The Monitor

09/04/2026

A federal bankruptcy court today cleared the way for Silver Bow Mining's purchase of Montana Tunnels' mine outside Jefferson City.

A U.S. bankruptcy court on Friday approved the sale of Montana Tunnels Mining Inc.’s mine property outside Jefferson City to Silver Bow Mining, closing the latest chapter in the mine’s tortuous recent history and clearing the way to new ownership.  As The Monitor reported, Silver Bow Mining is ...

08/27/2026

It took a village -- almost literally. But on Monday, Basin Elementary School reopened after a year on "non-operating status."

As Basin Elementary teacher Alyssa Smith pulled the rope to ring the school bell Monday morning, the two last-arriving students rushed up the stairs and hurried inside, marking the reopening, after 14 long months, of one of Montana’s oldest schoolhouses.  “Do you know what day it is?” Smith a...

08/27/2026

08/24/2026

The prospective buyer of Montana Tunnels' mine property outside Jefferson City is a company incorporated in Canada and headquartered in Butte.

Montana Tunnels Mining on Friday revealed the potential buyer for its mine property outside Jefferson City — and requested a bankruptcy court’s approval of the transaction. The prospective acquirer, in what appears to be an all-stock transaction, is Silver Bow Mining Corp., a company incorporate...

08/21/2026

Hello everybody. We've heard that some county roads around Basin and Boulder and beyond have not been as well-maintained this summer as they have been in some past years.

Would you agree? If so please share your rough road experience in the comments below. We're mostly looking for input on gravel roads, but paved roads could be of interest as well.

Thank you and have a wonderful County Fair weekend!

Send a message to learn more

08/14/2026

A small but notable victory for cutthroat trout...

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks has begun reintroducing Westslope cutthroat trout into Dutchman Creek, a six-mile stream in the Elkhorn Mountains east of Jefferson City. “It’s just taking a small bite out of the apple, but it’s progress,” said FWP Fisheries Biologist Coltan Pipinich. The .....

08/13/2026

From the County's Office of Emergency Management: The Jefferson County Commissioners voted during an emergency session this morning to implement Stage 1 fire restrictions for private lands in Jefferson County effective at 12:01am on Friday 8/14/26 due to high fire danger and limited fire response resource availability. The resolution prohibits campfires on all private lands in Jefferson County except in the City of Boulder and the Town of Whitehall, where fire restrictions are managed by those jurisdictions. State and federal lands are managed by those agencies and may also have separate fire restrictions. The public should visit https://www.mtfireinfo.org/ to view areas with fire restrictions in Montana. The duration of the restrictions will be dependent upon the long-term fire danger outlook and resource availability. While Jefferson County may receive areas of precipitation through the rest of this week, the forecasted amounts will not be sufficient to substantially impact wildfire danger.

State of Montana Wildland Fire Information and Resources.

08/12/2026

Hey, fair-goers: Who's planning to enter Sunday's big stick horse rodeo? We'd love to feature those cowgirls and cowboys in next week's issue! Please send photos (with stick-horse, if possible) and your child's name and age to [email protected].

08/12/2026

On the afternoon of July 30, 2026, Carole Ann Wortman walked out of her Garrison, Montana, home, arm in arm with Jesus Christ, pain free for the first time in nearly 30 years.  Carole was a barrel racer, and some of the pain she suffered was well earned. Her theory in racing was “don’t slow [.....

08/12/2026

“The reason that we’re here is a truly unexplainable darkness that I can’t grasp,” sid Judge Luke Berger before sentencing Kathryn Garaas of Whitehall, who pled guilty to killing her 5-year-old son in April.

Kathryn Garaas burst into tears as Fifth Judicial District Court Judge Luke Berger read her sentence early Wednesday: 50 years in the state mental hospital followed by 25 years of parole for killing her five year-old son Reign Blair. “It should have been me…They were my whole world…I’m reall...