RED LODGE – Around 10 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 11, a subadult female black bear attacked and injured a child inside a tent at a private campground south of Red Lodge.

Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks game wardens and bear specialists responded to the incident. The bear was caught and euthanized the following day.

The child was transported to a medical facility in Billings. FWP staff set a trap at the campsite on Sunday night and worked with the campground owner to evacuate the campground by the morning of Aug. 12. Additional traps and snares were set when the campground was fully evacuated. The bear was captured on the afternoon of Aug. 12, and was shot and killed. FWP found unsecured attractants, including garbage, a cooler, and human food, around and inside the tent where the attack occurred.

The black bear involved in the incident had no history of conflicts. However, the bear had likely become food-conditioned and human-habituated after accessing unsecured attractants in the area. Evidence at the site matched the physical characteristics of the bear and FWP believes the bear killed was the bear involved in the attack.

FWP received support from the Red Lodge Police Department, Wyoming Game & Fish Department and the Carbon County Sherriff’s Office on this incident.

Be bear aware

Montana is bear country. People should be prepared to encounter grizzly or black bears in Montana. Avoiding conflicts with bears is easier than dealing with conflicts. Here are some precautions to help avoid negative bear encounters while camping:

• Keep food and anything with a scent out of tents.
• Dispose of garbage in bear resistant bins; otherwise, take it with you and dispose of it properly elsewhere. Do not bury or burn garbage.
• Follow local land management agency food storage orders and properly store unattended food and anything else with a scent.
• Food storage options:
• Bear boxes
• Hard-sided vehicles (car, truck, RV). Avoid leaving attractants in vehicles for extended periods of time (backcountry trips).
• IGBC-certified bear resistant containers
• Temporary electric fencing 

For more information on bear safety, visit: fwp.mt.gov/bear-aware.

Vitamins do more than keep you in good health. Shedding extra weight can be a bit less challenging with the right vitamins for weight loss. The right vitamins can aid in overall weight management by helping control your appetite. You can also get a boost in metabolism to burn more calories.

Below, we list down vitamins that can bring some weight loss benefits that you can take advantage of.

Vitamins for Weight Loss
• Vitamin D
Have you noticed that even small portions of certain foods can fill your stomach and make you feel full? A research study established that people wishing to shed weight would benefit from taking vitamin D and calcium. Experts state that vitamin D helps with calcium absorption, which can produce a feeling of fullness.

Research has pointed out that Vitamin D has a relationship with weight. You might benefit from adding more Vitamin D to your diet. This nutrient improves the body's capacity to burn energy derived from food. Aside from bringing weight loss benefits, Vitamin D helps strengthen your bones and enhance your immunity.

• B Vitamins
Do you know where you get your energy after eating? If not, it would help to learn about B vitamins, particularly thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, biotin, and pantothenic acid. These nutrients help your body break down what you eat. For instance, thiamin converts carbohydrates into energy for cells.

B vitamins are essential for the body. If your body doesn’t get enough of these nutrients, your metabolic rate decreases. This will most likely make weight loss a more challenging process.
Foods rich in B vitamins include:

Beans
Milk
Eggs
Meat
Whole grains

If you can’t get enough B vitamins in your diet, you can also take supplements that contain the full range of B vitamins.

• Vitamin C
Body weight seems to be associated with Vitamin C levels. People who eat plenty of vitamin C-rich foods burn more fat during exercise than those with low levels. Experts claim vitamin C promotes fat oxidation.

Aside from its fat-burning benefits, Vitamin C is also a well-known antioxidant. This nutrient keeps your body safe against the effects of free radicals. Free radicals have been linked to heart disease and cancer.

Excellent sources of Vitamin C include citrus fruits, potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, broccoli, and spinach. You can also take this nutrient as an oral supplement.

• Vitamin E
Vitamin E is fantastic for your health. It safeguards your cells and boosts your immune system. Research also suggests that Vitamin E supplementation may affect insulin sensitivity and improve metabolic abnormalities. Studies also suggest that obese individuals suffering from metabolic syndrome need higher levels of Vitamin E.

Unfortunately, there is little conclusive research on Vitamin E and its direct effects on weight loss.

