Montana

Montana Woman Attacked By Her Own Bison

Published

9 months ago

June 2, 2025

We all know one of the golden rules here in Montana—don’t pet the fluffy cows. And if you’re new around here, “fluffy cows” is a different way of saying bison. For some reason, folks continue to get too close, and every year we see headlines about bison attacks—usually because someone didn’t give them the space they deserve.

Most of the time, these incidents involve tourists who aren’t aware of just how unpredictable and powerful these animals are. On average, Yellowstone sees about two bison attacks per year, and they’re the number one cause of animal-related injuries in the park.

Credit: Canva

The first bison attack of 2025 in Yellowstone happened on Sunday, May 4, near the Lake Village area of the park.

Just for reference, a bison can weigh up to 2,000 pounds, stand 6 feet tall, and will absolutely defend its space if they feel threatened. They’re fast, powerful, and can cause serious damage in seconds.

While most bison-related injuries happen to visitors, one rare—and terrifying—incident this past January involved a local Montanan. Dr. Kris Spanjian, a retired cardiac anesthesiologist from Billings, was out for her usual walk with her dogs when she was attacked. Not in the park, but on her own ranch, by her own herd of bison in a freak accident.

Credit: Canva

Spanjian said the bison typically stay far from her walking route, but this time, things aligned just wrong. The herd got spooked by her dogs, and in the chaos, she ended up caught in the middle.

“At that point, I just laid there and I knew I better just not move at all. I was thinking, ‘What do you do if a grizzly bear attacks? You play dead.’ So I figured I better just play dead,” Spanjian told reporters.

But even after she tried to crawl away, a bull and calf circled back for a second hit. She was airlifted to St. Vincent Regional Hospital with serious injuries—a split lip, three broken vertebrae, three broken ribs, a deep gash on her leg, a dislocated shoulder, and nerve damage. It’s nothing short of a miracle that she survived.

She’s now recovering, and her story is a sobering reminder that Montana is wild, and we live alongside animals that deserve respect. Even the fluffy ones.

Bozeman Luxury Estate: Stunning Property for $13.5 Million

For those looking to live in the “Heart” of Montana, yet still be close to the conveniences of the city, this 15-acre property just outside of Bozeman might be perfect, but keep in mind that perfection comes with a hefty price tag.

Gallery Credit: Derek Wolf

Famous People Buried In Montana

Montana is home to several celebrities, but what about those who are no longer with us? We take a look at some of the most famous people that are buried in The Treasure State.

Gallery Credit: Derek Wolf

5 Businesses Montanans Wishes Would Come Back

As most know, Bozeman, Montana is a growing town/city. The population has almost doubled in the last few years, housing prices have skyrocketed, and businesses have either strived or suffered.

The one thing that Bozeman residents all say, is they miss the “old Bozeman”. What they mean is they miss the small-town feel, the minimal traffic, and the affordable living. Along with those, there are a few businesses Bozemanites really wish would return.

Here are the Top 5 Businesses Montanans Miss.

Gallery Credit: Megan Shaul, Derek Wolf

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Montana

Your guide to local sports events, plus what’s on TV

Published

11 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

Your guide to local sports events, plus what’s on TV

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Montana

Montana Department of Agriculture focusing on innovation in 2026

Published

23 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Montana Department of Agriculture focusing on innovation in 2026

HELENA — You probably have goals and plans for 2026—the Montana Department of Agriculture does too.

“We’re really focusing on innovative agricultural practices,” Montana Department of Agriculture director Jillien Streit said.

It’s no secret that agriculture—farming and ranching—is not easy. There are long days, planning, monitoring crops and livestock, and other challenges beyond farmers’ and ranchers’ control.

(WATCH: Montana Department of Agriculture focusing on innovation in 2026)

Montana Department of Agriculture focusing on innovation in 2026

“We have very low commodity prices across the board,” Streit said. “We still have very high input prices across the board, and we have really high prices when it comes to our equipment, and so, it’s a really tough year.”

But innovation, including new practices, partnerships and technology use, can help navigate some of those challenges.

