WASHINGTON, D.C. (September 13, 2024)—The national average for a gallon of gas kept up its torrid pace of decline, sinking six cents since last week to $3.23. The primary culprits behind the dip are low demand and falling oil costs. Meanwhile, the national average cost for public EV charging finally moved after a static few months, ticking a penny higher.

“There are an ever-increasing number of states east of the Rockies that have some retail gas locations selling regular for under $3 a gallon, so drivers will have more in their wallets with autumn approaching,” said Andrew Gross, AAA spokesperson. “Should the national average fall below $3, it will be the first time since May 2021.”

With an estimated 1.2 million AAA members living in households with one or more electric vehicles, AAA tracks the average kilowatt-per-hour cost for all levels of public charging by state. Today’s national average for a kilowatt of electricity at a public charging station is 35 cents.

According to new data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), gas demand fell last week from 8.93 million b/d to 8.47. Meanwhile, total domestic gasoline stocks rose 219.2 to 221.6 million barrels, and gasoline production decreased last week, averaging 9.4 million barrels per day. Tumbling gasoline demand and oil costs will likely keep pump prices sliding.

Today’s national average for a gallon of gas is $3.23, 21 cents less than a month ago and 59 cents less than a year ago.

The average price for gasoline in Montana is $3.37 per gallon.

Oil Market Dynamics

At the close of Wednesday’s formal trading session, WTI rose by $1.56 to settle at $67.31 a barrel. The EIA reports that crude oil inventories increased by 0.8 million barrels from the previous week. At 419.1 million barrels, U.S. crude oil inventories are about 4% below the five-year average for this time of year.

Glasgow Mosquito District has results back from their first batch of testing for West Nile Virus. No cases were found in the test, which was done within two miles east and west of Glasgow, including Sullivan Park.

The district runs each test for a week; the second test results have been sent to Helena and the Glasgow Mosquito District will pass along the results as soon as they receive the information.

State auditors told Montana lawmakers that they’ve uncovered more than $67 million in questionable spending of federal pass-through money in the state’s education department, including one district that bought massage chairs for the teachers lounge.

And as auditors reviewed the findings which, in some cases, were so incomplete that they couldn’t determine if federal law was even being followed, Montana Superintendent of Public Instruction Elsie Arntzen was traveling on an airplane and couldn’t answer some of the questions, to the irritation of lawmakers who said that relatively recently hired staff should not have to answer for Arntzen’s leadership or legacy.

“These are significant findings and as elected officials in charge of this, we require them to be here,” said Sen. Jason Ellsworth, who serves as both the Senate president and the chairman of the Legislative Audit Committee. “We are going to reserve this opportunity for her to come here and answer these questions.”

Arntzen later appeared via video, apologized for being delayed, and ultimately spent around 20 minutes speaking with lawmakers, assuring them that newly minted positions were created in part because of the negative audit findings. Arntzen is termed out of the elected position and departs at the end of the year.

The Montana Office of Public Instruction audit was just one of a stack the Legislative Audit Committee will examine on Wednesday and Thursday in marathon sessions, which included lawmakers working through lunch. Much of the committee work has been focused on ways that state agencies spend money given by the federal government. But that money comes with strings attached, usually in the form of auditing requirements that ensure the way the state allocates money matches how Congress mandates it.

However, the audit for the state’s Office of Public Instruction found $67.5 million in “known questioned costs,” which was money that didn’t have documentation for how it was spent, or money that was spent, but didn’t seem to match the purpose of the federal programming.

Lawmakers appeared irritated and frustrated at points because they noted that many of the problems identified in the audit had been previously flagged two years ago, but remained largely unresolved. Out of the five adverse opinions issued by legislative auditors for the entire state audit, three were in the OPI.

“That’s an enormous amount of money,” said Sen. Kathy Kelker, D-Billings.

April Grady, the recently hired chief financial officer for OPI, said that several positive steps had already occurred within the agency, including hiring an internal control auditor as well as making progress on 13 open positions at the agency.

“We were an aging agency with high turnover,” Grady said.

When the new internal control auditor at OPI introduced herself, Ellsworth, R-Hamilton, asked about the reporting structure. The new auditor said she reports to John McCormick, the chief accountability officer.

Ellsworth questioned why the chief accountability officer had not taken responsibility for making changes, and wondered if there was a redundancy.

“Then what’s the role of the accountability officer,” Ellsworth asked.

McCormick was also not in attendance at the meeting.

Jessie Curtis, a certified public accountant and the compliance audit supervisor for the Legislative Audit Division, addressed some of the problems, saying that a lot of money came to the state as a result of the federal government’s response to COVID, creating either new or one-time programs that needed auditing. However, she told the committee of lawmakers that many of the problems were endemic to OPI, and not just the result of new or one-time programs.

“The OPI staff have responded that many of these issues were caused by the federal government,” Curtis said. “However, we found that often incorrect information was submitted or that the office didn’t track required expenditures.”

Much of the information auditors had to report required multiple inquiries, and the auditing staff said that high staff turnover led to an exceptionally long process through OPI.

Auditors faulted the state’s education department for failing to properly ensure that it served the intended purpose, often doling out money, then not following up with documentation. That means as much as $52 million went untracked without receipts, documentation, or site visits. Those problems had been flagged during the 2021-2022 audit cycle, but Curtis told legislators many of the recommendations were not implemented by Arntzen.

For example, Curtis said a lot of the funding tied to federal dollars came in the form of construction. But, federal funding requires contractor wage certification, ensuring that construction contractors are paying required living wages of the workers and contractors on site. That was not tracked, Curtis said.

Curtis said that of $52 million questioned through the Education Stabilization Fund and part of the coronavirus relief, OPI could only provide documentation for around $200,000 when auditors asked.

Among those costs was a grant to a Montana school district for massage chairs. The explanation was that the school district would put them in the teachers’ lounge as a way to help retain staff during the pandemic. Other expenditures included approval for pizza with no accompanying documentation.

Many of those expenses audit staff review were requests for cash from programs and districts that were aimed at supporting literacy. Auditors said there was so little documentation for some of the cash requests that they stopped asking for more information because the system simply failed the audit.

In that case, auditors questioned $5.9 million in costs, but they said that is just an estimate.

“It could be as much as $25 million,” Curtis said.

Two larger school districts were also cut out of hundreds of thousands of dollars for special education programs. Both Great Falls and Billings Public Schools later received full funding, but auditors caught a discrepancy that showed other districts around the state may have been overpaid, while Great Falls was out $290,000 and Billings was short-changed $470,000.

Thousands of Montana taxpayers have already successfully claimed and received property tax relief. The Montana Department of Revenue has approved over 176,000 claims.

The Montana Property Tax Rebate provides qualifying Montanans up to $675 of property tax relief on a primary residence in 2024. The qualifications to claim the rebate are available at getmyrebate.mt.gov.

Qualified Montana taxpayers have until October 1 to claim their rebate.

The fastest way for taxpayers to claim the rebate is online at getmyrebate.mt.gov. Mailing a paper application form will add processing time.

This year’s rebate claim application process has been streamlined, making it easier and faster for Montanans to apply for and receive the 2023 property tax rebate. Rebates are being issued via paper check. Most electronically filed rebates are issued within 30 days of filing, while paper-filed rebates may take up to 60 days to process.

“I was proud to sign into law the largest property tax rebate in Montana’s history,” said Governor Greg Gianforte. “It’s important that eligible Montana taxpayers go to getmyrebate.mt.gov in order to claim their rebate before the October 1 deadline. While these rebates help offset the property tax increase of the average Montana homeowner, I’m committed to delivering long term relief in the next legislative session. Working with the legislature, we’ll get it done.”

“Getting the rebates to Montana taxpayers has been our number one priority, so we’re grateful a majority of taxpayers have already claimed their rebates,” said Montana Department of Revenue Director Brendan Beatty. “However, the October 1 deadline is fast approaching, and we don’t want taxpayers to miss this opportunity.”

Last year, Governor Gianforte delivered Montana homeowners the largest property tax rebate in state history as well as permanent reforms, saving property taxpayers more than $120 million. Taken together, these immediate measures delivered this year and last more than offset the property tax increase of the average Montana homeowner.

NEXT Friday's Homecoming Parade Route in Downtown Glasgow! Line-up at 2:00 PM starting in the front of the Civic Center. Homecoming Parade begins at 2:30 PM on September 20th.

2024 Scottie Homecoming Candidates have been announced!

King— Connor Hudyma, Jose Lopez, Nicolas Solorzano

Queen— Macy Martin, Jorden Mix, Summer Strommen

Two cases of West Nile Virus have been reported in Valley County.

West Nile virus is spread to people through the bite of an infected mosquito. Mosquitoes bite during the day and night.

There are no vaccines or medicines to prevent West Nile.

The best way to prevent WNV infection is to prevent getting bitten by mosquitoes. You can take steps to minimize your possibility of encountering WNV (and sometimes mosquitoes!) by remembering the 4Ds of WNV Prevention:

DRESS: Wear shoes, socks, long pants, and a long-sleeved shirt when outdoors for long periods of time or when mosquitoes are most active. Clothing should be light colored and made of tightly woven materials to keep mosquitoes away from the skin.

DRAIN: Reduce the amount of standing water in or near your property by draining and/or removing it. Mosquitoes may lay eggs in areas with standing water. Necessary standing water should be changed (e.g. birdbath), moved (e.g. adding a fountain to a pond), or covered (e.g. putting a mesh screen over a water barrel).

DEET: For additional protection from mosquitoes, use an insect repellent containing DEET (N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide) or picaridin (KBR 3023). Other insect repellents such as oil of lemon eucalyptus and IR3535 are also registered by the EPA but may be less effective than products containing DEET. It is important to follow the product guidelines when using insect repellent.

DAWN/DUSK: Whenever possible, avoid spending time outside at dawn and dusk. This is when the mosquitoes that spread WNV are most likely to bite. If you keep windows open in your home, make sure that you are using well-fitting screens without holes or tears, to prevent mosquitoes from coming inside.

The Glasgow School Board will meet on Wednesday at 6pm in the Gary F. Martin Board Room in the Central Office of the Glasgow School District.

National Weather Service:

A weather system will move through the region bringing cooler temps and beneficial rainfall by Saturday morning. The lowest confidence for accumulations exists from Glasgow eastward toward the MT/ND border.

The Valley County Commissioners will have their regular meeting on Wednesday.

The Montana Department of Revenue is reporting that marijuana sales in Valley County totaled $159,630 in the month of August. This is the largest number of sales in Valley County for 2024.

The sales amount compares to $154,331 in July, $144,103 in June and $141,105 in May.

Roosevelt County had sales of $530,040, Sheridan County had sales of $109,865 and Richland County had sales of $1,015,490. Marijuana sales aren't allowed in Phillips, Daniels, Garfield or McCone County.

The county with the largest amount of sales was Yellowstone County with $4,817,765 followed by Gallatin County with over $4.6 million.

Montana had sales of $29.7 million in August and since sales began in January of 2022, sales have totaled over $838 million.

In a move that reflects its commitment to excellence, Prairie Ridge Village has unveiled a beautiful new sign, funded by the Valley County Storefront Beautification and Glasgow Downtown Signage grants. This upgrade is more than just a fresh look; it represents the facility's dedication to enhancing the overall aesthetic of their campus and continuing to serve as a valuable asset to Glasgow and the surrounding communities.

Amber Swindler, the Director of Prairie Ridge Village, expressed her enthusiasm about the new addition. "We strive to be the best assisted living facility; from not only the care we provide but to the overall aesthetic as well. We do not set the bar for average, but for excellence in all areas. We have worked very hard to be an asset to the people of Glasgow and the surrounding communities. This sign needs to be replaced, and in doing so, it will complement the new patio areas and flower garden of our campus nicely."

Two Rivers Economic Growth's Executive Director, Shyanne Wallace, also shared her excitement about the project. "Two Rivers is so pleased to be able to provide these grants to Valley County. The new sign at Prairie Ridge Village is simply stunning."

The new sign is not only a functional update but also a significant part of Prairie Ridge Village's broader efforts to enhance its environment. The facility has recently invested in revitalizing its outdoor spaces, including the addition of a new patio and a beautiful flower garden. This comprehensive approach to improvement underscores Prairie Ridge Village's ongoing mission to provide not just superior care but also a welcoming and aesthetically pleasing environment for its residents.

The grants from the Valley County Storefront Beautification and Glasgow Downtown Signage programs were instrumental in making this enhancement possible. By supporting projects like this, these programs contribute to the overall vibrancy and attractiveness of our community, ensuring that local businesses and facilities can continue to thrive and serve their neighbors effectively.

With the new sign now in place, Prairie Ridge Village stands as a testament to the positive impact of community support and thoughtful investment in local infrastructure. The facility's dedication to excellence in all areas—care, environment, and appearance—continues to set a high standard and inspire those around it.

Upper ridge will bring dry and hot weather to northeast Montana today.

Highs will be in the 90s for most locations today and Monday.

A cold front on Tuesday will bring cooler temperatures. An upper trough will bring frequent chances for showers starting Tuesday night and continuing Wednesday and Thursday.

From Glasgow School District:

The Montana Office of Public instruction recently allocated $1.5 Million in federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds to Montana teachers.

Through a partnership with DonorsChoose, a 501(c)(3) charitable non-profit, they offered $500 direct grants to all K-12 public school teachers in Montana.

We are happy to announce that our teachers were very successful in chasing these grant funds through the required application process!! The following NINE Glasgow Public School teachers have been notified that they will be receiving a $500 grant for their classroom this school year:

Mrs. Legare GMS -- "Manipulating Our Way Through Math!"
Mrs. Peters GMS -- "Theatre Math Behind the Scenes"
Mrs. Rasmusan GMS -- "Stay Gold: Captivate Readers Through a Mock Trial!"
Mrs. Swenson Irle -- "4th Grade Novels!"
Ms Winchester Irle -- "HHelping Students Achieve Success!"
Mrs. Hlad Irle -- "Getting Our Hands on Math and Reading"
Mrs. Wilson Irle -- "First Year Kindergarten Classroom"
Mrs. Stutheit Irle -- "Magnetic Phonics Practice Will Stick With Them"
Mrs. Shipp Irle -- "Ready....Set....Focus....Learn!"

The Glasgow High School Educational Trust recently awarded financial aid to 21 GHS graduates who are returning to trade schools or colleges this fall. They attend 12 different schools in five different states and are pursuing very diverse fields of study. They join over 800 other GHS alumni who have benefitted from the Glasgow High School Educational Trust’s financial aid since it was established in 1964. To date, the total dollar value of the trust’s financial aid to students exceeds $3 million dollars.

Financial awards from the GHS Educational Trust are not traditional scholarships only for those with very high grade-point averages. All GHS graduates who are attending an accredited trade school or college full-time within the United States, either online or on campus, and are in good academic standing are given equal consideration if they meet the eligibility requirements. Those requirements are listed on the trust’s webpage, along with the application, at www.ghsedutrust.org.

The next deadline for applications to the trust is October 15, 2024. This aid would be awarded for the Spring 2025 semester only. However, students who received aid now, or who have in the past, may reapply to the trust for the 2025-2026 academic year by July 1, 2025, and in subsequent years, if they continue to meet the requirements. Applications will not be considered if they are late or if the directions have not been followed.

Awards are based primarily on financial need; therefore, the trust has established levels of aid to meet the diverse needs of the applicants.

Over the years, the trust has received donations of all sizes from people across the country and from all walks of life. What they all have in common is an appreciation of higher education and a love for the Glasgow community. As a result of their generosity, the trust now holds assets valued over $11 million dollars. Donations may be made in honor, recognition, or memory of a specific individual, organization, or event. Contributions that total $500 or more in the name of a specific individual or organization allow for a one-time gift to be awarded in that name. Donations of $10,000 or more allow for an ongoing naming opportunity on a regular basis. Information about how to give is also available on the trust’s webpage.

In addition to the financial aid given to students, the Glasgow High School
Educational Trust also purchases equipment and other needed materials or supplies for GHS that cannot be financed through traditional taxpayer funding. Every department of the school has benefitted from these purchases, as does the public at large when it uses the school’s property or attends events held at the school. The total dollar value of the trust’s gifts to the school is $329,953.23.

At its recent regular semi-annual meeting, the trust awarded financial aid to the following students for the 2024-2025 academic year in memory (IMO), in honor (IHO) or in recognition (IRO) of the individual(s) whose name(s) follow theirs.

First-time recipients: Mason Donaldson, U. of Montana, IMO Aaron “Chappy” Chatten, fall semester, IHO Bill and Peggy Pattison Endowment, spring semester; Morgan Fast, MSU, IMO O. E. & Lois Wilson Markle, fall semester, IMO Karen D. Newton, spring semester; Reed Larsen, MSU, IHO Everett and Elizabeth Breigenzer, fall semester, IMO Donald “Don” J. Baker, spring semester; Ava Lloyd, MSU, IRO 1966 Scholarship Gift to Karen A. Swenson, fall semester, IRO Willard and Charlotte Bruce Family, spring semester; Allie Palm, Montana Technological University, IHO Dorothy Kolstad, fall semester, IMO Ardis Parke Fuhrman, spring semester; Mason Swenson, U. of Montana, IMO John and Dolores Wesen, fall semester, IMO F. M. and Bernice Knierim, spring semester; Emma Whitmer, U. of Montana, IMO James “Jamie” K. Fewer, fall semester, IHO James and Ailene Dokken Olk Family, spring semester.

Second-time recipients: Abigail Engstrom, U. of Montana, IRO Tom and Flora Coghlan Family, fall semester, IMO Ivy and Millie Knight, spring semester; Tyann Graham, Montanan Academy of Salons, IMO of Dillon Cassel; Michael Hoyer, Montana Technological U., IMO Ronald A. Combs, fall semester, IMO Wallace L. Johnson, spring semester; Kate Parks Knight, Utah State University, IMO James “Jim” A. Parke, fall semester, IRO Herb & Lucille Freidl Family, spring semester;
Klaire Krumwiede, U. of North Dakota, IHO Beryl Pehlke, fall semester, IMO Lila Moen Sanders and IRO of Phyllis E. Moen Sanguine, spring semester; Kylie Lagerquist, U. of Utah, IMO Phyllis E. Moen Sanguine, fall semester, IMO Dick and Mary Lou Alley Wagenhals, spring semester; Iris McKean U. of Montana, IHO Gayle Wagenhals Sage, fall semester, IHO Sever and Esther Enkerud, spring semester; Bergen Miller, MSU, IMO Leslie L., Lillian, and Mary Margarette Hanson, fall semester, IMO Lois Wilson Markle, spring semester; Abrianna Nielsen, Dickinson State U., IMO Donna Lee Squires Etchart, fall semester, IHO Albertsons Companies, spring semester; Tarin Vandall, U. of Idaho, IMO Verda Hoffarth Stewart, fall semester, IMO L. J. and Jean Baker, spring semester; Mitchel Winchester, MSU, IMO Mitchel Etchart, fall semester, IMO Michael “Mike” C. Kaiser, spring semester;

Third-time recipients: Rachelle Glaser, MSU-Billings, IMO Gary F. Martin, fall semester, IRO Don and Beryl Pehlke, spring semester; Victoria Pehlke, U. of MT-Western, IMO Dr. Nancy Lee Etchart, fall semester, IHO Doug Allie, spring semester.

