Officials announce that Montana will start offering the GED test again
Montana Public Radio | By Austin Amestoy
Montana’s public education agency said it will again offer the GED test for the first time in nearly a decade. The test helps former students who didn’t graduate high school gain the credentials needed to access college or trade school.
A spokesperson for the state Office of Public Instruction told MTPR that the state dropped the GED in 2014 due to cost and because the test no longer offered a paper option.
The state will now offer both the GED and HiSET exams for students seeking high school equivalency. Montana had been one of six states that didn’t offer the GED before this change.
Montana delegates to the House of Representatives back Republican Jim Jordan
Montana Public Radio | By Austin Amestoy
Montana’s delegates to the House of Representatives backed Ohio Republican Jim Jordan in a vote for leadership again Friday.
Republicans Matt Rosendale and Ryan Zinke cast their votes for Jordan, but he fell short of the margin needed to become Speaker of the House.
The chamber is set to enter a fourth week without direction after Rosendale joined a group of conservative Republicans to oust former Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
Rosendale wrote in a letter Friday saying he’ll accept punishment from his GOP colleagues if that means they’ll support Jordan, though he said he stood by his vote to remove the former speaker.
But Friday afternoon, House Republicans voted against accepting Jordan as a candidate at all. The House will reconvene next week to continue its search for a speaker.
Officials urge hunters to test animals for chronic wasting disease as hunting season starts
Montana Public Radio | By Aaron Bolton
Hunters will once again head into the woods Saturday for the opening of the deer and elk general rifle season. Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) is reminding hunters to test their animals for chronic wasting disease (CWD).
The disease has been detected in deer and elk throughout Montana. There’s been no documented cases of the disease transmitting to humans, but federal health officials recommend that people don’t eat wild game positive for CWD.
FWP is once again offering free testing. Hunters can collect samples themselves and send it in or bring their animal to an FWP check station.
FWP is also offering CWD sampling workshops throughout the state.
You can find links to that information along with this story at mtpr.org.
