Edward O'Brien

Powerful winds whipped across the state Wednesday toppling trees, power poles and knocking out electricity to thousands of Montanans.

Anyone hiking Wednesday morning on Missoula’s Mount Sentinel, just east of the University of Montana got a lot more fresh air than they bargained for. 

Meteorologists last fall said Montana could be in store for a particularly cold and snowy La Niña winter. By late October, cold temperatures and record snowfall shattered regional records — but that wintery weather quickly gave way to much drier and mild conditions.

So what has happened to our winter, and what’s next?

  Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect that Lee Newspaper’s State Government Bureau Chief, Holly Michels, has provided comprehensive coverage of government and politics since 2015. We regret the original omission.

A new statewide, online news service is preparing to launch just in time for the start of Montana’s 67th legislative session. The fledgling non-profit project is called The Daily Montanan.

Conservation groups have filed a lawsuit challenging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s decision to withhold Endangered Species Act protection from wolverines in the lower 48 states. That’s where no more than 300 of the animals are thought to remain. 

Congress Friday overwhelmingly passed the nation’s immense annual defense policy bill, which President Donald Trump has threatened to veto.

This year’s version of the defense bill expands health benefits for veterans exposed to Agent Orange.

Author, educator, and essayist William Kittredge died Friday in Missoula at the age of 88. Kittredge was raised in Oregon, but ended his life as a Montana icon.