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When searching for a missing person, carry bear spray. Wear sunscreen and dress for the weather conditions. Establish search leaders and a chain of command. Watch out for rattlesnakes, rodent holes, mountain lions and ticks.
If you see something that could be evidence, like clothing or footprints, don’t touch it. Put a flag in the ground to mark the location and alert law enforcement. Take photos to document your findings.
Bones can look like sticks or rocks or dirt. Human bones can look like animal bones. Child bones can be as small as matchsticks. If you find one, alert law enforcement.
This is some of the guidance that forensic experts and anthropologists imparted to about 20 people who attended a Search and Recovery Preparation Workshop in Missoula earlier this week.
Haley Omeasoo — founder and executive director of Ohkomi Forensics, an Indigenous-led forensics company — said she organized the workshop to bring greater awareness to the Missing and Murdered Indigenous People (MMIP) crisis and to better educate those who want to get involved.
Native Americans make up about 6.7% of Montana’s population, but as of Thursday, they accounted for about 25% of the state’s active missing persons reports.
While Native Americans experience disproportionately high rates of violence, they often must rely on overburdened, underfunded law enforcement systems to achieve justice. Federal laws — enacted over hundreds of years and in different political contexts — have created a complex patchwork of criminal jurisdiction on reservations, making it particularly difficult for families to navigate their loved one’s death or disappearance. Insufficient law enforcement funding, rurality and unequal media coverage, experts say, exacerbate the problem.
Tangled in the web of criminal jurisdiction and bureaucratic processes, Indigenous families often conduct and organize searches for their missing loved ones. But amateur searches can have devastating consequences. When community members looked for Hanna Harris, a 21-year-old woman who went missing and was later found dead on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation in 2013, Hanna’s mother Malinda Limberhand said volunteer searchers inadvertently contaminated forensic evidence with their fingerprints and footprints.
“We literally lost a lot of evidence because we weren’t professionals,” she told USA Today in 2022.
Diana Burd, who has participated in countless searches for a missing 3-year-old girl on the Blackfeet Reservation, relayed similar concerns to lawmakers in the 2023 legislative session. Initial searches, she said, were chaotic and lacked leadership.
“Because of the lack of collaboration … she was not found,” Burd told lawmakers at the time.
Omeasoo hosted the search-and-recovery workshop in part because she knows people want to get involved in searches but lack the skills and training to be an effective resource.
“There’s a lot of families that have to lead their own searches,” she told Montana Free Press. “And there’s a lot of community members who want to help. And we really see the importance in being trained.”
During the all-day event, presenters spoke about best practices when it comes to organizing a search. They talked about the benefits and limitations of cadaver dogs and drones, and they explained how to use math and probability to think through a missing person’s likely behavior. Several people spoke about bones — what they might look like in the field and what to do if you see one. Presenters also emphasized cultural awareness, encouraging people to learn about tribes and be thoughtful of cultural differences.
Nannette Goyer, who recently retired from a career in dentistry, traveled from Walla Walla, Washington, to attend the workshop.
“I have a lot more time on my hands, and I have a lot more bandwidth now,” she said. “Forensic dentistry can help identify folks, and I want to see how I can help.”
Isla Lamont from Lolo said she attended the workshop because “I always wanted to help [with a search] but didn’t know how.”
“This is a chance to do something actionable,” she explained.
The workshop came just days after Gov. Greg Gianforte signed into law several pieces of legislation aimed at combating the MMIP epidemic. While new state code calls on the federal government to adequately fund law enforcement in Indian Country and bolsters the state’s Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Advisory Council, advocates say more action is needed.
—Nora Mabie
Roll Call 🟢🔴
Early Thursday morning, U.S. Reps. Ryan Zinke and Troy Downing joined 213 of their Republican colleagues in the U.S. House in advancing the “One, Big, Beautiful Bill” to implement President Trump’s budget priorities.
The behemoth of a bill — it clocked in at over 1,000 pages — cleared the House by a razor-thin margin with 215 Republicans voting yes and 212 Democrats and two Republicans voting no. Two Republicans missed the vote, and the chair of the chamber’s Freedom Caucus, who has been critical of the measure’s projected increase to the federal deficit, voted “present,” according to POLITICO.
In a Wednesday evening press release, Zinke thanked House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, for “working with me” to strip the bill of an amendment directing the Interior Department to sell 550,000 acres of federal land in Nevada and Utah. Conservation and recreation organizations around the West vigorously opposed the land sale, and Zinke earlier this month described the issue as his “San Juan Hill.” The amendment repeal was part of a 42-page manager’s amendment that the House Rules Committee adopted after a marathon markup session that began at 1 a.m. Wednesday and continued for more than 21 hours. The amendment also tinkers with nuclear energy tax incentives, increases the federal deduction for state and local taxes, and restricts new federal funds for Affordable Care Act plans that cover abortion services, with some exceptions.
