Edward O'Brien

Smoke from large wildfires Alberta drifted into more of Montana Friday, causing haze and air quality issues on both sides of the divide.

Air Quality Meteorologist Kristen Martin with Montana’s Department of Environmental Quality says today may be the worst for the state, at least for now.

Smoke from Canadian wildfires burning in northern Alberta is degrading air quality in parts of Montana. Missoula City-County Air Quality Specialist Ben Schmidt says the smoke started infiltrating Montana’s airshed Wednesday evening.

The City of Missoula’s violent crime rate increased 50 percent between 2011 and 2017. Authorities blame methamphetamine for that unprecedented spike in murders, robberies and aggravated assault.

Missoula County Attorney Kirsten Pabst Wednesday shared an ugly, real world example of the kind of havoc that meth wreaks.

More than 200 units of affordable housing are coming to Missoula, local officials announced Tuesday. It’s part of a big public-private collaboration involving several entities.

"This is a big deal, Missoula. This is a real big deal," says County Commissioner Dave Strohmaier.

Updated with additional events, 05/24/19, at 5 p.m.

Memorial Day 2019 is Monday and there’s no shortage of Montana events planned to mark the occasion.