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Senators Grill Regulators, ExxonMobil About Montana Oil Spill
The Yellowstone River (photo by Sean Munson via Flickr)(Billings, MT – Yellowstone Public Radio) At a Senate hearing this morning, Montana Senator Max Baucus grilled federal regulators and oil company...
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ConocoPhillips Megaloads Set To Resume
A ConocoPhillips spokesman says its idled megaload shipments will resume travel through Montana Monday, shortly after midnight. The move comes even as judge recently blocked a much larger shipment by...
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Federal Legislation Could Force Farmers To Get a Commercial Driver's License
(Photo: (cc) by Flickr user cupcakes2)(Billings, Montanta) A federal proposal to require that farmers have a commercial driver’s license (CDL) before they can drive their tractors or other farm...
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ConocoPhillips Megaload Poised For Last Leg To Montana Refinery
(Billings, MT - YPR) The last load of refinery equipment bound for the ConocoPhillips facility in Billings, MT is poised to leave for the final leg of what has been a months long, 5,200 mile...
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US DOT Says No To Commercial Drivers Licenses For Farmers
(Billings, MT – YPR) – The US Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) said today it has no intention of requiring farmers and ranchers to obtain a commercial...
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Keystone XL Pipeline Officials Say Safety Is The Priority
(Billings, MT-YPR) The developers of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline say they already had included safety measures meant to prevent the type of pipeline break that spilled an estimated 1,000 barrels...
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Montana Rolls Out Statewide Program to Crackdown on DUI
(Billings, MT – YPR) – Montana’s largest county has a new tool to crack down on repeat DUI offenders. A new law went into effect October 1, 2011 that allowed the 24/7 Sobriety Program to go...
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Bisons Jam Montana Traffic
(photo by Jackie Yamanaka/Yellowstone Public Radio)Traffic: it's different in Montana than in other parts of the country. TN correspondent Jackie Yamanaka reported that she experienced a "small bison...
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Specialty License Plates Generate Revenue -- and Controversy
Montana license plate (photo by Spappy.joneS via Flickr)(Billings, MT-Yellowstone Public Radio) Most motorists face a daunting choice when they renew their license plates at their local motor vehicle...
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Automobile Recycling Harvests Platinum
(Columbus, MT – YPR) – The world’s supply of the precious metals platinum and palladium comes from underground mines in Montana, Russia, Africa -- or from underneath your vehicle.Platinum, Palladium...
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Grand Teton National Park Nighttime Speed Limit Reduction To Save Wildlife
Grand Teton National Park (photo courtesy of the National Park Service)(Billiings, MT – YPR) – Grand Teton National Park (GTNP) officials permanently reduced the nighttime speed limit to 45 miles per...
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Without Keystone XL Pipeline, Railroads See Boom Time from Bakken
Map of Bakken Shale Oil Formation. (Source: Energy Information Administration, U.S. Department of Energy online at http://1.usa.gov/tVTFtv)(Billings, MT – YPR) – Railroads are benefiting from the...
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Extreme Weather Events in 2011 Costing Federal Highway Officials Hundreds of...
Spring 2011 floods damaged a bridge in Ryegate, Montana (photo by MontanaTom1950 via Flickr)(Billings, MT-YPR) When U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced the Federal Highway...
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States Seeking Enviro Friendly De-icers To Prevent Corrosion
Approach to a Billings, MT overpass(Billings, MT – YPR) – The Montana Department of Transportation uses a “green” anti-corrosion inhibitor in its liquid chemical road de-icer.The state agency recently...
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Montana Receives TIGER III Grant To Improve Transportation Hub
An eastbound container train rolls through Shelby, Montana (photo by Hoopy2342 via Flickr)(Billings, MT – YPR) – The Port of Northern Montana was awarded a nearly $10 million Department of...
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YEAR IN REVIEW MONTANA: Oil Boom in Canada Brings Megaloads South of the Border
A megaload moves through Montana (photo by Jackie Yamanaka/YPR)(Billings, MT-YPR) The oil boom in Canada’s Tar Sands field and an oil refinery upgrade brought megaloads--huge shipments of drilling...
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Montana Among States To Crack Down on Drunk Driving in 2011
Montana Highway Patrol Trooper Michael Haynes died after he was hit head-on by a drunk driver while on duty in 2009. (Billings, MT – YPR) – Montana joined a handful of states in the crackdown on drunk...