Fourth-time recipient: Isaac Braaten, S. D. School of Mines, IMO Stan Andersen Family, fall semester, IMO Audrey and Arthur Parke, spring semester.

The trust also purchased the following equipment and uniforms for Glasgow High School: two treadmills for the Physical Education Department, IHO Knierim Law Office, P.C.; 20 uniforms for the Swing Choir, IHO Carl L. Dix.

Update on Downtown Parking Project:

Downtown Parking Project Construction work will start Mon. Sept. 9th between The Loaded Toad & Wheatgrass Art Gallery for the handicap access ramp. On Sun. Sept. 15th part of 2nd Ave. South will be closed to do the striping for diagonal parking.

The City of Glasgow has decided to return part of the downtown parking to angle-in parking. The Downtown Parking Project was awarded to a contractor by the City Council several weeks ago. The start date of the project is still unclear, but the plan will bring many advantages to downtown Glasgow:

Available parking downtown will increase by 20-30%

Angle parking will be implemented on the south side of 2nd Ave South and the east side of 3rd St S.

The plan includes a midblock van-accessible handicap parking space between 6th St S and 5th St S and ADA ramp.

Maintaining streets that are angle-parked is a little different than parallel-parked streets, so there will be some additional overnight parking restrictions to allow crews the opportunity to do snow removal, sweeping and other maintenance.

There will be additional signage and parking enforcement.

The City’s contractor will do their absolute very best to not damage any trees during the construction but there might be one tree in play.

The total project cost is estimated at $22,599.73. That does include money for additional sidewalk and gutter work outside of the angle-in parking project

t the end of August, Governor Gianforte asked Montana superintendents and school board trustees to adopt policies to limit learning distractions in the classroom and improve student academic performance by establishing cell phone-free schools.

The letter urged school districts to consider adopting policies that create cell phone-free schools as schools across the country, and even in Montana, have already taken the step to do so. As a result of these changes, students can learn and teachers can teach without the distractions of cell phones.

In his letter, the Governor also indicated that studies and data points to the urgent need for school districts to act. “Since the advent of smartphones about 20 years ago, students’ use of these devices, including in schools, has increased. As of 2021, nearly nine out of 10 teenagers and 43 percent of eight to 12 year olds own a smartphone. Ninety-seven percent of 11 to 17 year olds use their cell phone during school, including to text, access social media, play games and watch videos. They receive an average of more than 50 notifications per day on their phones during school hours.”

During a Policy Committee meeting on Aug. 22, Glasgow Schools superintendent Brenner Flaten and the two school board trustees on the committee, Stan Ozark and Derek Beadle, discussed the letter and the current language that is present in all three of the school’s handbooks regarding cell phone usage at the schools.

Three different policy options were presented and on Aug. 23, the Montana School Board Association (MTSBA) visited directly with the Governor’s office and indicated that the second option presented closely reflects the Governor’s suggestions in his letter.

The proposed policy is attached to this news story.

The Glasgow School’s policy will also closely reflect this option, with minimal variation specific to the three Glasgow Schools. The new policy will move through two readings at the board level before becoming official school policy later this fall.

The Glasgow School Board will address the new policy at its meeting next week.

Ground has been broken and preliminary work has started on a new Glasgow Skatepark located at Hoyt Park in Glasgow.

A committee of citizens have been busy for months planning and raising funds to construct the skatepark. Over $200,000 has been raised to make the skatepark possible and fundraising continues to additional features such as a bathroom, benches and other amenities.

The Skatepark is located at Hoyt Park and is being built in the same area as the new Glasgow Swimming Pool which is under construction.

Organizers are hoping to have the Skatepark operational in October of this year.

Press Release from Glasgow School District:

We would once again like to share our appreciation for FMDH!

Our local hospital continues to work closely with the Glasgow Public School system.

Glasgow High School and Glasgow Middle School students will once again be treated to FRESH Fruits and Vegetable snacks this school year. This will be in large part due to key financial contributions made by Frances Mahon Deaconess Hospital.

Working together to promote healthy-active bodies; year in and year out.

In the month of September, the Valley County Sheriff’s Office will be conducting alcohol sales compliance checks. These checks will be conducted at establishments that sell and/or serve alcoholic beverages within Valley County.

Law enforcement officials are running these checks to help businesses avoid liquor law violations and at the same time combat the underage drinking problem that runs throughout Montana.

Businesses and staff are strongly urged to check IDs and refuse service to underage adults.

Haze and smoke from Canadian wildfires will progress southward across northeast Montana through at least this morning, reducing visibility and air quality to unhealthy levels. Check the latest conditions at http://fire.airnow.gov

The Glasgow City Council met on Tuesday and held public hearings on assessments for lights, streets and garbage along with the city mill levy and fiscal year 2024-2025 budget.

There were no attendees in the audience who voiced an opinion in favor or support of any of the items.

The General Fund Budget is the largest budget for the city and the total amount of that budget is $3,322,649. The largest items in the GF Budget:

Glasgow Police Department: $1.488 million
Glasgow Recreation Department: $423,970
Glasgow Fire Department: $138,280
Glasgow City Parks: $81,856

The City Water Budget comes in at $2.196 million and the City Sewer Budget is $1.843 million.

The City of Glasgow also has assessments for city lighting, streets and garbage pickup:

Street Assessments: $614,138
Garbage Pick Up Assessments: $400,322
Lighting Assessments: $189,448

BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
Valley County, Montana
Wednesday, September 4, 2024, 10:30 am
1. Additions/Deletions
2. Public Comment on agenda items
3. Action on Employment/Termination Notices
4. Consider acceptance of bid for replacing the carpet in Annex Building. Public notice was posted August 21 and August 28.
5. Consider signing extension for CDBG grant sponsored by Valley County for the North
Valley Water and Sewer District.
6. Public Comment on non-agenda items

(Press Release)
Senator advocated for this additional funding to prevent a potential funding gap this fall

(Big Sandy, Mont.) — Continuing his efforts to rehabilitate the St. Mary Canal and support irrigators impacted by the catastrophic siphon failure that occurred earlier this summer, U.S. Senator Jon Tester on Friday secured an additional $2 million in emergency funding to continue repairs on the St. Mary Canal. The funding, which comes from the Bureau of Reclamation’s (BOR) Dam Safety Office, will bridge the gap between the expiration of previous BOR emergency funds on November 1, 2024 and the release of additional funding through passage of the Fiscal Year 2025 government funding bill. Tester advocated for this new funding to ensure the project remains fully funded and on track to be completed without delay.

“It is critically important for irrigators who rely on the Milk River Project that we get water flowing as soon as possible,” said Tester. “I’m glad to see that significant progress is already being made, but we’ve got to keep this project fully funded and moving. Montana’s farmers and ranchers can’t afford any delays, which is why I’m proud to have secured additional federal funding to support construction through the end of the year.”

Earlier this summer, a major siphon burst on the Milk River Project near Babb, Montana resulted in thousands of gallons of water flooding the surrounding area, causing extensive damage to local businesses, and impacting vital irrigation to farmland in the surrounding area.

In early August, as a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Tester secured federal funding for the Milk River Project in the Fiscal Year 2025 (FY25) Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies bill. The bill, which will advance to the full Senate as part of the FY25 appropriations package, includes federal funding for repairs to the St. Mary canal. This funding is non-reimbursable, and comes at no cost to local communities.

Last month, in direct response to pressure from Tester, the Biden Administration announced they would immediately begin rehabilitation work along the Milk River Project. The Bureau of Reclamation agreed to fund the repairs through existing emergency authorities under Public Law 111-11. Tester also successfully pushed President Biden to include the Milk River Project in his Administration’s domestic supplemental package, which would make federal funding available to pay for the reconstruction of the St. Mary Canal.

In June, Tester took to the Senate floor to successfully pass his bipartisan Fort Belknap Indian Community (FBIC) Water Rights Settlement Act which would provide critical funding for repairs on the Milk River Project. Tester’s Fort Belknap Indian Community (FBIC) Water Rights Settlement Act will provide $1.3 billion to improve infrastructure and economic development for the Fort Belknap Indian Community and improve the efficiency of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Milk River Project, which furnishes water for the irrigation of about 121,000 acres of Tribal and non-Tribal land. The bill specifically includes $275 million to rehabilitate the St. Mary Canal, and will restore Tribal management to 38,462 acres of state and federal land for the FBIC. Tester successfully passed the FBIC Water Compact through the Senate earlier this Congress as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), but Speaker Mike Johnson and House Republicans stripped it from the final package.

Earlier this summer, Tester announced that a more than $88 million contract was awarded to Montana-based NW Construction to complete the St. Mary Diversion Dam Replacement project. The contract is part of the up to $100 million Tester secured for the Milk River Project through his bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), which he negotiated and helped pass into law. Tester was the only member of Montana’s Congressional delegation to support the legislation and to support additional improvements to the St. Mary Canal.

The City of Glasgow has decided to return part of the downtown parking to angle-in parking. The Downtown Parking Project was awarded to a contractor by the City Council several weeks ago. The start date of the project is still unclear, but the plan will bring many advantages to downtown Glasgow:

Available parking downtown will increase by 20-30%
Angle parking will be implemented on the south side of 2nd Ave South and the east side of 3rd St S.

The plan includes a midblock van-accessible handicap parking space between 6th St S and 5th St S and ADA ramp.

Maintaining streets that are angle-parked is a little different than parallel-parked streets, so there will be some additional overnight parking restrictions to allow crews the opportunity to do snow removal, sweeping and other maintenance.

There will be additional signage and parking enforcement.

The City will host a pre-construction meeting prior to the commencement of construction to further discuss the project and schedule.

The City’s contractor will do their absolute very best to not damage any trees during the construction but there might be one tree in play.

The total project cost is estimated at $22,599.73. That does include money for additional sidewalk and gutter work outside of the angle-in parking project

Donations are being sought for those affected by the Remington Fire in the Ashland and Lame Deer areas in southeast Montana.

You may drop off donations such as cases of water, canned goods, towels and blankets with Tonia Lucas at Ezzies Midtown. Maria Sugg, working as a wildland firefighter for the state of Montana, will take them to the proper place to be distributed to those in need affected by the fire towards the end of September.

The City of Glasgow exploring the possibility of offering our customers the option to receive their water bills via email. This would provide a convenient, paperless way to manage your account and help streamline communication.

At this stage, we are simply gauging interest. If you would prefer to receive your water bill via email rather than through traditional mail, please contact the city clerk's office if interested.

406-228-2476 ext. 2

afrueh@cityofglasgowmt.com

Brittany Archambeault and Jaclyn Stapp star in this booty-scootin’, feel-good musical about laundry, friendship and country music, featuring the songs of Reba McEntire, Patsy Cline, Dolly Parton, Carrie Underwood, Loretta Lynn, Tammy Wynette, and many others!

Lana Mae Hopkins, proprietress of the Wishy Washy Washeteria hires Katie to help out, they soon find themselves up to their elbows in soap, suds, gossip, and cheatin’ hearts. Watch these two country angels join forces to turn their good ole laundromat into a roof-raisin’ honky-tonk.

Written by FPST Alum Roger Bean (most famous for his popular musical series, The Marvelous Wonderettes), Honky Tonk Laundry is directed by Artistic Director Andy Meyers. FPST alum Dana Donovan Scheppele returning after an almost 20-year hiatus, serves as Costume Designer.

Honky Tonk Laundry runs August 16 – September 1: Fridays & Saturdays at 7:30 pm and Sundays at 4:00 pm.

For Tickets and info 406-526-9943 or visit fortpecktheatre.org

Increased patrols in Valley County and the City of Glasgow over the holiday weekend.
Residents are encouraged to plan for a sober ride home.

- Valley County Sheriff’s Office, Glasgow Police Department, and the Montana Highway Patrol are increasing their presence during the Labor Day weekend
- Montana has the highest share of alcohol-related traffic deaths in the U.S. with 8.57 alcohol-impaired drivers involved in fatal crashes for every 100,000 licensed drivers
- Labor Day marks the end of the “100 Deadliest Days,” the period where most traffic fatalities occur in Montana and nationwide

As Labor Day weekend approaches, the Valley County Sheriff’s Office, Glasgow Police Department, Valley County DUI Task Force and the Montana Highway Patrol (MHP) are encouraging Montanans to plan a sober ride home before they celebrate. Labor Day weekend is the final three days of the “100 Deadliest Days,” the period where most traffic fatalities occur.

MHP will be increasing patrols across the state and with an emphasis on stopping impaired drivers to help ensure Montanans get home safely this holiday weekend. MHP and the Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) are committed to reducing fatalities and injuries on Montana’s roadways.

Per Montana state law, if drivers have a blood alcohol content (BAC) of .08 or higher, they could receive a DUI charge and other serious consequences, including having their driver’s license revoked, being required to take mandatory classes, and receiving possible jail time, as well as up to $10,000 in fines and legal fees.

“Taking a minute out of your day to plan for a sober ride home can save lives and keep families and communities intact,” said Undersheriff Chris Richter. “Labor Day weekend is full of travel, and the last thing we need in our communities is an easily preventable tragedy. We need to work together to ensure everyone celebrates responsibly and safely, and that we’re all here for next summer’s festivities, too.”

MHP is on high alert during the holiday weekend because of Montana’s sobering statistics:
Montana has the highest fatality rates in the nation for the number of deaths caused by impaired drivers per vehicle mile traveled.
The state has the highest share of alcohol-related traffic deaths at 45% (2021).
63% of all traffic fatalities in Montana are the result of impaired driving (2021).
1,268 people were killed in crashes involving an alcohol-impaired driver from 2012-2021.

“By designating a sober driver or using a rideshare or taxi service, you’re making our community safer,”

“Failing to make a plan is planning to fail, and we want every Montanan to succeed. By having a plan before anyone starts drinking, you’re setting yourself and your community up for success.”
Montana Department of Transportation — Vision Zero

This is a Vision Zero message from the Montana Department of Transportation. This and other enforcement and educational campaigns are strategies to reach Vision Zero — zero deaths and zero serious injuries on Montana roadways. For more information about Vision Zero, contact Tammy Ross, Montana Department of Transportation, 406-444-9192 or tross@mt.gov.

HELENA – Labor Day Weekend is the last hurrah for people who love summer. Weather depending, it’s a great time to get out on the water and celebrate before fall kicks in. Don’t forget you’ll be sharing the water with other boaters. Last year, more than 100,000 boats were registered, and that doesn’t include non-motorized ones.

Boating safety is always important to remember, but here are some tips to help make sure your Labor Day boating adventure is successful and safe.

Never drink and operate a boat

Alcohol use is the leading known contributing factor in fatal boating accidents. Where the primary cause was known, alcohol was listed as the leading factor in 17 percent of deaths. Always designate a sober skipper to drive the boat.

Always wear a lifejacket

According to U.S. Coast Guard statistics, where the cause of death was known, 87 percent of drowning victims in recreational boating accidents were not wearing a lifejacket in 2023. Make sure your lifejacket has a label that says U.S. Coast Guard Approved. Kids 12 and under are legally required to wear a lifejacket at all times while the boat is in motion.

All boats can be dangerous

Based on Montana’s Boating Accident Report Database, between 70 and 75 percent of Montana boating fatalities occur on nonmotorized watercraft. These include rafts, kayaks, canoes, stand-up paddleboards and row boats. It is legally required that you have a lifejacket readily accessible while using these vessels. It is highly recommended that you wear your lifejacket while using non-motorized watercraft. Four out of five boaters who drowned were using vessels less than 21 feet in length.

Pay attention

The top five primary contributing factors in accidents are operator inattention, improper lookout, operator inexperience, excessive speed, and machinery failure.

For more boating safety information, visit fwp.mt.gov/activities/boating/safety

VALLEY COUNTY - The Valley County Sheriff’s Office offers our sincere condolences to the family of Raymond Morin. We lost a member of our community, and we grieve together with the family. RJ was a son, brother, father, and husband. I ask for prayers for the family during this very difficult time.

Like always, I will work to be transparent with the community, however, I want to be clear that investigations such as this take time to perform. By Montana Law, details of the incident cannot be released until the Coroner’s Inquest is completed. As you know rumors and inaccurate facts can cloud the truth and I ask for your patience during this time so that a thorough and comprehensive investigation, that examines all the facts, can be completed.

Again, I ask for your prayers and support to the family of RJ and I hope it will bring them comfort during these difficult times.

Respectfully,
Sheriff Thomas Boyer

From Glasgow Superintendent of Schools Brenner Flaten

At the end of our last week of school in 2023-24 (May 31st) we were at 736 students. After week one of the 2024-25 school year (Aug. 22nd) we are at 759 students. That is an increase of 23 students. That is GREAT news.

My plan is to be a Champion for Public School and I love the trend we are seeing and the positive vibes coming from each of our three school buildings. Outstanding staff, students, and parents working together. Let's keep this train moving in a positive direction.

HELENA, Mont. – With the official kickoff to fall around the corner and summer winding down, there are many opportunities for travelers to explore Montana’s open roads, less visited communities and local events across the state.

“As Montanans know, fall’s cooler days and golden colors provide the perfect opportunity to explore our small towns in parts of the state they may not have been to in a while,” said Paul Green, Director of the Montana Department of Commerce. “With so many events going on this fall, there’s a weekend road trip for every Montanan looking to get some windshield time in before we turn to our favorite winter activities.”

Top events this fall to plan a trip around include:

International Chainsaw Carving Competition (Sept. 5-8) in Libby
Chokecherry Festival (Sept. 7) in Lewistown
Flathead Celtic Festival (Sept. 13-14) in Kalispell
Makoshika Music and Arts Festival (Sept. 14) in Glendive
Music and Arts Festival (Sept. 14) in Boulder
Hi-Line Harvest Festival (Sept. 20-21) in Chester
Havre Festival Days (Sept. 20-22) in Havre
Circle Town & Country Appreciation Day (Sept. 21) in Circle
Miner’s Day (Sept. 21) in Virginia City
Belgrade Fall Festival (Sept. 28) in Belgrade
National Public Lands Day (Sept. 28) in Glacier and Yellowstone national parks
Inaugural Livingston Songwriter Festival (Oct. 4-5) in Livingston
Townsend Fall Fest (Oct. 4-6) in Townsend
Scarecrow Festival (Oct. 4-5 and through Oct. 12h for viewing) in Stevensville
McIntosh Apple Day (Oct. 5) in Hamilton
Oktoberfest Anaconda (Oct. 5) in Anaconda
Bridger Raptor Festival (Oct. 5-6) in Bridger
Golden Gravel Grinder & Virginia City Bike Fest (Oct. 5) in Virginia City
Tamarack Time! (Oct. 12) in Bigfork
Big Rock Fright Nights (Oct. 18-26) in Boulder
Pumpkin Sunday (Oct. 20) in Deer Lodge
Dillon Halloween Fall Fest (Oct. 26) in Dillon

Additionally, for travelers looking to extend their visit into a fall road trip, Montana travel itineraries make it easy to plan for a long weekend or use the locations featured in the guides as a starting point for a day trip.