• Vitamin A
Vitamin A supports cell growth, particularly white blood cells, and the body's immune system. Some researchers also think that the nutrient can affect weight management. Studies have demonstrated that there is evidence that Vitamin A can help regulate body fat and body weight.
Though Vitamin A appears to have the potential to aid weight management, more research is necessary to connect Vitamin A consumption and weight loss directly.

Additional Tips to Follow for Weight Loss
Of course, weight loss requires more than just consuming the right vitamins. Regular exercise is also essential to a weight loss regimen, as is getting enough sleep during the night.
According to studies, a lack of sleep affects the body’s hormone levels, resulting in increased levels of appetite-stimulating hormones and lower levels of hunger-regulating hormones. As a result, you become prone to overeating.

Proper hydration is also important, since water can help suppress the appetite, helps boosts calorie-burning, and supports proper fat metabolism. It’s recommended that women consume 11.5 cups of fluid per day, while men should consume 15.5 cups of fluid daily for proper hydration.

Multivitamins for Weight Loss: A Holistic Approach
Consuming the right vitamins, especially when on a weight loss plan, can significantly affect your weight loss progress. Vitamins are necessary for metabolism, energy production, and fat utilization. These nutrients also have anti-inflammatory effects.

Choose foods with most of these nutrients. Fruits, vegetables, whole grain products, meat, chicken, fish, and cheese are all excellent sources of vitamins. If you need an extra nutrient boost, you can take oral supplements or multivitamins.

It’s always a good idea to consult a doctor or a registered dietitian before you make any major dietary changes. A registered nutritionist or dietitian can point you toward the appropriate diet to help you shed those unwanted pounds.

BOZEMAN – Montana State University President Waded Cruzado has announced her plans to retire in June 2025, concluding a transformative 15-year tenure at the helm of Montana’s land-grant university. 

Cruzado, who became the 12th president of MSU in 2010, has been celebrated for her unwavering commitment to the land-grant mission of education, research and community outreach. Her leadership has significantly reshaped Montana State, reflected in a series of remarkable achievements.   

In a letter to the university this morning, Cruzado said being president “has been an incomparable honor, the memory of which I will hold close to my heart for the rest of my life.” The text of her full letter can be read here.  

Under Cruzado’s leadership, the university has set records in nearly every major university metric: enrollment, research, fundraising, athletics, campus expansion and, most importantly, in student persistence and graduation rates.   

“President Cruzado was the first in her family to go to college. She speaks of how higher education has transformed her life, but I can attest to how she has transformed higher education. She is an exceptional leader and advocate who cares with her whole heart about the students, faculty, staff, fans and alumni who make up a university community. Exceptional leaders leave an organization better than they found it, and President Cruzado has done that to a historic degree. Thanks to her, Montana State University sits strong and well prepared to embark on its next chapter,” said Clayton Christian, Montana Commissioner of Higher Education.   

The achievements of the university under Cruzado’s leadership since 2010 are many.  
Under Cruzado’s guidance, MSU has seen its student enrollment steadily climb by 33%, making MSU the largest university in the state with nearly 17,000 students.  
 
The rate at which first-year students stay in school for a second year — called the retention rate — has broken modern records and hit 77.9% last fall. The higher retention rates resulted in record high rates of students graduating. In 2023, the university had 3,503 graduates, its second highest number on record. Additionally, the academic caliber of MSU students, as seen in ACT/SAT scores and GPA, has reached unprecedented levels.

MSU’s students have excelled on the national stage these past 15 years. Their accolades include 41 Goldwater Scholarships, 23 Fulbright grants, 13 Udall Scholarships, seven Boren Scholarships, nine Truman Scholarships and three Rhodes Scholarships, among many other awards of scholarly and service distinction. Under Cruzado’s tenure, MSU has attracted, on average, 60% to 70% of the Montana University System Honor Scholarship recipients, given to some of the best and brightest students graduating from high schools in Montana every year. 

Access for students to a college education has been a defining passion for Cruzado. She has focused on programs to help students gain college admission, graduate on time and minimize college debt. Notably, she championed the Freshman 15 initiative, which encourages students to take at least 15 credits per semester to save on tuition and graduate in four years. In the fall of 2023, 81% of new, first-time MSU students were participating in the Freshman 15, a dramatic increase from the 50% when the program started in 2011.  

