Disaffected Republicans and resurgent Democrats just took over the Montana Legislature and spent big on education and health care.
Public health
The toll of Bozeman’s housing crisis
At the small city’s only emergency shelter, demand is higher and the work is harder than ever.
Nearly all federal workers who investigate firefighter deaths fired
The Trump administration made cuts at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, which also halted a study of the causes of thousands of firefighters’ cancer cases.
Contamination threatens the last source of clean groundwater in west New Mexico
The toxic legacy of Cold War uranium mining and milling has shattered lives, destroyed homes and created a pollution problem for an entire region.
Uranium trucks on Arizona’s ‘Killer 89’ spark alarm in tribal communities
White Mesa residents say they’d be last to know about accidents despite being closest to danger.
EPA takes unprecedented step to remove uranium waste from the Navajo Nation
The decision opens the door for new ways to manage uranium pollution on tribal land.
What we learned about wildfire smoke this last year
The list of wildfire smoke’s long-term health risks continues to grow.
How did Native people vote this election cycle?
Accurate data is hard to come by, but one poll suggests many supported progressive priorities and liberal candidates.
Forest therapy for wildfire survivors
Spending time in the woods can help wildfire survivors recover.
Welcome to Daylight Nonsense Time
When the Yukon tinkered with the time change, it stretched the Mountain Time Zone to its breaking point.
Denver’s last slaughterhouse is on the ballot
Voters face a complicated choice between jobs, workers’ rights and animal welfare.
Fracking inside the neighborhood
As a planned community near the Rockies rises, so do concerns over a oil and gas operation that would stretch under the homes.
Pam Houston has things to say about abortion
The author’s new book is an unflinching treatise on Roe v. Wade and life post-Dobbs.
The mother-daughter duo fighting fossil fuels in Colorado
How Madhvi and Lalitha Chittoor teamed up against a proposed oil and gas development.
The downballot issues driving the West’s 2024 elections
From climate and public lands to shifting political allegiances, the region faces critical choices at the ballot box.
Alaska’s permafrost is thawing, releasing a concerning amount of mercury
“It has that sense of a bomb that’s going to go off.”
As cities enact camping bans, where will California’s unhoused population go?
The number of people experiencing homelessness vastly exceeds the number of available shelter beds in the state.
When the end of the road brings a new beginning
Two accomplished new novels by Joe Wilkins and Willy Vlautin feature weathered protagonists called back from the brink.
Repeal of the Chevron doctrine will have profound consequences for federal rulemaking
Climate, public lands and tribal law regulations are now likely to face legal challenges.
Polluted air threatens the health of New Mexico infants
A new study finds a link between air pollution and low birth weight.
