NW Montana Power Nearly Restored Week After Storm

For the first time in a week, line crews in Northwest Montana have cut the number of outages from last Wednesday's storm down to fewer than 100 customers.

That's a dramatic drop from the storm that knocked out power to more than 30,000 Flathead Electric Co-op customers.

The utility had most of the areas in the Flathead Valley in a couple of days after the storm. But Libby was a bigger challenge. But by Tuesday evening, the utility was reporting just over 50-people in Lincoln County were left on the outage list.

READ MORE: Montana; Dark, Damaged and Cold After Storm

Icy roads to blame for Bitterroot death

Montana Highway Patrol is releasing details of the crash that killed a Hamilton man over the weekend, saying it was icy roads that caused two vehicles to collide.

The crash happened Sunday morning, when roads through the Bitterroot Valley turned especially treacherous from a combination of mixed rain and snow.

Troopers say the victim was eastbound on the Stevensville Cutoff Road when he lost control of his Toyota pickup, which slid into oncoming traffic and was hit head-on by another pickup. The second driver was also injured.

DOC has a new chief

The Montana Department of Corrections will have a new leader heading into 2026.

Governor Greg Gianforte announced yesterday that Eric Strauss has been appointed as the Director of the Montana Department of Corrections (DOC). 

 In October, Gov. Gianforte announced the current director, Brian Gootkin, was nominated by President Donald J. Trump to serve as a United States Marshal for the District of Montana. Stauss will assume the role on January 6.

Gianforte says, “Eric has been a strong leader who will carry on Director Gootkin’s progress at the Department of Corrections." He's been Deputy DOC Director for the past year.

School may have a contamination problem

Park City School officials are doing some testing to see if a piece of roofing damaged in last week's storm might contain vermiculite, an old compound used in asbestos in decades gone by. The material was found when a contractor started to make repairs.

     ⚠️ As a precaution, the school district decided to send students home early for their Christmas break.

Blacktail opens for skiing

Montana ski areas are still struggling with a lack of snow, but add another resort to the list that will be open for Christmas. Blacktail Mountain Ski Area says it will open Christmas Eve, with enough snow for two if the lifts are in operation. Others will be added as more snow stacks up.

Jordan nurse pleads guilty to drug thefts

A Sand Springs woman could be headed to prison for 10-years after admitting she tampered with drugs at a local healthcare center.

Prosecutors charged 35-year old Kailyn Marie Smotherman after she was caught tampering with controlled substances, including fentanyl, while working at the Garfield County Health Center in Jordan, where she was the Directorof  Nursing. She was accused of emptying vials and replacing the painkillers with saline.