Montana's head of criminal investigation retires
Shaylee Ragar| Montana Public Radio
The head of Montana’s department of criminal investigation is retiring after 43 years in law enforcement.
Attorney General Austin Knudsen announced Tuesday that Bryan Lockerby will retire from the state Department of Justice in December. Lockerby has led criminal investigations at the department for 12 years. His career began in the Great Falls Police Department.
Knudsen says he’ll appoint an interim department administrator by December 13.
Montana gas prices are at their lowest in more than a year
Edward O'Brien| Montana Public Radio
Montana motorists are noticing a welcome reprieve at the pump this week; gas prices are dropping. Some experts anticipate even more relief in the weeks to come.
Montana bargain hunters can now with relative ease find a gallon of regular unleaded for under $3.00.
According to the GasBuddy app, a gallon will run $2.99 at Love’s Travel Stop in Missoula, $2.94 at the Cenex Zip Trip in Red Lodge and with membership pricing at Sam’s Club in Great Falls - $2.85.
According to GasBuddy's survey of 615 stations in Montana, average gas prices are 14 cents per gallon lower than a month ago and nearly 40 cents a gallon lower than a year ago.
There are a handful of explanations behind the plummeting prices, but none have to do with politics.
For one, seasonal demand is softening as it gets cold and darker earlier. Meanwhile, new data from the Energy Information Administration says domestic gasoline supply and production have recently increased.
Diesel prices are also edging downwards.
Barring an escalation in Mideast tension, experts expect the downward trend in pricing to continue for at least the next several weeks.
Big game harvest numbers remain strong
Edward O'Brien| Montana Public Radio
Harvest totals remain up over last year halfway through the big game general hunting season in west central Montana.
According to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, hunters checked 196 elk during the first two weekends at check stations near Anaconda, Bonner and Darby. That compares to 165 last year.
While the mule deer harvest is 11 ahead of last year, white-tailed deer trail 4 behind last year at this time.
Collectively, west-central Montana’s three FWP wildlife check stations saw over 5,200 hunters during the first two weekends of this season. That’s nearly 200 more than at this time in 2023.
