Opinion: Colstrip bill could derail clean energy future

Colstrip

Colstrip’s old coal-fired power units are losing money and that means their days are numbered. Units 1 and 2 are closing by 2022 at the latest and maybe sooner.  We need to make sure Colstrip’s operators fulfill their responsibilities in helping the state deal with the economic loss to workers, the community and the environment.  But, we have another problem.

Legislation has been proposed that doesn’t just hold Colstrip’s operators accountable—it punishes them.  And, as good as retribution may feel, the problem is that it will also scare away developers and companies whose investments we want and need. Continue Reading →

CapreAir_Variable

Bob Ream, pioneering biologist, lawmaker, dies at 80

Ream

Bob Ream, a pioneering wildlife biologist whose study of the first wolves that wandered across the Canadian border into northwest Montana laid the groundwork for the species’ recovery, died this week at age 80.

Nearly 40 years ago, Ream led a team of biologists who monitored first one wolf and then others that naturally recolonized the mountains and meadows in and around Glacier National Park. Continue Reading →

Women veterans of WWI—so many stories yet to tell

Discharge

An Army veteran from Laurel has been working for years to prepare for an event that will take place on April 6—the dedication of a memorial to women with ties to Yellowstone County who served in the military during World War I.

But Ed Saunders’ work is far from done. He continues to search for the records of female veterans of the war from all over the state—and just this week he made one of his most exciting discoveries yet. Continue Reading →

Montana State Prison has new warden

MF

A veteran of the Nevada Department of Corrections has been hired as the new warden of Montana State Prison.

Montana Department of Corrections Interim Director Loraine Wodnik announced Thursday that Michael Fletcher, whose most recent job was superintending a maximum-security juvenile detention facility in Nevada, will replace Warden Leroy Kirkegard. Kirkegard, warden for the past five years, is retiring on April 14. Continue Reading →

History grants go to Adams Hotel, other projects

Adams

The Montana History Foundation announced the awarding of grants totaling $117,000 on Wednesday.

“Our grant recipients are new and unique every year,” MHF President and CEO Charlene Porsild said in a press release. “We are so proud to support projects from Libby to Ekalaka and all points in between this year ranging from interpretive signage of outdoor exhibits to curation of dinosaur fossils to restoration work on a log cabin or an historic hotel.” Continue Reading →