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Last week, when a source reached out to ask if I’d heard about upcoming changes at the Montana State Hospital, they immediately got my attention. I’ve been covering the state’s only public adult psychiatric facility in Warm Springs for years. In the coming months, the person said, at least some patients will be moved to Helena for a temporary placement at the now-vacant site of the old Shodair Children’s Hospital.
I’d heard about this possibility before, ever since Shodair moved into a new facility last year, leaving its old location available for new uses. But I hadn’t heard about any plans to transfer state patients coming to fruition any time soon. I began digging around in the state’s online database for contracts, bids and procurement to see if I could find a paper trail about that agreement.
As is often the case while reporting, I unexpectedly found something else along the way: a two-page letter, on Department of Public Health and Human Services letterhead, giving notice that Gov. Greg Gianforte’s administration intended to award a “sole source” contract to iCare Management, LLC, a Connecticut-based company that owns several nursing homes on the East Coast.
The job? Taking care of an unstated number of “difficult-to-place” patients — for an unstated amount of money — discharged from the Montana State Hospital and the Montana Mental Health Nursing Care Center in Lewistown, as well as state prison inmates eligible for medical parole.
I emailed the letter to several lawmakers, advocacy groups and mental health experts with a simple subject line: “What is this?”
Almost a week later, that two-page letter is still essentially all the public information available. The Department of Corrections, which oversees state prisons, told me it estimates that between 50 and 70 people currently in its facilities could be transferred to iCare’s oversight. As of the publication of this newsletter, the health department has not responded to a list of questions from Montana Free Press about the contract, including how many and which types of patients would be cared for under the agreement.
Lawmakers, too, are mostly flummoxed. Even representatives who attended budget meetings about the health and corrections departments in mid-September hadn’t heard about the proposal.
“That’s not ringing any bells,” said Rep. Bill Mercer, R-Billings, who chairs the legislative subcommittee that oversees the corrections department’s budget. “They did not raise that with us when we were there earlier in the month.”
Groups that have been pushing to move eligible patients out of state institutions and into community-based settings also didn’t know about the contract. Several raised questions about the “sole source” nature of the agreement — out of all the health care groups in Montana and nationwide, how did the department pick iCare Management? And why, some advocates and lawmakers asked, didn’t the Gianforte administration seek out competitive bids for this high-stakes work?
I don’t know the answers to these questions, but I certainly would like to. I also wonder how this contract fits into the state’s goal — reiterated as recently as last month — of once again having the state hospital certified by the federal government, regaining the good-status standing with the Center for Medicaid and Medicare Services the facility lost in 2022 over patient health and safety concerns.
As for that rumor about the old Shodair building? It turns out it’s actually true, too. The hospital’s CEO told me earlier this week that the state will lease the 20-bed unit and be responsible for its operations. Which patients will be going to Helena, for how long and for what reason? The state still hasn’t said.
READ MORE: State prepares to contract for care of discharged Warm Springs patients, state prison inmates.
—Mara Silvers, Reporter
Following the Law ⚖️
Former utility board commissioner Roger Koopman has settled a four-year-old lawsuit against the Montana Public Service Commission and four of its employees.
Koopman, a Republican who served on the commission from 2013 to 2020, sought $2.5 million in damages from multiple state agencies and individuals, alleging that former commissioners and PSC staffers defamed him and invaded his and his family’s privacy. Per the settlement terms, Koopman and his family will receive $155,000.
A key component of that lawsuit involved the release of emails where Koopman discussed personal family matters using his official account. Koopman argues that the emails in question would never have been released had they been subjected to the state’s standard record request process, which includes individual privacy protections. Koopman alleged that a PSC employee hacked his emails and then leaked some of them to NorthWest Liberty News, a website that focuses criticism on elected officials deemed too politically moderate by its founder, James White.
White was a named defendant in Koopman’s lawsuit but was not a party to the settlement. Jordan “JD” Hall, who founded a (now shuttered) website espousing far-right political views, was not a party to the settlement, either.
Four current and former PSC employees are parties to the agreement: sitting commissioner Randy Pinocci; former commissioner Brad Johnson; Mandy Hinman, a PSC administrator who resigned from her post following a scathing legislative audit; and PSC spokesperson Drew Zinecker, who parted ways with the agency in 2020 after an extended period of administrative leave.
The settlement comes about two years after former PSC Chief Legal Counsel Justin Kraske received a $175,000 settlement from a wrongful discharge claim that involved many of the same parties. Kraske had alleged that he was fired after a 13-year career with the PSC for his role as an agency whistleblower. The sitting commissioners voted to fire him in a closed-door proceeding approximately six months after he declined to reveal the name of an employee who alerted state auditors to unauthorized expenditures and a substantial pay raise Hinman received, he alleged. Kraske also said he experienced retaliation for raising concerns related to the Koopman email leak with other commissioners.
“We filed this lawsuit because we believed we had been wronged. The Defendants tried to have our claims thrown out, but the court ruled that our claims could go forward,” Koopman said in a written statement. “Now, without having even taken any depositions, the State has agreed to pay me and my family $155,000 to resolve our claims. We believe this result strongly supports the validity of our claims as set forth in our lawsuit.”
