Brian Schweitzer

The surprise retirement of Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) immediately swung attention to the state's former Democratic governor, Brian Schweitzer, who declined to say Tuesday if he would seek the job. The two-term governor left office in January and would be the immediate front-runner for the Democratic nomination if he jumped into the Senate race. For the last several months, Schweitzer said, he has been focused on an effort to take over the state's financially struggling Stillwater mine as part of an investor group seeking to save its roughly 1,600 jobs.

Democratic Sen. Max Baucus of Montana, who sometimes crossed his party in the powerful role of Finance Committee chairman, announced Tuesday he would retire at the end of his term - complicating Democrats' efforts to keep control of the Senate in the 2014 midterm election. The move caught many in Washington by surprise. Baucus had stockpiled $5 million - a fortune by Montana standards - and voted last week to oppose compromise gun control legislation, which some viewed as a calculation aimed at winning reelection in his libertarian-leaning state.

Democratic Sen. Max Baucus of Montana, who sometimes crossed his party in the powerful role of Finance Committee chairman, announced Tuesday he would retire at the end of his term - complicating Democrats' efforts to keep control of the Senate in the 2014 midterm election. The move caught many in Washington by surprise. Baucus had stockpiled $5 million - a fortune by Montana standards - and voted last week to oppose compromise gun control legislation, which some viewed as a calculation aimed at winning reelection in his libertarian-leaning state.

The surprise retirement of Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) immediately swung attention to the state's former Democratic governor, Brian Schweitzer, who declined to say Tuesday if he would seek the job. The two-term governor left office in January and would be the immediate front-runner for the Democratic nomination if he jumped into the Senate race. For the last several months, Schweitzer said, he has been focused on an effort to take over the state's financially struggling Stillwater mine as part of an investor group seeking to save its roughly 1,600 jobs.

A funny thing happened on the relentless road to ruin the hardy homesteaders of eastern Montana have traveled for the better part of the last century: Things started looking up. Not only has there been rain the last few years in a land usually so empty and dusty you can barely coax wheat out of it; but with a massive bed of oil-laced rock deep under the border of Montana and North Dakota, and with new technology finally able to plumb it, suddenly there...

In the Rocky Mountains, politics, like the weather, is subject to sudden change. Shortly after he took office last month, Montana's Democratic Gov. Brian Schweitzer announced a sweeping proposal to manage bison in Yellowstone National Park, including a buffalo hunt come November.

Just about everywhere Gov. Brian Schweitzer goes in Montana -- or elsewhere, for that matter -- he brings along a dog, a black rock and a small vial of clear, nearly odorless fluid. The dog is his 2-year-old border collie, Jag, an obedient, camera-friendly companion who helps fill out the down-home image honed by the Democratic governor, who wears jeans, bolo ties and boots to most events.

It was Hillary Rodham Clinton's night at the Democratic National Convention, but party activists got a glimpse Tuesday of a surprising new breakout star: a jovial, round-faced warrior with a bolo tie who managed to attack Republicans while keeping a smile on his face. The unlikely partisan gladiator was Brian Schweitzer, who in 2004 became Montana's first Democratic governor in decades. Schweitzer, 52, won his office by eschewing partisanship -- campaigning as a pro-gun conservative with a Republican running mate.

— Oil from a Yellowstone River pipeline has spread at least 15 miles beyond the initial leak, Exxon Mobil acknowledged Monday — five miles farther than the company estimated a day earlier. Exxon Mobil Pipeline Co. President Gary Pruessing pledged to do "whatever is necessary" to find and mop up spilled crude from the 12-inch pipeline that broke at the bottom of the river near Billings over the weekend. As cleanup of up to 42,000 of gallons of oil intensified, Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer said authorities would review the safety of all oil and gas pipelines that cross state waterways and close those that do not meet standards.

If, as has been said, Montana is a small town with really long streets, that's never more true than in the remote but stunning area known as the Hi-Line. Originally created by the tracks of the Great Northern Railway, this region close to the Canadian border features venerable hamlets such as Cut Bank, Shelby and Rudyard ("596 Nice People, One Sorehead") strung out along U.S. 2 like links in a long and stubborn chain. "When you drive Highway 2," says Chaske Spencer, shaking his head, "you really go back in time.

— Oil from a Yellowstone River pipeline has spread at least 15 miles beyond the initial leak, Exxon Mobil acknowledged Monday — five miles farther than the company estimated a day earlier. Exxon Mobil Pipeline Co. President Gary Pruessing pledged to do "whatever is necessary" to find and mop up spilled crude from the 12-inch pipeline that broke at the bottom of the river near Billings over the weekend. As cleanup of up to 42,000 of gallons of oil intensified, Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer said authorities would review the safety of all oil and gas pipelines that cross state waterways and close those that do not meet standards.

A funny thing happened on the relentless road to ruin the hardy homesteaders of eastern Montana have traveled for the better part of the last century: Things started looking up. Not only has there been rain the last few years in a land usually so empty and dusty you can barely coax wheat out of it; but with a massive bed of oil-laced rock deep under the border of Montana and North Dakota, and with new technology finally able to plumb it, suddenly there...

It was Hillary Rodham Clinton's night at the Democratic National Convention, but party activists got a glimpse Tuesday of a surprising new breakout star: a jovial, round-faced warrior with a bolo tie who managed to attack Republicans while keeping a smile on his face. The unlikely partisan gladiator was Brian Schweitzer, who in 2004 became Montana's first Democratic governor in decades. Schweitzer, 52, won his office by eschewing partisanship -- campaigning as a pro-gun conservative with a Republican running mate.

Just about everywhere Gov. Brian Schweitzer goes in Montana -- or elsewhere, for that matter -- he brings along a dog, a black rock and a small vial of clear, nearly odorless fluid. The dog is his 2-year-old border collie, Jag, an obedient, camera-friendly companion who helps fill out the down-home image honed by the Democratic governor, who wears jeans, bolo ties and boots to most events.

In the Rocky Mountains, politics, like the weather, is subject to sudden change. Shortly after he took office last month, Montana's Democratic Gov. Brian Schweitzer announced a sweeping proposal to manage bison in Yellowstone National Park, including a buffalo hunt come November.

The state is at such high risk for a wildfire "blowup" this summer that Gov. Brian Schweitzer wants at least some of the 1,500 National Guard soldiers on active duty overseas to return home for the wildfire season. The governor warned in Helena that the state was like a powder keg because of drought and forests full of dry timber.

Gov. Brian Schweitzer visited the command post for the colossal Derby Mountain wildfire as the blaze entered its third week. Fire managers told the governor the blaze was about 45% contained. The fire, started by lightning Aug. 22, has spread across 289 square miles. It has burned 26 homes. An evacuation order that applied to 265 homes remained in effect three days after it was issued.