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In a seemingly endless election season, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the cacophony of the political climate. That’s one of the reasons Montana Free Press is excited to introduce what we hope will become an enlightening new tradition: the inaugural Free Press Fest, where informed, civil dialogue will take center stage.
We’ll be joined by some of the foremost figures in politics, public policy and media at the University of Montana in Missoula from Sept. 5 to 7, where we’ll delve into the state’s most pressing challenges and explore creative, constructive solutions. At a time when technology is rapidly reshaping everything from politics and art to education and journalism, we’ll also do our best to anticipate what might be in store for Montanans’ lives and livelihoods.
Mark Twain said, “History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes.” With that in mind, we’ll explore events that shaped the present-day political moment and listen for familiar refrains that might help us avoid repeating the pitfalls of the past.
As election-season dark money and well-funded misinformation campaigns cloud the issues we all grapple with, Free Press Fest will offer a clear-eyed examination of Montana’s key issues, among them education funding, housing affordability and the future prospects for a free, fair, fact-focused press.
Free Press Fest aspires to serve as an antidote to election-season insanity. It’s a forum designed to cut through the noise and help participants form connections with fellow citizens whose life experiences might differ but who share fundamental values such as freedom of speech, freedom of assembly and freedom of the press. We hope the programming will empower Montanans to come together despite their differences to exchange ideas and drive change.
Just as Montana Free Press continuously seeks out innovative ways to meet Montanans’ information needs, we hope this forum will begin a new tradition of reimagining civic dialogue and engagement.
I encourage you to purchase your passes today and make yourself a part of the conversation.
See you at the Free Press Fest!
—John Adams, Founder, Executive Director
3 Qs For
Hillary Rosner is a science journalist whose reporting has taken her around the world as she’s studied the friction between human endeavors and wild, intact landscapes. Rosner has written about wind turbines in Wyoming, declining caribou populations in Canada and an effort to help people connect extreme weather events to climate change. She is the assistant director of the Center for Environmental Journalism at the University of Colorado and is working on a book about habitat connectivity that will come out next year.
Rosner will be in Missoula for the inaugural Free Press Fest, where she will be a panelist on a talk titled “Loving Montana to Death” scheduled for 3:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 6. MTFP asked her a handful of questions as a preview to that talk. Her responses have been lightly edited for length and clarity.
MTFP: The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem is often said to possess the same cohort of large mammals that existed in pre-Columbian times, making it somewhat unique. What, in your view, has contributed to that?
ROSNER: At least one of those large mammals, the wolf, was reintroduced. We should probably recognize that — it was actually gone, but through the hard work of a lot of people, it was restored.
I think this is what is so unique about Montana and some of Wyoming also — that so much of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem still exists in its natural state, by which I mean it is not paved over and covered with parking lots and big box stores. It exists in these big chunks of land that are often lovingly maintained by people who have worked on that land and lived there for a long time. I think that is what’s really special and unique about that place — that animals still, for the most part, can roam relatively freely.
MTFP: When U.S. Congress established Yellowstone National Park in 1872, that was considered a pretty radical idea. Park management has definitely undergone some shifts in the ensuing years, but it was a leap to establish Yellowstone. Do you think other similarly big, somewhat wild ideas in land management might yet take root?
ROSNER: I would hope that there would be. I think a lot of the big ideas right now probably need to come in the private land space. We have set aside, in various ways, a lot of the public land we can. A lot of the biggest issues right now in conservation are really about private lands.
What was interesting to me when I was reporting this book is that although the particulars may look different, there’s an overarching theme of chopping up landscapes, subdividing private lands, putting up fences, selling them off into smaller parcels and thereby taking these remaining large open spaces that are so necessary for wildlife and fragmenting them even further.
I’m not totally sure what the big wild ideas will be, but I think whatever they are, they have to be about private land.
MTFP: What are the best wildlife connectivity tools you’ve come across in your travels?