And MSU is well known nationally for providing its students with “Know Your Debt” letters to help them make informed choices about their college finances and, ultimately, reduce their debt upon graduation.  

Cruzado championed the creation of Gallatin College MSU in 2010, MSU’s workforce development arm which collaborates with industry partners to offer one- and two-year certificates and degrees in 29 programs of study from bookkeeping and carpentry to cybersecurity and photonics. It has become the fastest growing college in the university.  

One of the most successful and renowned programs created by Cruzado has been the MSU Hilleman Scholars Program. Founded in 2016 and named for alumnus Maurice Hilleman, the program provides financial and academic assistance, mentoring and leadership training to Montana students who have shown significant potential but might not have otherwise considered college as an option for their future.  

The program was inspired by Hilleman’s life story: He was raised on a farm near Miles City and was planning for a job at a local department store when a scholarship to MSU changed the course of his life. Hilleman became the world’s leading vaccinologist, developing eight of the 14 vaccines commonly given to children, including vaccines for measles, mumps and pneumonia. His story is evidence how access to higher education for a Montanan changed the world, and Cruzado has said his potent example continues to inspire her and the Hilleman Scholars today. 

Research at MSU, another of the university’s pillars, has flourished since Cruzado took office in 2010. MSU is designated a Carnegie R1, a very high research activity institution, and the university’s annual research expenditures have grown more than 133% from $98.5 million in 2009 to a record-setting $230 million in 2023, making Montana State the university with more research expenditures than all public and private universities in the state combined. 

MSU’s research growth was achieved while the university remained true to its undergraduate education mission – a rare feat. MSU is one of just two R1 institutions in the nation to have an enrollment profile that consists of a “very high” proportion of undergraduate students. The university has prided itself on providing undergraduate students with opportunities to participate in real research and gain practical experience from some of the world’s leading scientists.  

As part of MSU’s research agenda, in 2014 Cruzado obtained approval from the Montana Board of Regents to establish the MSU Center for Mental Health Research and Recovery to address suicide prevention, a critical need in the state of Montana. Cruzado also recruited the help of MSU Extension and K-12 partners in suicide prevention and awareness efforts.  

Cruzado has been a strong supporter of MSU Extension and connecting to the people of Montana. With the assistance of MSU Extension over 10 years, the president took administrators, staff, faculty and student leaders on summer bus tours to each of the 56 counties in the state to meet Montanans and learn about their economies and communities. Cruzado also oversaw MSU Extension’s creation of the Reimagining Rural program, which provides Montana communities with resources to revitalize themselves. 

MSU Extension and the College of Agriculture have always been an important focus for Cruzado. In 2014, she created the first vice president of agriculture position in the university’s cabinet.  

During her tenure, MSU has hosted the Western SARE Professional Development Program for agricultural professionals for six years and established the Dan Scott Ranch Management Program, the malt quality laboratory and the Resource Education and Agriculture Leadership (REAL) Montana Program. 

In 2013 Cruzado obtained funding from the Montana Legislature to establish the Washington-Idaho-Montana-Utah (WIMU) Regional Program in Veterinary Medicine Program, in collaboration with Washington State University. Over the past 11 years MSU has graduated more than 100 students from the WIMU program to help meet the growing need for rural veterinarians.  

In 2024, with funding from the Montana Legislature and private support, ground was broken on a new home for the MSU Wool Lab, one of only two college-based wool labs in the nation. The lab is vital in helping Montana wool growers improve their product.     

Cruzado also helped the College of Agriculture in securing its first endowed chairs: the Nancy Cameron Endowed Chair in Range Beef Cattle Production and the Winifred Asbjornson Plant Sciences Chair.  

During her administration, she also made enormous efforts to advance the university’s support for American Indians. In 2018, she completed a massive fundraising task her predecessor started in 2006 to privately raise $8 million for an American Indian Hall on campus. With a $12 million pledge from the Kendeda Fund and financial support from ASMSU, a total of $20 million was ultimately raised and the hall opened in 2021. Since 2010, the university has steadily increased its enrollment of American Indian and Alaska Native students, from 373 in 2009 to a new record enrollment in 2023 of 817 students.     

