Bunchgrass is nonpartisan civic news and community resources for the rural West: Montana, Wyoming, the Dakotas, Nebraska, Idaho, and Eastern Oregon.
What every region gets
Each region gets the same weekly set. A Sunday look-ahead names the boards that meet that week, the items on their agendas, the dollar amounts, and how to weigh in. A Friday wrap-up reports what was decided, with vote tallies, labeled against the agenda that announced it. A Thursday guide covers things to do over the weekend, with every date checked against the venue. A Friday road work report lists closures and detours from the state DOT and city crews.
Each region also has a community support directory: food, housing, health, and crisis help, with every listing checked against the organization's own website.
Across the whole network, the Land & Water weekly follows oil and gas dockets, BLM lease sales, water rights, and energy siting cases.
How we verify
Every item links to the agenda, minutes, filing, or announcement it came from. Anything we could not confirm against a primary source is labeled as unconfirmed. When we get something wrong, we fix it in the post and add a dated correction at the end.
Where we're starting
The first regions are Eastern Oregon, Eastern Montana, and the Black Hills. More open as their public sources are mapped and as readers ask for them.
Who makes it
Bunchgrass comes from the publisher of Western Slope Trellis in Western Colorado and Missoula Commons in Missoula, Montana, two local civic news sites built the same way. Local organizations help us get each region's coverage to the people who need it.