By Keila Szpaller | Deputy Editor
"Now that the island is in public hands, adaptive management will benefit the ecological and recreational values of the upper Yellowstone River in perpetuity.” – David Weinstein, Northern Rockies director for Trust for Public Land, on an 82-acre island in the Yellowstone River that’s newly public land.
Judge denies feds’ request to pause bison plan lawsuit
by Jordan Hansen
A consolidated lawsuit brought over a 2024 bison management plan in the Greater Yellowstone Area will move forward after the U.S. District Court in Billings denied the federal government’s request to pause the suit. Alliance For the Wild Rockies and Council on Fish & Wildlife brought the suit at the beginning of January against the […]
FWP opens river access site on upper Yellowstone River
by Micah Drew
Anglers, floaters and other water-loving members of the public can access a new chunk of public land in the upper Yellowstone River, following Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks’ acquisition of Siskin Island this month. The 82-acre island sits between Mallards Rest and Pine Creek fishing access sites roughly 13 miles south of Livingston on the […]
MORE FROM MONTANA
Next week, Glacier National Park will start fixing a well that’s leaking methane. In a news release, Glacier said it was the first oil well drilled in the state of Montana, and it predated the establishment of the park.
The Missoulian has a detailed look at a grizzly bear attack that left a hiker dead earlier this year in Glacier National Park. The Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee said the hiker was likely walking down a trail in the dark and surprised the bear. The committee said fatal attacks are rare.
The Daily Interlake reports the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes Bison Range is busy with visitors this year, and it counts a few more calves than usual at 80. The little ones are nicknamed “red dogs.”
The Miles City Star reports that an aggressive squirrel or squirrels caused the closure of a couple of trails in Makoshika State Park, and Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks investigated the behavior of the rodent, an eastern fox squirrel.
FROM OUR D.C. BUREAU AND STATELINE
One day after President Donald Trump attended the dignified transfer of the remains of four U.S. service members killed as a result of the Iran conflict, the two chambers of Congress were at odds over whether to rein in the president’s military powers in the monthslong war.
Members of the U.S. Senate tasked with advancing acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s nomination to be the nation’s top law enforcer on Thursday pushed the vote one week.
Education experts and advocates warned that the recent federal student loan system overhaul stemming from the GOP’s mega tax and spending cut law will drive borrowers to private lenders and could derail their higher education plans.
As federal officials consider whether to reclassify marijuana under federal drug law, a new study has found that more American teenagers seeking treatment for cannabis use disorder, known as CUD, are facing longer wait times before receiving care.
MONTANA ROCKS
The iconic Polebridge Mercantile is ready for business and lovers of baked goods on a morning in July 2026. (Keila Szpaller/The Daily Montanan)
A huckleberry macaroon from the Polebridge Mercantile contains real huckleberries. Yum. (Keila Szpaller/The Daily Montanan)
The Polebridge Mercantile near Glacier National Park wasn’t as busy as expected last weekend. Plenty of people stood in line for baked treats in the morning, but it wasn’t a throng of people, at least not when I was there. The huckleberry macaroons were as delicious as I remembered, and even the earthy smell wafting off the piles of horse manure on the lawn was comforting.
~ Keila Szpaller
THE HOOK
Happy Friday!
Your tune for today is “A Real Hero.”
It’s on the soundtrack to the movie “Drive,” which I watched at the Roxy this week. The opening scene is thrilling. Those leather driving gloves? Hot.
I hadn’t seen the movie before, but we’re lucky to have a theater that shows oldies but goodies — everything, actually, new movies, old ones, documentaries, opera.
“Drive” features a cool–as-a-cucumber tough-guy driver, also softie neighbor played by Ryan Gosling. He’s the everyday hero.
By College and Electric Youth, the song was inspired partly by the pilot Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger’s 2009 emergency landing on the Hudson River.
The Hollywood Reporter said Austin Garrick, of Electric Youth, heard his grandpa describe Sully as “a real human being and a real hero,” and he wanted to put that phrase to music.
The driver in the movie completes some hard tasks, dirty ones and violent ones, but the song is a reminder of the people in our lives who are doing hard things every day.
Hopefully fewer hard things tomorrow. It’s Saturday tomorrow. Happy weekend, and Darrell will be back with you on Monday with your usual programming.
Got your own song about everyday heroics? [email protected].
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