Weekly News Roundup
Week ending April 21, 2024
Local Cowboy Hall of Fame Inductee Receives Rare Saddle of Honor Award
By Denise Rivette I had the great pleasure recently of sitting down in his Roberts home with cowboy, family man and gentleman, Bud Griffith, a 2018 Montana Cowboy Hall of Fame inductee who this year was presented with the organization’s rarely awarded Saddle of Honor. Bud was honored as Montana’s Gentleman Cowboy and is only the fourth person to receive this prestigious award. The first recipient was Charles M. "Charlie" Russell (America’s Cowboy Artist) followed by Jay Joseph Contway (Montana’s Storyteller in Bronze) and Wallace K. "Wally" Badgett (Montana’s Cowboy Cartoonist).
After Farmers and Ranchers Testify, Attorney General Knudsen asks Land Board to Take Up Private Water Rights Issue at Next Meeting
HELENA – Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen announced in a press release that today he asked the Montana Board of Land Commissioners to remove the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation’s (DNRC) decision-making authority over private water rights at the Board’s meeting next month.
Change in Red Lodge Garbage Billing Could be a Jolt for Some
By Denise Rivette For years the City of Red Lodge has billed garbage fees through property taxes. That procedure will change on July 1 when the City will begin billing for garbage collection on the monthly water bill. Due to current billings being in arrears, there will be residual fees that are collected on the next property tax bill.
Tester and Daines Vote to Protect Montanans’ Privacy Rights and Stop Biden Administration from Warrantless Searches
By Denise Rivette Video of Tester’s statement As part of their longstanding efforts to protect Montanans’ personal privacy rights, U.S. Senators Jon Tester and Steve Daines voted to stop the Biden Administration from accessing Americans’ personal information without a warrant by opposing the reauthorization of Section 702 of the
U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration Meets With Montana Families, Asks For Media's Help
By Denise Rivette The Family Summit Last Wednesday, representatives from the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Rocky Mountain Field Division (covering Colorado, Montana, Utah and Wyoming), in conjunction with U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich and Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen, hosted a Family Summit in Billings to support Montanans who have lost loved ones to the drug overdose epidemic. This was the second summit to be held in Montana in two years.
Montana Highway Patrol Terminated Trooper Who Requested Mental Health Support
By Keila Szpaller for the Daily Montanan RONAN — When Zach Miller talks about the hardest part of being a Montana Highway Patrol trooper, he doesn’t point to the gruesome fatalities that still give him nightmares or a baby who died even after he performed CPR.
Override Poll for Gianforte’s Veto of Marijuana Revenue Redistribution Bill Fails
By Blair Miller for the Daily Montanan Nearly a year after Governor Greg Gianforte vetoed a widely supported, bipartisan bill to redistribute Montana’s marijuana revenue and send millions to fund county road projects just as the Senate adjourned for the session, the veto will stand.
How a Strong EMS Structure Can Support the Greater Health Care System in Rural Montana - Podcast
Learn more about Carbon County EMS services at the following public meetings: April 19 5:00 pm at the Roberts Fire Hall April 27 10:00 am at the Joliet Fire Hall 7:00 pm at the Joliet Fire Hall May 1 6:30 pm the Roberts Fire Hall May 17 10:00 am at the Joliet Community Center
Updated: Applications For State Property Tax Assistance Programs Now June 1
by Eric Dietrich for Montana Free Press Low-income Montanans seeking help paying their property tax bills now have until June 1 to apply for aid through two state relief programs administered by the Montana Department of Revenue — including the flagship
Justice Department Publishes New Rule to Update Definition of “Engaged in the Business” as a Firearms Dealer
Press Release: The Justice Department on April 10 announced it has submitted to the Federal Register the “Engaged in the Business” Final Rule, which makes clear the circumstances in which a person is “engaged in the business” of dealing in firearms and thus required to obtain a federal firearms license, in order to increase compliance with the federal background check requirement for firearm sales by federal firearms licensees.
