Oil boom remakes N. Dakota county with fastest growth in US

WATFORD CITY, N.D. (AP) — First came the roughnecks and other oil field workers, almost all men.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 2 MONTHS AGO

Oil boom remakes N. Dakota county with fastest growth in US

WATFORD CITY, N.D. (AP) — First came the roughnecks and other oil field workers, almost all men.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 2 MONTHS AGO

Oil boom remakes N. Dakota county with fastest growth in US

WATFORD CITY, N.D. (AP) — First came the roughnecks and other oil field workers, almost all men.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 2 MONTHS AGO

Oil boom remakes N. Dakota county with fastest growth in US

WATFORD CITY, N.D. (AP) — First came the roughnecks and other oil field workers, almost all men.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 2 MONTHS AGO

Gaps in US wildfire smoke warning network leave many exposed

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Huge gaps between air quality sensors in the western U.S. have created blind spots in the warning system for wildfire smoke plumes sweeping North America this summer, amid growing concern over potential health impacts to millions of people exposed to the pollution.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 2 MONTHS AGO

Gaps in US wildfire smoke warning network leave many exposed

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Huge gaps between air quality sensors in the western U.S. have created blind spots in the warning system for wildfire smoke plumes sweeping North America this summer, amid growing concern over potential health impacts to millions of people exposed to the pollution.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 2 MONTHS AGO

Gaps in US wildfire smoke warning network leave many exposed

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Huge gaps between air quality sensors in the western U.S. have created blind spots in the warning system for wildfire smoke plumes sweeping North America this summer, amid growing concern over potential health impacts to millions of people exposed to the pollution.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 2 MONTHS AGO

Gaps in wildfire smoke warning network leave people exposed

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Huge gaps between air quality sensors in the western U.S. have created blind spots in the warning system for wildfire smoke plumes sweeping North America this summer, amid growing concern over potential health impacts to millions of people exposed to the pollution.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 2 MONTHS AGO

Gaps in wildfire smoke warning network leave people exposed

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Huge gaps between air quality sensors in the western U.S. have created blind spots in the warning system for wildfire smoke plumes sweeping North America this summer, amid growing concern over potential health impacts to millions of people exposed to the pollution.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 2 MONTHS AGO

Biden backs end to wolf protections but hunting worries grow

FARIBAULT, Minn. (AP) — President Joe Biden's administration is sticking by the decision under former President Donald Trump to lift protections for gray wolves across most of the U.S. But a top federal wildlife official on Friday told The Associated Press there is growing concern over aggressive wolf hunting seasons …

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 2 MONTHS AGO

Biden backs end to wolf protections but hunting worries grow

FARIBAULT, Minn. (AP) — President Joe Biden's administration is sticking by the decision under former President Donald Trump to lift protections for gray wolves across most of the U.S. But a top federal wildlife official on Friday told The Associated Press there is growing concern over aggressive wolf hunting seasons …

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 2 MONTHS AGO

Biden backs end to wolf protections but hunting worries grow

FARIBAULT, Minn. (AP) — President Joe Biden's administration is sticking by the decision under former President Donald Trump to lift protections for gray wolves across most of the U.S. But a top federal wildlife official on Friday told The Associated Press there is growing concern over aggressive wolf hunting seasons …

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 2 MONTHS AGO

Climate impact of coal sales from US lands scrutinized

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — U.S. officials launched a review Thursday of climate damage and other impacts from coal mining on public lands as the Biden administration expands its scrutiny of government fossil fuel sales that contribute to greenhouse gas emissions.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 2 MONTHS AGO

Biden backs end to wolf protections but hunting worries grow

FARIBAULT, Minn. (AP) — President Joe Biden's administration is sticking by the decision under former President Donald Trump to lift protections for gray wolves across most of the U.S. But a top federal wildlife official on Friday told The Associated Press there is growing concern over aggressive wolf hunting seasons …

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 2 MONTHS AGO

Climate impact of coal sales from US lands scrutinized

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — U.S. officials launched a review Thursday of climate damage and other impacts from coal mining on public lands as the Biden administration expands its scrutiny of government fossil fuel sales that contribute to greenhouse gas emissions.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 2 MONTHS AGO

Climate impact of coal sales from US lands scrutinized

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — U.S. officials launched a review Thursday of climate damage and other impacts from coal mining on public lands as the Biden administration expands its scrutiny of government fossil fuel sales that contribute to greenhouse gas emissions.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 2 MONTHS AGO

Wildfires threaten rural towns in Montana, California

LAME DEER, Mont. (AP) — Wildfires in Montana threatened rural towns and ranchland Friday and victims of a California blaze returned to their incinerated community, even as the U.S. West faced another round of dangerous weather and smoke pollution fouled the air.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 3 MONTHS AGO

Wildfires threaten towns in Montana, California

LAME DEER, Mont. (AP) — Wildfires in Montana threatened rural towns and ranchland Friday and victims of a California blaze returned to their incinerated community, even as the U.S. West faced another round of dangerous weather and smoke pollution fouled the air.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 3 MONTHS AGO

Democrats back Biden US lands pick assailed by Republicans

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A bitterly divided U.S. Senate panel deadlocked Thursday on President Joe Biden’s pick to oversee vast government-owned lands in the West, as Democrats united behind a nominee whose credibility was assailed by Republicans over her links to a 1989 environmental sabotage case.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 3 MONTHS AGO

Democrats back Biden US lands pick assailed by Republicans

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A bitterly divided U.S. Senate panel deadlocked Thursday on President Joe Biden’s pick to oversee vast government-owned lands in the West, as Democrats united behind a nominee whose credibility was assailed by Republicans over her links to a 1989 environmental sabotage case.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 3 MONTHS AGO

Democrats back Biden US lands pick assailed by Republicans

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A bitterly divided U.S. Senate panel deadlocked Thursday on President Joe Biden’s pick to oversee vast government-owned lands in the West, as Democrats united behind a nominee whose credibility was assailed by Republicans over her links to a 1989 environmental sabotage case.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 3 MONTHS AGO

Democrats back Biden US lands pick assailed by Republicans

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A bitterly divided U.S. Senate panel deadlocked Thursday on President Joe Biden’s pick to oversee vast government-owned lands in the West, as Democrats united behind a nominee whose credibility was assailed by Republicans over her links to a 1989 environmental sabotage case.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 3 MONTHS AGO

Democrats stand behind Biden public lands pick amid pushback

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A U.S. Senate panel deadlocked Thursday on President Joe Biden’s pick to oversee vast government-owned lands in the West, as Democrats stood united behind a nominee whose credibility was assailed by Republicans over her links to a 1989 environmental sabotage case.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 3 MONTHS AGO

Senate panel to vote on Biden's pick to oversee US lands

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A U.S. Senate panel was set to vote Thursday on President Joe Biden’s pick to oversee vast government-owned lands in the U.S. West after Republicans sought to derail the nomination.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 3 MONTHS AGO

US seeks to bolster firefighter ranks as wildfires increase

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — U.S. wildfire managers are considering shifting to more full-time firefighting crews to deal with what has become a year-round wildfire season and making the jobs more attractive by increasing pay and benefits.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 4 MONTHS AGO

US seeks to bolster firefighter ranks as wildfires increase

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — U.S. wildfire managers are considering shifting to more full-time firefighting crews to deal with what has become a year-round wildfire season and making the jobs more attractive by increasing pay and benefits.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 4 MONTHS AGO

Hungry grasshoppers spurred by US drought threaten rangeland

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A punishing drought in the U.S. West is drying up waterways, sparking wildfires and leaving farmers scrambling for water. Next up: a plague of voracious grasshoppers.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 4 MONTHS AGO

US seeks to bolster firefighter ranks as wildfires increase

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — U.S. wildfire managers are considering shifting to more full-time firefighting crews to deal with what has become a year-round wildfire season and making the jobs more attractive by increasing pay and benefits.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 4 MONTHS AGO

Boom in Native American oil complicates Biden climate push

NEW TOWN, N.D. (AP) — On oil well pads carved from the wheat fields around Lake Sakakawea, hundreds of pump jacks slowly bob to extract 100 million barrels of crude annually from a reservation shared by three Native American tribes.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 4 MONTHS AGO

Western drought brings another woe: voracious grasshoppers

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A punishing drought in the U.S. West is drying up waterways, sparking wildfires and leaving farmers scrambling for water. Next up: a plague of voracious grasshoppers.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 4 MONTHS AGO

US seeks to bolster firefighter ranks as wildfires increase

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — U.S. wildfire managers are considering shifting to more full-time firefighting crews to deal with what has become a year-round wildfire season and making the jobs more attractive by increasing pay and benefits.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 4 MONTHS AGO

Hungry grasshoppers spurred by US drought threaten rangeland

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A punishing drought in the U.S. West is drying up waterways, sparking wildfires and leaving farmers scrambling for water. Next up: a plague of voracious grasshoppers.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 4 MONTHS AGO

Boom in Native American oil complicates Biden climate push

NEW TOWN, N.D. (AP) — On oil well pads carved from the wheat fields around Lake Sakakawea, hundreds of pump jacks slowly bob to extract 100 million barrels of crude annually from a reservation shared by three Native American tribes.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 4 MONTHS AGO

Western drought brings another woe: voracious grasshoppers

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A punishing drought in the U.S. West is drying up waterways, sparking wildfires and leaving farmers scrambling for water. Next up: a plague of voracious grasshoppers.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 4 MONTHS AGO

Boom in Native American oil complicates Biden climate push

NEW TOWN, N.D. (AP) — On oil well pads carved from the wheat fields around Lake Sakakawea, hundreds of pump jacks slowly bob to extract 100 million barrels of crude annually from a reservation shared by three Native American tribes.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 4 MONTHS AGO

Hungry grasshoppers spurred by US drought threaten rangeland

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A punishing drought in the U.S. West is drying up waterways, sparking wildfires and leaving farmers scrambling for water. Next up: a plague of voracious grasshoppers.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 4 MONTHS AGO

Western drought brings another woe: voracious grasshoppers

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A punishing drought in the U.S. West is drying up waterways, sparking wildfires and leaving farmers scrambling for water. Next up: a plague of voracious grasshoppers.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 4 MONTHS AGO

Western drought brings another woe: voracious grasshoppers

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A punishing drought in the U.S. West is drying up waterways, sparking wildfires and leaving farmers scrambling for water. Next up: a plague of voracious grasshoppers.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 4 MONTHS AGO

Biden nominee linked to 1989 sabotage draws Republican ire

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — President Joe Biden’s nominee to oversee federal lands in the U.S. West is facing Republican pressure to withdraw over her ties to environmental activists convicted of spiking trees to sabotage a national forest timber sale more than 30 years ago.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AGO

Fight over Canadian oil rages on after pipeline's demise

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — The Keystone XL is dead after a 12-year attempt to build the oil pipeline, yet the fight over Canadian crude rages on as emboldened environmentalists target other projects and pressure President Joe Biden to intervene — all while oil imports from the north keep rising.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AGO

Biden nominee linked to 1989 sabotage draws Republican ire

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — President Joe Biden’s nominee to oversee federal lands in the U.S. West is facing Republican pressure to withdraw over her ties to environmental activists convicted of spiking trees to sabotage a national forest timber sale more than 30 years ago.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AGO

Fight over Canadian oil rages on after pipeline's demise

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — The Keystone XL is dead after a 12-year attempt to build the oil pipeline, yet the fight over Canadian crude rages on as emboldened environmentalists target other projects and pressure President Joe Biden to intervene — all while oil imports from the north keep rising.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AGO

Biden nominee linked to 1989 sabotage draws Republican ire

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — President Joe Biden’s nominee to oversee federal lands in the U.S. West is facing Republican pressure to withdraw over her ties to environmental activists convicted of spiking trees to sabotage a national forest timber sale more than 30 years ago.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AGO

Biden nominee linked to 1989 sabotage draws Republican ire

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — President Joe Biden’s nominee to oversee federal lands in the U.S. West is facing Republican pressure to withdraw over her ties to environmental activists convicted of spiking trees to sabotage a national forest timber sale more than 30 years ago.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AGO

Biden nominee's link to 1989 logging sabotage blasted by GOP

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — President Joe Biden’s nominee to oversee federal lands in the U.S. West is facing Republican pressure to withdraw over her ties to environmental activists convicted of spiking trees to sabotage a national forest timber sale more than 30 years ago.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AGO

Fight over Canadian oil rages on after pipeline's demise

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — The Keystone XL is dead after a 12-year attempt to build the oil pipeline, yet the fight over Canadian crude rages on as emboldened environmentalists target other projects and pressure President Joe Biden to intervene — all while oil imports from the north keep rising.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AGO

