Montana Free Press

Montana Free Press is a trustworthy source dedicated to providing thorough news, information, and analysis about Montana. Established by seasoned journalist John S. Adams, who has received multiple awards for his investigative and political reporting, MTFP is committed to revealing the truth and highlighting significant news stories. This is achieved through examining complex bureaucratic processes, exploring overlooked areas of major institutions, thoroughly analyzing data and documents, and ensuring that leaders are held accountable to the public. Our reporting covers all of Montana, focusing on topics such as government, politics, natural resources, energy, social justice, healthcare, and the environment. We operate both independently and in partnership with other news organizations across Montana to deliver impactful news stories that resonate with and affect local communities.

Local

English

Online/Digital

Outlet metrics

Domain Authority

Ranking

Global

#239046

United States

#52246

Law and Government/Government

#997

Traffic sources

Monthly visitors

Articles

Crazy Mountain Ranch’s golf course spurs water right fight in Shields Valley

1 week ago | montanafreepress.org | Amanda Eggert

CLYDE PARK — Tim Sundling remembers when he first heard developers discuss plans for a golf course in Shields Valley, an agricultural area below the Crazy Mountains that’s resisted the real estate boom consuming glitzy, amenity-rich communities across the county line.
Gianforte vetoes community solar bill

1 week ago | montanafreepress.org | Amanda Eggert

Senate Bill 188 proponents say veto is a ‘missed opportunity’ to encourage economic development and lower Montanans’ power bills.
Summertime pesto with peas as the stars

1 week ago | montanafreepress.org | Jon Bennion

Wide Open Table is a bi-monthly Montana Free Press column on all things food and cooking. Sign up for this newsletter here. Higher latitudes mean we spend a bit more time in cooler spring weather than the rest of the country. But that just makes Montanans appreciate summertime even more, right? As spring leans into summer, I find myself hunting for the fresh and the green. That can mean heading to my local farmers market or sourcing locally grown produce in grocery stores.
Tribes to reduce dam flows to keep Flathead Lake closer to full pool

1 week ago | montanafreepress.org | Justin Franz

The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes received permission from the secretary of the Interior on Friday to reduce the amount of water flowing through the Séliš Ksanka QÍispé Dam near Polson to keep Flathead Lake closer to full pool amid an increasingly severe drought in northwest Montana. The decision to reduce flows is expected to affect downstream fisheries and electricity production for the rest of June.
Missoula County to join ACLU lawsuit against ‘bathroom bill’

2 weeks ago | montanafreepress.org | Katie Fairbanks

Sign up for the free Missoula This Week newsletter and stay in the loop on Missoula city government, public school meetings, business news and upcoming entertainment and events. “Missoula This Week” is reported and written By Katie Fairbanks. Send your Missoula news and tips to [email protected]. The Missoula County commissioners last week moved to join a lawsuit against a new state law segregating bathroom use by sex.
Time out!

2 weeks ago | montanafreepress.org | Tom Lutey

Get an insider’s look into what’s happening in and around the halls of power with expert reporting, analysis and insight from the editors and reporters of Montana Free Press. Sign up to get the free Capitolized newsletter delivered to your inbox every Thursday. June 12, 2025Employees of the Montana Legislature have racked up more than 15,000 hours of combined compensatory time, more than they can burn through by taking days away from work, according to the agency’s executive director.
Federal judge considers fate of shuttered asbestos-screening clinic

2 weeks ago | montanafreepress.org | Mara Silvers

Attorneys for BNSF Railway, the U.S. government and a Libby asbestos-screening clinic sparred in federal court Thursday over how the railroad giant can collect a multimillion-dollar judgment stemming from hundreds of fraudulent diagnoses made by the nonprofit health care clinic, a case litigated extensively in a 2023 jury trial. The prior legal battle left the Center for Asbestos Related Disease, or CARD, saddled with a more than $3 million penalty.
Montana lawsuit against BlackRock, Vanguard gets a push from public polling

2 weeks ago | montanafreepress.org | Tom Lutey

A legal battle between Montana’s attorney general and the largest shareholders of NorthWestern Energy turned up in public polling in the days before a key court hearing this week. A text poll targeting Montanans the weekend of June 7 asked recipients who was more sympathetic, Attorney General Austin Knudsen or “firms that invested in American coal companies.”Montana is one of 13 states accusing the investment firms BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street of a coal price-fixing scheme.
Gianforte vetoes ‘cops and conservation’ marijuana tax revenue bill

2 weeks ago | montanafreepress.org | Amanda Eggert

Gov. Greg Gianforte last week vetoed a bill that would divide revenues generated by adult-use marijuana sales between a variety of conservation, law enforcement, addiction treatment and homelessness support initiatives.
About 50 people protest NorthWestern Energy’s rate hike as Montana’s utility board starts 2-week hearing

2 weeks ago | montanafreepress.org | Amanda Eggert

Two weeks after NorthWestern Energy relied upon a little-known, 50-year-old law to raise electricity customers’ rates by 17% without regulators’ approval, the state utility board on Monday opened a two-week hearing to determine how much of the increase will stick.