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Montana To Parents, Kids: We Know It's Winter -- But You Can Still Walk &...
(Billings, MT – YPR) – A Montana school launched a walk/bike to school initiative -- even though it's January.Nicole Chakos is the acting president of the Highland Elementary Parent Teacher Student...
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Backers of the Keystone XL Vow To Continue To Push For The Pipeline
Transcanada's Map of the Proposed Keystone XL Pipeline(Billings, MT – YPR) – Montana’s Congressional delegation is critical of President Barack Obama’s decision to reject the Keystone XL pipeline....
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Rural College Campuses Solve Student Transportation Challenges With Shuttles...
MSU-Billings students arriving on campus from the new shuttle service(Billings, MT – YPR) – The car-centric West poses a challenge for college students who arrive on campus without a car. Public...
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Snow's On The Way...Time To Plug in Your Car?
Snow's on the way in much of the Northeast and Midwest. And those areas don't get as much as Montana, that has lots of folks kind of excited in a largely dry, warm winter.To get you in the mood for...
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Regulators Soon To Release Reports On Yellowstone River Pipeline Break And...
Oil on the surface of a wetland adjacent to the Yellowstone River (photo by NWFBlog via Flickr)(Helena, MT – Yellowstone Public Radio) – The US Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration...
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Possible Increased Coal Train Traffic Raises Community Concern
A typical coal train traveling through Montana.(Billings, MT – YPR) – Asian markets are demanding more fossil fuels from the Rocky Mountain area and that has some environmental groups in the state...
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Montana To Add More CDL Examiners To Meet Bakken Oil Boom Demand
(Billings, MT - YPR) – The State of Montana is adding more commercial drivers license (CDL) examiners to meet the demand for semi-truck drivers to serve what’s becoming the largest oil play in the U.S....
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Turkeys: They're Pedestrians, Too -- In Montana's Largest City
(Billings, MT - YPR) - The classic question: "Why did the chicken cross the road?" takes on a more "wild" twist in Montana.In this case, a rafter of turkeys live in the Billings, MT city limits and...
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Bakken Oil Field Traffic's Tolls on Country Roads
Nabors' oil drill rig that is broken down and re-assembled at well sites across the Bakken Oil Fields and elsewhere. This site is owned by Texas-based XTO Energy, which has about 400 wells in the...
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Montana Highway Patrol Can Instantly Verify Driver Liability Insurance
(Billings, MT – YPR) – Montana will soon join about 8 other states where law enforcement can immediately verify whether a driver has liability insurance as required by state laws.“It’s one more tool in...
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For Montanans, Federal Highway Bill Hits Home
Senator Max Baucus (in orange helmet) at an oil well drill site near Culbertson, MT earlier in 2012For Senator Max Baucus, the transportation bill's benefits to his home state boil down to this:...
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Montana Highway Opening Delayed By Snow and Ice
Switchbacks on the Beartooth Highway that crisscrosses Montana and Wyoming to the Northeast entrance to Yellowstone National park (photo courtesy of Travel Montana)(Billings, MT – YPR) – The Memorial...
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Snow Greets Travelers: Montana Summer Road Season Kick-off
(Red Lodge, MT - YPR) – Snow, blowing snow, and icy road conditions kept most of the scenic Beartooth Pass closed over the Memorial Day weekend. The high-elevation highway skirts the Montana-Wyoming...
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Final Montana Yellowstone River Oil Spill Report To Be Released This Summer
Oil on the surface of a wetland adjacent to the Yellowstone River (photo by NWFBlog via Flickr)(Billings, MT – YPR) – The panel charged with reviewing all pipelines that cross Montana’s rivers and...
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Baucus: Full 5-Year Transportation Re-Authorization Unlikely, For Now
Senator Max Baucus, left, touring Mark Rite Lines Equipment Company, a Billings, MT-based highway striping equipment manufacturing facility with company president Jim Spielman, R.(Billings, MT – YPR) –...
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What Makes A Recreational Trail "Outstanding?" These Eight Get the Prize
(Billings, MT – YPR) – Eight trail projects from across the country are being recognized for their outstanding use of money from the federal Recreational Trails Program (RTF) funds.The 14th Annual...
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Montana Locality: No Studies That Will Slow Coal Train
A coal train traveling near Billings, MT. Picture by Jackie Yamanaka.(Billings, MT-YPR) – The largest city and county in Montana decided to deal with the impact of possible increased coal train traffic...