Keystone XL pipeline nixed after Biden stands firm on permit

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — The sponsor of the Keystone XL crude oil pipeline pulled the plug on the contentious project Wednesday after Canadian officials failed to persuade President Joe Biden to reverse his cancellation of its permit on the day he took office.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AGO

Fight over Canadian oil rages on after pipeline's demise

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — The Keystone XL is dead after a 12-year attempt to build the oil pipeline, yet the fight over Canadian crude rages on as emboldened environmentalists target other projects and pressure President Joe Biden to intervene — all while oil imports from the north keep rising.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AGO

Keystone XL pipeline nixed after Biden stands firm on permit

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — The sponsor of the Keystone XL crude oil pipeline pulled the plug on the contentious project Wednesday after Canadian officials failed to persuade President Joe Biden to reverse his cancellation of its permit on the day he took office.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AGO

Keystone XL pipeline nixed after Biden stands firm on permit

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — The sponsor of the Keystone XL crude oil pipeline pulled the plug on the contentious project Wednesday after Canadian officials failed to persuade President Joe Biden to reverse his cancellation of its permit on the day he took office.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AGO

Keystone pipeline nixed after Biden stands firm on permit

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — The sponsor of the Keystone XL crude oil pipeline pulled the plug on the contentious project Wednesday after Canadian officials failed to persuade President Joe Biden to reverse his cancellation of its permit on the day he took office.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AGO

Keystone pipeline canceled after Biden had blocked permit

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — The sponsor of the Keystone XL crude oil pipeline said Wednesday it is pulling the plug on the contentious project after Canadian officials failed to persuade President Joe Biden to reverse his cancellation of its permit on the day he took office.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AGO

Biden aims to restore species protections weakened by Trump

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration says it is canceling or reviewing a host of actions by the Trump administration to roll back protections for endangered or threatened species, with a goal of strengthening a landmark law while addressing climate change.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AGO

Judge: US can't delay challenge to public land coal sales

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A U.S. judge has rejected the Biden administration's attempt to delay a lawsuit from several states and environmentalists who are seeking to end lease sales for coal mining on federal lands.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AGO

Biden aims to restore species protections weakened by Trump

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration says it is canceling or reviewing a host of actions by the Trump administration to roll back protections for endangered or threatened species, with a goal of strengthening a landmark law while addressing climate change.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AGO

Judge: US can't delay challenge to public land coal sales

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A U.S. judge has rejected the Biden administration's attempt to delay a lawsuit from several states and environmentalists who are seeking to end lease sales for coal mining on federal lands.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AGO

Biden aims to restore species protections weakened by Trump

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration says it is canceling or reviewing a host of actions by the Trump administration to roll back protections for endangered or threatened species, with a goal of strengthening a landmark law while addressing climate change.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AGO

Biden aims to restore species protections weakened by Trump

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration says it is canceling or reviewing a host of actions by the Trump administration to roll back protections for endangered or threatened species, with a goal of strengthening a landmark law while addressing climate change.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AGO

Judge: US can't delay challenge to public land coal sales

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A U.S. judge has rejected the Biden administration's attempt to delay a lawsuit from several states and environmentalists who are seeking to end lease sales for coal mining on federal lands.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AGO

New wolf killing laws trigger push to revive US protections

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Wildlife advocates pressed the Biden administration on Wednesday to revive federal protections for gray wolves across the Northern Rockies after Republican lawmakers in Idaho and Montana made it much easier to kill the predators.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AGO

New wolf killing laws trigger push to revive US protections

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Wildlife advocates pressed the Biden administration on Wednesday to revive federal protections for gray wolves across the Northern Rockies after Republican lawmakers in Idaho and Montana made it much easier to kill the predators.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AGO

New wolf killing laws trigger push to revive US protections

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Wildlife advocates pressed the Biden administration on Wednesday to revive federal protections for gray wolves across the Northern Rockies after Republican lawmakers in Idaho and Montana made it much easier to kill the predators.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AGO

New wolf killing laws prompt push to revive protections

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Wildlife advocates pressed the Biden administration on Wednesday to revive federal protections for gray wolves across the Northern Rockies after Republicans-backed laws in Idaho and Montana made it much easier to kill the predators.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AGO

US proposes ending rule that weakened wild bird protections

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — The Biden administration on Monday proposed revoking a rule imposed under former President Donald Trump that weakened the government's power to enforce a century-old law that protects most U.S. bird species.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 6 MONTHS AGO

Scientists: Grizzlies expand turf but still need protection

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Grizzly bears are slowly expanding the turf where they roam in parts of the northern Rocky Mountains but need continued protections, according to government scientists who concluded that no other areas of the country would be suitable for reintroducing the fearsome predators.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 7 MONTHS AGO

Scientists: Grizzlies expand turf but still need protection

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Grizzly bears are slowly expanding the turf where they roam in parts of the northern Rocky Mountains but need continued protections, according to government scientists who concluded that no other areas of the country would be suitable for reintroducing the fearsome predators.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 7 MONTHS AGO

Scientists: Grizzlies expand turf but still need protection

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Grizzly bears are slowly expanding the turf where they roam in parts of the northern Rocky Mountains but need continued protections, according to government scientists who concluded that no other areas of the country would be suitable for reintroducing the fearsome predators.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 7 MONTHS AGO

In shift, oil industry group backs federal price on carbon

WASHINGTON (AP) — The oil and gas industry's top lobbying group on Thursday endorsed a federal price on carbon dioxide emissions that contribute to global warming, a reversal of longstanding policy that comes as the Biden administration has pledged dramatic steps to address climate change.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 7 MONTHS AGO

In shift, oil industry group backs federal price on carbon

WASHINGTON (AP) — The oil and gas industry's top lobbying group on Thursday endorsed a federal price on carbon dioxide emissions that contribute to global warming, a reversal of longstanding policy that comes as the Biden administration has pledged dramatic steps to address climate change.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 7 MONTHS AGO

In shift, oil industry group backs federal price on carbon

WASHINGTON (AP) — The oil and gas industry's top lobbying group on Thursday endorsed a federal price on carbon dioxide emissions that contribute to global warming, a reversal of longstanding policy that comes as the Biden administration has pledged dramatic steps to address climate change.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 7 MONTHS AGO

In shift, oil industry group backs federal price on carbon

WASHINGTON (AP) — The oil and gas industry's top lobbying group on Thursday endorsed a federal price on carbon dioxide emissions that contribute to global warming, a reversal of longstanding policy that comes as the Biden administration has pledged dramatic steps to address climate change.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 7 MONTHS AGO

Montana governor gets warning in killing of Yellowstone wolf

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte received a warning from wildlife officials after killing a radio-collared wolf near Yellowstone National Park without first taking a mandated trapper education course — a violation of state hunting regulations, officials said Tuesday.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 7 MONTHS AGO

Montana governor gets warning in killing of Yellowstone wolf

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte received a warning from wildlife officials after killing a radio-collared wolf near Yellowstone National Park without first taking a mandated trapper education course — a violation of state hunting regulations, officials said Tuesday.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 7 MONTHS AGO

Montana governor gets warning in killing of Yellowstone wolf

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte received a warning from wildlife officials after killing a radio-collared wolf near Yellowstone National Park without first taking a mandated trapper education course — a violation of state hunting regulations, officials said Tuesday.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 7 MONTHS AGO

Trump policy that weakened wild bird protections is revoked

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — The Biden administration on Monday reversed a policy imposed under former President Donald Trump that drastically weakened the government's power to enforce a century-old law that protects most U.S. bird species.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO

Trump policy that weakened wild bird protections is revoked

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — The Biden administration on Monday reversed a policy imposed under former President Donald Trump that drastically weakened the government's power to enforce a century-old law that protects most U.S. bird species.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO

US states look to step up wolf kills, pushed by Republicans

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Payments for dead wolves. Unlimited hunting of the animals. Shooting wolves from the air.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO

Trump policy that weakened wild bird protections is revoked

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — The Biden administration on Monday reversed a policy imposed under former President Donald Trump that drastically weakened the government's power to enforce a century-old law that protects most U.S. bird species.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO

US states look to step up wolf kills, pushed by Republicans

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Payments for dead wolves. Unlimited hunting of the animals. Shooting wolves from the air.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO

US states look to step up wolf kills, pushed by Republicans

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Payments for dead wolves. Unlimited hunting of the animals. Shooting wolves from the air.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO

Native American nominee's grilling raises questions on bias

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — When Wyoming U.S. Sen. John Barrasso snapped at Deb Haaland during her confirmation hearing, many in Indian Country were incensed.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO

Native American nominee's grilling raises questions on bias

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — When Wyoming U.S. Sen. John Barrasso snapped at Deb Haaland during her confirmation hearing, many in Indian Country were incensed.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO

Native American nominee's grilling raises questions on bias

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — When Wyoming U.S. Sen. John Barrasso snapped at Deb Haaland during her confirmation hearing, many in Indian Country were incensed.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO

Native American nominee's grilling raises questions on bias

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — When Wyoming U.S. Sen. John Barrasso snapped at Deb Haaland during her confirmation hearing, many in Indian Country were incensed.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO

Native American nominee's grilling raises questions on bias

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — When Wyoming U.S. Sen. John Barrasso snapped at Deb Haaland during her confirmation hearing, many in Indian Country were incensed.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO

Biden delays Trump rule that weakened wild bird protections

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — The Biden administration said Thursday it was delaying a rule finalized in former President Donald Trump's last days in office that would have drastically weakened the government's power to enforce a century-old law protecting most wild birds.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 9 MONTHS AGO

Biden delays Trump rule that weakened wild bird protections

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — The Biden administration said Thursday it was delaying a rule finalized in former President Donald Trump's last days in office that would have drastically weakened the government's power to enforce a century-old law protecting most wild birds.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 9 MONTHS AGO

Biden delays Trump rule that weakened wild bird protections

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — The Biden administration said Thursday it was delaying a rule finalized in former President Donald Trump's last days in office that would have drastically weakened the government's power to enforce a century-old law protecting most wild birds.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 9 MONTHS AGO

Biden environmental challenge: Filling vacant scientist jobs

Polluting factories go uninspected by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Leadership positions sit vacant at the U.S. Geological Survey's climate science centers. And U.S. Department of Agriculture research into environmental issues important to farmers is unfinished.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 9 MONTHS AGO

Biden environmental challenge: Filling vacant scientist jobs

Polluting factories go uninspected by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Leadership positions sit vacant at the U.S. Geological Survey's climate science centers. And U.S. Department of Agriculture research into environmental issues important to farmers is unfinished.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 9 MONTHS AGO

Biden environmental challenge: Filling vacant scientist jobs

Polluting factories go uninspected by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Leadership positions sit vacant at the U.S. Geological Survey's climate science centers. And U.S. Department of Agriculture research into environmental issues important to farmers is unfinished.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 9 MONTHS AGO

Biden environmental challenge: Filling vacant scientist jobs

Polluting factories go uninspected by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Leadership positions sit vacant at the U.S. Geological Survey's climate science centers. And U.S. Department of Agriculture research into environmental issues important to farmers is unfinished.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 9 MONTHS AGO

As Biden seeks a turn on environment, Trump rules to linger

Longtime safeguards for U.S. bird populations took a hit under former President Donald Trump, whose administration made it harder to prosecute industry-caused deaths — such as the 2019 destruction of a sprawling Virginia seabird nesting ground — and chipped away protections for endangered species.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 9 MONTHS AGO

As Biden seeks a turn on environment, Trump rules to linger

Longtime safeguards for U.S. bird populations took a hit under former President Donald Trump, whose administration made it harder to prosecute industry-caused deaths — such as the 2019 destruction of a sprawling Virginia seabird nesting ground — and chipped away protections for endangered species.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 9 MONTHS AGO

As Biden seeks a turn on environment, Trump rules to linger

Longtime safeguards for U.S. bird populations took a hit under former President Donald Trump, whose administration made it harder to prosecute industry-caused deaths — such as the 2019 destruction of a sprawling Virginia seabird nesting ground — and chipped away protections for endangered species.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 9 MONTHS AGO

Groups ask court to restore protections for US gray wolves

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Wildlife advocates on Thursday asked a federal court to overturn a U.S. government decision that stripped Endangered Species Act protections for wolves across most of the nation.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 10 MONTHS AGO

Sage grouse review done, but scant time for Trump's changes

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — The Trump administration has completed a review of plans to ease protections for a struggling bird species in seven states in the U.S. West, but there's little time to put the relaxed rules for industry into action before President-elect Joe Biden takes office.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 10 MONTHS AGO

