Sovereign Valentine and his wife, Jessica, wait as a dialysis machine filters his blood. Before finding a dialysis clinic in their insurance network, the Valentines were charged more than a half-million dollars for 14 weeks of treatment. Tommy Martino/Kaiser Health News hide caption
Martha Hernandez (left) and Ana Suda say they were interrupted and detained because they spoke Spanish while shopping at a convenience store in Havre, Mont. They've now filed a lawsuit. Brooke Swaney/ACLU of Montana via AP hide caption
Republican lawmaker Allen Christensen is pushing a bill in the Utah Senate that would shrink the Medicaid expansion his state's voters approved. "They are not obligated to balance the budget," he argues. "We are." Cory Dinter/KUER hide caption
Keystone XL pipeline sections sit on a train near Glendive, Mont. Nate Hegyi/Yellowstone Public Radio hide caption
Montana Gov. Steve Bullock, a Democrat, warned that failure of a Medicaid-funding initiative on the ballot could make for a tough legislative session in 2019. William Campbell/Corbis via Getty Images hide caption
"Most of us are ecstatic" about Medicaid expansion in Utah, said Grant Burningham, of Bountiful. "We were all together and hugging and kissing last night." Kim Raff for NPR hide caption
Grant Burningham, who lives in Bountiful, Utah, worked to get a referendum on Medicaid expansion on the Utah ballot in November. Kim Raff for NPR hide caption
A sow grizzly bear spotted near Camas in northwestern Montana. Wildlife officials endorsed a plan in August to keep northwestern Montana's grizzly population at roughly 1,000 bears as the state seeks to bolster its case that lifting federal protections will not lead to the bruins' demise. Montana Fish and Wildlife and Parks, via AP hide caption
Brian Kleinsasser, left, who works in the hog barn at Cool Spring Colony, helps Jake Waldner set up the Hutterite table during a Long Table dinner event at The Resort at Paws Up. Stuart Thurlkill / via Paws Up hide caption
President Trump listens as GOP Senate candidate Matt Rosendale speaks during a "Make America Great Again" rally in Great Falls, Mont., on Thursday. Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images hide caption
Sens. Jon Tester, left, and Steve Daines, speaking together in Jardine, Mont., in August 2017. Both said recently they want the Indian Health Service to have new, strong leadership soon. Matthew Brown/AP Photo/Matthew Brown hide caption
When wildfire smoke choked their community last summer, Amy Cilimburg (left), the director of Climate Smart Missoula, helped Joy and Don Dunagan, of Seeley Lake, Mont., get a HEPA air filter through a partnership with the Missoula City-County Health Department. Nora Saks / Montana Public Radio hide caption
A head of poor-quality malt barley taken directly from a field in Power, Mont. Heat and a lack of water resulted in small and light kernels. Grain rejected for malt barley often ends up as animal feed. Tony Bynum/Food & Environment Reporting Network hide caption
Wilmot Collins, the next mayor of Helena, Mont., came to the U.S. as a refugee during Liberia's civil war. Refugees are "not bloodsuckers," he says. "We are not just here to consume the resources. We provide for the economy." Corin Cates-Carney for NPR hide caption
Black-footed ferrets are the most endangered mammal in North America. Scientists in Montana are trying to save the ferrets by saving their main food source, prairie dogs. Kathryn Scott Osler/Denver Post via Getty Images hide caption
Smoke plumes rise from the Rice Ridge Fire in August, behind Montana's Seeley Lake Elementary School, in Seeley Lake, Mont. Eric Whitney/MTPR hide caption
On July 21, Sperry Chalet was still a beautiful refuge for those who made the trek into the wilderness. Courtesty of Bret Bouda hide caption
Republican Greg Gianforte speaks to supporters at a May 25 election night party in Bozeman, Mont., after being declared the winner. Janie Osborne/Getty Images hide caption
The Colstrip Generating Station near Colstrip, Mont., is the second-largest coal-fired power plant in the West. Two of its four units are scheduled to close by 2022, if not sooner. Nathan Rott/NPR hide caption
Republican Greg Gianforte greets supporters after winning a special election for the House from Montana last month. He apologized then and now has apologized in writing for assaulting a reporter. Bobby Caina Calvan/AP hide caption
Charmayne Healy (left) and Miranda Kirk (right), co-founders of the Aaniiih Nakoda Anti-Drug Movement, have helped Melinda Healy (center) with their peer-support programs. Nora Saks/MTPR hide caption
Republican Greg Gianforte (right) welcomes Donald Trump Jr., the president's son, onto the stage at a rally in East Helena, Mont., on May 11. Gianforte, a businessman, is embracing his party's president in his race for the state's open congressional seat. Bobby Caina Calvan/AP hide caption
Rob Quist is the Democrat running in the Montana special election. Don Gonyea/NPR hide caption
The three candidates, from left, Republican Greg Gianforte, Democrat Rob Quist and Libertarian Mark Wicks, who are vying to fill Montana's only congressional seat. Bobby Caina Calvan/AP hide caption