Floods Rage at High Elevations; Flood Warning for Lower Yellowstone
As of 5 pm on Monday, June 13, the National Weather Service issued flood warnings for the Yellowstone and Stillwater Rivers. The warning follows two days of significant flooding of streams at higher elevations – flooding that is devastating the town of Red Lodge and has closed roads in numerous places including Yellowstone National Park, […]
Big Upset in Local Election Results
On Tuesday, 44,605 voters in Yellowstone County cast ballots in the county and state Primary Election with some surprising results. The biggest news in Yellowstone County was an upset in the County Commissioners’ race in which newcomer Mark Morse ousted incumbent Denis Pitman in the only Republican challenged primary in county government. Since Morse has […]
Billings Outlaws Owner, Keith Russ, Sells Team Amid Financial Concerns …
Businesses, Players, Coach, Staff and Media Production Companies among growing list of complaints by Michael Marino & Jonathan McNiven Keith Russ, owner of the Billings Outlaws and Pick Six Entertainment, announced at their May 30 game that he sold the indoor football team to Steve Titus who also owns the Wyoming Mustangs team. Russ revealed […]
One Dead after High-Speed Chase, Standoff in Billings
by Michael J. Marino A 36-year-old Billings man is dead after he led police on a chase through the city that ultimately cost him his life. Billings Police Department (BPD) responded to a location near the Ledgestone Hotel off King Ave. East at about 11:19 PM on May 23 after receiving a report of an […]
Fire Council Warns of Impending Ambulance Crisis
by Michael J. Marino At the May 10 meeting of the Yellowstone County Rural Fire Council (YCRFC), Lockwood Fire Chief John Staley stated, “In a year or two, Yellowstone County could find themselves without [ambulance] transport,” and that, “…we’re really in a crisis here.”
Protest Held in Billings Following Supreme Court Draft Opinion Leak
Protesters gathered on the lawn of the Yellowstone County Courthouse this Mother’s Day to oppose the Supreme Court’s drafted reversal of Roe v. Wade, a historic case that gave women the right to an abortion and other reproductive rights in 1973. “I don’t understand how, in this time, we could be going backward,” said Jenika […]
Citizens Watch Demonstration of Ballot Counting
Last Friday, about a dozen citizens crowded into a room on the second floor of the Courthouse in Billings to see how ballots are processed and counted. The demonstration is one that the Elections Department Director, Bret Rutherford, must do prior to every election. While the public is always invited to attend, Rutherford said, he usually […]
Re-vote on Marijuana Sales In County, a Real Head-scratcher
Popping up all across the county are campaign signs urging voters to vote, for or to vote against, overturning Yellowstone County’s law which legalizes the recreational sale of marijuana throughout the county.
Yellowstone County Sees Record Low Unemployment
Governor Greg Gianforte announced Tuesday, April 19, that Montana’s unemployment rate had dropped to 2.3% — a new record. Additionally, Yellowstone County created 4,098 new jobs over the past year, making the county’s unemployment rate a mere 2.5%. Those numbers rank the county as 19th in terms of unemployment, and set a new local record […]
Massage Therapists File Federal Lawsuit Against City of Billings
A group of local massage therapists from Billings officially filed a federal case against the City on April 6 that challenges a city ordinance that “forces therapists to allow random, unannounced searches of their businesses and patient records,” according to a press release. The group said if a therapist asserts their right to a search […]