Regional - The Rapid City Post

Pat Thiele connects a hose to a water tank as he fills a trough used by his cattle in the Bull Mountains, on May 21, 2025, near Roundup, Montana. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown)

Trump’s push to save coal faces a new hurdle: his own trade war

May 28, 2025

Mining company Signal Peak Energy sits atop a billion-ton coal reserve beneath Montana’s rugged Bull Mountains and ships 98% of the fuel it mines to Japan and South Korea. Congressional Republicans last week advanced a plan to approve a long-stalled permit for the mine, just as President Donald Trump looks to further boost coal exports. Yet Trump’s own tariffs make more exports an iffy proposition for most U.S. coal. Countries retaliating against tariffs might price U.S. coal out of competition altogether. In effect, an escalating trade war could undermine Trump’s goal of saving coal.

A dirt road in Sweet Grass County leading into the Crazy Mountains is seen Saturday, May 10, 2025, near Big Timber, Mont. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown)

National Guard helicopter crew landed on Montana ranch and trespassed to take antlers, citations say

May 16, 2025

Three Montana Army National Guard members face trespassing charges after authorities say they landed a Black Hawk helicopter in a mountain pasture on a private ranch to take elk antlers before flying away. A sheriff says Thursday that a game warden tracked down the guardsmen and they turned over two antlers and an elk skull with antlers attached. Authorities say a witness saw the May 4 landing and the property owner later reported it to officials. Elk antlers grow and drop off male animals annually and can be sold and collected. A Montana National Guard official says the case is under investigation and that misuse of military equipment erodes trust with residents.

FILE - Hikers look up at a fast moving storm as it makes its way through Zion National Park outside of Springdale, Utah, July 22, 2013. (AP Photo/Sandy Huffaker, File)

A Republican push to sell public lands in the West is reigniting a political fight

May 11, 2025

Congressional Republicans say their plan to sell or transfer 460,000 acres of public land will generate revenue and offer space to build houses in Western cities. Without clear details on how it will work, skeptics worry it could be a giveaway for developers and mining companies. For some rapidly growing western cities, owning the adjacent federal land would be a boon. Conservationists, on the other hand, fear the loss of public lands and environmental destruction. And while housing advocates are hopeful at the opportunity, they remain wary that enough affordable housing will be built. The legislation passed by the House Natural Resources Committee last week, part of the Republicans’ sweeping tax cut package.

FILE - Respiratory therapist Vernon Johnson, left, conducts a pulmonary test at the Center for Asbestos Related Disease, Thursday, April 4, 2024, in Libby, Mont. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown, File)

Asbestos clinic forced to close in Montana town where thousands have been sickened by dust

May 8, 2025

An asbestos screening clinic in a Montana town where thousands have been sickened dust from a nearby mine has been shuttered by local authorities. The move follows a Wednesday court order to seize the clinic’s assets in order to pay off a judgment to railroad BNSF. Courts in Montana have said BNSF contributed to the asbestos pollution in Libby when it brought contaminated material through town. But the railway prevailed in a 2023 lawsuit alleging the clinic fraudulently made some patients eligible for government benefits when it knew they were not sick. The railway says it’s owed $3 million.

Driver of Ctour Holiday van involved in Idaho crash was licensed in California

May 3, 2025

Idaho State Police say the driver of the tour van involved in a deadly collision with a pickup truck was licensed in California and the company that organized the trip was Ctour Holiday LLC. It’s a large tour operator that provides international travel services. The pickup truck driver and six people in the Mercedes van were killed in the crash. It happened Thursday evening on U.S. Highway 20 near Henry’s Lake State Park in eastern Idaho. Police have identified the pickup driver as 25-year-old Isaih Moreno of Humble, Texas. The tour group was headed to Yellowstone National Park. Police did not say whether the driver of the van was among those killed.

Regional.

Trump’s push to save coal faces a new hurdle: his own trade war

National Guard helicopter crew landed on Montana ranch and trespassed to take antlers, citations say

A Republican push to sell public lands in the West is reigniting a political fight

Asbestos clinic forced to close in Montana town where thousands have been sickened by dust

Driver of Ctour Holiday van involved in Idaho crash was licensed in California

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