Both Zinke and Downing have supported provisions of the bill that extend tax cuts dating back to Trump’s first term and set to expire later this year. Zinke argued that Montana families earning the median income — $73,000 for a family of four — would see an approximately $1,500 income tax increase without the bill’s passage and would lament changes to the child tax credit. Zinke also noted that most ranching families would not welcome changes to the so-called “death tax” that would go into effect without the bill’s passage.
The tax cuts are being paid for, in part, by reductions to government programs, some of which are especially important to low-income Americans. Medicaid benefits will come with employment-related strings attached under the bill starting in late 2026, for example, and medical clinics that provide abortion services, such as Planned Parenthood, will be barred from receiving Medicaid payments. States would be required to cover more of the cost of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, benefits, which would also see revised work requirements under the bill.
Clean energy tax credits for utility-scale projects and residential rooftop solar installations, climate-related incentives incorporated in the Inflation Reduction Act, are also being clawed back in the bill, which favors fossil fuel companies by reducing royalty rates for oil, gas and coal and repealing former President Joe Biden’s moratorium on Power River Basin coal leasing. Mandatory oil and gas lease sales in many Western states, including Montana, are also part of the package, as is a provision opening the door to guaranteed approval of environmental impact statements.
H.R. 1, which is anticipated to add $3.8 trillion to the country’s debt over the next 10 years, now continues on to the Senate, where headwinds with fiscal conservatives are anticipated. Trump has pressed lawmakers to put the bill on his desk by July 4.
—Amanda Eggert
By The Numbers 🔢
How much the Montana Department of Revenue expects property tax bills to increase on average for second homes, Airbnb-style vacation rentals and other residential properties that don’t qualify for a new “homestead” exemption under the second-home tax passed by this year’s Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Greg Gianforte on May 13.
That second-home increase, which will take effect with 2026 tax bills, is intended to help offset the cost of tax relief for owner-occupied homes and long-term rental properties. The revenue department expects taxes on those types of property to decrease by roughly 20% over the next two years.
Exact tax shifts are likely to vary widely from property to property, depending on valuation changes, local government budgets and the composition of local tax bases.
READ MORE: How Montana’s new second-home tax could shift your property tax bill.
—Eric Dietrich
Musical Chairs 🪑
Starting June 1, the state’s Butte-based, STEM-centric campus Montana Tech will have a new leader: Johnny MacLean, current provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs at the University of Montana Western. The Montana Board of Regents made the news official May 21, voting unanimously to approve MacLean as Tech’s 13th chancellor.
The vote settled what turned out to be a somewhat bumpy hiring process this spring, as Montana’s university system had initially named Karen Marrongelle, chief science officer at the National Science Foundation, to the position. Days after the April announcement, Marrongelle withdrew from consideration, citing “circumstances beyond my control during these unprecedented times.”
In a recent emailed response to Montana Free Press, Montana’s Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education indicated Marrongelle had not elaborated further on her reasons for withdrawing. On May 12, the University of Colorado Denver announced she’d been hired as its new provost and executive vice chancellor for academic affairs, which, according to the job posting, came with a salary range between $550,000 and $700,000. The Montana Standard reported in April that Marrongelle’s base salary at Montana Tech was to be $290,000.
Despite the wrinkle, Montana Commissioner of Higher Education Clayton Christian hailed the university system’s hiring of MacLean, who’d been a finalist for the position alongside Marrongelle. MacLean holds a master’s degree in earth science from Syracuse and a doctorate in geosciences from the University of Montana, and worked in the oil and gas industry in Texas before teaching geology at Southern Utah University. Christian praised that depth of experience in subjects that are core to Montana Tech, noting MacLean will be of “immense value” to the campus as it continues to grow and expand. MacLean, too, said he was excited by the turn of events.
“Montana Tech’s unique purpose is clear,” he said in a statement announcing his hiring. “This institution serves students who want to change the world through STEM disciplines, and it is the honor of my career to support them in pursuing their goals. I am excited to be joining the vibrant city of Butte and look forward to building on Tech’s strong tradition of partnership with the community.”
—Alex Sakariassen
Taken to the woodshed 🪓
Gov. Greg Gianforte has been hacking and slashing with his veto pen in recent weeks, chopping down, as of press time, 30 bills so far this year. Here’s a rundown of some of the more notable ones. This list is current as of Friday at 1:45 p.m.:
💊Health — The governor has announced vetoes of bills that would have recouped unspent Medicaid funds, allowed families of disabled children to buy into the state Medicaid program, required state employee health plans to cover hearing aids, and prohibited the state health department from mandating advanced approval of Medicaid coverage for certain psychiatric medications.
