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A while back, I got a tip. And it led to a story we published Tuesday at Mountain Journal and Montana Free Press in collaboration with High Country News — one I won’t soon forget.
Bears are raising trouble just about everywhere you look this fall. Our warm, dry winter and late spring frost left them with little natural food in the wild, so they’ve turned to cities and towns to find calories to gorge on as winter approaches. That means across the West they’re getting into more and more trouble — in many places, at record rates.
But this tipster told me that in Red Lodge, a city of about 2,500 near Yellowstone National Park, things were different. Wildlife managers were pulling their hair out over how to deal with all the problem bears.
I was intrigued, so I dug deeper. Red Lodge has always had bears in town, I learned. The city exists on Rock Creek, which is sort of an ursine funnel. Bears follow the creekside vegetation from the mountains into town in search of both shelter and food. But in recent years, bear managers told me, the animals have been changing their behavior: They’ve been out in broad daylight, following people, even occasionally chasing or attacking them.
Local biologists and game wardens think the change in behavior is due to some community members intentionally feeding bears, causing them to associate people with food. It also means that bear managers have had to kill lots of problem bears, sometimes in public view.
State bear specialists agreed to bring me along as they responded to conflicts. We tracked radio-collared grizzly bears that had been meandering around town, checked game cameras and investigated property that had been broken into as bears sought unsecured trash and bird food.
As we chatted with locals, differing views about wildlife emerged. Some folks loved their local bears and hated the idea of killing them when they started getting into too much trouble. Others were scrambling to get their neighbors to put away attractants. Everybody shared the same headache, though: How can we best share this space with these wild and hungry creatures?
Ultimately, I watched as biologists trapped a bear and made the difficult and intimate decision to put it down. It was, in fact, a repeat offender that had recently chased a woman walking in the heart of town.
What struck me is the care with which state biologists do their job. None of these guys signed up for the position to kill bears; yet in a year like this, it’s a major part of their job. And it clearly takes an emotional toll on them all.
Fundamentally, I left the reporting process reflecting on issues that reverberate across the West: Sometimes, we can’t agree with our neighbors on how much we should love and tolerate wildlife. In places defined by their wildness, how can we keep our communities both wild and safe?
— Nick Mott
This Just In 📨
What happens when a court orders election officials to stop excluding a proposed initiative from ballots, even after residents have already begun casting their votes?
For Butte-Silver Bow County, the question was short-lived. Less than 48 hours after the Montana Supreme Court temporarily barred officials from rejecting a proposed data center initiative over a missed signature-gathering deadline, the justices reversed course Thursday, saying they would not have issued the order had they known ballots had already been printed and mailed.
The initiative would require the approval of two-thirds of all registered voters before the county could authorize the construction or expansion of a data center. Organizers collected enough signatures to qualify for the ballot but were later told that a law passed by the 2025 Legislature had moved the submission deadline to July 13, a month earlier than the deadline county election officials had originally set.
The county notified the Supreme Court Wednesday that some general election ballots, without the initiative, have already been mailed and returned by voters. The county also presented potential solutions to the court and asked for guidance on how to comply with the ruling while adhering to state election law.
Initiative organizers replied to the filing Thursday and requested that the court direct the county to issue a supplemental ballot containing the initiative to every voter, including those who have already voted. The original ballots would still be counted as normal for every other race.
But the justices rejected that proposal, saying Montana election law does not provide a mechanism for issuing supplemental ballots under those circumstances.
“The situation the parties and this Court find themselves in was entirely avoidable,” the court wrote.
The justices said the initiative organizers’ court filings implied that ballots had not yet been printed and mailed. The court also noted that the county, despite not taking a position on the organizers’ request for an injunction, failed to inform the justices that ballots had already been distributed and, in some cases, had already been returned.
The court said it stood by its earlier reasoning that allowing voters to consider the initiative, even if the results were later invalidated, was preferable to denying them the opportunity to vote on a measure that might ultimately be found eligible for the ballot.
However, the justices said they would not have granted the injunction had they known the ballots had already been printed and mailed.