Modular Housing Advocates Skeptical of New Development Outside Belgrade
By Nicole Girten for the Daily Montanan A new modular housing development outside Belgrade is calling itself an “affordable housing solution” for Bozeman. But manufactured home resident advocates worry prices are already high and could go up– a reported pattern the developer has done in other locations.
Freedom Caucuses Push for Conservative State Laws, but Getting Attention is Their Big Success
By Elaine S. Povich for States Newsroom JEFFERSON CITY, Missouri — When a Republican colleague threatened to read aloud from a 2-foot stack of books — including a biblical guide to leadership and a tome by anti-tax activist Grover Norquist — to protest inaction on his bills last week, Missouri state Senator Rick Brattin quickly took up the cause.
Lawsuit: DOJ Quietly Changed Policy for Changing Gender Markers on Driver’s Licenses
By Nicole Girten for the Daily Montanan The Montana Department of Justice quietly adopted a new policy for changing gender markers on Montana driver’s licenses that would require transgender Montanans to provide an amended birth certificate, as opposed to only requiring a note from a doctor.
U.S. House Tries Anew to Force Sale or Ban for TikTok, a ‘Spy Balloon in Your Phone’
By Ashley Murray for States Newsroom WASHINGTON — U.S. House leadership has packaged more than a dozen bipartisan bills into a so-called “sidecar” agreement meant to attract isolationist lawmakers’ support for long-stalled foreign aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.
BLM to Finalize Rule Allowing Federal Leases Targeted at Protection of Natural Areas
By Jacob Fischler for the Daily Montanan The Bureau of Land Management will publish a final rule soon allowing the nation’s public lands to be leased for environmental protection, a Thursday news release from the Interior Department said. The rule, which both proponents and detractors say marks a shift in the agency’s focus toward conservation, directs land managers at the agency to identify landscapes in need of restoration and to create plans to fill those needs.
City-Country Mortality Gap Widens Amid Persistent Holes in Rural Health Care Access
By Jazmin Orozco Rodriguez for KFF Health News In Matthew Roach’s two years as vital statistics manager for the Arizona Department of Health Services, and 10 years previously in its epidemiology program, he has witnessed a trend in mortality rates that has rural health experts worried.
Black Hills Sawmill Lays Off Workers and Alleges Forest Service is to Blame
By Seth Tupper for States Newsroom SPEARFISH, South Dakota. —The owner of a Spearfish sawmill is laying off 50 people and alleges the U.S. Forest Service is to blame for not allowing the company to cut enough timber. The Forest Service, through a spokesman, declined to comment.
Republican Legislators Hold Hearing on Abortion Ballot Initiative; Vote Won’t Appear on Petition
By Blair Miller for the Daily Montanan As Republicans on the Law and Justice Interim Committee were preparing Thursday to vote whether or not to support CI-128, the abortion access constitutional amendment initiative, Senator Keith Regier asked the committee attorney when and where the vote would be attached to the initiative petition.
State Psychiatric Hospital Employees Raise Alarm Over Rampant Turnover and ‘Crisis’ of Leadership
By Mara Silvers for Montana Free Press In late March, a group of nurses at Montana State Hospital received a rare dose of good news. Local labor advocates had filed a petition to create a union for advanced practice registered nurses, among the most highly trained medical providers at the state’s sole adult psychiatric facility, in Warm Springs.