Three Days in Central Montana: Guided horseback riding in the Bob Marshall Wilderness or visiting Choteau’s Old Trail Museum (part of the Montana Dinosaur Trail)

Four Days in Northwest Montana: Stopping at the Lincoln Ranger District Visitor Center to lay eyes on the taxidermy display of one of Montana's largest grizzly bears or exploring the Kootenai National Forest at the base of the Cabinet Mountains

Four Days West to East: Discovering history at the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument or dining at The Jawbone before soaking at the Hot Springs Motel in White Sulphur Springs

Five Days in Eastern Montana: Exploring Lookout Cave and seeing the largest grouping of preserved pictographs in the state or embarking on a guided boat tour on Fort Peck Lake. Click for more info

Other itinerary highlights include: enjoying locally sourced burgers from local stops on the Southeast Montana Burger Trail, viewing the fall colors on a scenic drive through the Seeley Swan Corridor, viewing some of the darkest skies and brightest stars in the lower 48 along Montana’s Trail to the Stars and going back in time by embarking on a dinosaur dig or stopping into a museum on the Montana Dinosaur Trail.

For more information and updates to all of Montana’s latest trip itineraries, events and travel inspiration, visit visitmt.com.

The Valley County Road Department will be replacing a culvert on Willow Creek Road, 1 mile north of the Pines Road this Thursday, August 29th. The road will be closed to traffic from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m.

Simi Valley, CA — Hollywood veterans Reinhard Denke and (Glasgow native) Doug Stebleton are thrilled to announce the upcoming release of their second novel, The Inventors, part of the captivating Hollywood Time Travel Series Trilogy. Scheduled to debut on Amazon.com on August 28, 2024, The Inventors takes readers on a journey to Los Angeles in 1941. (The best way to find the book is to type in the Amazon search bar: Doug Stebleton + The Inventors)

In this latest installment, protagonists Evan West and Dr. William Cooper find themselves transported to a pivotal moment in history – the dark months just before the United States is drawn into World War II. Their mission: to navigate the glamorous yet perilous world of Hollywood while assisting brilliant inventors Hedy Lamarr and George Antheil.

Lamarr and Antheil, celebrated for their invention of Spread Spectrum Technology, become unlikely allies as Evan and Coop uncover a plot involving German spies, the FBI, and MGM security. Racing against time, our heroes must protect this groundbreaking technology from falling into the wrong hands all while battling the debilitating effects of time travel.

"As Evan and Coop forge alliances with iconic figures like Howard Hughes, they discover that their journey through time is not merely a quest for survival, but a chance to alter the course of history," said Denke and Stebleton.

The Inventors pay homage to the innovative spirit of Hedy Lamarr and George Antheil, whose creation laid the foundation for modern wireless and Bluetooth technologies. The story underscores the profound impact of visionary ideas that transcend generations.

For more information about The Inventors and the Hollywood Time Travel Series, please visit hollywoodtimetravel.com.

About the Authors

Reinhard Denke is a Texas native and graduate of USC Film School whose script, Sex, Greed, Money, Murder and Chicken Fried Steak was optioned by Johnny Depp’s Infinitum Nihil production company and chosen for the prestigious 2009 Hollywood Blacklist. “Sex Greed” is now in pre-production with a 2025 release date. Denke has worked as a script doctor since 2010, and has worked on “Captive”, “Montford: Chickasaw Rancher”, “Gone”, “Undaunted”, “Radiant” and “Resolute”.

An entertainment business veteran working in Hollywood since 1987, Doug Stebleton’s company owns a catalog of songs that are licensed to film and television studios and to independent productions; its credits include Blood Diamond, Borat, Little Miss Sunshine, The Sopranos, CSI, ER, The Big Bang Theory and Blue Bloods. He has also produced several films including Big Life, a feature film that will be released soon.

FWP will host public meetings around the state to present proposals for the 2025-26 fishing regulations and answer questions from the public. The meeting for Region 6 will be held at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 28, at the FWP Glasgow Headquarters Quonset building.

Important eastern Montana proposals:

• Numerous paddlefish-related changes including a new harvest tag exclusively for fishing on the Missouri River from Fort Peck dam to the ND border.
• Banning forward-facing sonar to aid in snagging paddlefish. This ban would only apply to the pursuit of paddlefish.
• Implementing a limit for shortnose gar.

The public meetings will all be held at 6 p.m. at the following locations:

Aug. 27, Miles City, Miles City Community College, Room 110
Aug. 28, FWP Office, Glasgow, 1 Airport Rd.
Aug. 29, FWP Office, Billings, 2300 Lake Elmo Dr.
Sept. 4, FWP Office, Missoula, 201 Spurgin Rd.
Sept. 5, FWP Office, Bozeman, 1400 South 19th St.
Sept. 9, FWP Office, Great Falls, 4600 Giant Springs Rd.
Sept. 11, FWP Office, Kalispell, 490 North Meridian Rd.
Sept. 12, Statewide Zoom Meeting

This past spring FWP held meetings around the state to gather input on regulation changes. That input helped to craft these current proposals.

The fishing regulation proposals will be available for public comment on Aug. 21. These proposals will go before the Fish and Wildlife Commission at its Oct. 10 meeting. Commissioners can propose amendments to the regulations, and those amendments will also be open for public comment.

The fishing regulation proposals are on the Oct. 10 Commission meeting page here: https://fwp.mt.gov/aboutfwp/commission/october-2024-meeting

All proposals will be available online for review. Comments will be taken through Sept. 19.

Like hunting regulations, Montana fishing regulations go through a comprehensive public review every two years. Fishing regulations are printed during odd numbered years.

Two Rivers is excited to share information regarding the launch of the Montana Tax Simplification Hub, your one-stop resource for understanding and navigating the recent changes to our tax system.

The Hub provides comprehensive information on tax simplification, tools to estimate your tax liability under the new system, a draft copy of the 2024 Form 2 and accompanying schedules, and answers to frequently asked questions.

Visit the Montana Department of Revenue site for more information: https://mtrevenue.gov.

The Glasgow City Council has awarded the Yard of the Week to Robert and Lisa Legare 819 Valley Drive. Awards are given each week in June, July, and August.

The Yard of the Week recipients receive $25 in chamber big bucks sponsored each week in the summer by the Glasgow City Council.

BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
Valley County, Montana
Wednesday, August 28, 2024, 10:30 am
1. Additions/Deletions
2. Public Comment on agenda items
3. Action on Employment/Termination Notices
4. Consider appointing Curtis Leader to the Valley County Mosquito Board vacated by
James Ward.
5. Consideration 2024 Agreement for medical director/clinical provider with Montana
Health Network. Michelle Merritt will provide details.
6. Consider Change order for the Pioneer Museum re-roof completion, document G701-
2017.

Montanans for Election Reform announced its efforts to create an “open primary” and provide for “majority vote” outcomes in certain races both will be on the November ballot.

Last week, Montana Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen certified Constitutional Initiatives 126 and 127.

“We’re grateful to make it through the final step of the certification process and see the will of over 100,000 Montanans who want to see these initiatives on the ballot honored,” said Frank Garner, MER board member, in a news release.

“Our citizens’ initiative process is critical for us to uphold Montana values and hold our politicians accountable. We’re excited to spend the next few months talking with voters across the state about how CI-126 and CI-127 will give voters better choices and allow us to vote for the person, not the party.”

Montanans for Election Reform believes its changes would give voters more power than special interest groups and create more accountability in elections.

CI-126, to create the open primary, would allow voters to choose among candidates of all parties in a primary. The top four candidates, regardless of party, would move onto the general.

CI-127 would mean outcomes for certain offices are determined by a majority vote, not just a plurality.

Montanans for Election Reform said its initiatives met minimum qualifications in 54 (CI-126) and 52 (CI-127) house districts; “initiatives are only required to meet that threshold in 40 legislative districts.”

“Montana citizens and voters put over 140,000 valid signatures on the petitions for CI-126 and CI-127,” said Doug Campbell, MER board member and former third-party candidate, in a statement from the group. “That’s a resounding call to see these initiatives on the ballot in November, and it is a privilege to stand up for the rights of voters to participate in the initiative process.”

The open primary would apply to elections for governor and lieutenant governor, secretary of state, auditor, attorney general, superintendent of public instruction, state representative, state senator, United State representative, and United States senator.

The majority vote initiative would apply to those offices and “other offices as provided by law.”

The November Election is rapidly approaching and there is still plenty of time to get registered to vote in Valley County.

In Valley County, there are currently 4996 registered voters. This number is down compared to the last Presidential Election in 2020 when Valley County had 5136 registered voters. In 1992, Valley County had 5707 registered voters.

Phillips County currently has 2687 registered voters compared to 2867 in the 2020 election year. Phillips County had 3258 registered voters in 1992.

Roosevelt County currently has 5533 registered voters compared to 6046 in the election year of 2020. In the election year of 1992, Roosevelt County had 5707 registered voters.

Montana currently has 765,242 registered voters compared to 752,538 voters in the year 2020. In the 1992 election year, the state had 529,822 registered voters.

Updated Press Release:

VALLEY COUNTY – The Montana Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) is investigating an officer-involved critical incident that occurred late Saturday night in Valley County.

At approximately 9:19 p.m., deputies from Valley and McCone County Sheriff’s Offices were responding to a disturbance call occurring at Roundhouse Point Campground. While en route, a McCone County deputy, working under contract with Valley County, encountered an adult female and male (the involved parties) arguing outside their vehicle near mile marker 3 on Montana Highway 117. As the McCone County deputy exited his vehicle, the male brandished a handgun and fired several times at the deputy. The female then aggressively advanced toward the deputy and he deployed his taser, striking the female. The armed male then advanced on the deputy and the deputy fired his duty handgun.

A Valley County deputy arrived on-scene at the time shots were fired by the deputy and medical aid was immediately rendered. The male died on scene from injuries sustained during the incident. The female was transported to a medical facility for treatment.

Valley County Sheriff Tom Boyer requested that DCI investigate. The McCone County deputy has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation, which is in the early stages. DCI is processing evidence and conducting witness interviews, additional details are not available currently.
As required by Montana law, a coroner’s inquest will be held at the conclusion of the investigation

Press Release from Valley County Sheriff's Office:

Saturday, at approximately 9:30pm, a critical incident occurred near Park Grove and the bridge on Mt Highway 117.

There are no safety concerns for the community and the incident is under investigation.

Additional information will be reported when it becomes available and as the investigation continues.

As of 6am this morning, Montana Highway 117 remained closed to all traffic.

The Glasgow Elks Lodge is on a mission to boost patriotic spirit and pride in our community by presenting brand new American and Montana state flags to local schools. As part of their ongoing commitment to supporting education and community values, the Elks- formally known as the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks- set out on this mission as a part of their Americanism Program.

This past Thursday, August 22nd, Glasgow Elks Lodge’s Exalted Ruler Maxwell Knodel took the requested flags to Glasgow’s Irle Elementary and Middle Schools and presented the students with the flags.

“We’re thrilled to be able to provide these flags to our schools in Valley County,” said Knodel. “Flags are not just a symbol of our country, but of the values we hold dear: freedom, respect, patriotism, and national pride. We hope these flags will inspire that sense of pride and a sense of belonging in our schools. It is important that these kids understand what our great nation’s flag means to those who live under it.”

The flag presentations will also be held at other Valley County schools over the next few weeks, with Opheim, Hinsdale, and Nashua also receiving flags, whether the smaller classroom size, the larger gussied-up indoor sets, or durable outdoor flags to withstand our winds.

The Glasgow Elks Lodge has a membership that is loaded with proud American citizens, but there’s always room for more! For more information on the flag presentations or to get involved with the Glasgow Elks Lodge, please contact the lodge at (406) 228-2233 or email elks1922@nemont.net.
They’d be proud to have you in their herd, too- plus, you get to help the community you live in become a better place.

With roughly $1.5 million in pandemic-era education funding set to expire next month, Superintendent of Public Instruction Elsie Arntzen announced a plan Tuesday to route those federal dollars directly to classrooms across Montana.

The spending strategy, crafted in partnership with the nonprofit crowdsourcing platform DonorsChoose, will let educators apply for up to $500 worth of assistance in purchasing materials for math- and reading-based projects. According to the Office of Public Instruction, applications will be vetted by DonorsChoose and open to all K-12 public school teachers in the state. Based on similar initiatives in other states, OPI said Arntzen is optimistic the remaining funds will be exhausted by the Sept. 30 federal spending deadline.

“Dollars closest to the classroom lead to greater academic achievement for our students,” Arntzen said in a statement Tuesday. “These precious federal tax dollars will help purchase teaching and learning materials, supplies, and technology to support math and reading.”

The $1.5 million in question is what’s left of the $19 million the 2021 Legislature set aside for OPI to address pandemic-induced learning loss statewide — itself a small slice of the $382 million Congress handed to Montana lawmakers in its third Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) package. Arntzen’s attempt to finish spending the money mirrors efforts in Arizona, Colorado, Utah and five other states that have also partnered with DonorsChoose over the past two years to fully utilize their ESSER funds.

According to OPI’s latest data, Montana has another roughly $100 million in unspent third-round ESSER funds, the bulk of it from direct distributions to individual districts. Barring a federal deadline extension, any funds not dedicated by Sept. 30 must be returned to the U.S. Department of Education.

As of the latest report in June of 2024, many school districts in Montana had yet to dedicate their ESSER funds. The most current numbers from OPI might be outdated for some districts as they have dedicated their leftover funds in advance of the September deadline.

Here are how Valley County School Districts stand with leftover ESSER Funds according to OPI as of June 2024.

Glasgow- $0
Frazer- $2.08 million
Hinsdale- $113
Opheim- $101,000
Nashua- $44,424
Lustre Elementary- $103,000

Some school districts have large amounts of ESSER money remaining according to OPI. Some examples:

Billings- $9.6 million
Browning- $12.9 million
Butte- $4 million
Glendive- $1.5 million
Hardin- $5.3 million
Rocky Boy- $2.1 million
Wolf Point- $4.6 million

A pair of ballot measures that aim to reshape the state’s election system will go before voters this November, according to the Montana Secretary of State’s Office.

Thursday marked a key milestone in the 2024 election – the day the Secretary of State was tasked with making the final certification of which candidates and ballot measures will appear before voters in November. Just before 7:30 p.m. Thursday, the office’s website added Constitutional Initiatives 126 and 127 to its list of issues qualified for the ballot.

Montanans for Election Reform, the committee sponsoring the two amendments, celebrated the announcement in a statement.

“We’re grateful to make it through the final step of the certification process and see the will of over 100,000 Montanans who want to see these initiatives on the ballot honored,” said Frank Garner, an MER board member. “Our citizens' initiative process is critical for us to uphold Montana values and hold our politicians accountable. We’re excited to spend the next few months talking with voters across the state about how CI-126 and CI-127 will give voters better choices and allow us to vote for the person, not the party.”

CI-126 would create a “top-four primary” in Montana. All candidates from all parties would appear on a single primary ballot, and the four who received the most votes – regardless of party – would go on to the November general election. CI-127 would require the general election winner to get a majority of the vote – at least 50%. It would be up to the Legislature to decide how to implement that, with some possible options being a runoff election or a ranked-choice voting system.

CI-126 and CI-127 will go on the ballot alongside CI-128, an amendment that would specifically add abortion rights to the Montana Constitution and which was certified on Tuesday.

All three of the measures went through legal battles, centered on whether signatures from voters on Montana’s “inactive list” should count toward their qualification threshold. A judge in Lewis and Clark County ruled those signatures should be counted, and another judge dismissed a Lake County lawsuit that sought to block counting them.

It takes signatures from at least 60,359 registered voters to qualify a constitutional amendment for the ballot, and at least 604 in 40 of Montana’s 100 state legislative districts.

Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen’s office said in a statement Thursday that they had completed certification for all statewide and state district candidates and statewide ballot issues. A full list of general election candidates was posted on their website around 8 p.m., though it was no longer available as of 9:45 p.m.

There has been one notable change in the general election field. Michael Downey, of Helena, who won the Green Party primary for U.S. Senate, withdrew from the race. The party replaced him with Robert Barb, of Darby, who finished second.

The initial list of general election candidates also included Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has been running an independent campaign for president, though there has been speculation he may exit the race. His campaign said in a statement Saturday that they had submitted 11,000 petition signatures to get him on the ballot in Montana. It takes 5,000 signatures for an independent presidential candidate to qualify in the state.

Besides Kennedy, the listed presidential candidates included Republican former President Donald Trump, Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris, Libertarian candidate Chase Oliver and Green Party candidate Jill Stein.

Press Release From City of Glasgow:

The City of Glasgow Public Works Department is providing notification and requests Glasgow residents and visitors on Mahon St from 4th to 5th Street South and residents on 7th Street South between 3rd and 4th Ave South to please not park on the street between August 26-29th.

The street(s) will be closed while crews prepare the new pavement for sealing and seal the new pavement.

Please call 228-2476X4 with any questions. We appreciate your patience and cooperation, while we put the finishing touches on these projects.

Thank you.

The Bureau of Land Management Missouri Basin Resource Advisory Council will meet Sept. 11, 2024, in Glasgow for their regular business meeting.

The meeting is open to the public and will be held at the Glasgow City-County Library at 408 3rd Avenue South and will begin at noon. The public comment period will be held from 4-5 p.m.
Interested persons may make oral presentations or file written statements for the council to consider.

Depending on the number of persons wishing to comment and time available, the time for individual oral comments may be limited.

The agenda will include BLM manager briefings, district and field office updates, RAC member briefings to the BLM and other topics the council may raise.

A virtual option to attend the meeting is available for the public. Advance registration is required by emailing Gina Baltrusch at rbaltrusch@blm.gov prior to Sept. 4 for confirmation and additional details.
The purpose of the RAC is to advise the Secretary of the Interior, through the BLM, on a variety of issues associated with public land management.

A Glasgow man, Larry Odell Meland, has been charged with felony sexual assault in District Court in Glasgow.

Charging documents were filed on August 20th by Valley County Attorney Dylan Jensen. The documents state that Meland allegedly committed the crime between January 1, 2021 and July 31st of 2023. Meland allegedly engaged in sexual contact with a minor who was less than 14 years of age while the defendant was more than 3 years older than the victim.

A defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

A person convicted of sexual assault could be sentenced to life imprisonment and fined no more than $50,000.

A trial date has not yet been set in the case.

Story from the Northern Plain Independent:

The Wolf Point School Board approved a memorandum of understanding to help with the recruitment and retainment of teachers during its meeting on Monday, Aug. 12.

The agreement is for a one-time salary placement at step four of the salary schedule for newly hired certified staff and returning certified staff at lower steps for recruitment purposes.

Wolf Point Superintendent of Schools Dr. David Perkins said the current base salary for teachers is about $36,000.

“You aren’t going to get teachers,” Perkins told trustees about that salary amount and the state teaching shortage. “They are so short, but you want to compete a little.”

With the increase through the MOU, the base salary would increase to about $42,500.

Perkins said that such a plan isn’t new to the school district because it has been done before in Wolf Point. He noted the MOU is only for one

year because teaching contract negotiations will occur this upcoming year.

Governor Greg Gianforte in a letter to Montana schools is asking the schools to adopt policies that create "cell phone-free" schools.