In competition, the Bobcats of the Cruzado era have achieved extraordinary success. MSU’s men’s and women’s basketball teams have won multiple conference championships and tournament titles, and the men’s team has earned three consecutive bids in the national NCAA tournament. Rodeo became an official part of Bobcat Athletics, and women’s rodeo earned its third national team title in 2021. Volleyball earned its first ever bid to the National Invitational Volleyball Championship in 2023, and men’s track and field won the conference title in 2024. 

On the gridiron, MSU has won the Big Sky Conference four times during Cruzado’s presidency, including a historic run to the FCS national title game in 2021, a year proudly dubbed the Year of the Bobcat for the many sports that performed exceptionally that year. Perhaps most importantly to the hometown faithful, the Bobcats defeated their cross-state rivals in seven out of the 13 Cat-Griz games played so far during her tenure. 

The physical campus has also seen enormous changes under Cruzado, with more than $600 million in completed or under-construction projects. Major student-focused projects completed in the past 15 years have included the renovations of Romney and Gaines halls into modern, high-capacity classroom buildings; the construction of Jabs Hall, Student Wellness Center and Norm Asbjornson Hall; and more than $115 million in student housing investments, including the addition of the Hyalite, Yellowstone and Gallatin residence halls, as well as the renovations of Hapner and Langford halls. MSU also constructed Rendezvous Dining Pavilion and a four-story parking garage and conducted major renovations to the Miller Dining Commons, the MSU Library, the Strand Union Building and the Brick Breeden Fieldhouse.

MSU enacted more than $9 million in energy conservation projects campus-wide and earned approval for a project to consolidate and improve MSU’s facilities operations while making room for more classroom buildings. Newly constructed and renovated buildings have all received LEED certifications, a sustainability rating system for buildings, including the top designation, Platinum Level 4.1, for the American Indian Hall. In 2023 Montana state received a prestigious STARS Gold rating in campus sustainability from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education. 

And work has begun on a project to convert Grant Street into a pedestrian mall to improve safety in MSU’s busy South Campus District, a label that Cruzado coined to designate the area that includes — in addition to Asbjornson Hall — the $72 million Student Wellness Center and the renovated Romney Hall (thanks to $25 million from the state of Montana matched by $7 million in private gifts) — a number of new construction buildings, including Jones Hall for the College of Nursing, Gianforte Hall, Gallatin College MSU, an expanded facility for Montana PBS and a privately operated campus hotel. 

Philanthropic giving during Cruzado’s presidency — totaling more than $850 million — transformed MSU. Gifts included $101 million from Mark and Robyn Jones to fund construction of five new nursing education buildings at all of MSU’s nursing campuses statewide; $50 million from the Gianforte Family Foundation for Gianforte Hall, a new home for computer science, cybersecurity and creative industries; $50 million (with an additional $20 million match) from Norm Asbjornson for the eponymous building that houses engineering and honors; and $25 million from Jake Jabs for the business college building named in his honor, among many other gifts.  

Successful fundraising campaigns also led to the completion of the $18 million Bobcat Athletic Complex and the $11 million Bobcat Stadium end zone project, as well as $19.4 million raised for the expansion of Montana PBS’s programs and facilities and groundbreaking this summer on the $26.5 million Indoor Athletic Center. 

Prior to Montana State, Cruzado, a native of Puerto Rico and professor of comparative literature, was executive vice president and provost at New Mexico State University. She is known for her passion for education and mentorship. Cruzado also established and fostered new community-building programs such as Cat Walk on Main, and campus celebrations such as Milestones in Service, Pure Gold, the President’s Crossing Boundaries Speaker Series as well as the revitalization of the First Year Student Convocation and Fall Commencement ceremonies. 

Nationally recognized for her leadership, she was appointed by President Barack Obama to the Board for International Food and Agricultural Development in 2012 and 2017. She has chaired the boards of the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) and HERS - Women in Higher Education Leadership. She has served on various other boards of national impact, including serving as Commissioner on the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities Board. Her accolades include the APLU Seaman Knapp Memorial Lectureship, the Council of Fellows Mentor Award by the American Council on Education, the Paul Harris Fellow Recognition, Hero Award from the Montana Chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, and the Michael P. Malone Educator of the Year award. 

