Latest Designs for Russell, Missoula Project Funded & On Track

Engineers are closing in on final designs for one of the most complicated transportation projects yet to come in Missoula, the next phase of rebuilding the busy Russell Street corridor.

Project Manager Trevor Iman of WGM Group says the challenge will be accommodating thousands of cars per day, widening the street to allow for multiple traffic directions, and accommodating bikes, pedestrians, and public transit. Right-of-way still needs to be worked out.

Right of way for individual private properties that we just have to have a sliver off the front of, haven't started yet," Iman says. "Because we're still early enough in the design that we don't know if we're going to need all that space, and we don't want just to go take someone's property or buy it from them for no reason.

    🚜  Construction won't start until 2029, and is expected to last 2-years. All the funding has been secured.

Coal rules change gets reaction

Reaction is rolling in this afternoon to the EPA's repeal of the Biden Administration's amendments to the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards, or MATS rules, a major development for Montana's coal power plants. The action follows the repeal of the 2009 "endangerment finding", and is a major factor impacting Colstrip.

Governor Gianforte says those rules threatened the early retirement of Colstrip and the mines that supply the plants, impacting hundreds of jobs. He says "the demand for energy is only increasing," and the Trump Administration's action shows "support" for states like Montana in helping meet that demand.

     But regional environmental groups are blasting the repeal.

Krystal Two Bulls, executive director of Honor the Earth, notes the Northern Cheyenne Tribe has "worked for decades to protect air quality", and residents "shouldn't be forced to breathe more arsenic, lead, and other toxic air pollution."

Bitterroot mine already an issue in House race

It's still early in the election season, but already the controversial prospect of a raw earth elements mine at the headwaters of the Bitterroot River is entering the discussion.

Appearing this week on the "Talkback" program in Missoula, 1st District Democrat Ryan Busse was criticizing incumbent Representative Ryan Zinke for supporting a similar mining proposal in Minnesota, over the objections of residents worried about water quality.

Busse says the proposed Sheep Creek Mine near Darby is a "frightening thing", and he believes Zinke won't stand in its way.

"I'm here to represent the people of Montana, and the people of the Bitterroot have spoken very, very plainly and loudly across the aisle. They do not want the thing poisoning the Bitterroot River." -Senate Candidate Ryan Busse (D)

     Just to clarify, Zinke did express opposition to "fast tracking" the federal permitting process for the mine when the controversy erupted at a heated meeting in Hamilton in December.

Democrat enters Senate Race

A 65-year-old Navy veteran is now the latest candidate to jump into the U.S. Senate race, challenging Senator Steve Daines' re-election bid.

Michael Hummert of Helena filed as a Democrat this morning in Helena, where he lives. He has a varied background, having worked as a salvage diver, school bus driver, Montana Highway Patrol trooper, and small business owner.

California woman convicted of major Montana bank fraud

A California woman, accused of defrauding a Montana bank, has been found guilty and is facing decades in prison and up to a $1 million fine.

38-year-old Kristin Renee Zelonish Edwards was convicted this week after a jury trial in U-S District Court in Missoula.

Federal prosecutors claim that Edwards defrauded Glacier Bank of more than $170,000 by depositing 12 phony savings bonds at four different bank branches in Northwest Montana. She was convicted of making four different trips from California to Montana before the Treasury Department flagged one of the bonds.

Edwards tried to claim she found the bonds while going through her late grandmother's belongings. But investigators found the bonds, with her Social Security number, were dated 6 years before she was born.

She faces up to 30 years in prison on 4 different counts.

Out-of-staters involved in fatal crash

Montana Highway Patrol is reporting the victim of a fatal crash near Whitehall earlier this week was a 34-year-old woman from Louisiana.

Troopers say the victim was riding in a car driven by a 34-year-old Wisconsin woman, who was reportedly passing cars on MT-69 at a high rate of speed when she lost control. Her Mazda ran off the road, rolling several times. The victim was partially ejected from the car and died at the scene.

     Investigators say drugs, alcohol and speed were all factors in the crash.

Snow is back, and so is Big Hole Skijoring

Our sparse winter snow may have forced the cancellation of many of our favorite seasonal events, but residents of the Big Hole are taking advantage of their recent snow and will hold the annual skijoring races south of Wisdom this weekend.

There had been some apprehension, but in typical Big Hole fashion, organizers didn't give up, and conditions look absolutely perfect with fresh snow, sunshine, and blue skies. Races start at 11 am Saturday and 10 am Sunday at the airport south of Wisdom.

Two hospitalized after Great Falls house fire

Two people are hospitalized for smoke inhalation after a house fire in Great Falls.

Great Falls Fire officials learned a woman and a dog had evacuated the house on 5th Avenue South, but there was still a man inside. Firefighters found the man, who was unresponsive, but say he became combative as he was being evacuated, knocking the breathing apparatus off one firefighter's face. But everyone got out safely. The firefighters were also treated for smoke inhalation and released.

It's believed the man accidentally started the fire when he was trying to thaw frozen pipes with a propane torch.

TikTok fight, and ban, is done

Montana's fight over TikTok, which once made headlines when we became the first state to ban the social media app, has quietly come to an end. State leaders first called for the ban, which was later codified with a law passing the Legislature. But the ban stalled, along with the resulting federal lawsuit. But MTN News reports that the parties have signed a stipulated settlement today, effectively ending the dispute.