Mexican drug cartels already have a very active presence in the state of Montana particularly targeting Indian Reservations with meth and fentanyl and tribal leaders have also raised concerns about cartel operatives preying on Native American women. Now the Department of Homeland Security has confirmed Montana is one of 16 states where the violent Venezuelan prison gang tren dearagua has made its presence known. The group known as TdA is also in Wyoming.
The 2024 election is over but now the Montana Free Press reports election offices in Montana received mailed ballots misdirected from other states raising concerns about the U.S. Postal Service’s performance. The Associated Press found election offices in California Louisiana New Mexico and elsewhere also reported receiving completed ballots in the mail that should have gone to other states.
New funding is set to improve the safety of roads and streets in rural and tribal areas across the state and comes from a $4.7 million U.S. Department of Transportation grant to the Western Transportation Institute at Montana State University. It will be used to improve traffic and transportation safety along corridors serving rural counties communities and reservations.
Governor Greg Gianforte is proposing a $17.9 billion two-year budget plan for Montana. He emphasizes tax cuts public safety and education investments. That sets the stage for negotiations with the state House and Senate when they convene for the 69th Legislative session in January at the Capitol.
In October Montana’s unemployment rate reached its 40th consecutive month of at or below 3.4%. Montana’s unemployment rate was 3.3% while the national rate was 4.1%. The next closest stretch was during 2006 and 2007, when the state’s unemployment rate remained at or below 3.4% for 15 months.
Habitat for Humanity of Flathead Valley volunteers have been building two duplex-style townhouses on land owned by nonprofit Northwest Community Land Trust which aided in lowering the housing cost to under $300,000. They each are fitted with two bedrooms one-and-a-half bathrooms and conjoining garages. Habitat Flathead has built 70 homes to date and is now pumping out four to five houses a year.
The Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport has received a $10 million award from the Federal Aviation Administration’s Airport Terminal Program as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill. That will support ongoing construction of an ongoing Expansion Project to strengthen modernize and expand its terminal infrastructure.
St. Vincent Regional Hospital has unveiled a nearly $1 billion construction plan to build a new 14-story facility in Billings that will open in 2029. It will replace the current hospital and will be built on the St. Vincent campus. When completed all services from the old building will be transferred over to the new one.
The Eastern Plains Economic Development Corporation has announced the availability of a $200,000 grant from the Montana Department of Commerce. The money provided under the Big Sky Economic Development Trust Fund Grant Program aims to fuel economic growth in Dawson Prairie Fallon Carter and Wibaux counties by supporting both operational upgrades for established businesses and providing critical startup funding for new businesses.
Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen is part of a 28 state coalition filing an amicus brief. It is opposing the Biden-Harris administration’s attempt to classify forced reset triggers as machine guns under federal law. The brief was submitted to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals and supports the National Association for Gun Rights in their challenge to the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives.
Drug cartels need to be eliminate in our state immediately! Use the National guard and police to do it now .
Our education system in Montana is in shambles. There is no developmental, integrated, in line curriculum in K – 8. Teachers use whatever they choose. No wonder our students are failing. Fix our schools, please. Superintendent Corey Austin in Big Timber is the only one who has adopted such a curriculum.