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Photo Essay: Montana & ND Oil Boom Leads to Acute Housing Shortage
(Sidney, MT and Williston, ND – YPR) - The Bakken oil fields brought an influx of people and activity to across Eastern Montana and Western North Dakota. Oil industry officials say the Bakken reserves...
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40% of Traffic in Williston is Semi-Truck
An intersection in Williston, North Dakota. Photo by Jackie Yamanaka.(Sidney, MT and Williston, ND – YPR) – The amount of semi-truck traffic in the Bakken oil field communities is stunning.“It isn’t...
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Heath Care Architect Baucus: I Was Focused on Transpo Bill
Senator Max Baucus, left, touring Mark Rite Lines Equipment Company, a Billings, MT-based highway striping equipment manufacturing facility with company president Jim Spielman, R.(Billings, MT – YPR)...
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Trucking Key Reason Oil Service Company Moves to Small Eastern Montana Town
Joe Bowen of Mud Masters holds up a sample of "drilling mud" used on the drilling rigs at his office in Glendive, MT. Photo by Jackie Yamanaka.(Glendive, MT – YPR) – A company that provides drilling...
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Montana's State Fair Highlights Agriculture -- And Oil Drilling Equipment
"Bonnie" and "Clyde" were guests at Energy Day at MontanaFair. Photo by Jackie Yamanaka(Billings, Montana – YPR) – MontanaFair, the region’s largest fair, celebrates the state’s agricultural tradition...
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Rail Hauls One Million of Barrels of Oil A Day From North Dakota's Oil Fields
A rail terminal near Williston, North Dakota where crude is loaded onto tank cars. Photo by Jackie Yamanaka.(Billings, MT – YPR) – Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) officials say the railroad is...
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Pink Fire Trucks Stop In Montana
Wildland firefighting trucks out on a fire south of Billings. (Photo by Jackie Yamanaka)(Billings, MT - YPR) Montana is in the midst of a severe wildfire season. Crews from across the country and their...
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PHOTOS: Waiting for a Train, Montana-Style
(Laurel, MT - YPR) – Many motorists feel annoyed about having to wait a a rail crossing for a passing freight train. Rail crossings also impact farmers just east of the Montana Rail Link switching...
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Beaver Family Out-Engineers Humans, Repeatedly Floods Road, Stays Cute (PICS)
A busy beaver family has flooded out a Wyoming road and stymied multiple efforts to gently bust their dam. (Photo by Sue Consolo-Murphy, GTNP)(Grand Teton National Park , WY– YPR) – Human engineers...
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Proposed Montana Coal Railroad Under Scrutiny
A coal train traveling near Billings, MT. Picture by Jackie Yamanaka.(Billings, MT – YPR) – The federal Surface Transportation Board is hosting a series of public meetings this week in Montana on a...
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VIDEO: Transportation Nation's Mug. It Can Be Yours.
Action shot from "Multi-Modal Mug" shot film by Amy Pearl / WNYCAt Transportation Nation, we serve up serious news, with flair, style, and a flash of java.Rejoice. (And get a tax deduction, too.) You...
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Montana Ranchers Worry Proposed New Rail Line Route Will Expedite Export of...
Colstrip, MT-area rancher Clint McRae(Billings, MT – YPR) – Even in the wide open plains of Southeastern Montana, there's not enough land to go around, not when the rights of local ranchers clash with...
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Montana Legislators Want Drivers to Give School Buses More Room
Rep. "Doc" Moore, the sponsor of HB 155. (Photo by Jackie Yamanaka)(Helena, MT – YPR) – Montana lawmakers gave preliminary approval to a bill that would increase the distance motorists have to give a...
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Want to Drive a Semi in Montana? Be Prepared to Wait
(photo by Bradley Gordon via flickr)(Helena, MT-YPR) – There's no relief in sight to remedy the long waits for prospective semi truck drivers to get their Commercial Driver’s License (CDL).Montana...
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Montana Considers Legal Limit for Marijuana In DUI Laws
(Helena, MT – YPR) – Montana lawmakers are considering whether to join a dozen other states in setting a legal limit for the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana in its DUI laws.“This bill is not an...
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Montana Lawmakers Consider Exempting Megaloads from Extra Environmental Review
The ConocoPhillips megaload moving through a Helena intersection in February 2011. Photo by Jackie Yamanaka(Helena, MT – YPR) – The Montana Senate Natural Resources Committee plans to vote Friday on a...
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