Wildlife overpasses and underpasses are a really obvious one. I don’t talk a ton about them in my book, but Ben Goldfarb has written a great book that deals with that called “Crossings” for anyone who’s interested. But that’s such a simple and obvious one and one that’s mostly positively viewed by the public. Nobody wants to hit a deer while going 75 miles per hour in their car, right?
And there’s a lot of work to engage people in their decision-making about rebuilding and restoring wildlife corridors. This is something that came up a lot in the different places I’ve visited — trying to engage local communities and put in wildlife corridors while we still can. Whether you’re talking about addressing fences in the American West or elephant movement in Kenya, you’ve got to develop solutions that are a win-win for everyone. Because if you’re just trying to do what’s best for wildlife, but not what’s best for people, you’re going to run into some problems.
MTFP: Thank you for discussing your work. We’ll look forward to seeing you in Missoula next week!
—Amanda Eggert, Reporter
Following the Law ⚖️
On Monday, the Montana Supreme Court released proposed rule changes for the Judicial Standards Commission, the constitutionally mandated body that reviews misconduct accusations against state judges.
The rules of the five-member commission have long outlined how grievances are filed, investigated and the select instances in which its generally confidential findings are made public. They were last amended in 2015.
This iteration of revisions was drafted by administrative staff at the Montana Supreme Court, Supreme Court Justice Mike McGrath told Montana Free Press on Friday. The motivation, he said, was two-fold: to reflect Republican-backed laws passed in recent sessions, including changes to how commission members are appointed, and to align with not-yet-public recommendations from a performance review conducted by the state’s Legislative Audit Division.
“The combination of those two things is why we’re revising the rules,” McGrath said.
The changes would reflect a new appointment process in which district court judges create a shortlist for up to two of the commission’s open seats and the speaker of the House of Representatives selects new members from that group. Previously, nominations produced by district court judges were approved by the Montana Supreme Court.
Other amendments include extending the timeframe for maintaining confidential records about judicial grievances to 12 years after a judge steps down from the bench, rather than 10. The rules would also allow the commission to hire a “qualified law clerk” to help draft orders and opinions, a role that currently does not exist.
McGrath said that the court will hold a public meeting and hear public comments about the proposed changes Sept. 10. The following day, McGrath said, he and other court officials will appear before the Legislative Audit Committee to discuss the Judicial Standards Commission’s performance review. He described the review as “a great management tool” and said the recommendations will help bring more transparency to the commission’s work.
“We agree with all their recommendations and we’ll be there to discuss it,” McGrath said.
The judiciary has been under heavy scrutiny by Republican lawmakers in recent years, with GOP officials broadly alleging bias and improper conduct against the nonpartisan branch of government. A select committee on judicial oversight and reform is currently considering additional legislation to introduce in the 2025 session.
The public can submit comments on the proposed changes through the court’s clerk until Friday, Sept. 6.
—Mara Silvers, Reporter
Viewshed 📷
The Powder River, as viewed from a location on Highway 12 halfway between Miles City and Plevna on Aug. 25. This location is northeast of the Remington Fire, a nearly 200,000-acre wildfire that started in Sheridan County, Wyo., late last week and burned into southeastern Montana.
—Amanda Egggert, Reporter
Fire Watch 🔥
The Sharrott Creek and Remington fires remain the state’s two most-staffed fires, though both have remained a relatively consistent size since Tuesday this week. Despite hot, dry conditions, forecasters don’t expect storms or wind that could start new fires or fan existing blazes this weekend.
The Remington Fire was first reported on Thursday, Aug. 22, in Sheridan County, Wyo. As of this Friday, it had grown to 300 square miles, most of that in Montana’s Powder River, Big Horn and Rosebud counties. It remains the largest wildfire in the state this season. A Complex Incident Management Team took command of firefighting operations on Monday. According to an update from Brandon Glenn, a section chief with the management team, responders continue to dig fire lines along the blaze’s northwestern edge, south of Birney, and along the fire’s eastern edge near the border between Rosebud and Powder River counties.
