Billings
FILE - In this Aug. 20, 2014, file photo, some of more than 350 miles of pipe awaiting shipment for the Keystone XL oil pipeline project is stored at Welspun Tubular, in Little Rock, Ark. The sponsor of the Keystone XL crude oil pipeline says it's pulling the plug on the contentious project, Wednesday, June 9, 2021, after Canadian officials failed to persuade the Biden administration to reverse its cancellation of the company's permit. (AP Photo/Danny Johnston, File)
Fight over Canadian oil rages on after pipeline's demise

By Matthew Brown, John Flesher And Matthew Daly Jun. 10, 2021 05:55 PM EDT

FILE - In this April 28, 2021, file photo, a firefighter prepares to battle the North Fire from a backyard on Via Patina, in Santa Clarita, Calif. U.S. officials say they'll try to stamp out wildfires as quickly as possible this year as severe drought tightens its grip across the West. (Emily Alvarenga/The Santa Clarita Valley Signal via AP, File)
Fire officials aim to douse blazes fast, avoid megafires

By Matthew Brown May. 13, 2021 12:03 PM EDT

FILE - In this Oct. 22, 2012, file photo a whitetail doe pauses for a moment while walking through the first snow of the winter near Smith Lake in Kila, Mont. Scientists have developed a new way to test live animals for chronic wasting disease, a fatal affliction that showed up in Montana in 2017. (Patrick Cote/The Daily Inter Lake via AP)
Chronic wasting disease test developed by scientists

By Brett French Apr. 17, 2021 10:10 AM EDT

Secretary of Veterans Affairs Denis McDonough, left, speaks with retired Lt. Col. Ed Saunders at a listening session for veterans at Montana State University-Billings in Billings, Mont., Monday, April 5, 2021. McDonough was visiting Montana on his first official trip since his February confirmation. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown)
VA Secretary McDonough tours Montana with Sen. Tester

Apr. 05, 2021 08:14 PM EDT

FILE - In this Jan. 14, 2015, file photo, oil pump jacks are seen in McKenzie County, in western North Dakota. The Biden administration said Tuesday, March 9, 2021, that it will deliver an interim report on its suspension of oil and gas sales from federal lands and waters by summer, but officials declined to state how long the moratorium could remain in place. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown, File)
US officials: report on oil and gas sale ban due by summer

By Matthew Brown Mar. 09, 2021 12:59 PM EST

FILE - In this April 9, 2014, file photo, oil rigs stand in the Loco Hills field on U.S. Highway 82 in Eddy County near Artesia, N.M., one of the most active regions of the Permian Basin. In the closing months of the Trump administration energy companies stockpiled enough drilling permits for western public lands to keep pumping oil for years. That stands to undercut President-elect Joe Biden's plans to block new drilling on public lands to address climate change. (AP Photo/Jeri Clausing, File)
Oil companies lock in drilling, challenging Biden on climate

By Matthew Brown And Cathy Bussewitz Jan. 10, 2021 11:04 AM EST

Montana prison reports 6th virus death, another has 65 cases

Dec. 16, 2020 09:39 PM EST
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — The Montana State Prison reported its sixth death from a coronavirus outbreak Wednesday, while a prison in Dawson County reported the...

Dr. Eric Lowe, left, is among the first six Bozeman Health employees to receive a COVID-19 vaccine in Bozeman, Mont., Monday, Dec. 14, 2020. (Perrin Stein/Bozeman Daily Chronicle via AP)
Health providers first to get COVID-19 vaccine in Montana

By Iris Samuels Dec. 14, 2020 12:46 PM EST

Energy payments to states in US West plummet in 2020

Dec. 06, 2020 04:49 PM EST
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Payments to states in the U.S. West have plummeted for oil, natural gas and coal extracted from U.S. lands after low crude prices and...

Montana Tech basketball paused as virus hits schools

Nov. 30, 2020 04:18 PM EST
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Montana Tech announced Monday it was suspending activities for its men's and women's basketball teams after players tested positive for...

Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., celebrates with his family after his race was called by The Associated Press, early Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2020, in Bozeman, Mont. (AP Photo/Tommy Martino)
Republican rout caps decade-long Montana political shift

By Matthew Brown And Amy Beth Hanson Nov. 04, 2020 03:15 PM EST

In this Thursday, Oct. 29, 2020, photo, Republican Senators, Ted Cruz, left, of Texas and Steve Daines of Montana, bump elbows during a campaign rally in Billings, Mont. Sen. Daines is being challenged in Tuesday's election by Montana Gov. Steve Bullock, a Democrat. (Larry Mayer/The Billings Gazette via AP)
Republican US Sen. Daines wins reelection in Montana

By Matthew Brown And Iris Samuels Nov. 03, 2020 09:47 AM EST

An election worker helps a voter with his ballot on Nov. 3, 2020 at the MetraPark events center in Billings, Mont. Montana voters were picking candidates for president, Senate, House, governor and other races. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown)
News Guide: Republicans sweep key races in Montana

Nov. 03, 2020 12:14 AM EST

In this Thursday, Oct. 29, 2020, photo, Sen. Ted Cruz, second left, R-Texas, campaigns for Sen. Steve Daines, third left, of Montana at the Billings Hotel in Billings, Mont. Others in attendance are Matt Rosendale, third right, Greg Gianforte, left, Troy Downing, second right, and Elsie Arntzen, right. (Larry Mayer/The Billings Gazette via AP)
Trump noticeably absent from key US Senate race in Montana

By Matthew Brown Nov. 01, 2020 10:28 AM EST

FILE - This Jan. 3, 2020, file photo, shows oil derricks owned by Extraction Oil & Gas pump near the intersection of Colorado Highway 392 and Weld County Road 25 near Windsor in Weld County, Colo. The Government Accountability Office, a U.S. government watchdog agency, s faulting the Trump administration’s handling of a COVID-19 relief effort that awarded energy companies breaks on payments for oil and gas extracted from public lands in Western states in more than 500 cases. (Alex McIntyre/The Greeley Tribune via AP, File)
Trump administration faulted over breaks for oil companies

By Matthew Brown Oct. 06, 2020 12:55 PM EDT

Yellowstone County: More COVID will lead to restrictions

By Amy Beth Hanson Oct. 05, 2020 06:44 PM EDT
HELENA, Mont. (AP) — The number of new coronavirus cases among residents of Montana's most populous county is straining the health care system, the county's...

Montana reports 501 COVID-19 cases in new daily record

Oct. 03, 2020 04:28 PM EDT
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Montana health officials said Saturday that 501 more people have tested positive for COVID-19, setting a new daily record. ...

FILE - This Feb. 9, 2016, file photo is the Hull-Rust Mahoning Mine viewed from the overlook in Hibbing, Minn. The Trump administration is seeking to fast-track mining projects and could offer grants and loans to help companies pay for equipment, administration officials said Thursday, Oct. 1, 2020, as they offered details on a plan that critics said could spoil rivers and lakes in Minnesota, Idaho and elsewhere with mining pollution. (AP Photo/Jim Mone, File)
Trump pushes mining with order, but effects are uncertain

By Matthew Brown And Steve Karnowski Oct. 01, 2020 06:20 PM EDT

Bullock, Daines set to debate as mail voting begins soon

By Matthew Brown Sep. 28, 2020 03:11 PM EDT
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — The two candidates vying for a Montana U.S. Senate seat that's considered pivotal in determining if Democrats can wrest the majority...

Montana virus cases hit record; numbers rise in schools

Associated Press Sep. 24, 2020 01:41 PM EDT
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Newly confirmed coronavirus cases in Montana spiked to another record on Thursday and health officials reported that the number of...