Sage grouse review done, but scant time for Trump's changes

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — The Trump administration has completed a review of plans to ease protections for a struggling bird species in seven states in the U.S. West, but there's little time to put the relaxed rules for industry into action before President-elect Joe Biden takes office.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 10 MONTHS AGO

Study: Wildfires produced up to half of pollution in US West

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Wildfire smoke accounted for up to half of all health-damaging small particle air pollution in the western U.S. in recent years as warming temperatures fueled more destructive blazes, according to a study released Monday.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 10 MONTHS AGO

Study: Wildfires produced up to half of pollution in US West

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Wildfire smoke accounted for up to half of all health-damaging small particle air pollution in the western U.S. in recent years as warming temperatures fueled more destructive blazes, according to a study released Monday.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 10 MONTHS AGO

Oil companies lock in drilling, challenging Biden on climate

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — In the closing months of the Trump administration, energy companies stockpiled enough drilling permits for western public lands to keep pumping oil for years and undercut President-elect Joe Biden's plans to curb new drilling because of climate change, according to public records and industry analysts.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 10 MONTHS AGO

Oil companies lock in drilling, challenging Biden on climate

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — In the closing months of the Trump administration, energy companies stockpiled enough drilling permits for western public lands to keep pumping oil for years and undercut President-elect Joe Biden's plans to curb new drilling because of climate change, according to public records and industry analysts.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 10 MONTHS AGO

Trump administration scales back wild bird protections

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — The Trump administration on Tuesday finalized changes that weaken the government's enforcement powers under a century-old law protecting most American wild bird species, brushing aside warnings that billions of birds could die as a result.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 10 MONTHS AGO

Trump administration scales back wild bird protections

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — The Trump administration on Tuesday finalized changes that weaken the government's enforcement powers under a century-old law protecting most American wild bird species, brushing aside warnings that billions of birds could die as a result.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 10 MONTHS AGO

US: Mountain pine tree that feeds grizzlies is threatened

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Climate change, voracious beetles and disease are imperiling the long-term survival of a high-elevation pine tree that’s a key source of food for some grizzly bears and found across the West, U.S. officials said Tuesday.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 11 MONTHS AGO

US: Mountain pine tree that feeds grizzlies is threatened

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Climate change, voracious beetles and disease are imperiling the long-term survival of a high-elevation pine tree that’s a key source of food for some grizzly bears and found across the West, U.S. officials said Tuesday.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 11 MONTHS AGO

Trump administration moves ahead on gutting bird protections

The Trump administration moved forward Friday on gutting a longstanding federal protection for the nation's birds, over objections from former federal officials and many scientists that billions more birds will likely perish as a result.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 11 MONTHS AGO

Trump administration moves ahead on gutting bird protections

The Trump administration moved forward Friday on gutting a longstanding federal protection for the nation's birds, over objections from former federal officials and many scientists that billions more birds will likely perish as a result.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 11 MONTHS AGO

Trump administration moves ahead on gutting bird protections

The Trump administration moved forward Friday on gutting a longstanding federal protection for the nation's birds, over objections from former federal officials and many scientists that billions more birds will likely perish as a result.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 11 MONTHS AGO

Trump administration moves ahead on gutting bird protections

The Trump administration moved forward Friday on gutting a longstanding federal protection for the nation's birds, over objections from former federal officials and many scientists that billions more birds will likely perish as a result.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 11 MONTHS AGO

Land conservation plan stirs fight over Trump restrictions

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Proposed land conservation purchases in dozens of states would preserve more natural areas within tourist destinations, U.S. officials announced Friday, as lawmakers from both parties pushed back on Trump administration restrictions on how the money can be spent.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 11 MONTHS AGO

Land conservation plan stirs fight over Trump restrictions

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Proposed land conservation purchases in dozens of states would preserve more natural areas within tourist destinations, U.S. officials announced Friday, as lawmakers from both parties pushed back on Trump administration restrictions on how the money can be spent.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 11 MONTHS AGO

Land conservation plan stirs fight over Trump restrictions

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Proposed land conservation purchases in dozens of states would preserve more natural areas within tourist destinations, U.S. officials announced Friday, as lawmakers from both parties pushed back on Trump administration restrictions on how the money can be spent.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 12 MONTHS AGO

Land conservation plan stirs fight over Trump restrictions

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Proposed land conservation purchases in dozens of states would preserve more natural areas within tourist destinations, U.S. officials announced Friday, as lawmakers from both parties pushed back on Trump administration restrictions on how the money can be spent.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 12 MONTHS AGO

Trump pushes new environmental rollbacks on way out the door

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Down to its final weeks, the Trump administration is working to push through dozens of environmental rollbacks that could weaken century-old protections for migratory birds, expand Arctic drilling and hamstring future regulation of public health threats.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 12 MONTHS AGO

Trump pushes new environmental rollbacks on way out the door

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Down to its final weeks, the Trump administration is working to push through dozens of environmental rollbacks that could weaken century-old protections for migratory birds, expand Arctic drilling and hamstring future regulation of public health threats.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 12 MONTHS AGO

Trump pushes new environmental rollbacks on way out the door

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Down to its final weeks, the Trump administration is working to push through dozens of environmental rollbacks that could weaken century-old protections for migratory birds, expand Arctic drilling and hamstring future regulation of public health threats.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 YEARS, 12 MONTHS AGO

Trump officials end gray wolf protections across most of US

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. (AP) — Trump administration officials on Thursday stripped Endangered Species Act protections for gray wolves in most of the U.S., ending longstanding federal safeguards and putting states and tribes in charge of overseeing the predators.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 4 YEARS AGO

Judge blasts US agency's 'sloppy' climate work in oil case

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A U.S. federal court once again blocked new oil and gas drilling permits on Wyoming public lands in a ruling Friday that rebuked the Trump administration for its “sloppy and rushed” analysis of climate change impacts.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 4 YEARS AGO

Trump officials end gray wolf protections across most of US

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. (AP) — Trump administration officials on Thursday stripped Endangered Species Act protections for gray wolves in most of the U.S., ending longstanding federal safeguards and putting states and tribes in charge of overseeing the predators.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 4 YEARS AGO

Republican rout caps decade-long Montana political shift

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Democrats stood firmly atop Montana’s political scene just a short decade ago with control of the governor’s mansion, both U.S. Senate seats, state attorney general's office and every other statewide post but one.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 4 YEARS AGO

Republican Greg Gianforte elected Montana’s next governor

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Republican Greg Gianforte won the race to become Montana’s next governor, defeating Lt. Gov. Mike Cooney in Tuesday's election and expanding the GOP’s hold on the state following one of the most competitive gubernatorial races of the 2020 election.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 4 YEARS AGO

GOP's Rosendale wins Montana’s US House seat

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Republican Matt Rosendale has won Montana’s lone seat in the U.S. House.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 4 YEARS AGO

Republican US Sen. Daines wins reelection in Montana

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Republican Steve Daines has been reelected to the Montana Senate seat he wrested from Democrats six years ago.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 4 YEARS AGO

Republican Greg Gianforte elected Montana’s next governor

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Republican Greg Gianforte has won the race to become Montana’s next governor, defeating Lt. Gov. Mike Cooney and expanding the GOP’s hold on the state following one of the most competitive gubernatorial races of the 2020 election.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 4 YEARS AGO

Heavyweight battles for Senate and House seats in Montana

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — The Republican Party's hold on the U.S. Senate could be decided by a tight race in Montana where Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock was trying to unseat first-term GOP Sen. Steve Daines.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 4 YEARS AGO

Trump noticeably absent from key US Senate race in Montana

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — As Republican leaders fearful of losing the majority in the U.S. Senate parade through Montana to rally behind embattled incumbent Steve Daines, one has been conspicuously absent: President Donald Trump.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 4 YEARS AGO

Trump noticeably absent from key US Senate race in Montana

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — As Republican leaders fearful of losing the majority in the U.S. Senate parade through Montana to rally behind embattled incumbent Steve Daines, one has been conspicuously absent: President Donald Trump.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 4 YEARS AGO

Dems keep focus on public lands despite GOP legislative win

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Democrats seeking to pick up U.S. Senate seats in Montana and Colorado are falling back on a party playbook now familiar for the U.S. West: Paint their opponents as a threat to the public lands the two sprawling Rocky Mountain states are known for.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 4 YEARS AGO

Dems keep focus on public lands despite GOP legislative win

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Democrats seeking to pick up U.S. Senate seats in Montana and Colorado are falling back on a party playbook now familiar for the U.S. West: Paint their opponents as a threat to the public lands the two sprawling Rocky Mountain states are known for.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 4 YEARS AGO

After wolves rebound across US West, future up to voters

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. (AP) — The saucer-sized footprints in the mud around the bloody, disemboweled bison carcass were unmistakable: wolves.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 4 YEARS AGO

Wolves rebound, lose protections. Now future up to voters

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. (AP) — The saucer-sized footprints in the mud around the bloody, disemboweled bison carcass were unmistakable: wolves.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 4 YEARS AGO

Trump officials end gray wolf protections across most of US

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. (AP) — Trump administration officials on Thursday stripped Endangered Species Act protections for gray wolves in most of the U.S., ending longstanding federal safeguards and putting states and tribes in charge of overseeing the predators.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 4 YEARS AGO

Wolves rebound, lose protections. Now future up to voters

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. (AP) — The saucer-sized footprints in the mud around the bloody, disemboweled bison carcass were unmistakable: wolves.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 4 YEARS AGO

After wolves rebound across US West, future up to voters

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. (AP) — The saucer-sized footprints in the mud around the bloody, disemboweled bison carcass were unmistakable: wolves.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 4 YEARS AGO

Trump officials end gray wolf protections across most of US

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. (AP) — Trump administration officials on Thursday stripped Endangered Species Act protections for gray wolves in most of the U.S., ending longstanding federal safeguards and putting states and tribes in charge of overseeing the predators.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 4 YEARS AGO

After wolves rebound across US West, future up to voters

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. (AP) — The saucer-sized footprints in the mud around the bloody, disemboweled bison carcass were unmistakable: wolves.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 4 YEARS AGO

Trump officials end gray wolf protections across most of US

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. (AP) — Trump administration officials on Thursday stripped Endangered Species Act protections for gray wolves in most of the U.S., ending longstanding federal safeguards and putting states and tribes in charge of overseeing the predators.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 4 YEARS AGO

Wildfire smoke in US exposes millions to hazardous pollution

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (AP) — Wildfires churning out dense plumes of smoke as they scorch huge swaths of the U.S. West Coast have exposed millions of people to hazardous pollution levels, causing emergency room visits to spike and potentially thousands of deaths among the elderly and infirm, according to an …

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 4 YEARS, 1 MONTH AGO

Wildfire smoke in US exposes millions to hazardous pollution

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (AP) — Wildfires churning out dense plumes of smoke as they scorch huge swaths of the U.S. West Coast have exposed millions of people to hazardous pollution levels, causing emergency room visits to spike and potentially thousands of deaths among the elderly and infirm, according to an …

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 4 YEARS, 1 MONTH AGO

Health issues as wildfire smoke hits millions in US

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (AP) — Wildfires churning out dense plumes of smoke as they scorch huge swaths of the U.S. West Coast have exposed millions of people to hazardous pollution levels, causing emergency room visits to spike and potentially thousands of deaths among the elderly and infirm, according to an …

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 4 YEARS, 1 MONTH AGO

US Senate high stakes spur astronomical spending in Montana

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Political groups fighting for control of the U.S. Senate have poured more than $118 million into the contest between Montana's Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock and Republican incumbent Steve Daines, a record shattering figure for the sparsely-populated state that dwarfs spending on a per-voter basis in all …

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 4 YEARS, 1 MONTH AGO

Health issues as wildfire smoke hits millions in US

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (AP) — Wildfires churning out dense plumes of smoke as they scorch huge swaths of the U.S. West Coast have exposed millions of people to hazardous pollution levels, causing emergency room visits to spike and potentially thousands of deaths among the elderly and infirm, according to an …

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 4 YEARS, 1 MONTH AGO

US Senate high stakes spur astronomical spending in Montana

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Political groups fighting for control of the U.S. Senate have poured more than $118 million into the contest between Montana's Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock and Republican incumbent Steve Daines, a record shattering figure for the sparsely-populated state that dwarfs spending on a per-voter basis in all …

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 4 YEARS, 1 MONTH AGO

US officials seek limits on "habitat" for imperiled species

The Trump administration is proposing to define what land and water can be declared as “habitat” for imperiled plants and animals _ potentially excluding areas that species could use in the future