Group Kicks Off Signature Gathering Efforts for Montana Abortion Access Ballot Petition
By Blair Miller for the Daily Montanan The group behind a ballot petition to enshrine abortion access in Montana’s constitution formally kicked off its signature gathering campaign Tuesday, telling supporters it is critical the initiative pass in November if Montanans want to avoid restrictions being imposed like those
Commentary: What the Rest of the World Knows (But We Don’t)
Darrell Ehrlick for the Daily Montanan Americans took the bait. That’s the bad news. The good news is just as simple (more on that in a moment). Sadly, our online addiction has helped fuel a crisis of confidence in democracy, and that’s literally by design. It’s as obvious as a sunrise to those who sit beyond the shores of America, and it’s a fact that was emphasized time and time again when U.S. Ambassador to
The Path to a Better Tuberculosis Vaccine Runs Through Montana
By Jim Robbins for KFF Health News A team of Montana researchers is playing a key role in the development of a more effective vaccine against tuberculosis, an infectious disease that has killed more people than any other. The BCG (Bacille Calmette-Guérin) vaccine, created in 1921, remains the sole TB vaccine. While it is 40% to 80% effective in young children, its efficacy is very low in adolescents and adults, leading to a worldwide push to create a more powerful vaccine.
Circus Elephant Temporarily Wanders Loose in Butte
By Nicole Girten for the Daily Montanan An elephant walks across the parking lot of Town Pump in Butte on Tuesday, April 16, 2024. Photo courtesy of Brittany McGinnis. Of course in Butte, America, right? A circus elephant temporarily escaped the Butte Civic Center Tuesday afternoon, strutting along Harrison Avenue and into the Town Pump parking lot before safely being brought back by a trainer.
Progressive Dark Money Launches Montana Media Outlet Ahead of Election
by Arren Kimbel-Sannit for Montana Free Press A national progressive media organization with ties to a Democratic Party-aligned super PAC has launched a self-described news outlet in Montana ahead of the state’s slate of high-profile elections, most prominently the race for incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Jon Tester’s seat in the U.S. Senate.
Commentary: Democracy is Never a ‘Done Deal’
By Jim Elliott for the Daily Montanan “Welcome to the end of democracy. We are here to overthrow it completely,” said conservative activist Jack Posobiec at the February 2024 meeting of the Conservative Political Action Conference. To which Steve Bannon, former Trump advisor said, “Amen.”
Environmental Policy Group Sues DOJ Over Withheld Communications with Canadian Coal Company
By Blair Miller for the Daily Montanan A Montana environmental policy group sued the state Department of Justice (DOJ) on Friday, alleging the department is violating the organization’s right to know under the constitution by withholding communications between the department and a Canadian coal mining company
Ratings: Montana ‘Worst’ for Drunk Driving Fatalities
By Keila Szpaller for the Daily Montanan Montana is No. 1 in the nation for drunk driving fatalities, according to a new ranking by Forbes. Recent data show fewer highway deaths related to impaired driving in 2022 compared to the previous year, according to the Montana Department of Transportation.
Auditors: Montana DOC Fails to Provide Education, Training to Meet Demand; Lacks Data
By Darrell Ehrlick for the Daily Montanan A new legislative audit report released Monday tells lawmakers it’s unclear if inmates with the Montana Department of Corrections are receiving much education or instruction because the data and record-keeping within the agency is either non-existent or so incomplete that it was nearly impossible for auditors to perform their tasks.
‘Tough-On-Crime’ Policies are Back in Some Places That Had Reimagined Criminal Justice
By Amanda Hernandez for Stateline Fueled by public outrage over the 2020 murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer and other high-profile incidents of police violence, a seismic shift swept across the United States shortly afterward, with a wave of initiatives aimed at reining in police powers and reimagining criminal-legal systems.
Your Montana-Given Right to Know
Addie Slanger for the Daily Montanan Did you know that you have a constitutional right to know? The right to know appears alongside your right to freedom of speech, right to bear arms and right of suffrage in the Montana Constitution, and it is every bit as important. Under the right to know, you have a right to request public information from your state and local governments.
The Fourth Wave of Opioids Swamps Montana with Meth-Fentanyl Cocktail
By Darrell Ehrlick for the Daily Montanan The current drug epidemic of fentanyl being mixed with other substances has been called “the fourth wave.” And if you use that metaphor, then Montana is getting pummeled by tsunami. New real-time drug testing reports show that even though the state lagged behind others initially when it came to the trend, its effects in the Treasure State are now among the worst in the nation.