— Jacob Olness
Back and Forth 💬💬
There are enough superficial similarities between Montana Supreme Court candidates Amy Eddy and Dan Wilson to paper over their differences.
They’re both Kalispell District Court judges; they both wear a lot of black and have a penchant for lathed wooden hammers.
When speaking publicly, both stress that their personal opinions do not matter when deciding court cases. They insist that their adherence to the law matters, particularly the Montana and U.S. constitutions.
The two even mustered some collegiality over a microphone malfunction at their candidate forum Wednesday at Montana State University in Bozeman, sharing a single microphone with a 20-foot cord after one of their cordless microphones went kaput.
But Eddy’s and Wilson’s campaigns differ in their approach to political party involvement. Montana Supreme Court races are nonpartisan by law, meaning candidates cannot express affiliation with a political party.
That nonpartisan framework began to blur during the 2025 Legislature, when the Republican majority succeeded in allowing political parties to donate to judicial candidates, although attempts to make Montana Supreme Court races fully partisan failed.
In the months following the 2025 session, proponents of nonpartisan races gathered enough signatures to put the issue before voters. If approved, Constitutional Initiative 132 would enshrine nonpartisan judicial races in the Montana Constitution.
Wilson has embraced the new law allowing party contributions. He has received at least $21,310 from Republican committees. Eddy hasn’t accepted party contributions, explaining in Bozeman that donations from political parties draw the impartiality of the courts into question.
Wilson told the Bozeman audience that donations from attorneys are problematic for a judge, as they know who did and didn’t donate to their campaigns.
Both candidates have taken donations from lawyers: at least $23,379 for Wilson and $163,886 for Eddy. We say “at least” because reports to the commissioner of political practices can lag.
Overall, Eddy has raised nearly $80,000 more than Wilson, but Wilson has a slight edge in Montana contributions, $541,531 to Eddy’s $520,753.
— Tom Lutey
Following Up ↩️
The former Montana governor’s mansion in Helena will be demolished, despite the input of community members who wanted the building to be either remodeled or sold.
Last December, the Montana Department of Administration sent out a survey to gather the public’s opinion regarding the future of 2 Carson Street — the governor’s former executive residence.
The residence has sat vacant since 2021 when Gov. Greg Gianforte and his wife moved due to aging infrastructure and millions of dollars in maintenance needs, including plumbing issues, rotted ceilings and an aging electrical system.
In that survey, the state offered three options for what could be done with the property: demolish it and turn the lot into green space, invest in remodeling it and use it for something other than a home, or sell it.
On Tuesday, the Capitol Complex Advisory Committee reviewed the results, which showed that 147 of the 258 who responded favored remodeling the home, 56 wanted it torn down and 55 supported the building’s sale.
But the cost of renovating the mansion is estimated at about $4.67 million. Additionally, those costs assumed the property would remain a residence, DOA Architecture & Engineering Division Administrator Russ Katherman told the committee.
The survey, which was sent to residents living within a quarter-mile of 2 Carson Street, excluded the costs of demolishing or remodeling the home, Katherman said.
“What we’re saying about the survey is that it’s a little bit misinformed because the people who took the survey didn’t have the opportunity to sit here and ask these questions,” Katherman said.
The committee voted 8-1 to approve converting the property into green space, with an estimated cost of about $1.27 million.
The committee did not discuss a timeline for the demolition.
— JoVonne Wagner
Wildlife Watch 🐑
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks is asking the public to keep an eye out for an escaped bighorn sheep from a ranch in Vaughn that previously bred an illegally hybridized sheep species.
The state agency issued an advisory Sept. 18, saying the sheep escaped from a private “alternative livestock facility” near Vaughn, just outside of Great Falls. The agency said this was a “hybridized Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep,” but a spokesperson said it’s not publicly known if the sheep descended from an illegally bred species.
The biggest concern for FWP is that the sheep could spread disease to wild herds.
“It’s pneumonia that is a very serious and, unfortunately, an all-too-common occurrence in wild bighorn sheep,” David Hagengruber, spokesperson for FWP, told Montana Free Press earlier this week. “The sheep don’t always exhibit symptoms.”