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 4 YEARS, 3 MONTHS AGO

Montana care home sees 15th death; more virus tests pending

A senior home in Montana pummeled by a coronavirus outbreak that infected nearly every resident has seen another death

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 4 YEARS, 3 MONTHS AGO

Records: Montana governor feared backlash over mask mandate

Records show Montana Gov. Steve Bullock issued a statewide mandate to wear masks after hundreds of Montana residents, business owners and health care leaders demanded the move as virus cases climbed

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 4 YEARS, 4 MONTHS AGO

Care home refused free tests. Now, nearly everyone has virus

A Montana memory care facility that didn't carry out free coronavirus testing on its residents is reeling from an outbreak that has infected nearly everyone who lives there

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 4 YEARS, 4 MONTHS AGO

US, Wyoming urge rejection of ruling that blocked bear hunts

Ruling means federal wildlife officials will have to do more to justify their proposal to lift protections for bears

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 4 YEARS, 4 MONTHS AGO

Montana virus infections hit new high as nursing home hit

Studies suggest people can be infected without feeling sick

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 4 YEARS, 4 MONTHS AGO

U.S. transfers care for towns polluted with asbestos to state

Montana regulators are taking over maintenance of an environmental cleanup in two northwestern Montana towns where lung-damaging asbestos contamination has been blamed in hundreds of deaths

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 4 YEARS, 4 MONTHS AGO

Tax returns: Gianforte made $184M over 10 years

Tax returns released by his campaign show Republican gubernatorial candidate Rep. Greg Gianforte reported income of $184 million over a 10-year period ending in 2018

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 4 YEARS, 4 MONTHS AGO

With his sights on Senate, Bullock still battling Trump

With the balance of the closely divided U.S. Senate in play in November’s election, tens of millions of dollars are expected to be dumped into the Senate race in Montana

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 4 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AGO

First piece of disputed Keystone XL pipeline finished

A Canadian company has built the first piece of the disputed Keystone XL oil sands pipeline across the U.S. border and started work on labor camps in Montana and South Dakota

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 4 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AGO

Coronavirus shapes Montana governor race as primary nears

The coronavirus is helping shape the race for Montana governor and giving Lt. Gov. Mike Cooney an unexpected boost as he faces a well-financed opponent with extensive political connections

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 4 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AGO

Attorney general is unlikely underdog in governor race

Attorney General Tim Fox is an unlikely political underdog after capturing more votes than any other candidate, in any race, to win a second term in Montana’s 2016 election

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 4 YEARS, 6 MONTHS AGO

Unemployment claims fall again as Montana ends more closures

New unemployment claim numbers in Montana dropped again last week after more coronavirus restrictions were eased and many restaurants, bars and other establishments re-opened

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 4 YEARS, 6 MONTHS AGO

Montana sees most female statewide candidates in decades

Female candidates are positioned to make significant gains in Montana’s election this year with the highest number seeking statewide political office in at least three decades

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 4 YEARS, 6 MONTHS AGO

US, Wyoming urge rejection of ruling that blocked bear hunts

Attorneys for the U.S. government and the state of Wyoming are urging an appeals court to throw out significant portions of a ruling that blocked the first grizzly bear hunts in the Lower 48 states in almost three decades

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 4 YEARS, 6 MONTHS AGO

In rural U.S., fears of virus seem far away as stores reopen

Parts of the U.S. are starting to lift closures, and some of the quickest to reopen have been rural states like Montana, Vermont and Alaska

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 4 YEARS, 6 MONTHS AGO

Church services resume as Montana takes first step to reopen

Montana took its first, halting step toward reopening on Sunday as churches resumed services and a general stay-at-home order expired

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 4 YEARS, 6 MONTHS AGO

Approval of oil pipelines delayed after environmental ruling

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has suspended a nationwide program used to approve oil and gas pipelines, power lines and other utility work

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 4 YEARS, 6 MONTHS AGO

Tribes press judge to halt U.S.-Canada pipeline as work starts

Native American tribes and environmental groups are pressuring a federal judge to shut down work on the construction of an oil pipeline from Canada to Nebraska less than two weeks after it started

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 4 YEARS, 7 MONTHS AGO

Border wall, pipeline projects spur rural coronavirus fears

Major construction projects are moving forward along both U.S. borders and raising fears that the influx of workers could spread the coronavirus

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 4 YEARS, 7 MONTHS AGO

Disputed Canada-US oil pipeline work to start in April

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A Canadian company said Tuesday it plans to start construction of the disputed Keystone XL oil sands pipeline through the U.S. Midwest in April, after lining up customers and money for a proposal that is bitterly opposed by environmentalists and some American Indian tribes.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 4 YEARS, 7 MONTHS AGO

Ex-wildlife chief: Trump rule could kill billions of birds

BUTTE, Mont. (AP) — At a former open pit copper mine filled with billions of gallons of toxic water, sirens and loud pops from propane cannons echo off the granite walls to scare away birds so they don’t land.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 4 YEARS, 7 MONTHS AGO

Ex-wildlife chief: Trump rule could kill billions of birds

BUTTE, Mont. (AP) — At a former open pit copper mine filled with billions of gallons of toxic water, sirens and loud pops from propane cannons echo off the granite walls to scare away birds so they don’t land.

BONNER COUNTY DAILY BEE | UPDATED 4 YEARS, 7 MONTHS AGO

Ex-wildlife chief: Trump rule could kill billions of birds

BUTTE, Mont. (AP) — At a former open pit copper mine filled with billions of gallons of toxic water, sirens and loud pops from propane cannons echo off the granite walls to scare away birds so they don’t land.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 4 YEARS, 7 MONTHS AGO

Ex-Blackfeet chairman gets 10 months prison in fraud case

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A former Blackfeet Nation chairman who defrauded a tribal Head Start early education program through an overtime pay scheme was sentenced Monday to 10 months in prison and his plea to be spared prison time because of the coronavirus was denied.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 4 YEARS, 7 MONTHS AGO

Yellowstone slaughters wild bison to shrink park's herds

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Yellowstone National Park is done capturing wild bison for the year after rounding up almost 550 of the wild animals and sending most to slaughter as part of a population control program, park officials said.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 4 YEARS, 7 MONTHS AGO

Yellowstone slaughters wild bison to shrink park's herds

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Yellowstone National Park is done capturing wild bison for the year after rounding up almost 550 of the wild animals and sending most to slaughter as part of a population control program, park officials said.

BONNER COUNTY DAILY BEE | UPDATED 4 YEARS, 7 MONTHS AGO

Yellowstone slaughters wild bison to shrink park's herds

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Yellowstone National Park is done capturing wild bison for the year after rounding up almost 550 of the wild animals and sending most to slaughter as part of a population control program, park officials said.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 4 YEARS, 7 MONTHS AGO

Closures expanded, jail guard tests positive for virus

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Montana's governor ordered bars, restaurants, movie theaters, gyms and other gathering places statewide to close Friday and braced the state for an extended shutdown of many public functions in the rush to stem the spread of the coronavirus.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 4 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO

Amid pandemic, US coal industry seeks lower taxes, royalties

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — The lobbying arm of the U.S. coal industry is asking for hundreds of millions of dollars in royalty relief, tax cuts and other breaks to help companies ride out the financial crisis brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 4 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO

Judge asked to force decision on US wolverine protections

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Wildlife advocates on Wednesday asked a U.S. judge to force the government into deciding if the snow-loving wolverine should be federally protected as the rare predator becomes vulnerable to a warming planet.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 4 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO

Judge asked to force decision on US wolverine protections

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Wildlife advocates on Wednesday asked a U.S. judge to force the government into deciding if the snow-loving wolverine should be federally protected as the rare predator becomes vulnerable to a warming planet.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 4 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO

Judge asked to force decision on US wolverine protections

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Wildlife advocates on Wednesday asked a U.S. judge to force the government into deciding if the snow-loving wolverine should be federally protected as the rare predator becomes vulnerable to a warming planet.

BONNER COUNTY DAILY BEE | UPDATED 4 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO

Florida man pleads not guilty after 78-pound meth seizure

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A Florida man has pleaded innocent of a federal drug trafficking charge after his arrest in what authorities say was the largest meth seizure ever from a traffic stop in Montana.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 4 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO

Montana, Navajo company reach deal on mine to waive immunity

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Montana regulators have reached a deal allowing the state to enforce environmental laws at a large coal mine bought by a Navajo-owned company, officials said Thursday.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 4 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO

Canadian firm starts US prep work for Keystone XL pipeline

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A Canadian company said Wednesday it has started preliminary work along the route of the proposed Keystone XL oil sands pipeline through the U.S. in anticipation of starting construction next month, as opponents await a judge's ruling on their request to block any work.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 4 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO

Gianforte draws barbs at GOP gubernatorial debate

BILLINGS — Rep. Greg Gianforte took some shots from his fellow Republican candidates for governor during the primary election’s first debate featuring all three candidates on Thursday.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 4 YEARS, 9 MONTHS AGO

Group cuts bison plan for huge nature reserve

BILLINGS — A conservation group trying to create the largest nature reserve in the Lower 48 U.S. states said Tuesday it was scaling back its request to expand bison grazing in Montana, following strong opposition from ranchers and Republican lawmakers.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 5 YEARS, 1 MONTH AGO

Group cuts bison plan for huge nature reserve

BILLINGS — A conservation group trying to create the largest nature reserve in the Lower 48 U.S. states said Tuesday it was scaling back its request to expand bison grazing in Montana, following strong opposition from ranchers and Republican lawmakers.

BIGFORK EAGLE | UPDATED 5 YEARS, 1 MONTH AGO

Pollution from mine found in Kootenai

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — U.S. government scientists found high levels of pollution that can be toxic to fish, aquatic insects and the birds that feed on them in a river that flows into Montana and Idaho from a coal mining region of Canada, officials said Monday.

BONNER COUNTY DAILY BEE | UPDATED 5 YEARS, 1 MONTH AGO

Smoke from western wildfires boosting health risk for millions

BILLINGS — Climate change in the Western U.S. means more intense and frequent wildfires churning out waves of smoke that scientists say will sweep across the continent to affect tens of millions of people and cause a spike in premature deaths.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 5 YEARS, 4 MONTHS AGO

Smoke from western wildfires boosting health risk for millions

BILLINGS — Climate change in the Western U.S. means more intense and frequent wildfires churning out waves of smoke that scientists say will sweep across the continent to affect tens of millions of people and cause a spike in premature deaths.

BIGFORK EAGLE | UPDATED 5 YEARS, 4 MONTHS AGO

Pence addresses Montana meth problem, headlines fundraiser

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Vice President Mike Pence pushed a combination of tough law enforcement and treatment for addicts to combat Montana's methamphetamine crisis, during a Wednesday visit to the state that was also aimed at raising campaign cash for fellow Republican Sen. Steve Daines.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 5 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AGO

Pence addresses Montana meth problem, headlines fundraiser

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Vice President Mike Pence pushed a combination of tough law enforcement and treatment for addicts to combat Montana's methamphetamine crisis, during a Wednesday visit to the state that was also aimed at raising campaign cash for fellow Republican Sen. Steve Daines.

BIGFORK EAGLE | UPDATED 5 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AGO

Williams launches new bid for Montana U.S. House seat

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Former state Rep. Kathleen Williams launched a new campaign for Montana’s only seat in the U.S. House of Representatives on Friday, just five months after her loss to incumbent Republican Rep. Greg Gianforte.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 5 YEARS, 7 MONTHS AGO

Williams launches new bid for Montana U.S. House seat

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Former state Rep. Kathleen Williams launched a new campaign for Montana’s only seat in the U.S. House of Representatives on Friday, just five months after her loss to incumbent Republican Rep. Greg Gianforte.

BIGFORK EAGLE | UPDATED 5 YEARS, 7 MONTHS AGO

Trapping ban urged to protect MT fishers

BILLINGS, Mont. — Wildlife advocates urged Montana officials last month to ban trapping along much of the state’s border with Idaho to protect an isolated population of cat-sized predators living in old-growth forests.