In western Montana, the Sharrott Creek Fire is burning more than 1,300 acres west of Stevensville. The Sharrott Creek Fire was first reported on Friday, Aug. 23, and grew rapidly the following day. It has not grown substantially since a Complex Incident Management Team assumed command of firefighting operations on Tuesday.
While a number of additional fires grew across western Montana earlier in the week, the more active blazes have since slowed their growth.
The Big Hollow Fire, covering almost 3,500 acres of Beaverhead County along the border with Idaho, is now 90% contained. The Ratio Mountain Fire is burning 15 miles northwest of Whitehall. While not contained, it has not increased in size since Tuesday. Additionally, the McElwain Fire was first reported 20 miles west of Helmville on Friday, Aug. 23, and is considered 25% contained.
SEE ALSO: MTFP’s summer 2024 fire dashboard.
—Zeke Lloyd, Fire Reporting Intern
Highlights ☀️
In other news this week —
Montana schools are increasingly making efforts to restrict in-school smartphone use by K-12 students. Alex Sakariassen reports that Gov. Greg Gianforte joined a chorus of student administrators last week in encouraging new local policies that minimize smartphone distractions in classrooms.
Bozeman-area staff with the Montana Department of Revenue were apparently so overwhelmed by tax appeals following last year’s historic property value spike that they weren’t able to ensure all new construction was included in the department’s formal tax roll valuations. County officials say the state is scrambling to address the situation, but as Eric Dietrich reported this week, it could mean some new construction gets a pass on higher tax bills next year.
Montana’s top federal prosecutor announced this week that the U.S. Department of Justice and Helena hospital St. Peter’s Health reached a $10.8 million settlement stemming from reports that the hospital submitted false claims to federal health programs. As JoVonne Wagner reported, the hospital says the claims involved work ordered by cancer doctor Thomas Weiner, who the hospital fired in 2020.
On Our Radar 
Alex — Got a fun Montana mystery on your hands? One of my favorite resources for historical sleuthing is the oral history collections at the University of Montana’s Mansfield Library, which this week helped me connect a watercolor that’s been in my family for years to a renowned Montana artist and his mid-century stint in the state Senate.
Brad — I’ve spent an appalling amount of time scanning Facebook Marketplace for a replacement since my last solo canoe, a wood-gunnelled beauty, froze into seaworthlessness in the winter of 2022. Last week I finally found my new boat in a garage outside of Butte, so I’m making quick plans for a short Wild and Scenic Missouri float before it’s time to put it in storage for the season. I’ll be the guy near Coal Banks looking like this.
JoVonne — An Associated Press report covered an Ohio prison that hosted a five-course dinner for over 60 people from the public earlier this week. The meal was prepared and catered by more than 20 incarcerated men at the Grafton Correctional Institute through a program that teaches inmates career skills such as culinary arts and hospitality.
Jacob — I was able to see one of Boeing’s twin-engined 777X airplane prototypes during flight testing in Billings last year, one of the largest visitors to the local airport since a 747 did practice landings back in 2011. This week the oft-delayed 777X program suffered another setback when Boeing identified structural issues with a part that helps keep the 777X’s massive GE9X engines attached to planes’ wings. The bright side for the company is that identifying the issue in testing will keep it from affecting production aircraft.
Zeke — While many worry over the conclusion of Brat Summer, I’ve already set my sights on a Short n’ Sweet autumn, scored by Sabrina Carpenter’s newest album.
Mara — I’ve spent the last few weekends exploring Glacier National Park, a place that I, like many Montanans, have tended to avoid due to my admittedly petty annoyances with hordes of tourists. So far, less-traveled routes have produced the best adventures, especially a scramble last weekend up Rising Wolf, a 9,513-foot summit that towers above Two Medicine Lake. If you go, bear spray is highly recommended.
Eric — Have you ever been so aggravated by your neighbor’s recurring car alarm that you broke down and… composed a virtuoso-caliber piano solo to play along with it?
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