mineral county

"There is no doubt that Trooper Tafoya saved many lives on this day."

Monte Turner shared his notes and reactions at a meeting in the St. Regis School Gymnasium on Monday evening.

On December 19th, 2018 on I-90 in Mineral County, five semi trucks crashed on an icy bridge where one driver was killed, another died after leaping off a bridge to avoid and oncoming truck and a Frenchtown firefighter was badly injured after falling off a frozen bridge deck.

March has been good for Mineral County. After 'all hell was breaking loose' in November with the sudden departure of the County Sheriff and a rapid closure of the County Jail, Commissioner Roman Zylawy says things are turning around.

Four meth arrests in under two hours by Missoula police highlight a busy day for law enforcement.

"The county doesn't have any real economic means other than a sawmill, which depends on the forest service to provide timber for it," Zylawy said

Resident Jay Alexander was evacuated during the incident and returned home to find his land ablaze, not by the Sunrise Fire, but by a backburn set to help fight the fire.

The Mineral County jail has been closed since last November when staffing levels declined to just two jailers and even the Sheriff turned in his badge and quit.

There’s some optimism in Mineral County after the jail was closed suddenly in October and the Sheriff resigned.

With a drop in timber harvests and mining a thing of the past, Mineral County is struggling to live up to its name and to stay in the black.