BONNER COUNTY DAILY BEE | UPDATED 5 YEARS, 9 MONTHS AGO

Ruling that blocked grizzly bear hunt plans appealed

BILLINGS — U.S. government attorneys filed notice Friday that they are appealing a court ruling that restored protections for grizzly bears in the Northern Rockies and blocked plans to hold the first public hunts for the animals in decades.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 5 YEARS, 10 MONTHS AGO

Zinke resigns as interior secretary amid numerous probes

WASHINGTON (AP) — Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, facing federal investigations into his travel, political activity and potential conflicts of interest, will be leaving the administration at year’s end, President Donald Trump said Saturday. In his resignation letter, obtained by The Associated Press, Zinke said “vicious and politically motivated attacks” against …

WHITEFISH PILOT | UPDATED 5 YEARS, 11 MONTHS AGO

Zinke '100 percent confident' he'll be cleared in probes

BILLINGS — U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke declared Monday he’s “100 percent confident” no wrongdoing will be found in pending ethics investigations that have stirred speculation he could get ousted from President Donald Trump’s Cabinet.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 6 YEARS AGO

Interior: Drilling would be inappropriate

BILLINGS — The Trump administration plans to appeal a federal court ruling that would allow oil and gas drilling on land considered sacred to Native American tribes in Montana and Canada, U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke said Tuesday.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 6 YEARS AGO

Interior: Drilling would be inappropriate

BILLINGS — The Trump administration plans to appeal a federal court ruling that would allow oil and gas drilling on land considered sacred to Native American tribes in Montana and Canada, U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke said Tuesday.

BIGFORK EAGLE | UPDATED 6 YEARS AGO

Democratic Sen. Jon Tester beats Matt Rosendale in Montana

BILLINGS — Montana Democrat Jon Tester captured a third term in the U.S. Senate with an extremely narrow victory over an opponent President Donald Trump tried to boost by making repeated visits to the state.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 6 YEARS AGO

Democratic Sen. Jon Tester beats Matt Rosendale in Montana

BILLINGS — Montana Democrat Jon Tester captured a third term in the U.S. Senate with an extremely narrow victory over an opponent President Donald Trump tried to boost by making repeated visits to the state.

BIGFORK EAGLE | UPDATED 6 YEARS AGO

Judge reinstates oil, gas leases on Badger Two Medicine

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A judge reinstated an oil and gas lease on land in northwestern Montana considered sacred to some tribes in the U.S. and Canada — a ruling that could test the depths of the Trump administration’s support for the energy industry.

HUNGRY HORSE NEWS | UPDATED 6 YEARS, 1 MONTH AGO

Judge restores energy lease on Montana land sacred to tribes

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A judge reinstated an oil and gas lease on land in northwestern Montana considered sacred to some tribes in the U.S. and Canada — a ruling that could test the depths of the Trump administration's support for the energy industry.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 6 YEARS, 1 MONTH AGO

Initial phase of Hecla mine approved

BILLINGS — U.S. officials on Tuesday announced approval of the first phase of a silver and copper mine beneath a northwestern Montana wilderness area, yet it’s uncertain when work could begin because of a legal dispute over pollution at other sites.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 6 YEARS, 2 MONTHS AGO

Initial phase of Hecla mine approved

BILLINGS — U.S. officials on Tuesday announced approval of the first phase of a silver and copper mine beneath a northwestern Montana wilderness area, yet it’s uncertain when work could begin because of a legal dispute over pollution at other sites.

BIGFORK EAGLE | UPDATED 6 YEARS, 2 MONTHS AGO

Trump aims to end automatic protections for some species

DENVER (AP) — The Trump administration on Thursday proposed ending automatic protections for threatened animal and plant species and limiting habitat safeguards that are meant to shield recovering species from harm.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 6 YEARS, 3 MONTHS AGO

Trump aims to end automatic protections for some species

DENVER (AP) — The Trump administration on Thursday proposed ending automatic protections for threatened animal and plant species and limiting habitat safeguards that are meant to shield recovering species from harm.

BIGFORK EAGLE | UPDATED 6 YEARS, 3 MONTHS AGO

Lawmakers seek investigation of Whitefish land deal involving Zinke

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Democratic lawmakers called for an investigation Thursday into U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke’s involvement in a land deal with the chairman of an energy services company that does business with his agency.

WHITEFISH PILOT | UPDATED 6 YEARS, 4 MONTHS AGO

Trump Jr. rallies Republicans to defeat Montana Sen. Tester

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Donald Trump Jr. urged Montana Republicans to rally against U.S. Sen. Jon Tester in the fall election and said Friday that the two-term Democrat had fallen out of step with the state's voters on issues ranging from immigration to gun control.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 6 YEARS, 4 MONTHS AGO

Trump Jr. rallies Republicans to defeat Montana Sen. Tester

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Donald Trump Jr. urged Montana Republicans to rally against U.S. Sen. Jon Tester in the fall election and said Friday that the two-term Democrat had fallen out of step with the state's voters on issues ranging from immigration to gun control.

BIGFORK EAGLE | UPDATED 6 YEARS, 4 MONTHS AGO

New Yellowstone boss named following predecessor's ouster

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A new superintendent was named Wednesday to Yellowstone National Park, one of the crown jewels of the park system, after his predecessor said he was being forced out by the Trump administration following a dispute over bison.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 6 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AGO

Hecla fights 'bad actor' label in MT

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — An Idaho mining company went to court Thursday seeking to overturn its designation by Montana officials as an industry “bad actor” because of pollution tied to its CEO.

BONNER COUNTY DAILY BEE | UPDATED 6 YEARS, 7 MONTHS AGO

Report: No clear evidence of wrongdoing in Interior worker shuffle

BILLINGS — Sixteen senior employees at the U.S. Department of Interior reassigned to new duties under the Trump administration viewed their moves as political retribution or punishment for their work on climate change, energy or conservation, according to the results of an internal investigation released Wednesday.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 6 YEARS, 7 MONTHS AGO

Report: No clear evidence of wrongdoing in Interior worker shuffle

BILLINGS — Sixteen senior employees at the U.S. Department of Interior reassigned to new duties under the Trump administration viewed their moves as political retribution or punishment for their work on climate change, energy or conservation, according to the results of an internal investigation released Wednesday.

BIGFORK EAGLE | UPDATED 6 YEARS, 7 MONTHS AGO

Trade dispute looms over Montana beef export deal

BILLINGS — A brewing trade war between China and the U.S. comes at an inopportune time for Montana ranchers, who are seeking to close a multi-year deal to export up to $200 million of beef through China’s largest online retailer, industry representatives said Thursday.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 6 YEARS, 7 MONTHS AGO

Group seeks federal protection for Montana mustangs

BILLINGS — Animal rights advocates announced a lawsuit against the federal government on Wednesday in a bid to make a Montana mustang population the first group of wild horses to be protected under the Endangered Species Act.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 6 YEARS, 7 MONTHS AGO

Forest Service chief steps down

BILLINGS — U.S. Forest Service chief Tony Tooke has stepped down just days after revelations that he was under investigation for alleged sexual misconduct and amid reports of rampant misbehavior including rape within the agency’s ranks.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 6 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO

Forest Service chief steps down

BILLINGS — U.S. Forest Service chief Tony Tooke has stepped down just days after revelations that he was under investigation for alleged sexual misconduct and amid reports of rampant misbehavior including rape within the agency’s ranks.

BIGFORK EAGLE | UPDATED 6 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO

APNewsBreak: US utilities find water pollution at ash sites

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Major utilities have found evidence of groundwater contamination at coal-burning power plants across the U.S. where landfills and man-made ponds have been used for decades as dumping grounds for coal ash, according to data released by plant owners under a Friday deadline.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 6 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO

Republican spends big on Senate election

BILLINGS — A Montana businessman whose U.S. Senate campaign is chaired by the wife of Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has outraised and outspent his Republican opponents — but only by pumping $650,000 of his own money into the race, according to new campaign filings.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 6 YEARS, 9 MONTHS AGO

Protections for Yellowstone bison to be reconsidered

BILLINGS — A federal judge has ordered U.S. wildlife officials to reconsider a 2015 decision that blocked special protections for the iconic bison herds that roam Yellowstone National Park and are routinely subjected to hunting and slaughter.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 6 YEARS, 9 MONTHS AGO

Protections for Yellowstone bison to be reconsidered

BILLINGS — A federal judge has ordered U.S. wildlife officials to reconsider a 2015 decision that blocked special protections for the iconic bison herds that roam Yellowstone National Park and are routinely subjected to hunting and slaughter.

BIGFORK EAGLE | UPDATED 6 YEARS, 9 MONTHS AGO

Blackfeet hopeful for 'workable solution'

BILLINGS — Even as it clashes with American Indians over reductions to national monuments in the Southwest, the Trump administration is engaging with a Montana tribe over the creation of a new monument on the border of its reservation.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 6 YEARS, 11 MONTHS AGO

Blackfeet hopeful for 'workable solution'

BILLINGS — Even as it clashes with American Indians over reductions to national monuments in the Southwest, the Trump administration is engaging with a Montana tribe over the creation of a new monument on the border of its reservation.

BIGFORK EAGLE | UPDATED 6 YEARS, 11 MONTHS AGO

Whitefish Energy sues over payments for Puerto Rico work

BILLINGS — A Whitefish-based company that landed and lost a $300 million contract to restore Puerto Rico’s hurricane-shattered electric grid has sued a subcontractor for allegedly interfering with tens of millions of dollars in payments.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 6 YEARS, 11 MONTHS AGO

Whitefish Energy sues over payments for Puerto Rico work

BILLINGS — A Whitefish-based company that landed and lost a $300 million contract to restore Puerto Rico’s hurricane-shattered electric grid has sued a subcontractor for allegedly interfering with tens of millions of dollars in payments.

BIGFORK EAGLE | UPDATED 6 YEARS, 11 MONTHS AGO

Officials discuss possible grizzly hunts

BILLINGS — Grizzly bear numbers in and around Yellowstone National Park are holding relatively steady, according to figures released Thursday, as state wildlife officials begin discussions on whether to hold the first public hunts for the animals in decades.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 6 YEARS, 11 MONTHS AGO

Mine work proceeds but revocation possible

BILLINGS — Montana regulators have allowed a company to proceed with exploration work for a large silver and copper mine near the Idaho border with a warning that the project’s license could be revoked if concerns over the environmental track record of its president are found valid.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 6 YEARS, 11 MONTHS AGO

Officials discuss possible grizzly hunts

BILLINGS — Grizzly bear numbers in and around Yellowstone National Park are holding relatively steady, according to figures released Thursday, as state wildlife officials begin discussions on whether to hold the first public hunts for the animals in decades.

BIGFORK EAGLE | UPDATED 6 YEARS, 11 MONTHS AGO

Mine work proceeds but revocation possible

BILLINGS — Montana regulators have allowed a company to proceed with exploration work for a large silver and copper mine near the Idaho border with a warning that the project’s license could be revoked if concerns over the environmental track record of its president are found valid.

BIGFORK EAGLE | UPDATED 6 YEARS, 11 MONTHS AGO

China's largest online retailer to buy Montana beef

BILLINGS — China’s largest online retailer has agreed to buy $200 million worth of Montana beef over the next three years — equal to as many as 90,000 head of cattle — and potentially invest $100 million more in a new slaughterhouse in the state, under the terms of a …

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 7 YEARS AGO

China's largest online retailer to buy Montana beef

BILLINGS — China’s largest online retailer has agreed to buy $200 million worth of Montana beef over the next three years — equal to as many as 90,000 head of cattle — and potentially invest $100 million more in a new slaughterhouse in the state, under the terms of a …

BIGFORK EAGLE | UPDATED 7 YEARS AGO

Groups sue for details on Trump plan for national monuments

BILLINGS — Environmentalists sued the administration of President Donald Trump on Thursday seeking to pry loose details of plans to shrink national monuments and marine areas and open protected areas to commercial fishing, energy extraction, logging and other industries.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 7 YEARS AGO

Groups sue for details on Trump plan for national monuments

BILLINGS — Environmentalists sued the administration of President Donald Trump on Thursday seeking to pry loose details of plans to shrink national monuments and marine areas and open protected areas to commercial fishing, energy extraction, logging and other industries.

BIGFORK EAGLE | UPDATED 7 YEARS AGO

High court strikes down victims' rights law

BILLINGS — Montana’s high court struck down a voter-approved victims’ rights law as unconstitutional on Wednesday, in a split opinion that said voters should have been able to consider the multiple aspects of the law individually.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 7 YEARS AGO

Local grizzlies may be de-listed soon

BILLINGS — On the heels of lifting protections for Yellowstone-area grizzly bears, the U.S. government is considering the same action for bruins in Northwest Montana, home to the largest group of grizzlies in the Lower 48, federal officials said Friday.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 7 YEARS, 1 MONTH AGO

Local grizzlies may be de-listed soon

BILLINGS — On the heels of lifting protections for Yellowstone-area grizzly bears, the U.S. government is considering the same action for bruins in Northwest Montana, home to the largest group of grizzlies in the Lower 48, federal officials said Friday.