The Governor wrote that schools across the country that have enacted policies to make schools "cell phone-free" have seen increased student engagement and improved academic outcomes. Gianforte also added that many school districts in Montana have already taken this step to ensure that teachers can teach, and students can learn, free from the distractions of cell phones.

The letter asks Montana schools to adopt "cell phone-free" schools for the education and health of students and states that the Governor's office would assist schools as they consider and adopt policies.

There is currently no state law that would enforce a cell phone ban, and each school district would have to adopt and enforce a policy.

The Bureau of Reclamation held a groundbreaking ceremony Tuesday morning for the St. Mary Diversion Dam Rehabilitation Project in Glacier County, aiming to secure water resources for irrigated lands and communities in north central Montana.

The project is a collaborative effort between three primary stakeholders, the Bureau of Reclamation, the Blackfeet Nation, and the Milk River Irrigation Project Joint Board of Control. It is funded by President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which includes $8.3 billion appropriated to Reclamation in installments from 2022-2026. Reclamation has allocated $100 million for the St. Mary Diversion Dam Replacement Project.

Project Manager for the Bureau of Reclamation, Steven Darlinton, explains, “The first plan for design was in 2004. We've had many iterations, but the big issue has always been funding, and we finally got funding as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law recently, and that allowed us to start the construction of this $88.3 million project.”

The Groundbreaking Ceremony began with a Blackfeet prayer, followed by a speech given by Blackfeet Chairman Rodney Gervais. In his speech, Gervais said, “This is our land. This is our water. And moving forward, just to have that understanding that together we can do some good things”. He added, “We will help people. We will make sure that water flows down that river.”

The current dam was completed in 1915, and consists of a concrete weir and sluiceway that diverts water from the St. Mary River into the St. Mary Canal. The new construction will supply water resources for 110,000 acres of irrigation land and communities.

Key features of the replacement are:

Low Head Diversion Dam
Rock Ramp
Headworks Structure
Canal Fish Screen
Check Structure
Fish Bypass
Control Building
Operation and Maintenance Building

The new structure will include a large fish bypass to allow the movement of bull trout, which the current dam lacks. The upper St. Mary River Basin is home to the only bull trout population east of the continental divide, and has been listed as a threatened species since 1999. Darlinton says, “We're going to protect the environment with bull trout while also helping the local economy and supplying water to the irrigators of the river project.”

Reclamation is currently in the process of developing the site to build a bypass canal, which will make sure water continues to be delivered during construction. For the next year, dewatering systems and other site preparations will be completed, with official construction on the project beginning next year. The project is scheduled to be completed in 2027.

Another round of strong to severe thunderstorms is expected to move through the area between 3pm and midnight. Main hazards with these storms will be large hail and damaging winds.

The Glasgow Downtown Association are hosting Alive at 5 tonight in downtown Glasgow!

Local and state officials on Monday reported the first cases of West Nile Virus of 2024 have been found in mosquitos in four counties in eastern Montana.

The Department of Public Health and Human Services reported that the virus was detected in mosquitos from six different pools in Blaine, Dawson, Prairie and Wibaux counties. Typically, the first detection in mosquitos means the virus will be found in humans or horses within about two weeks.

“Now is the time to take action against West Nile Virus if you haven’t already started thinking about mosquito bite prevention this season,” said DPHHS Vectorborne Disease Epidemiologist Devon Cozart. “Infection can result in minor or severe illness, including death.”

DPHHS said the virus risk will persist likely through October, when mosquitos become less active in Montana.

Many people who contract the virus show no symptoms, but about 20% can develop headaches, body aches, fatigue, vomiting and diarrhea that can last for weeks for some people. But about 1 in 150 people can develop neuroinvasive West Nile, which can lead to long-term neurological issues and in rare cases death.

There is no vaccine or medications for humans who contract the virus, but horses can be vaccinated annually to protect against the virus.

“Even minor forms of infection can leave individuals feeling ill and fatigued for weeks,” Cozart said.

People are advised not to keep standing water around their homes to prevent mosquitos from breeding there and to use insect repellant and long-sleeved shirts and pants to prevent bites.

Last year, a former contractor in Valley County was charged in District Court on the charge of Theft of Property by Embezzlement.

Cameron John Ostermiller allegedly accepted several construction projects in Valley County and never completed the work despite being paid for completion of the projects.

In 2022, the Valley County Sheriff's Office started receiving complaints about work not being done despite Ostermiller being paid in advance for materials. There were several incidents where Ostermiller allegedly received money from a customer to pay for materials, yet the materials were never purchased or delivered to the customer.

There were 8 different incidents listed in the court documents totaling $39,128.80

If convicted of the offense of theft of property exceeding $10,000 the defendant may be imprisoned in a state prison for a term of not less than 1 year or more than 10 years and may be fined an amount not to exceed $50,000.

A plea agreement has been reached between the Valley County Attorney and the attorney for Ostermiller. The agreement is not binding until signed off by Judge Yvonne Laird who will have the final say on what the plea agreement will look like.

The plea agreement states that Ostermiller acknowledges that he is pleading guilty to the felony charge of theft and that between December of 2021 and August of 2022, he accepted consideration and physical materials from various individuals while agreeing to complete negotiated construction for them. He then did not complete the negotiated work, purchasing the agreed upon materials and failing to deliver the materials with the purpose of depriving them of their money and materials and without their consent.

In exchange for Ostermiller's plea of guilty he will be sentenced to the Montana Department of Corrections for a term of 10 years with all suspended. Should the defendant pay all restitution and is otherwise compliant, he can seek discharge of his sentence in full following 5 years of supervision.

Ostermiller will also serve 60 days in jail in increments of not less than 72 hours and will need to discharge the jail time within one year.

He is also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $39,918.80. Ostermiller will also not be allowed to have contact with any of the victims.

Ostermiller will appear in front of Judge Laird at a future date for his sentencing and her review of the plea agreement.

A Havre woman who was a passenger on a small commercial airplane admitted on Thursday to interfering with the flight by lunging at the controls as the plane was landing, causing it to accelerate and turn on the runway, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said today.

The defendant, Tracy Lynn Eagleman, aka Tracy Badmoccasin, 36, pleaded guilty to interfering with an aircraft in flight. Eagleman faces a maximum of 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release.

Chief U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris presided. The court will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Sentencing was set for Dec. 11. Eagleman was detained pending further proceedings.

In court documents, the government alleged that on March 21, 2023, Eagleman was a passenger on Cape Air flight 1793, a small passenger plane that departed from Billings and was bound for Havre. On the final approach into Havre, about 10 miles out, Eagleman stood up and started yelling about the landing. The flight crew – a captain and first officer – were able to calm Eagleman down and get her back into her seat. However, just as the plane touched down, Eagleman lunged forward from her seat and hit the flight controls. Eagleman hit the throttle for one of the two engines, causing it to accelerate and prompting the plane to “yaw” or turn on the runway. At the time, the plane was traveling between 70 and 75 knots, which is approximately 80 mph. The flight crew regained control of the plane without further incident, stopped on the tarmac and eventually taxied safely to the airport terminal. One of the passengers recorded the incident on a cellphone. While the recording failed to capture the moment, Eagleman lunged at the control deck, other passengers are heard yelling in fear that they could have been killed. In later interviews, the flight crew indicated that yawing at 70 knots in an unbalanced aircraft could cause it to roll and crash.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office is prosecuting the case. The FBI and Hill County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case.

The Montana Department of Revenue is reporting that marijuana sales increased in July of 2024 and were the highest of any month in 2024.

Adult use sales totaled $133,267 while medical sales totaled at $21,064 for a total of $154,331. This compares to $144,103 in June and $141,105 in May of this year.

Roosevelt County had sales of $416,713 and Sheridan County had sales of $107,141.

Phillips County, Garfield County, Daniels County and McCone County do not allow for the sale of marijuana.

Valley County and the Town of Opheim, Town of Nashua, Town of Fort Peck and the City of Glasgow all share a 3% tax on all sales in Valley County.

In a social media post on Monday, Philips County Sheriff Jerry Lytle pleaded with county residents to urge the Phillips County Commissioners to provide additional resources to recruit and hire law enforcement personnel.

The Glasgow City Council will meet on Monday at 5pm in the council chambers at the Glasgow Civic Center.

According to the Montana Department of Revenue, 10,000 rebate applications were filed within the first 10 minutes of the portal opening Thursday morning.

Homeowners can apply for the rebate, which is up to $675, between August 14 and October 1, 2024.

To be eligible you must have owned and lived in your Montana home for at least seven months of the year 2023 and paid property taxes on that residence.

Homes owned by an LLC, corporation, or held in an "irrevocable trust" are not eligible.

You need to know your social security number and your property's geocode, a 17-digit number that identifies your property.

That number can be found online using the Montana Cadastral or on your previous property tax bill.

All rebates will be mailed to eligible property owners.

Montana Fish, Wildlife, & Parks is seeking public input for a proposed public shooting range project in Glasgow. A public scoping meeting will be held at the FWP Region 6 headquarters in Glasgow, in the Quonset building meeting room, on Thurs., Aug. 22, at 5:30 p.m. Written comments on the proposal must be received by Aug. 31.

FWP is seeking to lease property from the City of Glasgow where the current Glasgow public shooting range is located, approximately one-half mile north of Glasgow off Skylark Rd. FWP would improve and manage the Glasgow shooting range depending on the public’s interest, recommendations, and support of the current site during the public scoping process.

Public scoping provides an opportunity for stakeholders to engage with FWP during the early planning stages of a proposed project. The intent of scoping is for FWP to gather comments, concerns, ideas and/or issues from stakeholders who may be affected by a proposed project or its alternatives.

The purpose of the proposed project is to create more public opportunity for recreational shooting by making possible improvements to the current rifle, trap, pistol, and archery ranges in the Glasgow area. Project actions will be determined based on the public’s interest and support of these shooting sports during the public scoping process. Through a lease with the City of Glasgow, FWP would manage and operate the Glasgow shooting range as day use only, with possible restricted hours and days.

Following this scoping process, FWP will prepare a Draft Environmental Assessment (Draft EA) to analyze the environmental impacts of the “Proposed Action” and the “No Action” alternative, as required by MEPA. This Draft EA, including proposed project details, will also be made available for public comment. FWP’s objective would be to begin work in early 2025.

Comments must be received by end of day August 31, 2024. Comments can be emailed to Tim Potter at tpotter@mt.gov Subject: Glasgow Shooting Range Lease and Improvements.

Or mailed to:

Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks
Attn: Tim Potter Jr.
1 Airport Rd
Glasgow, MT 59230 See less

The national average for a gallon of gas hit $3.44, falling by just a penny since last week. Meanwhile, the national and state averages for L2 commercial electricity remained the same as the previous two weeks.

“Summer is wrapping up soon, and so far, gas prices have barely wobbled,” said An-drew Gross, AAA spokesperson. “But we still have a long way to go with hurricane season, so it’s too soon to declare that pump prices have started their usual Autumn swoon.”

With an estimated 1.2 million AAA members living in households with one or more electric vehicles, AAA lists the kilowatt-per-hour cost for Level 2 (L2) commercial charging by state.

Today’s national average for a kilowatt of electricity at an L2 commercial charging station is 34 cents.

According to new data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), gas demand edged higher last week from 8.96 million b/d to 9.04. Meanwhile, total domestic gasoline stocks fell from 225.1 to 222.2 million barrels. Gasoline production decreased slightly last week, averaging 9.7 million barrels per day. Tepid gasoline demand and stable oil costs may cause pump prices to slide further.

Today’s national average for a gallon of gas is $3.44, eight cents less than a month ago and 42 cents less than a year ago.

Oil Market Dynamics

At the close of Wednesday’s formal trading session, WTI fell by $1.37 to settle at $76.98 a barrel. The EIA reports that crude oil inventories increased by 1.4 million barrels from the previous week. At 430.7 million barrels, U.S. crude oil inventories are about 5% below the five-year average for this time of year.

Quick Gas Stats

Gas

The nation’s top 10 most expensive gasoline markets are Hawaii ($4.67), California ($4.69), Washington ($4.22), Nevada ($3.95), Oregon ($3.86), Illinois ($3.84), Alaska ($3.76), Washington, D.C. ($3.67), Utah ($3.65), and Idaho ($3.60).

The nation’s top 10 least expensive gasoline markets are Mississippi ($2.96), Texas ($3.04), Louisiana ($3.05), Oklahoma ($3.06), Tennessee ($3.07), Alabama ($3.10), South Carolina ($3.11), Arkansas ($3.12), Kansas ($3.14) and Missouri ($3.16).

U.S. oil producers pumped record high levels of crude last week, according to government data released Wednesday, extending the upswing in output that has made the United States the biggest oil and gas producer in history.

Preliminary data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration showed oil companies pumped an average of 13.4 million barrels a day from U.S. oil fields during the week ended Aug. 2, surpassing the previous record of 13.3 million the industry has hit several times this year. U.S. oil production began a long climb upward starting in 2008, setting an annual record peak in 2023 that is likely to be broken this year.

Analysts warned that the EIA could revise the number when it releases its monthly data, which generally lags its weekly bulletins by several months. But for now, the number indicates that oil companies have gotten more efficient at pumping oil even as the number of drilling rigs in operation has fallen compared with last year, according to data from oilfield services company Baker Hughes.

“Seems to be an all-time weekly record and indicative of improving the efficiency of using drilling rigs in the oil patch,” Andrew Lipow, head of Houston-based consulting firm Lipow Oil Associates, said of the latest EIA production number.

The United States and other countries are essentially filling in for the oil supply that OPEC+, the production cartel and its larger grouping that includes Russia, have cut in recent years, said Tamas Varga, analyst at PVM Oil Associates.

“The U.S. output surprises to the upside,” Varga said in an email. “Four years ago the consensus was that it will go nowhere near the 13 million barrel mark. What we have been seeing is that the US, amongst other non-OPEC+ producers, has happily filled in the gap left on the supply side of the equation by OPEC+.”

The Glasgow School Board met on Wednesday as the school district prepares for the 1st day of school next week.

The audio and video recording of the meeting can be found here:

https://www.glasgow.k12.mt.us/page/school-board

The school board approved a personnel action report. Here are the hires made by the Glasgow School District:

Jenna Marsalek & Carin Barnett were hired as GHS Prep Cooks.

Kathy Smith is hired as an Accompanist (4 periods/day).

Jessica Gustin, Marissa Wagoner, and Tony Marsalek were hired as substitutes.

Michael Kelsey, Jason Thibault, Jeremy Radakovich, and Rachael Pattison were hired as coaches. Matt Bacon hired as STUCO assistant advisor, and Sam Tedrow hired as G Club advisor.

Michelle Huntsman is transferred from Volunteer Cross Country Coach to an Assistant GMS Cross Country Coach.

Tabitha Brandt is transferred from substitute to Irle Satellite Cook.

Nate Doornek was transferred from Grade 5 teacher to Irle Health Enhancement Teacher

Darron Lee has resigned his position as Irle satellite cook.

Byron Hallock has resigned his position as Irle Health Enhancement Teacher

Will Larsen has resigned his position as Grade 8 boys basketball coach

The school board approved a contract with Jennifer Buchmann-Cunninham to provide school psychology services at $85 per hour for the 2024-2025 school year.

The board approved school district bus routes for the 2024-2025 school year and approved requests from Hinsdale and Lustre School Districts to enter the school district with a bus to pick up students.

Adult lunch prices were increased to $5.00 and an obsolete/surplus sale resolution was approved by the school board.

The board also approved the budget for the 2024/2025 school year. The general fund budget amount is $6,949,480.40 and with all other budget items including transportation and retirement, the total budget amount for the Glasgow School District is $9,709,245.41.

Story credit to Northern Plain Independent and James Walling:

District Court Judge David Cybulski filed an order Aug. 7, bringing a potential conclusion to a longstanding dispute over access to American Legion Park in Culbertson.

Cybulski ordered Knudsen Family Limited Partnership, which includes county residents Miles and Rhonda Knudsen, to pay damages and face sanctions for defying a Montana Supreme Court ruling granting access through their land to American Legion Park along the Missouri River. The dispute has prevented Scouting groups and the public from using the park site for decades.

The order finds that Miles Knudsen “personally engaged in the conduct that resulted in the blocking off of the easement road and relocating it with a lesser quality road in violation of this Court’s final judgment.” The order also finds, “that Mr. Knudsen’s behavior violated this Court’s final judgment and is considered contempt.”

Cybulski ordered Knudsen Family Limited Partnership to deposit $45,158.75 with the Roosevelt County Clerk of Court, “pending resolution of the issue of the easement restoration, and as an alternative to jailing until the easement is restored.”

The dispute between the Knudsens and the American Legion over the route to the park was on the brink of resolution in 2021, when Cubulski first issued a ruling granting the Legion access to the prop-

The Valley County Pool Committee is reporting that work on a new swimming pool for Glasgow and Valley County continues.

In the last week:

Final lift of the main pool wall was poured.

Part of the zero-depth entry area was poured.

Mechanical building footing has been poured and forming has begun on the foundation walls.

The new pool will open in May of 2025.

As the Valley County Pool Committee continues to fundraise for the final portion of the bathhouse, every dollar counts! If you'd like to help finish the project, go online at valcopool.com, stop by the City of Glasgow Office or contact a VALCO Pool Campaign committee member.

Voters in the Town of Nashua approved a review of their form of local government in the June Primary Election. The first step in that review is electing a 3-person review committee.

The following individuals have filed to run for a position on the three-member local government study commission for the Town of Nashua:

Joy Guttenberg
Jody Sundheim Novak
Sharon Merideth
Kimberly Hill
Shandy Stingley

These candidates will be on the general election ballot. Absentee ballots for the general election will be mailed to voters on October 11, 2024. If you believe that you are registered to receive an absentee ballot and haven't received one by October 19, 2024, please contact the election office at 406-228-6220.

Join us on August 17 for an unforgettable evening at the Middle of Nowhere Music Fest! We're thrilled to welcome Chancey Williams, Tigirlily Gold, and Two Weeks Notice to the stage. Don't miss out on the incredible music and fun! Get your tickets today—prices go up at the gate. See you there!

The City of Glasgow at a work session on Tuesday, gave preliminary approval to a general fund budget and set assessments for the new fiscal year.

The general fund budget was set at $3,318,112. The general fund budget funds services such as the Glasgow Police Department, Glasgow Fire Department and the Glasgow Recreation Department.

The council gave preliminary approval to a tax cut for city of Glasgow property taxpayers. The council voted to assess less mills than last fiscal year which will result in a tax cut of $6,584.58 for property taxpayers in the city. The assessment will generate $1,556,118.36 for this fiscal year compared to the assessments which raised $1,562,702.94 last year.

City residents will see an increase in street assessments as the council voted too tentatively increase the assessment by 5%. The increase will generate an additional $29,244.69 which will be used to repair aging city streets. The total street assessment for commercial and residential properties will generate $614,138.46 to be used for operation and maintenance of the city street department.

A public hearing will be held on September 3rd when the council will be asked to give final approval to these items and all budget item and assessments.

BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS Valley County, Montana
Wednesday, August 14, 2024, 10:30 am
1. Additions/Deletions
2. Public Comment on agenda items
3. Action on Employment/Termination Notices
4. Consider signing Part 2 of Grant# GGW-NMG-3-30-0033-27-2024 for the Airport Electrical Vault lighting and fuel system between Valley County Airport and FAA, in the amount of $448,000.
5. Consider approval of MOU-Memorandum of Understanding between the City of Glasgow, Town of Nashua, Town of Opheim and Town of Fort Peck and Valley County. The County supplies the DES Coordinator for all of these locations. Ed Malone DES Coordinator will be present to explain.
6. Public Comment on non-agenda items

The Glasgow City Council will meet today at 4:30pm to work on the general fund budget as well as set taxes and assessments for residents in the City of Glasgow.

The meeting will be held in the council chambers of the Glasgow Civic Center.

The General Fund budgets is the largest of the budgets that the city uses and includes the Glasgow Police Department, Glasgow Fire Department and Glasgow Recreation Department.

The council will also look at all assessments for city residents including solid waste and street.

While much of U.S. border security talk focuses on the southwest corner of the country, the U.S. Senate passed a bipartisan bill in June aimed at a different target — growing migration along the U.S.-Canada border.

The legislation, titled the Northern Border Coordination Act, was co-authored by Sens. Susan Collins, a Maine Republican, and Gary Peters, a Michigan Democrat. The measure would hire additional U.S. Border Patrol agents for critically understaffed areas of the northern border and establish the Northern Border Coordination Center at Selfridge Air National Guard Base near Detroit to coordinate border security strategy.

The Senate passed the measure by unanimous consent, but the House has not acted on it.

The northern border is the longest international border in the world at just more than 5,500 miles, divided into eight patrol sectors comprising 49 official border crossing stations.

It is also largely undefended.

Much of the border is undefined and unobstructed, marked only by a 6-foot clearing, or vista, that follows the length of the border, hundreds of white markers, and naturally occurring boundaries like streams or lakes.

Illegal crossings up

There has been growing attention from northern-state lawmakers in recent years over increased attempted illegal border crossings as migration from Latin America grows due to economic and political conditions.

In 2023, CBP encountered almost 190,000 individuals attempting to cross from Canada to the United States. That’s almost seven times more than in 2021.

CBP encountered almost 2.5 million individuals on the southern border in 2023.

The Swanton Sector, a 24,000-square-mile area spanning the northern borders of eastern New York, Vermont, and New Hampshire, has seen the highest number of illegal crossings. From October 2022 to September 2023, CBP saw a 550% increase in apprehensions of people crossing from Quebec into the sector.

Encounters are when border officials catch individuals illegally crossing from one country to another either at or between ports of entry. Individuals can then be sent back to their country of origin, Canada, or released into the U.S.

Collen Putzel, an associate policy analyst at the Migration Policy Institute, a liberal-leaning immigration policy think tank, said in an interview with States Newsroom that encounter numbers don’t perfectly reflect the number of people entering the U.S.

“The encounter numbers may be increasing, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that the number of people actually entering are increasing,” Putzel said.

Understaffed

Staffing on the northern border remains a critical issue in maintaining border policies and security. The U.S. Government Accountability Office conducted a study in 2019 and found there were “an insufficient number of agents that limited patrol missions along the northern border.”

GAO attributed many of the staffing shortages to be a result of “competing priorities along the U.S.-Mexico border.”

A CBP spokesperson told States Newsroom in a written statement that more congressional support is needed to address northern border issues.

“CBP continuously adjusts to shifting trends while continuing to call on Congress to provide the resources and personnel necessary to sustain and improve our border security along all our borders,” the spokesperson said.

Peters said his bill with Collins would help solve staffing shortages.

“This legislation will further cement the center’s role in coordinating border security efforts, supporting personnel training and conducting testing for new border security technologies,” he said in a press release from Collins’ office.

Routes set by smugglers

Most of the people crossing the border come from areas outside Canada. About half come from Mexico, CBS News Boston reported. Others are from India, Bangladesh and Haiti.

Many buy one-way plane tickets to Toronto or Montreal.

The increased movement of people through Canada could be fueled by smuggling operations, Putzel said.

“Oftentimes, migration routes are, in part, dictated by the smuggling networks that are controlling them,” she said.

In February, Canada changed a visa rule for Mexican nationals, requiring citizens to obtain a Canadian or U.S. travel visa before entering Canada. Previously, no visas were required.

Canada has seen an increase in Mexican migrants claiming asylum during the past decade. In 2015, only 110 people from Mexico applied for asylum. At the end of 2023, almost 24,000 applied, the majority filing their claims from airport offices, according to the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada Department.

National security vulnerabilities

With more people moving from Canada into the U.S., the situation at the northern border has grown more precarious, prompting bills like the Northern Border Coordination Act, which was introduced in July 2023.

In 2023, the CBP Office of Field Operations, which monitors the border at ports of entry, encountered 484 individuals on the terrorist watchlist attempting to cross into the U.S. from Canada. That’s almost nine times more than in 2021, according to CBP data. Officials on the southern border only encountered 80 people on the watchlist in 2023.

Authorities have also encountered more drugs being brought over the northern border. According to the CBP, drug seizures in 2023 were up by about 29% from 2021 levels. Marijuana was the most common drug officers found, with just under 3,500 seizures in 2023 compared to just under 2,000 in 2021.

But weapons and ammunition seizures have decreased in recent years. In 2021, CBP seized more than 9,000 weapons, ammunition, and gun parts. In 2023, that figure was down to just more than 4,000.

Rep. Shri Thanedar, a Democrat who represents part of the Detroit area along the northern border, said in a statement to States Newsroom that the Collins-Peters proposal “is essential to address the rising national security threat along the northern border.”

“I firmly believe this strategic investment will benefit the safety of communities within Michigan’s 13th Congressional District,” Thanedar said.

Economic factors push more migrants to U.S.

The U.S. may be more appealing to migrants than Canada because of culture and the job market, Silvia Pedraza, a professor of sociology and American culture at the University of Michigan, said. Immigrants are more likely to get jobs in the U.S. than Canada, she said.

“In Canada, people (immigrants) don’t get decent jobs. They (Canadians) treat them nicely. They’re even, I would say, hospitable and warm,” said Pedraza. “The fact of the matter is that they don’t give them any jobs that are worth anything.”

“We (the U.S.) don’t give them papers, but we give them jobs,” she said, acknowledging the better job prospects immigrants seek to support themselves and their families.

But Pedraza also thinks that Americans should recognize the positive economic impact immigrants bring.

She said with U.S. citizens’ increasing levels of education, they are less willing to work jobs in the service industry, construction, and agriculture. In recent years, immigrant workers have begun to make up significant populations in these industries, according to a study by Pew Research Center.

“We don’t seem to recognize that we have a real need, a real lack of people in these sorts of jobs that are essential to the economy,” said Pedraza.

Pedraza emphasized that the U.S. is a country built on immigration and that intense media coverage of the southern border won’t help solve the crisis.

“It’s such a negative portrayal all the time that doesn’t see the value of what immigrants bring to a country,” she said.

Montana regulators say the state’s largest utility will need to provide more information before they consider proposed rate increases.

Last month, NorthWestern Energy filed requested electrical and natural gas rate adjustments with the Montana Public Service Commission. On Tuesday, the commission voted unanimously that the company’s initial application didn’t meet “minimum filing standards. They gave the utility two weeks to submit additional information.

“We gave them an expedited schedule because we know that Northwestern has an interest in moving this forward quickly, and so we didn't want to hold up the process, but it's really on the utility now to meet that two-week requirement,” said PSC President James Brown.

The PSC identified a series of deficiencies in NorthWestern’s application. They’re asking for additional financial data and more details on things like how many customers and which types of customers will be affected by rate increases. Brown said the company also needs to show how their revenue requirement breaks down for each electrical generation and natural gas production facility, in order to comply with an order the PSC made as part of NorthWestern’s last rate case.

Brown said this is the first time he can remember since he was elected to the PSC in 2020 that they have determined an application was insufficient on its face. He said this is essentially a procedural step, but that it’s important the commission has this information before they take a full look at NorthWestern’s request.

“NorthWestern, as the applicant in this matter, always bears the burden of proof to show that the rates that their rate adjustments that they're requesting are just and reasonable, and if they don't provide the information that we need to make that determination, then NorthWestern does put its own application in jeopardy,” he said.

“NorthWestern Energy will supplement our application for a regulatory rate review with the additional information required by the Montana Public Service Commission decision Aug. 6,” said public relations specialist Jo Dee Black in a statement.

NorthWestern is initially asking for an interim rate increase – about $2 a month for a typical residential electrical user and $5 a month for a typical natural gas user – that would take effect in October. They’ll also propose an additional increase to take effect in 2025, bringing the total to around $9 a month for an average electrical user and $9 a month for a gas user.

As of Aug. 1, the Office of Public Instruction’s employment portal listed 853 active job postings for licensed public school positions in Montana. The postings include openings for teachers, counselors, administrators and paraprofessionals in school districts across Montana, and may capture some redundant listings or positions that have recently been filled.

With the start of the 2024-25 school year approaching, Montana schools of all sizes are once again contending with the state’s ongoing teacher shortage. Challenges finding qualified applicants to fill open positions have prompted many districts in recent years to rely on provisional licensing and on emergency authorizations — essentially a green-light from the state to hire an individual who does not fully meet the requirements for a licensed teacher. OPI issued 176 emergency employment authorizations last year.

Education leaders are also increasingly focusing on retention. In a bid to help prepare new hires for the rigors of a public school classroom, the Alliance for Curriculum Enhancement, which provides curricula and support services for many rural schools, is hosting an inaugural “boot camp” this week at Lockwood High School outside Billings for roughly 125 early career teachers. Executive Director Jenny Combs told Montana Free Press the training is designed to help starting teachers, particularly those working under emergency authorizations, develop the rules and skills necessary to work with students and school administrators. The organization is also launching a mentoring program this fall in partnership with researchers at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks.

The Glasgow School Board will meet Wednesday at 7pm in the Gary F. Martin Board Room at the Glasgow High School Central Office.

The Glasgow City Council has awarded the Yard of the Week to Theresa and Jerry Tade at 1023 4th Ave South. Awards will be given each week in June, July, and August 2024.

The Yard of the Week recipients receive $25 in chamber big bucks sponsored each week in the summer by the Glasgow City Council.

If anyone would like to nominate somebody for the yard of the week you may call the chamber office at 406-228-2222 or Email them at chamber@nemont.net

A semi tractor-trailer lost a front wheel on Thursday afternoon on Highway 13 north of Wolf Point, starting the Rd 2052 grass fire. At 6 p.m., the BIA engine has stopped that fire from growing at 105 acres and is beginning to mop up.

Grass fires can be controlled the day they start, but timber fires take more time to extinguish. To put out their dense burning coals and embers requires stirring and mixing with moisture, or removing oxygen, or monitoring until their fuel burns up. The 12-acre Green fire on August 1 along the Missouri River burned in heavier riparian [riverbank or wetland] fuels: large cottonwoods and willows that can smolder for days.

Limbing and bucking fallen trees and mopping smokes, combined with favorable (damp cool) weather this week, let the Green fire be “fully wrapped up” Wednesday, said FMO Adam Wolf. The BIA engine will patrol the fire site for five more days, extinguishing any slight smokes. Vegetation will mostly resprout from underground roots.

The Montana Farmers Union will have a Farmer's Share Day at the Northeast Montana Fair on Friday, August 9th.

Did you know that farmers and ranchers only receive 14.3 cents of every dollar that consumers spend on food at home and away from home?

According to the USDA, off-farm costs, including marketing, processing, wholesaling, distribution and retail account for more than 80 cents of every food dollar the United States.

Stop by the Montana Farmers Union booth at the fair between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. to learn about the Farmer's Share prices, Montana Farmers Union, and get a discount ticket for a cheeseburger at the Valley County 4-H Food Booth only on August 9th - you pay the Farmer's Share price: 75 cents!

Photo courtesy BIA

Smokey Bear and Bureau of Indian Affairs Fire Management staff held two birthday parties this week for local children in advance of his 80th birthday on August 9, 2024.

More than 30 people attended the programs at the Shanley Library in Poplar on Tuesday, August 6, and at the Roosevelt County Library in Wolf Point on Thursday, August 8.

BIA Fire Prevention Technician Janet Anderson read The Smokey Story, a picture book about how a real bear named Smokey was found after a wildfire and became the symbol of wildland fire prevention.
Students practiced fire safety by building a model “fire,” watching it during storytime, and learning to put it out before leaving. Smokey Bear wants everyone to remember his first rule: “Only you can prevent wildfires!”

BIA Fire will be attending the Ft. Kipp Powwow and Turns Around Powwow in last August. Smokey Bear hopes to visit as many schools as he can this fall to share his message to “be careful with fire.”

OMAHA, Neb. --
July runoff in the Missouri River basin above Sioux City, Iowa was 2.8 million acre-feet, 85% of average with below-average runoff in the upper three reaches and above-average runoff in the lower three reaches. The annual runoff forecast above Sioux City, Iowa is 23.9 MAF, 93% of average.

“July brought warmer and drier weather to the Missouri River Basin,” said John Remus, chief of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Missouri River Basin Water Management Division. “While every state experienced storms that produced small pockets of above average rainfall, overall precipitation was below normal for the basin.”

The drought monitor for July 30 shows 59% of the Basin in abnormally dry (D0) or worse category. Soils are drier than normal in the western portion of the basin and wetter than normal in the eastern portion of the basin. The drought outlook extending through the end of October shows drought conditions persisting or worsening for the western half of the basin.

System storage peaked on July 11 at 57.0 MAF. System storage on Aug. 1 was 56.5 MAF, 0.4 MAF above the base of the Annual Flood Control and Multiple Use zone.

“Reservoir inflows in July declined due to warmer and drier conditions in the upper Missouri River basin. After peaking in mid-July, System storage is expected to continue declining into the Carryover Multiple Use Zone during the remainder of 2024 as we make releases during the summer and fall periods to support the authorized purposes,” said Remus.

“The monthly study indicates that the winter release from Gavins Point, which is based on the Sept. 1 System storage check, will likely be near the minimum rate of 12,000 cfs,” added Remus.

Basin and river conditions continue to be monitored and System regulation will be adjusted based on the most up-to-date information.

Navigation:

Per the July 1 System storage check, navigation flow support was increased to 500 cfs below the full-service level. The flow support season length will be a full 8-month season, ending December 1 at the mouth of the Missouri River. Gavins Point Dam releases are currently 27,500 cfs. Releases will be set to provide flow support at the intermediate-service level at all four target locations (Sioux City, Omaha, Nebraska City, and Kansas City). Navigation flow targets may be missed in reaches with no commercial barge traffic.

Fort Peck Flow Test:

Test releases from Fort Peck to assess the potential benefits of alternative management scenarios for the pallid sturgeon began on April 26 and were terminated early due to lack of evidence of spawning. The test included two higher flow periods, in late April and June, with target flows at Wolf Point, Montana. The first peak in releases was completed in early May with peak flows of 18,000 cfs at Wolf Point, Montana. Releases were reduced to 10,000 cfs by May 10. The second peak began on June 19 and reached a peak flow of approximately 20,000 cfs on June 26. Flows were then decreased to an average daily flow of 8,000 cfs around July 7. Releases were increased to 9,000 cfs on July 25 after Fort Peck resumed normal operations. A female pallid sturgeon was recaptured on July 31, and it was determined via ultrasound that it had spawned. The spawning is the second-ever confirmed spawning event on the Missouri River between Fort Peck and Garrison Dams. The United States Geological Survey is reviewing telemetry data to narrow down the location and timing of the spawning.

Reservoir Forecasts:

Gavins Point Dam
Average releases past month – 20,200 cfs
Current release rate – 27,500 cfs
Forecast release rate – 29,500 cfs
End-of-July reservoir level – 1206.3 feet
Forecast end-of-August reservoir level – 1206.5 feet
Notes: The Gavins Point release will be adjusted to provide navigation flow support on the lower Missouri River.

Fort Randall Dam
Average releases past month – 18,200 cfs
End-of-July reservoir level – 1355.9 feet
Forecast end-of-August reservoir level – 1355.2 feet
Notes: Releases will be adjusted as necessary to maintain the desired reservoir elevation at Gavins Point and to back up Gavins Point releases.

Big Bend Dam
Average releases past month – 12,100 cfs
Forecast average release rate – 27,000 cfs
Forecast end-of-August reservoir level – 1420.6 feet

Oahe Dam
Average releases past month – 11,900 cfs
Forecast average release rate – 27,400 cfs
End-of-July reservoir level – 1605.6 feet (up 2.6 feet from June 30)
Forecast end-of-August reservoir level – 1604.2 feet

Garrison Dam
Average releases past month – 22,000 cfs
Current release rate – 22,000 cfs
Forecast release rate – 22,000 cfs
End-of-July reservoir level – 1842.0 feet (down 0.2 feet from June 30)
Forecast end-of-August reservoir level – 1840.3 feet
Notes – Releases will be maintained at 22,000 cfs through mid-September.

Fort Peck Dam
Average releases past month – 9,000 cfs
Current release rate – 9,000 cfs
Forecast average release rate – 9,000 cfs
End-of-July reservoir level – 2229.0 feet (down 1.2 feet from June 30)
Forecast end-of-August reservoir level – 2227.3 feet
Notes: Releases will be maintained at 9,000 cfs through mid-September.
The forecast reservoir releases and elevations discussed above are not definitive. Additional precipitation, lack of precipitation or other circumstances could cause adjustments to the reservoir release rates.

Hydropower:

The six mainstem power plants generated 631 million kWh of electricity in July. Typical energy generation for July is 954 million kWh. The power plants are expected to generate 8.0 billion kWh this year, compared to the long-term average of 9.4 billion kWh.

From hilinetoday.com

(Montana Wheat and Barley Committee) The Montana Wheat and Barley Committee reports that they’ve been out with producers and have returned with harvest numbers.

Yields are being reported as anywhere from 40 to 85 bushels per acre, with some anomalies getting up to 120 bushels per acre. That said, while the yields have been high, protein counts have been averaging lower than normal, between half a point to a full point lower than Montana’s typical 11.8 average.

These protein deficiencies can mean some losses on sale when bringing crop into town, some facing as much as 45-cent discounts or even larger.

The reason for these lower proteins has thus far been attributed to late frosts in June, as grasshopper and wheat stem sawfly numbers are down in the central regions of Montana.

Eastern Montana harvesters continue to suffer losses from grasshopper infestations.

Carol Robbins, 811 7th Ave
City Council Yard of the week

Glasgow City Council has awarded the Yard of the Week for this week. Awards will be given each week in June, July, and August 2024.

The Yard of the Week recipients receive $25 in chamber big bucks sponsored each week in the summer by the Glasgow City Council.

If anyone would like to nominate somebody for yard of the week you may call the chamber office 406-228-2222 or Email them at chamber@nemont.net

The latest Fort Peck Agency Fire Update shows no major fires on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation as of Tuesday morning.

The agency did announce the hiring of Janet Anderson as a Fire Prevention Technician. She arrived in Poplar in May from the U.S. Forest Service and National Park Service and will work in interpretation (visiting people) and law enforcement (helping people take responsibility).

A prevention technician helps her new community lessen dangers from human-caused fires. She loves to visit schools, community groups, councils, churches and events. She visits homes and businesses to help us prepare for wildfire. She also knows Smokey Bear “inside out.”