🗄️Public Records — Gianforte nixed a proposal seeking to legislatively protect Montanans’ right to examine governmental proceedings and decision-making by limiting the scope of the “executive privilege” argument the governor used in a couple of prominent public record request fights. In a 4-3 ruling issued in January, the Montana Supreme Court recognized Gianforte’s “executive privilege” argument in defense of his refusal to turn over material state agencies produced to track and discuss bills before the 2021 Legislature.
🏫Education — Gianforte vetoed a Republican measure to improve public schools’ access to high-quality instructional materials. The bill would have given Montana’s education agency $5 million to purchase materials that better align with the state’s recently revised math standards and make them available to local districts at a reduced cost. State Superintendent Susie Hedalen, who supported the measure during the session, told Gianforte’s office via letter that her agency wanted to be a “pragmatic partner” in balancing the state budget and could still work toward the same goals even if the bill was vetoed. Gianforte also vetoed a bill that would have created a loan repayment program for veterinary students who commit to practicing in underserved areas, citing the cost.
🚒Firefighting – Gianforte vetoed a bill that would have allocated $5 million in grants for the construction and maintenance of firefighting training facilities. The governor praised the bill’s intent in his veto letter, but took issue with state-level subsidization of “an infrastructure project that is primarily, if not wholly, a function of local government.” Gianforte also vetoed a bill that would have altered the relationship between paid and volunteer firefighters operating inside consolidated governments. The bill was aimed at addressing an issue in the consolidated Butte-Silver Bow County, and Gianforte compared it to having the “state of Montana take a meat cleaver to rural fire protection” and instead recommended “all impacted parties should sit down and work together to resolve their issues.”
💸 Spending – Gianforte has also cited his desire to limit new spending in several other vetoes. They included a bill that would have put $5 million toward grants for senior centers, one that would have used $10 million to establish a trust for managing noxious weeds and one that would have provided $2 million a year to help the city of Colstrip maintain its water supply in the event the coal power plant that currently covers much of that cost shuts down.
Highlights ☀️
In other news this week —
- A film company is taking over an old wood products facility in Missoula.
- The governor vetoed a bill seeking to add transparency to his decision-making.
- Is an appeal looming in a landmark corner-crossing case?
On Our Radar 
Alex — With my eyes no longer fixed on the Legislature’s MPAN feed every day, I’ve gotten absolutely hooked on Seth Rogen’s new Hollywood satire “The Studio.” An old-fashioned sitcom at heart, the AppleTV show throws slapstick humor and a barrage of cameos in a blender in its relentless quest to poke fun at the franchise-obsessed nature of modern filmmaking.
Brad — It was a happenstance of a recent room rearrangement that led me to read a Kurt Vonnegut novel for the first time in 20 years, an unread copy of “Mother Night” that’s been following me around in cardboard moving boxes for ages. So I finally read it, and whadddya know, its deceptively offhand and easy-reading moralism feels as contemporary as anything on the New Releases shelf — or in the national news, for that matter. I don’t have the same hope for the 1996 film based on the book, but now I feel duty-bound to find out.
Jacob — I’ve been on quite a journey with my great-grandmother’s century-old cast-iron pans. After inheriting these family heirlooms recently — the same ones that cooked every meal for my grandfather as a kid — I decided they needed a full restoration. This guide convinced me that soaking them in oven cleaner inside garbage bags was the way to go, but I wildly underestimated the timeline. After nearly a month of countless disappointing checks and scrubbing sessions, the faint factory polishing marks absent from today’s mass-produced cast iron are finally emerging, leaving these treasures ready for their next century of service just in time for Mother’s Day.
Holly — My mom told me to read this book years ago. I should have listened (and read) sooner.
Zeke — Alongside beer-drinkers across the country, I’ve been saving my last can of Busch Light Apple, also known as Bapple, since the promotional product was discontinued after the summer of 2022. (Busch Peach, introduced in the interim, served as a delicious reminder of what we were missing.) But the wait for a resupply is over. Bapple is back.
Mara — I’ve been celebrating the end of the Legislature by listening to Jonathan Haidt’s book, “The Anxious Generation,” on Audible (shamelessly acquired with a family member’s book credit, which I’m sure they had other plans for). It’s been revelatory for me — and now I can’t stop telling anyone and everyone about the power of “discover mode” and unstructured play for children.
Eric — Spring is in the air. Here’s a cat romping through a field of flowers.
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