Knudsen to lead national GOP efforts to elect conservative attorneys general
Shaylee Ragar
Montana’s top attorney will lead the Republican effort to elect more conservative attorneys general next year.
Attorney General Austin Knudsen was unanimously elected chair of the national Republican Attorneys General Association. Knudsen says his goal is to support the Trump administration in preventing “threats of liberalism and lawlessness.”
Thirty states will elect attorneys general in 2026. Knudsen says the association aims to retain 11 incumbents and flip several more seats in the GOP’s favor.
Knudsen is in the middle of his second term and is not campaigning himself this cycle. Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte last month was elected chair of the Republican Governors Association, and will lead a national effort to elect conservative state executives.
State officials to start bidding on site for new mental health facility
Aaron Bolton
State officials are looking for a site in Laurel to build a new mental health facility for criminal defendants.
Montanans accused of crimes who are mentally unfit to stand trial can wait months to receive treatment at the Montana State Hospital in Warm Springs. That’s why lawmakers decided to build a second forensic treatment facility in the eastern half of the state.
The state Board of Investments is overseeing the project. Members this week voted to begin bidding on land.
Some Laurel City Council members said they learned the facility would be built there through media reports. The BOI director told the council that communication with the city will improve.
Lawmakers allocated $26.5 million for the project, but state health department Director Charlie Brereton told the board this week it will likely cost more. Brereton said his department will use a dedicated mental health fund to cover any shortfall.
