Five school districts in the Flathead Valley are asking voters to approve school levies. Voters have until the end of Tuesday, May 8 to vote on them. They’re largely a response to state budget cuts enacted by the legislature last year.

A new survey commissioned  by the University of Montana shows voters from every political leaning support national policy that protects and expands public land access in the state.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is hosting a series of public meetings this week to hear input on five alternative plans for future management of the National Bison Range and nearby wildlife refuges.

Alternatives for two Comprehensive Conservation Plans range from continuing management as it is now,  to emphasizing visitor experience, to managing for key species, to managing for ecological sustainability, and working with tribal and local partners to increase connectivity between the refuges.

This post will be updated throughout the day as new information becomes available. 

Update: 4:47 p.m.

Rivers and streams across western and parts of central Montana are steadily rising as record mountain snowpack continues to melt.

It seems the passage of Montana’s seasons isn't marked so much anymore by gradually changing weather as it is natural disasters.

After a ten day Congressional break, Senator Jon Tester returns to Washington today. He spent the break mostly on his farm, doing few public appearances or media interviews.

Tester left Washington to a barrage of angry criticism from President Trump, after the Senator released a list of anonymous allegations against Trump's nominee for Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Admiral Ronny Jackson. Jackson subsequently withdrew his nomination.

I was granted an interview with Senator Tester Saturday evening.

I love driving from Missoula to Helena or Great Falls or Bozeman, over the big passes of the Continental Divide and along some of our country’s most spectacular rivers. On the west side of the Divide, we pass green foothills, huge ponderosas and larch, and soaring bald eagles and osprey. Dropping down onto the east side, we start to see grasslands, sage brush, mule deer and pronghorn. Travelers in Montana know that the climate on the east side of the Continental Divide is suddenly and significantly different than on the west side. Wondering why is a good thing to ponder on a long drive.

Trump's attacks on Jon Tester continue, and spawn new anti-Tester ads. Republican Russ Fagg's new ad plays on fears of illegal immigrants. Two new Democratic ads use humor and personal stories. And House Democratic candidates point out each other's drawbacks in the general election. Sally Mauk, Chuck Johnson and Rob Saldin look at these stories and more, on this episode of "Campaign Beat," MTPR's weekly political analysis program.

New artistic director and violin soloist for The String Orchestra of the Rockies Maria Larionoff joins us, along with outgoing artistic director and cellist Fern Glass Boyd, to preview the SOR's May 6 performance, "The Cascades Meet The Rockies."

"I'm thrilled, as is the whole orchestra and the board," Boyd says of Larionoff's arrival. "I know that our audiences will be also thrilled to have her be our new leader and bring more exciting and fantastic things ahead for the orchestra and the Missoula area."

Thursday, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce gave Republican Congressman Greg Gianforte one of its Spirit of Enterprise Awards. About 40 local chamber members attended an award ceremony amidst giant rolls of newsprint at the Kalispell Daily Interlake newspaper’s warehouse.