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If you know me professionally, you’re probably aware I enjoy any opportunity to rib the national media for getting the details wrong when reporting about Montana.
The seed for that germinated after I started covering politics and state government. Back in 2017, one of the country’s largest journalism outlets reported that two years after the newspapers I worked for at the time had closed their Capitol bureau with the promise of something new, “since then, nothing has materialized.”
The only problem with that statement is that another woman and I had been on the job since 2015, having already covered the 2016 election and the following year’s budget-crunching legislative session.
The article was corrected, and I went on to cover four more regular legislative sessions, one special session and almost 10 years’ worth of elections, including the most expensive U.S. Senate race in Montana history (three times over).
This year, when the primary election night comes, for the first time in a decade you won’t find me shoveling down cold pizza and lukewarm coffee at 10 p.m. in a hotel a couple of hours from home, writing and editing stories and looking for another batch of returns from dawdling counties. Odds are I’ll be asleep, or perhaps trying to coax a 2-½ year old back to dreamland.
Today marks my last day at Montana Free Press. I’m departing journalism to work at a Montana nonprofit with a strong commitment to helping the state thrive. While it marks a major change for my career, I’m leaving the Capitol press corps knowing that the national headlines about the dwindling media aren’t true for the robust statehouse ecosystem we have here in the Big Sky state.
A few nights ago, I took a trip down memory lane (scrolling through old photos on my phone) and found an image of the Capitol basement bullpen that’s the home base for journalists covering the Legislature. Back in 2019, there were about half as many chairs in that room, and most were rarely occupied. Last year, the space was always packed. Reporters often overflowed into the hallway.
MTFP had more staffers working in the building than could fit in our office space — eight reporters plus an intern regularly covering the session, in addition to a team of local reporters across the state covering lawmakers’ impacts in their own communities. That’s up from a single reporter just a few years earlier, and comes as other outlets in the state have increased their statehouse staffing and new operations have opened.
I’ll always argue that you can never have too many eyes watching the actions of elected and appointed officials, especially when they think no one is looking. I leave that group of watchers lucky to have worked alongside them and knowing that their ranks are strong. I’m looking forward to continuing to read the bylines of those talented, tireless and conscientious journalists — just now at a much more reasonable hour than late into election night.
— Holly Michels
By the Numbers 🔢
The estimated percentage-point drop in Montanans who selected Affordable Care Act Marketplace health plans for 2026 compared to 2025, according to preliminary figures from the Office of the Montana State Auditor.
Commissioner of Securities and Insurance James Brown on Monday said the early federal data on ACA enrollment shows Montana’s reduction is roughly in line with national averages.
In a press release, Brown said that the first round of federal data indicating that 72,402 Montanans selected Marketplace plans for 2026, down from 77,221 in 2025, “may not reflect final effectuated enrollment, which depends on consumers paying their first month’s premium.” Brown said that anyone with questions about ACA plans, enrollment and insurance company issues can contact his office at 406-444-2040.
— Mara Silvers
Following the Law ⚖️
Bozeman hikers and bikers can continue to use an easement to access the Stone Creek Trailhead northeast of town, but they’ll no longer be able to park along a mile-long section of the road that connects the trailhead to Bridger Canyon Road.
Dana Christensen, a federal district court judge based in Missoula, ruled on Jan. 22 that Lazy J Ranch can’t put a gate across Stone Creek Road to prevent the recreating public from using a road that cuts across 1.2 miles of its land. Christensen also ruled that the Forest Service must post and maintain signs specifying that driving, parking, camping and walking dogs off-leash off the road are prohibited.
The ruling stems from a 2023 lawsuit in which Lazy J asked the Forest Service to install a gate across Stone Creek Road to prevent damage to fencing and signs, off-leash dogs from disturbing livestock and vehicles parked on the side of the road from restricting the ranch’s ability to move cattle.
Alex Leone, executive director for the Public Land Water Access Association, called the ruling a “mixed bag” in a conversation with Montana Free Press. Leone said he’s glad the public can continue to travel Stone Creek Road to access the Bangtail Mountains, but he said he’s frustrated that the court has limited their use of the road to the width of the roadway (plus three turnouts), not the full 60-foot width outlined in the easement.
The definition of “highway,” “road” and “roadway” played starring roles in Christensen’s ruling. The Forest Service pointed to a section of Montana law that defines “highway” to include “rights-of-way or other interests” ranging from embankments and retaining walls to culverts, bridges and guardrails while Lazy J highlighted a different section of Montana law, where “roadway” is defined to mean “the portion of a highway that is improved, designed, or ordinarily used for vehicular travel.”
Christensen concluded that the easement itself doesn’t include the word “road” and that the most appropriate definition is the “plain, ordinary meaning of the word ‘road.’” That definition, he wrote, doesn’t support “activities that extend the scope of the easement” such as camping and recreating with dogs off the road.
Bozeman resident Katy Ross said the impact on trail users like herself will depend on how the Forest Service marks the three turnouts Christensen referenced in his ruling.
“Hopefully, they mark those areas generously,” she said.
The Forest Service has until late March to decide whether to appeal the ruling. Neither the agency nor the Lazy J Ranch responded to MTFP’s request for comment.
