Aaron Bolton
Northwest Montana and Statewide Health Care ReporterAaron graduated from the University of Minnesota School of Journalism in 2015 after interning at Minnesota Public Radio. He landed his first reporting gig in Wrangell, Alaska where he enjoyed the remote Alaskan lifestyle and eventually moved back to the road system as the KBBI News Director in Homer, Alaska. He joined the MTPR team in 2019. Aaron now reports on all things in northwest Montana and statewide health care.
Have a northwest Montana or health care tip/story idea? Email me at aaron@mtpr.org or call/text at 612-799-1269
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This week on The Big Why: A listener is curious about recyclables that don’t get recycled in Montana. Namely, why is plastic recycling so limited? "We're all encouraged to recycle. But when it comes right down to it, what happens to the things we actually recycle?" -
State health officials are asking the federal government for permission to implement Medicaid work requirements early. Experts worry many people won’t be able to keep up with the additional paperwork, even if they are working. KFF, a non-partisan health policy group, estimates 34,000 Montanans could lose coverage. -
Montana pediatricians have released their recommendations for childhood vaccines this year. But those suggestions differ from new federal guidelines. -
Montana’s Medicaid office is struggling to process applications in a timely manner. The state is planning to fast track new work requirements and eligibility checks – which would mean even more paperwork for applicants and state officials. -
Montanans who need help shopping for health insurance or enrolling in Medicaid may soon be on their own. The Trump administration is cutting federal funding for a service that helped people get insured. -
Community Medical Center in Missoula is the latest hospital to stop offering treatments like puberty blockers or hormone therapy to kids. The Trump administration has subpoenaed hospitals for data on gender affirming care, and threatened to prosecute providers. -
Montanans with marketplace health insurance plans will pay significantly more starting next year. That’s because premiums are likely to spike just as federal benefits that help pay those bills expire. -
There have long been restrictions to protect Libby residents from drinking water contaminated by a former lumber mill. But a new report finds more properties outside the city may be at risk. -
As human-driven climate change makes winters shorter, ticks are spreading to new parts of the country. And when ticks find hospitable homes, they bring new tick-borne illnesses to the humans who live there. Now, surveyors in Montana are searching for invasive ticks to track and prepare for the diseases they can carry. -
Today 16 states and the District of Columbia filed a lawsuit in support of children's hospitals and doctors that have provided gender-affirming care for minors, contending the Trump administration has acted illegally in pressuring doctors and children's hospitals to stop.
