Lyle Patrick Larocque Jr., 32, has been charged with four offenses including strangulation of a partner or family member. His initial appearance in district court is scheduled for Jan. 13. His bond has been set for $50,000. Larocque is facing the felony charges of criminal endangerment and strangulation of a partner or family member. Misdemeanor charges are partner or family member assault and

The deadline to apply for the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program for the COVID-19 Pandemic disaster declaration has been extended to Dec. 31, 2021, announced the U.S. Small Business Administration. The deadline extension comes as a result of the recent bipartisan COVID-19 relief bill passed by Congress and enacted by President Trump Dec. 27. To date, the SBA has approved $197 billion

The Montana Department of Labor and Industry reminds Montanans that workers earning minimum wage should now be getting paid $8.75 per hour. The rate increase became effective on Friday, Jan. 1. An estimated 8,000 to 10,000 Montana workers, or 2 percent of the workforce, received hourly wages less than $8.75 per hour in 2020 and are likely to receive higher wages due to the 2021 minimum wage

The Montana State University Extension series is offering a free soil fertility webinar series this winter. The seminars will run Wednesdays from Jan. 6 through Feb. 17 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Registration is encouraged. Each week, Clain Jones will cover a new topic with time for questions specific to your farming system. Recordings will be available after the live date at https:// landresources.montana.edu/

During a press conference at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 6, Montana Governor Greg Gianforte revised the vaccination plan and stated he wanted to move from directives to incentives. Gianforte said at the press conference that no changes will be made to mask mandate restrictions at present, despite signals that a repeal is in the works. He said he will be willing to repeal the mask mandate when