Montana

Montana local governments prepare for new law requiring recorded meetings

Published

1 year ago

July 4, 2024

Montana local governments prepare for new law requiring recorded meetings

EAST HELENA — Monday, July 1, was the effective date for a new state law that leaders say is intended to give the public a clearer picture of the work their local government is doing.

House Bill 890, sponsored by Rep. Brad Barker, R-Luther, requires many local government boards to record their meetings and post the recordings online within five business days. Now, it’s up to local leaders to make sure they’re following the law.

“It’s been a little bit of a learning process and a learning curve, understanding how we’re going to comply,” said Dan Rispens, superintendent of East Helena Public Schools.

Under HB 890, cities with more than 5,000 residents, counties with more than 4,500, most school districts with more than 1,000, and local health boards have to record the audio and video of their meetings. Smaller counties and cities with between 1,000 and 5,000 residents will only need to record audio.

Barker said when he was elected to the Legislature, one of his biggest concerns was a lack of trust in government, and he hoped steps like this would boost trust by providing transparency.

“The more that we put sunshine on the various things that we do – whether it’s discussing and approving budgets, approving contracts, all of the things that are involved in our public boards and entities – I think that it improves not only the process, that transparency also helps the public have a better understanding,” he said.

Most leaders MTN spoke to said the new law isn’t forcing major changes to their policies. For example, the city of Helena has been posting its meetings to Youtube since 2021, and the Lewis and Clark County Commission started doing the same last month. Commissioners in Jefferson and Broadwater Counties said they got used to streaming their meetings online during the COVID-19 pandemic, and it wasn’t a big step for them to get ready to record them as well.

The East Helena school board has also been streaming its meetings online since COVID, but that’s now changing. Rispens said the district decided for now to stop broadcasting them live and focus on the required recording.

“We’ve got a few people in the district – I think maybe two – that completely understand how to operate the equipment and make sure that the recording gets put down properly and is ready for posting,” he said. “So until we’re a little more comfortable with that process and we’ve got a few other folks who understand how to make sure it works, we just want to take it one step at a time.”

Rispens said it was difficult for the board and district staff to make sure that everyone had a full chance to participate equally in the hybrid meetings.

“You really need somebody full-time in the meeting who’s operating that Zoom meeting and monitoring the folks who are participating on Zoom and ensuring that people’s microphones are turned on at the appropriate time or turned off, and so it does become a little bit of a concern and a burden as to who’s going to do that,” he said.

EHPS uses a small Owl Labs camera that spins 360 degrees in an attempt to follow whoever is speaking. While they most often hold board meetings at the East Valley Middle School library, Rispens said they’re also able to use the camera when they’re meeting in other places.

“The problem with it being mobile is it’s not super high-quality video or audio production,” he said.

Regardless of the quality of the recordings, Barker says it’s important for the public to be able to get a clear, authoritative view of what happens in these meetings, as a way to push back against misinformation.

“With all the advances that we’ve had in technology and more recently at a much more rapid pace – artificial intelligence, the ability to create digital fraud, deepfakes – I think it’s important that we start as a government to take steps toward safeguarding,” he said.

During the 2023 legislative session, Barker also sponsored House Bill 724, which required local government boards to publish their agendas before meetings. That law took effect last year.

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Montana

Montana-Montana State’s FCS semifinal get-in ticket prices surpass College Football Playoff games

Published

4 hours ago

December 16, 2025

Press Room

Montana-Montana State’s FCS semifinal get-in ticket prices surpass College Football Playoff games

Montana-Montana State, known as the Brawl of the Wild, is one of the best rivalries in FCS. This year, more than bragging rights are on the line, as the matchup will take place in the FCS semifinals.

The high stakes and relatively smaller seating capacity have made this game the most expensive entry-level ticket in college football this weekend, including the first round of the College Football Playoff.

The cheapest ticket for the game at Bobcat Stadium in Bozeman, Montana, is $675 on Gametime Tickets compared to about $350 for the Miami at Texas A&M game, which is the most expensive of the four first-round College Football Playoff matchups. The most expensive ticket for the FCS semifinal is a sideline seat priced at $1,152. The Miami-Texas A&M game has Founder Club tickets listed at $2,484.

The seating capacity for Bobcat Stadium is 20,767, compared to more than 102,000 at Texas A&M’s Kyle Field. The other three CFP games this weekend will be hosted by Oklahoma (capacity 80,126), Ole Miss (64,038) and Oregon (60,000).

Next year’s Montana-Montana State matchup starts at $876, with some tickets listed as high as $1,359.

