Was this Montana’s Spring? Or Summer?

Friday was a big day for warmth and wind across Montana. Winds aren't QUITE as strong as yesterday, when a few places saw triple-digit gusts, but it's still very, very windy.

The infamous Deep Creek weather station southwest of Browning was recording sustained winds over 60 miles per hour, with gusts near 90. Gusts in Great Falls and Lewistown were top 50 miles per hour, and strong winds are expected to continue through this evening.

But the other big numbers on the map are temperatures, with records falling left and right, some of them more than a century old.

Billings had already hit 81 degrees by early afternoon at the airport, breaking the record for this day of 76 degrees, set in 1997. It was 84 at the Big Horn County Airport and 82 in Columbus, with dozens of other locations well into the 70s.

That combination is raising more concerns of fire danger through the afternoon. Crews are still working on several large fires already, although firefighters have been able to start mop-up on the Panama Fire near Whitehall, which burned almost 6-hundred acres north of I-90 after starting on Wednesday.

News coming on a big Missoula project

Missoula leaders say they're prepared to announce details of another new development next week, one which will include a combination of affordable housing and market-rate homes in the central part of the Garden City.

A press conference is set for next week to reveal plans for the 8-acre North MRL Triangle, which is one of several locations the city has been targeting for new development over the past couple of years.

Seeley Musher does it again

Congratulations are going out to champion musher Jessie Royer of Seeley Lake, who captured a 12th-place finish in the Iditarod sled dog race in Alaska.

It's the 20th time Jessie has run the premier race, where she was honored as Rookie of the Year early in her racing career, which included a 3rd place finish in 2019.

Man sent to prison for shooting at officers

Caleb Raymond Carter of Lame Deer will spend a dozen years in prison for shooting at BIA officers who were investigating a report of threats being made against family members.

Carter was convicted of firing at the officers through the door of a camper, although he later surrendered. No one was hurt. Carter claimed he had a problem with people coming on his property.

Rally ban will be reviewed

It looks like state officials are going to reconsider that ban against weekend rallies at the Capitol.

The Gianforte Administration announced the new policy a few days ago, saying rallies and other protests would only be allowed on weekdays. That's outside of the usual time Montana residents often gather to make their point. Democratic lawmakers wrote a letter pointing that out, saying weekends are better to allow people time to travel across the state.

Now, the Montana Free Press is reporting the Department of Administration will take another look at the policy.

Director Misty Ann Giles said the guidelines were developed last month and came in response to the growing size of rallies since the pandemic.

     The Press reports it's not known if the policy will change before the next "No Kings" rally, which is set for the end of the month.