The Montana Lottery uses a single contract vendor to provide a range of their products including Montana Millionaire and Sports Bet Montana and Thursday the Montana Lottery Commission committed to putting that contract out to bid to ensure transparency and integrity. The Greek company Intralot’s contract is set to expire in March 2026. It has held the state contract since 2006 to provide Montana games.
A hearing before the state Senate ethics committee concerning Senator Jason Ellsworth is set to start this morning. Meanwhile Thursday the Senate started an investigation into Republican Senate President Matt Regier to refer a waste fraud and abuse complaint about his contract fora special counsel over the past biennium to the Legislative Audit Division to investigate. It was an arrangement it’s claimed he did not have authority to sign into.
President Donald Trump has paused tariffs on some goods from Canada and Mexico until April 2nd. According to the U.S. International Trade Administration 93% of Montana’s international imports come from Mexico and Canada. Canada’s top good coming into Montana is oil and gas while Montana’s top product coming from Mexico is motor vehicles. The state that relies on Mexico and Canada the least when it comes to international trade is Hawaii at 4%.
The approximately 360 Montana-based federal Forest Service workers laid off in a blanket federal workforce reduction initiative may soon return to their positions. The federal Merit Systems Protection Board has directed the U.S. Department of Agriculture to temporarily reinstate the thousands of workers across the country who lost their USDA jobs last month after receiving generic emails from DOGE firing them.
The Montana House has unanimously passed House Bill 490 to enforce stricter wildfire mitigation standards and reduce liability for utility companies and cooperatives. The main purpose of the bill is for electric co-ops and public utilities to demonstrate their commitment to reducing fire risk by requiring fire mitigation plans.
Every five years state officials put together a “comprehensive plan” laying out Montana’s housing market conditions and assistance needs to guide how the state spends money from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Affordability is the number one problem with one in three Montana households spending more than 30% of their monthly income on housing. The state expects to receive $65 million through 2029 roughly the same as the previous five years.
Montana’s distinction as the only state where people convicted for misdemeanor domestic violence can carry guns will likely continue for at least two more years after lawmakers and lobbyists abandoned efforts to close a legal loophole. In December a federal appeals court decision effectively shielded Montanans from a federal firearms ban that typically accompanies those convictions.
Vero Fiber has purchased Montana Fiber which could see them expand in Western Montana. Montana Fiber offers internet service to Kalispell Columbia Falls Whitefish and Bigfork. The new company could soon offer services to Missoula Polson and towns in the Bitterroot Valley.
Glacier National Park is beginning civic engagement for proposed water and wastewater system improvements at the St. Mary Two Medicine Logan Pass Lake McDonald Lodge and Many Glacier Hotel developed areas and at Granite Park Chalet. Existing water and wastewater systems in those areas provide service to the most visited places in the park but are outdated and deteriorating requiring maintenance.
A permit to demolish the Old Post Hospital in Fort Missoula has been denied by the city’s Historic Preservation Commission ruling the owners neglected the property despite meeting the main guidelines for removing the building. The developers could appeal the decision to city council or file a lawsuit against the city.