Montana State is the No. 2 seed in the playoffs at 12-2 after defeating Stephen F. Austin 44-28 in the quarterfinals this past weekend. Third-seeded Montana is 13-1 and beat South Dakota 52-22 in its quarterfinal. Montana leads the all-time rivalry 74-44-5.

Montana State has won the last two matchups between the teams, most recently winning 31-28 at Montana on Nov. 22. At least one of the teams has appeared in the FCS championship game in three of the past four years. Montana’s last national championship came in 2001, while Montana State’s came in 1984.

Montana is led by head coach Bobby Hauck, who is the second-winningest active FCS head coach and one of the top 10 winningest active coaches overall in Division I football at 151-42. Montana’s key players are quarterback Keali’i Ah Yat, running back Eli Gillman and wide receiver Michael Wortham.

Montana State is led by head coach Brent Vigen. Key players for Montana State include quarterback Justin Lamson, running back Julius Davis and wide receiver Taco Dowler.

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Montana

Montana-vs.-Montana State semifinal sequel set for 2 p.m. Saturday on ABC

Published

16 hours ago

December 15, 2025

Press Room

Montana-vs.-Montana State semifinal sequel set for 2 p.m. Saturday on ABC

The first playoff meeting between football rivals Montana and Montana State is set for 2 p.m. Mountain time next Saturday at Bobcat Stadium in Bozeman. The game will air nationally on ABC.

The Bobcats and Grizzlies will square off in the semifinal round of the FCS postseason after each team won convincingly in the quarterfinal round. No. 2-seeded Montana State defeated No. 7 Stephen F. Austin 44-28 at home Friday night and No. 3-seeded Montana raced past No. 11 South Dakota 52-22 on Saturday in Missoula.

Next week’s game between the Cats and Griz will be the 125th all-time meeting, and it will be for a berth in the national championship game Jan. 5 at FirstBank Stadium on the campus of Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn.

It will also be the first time the schools have faced each other twice in football in the same season since 1913.

The Bobcats are seeking their fourth all-time trip to the FCS/Division I-AA title game and their third visit in the past five years. MSU claims three national championships — 1956 (NAIA), 1976 (NCAA Division II) and 1984 (I-AA). The Bobcats lost to North Dakota State in the championship game in Frisco, Texas, in both 2021 and last season.

The Grizzlies are looking to make their ninth trip to the championship game and their second in the past three seasons. Montana has won two previous titles — in 1995 and 2001. The Griz suffered title-game losses in 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2009 and 2023.

Montana State beat Montana 31-28 in Missoula on Nov. 22 in the regular-season finale to earn the outright Big Sky Conference title and the No. 2 seed for the playoffs. The Grizzlies lead the all-time series 74-44-5 but MSU owns a 12-10 edge since 2002.

Saturday’s other semifinal game pits unseeded Illinois State against No. 12 seed Villanova. Illinois State went on the road and upset No. 8 seed UC Davis 42-31 in the quarterfinals on Saturday while Villanova held on to beat No. 4 seed Tarleton State 26-21.

Illinois State and Villanova will kick off Saturday at 5:30 p.m. Mountain time on ESPN2.

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Montana

Oregon women earn 11th victory with win over Montana State

Published

1 day ago

December 15, 2025

Press Room

Oregon women earn 11th victory with win over Montana State

Oregon women’s basketball moved to 11-1 following a 69-44 win over Montana State Sunday at Matthew Knight Arena.

Four of Oregon’s starters scored in double figures, led by guard Sofia Bell’s 15 points.

Mia Jacobs added 13 points and 10 rebounds. Katie Fiso and Ari Long each scored 10 points. Fiso added five assists.

Oregon (11-1) struggled shooting, hitting 19 of 58 field goal attempts (32.8%), including 9 of 31 from three-point range (29%). However, those numbers were mainly dragged down in the fourth quarter when the game was well in hand.

Oregon, which led 37-14 at halftime, shot just 22.2% from the field in the final quarter and missed all seven of its three-point attempts. MSU won the quarter 16-11.

Bell went 4 of 8 from long distance, Jacobs went 3 of 8 and Long made both of her three-point attempts. The rest of the team went 0-for-13.

Montana State (6-3) received 14 points and four rebounds from Jamison Philip. The Bobcats shot 1 of 19 from three-point range and committed 23 turnovers that the Ducks converted into 25 points.

Next up: The Ducks host Portland (7-4) at 11 a.m. on Thursday. The Pilots defeated Kent State 88-78 on Sunday.

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