Jew Mountain sits in rugged country on the BItterroot National Forest east of Painted Rocks Reservoir. One listener was curious about how the mountain got its name. The search for an answer revealed some family ties, a slice of history and a deeper story about geography, genealogy and why words matter.

Gov. Greg Gianforte has signed a new bill into law, nearly a year after the last legislative session ended. The policy defines male and female in state law as binary, and would eliminate legal recognition of transgender, nonbinary and intersex Montanans.

Montana’s rural towns can often struggle to afford large projects like water and sewer pipe replacement. They mostly rely on state and federal grants. A proposed federal bill seeks to make it easier for small communities to manage grants from multiple federal agencies.

Former U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, Governors Marc Racicot and Steve Bullock drew an overflowing crowd to a forum in Helena last weekend. They talked about the upcoming elections, the Trump agenda, and defending democracy. Racicot was a Republican governor from 1993 to 2001. Bullock and Tester were the last Democrats to hold statewide office in Montana.

Several Montana industry groups and chambers of commerce are suing the state over a ballot initiative aimed at restricting 'dark money' in campaign spending.

A first-of-its-kind statewide health insurance trust for school employees got the green light from state regulators last week. Administrators are hopeful it could help control one of education’s most expensive line items.

Montana Farmers Union is working to enhance legislative literacy in rural communities. Events demonstrate how to contact representatives and participate in the legislative session. Ag communities have been impacted by several state and federal policy changes in recent years.

School safety experts say many Montana schools lack the planning and technology needed to adequately respond to threats from natural disasters to shooters.

Zoning laws aimed at incentivizing home construction have survived a legal challenge. The Montana Supreme Court ruled they are constitutional.

The deadline to apply for the state’s new "homestead" property tax exemption is midnight on March 19. Missoula County is hosting public open houses on its new draft floodplain map over the next few weeks. A Montana judge Wednesday gave the go-ahead to plaintiffs challenging state laws that restricted how schools teach sex education.