MISSOULA — KPAX is taking a look back at our most viewed stories from 2025.
#1: A 12-year-old boy died after falling from a trailer during the Florence Carlton School homecoming parade on September 12. The Montana Highway Patrol reports the victim was on the Big Tex trailer being pulled by a Chevrolet Silverado pick-up truck when he fell off. The boy was run over by the trailer's tires. He died from his injuries. (Read the full story.)
#2: A woman was hurt by a bear in Glacier National Park on August 27. Park officials say a 34-year-old hiker was "injured by a brown colored bear" at approximately 3:15 p.m. at Lake Janet when the animal with two cubs charged out of the brush toward the woman, who dove off the trail while covering her head. According to a news release, the animal swiped at her, injuring her shoulder and arm. (Read the full story.)
#3: Prosecutors described a violent early morning ambush-style attack at a family's Stillwater County home that left a mother and daughter dead and two men injured on December 8. Charging documents allege Ty Allen Turney, 23, shot Nila Dawson and her mother, Justine Lynn Dawson, to death in the garage and then chased down and shot Gregory B. Dawson in the back as he came to check on his daughter and wife after hearing a commotion in the garage. (Read the full story.)
#4:A coalition of individuals and conservation groups is asking Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks to press charges against Powell County for driving an ATV for miles down the Blackfoot River. Our news partner, the Missoula Current, reported five Montanans and 15 representatives of conservation organizations sent a letter to the FWP director and a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Field supervisor, asking them to pursue criminal charges against a weed-removal company hired by Powell County. (Read the full story.)
#5: Four people were killed in a two-vehicle crash on U.S. Highway 93 north of St. Ignatius on August 27. Lake County Sheriff/Coroner Don Bell has identified the victims as 53-year-old Denise Burland, 53, of Polson, Jo Lynn Leishman, 53, of Pablo, Lanelle Fisher, 52, of Ronan and Kimberly R. Hewankorn, 42, of Polson. The crash involved an RV carrying 10 people and a passenger car. (Read the full story.)
#6: A hiker died earlier after tripping and falling on the Highline Trail in Glacier National Park. Park officials say that 73-year-old Diane Bunker of Muscatine, Iowa, died on August 27 as a result of the 450-foot fall that happened between Big Bend and Triple Arches. Bunker was hiking with a large group when she tripped and fell off the edge of the trail, out of sight from her hiking party. (Read the full story.)
#7: A landowner who was charged shot and killed a grizzly bear near his residence between Condon and Seeley Lake in the Swan Valley. Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks reports the landowner heard noises outside his residence and disturbances with his livestock and dogs on the night of June 3. (Read the full story.)
#8: The Trump administration announced the U.S. Department of Agriculture had taken the next step in repealing a rule protecting nearly 60 million acres of national forest land from logging and development, more than 10% of which is in Montana. The Daily Montanan reported the 2001 Roadless Rule prohibits the construction of roads and the harvest of timber on inventoried roadless areas. (Read the full story.)
#9 MTN reported on August 27 that a section of Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier National Park was closed with an alert stating the road was closed between Logan Pass and Big Bend because of a "rescue operation." (Read the full story.)
#10: The Montana Highway Patrol told MTN News on December 22 that they identified a person of interest for their possible involvement in the fatal crash in the Flathead. The Flathead County Sheriff’s Office identified the passenger as Tannon Hillis, 34, of Bozeman. (Read the full story.)
