Aaron Bolton
Aaron is Montana Public Radio's Flathead reporter.
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The U.S. and tribal governments make progress against contaminated coal mine runoff from British Columbia, which has been polluting Montana and Idaho for years.
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A long waiting list at Montana's only state-run psychiatric hospital has left inmates untreated and stuck in county jails. To fix it, health officials want changes to involuntary commitment laws. -
Montana inmates with severe mental illness can languish for months in jail. They are too ill to stand trial, and there's only one state hospital that can treat them.
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As the climate changes, places where home air conditioning used to be rare are now seeing a need for artificial cooling. In places like the Rocky Mountains and Pacific Northwest, lives are at stake.
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As the climate changes, places where home air conditioning used to be rare are now seeing a need for artificial cooling. It's a new expense that's especially hard for people in low-income housing.
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New ideas like "safe storage maps" show gun owners where to put their firearms in safekeeping if a mental health crisis happens. The idea has support, but obstacles are in the way in some states. -
Gun owners in psychiatric crisis can lower their risk of suicide by temporarily storing their guns at a gun store or with family or friends. But "safe storage" is easier in theory than practice.
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Gun rights and gun control advocates are coming together over safeguarding gun storage in an effort to reduce suicides, which account for more than half of gun fatalities nationwide.
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The nationwide surge in homelessness means small towns are starting to see people camping on the streets. The murder of a homeless man in Montana highlights their challenges.
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The White House this week unveiled $42 billion in broadband internet funding from the infrastructure act. It's a rare example of mostly conservative rural leaders embracing big government spending.