For example, Smokey Bear and Anderson are celebrating the bear’s 80th birthday by reading his story today, Tuesday, August 6, at 10:30 a.m. at the Fort Peck Community College library in Poplar, then Thursday, August 8, at 10 a.m. at Roosevelt County library in Wolf Point.

Update from the Montana Highway Patrol - The suspect has turned themselves in. Thanks to everyone who provided information.

(From the Roosevelt County Sheriff's Office)
The Montana Highway Patrol is asking for the public's assistance in identifying this vehicle. This is the suspect vehicle that hit an elderly couple on a bicycle east of Silver Wolf Casino Sunday morning. The description is a lighting blue 2016-2018 Ford F-150 crew cab XLT or Lariat, with a black grill guard and a black tonneau cover missing a passenger side mirror.

Please contact Roosevelt County Dispatch at 406 653-6240 if you have any information regarding this vehicle.

BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS Discussion & Decision Meeting
Valley County, Montana
Wednesday, August 7, 10:30 am
1. Additions/Deletions
2. Public Comment on agenda items
3. Action on Employment/Termination Notices
4. Consider approval of contract between MT DPHHS and Valley County for the Montana Tobacco Use Prevention Program for FY 2025 in the amount of $6,634.
5. Consider accepting and signing the Airport Electrical Vault Grant Agreement, GGW­NMG-3-30-0033-28-2024 between the FAA and Valley County, in the amount of
$49,904.
6. Public Comment on non-agenda items

The Montana Department of Revenue (DOR) will soon be distributing its second round of property tax rebates to eligible Montana taxpayers as part of a property tax relief package signed into law by Governor Greg Gianforte in 2023.

The property tax rebate is a rebate of up to $675 of property taxes paid on a principal residence. To qualify, you must have owned and lived in a Montana residence for at least seven months of 2023 and paid the property taxes on that residence. Properties owned by an entity and irrevocable trusts are not eligible for the rebate.

For a complete list of qualifications, please visit getmyrebate.mt.gov.

Montanans must apply for the rebate between August 15 - October 1, 2024. The fastest way for taxpayers to apply for the rebate is online. Claiming a property tax rebate online should take only a few minutes.

All property tax rebates will be sent by paper check.

Taxpayers should be on the lookout for suspicious or fraudulent activity during the property tax rebate application period. The best way for Montanans to avoid scams is to apply early by visiting getmyrebate.mt.gov.

Visit getmyrebate.mt.gov today to prepare for the upcoming Montana Property Rebate application period.

Last year, Governor Gianforte delivered Montana homeowners the largest property tax rebate in state history as well as permanent reforms, saving property taxpayers more than $120 million. Taken together, these immediate measures delivered this year and last more than offset the property tax increase of the average Montana homeowner.

In addition to delivering short-term relief, Governor Gianforte established a bipartisan property tax task force identify permanent reforms to provide homeowners with significant, long-term property tax relief.

To learn more about the governor’s property tax task force, and to watch previous meetings, please visit Governor's Property Tax Task Force.

OMAHA, Neb. - The 2024 test flow from Fort Peck Dam was the first in a series of test flows intended to comply with the 2018 Biological Opinion. The test flow began April 26 with an initial flow peak in early May and a second flow peak in late June.

Following the second peak there still was no indication of spawning by the three female pallid sturgeon present downstream of the dam. Because there had been no indication of spawning behavior following completion of the second peak or from fish assessments via ultrasound conducted July 2-3, normal operations resumed resulting in a small change in releases from 8,000 cfs to 9,000 cfs.

Monitoring continued, however, and one female was recaptured and reassessed on July 30 and still had not spawned. Another of the female pallid sturgeon was recaptured on July 31 and it was determined via ultrasound that it had spawned. This is only the second known spawning event downstream of Ft. Peck Dam.

Currently, the United States Geological Survey is reviewing telemetry data to narrow down location and timing of this spawning event and based on an initial review spawning may have occurred near Wolf Point in late July. Crews have not yet relocated the third female pallid sturgeon to determine if it had spawned.

Information collected during the test flow will be used to assess the relation of the pallid sturgeon responses, including this spawning event, to the test flow.

Crews will now be sampling for any progeny that may have been produced from this spawning event. Monitoring of fish response and monitoring for potential impacts continue despite return to normal operations and both will be used to inform future test flows.

Photos of the Green fire courtesy BIA/Jonathan Firecloud.
Green Fire Photo #1
Green Fire Photo #2
Green Fire Photo #3

As wildfire intensity ramps up, four employees and one BIA fire engine coordinate with local volunteer fire departments to protect the Fort Peck Reservation of more than two million acres.

The Green fire Thursday, August 1, burned 12 acres of heavy downed cottonwoods and pines along the Missouri River four miles southwest of Wolf Point. A riverside party left an unattended campfire Wednesday night. In the sun next day it began throwing flaming embers that started new “spot fires” 20 and 30 feet away. To stop the leapfrogging flames, the BIA engine needed to burn out a swath around the blaze which came to meet them.

“The fuels are just curing out a lot more,” said Fire Management Officer Adam Wolf. “You can see the intensity. The rate of spread is going up a lot more. Fire behavior is getting extreme.”

Support from local volunteer departments sponsored by Montana DNRC is the critical link to keep fires small now. Four Wolf Point VFD engines and a water tender worked closely with BIA to suppress the Green fire. When a fire beyond local capacity breaks out, BIA must request aid from Lewistown BLM fire dispatch – which is priceless but not instant, either. Wolf has applied for federal “severity” funding based on daily extreme fire danger and weather, which would allow more engines to join the BIA staff in Poplar on 14-day rotations while extreme conditions remain. BIA firefighters respond 24-7, such as to a false alarm after midnight this morning. After 16 hours on duty, though, Federal law requires they take 8 hours’ rest.

By the Frazer pumping plant, a 6 acre fire from Thursday, July 25, smoldered then relit Thursday after midnight: the 4 acre Pump Plant 2 fire. The prior week, the Badger Hole 2 fire burned 15 acres northeast of Brockton, then Monday the Rd 1037 fire lit 44 more acres a mile away. Tuesday the Boot fire scorched a half acre along BIA Highway 1 west of Poplar.

Wolf expects wildfires to “keep getting more intense through the month of August.” Employees of the Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes are cheering for residents to stay safe through mid-summer. Sunee Erickson in Tribal Operations said Friday, "Please remember to stay hydrated and check in on elders, kids, and pets on hot days!"

July was a month of above-normal temperatures and below-normal precipitation. In fact, it was the eighth warmest month for the station with an average of 76.8 degrees. This is 4.8 degrees above normal.

There were 4 daily temperature records set during the month: the warmest day was on the 24th with a high of 109. The other dates with records were the 10th, the 19th and the 25th. The coolest temperature was 52 on the 3rd.

Precipitation was only 41 percent of normal with 0.80 inches; most of that fell on the first 6 days of the month. Only 0.14 inches fell afterward. Normal precipitation for July is 1.95 inches.

The peak wind gust occurred on the 5th at 56 mph. The other day with a wind gust over 50 mph was on the 1st with 55 mph. The windiest day was on the 1st with an average wind speed of 13.1 mph.

Looking ahead to August, the normal high starts at 88 and cools to 80 on the 31st. The normal low temperature starts at 60 and cools to 53 at the end of the month. Normal precipitation for August is 1.27 inches.

July records:
High Temperature, 113 on 7/31/1900
Low Temperature, 34 on 7/8/1904
Most Precipitation: 5.93 inches in 1993
Least Precipitation: a trace in 1894

WEATHER CONDITIONS. NUMBER OF DAYS WITH
THUNDERSTORM 10 MIXED PRECIP 0
HEAVY RAIN 1 RAIN 1
LIGHT RAIN 12 FREEZING RAIN 0
LT FREEZING RAIN 0 HAIL 0
HEAVY SNOW 0 SNOW 0
LIGHT SNOW 0 SLEET 0
FOG 1 FOG W/VIS <= 1/4 MILE 0
HAZE 5

A record high temperature of 108 degrees was set for August 2nd in Glasgow on Friday. That broke the old record of 102 degrees, which was set back in 1973.

Glasgow was hotter than El Paso, TX, Tucson, AZ and Las Vegas, NV on Friday.

This was also the 10th record warm temperature broken for 2024. There have been 2 record cold temperature records broken so far.

(Press Release From Senator Tester's Office)

The FY25 appropriations package, which includes federal funding for the Milk River Project at no cost to local communities, will advance to the full Senate

(Big Sandy, Mont.) — As a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, U.S. Senator Jon Tester yesterday secured federal funding for the Milk River Project in the Fiscal Year 2025 (FY25) Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies bill. The bill, which will advance to the full Senate as part of the FY25 appropriations package, includes federal funding for repairs to the St. Mary Canal after a major siphon burst earlier this summer. This funding is non-reimbursable, and will come at no cost to local communities.

“[Bureau of Reclamation] has used emergency spending to get dirt moving and to get this project going because our system in Montana to be able to redo projects like this is limited by weather,” Tester said at a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing. “But the fact is, this committee stepped up in a big way and put some dollars in to allow the Bureau of Reclamation to do this project and to get water flowing to help towns along the Milk and to help 120,000 acres of irrigated land. I can’t thank you enough for the work that the Committee did because quite honestly, water is life, and without water, folks cannot exist.”

Earlier this summer, a major siphon burst on the Milk River Project near Babb, Montana resulted in thousands of gallons of water flooding the surrounding area, causing extensive damage to local businesses, and impacting vital irrigation to farmland in the surrounding area.

Last month, in direct response to pressure from Tester, the Biden Administration announced they would immediately begin rehabilitation work along the Milk River Project. The Bureau of Reclamation agreed to fund the repairs through existing emergency authorities under Public Law 111-11. Tester also successfully pushed President Biden to include the Milk River Project in his Administration’s domestic supplemental package, which would make federal funding available to pay for the reconstruction of the St. Mary Canal.

In addition, Tester took to the Senate floor to successfully pass his bipartisan Fort Belknap Indian Community (FBIC) Water Rights Settlement Act which would provide critical funding for repairs on the Milk River Project. Tester’s FBIC Water Rights Settlement Act will provide $1.3 billion to improve infrastructure and economic development for the Fort Belknap Indian Community and improve the efficiency of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Milk River Project, which furnishes water for the irrigation of about 121,000 acres of Tribal and non-Tribal land. The bill specifically includes $275 million to rehabilitate the St. Mary Canal, and will restore Tribal management to 38,462 acres of state and federal land for the FBIC.

Tester successfully passed the FBIC Water Compact through the Senate earlier this Congress as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), but Speaker Mike Johnson and House Republicans stripped it from the final package.

Earlier this summer, Tester announced that a more than $88 million contract was awarded to Montana-based NW Construction to complete the St. Mary Diversion Dam Replacement project. The contract is part of the up to $100 million Tester secured for the Milk River Project through his bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), which he negotiated and helped pass into law. Tester was the only member of Montana’s Congressional delegation to support the legislation and to support additional improvements to the St. Mary Canal.

The National Weather Service has issued a Heat Advisory in effect from 10 a.m. Thursday until 9 p.m. Friday.

KEY POINTS
Thursday High Temperatures: 90s to near 100 degrees
Friday High Temperatures: above 100 degrees.
Overnight low temperatures will only briefly drop below 70 degrees (for just a few hours).
Daytime humidity will drop down into the teens.
Winds will be light and variable, if not calm.
More normal temperatures will return by Sunday.

DETAILS
The ridge of high pressure will re-strengthen over most of the western US later this week.
Hottest temperatures each day are expected between 1 PM and 7 PM.
No rainfall is expected until Sunday evening.
Avoid strenuous outdoor activity during the hottest part of the day.
Never leave children unattended in vehicles.
Stay hydrated and take frequent breaks.

Investment to increase broadband connection for nearly 500,000 locations

HELENA, Mont. – Governor Greg Gianforte today announced the approval of Montana’s Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) proposal, bringing his administration’s total investment in expanding broadband connection in the state to nearly $1 billion.

“Through this generational investment, Montana will continue leading the nation on expanding reliable, high-speed connections and bridging the digital divide,” Gov. Gianforte said. “We’re unlocking doors and creating greater access to good-paying jobs, high-quality education, and affordable health care.”

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) approval of Montana’s BEAD proposal means an allocation of close to $629 million will come to the state to increase Gov. Gianforte’s ability to create greater connectivity.

After the NTIA announced the BEAD program in 2023, Gov. Gianforte was one of the first governors in the nation to issue a letter of intent to apply for the planning grant, allowing Montana’s Department of Administration’s (DOA) to move quickly and submit an application to secure the resources necessary to deliver broadband to nearly 500,000 Montanans in unserved and underserved communities.

“The cost to deliver broadband on the scale needed, combined with Montana’s low population density, makes it challenging to bring areas of our state online,” DOA Director Misty Ann Giles said. “BEAD funding provides a unique opportunity to meet these challenges, expanding broadband to unserved and underserved areas of Montana.”

With this latest approval, Montana has one year to launch the grant application, receive grant applications from providers, and submit selected proposals to NTIA for approval. On August 15, the BEAD portal will open for applications at ConnectMT.mt.gov.

Upon signing their grant application, selected providers will have four years to deploy broadband services to Montanans in unserved and underserved areas.

In a separate announcement last fall, Gov. Gianforte announced a historic $310 million broadband investment to extend access to reliable broadband for nearly 62,000 Montanans.

Expanding access to reliable broadband is a central element of Gov. Gianforte’s Montana Comeback Plan.

For a video from Gov. Gianforte celebrating the announcement, see here.

For providers interested in applying to be part of the BEAD process, or for Montanans interested in learning more, please visit ConnectMT.mt.gov.

HELENA – The Fish and Wildlife Commission will meet Aug. 16 at 8:30 a.m. at Montana WILD and via Zoom. The deadline to submit written comments on most agenda items was July 25. However, public comment will be taken during the meeting; those wishing to make a comment must register at fwp.mt.gov/aboutfwp/commission/august-2024-meeting. Registration deadline is Aug. 15 at noon.

Agenda items for the Aug. 16 commission meeting are:

Resident SuperTag Administrative Rule

Selection of Organizations to Auction 2025 Shiras Moose, Bighorn Sheep, Mountain Goat, Mule Deer and Elk Licenses

Future Fisheries Improvement Program Projects, Summer 2024 Funding Cycle

2024–2027 Highland Mountains Management Removal of Diseased Bighorn Sheep

Nongame Wildlife Account Annual Workplan

Fall 2024–Winter 2025 Furbearer and Wolf Trapping and Hunting Seasons and Quotas

2024 Public Use Rules Deviations

Montana Great Outdoors Conservation Easement – Phase 1, Region 1

Parsons Slough and Willow Spring Creek Water Management and Lease Agreement, Region 3

Amendment to Wolf Regulations, Commissioner Brooke

2025 Proposed Budget for Fish, Wildlife & Parks – written comment on this item will be accepted through Aug. 7. To comment, go to fwp.mt.gov/aboutfwp/commission/august-2024-meeting.

MALTA- In response to dry, warm weather that could increase the danger of human-caused wildfires, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks fishing access sites and wildlife management areas will be under Stage 1 Fire Restrictions in Phillips County starting at 12:01 a.m. Friday, Aug. 2. Restrictions will be in effect until further notice.
This action follows Stage 1 restrictions in many other counties in Montana, although this is the first county to go into restrictions in Region 6 in northeast Montana. Please refer to www.mtfireinfo.org to see all affected counties.
Region 6 FWP followed the lead of County officials who announced this week that they are entering Stage 1 Fire Restrictions. These restrictions ban campfires except where specifically exempted. Landowners and agencies in those counties may or may not exempt specific sites. Stage 1 Fire Restrictions also prohibit smoking, except within an enclosed vehicle or building, and in areas at least three feet in diameter that are cleared of all flammable materials. People may cook on an LP gas or propane stove that can be turned on and off.
Per FWP policy, all Stage 1 restrictions apply, and no fires will be allowed, even in steel grates, at any fishing access site (FAS) or wildlife management areas (WMA) in Phillips County.
Campfires, normally allowed, are prohibited at the following sites:
• Cole Ponds FAS, Phillips Co.
Open fires are already prohibited year-round at the following sites:
• Alkali Creek FAS, Phillips Co.
• Bjornberg Bridge FAS, Phillips Co.
• Cree Crossing, Sleeping Buffalo, Dodson Creek and Dodson Dam WMAs
For updates on FWP restrictions and closures around the state, go to fwp.mt.gov, and under the “News and Public Notices” tab, click on “Closures and Restrictions.” To report a wildfire, please call 911.

HELENA - The Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) will honor Montana centenarians during the 55th annual Governor’s Conference on Aging on October 1, 2024.?

The annual conference will take place at the Billings Hotel and Convention Center. Centenarians will be honored during a luncheon from noon to 1:30 p.m.

DPHHS is asking Montanans who will turn age 100 as of December 31, 2024, or those who are already over the age of 100 to submit their name and a brief profile.

All centenarians who submit information will receive a recognition certificate from Governor Greg Gianforte.?

Centenarians, or friends or family members, are encouraged to fill out this form by September 15, 2024.

The first five questions are required to receive a certificate.

Centenarian's name.
Birth date of centenarian.
Contact person (whom to send certificate to).
Contact person’s phone number, mailing address, and email.
What city do they live in now?
Is the centenarian a Veteran? If yes, years, branch and location of service.
Where were they born?
If not born in Montana, what is their story about how they arrived to Montana?
What is the secret to their longevity?
What has been the most amazing event in their life that they would like to share?
What is their favorite quote?
Anything else they would like us to know about the centenarian?
Please provide a picture of the centenarian when the information above is submitted.?
Please send centenarian information to:

Governor’s Conference on Aging - Centenarians DPHHS - SLTC – Aging Services

Attention: Tessa Bailly 1100 N. Last Chance Gulch Helena, MT 59601

Or email Tessa at Tessa.bailly@mt.gov

This information can also be submitted online here.

Valley View home is the subject of a feature article in the Montana Free Press. You can read the full story on their website here.

From hilinetoday.com
(Rocky Boy) Rocky Boy Police say they want to speak with 29-year-old Gordon Denny Junior about an incident that took place on Monday, July 29th which ended with a man dead via gunshot wound.

At around 5:30am that day, Rocky Boy Police says they were dispatched to Country View Village after a 911 call. Shortly after, they discovered a man who’d been shot and deceased.

Rocky Boy and the Federal Bureau of Investigations are both still actively investigating this incident and have identified Denny as a person of interest. A picture provided by the police department can be found at hilinetoday.com

Denny should be considered armed and dangerous if seen, and RBPD says if he is seen, people should not approach, but instead call police immediately.

Rocky Boy Police Phone
406-395-4513

On Wednesday, Senator Daines’ “Supporting National Security with Spectrum Act” that would fully fund the “Rip and Replace” program to remove Chinese components from our wireless communications systems passed the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee. Without this bill, wireless and broadband providers across the United States will be saddled with billions of dollars in costs that could result in service blackouts and companies closing down, including many in eastern Montana. Daines issued the following statement.

