Montana/Region

Yellowstone National Park even has its own style of ‘Parkitecture’

Published on Tue, 05/24/2022 - 12:00am

Yellowstone National Park, created in 1872, was such a remote destination that early visitors camped or stayed in hastily-constructed, ramshackle accommodations.

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MT says no birth certificate changes even with surgery

Published on Tue, 05/24/2022 - 12:00am

BILLINGS (AP) — Montana health officials say transgender people can’t change their birth certificates even if they undergo gender-confirmation surgery, in defiance of a court order that temporarily blocked the Republican-controlled state’s bid to restrict transgender rights.

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Extreme fire threats prompt suspension of planned burns

Published on Mon, 05/23/2022 - 12:00am

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — U.S. Forest Service Chief Randy Moore cited extreme fire danger and unfavorable weather conditions Friday in announcing a suspension of all planned fire burning operations to clear brush and small trees on all national forest lands while his agency conducts a review of protocols and practices ahead of planned operations this fall. His decision came as feder

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MT not following transgender birth certificate court ruling

Published on Mon, 05/23/2022 - 12:00am

HELENA (AP) — It’s been a month since a Montana judge temporarily blocked enforcement of a state law that required transgender people to undergo surgery before they could change their gender on their birth certificate, and the state still isn’t in compliance with the court order, the ACLU of Montana said.

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Billings hospital uses virtual reality to aid rehabilitation

Published on Mon, 05/23/2022 - 12:00am

BILLINGS (AP) — Dr. Jose Ortiz counted the minutes he spent in the back of an ambulance transporting him from Red Lodge to Billings. Timely treatment is imperative to saving one’s life or quality of life during a stroke. And Ortiz had at least a 60 minute drive before he would be admitted to the hospital.

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Man charged with arson for Flathead fire, two others

Published on Fri, 05/20/2022 - 12:00am

The Lake County Sheriff’s Office announced Tuesday that a Ronan man suspected of igniting the Boulder 2700 fire that burned homes and private property last summer is in custody and has been brought up on arson charges. Craig Allen McCrea, 36, has been incarcerated at the Lake County jail since about May 4 on unrelated drug charges. He now faces three counts of arson for the Boulder 2700 fire and two other fires in the Polson area — the Boulder 2800 fire and Jette Hill fire.

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Biden forest plan stirs dispute over what counts as “old”

Published on Thu, 05/19/2022 - 12:00am

BILLINGS (AP) — President Joe Biden’s order to protect the nation’s oldest forests against climate change, wildfires and other problems devastating vast woodlands is raising a simple yet vexing question: When does a forest grow old?

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Prosecutors debunk Colorado clerk’s 2020 election claims

Published on Thu, 05/19/2022 - 12:00am

DENVER (AP) — Prosecutors in a western Colorado county said Thursday they found no evidence of tampering in the 2020 presidential election as alleged by a clerk who has become a prominent voice among those promoting former President Donald Trump’s false claims of a stolen election.

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Colorado, Nebraska jostle over water rights amid drought

Published on Wed, 05/18/2022 - 12:00am

OVID, Colo. (AP) — Shortly after daybreak on the high plains of northeastern Colorado, Don Schneider tinkers with seed-dispensing gear on a mammoth corn planter. The day’s task: Carefully sowing hundreds of acres of seed between long rows of last year’s desiccated stalks to ensure the irrigation water he’s collected over the winter will last until harvest time.