Commissioner of Higher Education Christian will conduct a search for Cruzado’s successor on behalf of the Montana Board of Regents. An executive recruitment firm will be used to assist with the search.  

BOZEMAN — Following renewed interest from the public in the Affordable Housing Ordinance, Bozeman City Commission will discuss revisions on Tuesday, Aug. 20. The meeting will review the current affordable housing market and discuss potential changes to the ordinance to offer better clarity, respond to comments from the public and ensure the policy is meeting its desired outcome.

“I think everyone, from residents to city staff to the Commission themselves, is interested in taking another look at this ordinance and seeing if there are improvements that can be made,” David Fine, Housing & Urban Renewal Manager stated. “We all want to see housing be more affordable, and it’s important that we are thoughtful and surgical in how we go about that.”

The City Commission adopted the current Affordable Housing Ordinance in Sept. 2022 in response to legislative action. The 2021 Montana Legislature passed House Bill 259, which barred the City from requiring affordable housing in new development. As most of the other commonly used tools for creating affordable housing are also prohibited in Montana, the City turned to voluntary incentives to create affordable housing.

In creating the current ordinance, the City conducted an extensive public review of the then-existing code, identified alternatives and chose those most likely to result in the construction of new affordable housing. This ordinance, often in combination with other incentives, is responsible for the creation of nearly 1,500 units, with most being either under construction or in the project pipeline.

Following this meeting, city staff will draft a revised ordinance incorporating the revisions requested by the City Commission.

Public comment is encouraged throughout this process, and further community engagement will occur following the Commission work session.

Those seeking more information on the Affordable Housing Ordinance can visit https://www.bozeman.net/departments/economic-development/community-housing/bozeman-code-audit-to-create-and-preserve-housing.

BOZEMAN - After nearly three decades, the Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office has announced the resolution of a cold case involving the murder of 15-year-old Danielle “Danni” Houchins from Belgrade, Montana. Houchins was tragically killed on September 21, 1996. 

On that day, Houchins left her home around 11 AM. When she failed to return, her worried family reported her missing to the Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office. Her mother discovered Houchins’ truck at the Cameron Bridge Fishing Access on the Gallatin River, and later that night, Houchins’ body was found face down in shallow water. 

In a significant breakthrough last month, DNA evidence collected at the time of Houchins’ death was matched to 55-year-old Paul Hutchinson of Dillon, Montana. The day after Gallatin County law enforcement had their first interview with Hutchinson, he died by suicide. 

Investigators have determined that Hutchinson and Houchins had no prior connection. Describing it as a crime of opportunity, they believe Hutchinson and Houchins randomly encountered each other at the river, where Hutchinson raped then suffocated her in shallow water. 

Despite numerous suspects being interviewed over the years, Hutchinson was never connected to the case until DNA results identified him. He was a Montana State University student beginning in September of 1996, later graduating in fisheries wildlife biology. He then worked for the Montana Bureau of Land Management in Dillon for 22 years. He had no criminal or traffic history and was married with two adult children.  

“This case exemplifies our relentless pursuit of justice. We never gave up on finding the truth for Danni and her family, exhausting all means necessary to bring closure to this heartbreaking chapter,” said Gallatin County Sheriff Dan Springer. “Our commitment to justice for victims and their loved ones is unwavering, and we will continue to use every resource at our disposal to solve these cases, no matter how much time has passed.” 

This investigation highlights the importance of preserving evidence in order for future technologies to identify suspects. “Stranger” homicides are the most difficult to solve and rely heavily upon physical evidence. In this case, materials were preserved, and over time, the pieces of evidence were able to be analyzed and DNA extracted using current technology that was not available in the past. The investigation stalled over the years as suspects, known to Danni, were eliminated.  

“The investigation remained open because we knew Danni was murdered and someday, we were going to have the tools available to solve this case,” Springer said. 

In 2019, the sheriff’s office renewed efforts to solve the case. In 2021, when Springer became sheriff, he believed there needed to be new, fresh and outside eyes on the case. He hired private investigator Tom Elfmont, a retired Los Angeles Police Department officer with decades of experience, to assist. Elfmont was remotely aided by Sergeant Court Depweg of the Newport Beach Police Department, who specializes in solving homicides using DNA technology. 