—Amanda Eggert
Montanans in Milan 🥇
Four Montanans will participate in the 2026 Winter Olympics in Cortina and Milan: ice hockey defenseman Jake Sanderson of Whitefish, freestyle skier Konnor Ralph of Helena, para Nordic skier Jack Berry of Missoula and wheelchair curler Katie Verderber of Valier. Though the number pales in comparison to winter sport powerhouses — Coloradans, Minnesotans and Californians account for about a third of the U.S. team’s 232 athletes — Montana maintains one of the highest ratios of athletes per capita.
Sanderson, the son of Canadian hockey player Geoff Sanderson, is a dual citizen of both the U.S. and Canada. He moved around while growing up, but considers Whitefish his home. He is the first Montanan to skate in the National Hockey League and currently plays for the Ottawa Senators.
Ralph began skiing at age 2, according to reporting from KTVH. When his family moved to Helena a year later, he started going to Great Divide, where he skis frequently. He will be the first Helenan to compete at the Winter Olympics since Roger Little skied at the 1972 Olympics in Sapporo, Japan.
Berry grew up in Missoula with an affinity for biking and skiing, according to reporting from 406 MT Sports. He survived bone cancer in his early teens with the support of his friends, family and a strong local network, together dubbed “Jack’s Army.” In 2024, Missoula Firefighters Local 271 helped construct a pedestrian bridge over Pattee Creek to commemorate Berry’s recovery and his community’s assistance.
Verderber hails from Valier and earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Montana Western, according to the Associated Press. After graduating from Syracuse University College of Law in 2016, she served as a judge advocate general in the U.S. Army and deployed to Afghanistan in 2019. She now works as an attorney at Silverman Law Office in Helena.
The Olympics begin Feb. 6. The U.S. hockey team plays Latvia Feb. 12 at 1:10 p.m., mountain time, the first of three games in a preliminary group stage. Ralph is scheduled to compete at 6 a.m., mountain time, on Feb. 7.
The Paralympics begin March 6. To find the specific times that Berry and Sanderson will compete, check the Paralympic schedule.
Snapshot 📸
SiDonia Montana and Clare José, residents of Golden Estates Mobile Home Park in Helena, saw their lot rent nearly double in the past year. This photo essay is Montana Free Press’ first monthly visual essay, this time accompanying an important story by Mara Silvers and JoVonne Wagner, which will allow us to delve more deeply and connect with those affected by events across Montana.
The Gist 📌
Two tribes belonging to the Blackfoot Confederacy — the Siksika and Piikani nations — have issued warnings, discouraging their Canadian members from traveling to the U.S. amid the Trump administration’s national immigration crackdown.
The Blackfoot Confederacy is a group of four Plains tribes, including three in Canada, and the Blackfeet Nation in northwest Montana. In a Jan. 29 announcement, the Piikani Nation, headquartered in Alberta, “strongly discouraged” travel to the U.S., saying shifting immigration policy “is challenging conventional proof of citizenship.” The Siksika Nation, based in southern Alberta, on Feb. 3 issued a similar caution, saying “recent U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) conduct creates risks” for citizens. The announcement also alluded to “reports that ICE has racially profiled Indigenous persons or failed to recognize tribal identification.”
Last fall, Indigenous actor Elaine Miles said she was detained in Seattle by ICE officers who said her tribal ID appeared fake. And tribes nationwide have said their members have been mistakenly detained by immigration officials. The Native American Rights Fund, a nonprofit law firm, recently issued guidance for tribal members approached by ICE.
“Not all ICE agents are aware that a Tribal ID is a legal form of identification in the United States,” it reads.
The Siksika Nation encouraged members to carry a passport, birth certificate, blood quantum letter and photo ID card when traveling.
— Nora Mabie
Highlights ☀️
In other news this week —
• A bipartisan group wants to block dark money from Montana politics.
• Republican U.S. Sen. Tim Sheehy calls for an end to birthright citizenship.
• Great Falls citizens want their city to follow Helena’s lead regarding immigration enforcement.
• An iconic Montana supper club plans to rebuild after a devastating fire.
On Our Radar
Amanda — Colum McCann, an Irish writer I’ve long admired, was just as delightful to encounter in person at a recent Elk River Arts and Lectures event as he is to read. Livingston-based writer Elliott Woods conducted a Q-and-A with McCann as part of the event, offering some welcome insight into storytelling’s ability to bridge ideological divides, particularly when it’s done with curiosity and vulnerability. A recording of their talk is available here.
Nick — I was enthralled by the cheeky jewellery heist at the Louvre last fall. Turns out, the culprits dropped some of the loot. Also, they don’t make crowns like they used to.
Lauren — I’m not here to talk more about “Heated Rivalry,” a new hockey/love story taking America by storm. But if I WERE, I’d say I will be re-watching it AGAIN this weekend. But I’m talking about it, so.
Zeke — This year’s Olympic Games, which begin today, include eight new sports, including ski mountaineering, which entails trekking up a slope with skis on, doffing them to walk in ski boots, then putting them back on to climb some more before skiing downhill.
Mara — I’ve already bragged about this recent baking success to colleagues, but why not share my victory with our whole Lowdown readership? My weekend attempt at these breakfast buns turned out so well that I may or may not have briefly considered quitting my day job. Swap the lemon zest for orange zest, add chopped pistachios and be patient with the proofing. Good luck and enjoy every crumb!
Eric — Ever wanted to spend 45 minutes watching a mild-mannered Croatian wood turner replicate an old-school technique for mass-producing toy squirrels? This is your chance.
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This week’s edition of the Lowdown was edited by Nick Ehli, with additional copy-editing by Holly Michels.