“Montanans have waited too long—Rip and Replace must be fully paid for to ensure rural providers have the resources and capabilities to remove compromised equipment. Without this funding, rural cell service, public safety and our national security is at risk. Thank you to Senators Schmitt, Lummis, Wicker and the Commerce Committee for moving my bill one step closer to becoming law!”

Daines introduced this bill in March.

HELENA – Superintendent Arntzen has released the list of Montana school districts that will participate in the free and reduced-price school meals or free milk programs during the 2024-2025 school year. Districts are reimbursed for free and reduced-price school meals through the US Department of Agriculture’s National School Lunch Program policy guidelines. Some area schools listed include Glasgow, Nashua, Hinsdale, Frazer and Saco. The full list is available here

“These precious federal tax dollars provide nutritious meals to our children during the school day,” said Superintendent Elsie Arntzen. “During the 2022-2023 school year, nearly 40% of Montana students qualified for the free and reduced-price price meal program. Thank you to all of our Montana school nutrition specialists for putting Montana student’s nutrition first.”

There are two free and reduced-price school meal programs, the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) and the Pricing programs. Districts participating in the CEP do not require families to apply for benefits using a household application. Districts participating in the Pricing program do require families to submit a household application. Children may be eligible for free or reduced-price school meals or free milk if household income is within the limits of income eligibility. For further information on applying, please see the frequently asked questions or contact the child’s school.

Children from households that receive assistance from the following are automatically enrolled in the program for free meals or milk; Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). Children who meet the definition of homeless, migrant, runaway, and foster or are enrolled in Head Start as defined in § 245.2, CFR, are also eligible for free meals or milk programs.

Children who qualify for the new Medicaid direct certification or have parents or guardians who become unemployed or are enrolled in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) may be eligible for either free or reduced-price meals. Reduced-price meals have a cost of $0.40 for the National School Lunch Program and $0.30 for the School Breakfast Program.

Households that do not agree with an application decision may appeal the decision under the hearing procedure outlined in § 245.7, CFR.

HELENA – The wolf population in Montana remains healthy, according to the 2023 Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Wolf Report. Increased harvest during the 2023 wolf season has not yet resulted in an estimated decline to the statewide total. However, FWP biologists expect to see a moderate decline in wolf numbers next year resulting from the increased harvest in early 2024.

“We are committed to following the law to reduce wolf numbers to a sustainable level, which means ensuring Montana has a healthy state managed population,” said Quentin Kujala, FWP Chief of Conservation Policy. “The statewide wolf population estimate for calendar year 2023 is approximately 1,100 wolves, similar to 2022. However, we are seeing declines in the estimated number of wolves and wolf packs in Regions 3 and 4, which suggests the combination of hunting, trapping, and conflict management removals can effectively reduce wolf numbers.”

An example of this moderate decline is in FWP Region 3, where wolf population estimates have gradually declined from 214 in 2020, to 178 in 2023. Statewide, wolf harvest from Jan. 1 through March 15 was 176 wolves in 2024, compared to 144 over the same period in 2023. Both trends indicate a moderate decline in wolf numbers FWP biologists expect to be illustrated in the 2024 wolf report that will come out during the summer of 2025.

The estimated statewide wolf population for 2023 was 1,096, just one less than the 2022 estimated population and slightly below the 10-year average of 1,140 wolves but well above recovery thresholds. The number of wolf packs was 181, spread over 66,000 square miles. Total wolf harvest for the 2023-2024 wolf season was 286 wolves, which was an increase from 258 taken during the 2022-23 season.

Livestock conflicts, confirmed livestock losses and wolf removals were all down considerably in 2023, according to the report. Wildlife Services confirmed the loss of 32 livestock to wolves, including 23 cattle and eight sheep; one livestock guard dog was also killed by wolves. This total was lower than numbers from 2012 to 2022.

“Moving forward with proposed wolf regulations, we will continue to provide the Fish and Wildlife Commission with our best science and lessons learned from Montana wolf management to date,” Kujala said.

At the Aug. 16 Fish and Wildlife Commission meeting, FWP will propose wolf and furbearer regulations for the 2024/2025 seasons. The proposed total wolf harvest quota is 334 wolves, up from 313 for the 2023 season.

The Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission will review and make a final decision on the proposed furbearer and wolf trapping and hunting seasons at its Aug. 16 meeting, except wolf trapping dates and where they will apply. Those will be decided by the commission at its October meeting.

The annual wolf report can be found on FWP’s website at: final-2023-wolf-report.pdf (mt.gov)

(Lewistown, MT)— Due to hot and dry weather conditions, Stage 1 Fire Restrictions will go into effect, beginning at 12:01 a.m. on Friday, August 2, 2024, for all state, private, US Army Corp of Engineers, Bureau of Reclamation and Bureau of Land Management lands except for the Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument, in Phillips County. These restrictions will remain in effect until rescinded.
Under Stage I, the following acts are prohibited:
• Building, maintaining, attending, or using a fire or campfire, except within an established, metal, or concrete fire ring in a developed campsite or recreation area.
• Smoking, except within an enclosed vehicle, building, developed recreation site or in a 3-foot-diameter area cleared of all burnable vegetation and materials.

Exemptions: Pursuant to Title 43, CFR § 9212.2 (b)(3), the following are exempted from this order:
1. Persons with a written permit that specifically authorizes the otherwise prohibited act.
2. Persons using a device solely fueled by liquid petroleum or LPG fuels that can be turned on and off. Such devices can only be used in an area barren or cleared of all overhead and surrounding flammable materials within three feet of the device.
3. Persons conducting activities in those designated areas where the activity is specifically authorized by written posted notice.
4. Any Federal, State, or local officer or member of an organized rescue or firefighting force in performance of official duties.
5. Other exemptions unique to each agency/tribe.

It is important for everyone to do their part to prevent unnecessary risks of wildfire starts. Know before you go – check out https://www.mtfireinfo.org for up-to-date fire restrictions information.

The Lewistown Area Restrictions Group includes representatives from state, county, local, tribal and federal firefighting entities and coordinates fire restrictions on federal, state and private lands in the Lewistown Fire Restrictions Area, covering north-central and extreme northeastern Montana.

Earlier this month the Glasgow City Council approved salaries for all employees of the City of Glasgow.

These salaries are as of July 1st of 2024 and will remain in effect until June 30th of 2025.

New statistics from the Montana Department of Transportation show that ridership on Cape Air Airlines has increased this year compared to 2023.

The number of passengers using Cape Air in Glasgow has increased 4.3% compared to last year. In 2024 through the month of June, there were 2603 passengers compared to 2496 last year.

The busiest month so far this year has been March when 490 passengers used Cape Air in Glasgow.

Other Essential Air Service Communities and their Cape Air ridership through June of 2024.

Wolf Point: 2976
Sidney: 7055
Glendive- 2022
Havre- 2881

Press Release from Glasgow School District

It is crunch time and we are still looking for TWO people to join our Glasgow Schools Food Service Staff for the upcoming 2024-25 school year! We need to fill these positions to be able to provide the great Breakfast and Lunch service one has come to expect from each of our kitchen's.

Job Openings--
Full Time Glasgow High School Prep Cook - 36 to 40 hours per week! $15.43 to $17.59 per hour. Shift starts at 6:00 AM.

Part Time Irle Elementary School Satellite Cook - 24 to 30 hours per week! $14.92 to $17.01 per hour. Flexible starting hour.

Consider applying today at this link: https://glasgowsd.tedk12.com/hire/index.aspx

For questions or for more information contact Glasgow Schools Food Service Supervisor, Katie Potter, at 406-942-2042

Roosevelt County appears to be the second most profitable county in the state when it comes to oil revenue.

According to the quarterly county distribution in Montana at the end of the quarter ending on Dec. 31, 2023, Roosevelt County received total distributions of $2,211,418 from the state. The information was distributed to counties at the end of March.

The only county with a higher number of total distributions was Richland County with a whopping $9,392,577.

Counties close behind Roosevelt included Fallon at $2,189,340 and Powder River at $1,431,752.

The amount includes $862,895 directly to Roosevelt County.

“Every budget gets a certain percentage of our oil money,” Roosevelt County Commissioner Gordon Oelkers explained. “Every department benefits.”

He added that the funds received by Roosevelt County for the previous quarter was $894,000.

“It seems to be hanging around the $800,000 spot for us,” Oelkers said.

School districts in the county also benefit to various degrees from the oil activity.

The Bainville School District tops the county by receiving $684,623. Culbertson is next with $147,352 while Poplar receives $51,293.

Other school districts in Roosevelt County include Froid with $12,432.97, Wolf Point with $5,471, Brockton with $2,866 and Frontier with $1,314.

The elementary retirement fund receives $219,592, the high school retirement fund receives $162,981 and the county wide transportation fund gets $60,592.

For each tax year, the amount of oil and natural gas production taxes determined is allocated to each county according to a schedule.

Roosevelt County receives 45.71 percent while the state keeps the rest of the amount.

Other eastern Montana counties and amount of funds distributed to them from the state include Daniels at $834, Phillips at $92,382, Sheridan at $415,826 and Valley at $308,314.

Montana Code Annotated 15-36-332 1(b) and 7 directs the Department of Revenue to distribute the oil and gas funds to the counties based on the counties’ oil and gas production. Of the distribution to a county, 1/3 must be distributed to the county government and 2/3 must be distributed to incorporated cities and towns within the county.

The Northeast Montana Fair is coming to Glasgow August 6-11!

The Valley County Commissioners will have their weekly meeting on Wednesday, July 31st at 10:30am.

Look for chances of showers and t-storms today and tonight. Warmer temps are expected starting on Monday and continuing for the entire week. There will be a chance of showers and t-storms Tuesday afternoon and night in most areas.

The treasured fairytale comes to life in this magical stage production. Featuring all the famous songs from the televised specials, originally starring Lesley Ann Warren and later Whitney Houston, including: ‘Impossible,’ ‘My Own Little Corner,” ‘Do I Love You?’ and ‘A Lovely Night.’ Full of special effects and beloved characters, it is perfect time to share this ageless story and music with a new generation.

Starring in Cinderella are Glasgow natives Alexa Etchart in the title role and Rachel Lynn Pewitt as Fairy Godmother. Audience favorite Pam L. Veis is the Evil Stepmother, with Rachel Franke and Sydney Hayward as the stepsisters, alongside Brandon Santos as The Prince, Connor Romandine as the Royal Stewart, Brittany Archambeault as The Queen and FPST Artistic Director Andy Meyers as The King.

The large cast also features local talent: Codi Donniaquo as Dove, Lillian Baumgartner, Joel Guttenberg, Aaron Mickelson, Westley Reese, Carolyn Bachtold, Mylee Clark, Janielle Derden, Melissa Mickelson, Corinne Canen, Adam Mickelson, Vic Overbey, Carter Pippin, Aspen Probert, Jayli Roller, Mylee Rasmusen and Annika Smith.

Company member Shy Iverson puppeteers Charles the Cat, with Mariah Cathey, Jarret Buchholz, Lucy Schindler and Mikayla Kay.

The fabulous Cinderella production team is: Shelby Art-Koljonen (director), Colleen Rosbarsky (choreographer), Scott Koljonen (musical director), Jay Michael Roberts (scenic designer), Allison Hinkle (costume designer), Spencer Perry (lighting designer), Brittany Archambeault (props designer), Andy Meyers (puppet designer), Carolyn Orosco (sound designer) and Mesa Winder (stage manager).

Cinderella runs July 26 through Aug. 11: Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 4 p.m.

For tickets and all information 406-526-9943 or visit fortpecktheatre.org.

Following Cinderella the 2024 season concludes with: Honky Tonk Laundry: Aug. 16 through Sept. 1.

Tourism in Montana may be focused near Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks, but one organization in northeast Montana is looking to promote their side of the state as well.

The Missouri River Country Region was awarded over $330,000 in state funds this month towards improving tourism across six counties including Valley County.

Chairman Ray Trumpower said the money will be used to expand their “Talking Trails” program, where people can scan QR codes on their phones to learn more about the area. Trumpower said they are creating brochures for less tech-savvy people.

“Having more money to tell more people what we have in this region means more people come here, which generates more income for the restaurants, bars, motels and sights,” said Trumpower.

Trumpower said they have 50 “Talking Trails” set up across the six-county area.

Trumpower said they will also use the money to provide marketing outreach to neighboring Saskatchewan and hire an assistant for the Missouri River Country’s Executive Director.

The funding comes from the Bed Tax, which is collected from hotel visitors and guests across Montana.

The new Albertsons store in Glasgow had a grand opening and ribbon cutting ceremony on Wednesday.

The Grand Opening included community members, local dignitaries, and donations to the Glasgow School District, Special Olympics, as well as the Glasgow Fire Department, Valley County Long Run Fire Department and Glasgow Police Department.

The new grocery store is located in the former Shopko building on U.S. Highway 2 East in Glasgow.

The first official opening day took place on Thursday and the parking lot was full as customers checkout out the newest grocery store in northeast Montana.

Story credit to James Walling and the Northern Plains Independent:

Residents of St. Marie on the dilapidated grounds of the former Glasgow Air Force Base in Valley County have reported urgent issues with the administration of water services by the North Valley County Water and Sewer District, which oversees water and sewer in the community. NVCWSD customers report alleged lack of water testing, mismanagement of funds and targeted instances of service shut-offs. A St. Marie Rural Fire District board member told the Northern Plains Independent that services have been interrupted without timely billing or adequate explanation. Residents also report failures by NVCWSD to meet testing standards for reporting to the Montana Department of Environmental Quality. Attempts to reach NVCWSD General Manager Terry Kolpin have been unsuccessful.

Montana DEQ Public Policy Director Rebecca Harbage told NPI that water quality testing in St. Marie has been problematic. “Yes there have been some issues with their water supply,” said Harbage. “They have received several violations from DEQ this year for failure to monitor and report monthly bacteria samples and chlorine residuals. These and other violations have been referred to DEQ’s enforcement program for action.”

Harbage said the water supplied to St. Marie is likely safe. “At this time, there are no health advisories or boil water advisories in effect,”

she said. “Incoming water is already treated to meet the requirements of Montana water supply laws and the federal Safe Drinking Water Act.”

St. Marie residents told NPI last week that NVCWSD was in danger of having the water supply for the community shut off entirely by provider Dry Prairie Rural Water Authority over nonpayment. At press time July 22, a spokesperson for Dry Prairie confirmed significant non-payment issues with NVCWSD, but said the account was close to current following recent collection efforts.

Additional non-payment and compliance issues were raised in a July 17 letter written by Valley County Commissioner Mary Armstrong, addressed to Infrastructure Specialist Lindsey Siebrasse with the Montanan Department of Commerce. The letter outlines reporting and compensation problems with NVCWSD’s Community Development Block Grant contract for system improvements completed October, 2023.

“The [Montanan Department of Commerce] conducted a virtual monitoring visit on November 7, 2023,” wrote Armstrong. “During the visit, MDOC requested warrant sampling for the Montana Coal Endowment Program requests for reimbursement, which the District has yet to provide. Additionally, the District’s Unique Entity ID expired on February 16, 2024, resulting in non-compliance with the Department of Natural Resources’ American Rescue

Plan Act and Renewable Resources grants that are co-funding the water project.”

Armstrong went on to detail attempts to communicate with officials in St. Marie: “The County, along with all funding agencies, consultants and contractors, have made numerous attempts to support the District in these matters, but the District has not responded.”

In a July 19 letter addressed to the commissioners and NVCWSD, Great West Engineering project manager Greg Lukasik wrote, “An additional major concern expressed by the funding agencies is that the District has not been paying invoices using the funds received from the funding agencies in a timely manner. Our records show that there is an outstanding amount of $23,501.90 owed to Great West, which has been reimbursed to the District by the funding agencies but not paid. Some of these invoices are 9 months past due, which is a violation of the grant agreement signed by the District and violates the MCA.”

Glasgow School Superintendent Brenner Flaten has been busy in his first month on the job as the first day of school rapidly approaches.

Flaten penned a letter to all in the Glasgow School District and also was a guest on Live Under the Big Sky on Thursday.

To listen to the interview, you can go to www.kltz.com

NorthWestern Energy sent out an update that there are no public safety power shutoffs planned at this time.

"Based on assessment of the forecasted conditions, we are confident that a PSPS is not imminent at this time. As we do throughout the fire season, we will continue to monitor, analyze and assess wildfire conditions," according to NorthWestern Energy.

The following was sent out by NorthWestern Energy:

UPDATE July 24 2:25 p.m.: No Public Safety Power Shutoffs planned at this time

First and foremost, we want to thank customers for their attention and response. We understand no one wants to be without power, especially during extreme heat. Our top priority is to keep our customers and communities safe.

Based on assessment of the forecasted conditions, we are confident that a PSPS is not imminent at this time. As we do throughout the fire season, we will continue to monitor, analyze and assess wildfire conditions.

We continue to monitor the weather. Our teams continually evaluate weather forecasts and environmental conditions that contribute to the threat of wildfires and reviewed multiple models this past week.

We employ a multitude of operational defenses to mitigate the risk of wildfire:

Each year as fire season approaches, we take additional precautions to support not only safe and reliable operations of the electrical power system but also to reduce the risk of ignitions. We adjust powerline equipment to prioritize ignition prevention over outage prevention. When we transition to a wildfire prevention mode, the system is more prone to outages, and when an outage occurs it's often longer in duration to allow extended time for our powerline professionals to evaluate all of the powerlines associated with an outage and take even more precautions in validating they are safe to re-energize.

As environmental conditions dictate, we also adjust when and how our crews perform work on our systems the co-exist in regions that are prone to wildfire. When conditions are too extreme we will postpone work until wildfire risks moderate.

We are investing in new defense strategies. The first smoke detection field camera was installed on our system Tuesday, July 23 outside Helena. We will be installing cameras across our system over the coming months. The purpose of the use of this camera technology is to aid in the early detection of wildfires, and to alert the appropriate firefighting agencies in responding.

Lastly, Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS) are an important new defense that has been added to our wildfire mitigation efforts. It is important to know that it is a “defense of last resort”. PSPS is the defense that will be employed when conditions are expected to be so severe, that all other defenses are deemed insufficient. It is also helpful to understand that PSPS events are unlikely to occur within the limits of most Montana cities and towns. These events are most probable for customers that live very near or in forested, or grassland areas most prone to wildfire devastation. We understand how difficult it is to be without power. That’s why we will give customers as much advance notice of a PSPS as possible. We want customers to be aware of a possible outage well in advance of the power being turned off, to allow time to prepare for the outage. In summary, the following are key points:

Our actions and communications over the last couple of days were to inform you of a forecast wind event that may have implications for NorthWestern to serve you.

Upon analysis of the most current weather forecasts NorthWestern is no longer considering the need for a PSPS for this week’s weather conditions.

Superintendent of Public Instruction Elsie Arntzen announced that 398 Montana school districts will receive over $72 million in federal Title funding for fiscal year 2025. This is an increase of $744,000 from the previous fiscal year. Federal Title funding is used to provide supplemental services to boost academic success in students who are:

• From low-income families
• Homeless
• Neglected and delinquent
• English language learners
• Migrant

“Federal, state, and local tax dollars are precious,” said Superintendent Elsie Arntzen. “The flexible use of these funds reflects the unique needs of our communities. Utilizing these federal dollars through local control strengthens the opportunity for all Montana students to achieve educational excellence.”

