If you have kids in the car today, you might be breaking a new car seat law that takes effect today, October 1st.
House Bill 586 becomes law on October 1st, with the Legislature providing more specifics on the types of restraints both parents and caregivers must use when hauling little passengers.
Starting now, children under the age of 2 must be placed in a rear-facing harness seat; children ages 2 to 4 in a rear-facing or forward-facing internal harness seat; and children 4 to 8 in a forward-facing internal harness or booster seat.
Sponsor Representative Marc Lee of Butte says the change represents "best practices in child safety."
Lee explains it was "written to put our most vulnerable in the best pre-crash position possible, if a tragedy strikes."
The Montana Department of Transportation will be offering car seat checks across the state to help with compliance.
Montana's airports and military installations are still operating normally today, even as the
U.S. government operations officially shut down at midnight in the latest spending dispute in Congress. TSA workers and military personnel are classified as "essential workers", meaning they must stay on the job, even if they aren't technically paid right now.
This time around, the shutdown has closed the gates at Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks, although visitors may start running into reduced services if the shutdown continues.
The U.S. Postal Service will be in full operation, but other agencies, like the Forest Service, are expected to operate with reduced staff. And some federal facilities could close.
Fort Peck Tribal Law Enforcement say they've apprehended the suspect wanted for shooting two people this past weekend.
Ethan Louis Murphy was wanted for the Sunday shooting in a grocery store parking lot in Wolf Point. One person died in the attack, while another was hospitalized. The names of the victims haven't been released.
Three demonstrators who were arrested for protesting outside the Whitefish Border Patrol Station last month are fighting their misdemeanor charges.
The Daily Interlake reports the trio have all entered "not guilty" pleas to charges of criminal trespass, disorderly conduct, and obstructing a law enforcement officer in mid-September.
The three were protesting the apprehension of a mother and daughter, who were detained following an auto accident for having "no legal status" in the U.S. At last report, they had been transferred to Texas.
Great Falls responds to white supremacist materials
Great Falls leaders are condemning the latest incident where white supremacist propaganda was spread about a local neighborhood.
Tammie Toren is tracking the story and reports that over the weekend, white supremacist propaganda was distributed in plastic bags and left in front yards in neighborhoods around Great Falls. The perpetrators left bags filled with propaganda pamphlets and sand.
Heart disease still the #1 killer in Montana
The latest statistics show heart disease is still the number 1 cause of death in Montana.
But even though the pandemic is more than 5-years in the past, COVID-19 is still on the Top 10 list from the CDC.
Cancer still ranks at #2, with over 2200 Montanans dying from the various forms every year, a death rate of 138 people per 100,000 residents. And Montana's hazards still present a major risk, even in the modern age, with 761 of the state's residents dying every year from various accidents, keeping that circumstance in the Top 3.
Gallery Credit: Chris