The Vaughn ranch, Sun River Enterprises, is run by the Schubarth family. In 2024, patriarch Arthur “Jack” Schubarth was sentenced to six months in federal prison for a scheme to obtain cloned embryos from a large sheep species called Marco Polo argali, found in Kyrgyzstan. The embryos were implanted into a Montana ewe to create a hybrid species that was called “Montana Mountain King,” according to court records. The intent was to sell the animal’s offspring to private hunting ranches in other states, which the Vaughn ranch does with other animals.
Years before the hybridization scheme, Schubarth had petitioned state regulators to allow argali sheep into Montana but was denied due to the potential for disease transmission, court documents said.
“A single escaped specimen could completely transform the genetic makeup of the bighorn population of Montana,” federal prosecutors wrote in a 2024 sentencing memo for Schubarth. “A single interaction between animals could introduce diseases to which wild populations have no immunity.”
The agency now has a similar worry with the escaped animal. Hagengruber, the FWP spokesperson, said that disease transmission is the top concern. The ewe is about 120 pounds, is primarily white and can be identified by a red ear tag. FWP has asked anyone with information to call the agency’s regional office at 406-454-5840.
The Schubarth family didn’t return a call for comment.
— Matt Hudson
News of the News 📰
We don’t typically use this space to toot our own horn, but this one is kind of a big deal.
John Adams, founder and CEO of Montana Free Press, was recently selected as “community member of the year” by LION Publishers, a national organization of more than 450 newsrooms that aims to strengthen the local news industry by helping its members build sustainable businesses. The award, voted on by LION members, recognizes an individual who routinely goes above and beyond to support, acknowledge and celebrate their fellow news entrepreneurs.
John, who founded MTFP a decade ago, was specifically singled out for spearheading the inaugural Local News Day that earlier this year galvanized more than 1,200 newsrooms, nearly 200 partners, and 14 sponsors in a collective call to action in support of local news.
“Local News Day was a success because thousands of people across the country decided local news is worth showing up for,” John said. “I’m proud to accept this award on behalf of the Montana Free Press team that got the ball rolling on a nationwide movement that will continue to strengthen local news for years to come.”
— Nick Ehli
Highlights ☀️
In other news this week —
• Members of the Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes recently welcomed home the remains of three tribal members, just teenagers in 1890 when they were taken to a federal boarding school in Pennsylvania to be assimilated into white culture, where they later died from tuberculosis. It’s a moving read well-worth your time.
• An armed Billings man has resumed “patrolling” at an elementary school near his house. Parents of frightened students are urging school officials — and the state Legislature — to take action.
• Wrapping up coverage of our fall poll results, those surveyed are most concerned about the rising cost of living, and a majority said that Montana is on the wrong track.
On Our Radar
Nick E. — Our garden is exploding with cherry tomatoes this fall, so I’ve been making variations of this sauce probably more than I should. You can skip the heavy cream, but really, why would you want to? A little white wine won’t hurt either. (And, channeling W.C. Fields, sometimes I even add a little to the sauce.)
Stephanie — All week, The New York Times has been rolling out batches of the 100 best TV shows of the 21st century, and the full list is finally here! I have watched 21 of them, which feels both like a solid number and an excellent excuse to start finding my next show to binge. The list is a perfect excuse to visit an old favorite or finally start the show everyone keeps telling you to watch.
Phoebe — I watched some of the Montana Marathon in Billings last weekend, and the weather was cool and cloudy. But I wondered, as running continues its boom in popularity and as climate change keeps dishing up smoky skies for spring and fall marathons, whether we’re going to see some races moved into the winter. Or maybe I’m just being pessimistic.
JoVonne — You see the leaves changing color? The crispy, cool morning air? And the rise of Spirit Halloween stores popping up everywhere? Spooky season is upon us, and one of my favorite Netflix shows, “Haunted Hotel,” is kicking off its second season Oct. 9. I won’t share my Netflix login, but here’s the new season’s trailer to give you a little taste. Happy watching!
Mara — OK. I’ll confess I missed the internet’s Jimothy moment. But catching up on the bizarre fandom has been a joy.
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