The U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana Jesse Laslovich is one of roughly 20 Biden-appointed U.S. attorneys whose termination came suddenly when his computer logged out on its own. Tuesday Laslovich said to find out everything getting shut down was unnerving and ultimately disappointing. It happened at the same time the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Montana announced his firing.
Calumet Incorporated announced Tuesday its subsidiary Montana Renewables LLC has received the first drawdown of approximately $782 million from its 1.44 billion U.S. Department of Energy loan guarantee to fund the expansion of sustainable aviation production fuel capacity at its Great Falls refinery. The first tranche was scheduled to be disbursed January 28th but there was a tactical delay to confirm alignment with White House priorities. An economic impact study produced by the University of Montana Bureau of Business and Economic Research predicts that the economic impact of the project at the Great Falls site is expected to support a population of 4,400 Montanans.
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 prohibits discrimination based on disability but last year the Biden Administration added “gender dysphoria” to the list of disabilities and Montana is joining 16 other states in a lawsuit against that. Attorney General Austin Knudsen argues any attempt to take away Montana’s federal funding for refusing to recognize “gender dysphoria” would be unconstitutional. Legal briefs are due next Tuesday.
Recent real estate data from Zillow shows Montana is the state with the fastest-selling homes. Just 15.60% of its homes are still on the market after 30 days. Not far behind is Wyoming with 18.24% of homes unsold after a month. This finding comes from a study that analyzed over 150,000 property listings on Zillow.
While Montana ranks high for new jobs most of them tend to be lower-paying service sector positions. The National Association of Realtors ranked Montana as the least affordable state in 2024 based on current home listings compared to local incomes. The National Park counties are the ones that have seen the highest increases in home prices.
Late in the day Tuesday the Fourth Judicial District Court invalidated Senate Bill 458 to discriminate against certain groups of people based on their gender identity. The court ruled using narrow unscientific definitions of male and female sex violates the rights to equal protection and privacy under the Montana Constitution and held that it is unconstitutional and unenforceable.
House Bill 363 has been introduced in the state legislature that would strip the power of Montana voters to elect all five Montana Public Service Commission members and instead would let the governor appoint three. The other two would be elected by voters within Montana’s existing two congressional districts.
Butte’s Robert O’Neill the former Navy SEAL who shot Osama bin Laden has traded in his high-powered rifle for cannabis. His new brand isn’t just about selling weed. A share of Operator Canna Company’s proceeds will support disabled veterans law enforcement members and other first responders. He says it’s about helping anyone who wants to “quiet the noise.”
This year the Republican majority in the Legislature is proposing 27 bills to rein in the judicial branch. This week during a joint session newly elected Montana Supreme Court Chief Justice Cory Swanson told lawmakers tensions between the three branches of government had become elevated in recent years and some ideas for judicial reform might go too far.
The Norwegian battery materials company Cenate might make Butte the site of its first American factory but a final decision is yet to be made. The company has been developing silicon based materials for higher-density batteries with faster and longer-lasting charges. The goal is to also make them smaller lighter and cleaner. A Butte factory would be near the REC Silicon facility in the business park and use raw materials from it.