PSC Executive Director David Sanders, who assumed his post in January of this year, did not respond to a request for comment on the settlement this week.
—Amanda Eggert, Reporter
Fire Watch 🔥
Despite two major precipitation events during the first half of September, Montana’s fire season has continued amid an ongoing dry spell. According to the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, more than 40 blazes were burning statewide as of Friday morning. Almost 30 of those fires began in the last week.
Montana’s fire season appeared to be winding down after early September weather dropped enough rain to penetrate tree canopies and dampen forest floors. But most of the state has experienced little to no precipitation in the last two weeks.
“The extended forecast predicts a warm and dry October, so the public should remain vigilant,” Anna Lau, a forestry communications coordinator with the DNRC, wrote in an email to Montana Free Press. “DNRC crews and aviation resources are actively responding to wildfires across the state.”
Ravalli County south of Missoula hosts some of the state’s largest fires, including the Sharrott Creek, Johnson, Daly, and Railroad fires, which cover a combined 17,000 acres. The Daly Fire has also burned into the western side of Granite County. In addition, hundred-acre blazes speckle the state.
According to Todd Chambers, a National Weather Service meteorologist based in Billings, eastern Montana’s forecast offers conditions that could allow existing fires to grow or enable new fires to start.
“We’re waiting on precipitation,” Chambers said.
Western Montana faces the same dry conditions. The National Weather Service forecasts little to no statewide precipitation during the coming seven to 10 days. The agency also issued a red flag warning, indicating low humidity, high temperatures, strong winds, and increased thunderstorms over much of southwestern Montana. The NWS also put out a fire weather watch, a less severe warning than a red flag, for the greater Billings area.
The vast majority of Montana can expect strong winds over the weekend without much rain. Earlier in the week, the National Weather Service office in Billings recorded wind speeds of up to 30 mph.
“This is a fairly windy period that we’re going into,” Chambers said, crediting the onset of autumn jet streams during October and early November. “As long as we continue to see that, we’re going to continue to have fire concerns.”
—Zeke Lloyd, Fire Reporting Intern
Verbatim 💬
“I’m really interested in introducing the art world to all the important aesthetic values of my community that are often ignored. So I spend a lot of time looking at different cultural items and make art based on those findings … One of the things I hope people get from my work is that it leaves an impression on them, so much so that it sparks their curiosity to continue learning.”
—Wendy Red Star, an Apsáalooke (Crow) artist who was born in Billings, speaking about her work in a recent video. Red Star was named a 2024 MacArthur “Genius” Fellow this week, described on her website as a “no strings attached” $800,000 award for “extraordinarily talented and creative individuals as an investment in their potential.”
Highlights ☀️
In other news this week —
U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, a Democrat seeking re-election this year in a race that could decide control of the U.S. Senate, faced off against Republican challenger Tim Sheehy in a televised Montana PBS debate Monday night. Tom Lutey reports that the candidates sparred over, among other issues, abortion, health care and border security.
Montana’s judicial races are technically nonpartisan. But, as Mara Silvers reports this week, that hasn’t stopped heavy-duty politics and partisan political dollars from saturating this year’s races for two open seats on the Montana Supreme Court.
A political newcomer campaigning as an independent, Elena Evans, is challenging incumbent Public Service Commissioner Jennifer Fielder for a northwest Montana seat on the state’s utility regulation board. Amanda Eggert reports that one of the race’s key issues is the sizable NorthWestern Energy rate increase the commission unanimously authorized last year.
On Our Radar 
Alex — During Tuesday’s vice presidential debate, a friend and I got to talking about Hurricane Helene. The devastation in the southeast is heart wrenching even with the final death toll still unknown. As both my friend and the Guardian pointed out, the aftermath could have electoral implications in a key swing state next month, with the storm’s survivors facing major questions about how and where to vote.
Katie — While my tomato plants are somehow still clinging to life, cold fall mornings are a reminder that their days are numbered. But as the Missoulian reported this week, at least one Montana farm grows produce year-round. Winter Kissed Farm in Stevensville recently won a federal grant to help expand operations, which will hopefully mean more locally grown vegetables available during the coldest months of the year.
Jacob — Voyager 2 left Earth 47 years ago but is still sending back useful data across 12.8 billion miles of space. However, as the output from its nuclear power source has dropped, NASA has made tough decisions about what systems to shut down to conserve power (a recent casualty: the plasma science instrument that collected data about how charged particles flow through interstellar space). Voyager should have power to operate in some capacity into the 2030s. After that it will fulfill its mission by carrying the famous Golden Record farther from home.
Tom — Blue jays are out in force. I seem to see as many as five at a time dining out on my oak tree. Montana Audubon has a nice article on jays. The birds are found all over the state according to mapping by Fish, Wildlife and Parks.
Zeke — At a time when everyone is buzzing with excitement about Sally Rooney’s new book, “Intermezzo,” I find myself turning to her early works. “Normal People,” a coming-of-age story about falling in love written in a blunt tone that hardly feels like fiction, holds up.
Eric — The heavily moderated AskHistorians subreddit continues to be my single favorite place on the internet. One gem from this week: a lengthy explanation about why coca leaves (and, by extension, cocaine) didn’t end up occupying the same cultural niche in western society as coffee and tea.
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