“We can’t make more time and we can’t make more land, so we need to start putting together innovative practices that help us maximize what our time and land can do,” Streit said.

Practices range from using technology like autonomous tractors and virtual fencing—allowing rangers to contain and move cattle right from their phones—to regenerative farming and ranching.

“It is bringing cattle back into farming operations to be able to work with cover cropping practices to invigorate the soil for new soil health benefits,” Streit said.

The Montana Department of Agriculture is working to help producers learn, share, and collaborate on new ideas to work in their operations.

The department will share stories of practices that work from farms and ranches across the state. Also, within the next year or so, Streit said the department is hoping to roll out technology to help producers collaborate.

“(It’s) providing a communication platform where people can get together and really help each other out by utilizing each other’s assets,” she said.

While not easy, agriculture is still one of Montana’s largest industries, and Streit said innovating and sharing ideas across the state can keep it going long into the future.

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Frontier Conference women: MSU-Northern, Montana Western pull upsets to advance to semifinal round

Published

1 day ago

March 1, 2026

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Frontier Conference women: MSU-Northern, Montana Western pull upsets to advance to semifinal round

BUTTE — MSU-Northern and Montana Western pulled a pair of upsets Saturday at the Butte Civic Center to wrap up the quarterfinal round of the Frontier Conference women’s basketball postseason tournament.

The fifth-seeded Skylights started the day with a red-hot shooting performance to down No. 4 Rocky Mountain College 82-74. Western, the sixth seed, used a third-quarter surge to defeat No. 3 Carroll College 65-56.

MSU-Northern (17-11) and Western (14-13) now advance to Sunday’s semifinal round, where the Skylights will play No. 1 seed Dakota State at noon and the Bulldogs will face No. 2 Montana Tech at 2:30 p.m.

MSU-Northern 82, Rocky Mountain College 74

MSU-Northern sizzled in the first quarter, making seven 3-pointers to take a double-digit lead, and put together a crucial third-quarter run to get past Rocky and advance to the semifinal round.

Becky Melcher splashed four 3s in the first 10 minutes, and Taya Trottier, Canzas HisBadHorse and Shania Moananu added one apiece as the Skylights built a 29-13 lead. Melcher scored 14 first-quarter points and finished with a game-high 30 on 10-of-19 shooting (7 of 15 from 3-point range). She added 11 rebounds, a blocked shot and three steals to her stat line.

Rocky battled back to tie the game at 36-36 in the second quarter on a Brenna Linse basket, but MSUN responded with consecutive triples from Trottier and Melcher and took a 44-38 lead into halftime. The Bears eventually stole the lead back in the third quarter following a 9-0 run capped be an Isabelle Heggem bucket.

But the Skylights again answered — this time with a 13-2 run to take a 60-51 lead. MSUN led 66-59 going to the fourth and wouldn’t trail the rest of the way. The Skylights trailed for less than two total minutes of the game.

As a team, MSUN made 14 of 26 3s in the game. Ciera Agasiva was 3 for 3 from behind the arc, and Trottier was 2 for 3. Trottier had 18 points, eight rebounds and six assists, while Agasiva had 13 points.

Paige Wasson led Rocky (20-9) with 29 points but was 0 for 10 on 3-point attempts. Heggem had a double-double of 21 points and 12 rebounds.

Montana Western 65, Carroll 56

After neither team led by more than five points in the first half, Western broke open a 25-25 tie game by outscoring Carroll 20-9 in the third quarter.

Bailee Sayler scored 10 points in the quarter, including making two 3-pointers, to help the Bulldogs take control. They led 45-34 going to the fourth, and Carroll wouldn’t get closer than six points the rest of the way.

The Fighting Saints were just 18-of-65 shooting (27.7%) for the game.

Sayler scored an efficient 22 points on 7-of-8 shooting. She was 2 for 3 from 3-point range and 6 for 7 at the free throw line. The Missoula native also had nine rebounds.

Isabella Lund added 16 points for the Bulldogs, and Keke Davis had 11 points and 11 rebounds.

Carroll (19-10) was led by Kenzie Allen with 12 points. Willa Albrecht and Meagan Karstetter scored 11 points apiece for the Saints.

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