During the initial investigation, four hairs were collected from Houchins’ body. That preserved evidence was sent to Astria Forensics in California for analysis. A partial DNA profile from one of the hairs was developed and run through the FBI’s Combined DNA Index System, but no matches were found. The profile was then sent to Parabon NanoLabs in Virginia, where genealogists used additional DNA databases to identify Hutchinson as the suspect. 

On the evening July 23, 2024, Elfmont and Depweg interviewed Hutchinson. During the nearly two-hour interview, Hutchinson, who had lived in Bozeman at the time of Houchins’ death, displayed extreme nervousness. Investigators noted he sweated profusely, scratched his face, and chewed on his hand. When shown a photo of Houchins, Hutchinson slumped in his chair and exhibited signs of being uncomfortable. Upon release, his behavior was observed to be erratic. 

Early the next morning, at 4:17 AM on July 24, Hutchinson called the Beaverhead County Sheriff’s Office, informing them he needed assistance before hanging up. Deputies found him shortly thereafter on the side of the road, dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. 

The investigation continues in an attempt to tie up loose ends. The information we’ve received will be shared with federal and local law enforcement agencies in an attempt to locate possible victims of similar crimes. 

This resolution brings a long-awaited sense of closure to Danni’s family and the community. The Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office remains committed to justice and thanks all those who assisted in bringing this case to a close. 

BOZEMAN — The City of Bozeman, in partnership with the Montana Department of Transportation, recently began work on two projects after being awarded Federal Highway Transportation Alternatives (TA) funding. In the first project, the City will add new 10’ wide shared use pathways on East Valley Center Road between Catron and Catamount Streets, North 19th Avenue between Baxter Lane and Rawhide Ridge Road, and Flanders Mill Road between Sunstone Street and Durston Road. The second project involves pavement preservation on several existing separated shared use paths along Oak Street, North 19th Avenue, and Huffine Lane/Main Street. City Engineering Staff will complete design for both projects, reducing reliance on outside consultants and stretching the funding further.

“This funding will help us more quickly address a need we hear from many residents – safer, separated paths for bicyclists and pedestrians,” Transportation & Engineering Director Nicholas Ross stated. “We’ve been working hard planning and designing for these projects, and now we get to make them a reality without relying solely on local taxpayer dollars.”

The new shared use paths will fill gaps in missing sections of the City’s transportation network, helping to safely route pedestrians and cyclists throughout the City. The pavement maintenance project will help to prolong the useful life of the existing shared use pathways. When pavement preservation projects such as these are done, it prevents the need for costlier reconstructions of pathways further down the line.

“MDT is glad that the City of Bozeman applied for and was successful in receiving this funding,” said Dave Holien, MDT Transportation Alternatives Engineer. “These are highly needed projects and will provide much needed safety and connectivity improvements for pedestrians and bicyclists.”

For more information on either of these two projects, call Kellen Gamradt, PE at 406-582-2283.

Gallatin Gateway – In a matter of statewide significance, Gateway Conservation Alliance (“GCA”) filed a new lawsuit this week challenging the issuance of TMC, Inc.’s Opencut Mining Permit #3462 for a new gravel pit located in Gallatin County, Montana (the “Black Pit”) and contesting parts of Montana’s Opencut Mining Law as facially unconstitutional.

More specifically, in its new lawsuit, GCA alleges that House Bill 599 (“HB 599”) allowed Montana’s Department of Environmental Quality (“DEQ”) to issue this and innumerable other Opencut Mine permits around the state without assessing critical human, environmental and wildlife factors.

Furthermore, GCA alleges through this lawsuit that HB 599 essentially eliminated DEQ’s duty and ability to review proposed opencut mining operations for environmental harms, including surface and groundwater quality, as well as removed public participation opportunities. The result has been to turn the Opencut Mining Act’s (“OMA”) permitting process into a meaningless form-filling exercise.

Montanans have a fundamental right to a clean and healthful environment as guaranteed by Article II, Section 3 of the Montana Constitution, which rests at the center of this new lawsuit. As a result, GCA alleges that HB 599 thereby violates the Legislature’s duty to provide for adequate remedies and administration to maintain and improve a clean and healthful environment under Article IX, Section 1 and Article II, Section 3 of the Montana Constitution and the public’s right of participation under Article II, Section VIII of the Montana Constitution.

