Engineers Complete Plan for Safety on “Montana’s Busiest Street”

It may take a while to find the money, but traffic engineers in Missoula say they've developed a series of proposals to improve safety on one of the busiest streets in Montana.

MDT and local transportation planners have completed an outline for making changes along the entire length of the busy corridor, from I-90 south to Brooks. The suggestions include modified intersection designs, and especially ways to improve the safety for pedestrians and bikes to cross the road, where many have been seriously injured in killed over the past decade.

READ MORE: Reserve Street Safety Plan

    🚦 Planners are scheduling two pop-up events on October 14th at the Missoula Public Library and on the 15th in the Grant Creek Town Center to answer questions and get additional input.

Four suspects collared in Seeley Lake sweep

Missoula and Powell County team up to apprehend four suspects in Seeley Lake who were wanted for a string of crimes in both counties.

Missoula County Sheriff's deputies, detectives, the SRT Team, and members of the Montana Regional Violent Crimes Task Force helped Powell County deputies in the arrests. Authorities haven't specified exactly what crimes the four are accused of committing, but say the arrests were the result of ongoing investigations over the past several months.

Can tribes set up "tariff-free" trade routes?

It's still early, but some of the region's northern tribes are exploring the idea of using ancient travel corridors to set up "tariff-free" trade corridors between the U.S. and Canada.

Members of the Blackfeet Tribe, along with a rancher and State Senator Susan Webber, had filed suit against the Trump Administration last spring, soon after the President imposed tariffs on Canada. They argue the Jay Treaty, approved in 1794, grants the tribes free passage and trade between the two countries.

Now, Mother Jones and Canada's National Observer are reporting that the Standing Buffalo Dakota Nation in Saskatchewan is reaching out to the Sioux Tribe in Fort Peck to formalize a trade agreement. Their hope is to use traditional routes from the Canadian provinces, including Manitoba and Alberta, to revive an ancient trade network covering thousands of square miles.

     Backers see it not as a symbolic move, but a way to improve tribal economies.

Injured MSU Billings runners back home

All of the MSU Billings cross country team members, except one, are back home in Montana after a frightening bus crash while traveling to a meet in Eastern Washington.

The crash happened Sunday, while the team was caravanning to a meet near Walla Walla in 4 separate vehicles. One of the coaches, driven by a student, veered off the road. Six athletes were injured, with two airlifted to the hospital. MTN News is reporting one student is still being treated in Spokane, and the student driver has been cited.

Suit challenging Montana's water management

With another dry summer limiting fishing, floating, and irrigation from some Montana rivers, several environmental and conservation groups are suing the state, saying it's not doing enough to keep water in the river channels.

The Montana Free Press reports the suit, filed at the end of the summer by a Missoula attorney, asserts Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks needs to be more aggressive in managing rivers like the Clark Fork, Big Hole, and the Blackfoot, all of which struggled through another summer of drought in 2025.

Specifically, the suit claims the state isn't doing enough to conserve water for "public use" while interacting with the claims over water rights, the so-called "first in time, first in right" approach, which the plaintiffs say can no longer be sustained.

Governor honors conservative hero in Bozeman

Governor Greg Gianforte says Turning Point USA leader will be "sorely missed", but he says young adults and others who've supported the conservative movement can continue his legacy.

Last night's event on the MSU campus in Bozeman had been rescheduled following Kirk's assassination in Utah last month. Noting that he and his wife had supported Kirk since his initial efforts, writing the "second check" to the organization, Gianforte praised his efforts.

"He was fearless and persuasive. He went where he was not welcome and engaged respectfully in dialogue. He gave voice to those who had been shouted down and canceled. He spoke truth." -Gov Gianforte

You can watch his full remarks here from NTD News

Gianforte urged the audience to honor Kirk's legacy by continuing to have "faith in God", get "married and raise a family".