BIGFORK EAGLE | UPDATED 7 YEARS, 1 MONTH AGO

Zinke proposes protecting Badger-Two Med

BILLINGS — U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has closely followed his boss’ playbook, encouraging mining and drilling on public lands and reducing the size of national monuments that President Donald Trump called a “massive land grab” by his Democratic predecessors.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 7 YEARS, 1 MONTH AGO

Zinke proposes protecting Badger-Two Med

BILLINGS — U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has closely followed his boss’ playbook, encouraging mining and drilling on public lands and reducing the size of national monuments that President Donald Trump called a “massive land grab” by his Democratic predecessors.

BIGFORK EAGLE | UPDATED 7 YEARS, 1 MONTH AGO

Mine warns of layoffs after judge blocks expansion

More than 80 miners could be laid off from a central Montana coal mine in coming months after environmentalists successfully sued to halt its expansion, according to mine owner Signal Peak Energy.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 7 YEARS, 2 MONTHS AGO

Mine warns of layoffs after judge blocks expansion

More than 80 miners could be laid off from a central Montana coal mine in coming months after environmentalists successfully sued to halt its expansion, according to mine owner Signal Peak Energy.

BIGFORK EAGLE | UPDATED 7 YEARS, 2 MONTHS AGO

Zinke won't recommend eliminating any national monuments

BILLINGS — Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke announced Thursday he won’t seek to rescind any national monuments carved from the wilderness and oceans by past presidents. But he said he will press for some boundary changes and left open the possibility of allowing drilling, mining or other industries on the sites.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 7 YEARS, 2 MONTHS AGO

Zinke won't recommend eliminating any national monuments

BILLINGS — Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke announced Thursday he won’t seek to rescind any national monuments carved from the wilderness and oceans by past presidents. But he said he will press for some boundary changes and left open the possibility of allowing drilling, mining or other industries on the sites.

BIGFORK EAGLE | UPDATED 7 YEARS, 2 MONTHS AGO

Yellowstone cracks down on sex harassment

BILLINGS (AP) — As many as 10 workers in Yellowstone National Park’s maintenance division will be disciplined after an investigation found female employees were subjected to sexual harassment and other problems.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 7 YEARS, 3 MONTHS AGO

Yellowstone cracks down on sex harassment

BILLINGS (AP) — As many as 10 workers in Yellowstone National Park’s maintenance division will be disciplined after an investigation found female employees were subjected to sexual harassment and other problems.

BIGFORK EAGLE | UPDATED 7 YEARS, 3 MONTHS AGO

Veterans faced health referral delays nearly half the time

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Montana military veterans who were referred to health specialists in 2015 faced delays in getting appointments or receiving needed medical services nearly half the time, and those delays may have harmed four patients, according to a report released Friday.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 7 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO

Veterans faced health referral delays nearly half the time

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Montana military veterans who were referred to health specialists in 2015 faced delays in getting appointments or receiving needed medical services nearly half the time, and those delays may have harmed four patients, according to a report released Friday.

BIGFORK EAGLE | UPDATED 7 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO

Hundreds of bison sent to slaughter over tribes' objections

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Yellowstone National Park on Wednesday started shipping hundreds of wild bison to slaughter for disease control, as a quarantine facility on a Montana Indian reservation that could help spare many of the animals sat empty due to a political dispute.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 7 YEARS, 9 MONTHS AGO

Bison slaughters temporarily blocked

BILLINGS — Montana Gov. Steve Bullock has blocked for now the impending slaughter of hundreds of Yellowstone National Park bison over disease concerns until a temporary home can be found for 40 of the animals wanted by an American Indian tribe.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 7 YEARS, 9 MONTHS AGO

U.S. overhauls public land use planning

BILLINGS — U.S. government officials on Thursday finalized an overhaul of how they plan for oil and gas drilling, mining, grazing and other activities across public lands in the West.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 7 YEARS, 11 MONTHS AGO

Attorney: Oil patch murderer needs treatment, not prison

BILLINGS (AP) — A defense attorney says a mentally-disabled Colorado man serving 100 years in prison for killing a Montana teacher should be transferred to the custody of state mental health officials.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 7 YEARS, 11 MONTHS AGO

Republicans seek concessions from Bullock after election win

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Republican leaders say Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock will be forced to shift politically in their direction after the GOP maintained decisive majorities in both the state House and Senate.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 8 YEARS AGO

House candidates clash over coal during debate

BILLINGS — Democrat Denise Juneau asserted strong support for the coal industry while Republican U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke highlighted her vote against a major eastern Montana mining project as natural resources took center stage Thursday night during a sometimes-raucous U.S. House debate.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 2 MONTHS AGO

Portions of Yellowstone River reopened

BILLINGS — Montana reopened portions of the Yellowstone River and some tributaries Thursday but is keeping a popular stretch closed to all recreational activity due to a parasite that has killed thousands of fish.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 2 MONTHS AGO

Popular Yellowstone River closes after thousands of fish die

BILLINGS — Montana wildlife officials indefinitely closed a 183-mile stretch of the Yellowstone River and hundreds of miles of other waterways Friday, barring all fishing, rafting and other activities to prevent the spread of a parasite believed to have killed tens of thousands of fish.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 2 MONTHS AGO

Death in hot spring shows challenges rangers face

BILLINGS — The death of a tourist who left a boardwalk and fell into a boiling, acidic spring in Yellowstone National Park shows the challenges that rangers face as they confront soaring numbers of visitors — including some who break the rules.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AGO

Trump hosts rally in Billings

THE WESTERN NEWS | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AGO

Zinke backs Trump on eve of Montana rally

BILLINGS — Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Mont., on Wednesday became the most prominent Montana Republican to endorse Donald Trump, one day before the presumptive nominee for the Republican presidential nomination arrives to rally supporters in the Treasure State.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AGO

Zinke backs Trump on eve of Montana rally

BILLINGS — Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Mont., on Wednesday became the most prominent Montana Republican to endorse Donald Trump, one day before the presumptive nominee for the Republican presidential nomination arrives to rally supporters in the Treasure State.

WHITEFISH PILOT | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AGO

Former Montana Sen. Burns dies at 81

THE WESTERN NEWS | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 6 MONTHS AGO

Crow Tribe war chief remembered as 'great man in two worlds'

BILLINGS — Prominent state leaders and tribal officials in ceremonial headdresses crowded around the flag-draped coffin of the last surviving war chief of Montana’s Crow Indian Tribe.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 7 MONTHS AGO

Crow tribal elder, historian dead at 102

THE WESTERN NEWS | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 7 MONTHS AGO

US to consider sharp hike in royalties on coal

THE WESTERN NEWS | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 7 MONTHS AGO

U.S. cancels oil and gas lease on sacred land

BILLINGS — The Obama administration on Thursday canceled a disputed oil and gas lease just outside Glacier National Park that is on land considered sacred to the Blackfeet Tribe.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO

Judge issues ultimatum on energy lease

BILLINGS — A federal judge accused the Obama administration of trying to “run the clock out” on a pending decision on an oil and gas lease near Glacier National Park that’s been held up for several decades.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO

Coal firm stops plans for major Montana mine

BILLINGS — Arch Coal suspended its application for a major mine in southeastern Montana on Thursday, two months after the mining giant filed for bankruptcy protection and amid broader struggles for the coal industry that have reversed its once-bright prospects in the state.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO

U.S. seeks end to Yellowstone grizzly protections

THE WESTERN NEWS | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO

Montana activist gets six-year sentence

THE WESTERN NEWS | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO

Agency ready to lift Yellowstone grizzly protections

BILLINGS — The federal government is proposing to lift threatened-species protections for hundreds of Yellowstone-area grizzlies, opening the door to future hunts for the fearsome bears across parts of three states for the first time since the 1970s.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO

Founder of luxury Montana resort will stay in jail

THE WESTERN NEWS | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO

Major mine proposal gets partial approval

Montana environmental regulators gave only partial approval on Friday to a long-stalled silver and copper mine proposed beneath a federal wilderness area, casting uncertainty over the $500 million project that would bring hundreds of jobs to the Libby area.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 9 MONTHS AGO

Feds looking to settle mine suits

THE WESTERN NEWS | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 9 MONTHS AGO

Committee OKs Blackfeet water rights deal

BILLINGS (AP) — The U.S. Senate Indian Affairs Committee approved a $420 million water rights settlement with Montana's Blackfeet American Indian tribe on Wednesday, sending the measure to the full Senate.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 9 MONTHS AGO

Grizzly killing report: Yellowstone hikers taking risks

BILLINGS — The killing of a Montana man by a Yellowstone National Park grizzly bear highlights the need for hikers in the region to travel in groups, carry Mace-like bear spray and take other precautions against attacks, investigators said Wednesday.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 10 MONTHS AGO

State looks at partial approval for mine beneath wilderness

BILLINGS — Montana officials are considering giving only partial approval to a $500 million silver and copper mine proposed beneath a wilderness area near the Idaho border, injecting uncertainty into a project that has been in the works for more than a decade.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 10 MONTHS AGO

Governor allows bison to roam outside Yellowstone

BILLINGS — Wild bison will be allowed to migrate out of Yellowstone National Park and stay in parts of Montana year-round under a Tuesday move by Gov. Steve Bullock that breaks a longstanding impasse in a wildlife conflict that’s dragged on for decades

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 10 MONTHS AGO

Feds look to maintain Yellowstone bear numbers

BILLINGS (AP) — Wildlife managers will seek to maintain grizzly bear numbers in the three-state Yellowstone region near current levels as they move toward lifting protections for the threatened species, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service spokeswoman said Wednesday.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 11 MONTHS AGO

Judge puts lawsuit over energy lease on sacred land on hold

BILLINGS — A federal judge put a lawsuit over a disputed energy lease near Glacier National Park on hold Thursday until early January, after attorneys for the government and leaseholder said they were seeking to resolve the case outside court.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 11 MONTHS AGO

EPA touts reduced risk from asbestos

Federal officials say their final analysis of a Northwest Montana community wracked by deadly asbestos contamination shows a costly and much-criticized cleanup is working, even though some 700 properties have yet to be investigated and concerns linger over asbestos left behind.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 11 MONTHS AGO

Man freed after 3 decades in prison calls moment 'surreal'

DEER LODGE — A Montana man who spent three decades behind bars for a murder he says he did not commit walked out of prison Friday after the governor granted his clemency request.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 12 MONTHS AGO

Tribes want protections to remain for sacred grizzly bears

BILLINGS — American Indians across the Western U.S. are challenging moves by federal wildlife officials to lift protections for grizzly bears that roam a vast wilderness centered on Yellowstone National Park, citing worries over potential trophy hunting of a species many tribes consider sacred.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 9 YEARS AGO

Anti-US activist convicted of buying gun for 'revolution'

BILLINGS — Jurors on Thursday convicted an anti-government activist on firearms charges after authorities said he sought out high-powered weaponry for a coming “second American revolution.”

