Elinor Smith
Reporter and evening news hostElinor graduated from the University of Montana School of Journalism in 2024, where she reported for the UM Legislative News Service and worked with The Montana Media Lab teaching high schoolers about reporting stories both for the radio and for podcasts.
She joined the MTPR team during the summer of 2024 as an intern. She now reports, creates social media content and hosts All Things Considered.
Elinor grew up in Boise, Idaho and enjoys spending her free time crocheting and writing short stories. She can be reached by email at elinor.smith@umontana.edu.
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Wildlife officials create new CWD management zone in Flathead; -
If you’ve driven along Flathead Lake in the summer, you’re familiar with the rows of cherry trees and roadside stands selling the bright red fruit. But last year, a freeze in January killed nearly all of the summer crop. Growers say this year will be better. -
The day was abnormally rainy and cold for June in Montana, with clouds hanging low over Mount Sentinel, but that didn’t stop artists from setting up shop in long lines of white tents throughout Caras Park. -
Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks and Yellowstone National Park implemented the first "hoot-owl" restrictions of the summer Thursday. Montana schools will split $50 million in grant funding to improve reading instruction. State officials are reminding Montanans to watch for harmful algal blooms this summer before recreating in Montana’s rivers and lakes. -
The governor signed a bill last week that allocates $250 million to address overcrowding in Montana’s correctional facilities.
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Gov. Greg Gianforte Tuesday signed into law a bill banning production and sale of lab-grown meat in Montana. A fishing access site located along the upper Yellowstone River has been temporarily closed due to increased grizzly bear activity.
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Here's a list of major bills from Montana's 2025 legislative session signed into law or left behind in the Legislature. -
The Trump Administration has fired the workers who research on-duty deaths and long-term health of firefighters. Investigative journalist Mark Olalde wrote for ProPublica about the impact of these cuts ahead of fire season. He joins MTPR's Elinor Smith to explain. -
Federal budget cuts and economic uncertainty are raising questions about what this summer will look like in gateway communities, the towns surrounding national parks. A group of businesses in Yellowstone recently asked Montana’s congressional delegation for help. -
Three foreign men have been arrested in northern Montana for either illegal entry or reentry into the country. Border Patrol agents claimed those men held gang affiliations, but defense attorneys say there’s no proof of that and criminal cases against two of them men were dismissed.