In 1965, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) established federal Title funds to provide extra support and educational opportunities for underprivileged students across the country. The majority of funding comes through the Title I, Part A program which provides supplemental support to low-income students who are behind academically. Other Title funding programs serve specific student groups. Funds are generally used for additional staff to provide pull-out services, tutoring, or supplemental classroom support. Districts can also use some of their funding for supplies, equipment, or technology.

Students who attend private or home schools but meet eligibility requirements can also be served through their local educational agency using set-aside Title funds. During the 2023-2024 school year, Montana school districts utilized Title funds to support over 10,400 students.

To view the federal funding for Montana School Districts click here:

https://opi.mt.gov/Leadership/Academic-Success/Federal-Programs/Federal-Allocation-Bulletin

The Valley County Commissioners are searching for a Manager for the Valley County Refuse District.

According to a release from the Valley County Commissioners, the Refuse District Manager is responsible for the operation and management of the Valley County Refuse District.

The person selected for this position, will replace Brian Austin, who had his employment terminated by the Valley County Commissioners last week.

The release states that the position requires a valid driver's license, operation and maintenance experience, administrative and communication skills. The pay is $26.50 to $28.50 per hour depending on experience with a full county benefits package.

The job description and application are available in the Valley County Commissioners Office and online at valleycountymt.gov

Nemont Telephone Cooperative, Inc. (Nemont) and Northwest Communications Cooperative (NCC) are pleased to announce the sale of Nemont’s North Dakota telecom properties to NCC. Nemont’s customers in Williston, Trenton, Fortuna, Ambrose, and East Westby will now be served by North Dakota-based NCC, a 100% fiber-to-the-home internet service and communications provider.

Nemont and NCC share the same values and vision in providing the best technology and customer service. For decades, Nemont and NCC leadership have worked together on communication issues affecting rural America and share some technology resources. The sale provides these North Dakota-based customers with services from a North Dakota-based cooperative with operations much closer to their homes and businesses.

“In today’s everchanging broadband industry, the benefits of being hyper-local are clear. NCC is an excellent company and shares our core goals,” said Mike Kilgore, CEO, Nemont.

“As an industry partner with Nemont, we are honored to continue their vision to provide the best internet and voice services available today. Together we are working on a plan to transition these customers to the NCC network. With our proximity to these North Dakota-based homes and businesses, both cooperatives believe this is a great fit for these customers,” said Jeremy Becker, CEO, NCC.

Once the purchase is finalized and approved by the state and FCC, NCC will be reaching out to each customer to share information on transition of services and answer any questions. Both Nemont and NCC are committed to making the transition as seamless as possible. This decision was made by both cooperatives with customers’ best interest in mind.

About Nemont
Nemont is a telecommunications service provider serving northeastern Montana, south central Montana, and northern Wyoming. Nemont is committed to connecting rural customers to the world through innovative wireline and wireless broadband services. Nemont was organized in 1950 and is headquartered in Scobey, Montana. nemont.com

About NCC
NCC was formed in 1951 and brings reliable telecommunication services to the homes and businesses in 17 exchanges in northwest North Dakota with headquarters in Ray, ND. NCC offers fiber-based Internet, Video, Telephone, North Dakota Long Distance, Security/Video Surveillance Systems and Business Phone Systems; and, is an owner company of Dakota Carrier Networks (DCN). In addition to a commitment to consistently provide members with cutting edge communications, NCC finds great importance of being part of the communities we serve by providing student scholarships, grants, and sponsoring community and school events. Visit nccray.com for more information.

Northwestern Energy is warning about the possibility that they'll shut off power in portions of Montana on Thursday due to potential of critical fire weather.

Due to extreme weather conditions, NorthWestern is monitoring weather forecasts in Montana. At this time, we are closely watching weather forecasts calling for high winds combined with high temperatures and low humidity forecasted for Thursday afternoon, July 25.

We have entered the 1.1 Monitoring Stage of our Public Safety Power Shutoff Plan. There are no planned power outages at this time. This is the earliest stage of the plan. If extreme weather conditions threaten our ability to safely operate the electrical grid, we will turn off power to help protect public safety.

This is called a Public Safety Power Shutoff, or PSPS. At this time, NorthWestern Energy will closely monitor the weather forecast. If a customer’s power is going to be shut off, we will contact you directly via email and/or phone at the email address or phone number we have on file. We continue to watch the forecasted wind event. If a planned power outage is needed for public safety, it is most likely in wildfire-prone areas outside Butte, Helena, Great Falls or Bozeman.

While most of the Canadian smoke may get pushed out of eastern Montana through this morning, it looks like smoke from the Pacific Northwest may move in during the afternoon tomorrow and be just as bad as yesterday.

The smoke is causing diminishing air quality all across Montana. This morning as of 5am, air quality at the Malta monitoring station had air quality as moderate.

To see the latest air quality in Montana: https://gis.mtdeq.us/portal/apps/experiencebuilder/experience/?id=000f42b119c44c7f9c3b4336470c721e

Verizon-Cellular Plus in Glasgow will be giving away free backpacks filled with school supplies on Saturday, July 27 from 10 am to noon.

“We are delighted to support our local community by providing students with new backpacks and essential school supplies,” said President Adam Kimmet. “We hope this event eases some financial challenges for families. It's incredibly rewarding to see children leave the store sporting a new backpack, and ready to start the school year with confidence.”

The Verizon-Cellular Plus Backpack to School program is supported by contributions from employees, customers, and vendor partners. An internal employee donation drive was organized, and stores are also accepting donations from customers to assist as many families as possible. All donations stay within the local community, ensuring that each backpack donated at a specific location is given to a child in that area.

The backpack and school supplies are completely free; no purchase is necessary to qualify. A child must be present with an adult to claim their free backpack. Supplies are limited and will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis.

Cellular Plus is located at 54147 US-2, next to the Glasgow Chamber of Commerce.

Cellular Plus is a Verizon authorized retailer, founded in 1998, and headquartered in Billings, MT.

On Wednesday 7/24 and Thursday 7/25 the Valley County Road department will be prepping the road surface and spraying dust control from Highway 2 to the bridge on Skylark Road.

Skylark Road will remain open but during this process traffic flow may be stopped, slowed, and or delayed temporarily. Avoid this area if possible.

Notice from the Valley County Health Department:

"With the current and upcoming heat wave, the Valley County Health Department encourages residents to be prepared and proactive to stay safe in the heat. The National Weather Service recommends citizens: wear light and loose-fitting clothing, drink water and stay hydrated, avoid strenuous outdoor activities, rest in the shade, seek air conditioning, and check on loved ones. NEVER leave people or pets inside vehicles. If you or a loved one experience signs of heat illness such as: nausea, dizziness, or fainting, seek medical attention immediately. Stay safe and stay cool."

An upper level ridge holding steady over the region will lead to high temperatures this week to approach 100°F, and by Thursday, as high as 110°F in some of the lower valleys of the Milk/Missouri/Yellowstone rivers.

As such, an Excessive Heat Watch has been issued for all of northeast Montana. If possible, limit time outdoors during these days, stay hydrated, and never leave kids unattended in vehicles.

Superintendent Arntzen released historic accreditation statuses for Montana schools during last week's Board of Public Education (BPE) meeting. The 2023-2024 accreditation status includes 833 Montana public, state funded, and private accredited schools.

To be an accredited school in Montana means that the state officially recognizes that school as a place where a student can reasonably be expected to get a quality education.

Some schools have a status of “advice”, which means the school exhibits serious and/or numerous deviations from the standards. Staying in “advice” status for two years means that the school district in question will be considered deficient, which can lead to a school losing accreditation.

There are four accreditation determinations outlined in Administrative Rules of Montana 10.55.605:

Regular - the school has met the assurance standards and student performance standards as defined in ARM 10.55.606, and the Licensure Endorsement Requirements Related to Teaching Assignments

Regular with Minor Deviation - the school does not meet all the requirements of regular accreditation. Schools have three years to remedy the deviation, or a lower category of accreditation will be assigned.

Advice - the school exhibits serious and/or numerous deviations from the standards.

Deficiency - the school is in advice status for two years, has not complied with the required corrective plan, and continues to have serious and/or numerous deviations, or has substantially increased the seriousness of deviations over the previous year.

According to Montana Office of Public Instruction here are the accreditation statuses for Valley County public schools:

Glasgow Irle School- Regular
Glasgow Middle School- Regular
Glasgow High School- Advice

Hinsdale Elementary- Regular MD
Hinsdale 7-8- Regular MD
Hinsdale High School- Regular MD

Opheim Elementary- Regular MD
Opheim 7-8- Regular MD
Opheim High School- Regular

Nashua Elementary- Advice
Nashua 6-8- Advice
Nashua High School- Advice

Frazer Elementary- Regular
Frazer 7-8- Regular
Frazer High School- Advice

NorthWestern Energy submitted a request to the Montana Public Service Commission asking to raise rates for electric and natural gas customers.

An official with NorthWestern Energy said they’re requesting the increase because of inflation and the rising cost of materials.

If approved by the Public Service Commission, electric customers will see an increase of $2 per month. Customers using natural gas will see an increase of $5 per month.

The company is also looking at additional increases in 2025, which would amount to an increase of $9 per month for both electric and natural gas.

Throughout the state, over 40,000 NorthWestern customers use electric service, and over 200,000 use natural gas.

“We understand that there are other pressures. Just like our costs have gone up, our customers’ costs have gone up,” said Jo Dee Black, NorthWestern Energy public relations specialist.

Another challenge for NorthWestern is the billion-dollar investments in infrastructure. Black noted the Yellowstone County Generating Station, which could produce 175 megawatts. It’s a bonus for the company to produce locally, which she says could lesson costs in the future.

“We’ll be able to purchase less energy on the market, which is typically very high priced,” Black said. “It’s supply and demand when that is very high priced.”

A recent study released by personal finance company WalletHub ranked Montana fourth overall in the country for how much money is spent on energy per month.

Diana Polk, communications manager with WalletHub, said using annual data from 2022 collected from U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Energy Information Administration, Federal Highway Administration, American Automobile Association and more, they pieced together a formula that incorporates how much is spent on electricity, natural gas, home heating oil and motor fuel. Energy consumption and price contributed to the cost.

Polk used Montana as an example to demonstrate the calculation:

Electricity: 1107 kWh $0.1133 = $125.06

Natural Gas: 8.43 units $10.42 = $88.03

Home Heating Oil: 84.46 gallons $4.69 = $396.18

Motor Fuel: $3.60 (49.63 miles / average motor-fuel consumption) = $178.00

Adding these together gives Montana a total average monthly energy cost of $787.

Iowa total energy cost is $798, North Dakota is $840 and Wyoming is at the top of the list with $1,591.

Black said it’s not easy to make the requests for higher rates.

“To make the substantial investments required for essential energy service, we have to be a financially healthy company,” Black said.

The Public Service Commission will consider the price increase request in October.

Widespread high temperatures in the 100s are expected for much of northeast Montana this Wednesday and Thursday. Glasgow could reach a high of 106 degrees on Thursday.

Thirteen high school graduates from throughout the state and country, including six from Montana, have been named 2024 Montana State University Provost Scholars.

The award is one of MSU’s most prestigious scholarships.

“We are honored that these students have chosen to attend Montana State University,” MSU provost Robert Mokwa said. “We know they will impact our community, state and nation in significant ways.”

The MSU Provost Scholarship awards are based on scholastic achievement, demonstrated leadership and exemplary public service. Recipients of the Provost Scholarship also receive an annual stipend plus a tuition waiver. The scholarship is for four years if the students maintain superior academic standing at MSU.

“This scholarship reflects these students’ extraordinary accomplishments, hard work and potential to make significant contributions to society,” said Durward Sobek, interim dean of the MSU Honors College.

“We celebrate their success and look forward to welcoming them to the Bobcat family as they embark on this exciting new chapter in their educational journey.”

One of the six Montana recipients is from Hinsdale, Mt. Zora Holt is a graduate of Hinsdale High School and plans to study pre-veterinary medicine. She participated in 4-H, FFA, band, choir, basketball and track and field all four years of high school and held offices in her 4-H club and FFA chapter. She was also involved in National Honor Society and cross-country. Notable accomplishments include winning the 2022 Montana FFA Star State Secretary award, breaking Hinsdale’s 3,200-meter record during her senior track season and graduating as valedictorian. Her parents are Jason Holt and Sierra Stoneberg Holt.

A 30-year employee with the Valley County Landfill, Brian Austin, saw his employment with Valley County terminated on Wednesday.

Austin has been the Valley County Landfill Manager and Valley County Refuse District Manager for 25 years and has been employed by Valley County for 30 years.

At a meeting on Wednesday, the Valley County Commissioners voted unanimously to terminate Austin's employment. No discussion took place between the 3 commissioners before the vote took place.

Valley County Commissioner Mary Armstrong stated during the meeting that Austin had been sent a due process letter stating alleged violations of the county personnel policy. Armstrong noted that Austin replied to the due process letter last week and the purpose of the meeting was to consider whether any disciplinary action was warranted.

A motion was made to terminate Austin's employment and the motion was seconded. No discussion took place and the vote was unanimous with Commissioner Paul Tweten, John Fahlgren and Mary Armstrong all voting yes.

A turbulent relationship has existed between the commissioners and Brian Austin since the commissioners disbanded the former Valley County Refuse District Board comprised of members of the public. After disbanding the board, the Valley County Commissioners took over management of the Valley County Refuse District and appointed themselves as the governing board.

Austin has a lawsuit pending against the Valley County Commissioners claiming invasion of privacy, breach of public duty and constitutional violations. The lawsuit was filed in May of this year and is in the early stages of moving through the judicial process.

None of the alleged violations of the personnel policy were made public at the meeting on Wednesday and the commissioners didn't release the reply made by Austin to the alleged violations.

Valley County Commissioner Paul Tweten told Kltz/Mix-93 that August Aho has been named interim Valley County Refuse District Manager and will fill that role for the foreseeable future.

To view a audio and video recording of the Wednesday meeting:

https://www.valleycountymt.gov/board-county-commissioners/pages/video-recordings-discussion-and-decision-meetings

Highs will be in the 90s most of the time across NE Montana for the next 7 days.

There will be chances for showers and thunderstorms at times between this afternoon and Saturday afternoon. Otherwise, look for clear to partly cloudy skies for the next week.

The Montana Department of Revenue is reporting that marijuana sales in Valley County increased in the month of June compared to May.

Sales in Valley County totaled $144,103 in the month of June. This includes $121,923 in adult use sales and $22,179 in medical sales.

This compares to sales of $141,105 in May and $137,577 in the month of April.

Sales in Montana totaled $26,945,439 in the month of June.

A new analysis by injury lawyers Bader Scott reveals that eight of the ten states with the highest fatal DUI rates also report some of the highest alcohol consumption levels nationwide.

The study analyzed the latest NHTSA data on the number of deadly crashes involving drivers under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or medication. This was then compared to the alcohol consumption rates per state, as per the World Population Review.

Montana tops the list as the state most affected by DUI deaths, with almost one-third (32.5%) of fatal crashes involving impaired drivers.

This high rate of fatalities could be linked to Montana's annual alcohol consumption of 3.3 gallons per capita, which is 32% higher than the national average of 2.5 gallons.

Vermont follows, with more than one-quarter of deadly crashes involving intoxicated drivers (26.5%). The state also consumes 29% more alcohol than the national average.

Idaho is third on the list for fatal DUIs at 23.8%. However, unlike other states in the top ten, alcohol consumption in Idaho is lower than the average at 2.1 gallons per capita.

Colorado is the fourth biggest DUI offender, with more than one in five fatal crashes involving a driver under the influence (21.5%). The state also reports an alcohol consumption rate that’s 19% above the national average.

Delaware completes the five worst states, with 19.7% of deadly collisions involving intoxicated drivers. Delaware residents also consume alcohol at a rate that’s a huge 60% above the national average.

Notably, eight of these states—Montana, Vermont, Colorado, Delaware, Nevada, Wyoming, California and New Hampshire—are also among the top ten for highest alcohol consumption per capita in the U.S.

While some states exhibit high rates of impaired driving, others report lower percentages of intoxicated drivers involved in fatal crashes. Virginia stands out as the least-affected state, with just 3.8% of fatal crashes involving intoxicated drivers.

Following behind, Missouri has a relatively low percentage of 5%, and South Dakota comes in third with 5.1%. These states could serve as models for other states looking to improve road safety and reduce impaired driving fatalities.

Between 2018 and 2022, more than a quarter of a million (278,799) drivers were involved in fatal crashes across the United States. Out of these, 30,677 drivers were found to be under the influence, representing 11% of all deadly collisions.

Seth Bader, spokesperson for injury lawyers Bader Scott, highlights the gravity of the situation, saying: "The correlation between high alcohol consumption and increased DUI fatalities indicates the need for intervention. States like Montana, Delaware, and New Hampshire, which have some of the highest alcohol consumption rates in the nation, also report some of the highest rates of DUI-related fatalities.

“This data shows that there is an urgent need for support in states with high alcohol consumption. Enhanced law enforcement efforts, such as increasing the number of sobriety checkpoints in drink and drug driving hot spots, could be the way forward.

“Public awareness campaigns can also go a long way in educating local communities about the dangers and legal consequences of driving under the influence. It won’t take just one solution but a combination of education, enforcement, and better support systems that will make a real difference.”

Superintendent Elsie Arntzen is pleased to announce that 12 Montana school districts will receive $424,800 in reallocated funds from the American Rescue Plan Homeless Children and Youth (ARP-HCY) program through the U.S. Department of Education. Districts across Montana will receive funds to provide meaningful services to over 1,000 homeless students, helping them stay on track with their educational goals and aspirations. Districts may use ARP-HCY Funds to:

Identify homeless children and youth
Provide comprehensive wraparound services in light of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic
Provide needed assistance to enable homeless children and youth to attend and participate fully in school activities, such as:
In-person instruction
Spring and summer learning
Enrichment programs

The 12 districts that received reallocated funds are:

Anaconda - $7,500
Bonner - $2,000
Bozeman - $55,000
Florence-Carlton - $2,000
Glendive - $88,800
Hardin - $30,000
Kalispell - $98,000
Lockwood - $5,000
Missoula - $65,000
Ronan - $8,000
Townsend - $49,000
Vaughn - $14,500

Homeless students is an issue in Montana according to the Montana Office of Public Instruction. In the 2022-2023 school year there were 5261 homeless school students in Montana compared to 4730 in 2021-2022.

The Montana OPI has a district by district count of homeless students. The data can be found here:
https://gems.opi.mt.gov/student-data

The National Weather Service Office in Glasgow confirmed a tornado near Baylor in Valley County on July 12th. The NWS produced a graphic on Monday and released this short statement.

A strong thunderstorm moved through Valley county on July 12th, and produced a tornado near Baylor. The damage path stretched for over 15 miles, and tore up a barn along the way.

Wednesday from 5-8:00, It's another Alive@5 by Elle Boutique in downtown Glasgow.

Live music from SIDEWAYS, plus Miki’s Food Truck, yard games, drinks, another fire truck pull, and children’s activities provided by The Children’s Museum.

Don't miss another Alive@5 Wednesday in downtown Glasgow!