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 9 YEARS AGO

Oil-train derailment spills 35,000 gallons

BILLINGS — Four tank cars leaked an estimated 35,000 gallons of oil after a train hauling fuel from North Dakota derailed in rural northeastern Montana, authorities said.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 9 YEARS, 4 MONTHS AGO

Montana tribe breaks off talks over drilling on sacred land

BILLINGS — The Blackfeet Tribe has taken the rare step of breaking off formal talks with the U.S. government and a Louisiana company that has been seeking for decades to drill for natural gas on land considered sacred by the Blackfeet people.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 9 YEARS, 4 MONTHS AGO

Little Shell

FILE - In this Friday, Nov. 16, 2012, file photo, Gerald Gray, the incoming chairman of Montana's Little Shell Band of Chippewa Indians, poses at the advertising agency where he works in Billings, Mont. Gray says a shift in federal policy will ease the way for the landless Montana tribe …

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 9 YEARS, 4 MONTHS AGO

Judge chides agencies for energy lease delay

A federal judge is pressing U.S. officials to explain why it has taken three decades to decide on a proposal to drill for natural gas just outside Glacier National Park in an area considered sacred by some Indian tribes in Montana and Canada.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 9 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AGO

Lease owner wants court OK to drill near Glacier

A federal judge is scheduled to hear arguments Wednesday over whether a Louisiana company should be allowed to drill for natural gas on a longstanding lease near Glacier National Park at a site considered sacred to the Blackfeet Indians.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 9 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AGO

Bears on bridge cause scare for tourists

Dramatic video captured by a Montana wildlife official shows a mother black bear with cubs running toward a knot of camera-clicking tourists as the animals try to cross a bridge in Yellowstone National Park.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 9 YEARS, 6 MONTHS AGO

Asbestos Town

FILE - In this April 28, 2011 file photo, unidentified road workers wear protective gear against possible asbestos contamination as they load material from a road resurfacing project in downtown Libby, Mont. W.R. Grace, Inc., the chemical company blamed for polluting Libby, Mont. with asbestos dust that has killed hundreds …

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 9 YEARS, 6 MONTHS AGO

Final EPA plan would leave some asbestos in Libby

A long-delayed U.S. government cleanup plan for a Northwest Montana community where asbestos contamination has sickened thousands would leave the deadly material in the walls of houses, underground and elsewhere — stirring worries among residents and state officials about future exposures.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 9 YEARS, 6 MONTHS AGO

Former Montana Governor Tim Babcock dies at age 95

HELENA — Former Gov. Tim Babcock, who served seven years as Montana’s chief executive and was a fixture on the Republican political scene for decades, has died at the age of 95.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 9 YEARS, 7 MONTHS AGO

An alarming rate

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 9 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO

Highway needs rise as money runs short

Montana officials say federal highway money will cover less than a third of the state’s $15.8 billion in transportation needs over the next decade, but there are no plans to significantly boost state spending to cover the anticipated shortfall.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 9 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO

Billings coal plant shutting down

BILLINGS — The J.E. Corette coal-fired power plant in Billings will shut down in August, its owner said Tuesday, making it the latest casualty in a wave of closures across the country that have left the coal industry reeling.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 9 YEARS, 9 MONTHS AGO

Low prices raise alarm in North Dakota oil patch

WATFORD CITY, N.D. — High crude prices catapulted North Dakota into the top tier of the global oil market and doubled or tripled the size of once-sleepy towns that suddenly had to accommodate a small army of petroleum workers.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 9 YEARS, 9 MONTHS AGO

Warming trend to slow oil spill cleanup

BILLINGS — The struggle to recover 30,000 gallons of oil from a pipeline spill into Montana’s Yellowstone River is expected to grind to a near-halt in coming days as warmer weather makes ice on the river increasingly dangerous, state regulators and a company spokesman said Wednesday.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 9 YEARS, 9 MONTHS AGO

After oil spill, company says new line will be safer

BILLINGS — A Wyoming company said Friday it will replace a pipeline that spilled almost 40,000 gallons of oil into a river in Montana with a new line buried more deeply to protect against future accidents.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 9 YEARS, 9 MONTHS AGO

Glendive to hear if water safe to drink after oil spill

BILLINGS — Initial tests show water supplies in a Montana city show no sign of a cancer-causing element for the first time since they were contaminated by a weekend crude oil spill, a state official said Thursday, raising hopes that thousands of residents can soon start drinking from their taps.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 9 YEARS, 9 MONTHS AGO

Pipeline spill

A warning sign shows the location of a 12-inch oil pipeline owned by Bridger Pipeline Co. that spilled up to 50,000 gallons of oil along the Yellowstone River near Glendive.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 9 YEARS, 9 MONTHS AGO

Cancer-causing agent detected in water after oil pipeline spill

Cleanup workers cut holes in the ice on the Yellowstone River near Crane, Montana, on Monday as part of efforts to recover oil from a pipeline spill that released up to 50,000 gallons of crude oil. (AP photo)

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 9 YEARS, 9 MONTHS AGO

Fourth shooting in three weeks in Montana

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 9 YEARS, 10 MONTHS AGO

Officer

Billings police officer Grant Morrison testifies during a coroner's inquest on Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2015 in Billings, Montana. Morrison testified about the events leading up to his shooting of unarmed man, 38-year-old Richard Ramirez. A seven-person jury on Wednesday determined Morrison's actions were justified. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown)

THE WESTERN NEWS | UPDATED 9 YEARS, 10 MONTHS AGO

Billings officer's killing of unarmed man found justified

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 9 YEARS, 10 MONTHS AGO

Lawmakers push back on expanded bomber zone

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 9 YEARS, 11 MONTHS AGO

North Fork protection measure passes Congress

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 9 YEARS, 11 MONTHS AGO

Climate change could mean end for glacier bug

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 9 YEARS, 11 MONTHS AGO

Coal Tax Lawsuit

FILE - In this April 4, 2013 file photo, a mechanized shovel loads coal onto a haul truck at the Cloud Peak Energy's Spring Creek mine near Decker, Mont. Montana tax authorities argue Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2014, before the state Supreme Court that a Wyoming mining company owes $3.4 million …

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 9 YEARS, 11 MONTHS AGO

Senate Montana Debate

Republican Steve Daines responds to a question as Democrat Amanda Curtis waits her turn to speak during a Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2014, debate in Sidney for the state's open U.S. Senate seat. (AP Photo)

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 10 YEARS AGO

Curtis, Daines clash on government role in energy

SIDNEY — Republican Steve Daines and Democrat Amanda Curtis clashed over energy and the government’s proper role in the industry during the first U.S. Senate debate in Montana’s oil patch on Tuesday in Sidney.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 10 YEARS AGO

Senate debate reveals contrasts between candidates

BILLINGS — Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Amanda Curtis cast Republican Rep. Steve Daines as a conservative ideologue out of step with Montana voters during their first face-to-face meeting Monday.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 10 YEARS AGO

Climate plan faces test in Montana coal country

COLSTRIP — Gov. Steve Bullock asserts Montana can meet the Obama administration’s climate goals without losing jobs or shutting coal plants. But the view from the coal-centered town of Colstrip proved far more pessimistic Tuesday, as Bullock’s claim underwent its first public test.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 10 YEARS, 1 MONTH AGO

Obit Worlds Oldest Clown

FILE - In this March 29, 2012, file photo, Floyd "Creeky" Creekmore puts on his nose while getting dressed before a visit with children at a circus in Billings, Mont. Creekmore, the world's oldest clown died Saturday night, Sept. 27, 2014, of complications from heart disease at his home in …

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 10 YEARS, 1 MONTH AGO

Wherever state candidates go, trackers lurk

U.S. Senate candidate Amanda Curtis had just announced her plan for higher education reforms and was about to head to a lunch meeting with veterans when she ducked down a hall toward the women’s restroom at Montana State University in Billings.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 10 YEARS, 2 MONTHS AGO

Man on trial for explosives theft

BILLINGS — A Wyoming man told a federal judge on Thursday that curiosity spurred him to steal more than 550 pounds of explosives from a U.S. Forest Service bunker near Red Lodge last year.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 10 YEARS, 3 MONTHS AGO

Elk-kill proposal advances in state

BILLINGS — State wildlife officials gave initial approval Thursday to a plan to issue elk-kill permits to landowners in parts of southern Montana as part of an effort to reduce the spread of disease to cattle.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 10 YEARS, 3 MONTHS AGO

Prairie reserve tops 300,000 acres

BILLINGS — A privately funded conservation reserve taking shape on north-central Montana’s open prairie now spans more than 300,000 acres — or almost 470 square miles — with the addition of a large parcel south of Malta that was disclosed Thursday.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 10 YEARS, 3 MONTHS AGO

Oil train dangers extend beyond Bakken

BILLINGS — The dangers posed by a spike in oil shipments by rail extend beyond crude from the booming Bakken region of the Northern Plains and include oil produced elsewhere in the U.S. and Canada, U.S. safety officials and lawmakers said.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 10 YEARS, 4 MONTHS AGO

North Dakota discloses oil train details

BISMARCK, N.D. — Dozens of mile-long trains loaded with crude are leaving western North Dakota each week, with most shipments going through the state’s most populous county while en route to refineries across the country.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 10 YEARS, 4 MONTHS AGO

Oil-train data shows heavy traffic on the rails

Disclosures from railroads about volatile oil shipments from the Northern Plains show dozens of the trains passing weekly through Illinois and the Midwest and up to 19 a week reaching Washington state on the West Coast.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 10 YEARS, 4 MONTHS AGO

Horrific crash kills six people

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 10 YEARS, 4 MONTHS AGO

GOP conservatives seek closed primary elections

BILLINGS — Montana Republicans were to consider a proposal to close future primary elections to non-party members during a three-day convention beginning Thursday in Billings.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 10 YEARS, 4 MONTHS AGO

State asks court to reject hearing for rapist

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 10 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AGO

Sage grouse hunt likely to be cut

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 10 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AGO

Judge orders wildlife officials to act on lynx

Federal wildlife officials must come up with a schedule to complete a long-delayed recovery plan for imperiled Canada lynx within 30 days, under an order from a U.S. district judge in Montana.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 10 YEARS, 6 MONTHS AGO

Candidates take different paths in state primary

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 10 YEARS, 6 MONTHS AGO

Shootings test 'stand your ground' laws

A Montana man is accused of setting a trap and blindly blasting a shotgun into his garage, killing a 17-year-old German exchange student. A Minnesota man is convicted of lying in wait in his basement for two teenagers and killing them during a break-in.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 10 YEARS, 6 MONTHS AGO

Rapist teacher to be re-sentenced

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 10 YEARS, 6 MONTHS AGO

Power company says changes would scuttle $900 million dam deal

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 10 YEARS, 7 MONTHS AGO

Grants sought for oil-patch infrastructure

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 10 YEARS, 7 MONTHS AGO

Officer who shot suspect had killed man last year

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 10 YEARS, 7 MONTHS AGO

Chief: Hand movements justified fatal shooting

BILLINGS — An unarmed robbery suspect moved his hands six times in defiance of an officer’s orders before the officer fatally shot him during a traffic stop, Billings Police Chief Rich St. John said Wednesday.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 10 YEARS, 7 MONTHS AGO

Judge upholds $41 million judgment against Blixseth

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 10 YEARS, 7 MONTHS AGO

Sidney teacher's death: Murder suspect diagnosed as disabled

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 10 YEARS, 7 MONTHS AGO

Judge criticized in rape case to retire

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 10 YEARS, 10 MONTHS AGO

Teacher rape case: Judge says he broke ethics code

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 10 YEARS, 11 MONTHS AGO

Slain teacher - Attorneys: Man unfit for homicide trial

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 11 YEARS AGO

Livestock disease found in second Montana cattle herd

BILLINGS, Mont. - A second case of the livestock disease brucellosis in just over a week has turned up in a Montana cattle herd, coinciding with new restrictions on animals exported to Texas because of worries that infections could spread beyond the region.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 11 YEARS, 1 MONTH AGO

Court stops judge from undoing rape sentence

BILLINGS, Mont. - Montana's Supreme Court on Friday blocked a judge from resentencing a former teacher who got 30 days in prison for raping a 14-year-old student, a sentence widely criticized after the judge said the victim was "older than her chronological age."

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 11 YEARS, 2 MONTHS AGO

Court stops judge from undoing rape sentence

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 11 YEARS, 2 MONTHS AGO

'Illegal' rape sentence appealed

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 11 YEARS, 2 MONTHS AGO

Trial sought in victim's hometown

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 11 YEARS, 2 MONTHS AGO

Billings rape case: Mother rejects judge's apology

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 11 YEARS, 2 MONTHS AGO

Judge apologizes for rape comments

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 11 YEARS, 2 MONTHS AGO

Yellowstone wants curbs on Montana wolf harvest

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 11 YEARS, 4 MONTHS AGO

Bison Relocation

File-In an April 24, 2012 file photo a herd of bison are on the Fort Peck Reservation near Poplar, Mont. The Montana Supreme Court has reversed a lower court ruling that blocked transfers of Yellowstone National Park bison as part of a government-sponsored conservation initiative. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown,File)

THE WESTERN NEWS | UPDATED 11 YEARS, 4 MONTHS AGO

Hydropower could boost farmers

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 11 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AGO

Wolverine protections opposed by state officials

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 11 YEARS, 6 MONTHS AGO

Fair game

BILLINGS, Mont. - Federal wildlife officials have drafted plans to lift protections for gray wolves across the Lower 48 states, a move that could end a decades-long recovery effort that has restored the animals but only in parts of their historic range.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 11 YEARS, 6 MONTHS AGO

Wolf numbers in Idaho decline 8 percent in 2012

BILLINGS, Mont. - Aggressive gray wolf hunting and trapping took a toll in much of the Northern Rockies last year as the predator's population saw its most significant decline since being reintroduced to the region two decades ago.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 11 YEARS, 7 MONTHS AGO

Numbers down by 7 percent

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 11 YEARS, 7 MONTHS AGO

625: Wolf numbers drop slightly for the first time in a decade

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 11 YEARS, 7 MONTHS AGO

Hunters and trappers kill 223 wolves

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 11 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO

Trains benefit from oil boom

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) - Energy companies behind the oil boom on the Northern Plains are increasingly turning to an industrial-age workhorse - the locomotive - to move their crude to refineries across the U.S., as plans for new pipelines stall and existing lines can't keep up with demand.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 11 YEARS, 10 MONTHS AGO

Grizzly managers look toward hunting in Rockies

With bear-human conflicts on the rise, wildlife managers in the Northern Rockies are laying the groundwork for trophy hunts for grizzly bears in anticipation of the government lifting their threatened species status.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 11 YEARS, 11 MONTHS AGO

Republican Fox wins Montana attorney general

HELENA — Republican Tim Fox beat Pam Bucy in the race for Montana attorney general.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 12 YEARS AGO

Republican Daines defeats Gillan for U.S. Congress

BILLINGS — Republican businessman Steve Daines defeated Democrat Kim Gillan on Tuesday in Montana’s U.S. House race to hold onto the state’s congressional seat for the GOP.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 12 YEARS AGO

Montana's free-roaming bison plan in judge's hands

BILLINGS, Mont - A legal dispute over whether migrating bison can roam freely across 70,000 acres outside Yellowstone National Park is before a Montana judge after attorneys offered closing arguments in the case Monday.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 12 YEARS AGO

EPA pushes tough asbestos standard for Libby, Mont.

