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Monday, March 18, 2024

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SD public defense duties shift from counties to state; SCOTUS appears skeptical of restricting government communications with social media companies; Trump lawyers say he can't make bond; new scholarships aim to connect class of 2024 to high-demand jobs.

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The SCOTUS weighs government influence on social media, and who groups like the NRA can do business with. Biden signs an executive order to advance women's health research and the White House tells Israel it's responsible for the Gaza humanitarian crisis.

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Midwest regenerative farmers are rethinking chicken production, Medicare Advantage is squeezing the finances of rural hospitals and California's extreme swing from floods to drought has some thinking it's time to turn rural farm parcels into floodplains.

Montana

Environmental advocates contend a logging project bordering Montana's Anaconda-Pintler Wilderness Area threatens habitat for the lynx, which is listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. (Adobe Stock)

Monday, March 18, 2024

Environmental advocates sue over MT logging project

The Alliance for the Wild Rockies has sued the U.S. Forest Service over a logging project in southwestern Montana. The group claims the agency …

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Montana doctors and nurses say state law is not clear about whether health care workers can access mental health and addiction treatment without notifying the boards overseeing them. (Adobe Stock)
Montana clinicians want confidential mental health treatment

By Katheryn Houghton for KFF Health News.Broadcast version by Mark Moran for Big Sky Connection reporting for the KFF Health News-Public News Service …

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Gov. Greg Gianforte vetoed SB 442 after the Montana Legislature adjourned, which could affect veterans' programs and other services. Critics of the veto now want lawmakers to override it. (Adobe Stock)
MT military veterans support veto override

A Montana court has denied Gov. Greg Gianforte's attempt to stop the Legislature from having an opportunity to override his veto of a bill that …

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One of the more well-known housing discrimination cases in Montana involved a $37,343 verdict against a Bozeman landlord for charging $1,000 to a resident with physical and psychiatric disabilities to have a service animal in 2017. (Adobe Stock)
HUD files discrimination charge against MT apartment owner

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has charged a Livingston landlord with discrimination after investigating a complaint filed by a …

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Environmental groups recently sued the Montana Department of Environmental Quality over its CAFO water pollution permit. (Adobe Stock)
Farm group calls on changes to USDA environmental funding

A farm advocacy group says large corporate agriculture producers are getting federal environmental safeguard funds that were intended for smaller oper…

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The union that represents Montana's public school teachers has filed suit to stop a pair of school choice bills in the state. One would create Educational Savings Accounts, the other a charter school system, both of which would be funded with state education money. (Adobe Stock)
MT teachers union files pair of 'school choice' lawsuits

Montana's largest teachers union has filed two lawsuits against "school choice" measures in the state. Montana lawmakers passed House Bill 393 last …

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Consumer Direct Montana is the latest agency in Montana to unionize, and just last month, completed bargaining for its first union contract with in-home caregivers, who are currently voting to ratify the tentative agreement. (Adobe Stock)
MT health care workers vote on large pay increase

A group of health-care workers in Montana will learn tomorrow whether their new union contract has been ratified. The tentative deal, between SEIU 7…

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The Helena point-in-time survey is conducted each year to count people either living in shelters or other temporary housing. (Adobe Stock)
Helena ups efforts to track, shelter homeless Montanans

Helena is stepping up efforts to track its homeless population. The number of people living without shelter has risen sharply since the city started …

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Montana faces above-average rates of obesity and diabetes, both of which are dangerous to heart health. (Adobe Stock)
MT faces unique challenges during Heart Month

Doctors in Montana are asking people to pay close attention to their cardiac health during February, which is National Heart Month - especially since …

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Despite concern over the influence of foreign money on statewide elections, Montana has just increased its campaign contribution limits for PACs and individuals to $1,120 from $1,000. (Adobe Stock)
Montana political candidates receive among highest foreign donations

New research from a campaign finance-tracking group shows foreign corporations are investing heavily in statewide elections. Montana is one of a …

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Heart Butte, Mont., population 600, is on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation. The suicide rate for Montana's Native American youth is more than five times the statewide rate for the same age group, according to the Montana Budget and Policy Center. (Amanda MorningStar)
MT Tribes grapple with crippling suicide rate

By Cheryl Platzman Weinstock for KFF Health News.Broadcast version by Mark Moran for Big Sky Connection reporting for the KFF Health News/Public News …

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Montana has consistently had one of the highest voter turnout rates in the nation, according to the Secretary of State's office. The group Western Native Voice is working to increase the number of Indigenous voters this year. (Adobe Stock)
MT Indigenous group creates app to increase voter turnout

A Native American advocacy group is making a big push to get out the Indigenous vote in this year's elections. It is hiring field organizers across …

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