Montana Highway Patrol

Legislators have voted forward bills on property tax relief, Medicaid expansion, judicial oversight and more.

Montana's U.S. Attorney announces dismantling of a major fentanyl ring. Lolo National Forest's supervisor will retire at the end of the year. 30,000 acres of northwestern Montana forests will enter conservation easement

Gov. Greg Gianforte is proposing a nearly $18 billion budget to keep Montana’s government up and running over the next two years. The state is projected to continue to bring in strong revenues. Gianforte aims to invest in a few big projects, while cutting taxes. MTPR’s Shaylee Ragar joined Corin Cates-Carney to talk through the big ticket items.

The former head of the Montana Highway Patrol is suing the state’s attorney general for wrongful discharge.

A Montana newspaper refuses to comply with a state justice department demand to remove an internal document from a recent article. On August 16th the Daily Montanan published a redacted copy of a nearly 400-page survey. It detailed employees’ concerns about Attorney General Austin Knudsen’s management of the highway patrol as well distrust within upper levels of the agency.

Montana's Missing Indigenous Persons Task Force has re-formed with new staff. The group has existed in Montana since 2019, but it hasn’t met since lawmakers funded an expansion of their work within the Department of Justice last year.

Montana's speed limit has bounced between nonexistent (twice), 55 mph, 75 mph and now 80 mph. Why? Meanwhile, Montana has some of the highest traffic fatality rates in the country, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Dozens of people marched this week on the Flathead Reservation for Mika Josephine Westwolf, who was hit and killed by a vehicle along Highway 93 earlier this year.

State troopers starting this weekend will increase their presence on Montana roads and highways, cracking down on unsafe drivers. Excessive speed and impaired driving are among the most common factors leading to fatal crashes.

The Legislature's special counsel has given Montana's attorney general a Nov. 5 deadline to turn over information related to his office's investigation into a complaint over the way a COVID-19 patient was being treated at the hospital in Helena.