Good morning, Missoula.

Youth Homes opened its new Birnbaum Home (for kids 10 to 17) in Missoula and will begin welcoming children on Sept.

15. The facility serves eight youth at a time while helping up to 100 each year stay out of harm’s way.

Montana's high-tech sector generated $7.9 billion in revenue in 2024 and added $4.4 billion in value, a report from the Montana High Tech Business Alliance and University of Montana BBER shows wages rose to the national average and firms use AI to bolster growth.

Rep. Ryan Zinke will introduce the A River Runs Through It Act to add nearly 100,000 acres of wilderness and boost forest management & recreation around Clearwater and Blackfoot rivers.

The legislation aims to protect public lands, support timber harvest, and enhance access with local support before his retirement.

Two young adult grizzly bears were euthanized in Lincoln on Wednesday, Sept.

9 after conflicts with chicken coops and unsecured attractants near homes — Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks said the decision followed 10 days of ongoing issues as residents worked to secure attractants.

Advocates from Wilderness Watch have delayed plans to remove a historic dead Engelmann spruce inscribed 133 years ago by surveyors after public outcry over helicopter use in designated wilderness near the Absaroka Mountains.

Federal officials + State Parks are now considering a 3D scan to preserve its historical value.

Montana is expanding its drug prevention program to middle schools following a summit in Missoula where families and law enforcement stressed early intervention.

The state will train school staff so students have trusted adults available before substance use becomes a crisis.

Missoula now has D-Bat Missoula offering an indoor batting cage for baseball and softball players at 821 Burlington (designed to allow year-round practice despite Montana weather), and the same owners plan to open a sports card store, Soul City Card Co., in the same facility.

Former Montana Grizzlies are in the NFL as Patrick O'Connell played for the Seahawks on Wednesday night, Dylan Cook is set to start at right tackle for the Steelers, and Michael Wortham joined the Jaguars practice squad; others are free agents or coaches (Junior Bergen and Marc Mariani).