Montana Politics

Ballots are out for some local elections in Montana. Voters will decide on a variety of candidates and issues this fall.

Gov. Greg Gianforte toured a correctional facility in Boulder Tuesday that serves as overflow space for the Women's Prison. State Corrections director Brian Gootkin says the Riverside facility is helping to ease backlogs, but a new women's prison is still needed.

A federal program launched in 2021 offered billions of dollars for states to improve internet access. The funding was supposed to bring high-speed fiber optic service to rural areas. But companies using other technology, like satellites, won most of the locations.

Montana’s Medicaid office is struggling to process applications in a timely manner. The state is planning to fast track new work requirements and eligibility checks – which would mean even more paperwork for applicants and state officials.

Two Butte residents are suing a local mining company over contaminated water that led to a ‘do not consume’ order for some residents on August 13; Montana’s Speaker of the House says he’s delaying enactment of a bill that defines biological sex as binary.

A Helena-based campaign contractor this week pleaded guilty to three counts of wire fraud. According to documents filed in federal court, Abbey Lee Cook embezzled over $250,000 from six unnamed victims between 2021 and 2024.

A conservative group is suing the state over a 2024 ballot initiative enshrining abortion access in the Montana Constitution. And Montanans will soon be able to apply for a property tax rebate approved by state lawmakers earlier this year.

The Montana Supreme Court last year ordered state environmental regulators to redo their assessment of a power plant near Laurel. The new report is out, but environmental advocates aren’t happy.

A lawsuit filed Wednesday argues Gov. Greg Gianforte unconstitutionally appointed a sitting legislator to lead an executive agency. It’s the fourth time the governor has tapped a state lawmaker for a political appointment.

The state psychiatric hospital has a new CEO. This will be the fifth leader of the embattled facility in the past four years.