Passage of HB 599 by the Legislature and signed into law by the Governor has rendered the OMA incapable of ensuring Montanans their constitutional rights to prevent environmental harms. HB 599 created arbitrary loopholes with which to avoid permitting altogether, removed essentially all substantive environmental considerations from DEQ’s decision-making, including the ability and authority to prevent harmful projects from occurring and minimized or erased opportunities for the public to give input or for DEQ to conduct a meaningful and rigorous permit review.

Tracie Gibbons for GCA stated. “While we certainly did not ask for this fight or want it forced upon us, we are proud to bring this case to hold our government accountable to our Constitution, which demands that our natural life support system be protected for present and future generations. We look forward to moving this critically important case forward both to defend our home and community in Gallatin Gateway, but more importantly, to protect communities around Montana and ensure our rights to a clean and healthy environment.”

Legal counsel for GCA and other groups around the state, Graham Coppes, said: “While we expected the mining companies to fight us, we did not expect our biggest opponent to be the State of Montana. What we have learned through this process is that the state – by and through the Department of Environmental Quality - is pouring endless hours, dollars, and legal resources into fighting against citizens, communities, clean water and air, all to increase the bottom line of a few private companies.” The State cannot plausibly contend that “cutting red tape” constitutes an interest of the “highest order” that cannot be “otherwise served” without gutting Montanans Constitutionally enshrined environmental protection against the potentially harmful consequences of these mining operations.”

Big Sky – Plaintiffs supporting the efforts of the Big Sky Wellness Coalition filed a lawsuit in the Madison County District Court today after months of unsuccessful attempts to communicate with and obtain records from Madison County regarding the Madison Valley Hospital District and the refusal of the Madison County Commissioners to hold a hearing on the petition to withdraw from the Hospital District.

The Big Sky Wellness Coalition is comprised of partners and community members across diverse organizations who have a shared interest in addressing the growing gap in the Big Sky community’s healthcare services. Through collaboration, the coalition began an effort to address community needs in health and wellness services, and in August of 2023 began the effort of collecting signatures on a petition to withdraw from the Hospital District.

With the petition, Madison County residents of Big Sky aimed to withdraw from the Hospital District, citing the taxpayers within the boundary of the special hospital district have been unable to utilize the services provided due to proximity and an inability to access those services in Madison County. Madison County residents of Big Sky would need to commute 2.5 hours and through an adjoining county to have access to the services funded through taxes they currently pay to this special hospital district. The signatures collected targeted the eligible list of qualified voters identified by the advice and methodology provided by the Madison County Clerk & Recorder last October. More than 240 signatures were collected, enough to meet the 51% threshold requirement for a hearing on the merits, and in December 2023 the petition was filed.

Minutes into the January 18, 2024, hearing, the meeting adjourned after the Clerk & Recorder announced that approximately 200 signatures were disregarded and therefore the petition did not contain enough eligible signatures for the hearing to take place. In a subsequent follow up with the Clerk & Recorder, advocates learned the methodology applied in January was different from the original framework provided, and further that multiple signatures eligible even under the Clerk & Recorder’s second methodology were erroneously rejected. Despite the coalition’s best efforts, the Madison County Commission refused to reconsider the Clerk & Recorder’s erroneous methodology and signature tally and refused to hold a hearing on the merits of the petition.

The complaint filed in Madison County’s Fifth Judicial Court details four counts seeking preliminary and permanent injunctive relief and asks the court to enter an order directing the Commissioners to cease levying taxes on Plaintiffs to fund the special hospital district, given that it appears the special hospital district does not legally exist and/or is not operating properly under Montana law. The request also asks the court to direct the Commissioners to find the original petition meets the required threshold for signatures, and to schedule a time for a hearing on the merits of the petitioners’ requested withdrawal from the special hospital district within the 2024 calendar year. The petitioners assert their tax dollars should fund services within their community that they actually receive and use, rather than fund services they cannot and do not access.

The complaint filed today can be found here. To learn more about the Wellness Coalition, visit www.wellnesscoalitionbigsky.com.