BILLINGS, Mont. - A proposed standard for federal cleanup of asbestos contamination in a Montana town concludes that even a tiny amount of the material can lead to lung problems - a benchmark far more rigorous than any in the past and one that the industry says could force expensive …

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 12 YEARS, 1 MONTH AGO

Agency pushes tough new asbestos standard for Libby

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 12 YEARS, 1 MONTH AGO

Reservation fire

LuAnna Fox and her 3-year-old daughter Kamille watch her 10-year-old son Sheldon look for salvageable items from the ruins of the family’s house on the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation in this Aug. 9 photograph.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 12 YEARS, 2 MONTHS AGO

Fires ravage remote reservation

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 12 YEARS, 2 MONTHS AGO

Dead cattle, devastation in wake of Western fires

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 12 YEARS, 3 MONTHS AGO

Senate hopefuls on debate stage

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 12 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AGO

Sheriff: Man writing book on kindness shot in Montana

BILLINGS, Mont. - A West Virginia man who told authorities he was hitchhiking across the country and writing a memoir about kindness was injured in a seemingly random drive-by shooting near Montana's booming Bakken oil patch.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 12 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AGO

Mont. teacher's body likely found in North Dakota

BILLINGS, Mont. - Authorities said Wednesday they found a body outside Williston, N.D., believed to be that of a missing teacher allegedly snatched from Sidney, Mont., during a morning run more than two months ago.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 12 YEARS, 7 MONTHS AGO

Court allows wolf hunts

BILLINGS, Mont. - A federal appeals court on Wednesday rejected a lawsuit from conservation groups that want to block wolf hunts that have killed more than 500 of the predators across the Northern Rockies in recent months.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 12 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO

Insurer sues over asbestos settlement

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 12 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO

EPA: Low asbestos in wood chips from Libby

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 12 YEARS, 10 MONTHS AGO

Court: Grizzlies to remain protected

BILLINGS, Mont. - A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that grizzly bears in the Yellowstone region need continued protection under the Endangered Species Act due to the decline of a tree species that serves as a key food source for some of the animals.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 12 YEARS, 11 MONTHS AGO

Plenty of crude issues

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 13 YEARS AGO

After attacks

BILLINGS, Mont. - Wildlife agencies in the Northern Rockies go to lengths to warn people of the dangers of grizzly country - from signs advising hikers to carry Mace-like bear spray to radio ads that warn hunters to take care when stalking elk in bear habitat.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 13 YEARS AGO

Yellowstone spill to cost Exxon $135M

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 13 YEARS AGO

Wolf hunts challenged; 71 killed so far in region

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 13 YEARS AGO

Victim in grizzly attack was shot by friend

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A hunter attacked by a wounded grizzly in a Montana forest was killed not by the bear, but by a gunshot fired by a companion trying to save him, authorities said Friday.

BONNERS FERRY HERALD | UPDATED 13 YEARS, 1 MONTH AGO

Bear didn't kill hunter

BILLINGS, Mont. - A hunter attacked by a wounded grizzly in a Montana forest was killed not by the bear, but by a gunshot fired by a companion trying to save him, authorities said Friday.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 13 YEARS, 1 MONTH AGO

Michigan man killed by grizzly in Yellowstone

BILLINGS, Mont. - Wildlife agents were trying to capture a grizzly bear in Yellowstone National Park on Monday after it killed a Michigan hiker in the second fatal bear attack this summer at the famed park.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 13 YEARS, 2 MONTHS AGO

Hunt is on for killer Yellowstone grizzly

BILLINGS - Wildlife agents were trying to capture a grizzly bear in Yellowstone National Park on Monday after it killed a Michigan hiker in the second fatal bear attack this summer at the famed park.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 13 YEARS, 2 MONTHS AGO

Wolf law challenged in court

BILLINGS — Wildlife advocates went to federal court Tuesday to challenge a move by Congress that stripped endangered species status from more than 1,300 gray wolves across five states in the Northern Rockies.

DAILY INTER-LAKE | UPDATED 13 YEARS, 3 MONTHS AGO

A new era?

BILLINGS, Mont. - American Indian leaders called for a new era in their relations with federal agencies on Friday in the wake of the government's recent $3.4 billion settlement for decades of mismanaging Indian lands.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 13 YEARS, 4 MONTHS AGO

Montana, Exxon Mobil split over river oil spill

BILLINGS, Mont. - Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer has decided Exxon Mobil and the state don't make good roommates after nearly a week of working together in close quarters to clean up an estimated 42,000 gallons of crude oil released into the Yellowstone River.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 13 YEARS, 4 MONTHS AGO

Deliberately buried

BILLINGS, Mont. - Exxon Mobil Co. had reassured federal regulators and officials from a Montana town since December that an oil pipeline beneath the Yellowstone River was safe, buried deep enough to avoid any accidental ruptures.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 13 YEARS, 4 MONTHS AGO

Exxon feels the heat over leak

LAUREL, Mont. - Exxon Mobil Corp. acknowledged under political pressure Monday that the scope of its pipeline leak into the Yellowstone River could extend far beyond a 10-mile stretch of the famed waterway.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 13 YEARS, 4 MONTHS AGO

Oil spill in Yellowstone is 25 miles long

LAUREL, Mont. - An ExxonMobil pipeline that runs under the Yellowstone River in Montana ruptured Saturday and leaked hundreds of barrels of oil into the waterway, causing a 25-mile plume that fouled the riverbank and forced municipalities and irrigation districts downstream to close intakes.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 13 YEARS, 4 MONTHS AGO

Supplies ferried into flooded Montana

BILLINGS, Mont. - Emergency workers ferried supplies to more than 300 people cut off Friday by flooding that has overwhelmed Montana towns and caused an estimated $8.6 million in damages to date.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 13 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AGO

Floods cut phones in eastern Montana

BILLINGS, Mont. - Flooding disrupted emergency phone service across a broad swath of eastern Montana on Monday as areas of the state remained inundated and downstream communities prepared for the worst.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 13 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AGO

Blixseth takes on Montana tax authorities

BILLINGS, Mont. - After beating Montana authorities in a $57 million tax dispute, former billionaire Tim Blixseth is going on the offensive against officials and business adversaries he says conspired to force him into bankruptcy.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 13 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AGO

Wolf protections expected to be lifted by Congress

BILLINGS, Mont. - An attachment to the federal budget bill needed to avert a government shutdown would take gray wolves off the endangered species list across most of the Northern Rockies.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 13 YEARS, 7 MONTHS AGO

Judge: Resort lawsuit can go on, but no RICO claim

BILLINGS, Mont. - A federal judge in Idaho ruled that Credit Suisse can be sued by property owners over loans the international banking giant made to luxury resorts that went broke. The judge also dismissed a racketeering claim against Credit Suisse in the multibillion-dollar case.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 13 YEARS, 7 MONTHS AGO

Lawmakers try to lift wolf protection despite deal

BILLINGS, Mont. - Key lawmakers in the political skirmish over gray wolves in the West say they will continue their efforts to lift federal protections for the predators, despite a proposed settlement between environmentalists and the government.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 13 YEARS, 7 MONTHS AGO

Montana, federal officials seek buffalo solution

BILLINGS, Mont. - Montana and federal officials are negotiating a proposal to open a large area north of Yellowstone National Park to roaming bison during winter - a move aimed at relieving pressure to slaughter the disease-bearing animals when they leave the park.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 13 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO

Senate bill would lift wolf protections

BILLINGS, Mont. - Gray wolves in Montana and Idaho would lose their Endangered Species Act protections and become fair game for hunters under a provision buried deep in a U.S. Senate budget bill introduced Friday.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 13 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO

Group pushes for nationwide wolf restoration

BILLINGS, Mont. - Environmentalists said Tuesday they intend to sue the Obama administration to force it to restore gray wolves across the lower 48 states - even as Republicans in Congress sought unsuccessfully to strip the animals of protection.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 13 YEARS, 10 MONTHS AGO

Bears orphaned after fatal attack debut at zoo

BILLINGS, Mont. - They will never escape their savage backstory, but three young bears whose mother led them on a rampage through a Montana campground embarked on a new career Friday: fuzzy zoo attractions.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 13 YEARS, 11 MONTHS AGO

'Road map' sought for wolves

CHEYENNE, Wyo. - After years of legal wrangling over wolf management, the Obama administration and three governors on Monday discussed crafting an end-game - including whether Congress should pull the plug on the debate by declaring the animals' numbers have fully recovered in the Northern Rockies.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 13 YEARS, 11 MONTHS AGO

Bankrupt resort founder faces probe

BILLINGS, Mont. - Two years after the bankruptcy of Montana's Yellowstone Club laid bare a massive real estate scheme fueled by greed, fraud and hundreds of millions of dollars in ill-advised loans, criminal investigators are probing the activities of one of the founders of the ultra-exclusive resort.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 14 YEARS, 1 MONTH AGO

Petition seeks to have wolves howl across US

BILLINGS, Mont. - Tens of thousands of gray wolves would be returned to the woods of New England, the mountains of California, the wide open Great Plains and the desert West under a scientific petition filed Tuesday with the federal government.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 14 YEARS, 3 MONTHS AGO

Billings area slammed by tornado

BILLINGS, Mont. - Survivors of a tornado that tore into Montana's largest indoor arena and leveled several commercial buildings returned to a scene of devastation Monday - awe-struck that a twister so destructive caused no major injuries.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 14 YEARS, 4 MONTHS AGO

Oil from spill soaks delicate marshes, birds

BARATARIA BAY, La. - As officials approached to survey the damage the Gulf oil spill caused in coastal marshes, some brown pelicans couldn't fly away Sunday. All they could do was hobble.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 14 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AGO

Cleaning oil-soaked wetlands may be impossible

NEW ORLEANS - The gooey oil washing into the maze of marshes along the Gulf Coast could prove impossible to remove, leaving a toxic stew lethal to fish and wildlife, government officials and independent scientists said.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 14 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AGO

Increased wolf hunt quotas considered

BILLINGS, Mont. - Hunters in Montana would be allowed to kill nearly three times as many gray wolves this fall compared with last year's inaugural hunt, under a proposal announced Friday by state wildlife officials.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 14 YEARS, 6 MONTHS AGO

One bison shot in winter hunt; exodus still possible

BILLINGS, Mont. - Only one Yellowstone bison was reported shot as Montana's bison hunt ended Monday with most of the animals still inside the national park, where hunting is banned.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 14 YEARS, 9 MONTHS AGO

Ex-Broncos player to admit to single drug charge

BILLINGS, Mont. - Former NFL player Travis Henry has signed a plea deal with prosecutors in which he admits to a single cocaine conspiracy charge in exchange for two other charges being dropped.

WHITEFISH PILOT | UPDATED 15 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO

Ex-Broncos player to admit to single drug charge

BILLINGS, Mont. - Former NFL player Travis Henry has signed a plea deal with prosecutors in which he admits to a single cocaine conspiracy charge in exchange for two other charges being dropped.

HUNGRY HORSE NEWS | UPDATED 15 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO

Ex-Broncos player to admit to single drug charge

BILLINGS, Mont. - Former NFL player Travis Henry has signed a plea deal with prosecutors in which he admits to a single cocaine conspiracy charge in exchange for two other charges being dropped.

BIGFORK EAGLE | UPDATED 15 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO