updated lawmakers on their plan to improve care at the Montana State Hospital and to apply for federal recertification in roughly 18 months. The federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services pulled certification following patient deaths, blocking Medicaid and Medicare reimbursements from flowing to the state hospital.

Sixty new projects to expand broadband in Montana are expected to bring high-speed internet to 62,000 homes.

There were 47 grizzly bear mortalities in northwest Montana this year, which is just below the record-breaking numbers from the recent past. Experts say some of those bears appeared to have a brain disease which has not been seen in this population.

The state’s only psychiatric hospital for adults has been discharging patients to homeless shelters with no plan for care and sometimes without medications, according to a report from a designated watchdog group.

The publisher of a neo-Nazi website that called on his followers to harass the Jewish community in the Flathead Valley has been allowed back on Twitter, after being banned for nearly a decade.

Sen. Jon Tester Wednesday announced the introduction of a bill that aims to provide more support for homeless Native veterans.

Glacier National Park officials are considering whether to expand a ticket reservation system for entry to new areas of the park.

With a snowy start to November, skiers and snowmobilers have been heading to the backcountry and above-average snowpack levels across much of western Montana have some mountain resorts opening early. While most avalanche centers aren’t yet rating the current risk, experts say backcountry recreationists shouldn’t be complacent.

Funding from the infrastructure bill passed by Congress and signed by President Biden earlier this year is expected to connect 1,700 homes on the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation to high speed internet.