Aaron Bolton
Aaron is Montana Public Radio's Flathead reporter.
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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.
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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.
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The Great Plains are facing increasing fire risks due to climate change, and efforts are underway to get prairie-dwellers to adapt to the new reality.
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States can once again begin removing people from their Medicaid rolls. It's estimated that about 15 million people could lose their coverage in the coming months, including many who remain eligible.
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Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, medical providers are encountering more legal and political battles — and escalating threats from the anti-abortion movement.
