Montana
Is Montana’s Budget on Fire? – Flathead Beacon
Americans for Prosperity (AFP), a libertarian special interest group, would have you think so. And it is sending out postcards and online ads claiming that Republicans who worked with Governor Greg Gianforte to produce a balanced budget are “pouring gasoline on the fire.”
The problem is that the “accountability information” AFP is peddling is false.
Did the state budget “explode” by $16.5 billion? NO! That number is the two-year appropriation in the General Appropriations Act (HB 2). It is not how much the budget increased. The actual increase in the total state budget was $142 million over two years—a tiny fraction of the amount claimed by AFP—according to the official budget comparison as calculated per state law (17-7-151, MCA) and validated by analysts at the legislature’s nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Division. Was there a 13.5% increase in state spending? NO! AFP’s number comes from considering only part of the state budget. The total state budget grew by only 0.7%, according to the official budget comparison cited above.
Did the budget grow at “2x the rate of inflation and 7x the pace of population growth”? NO! Budget growth was 0.7%—obviously much less than what AFP claims.
Is Montana running “massive deficits”? NO! he state constitution requires a balanced budget, and the budget we passed is balanced. Montana does not engage in deficit spending. Furthermore, Montana is the only bond debt-free state in the nation because of legislative actions taken over the past two sessions.
Was this the “biggest budget in Montana’s history”? Yes. But that could be said about any year in at least the recent past (I looked back 10 years). Why is that? A big reason is that inflation drives up the cost of providing the services that most Montanans expect, e.g., law enforcement, a corrections system, mental health and drug treatment, an education system, and management of our public lands, to name only a few. Good government is about providing those services as cost effectively as possible. Governor Gianforte and his allies in the legislature have been doing just that.
Americans for Prosperity might be forgiven if they simply misunderstood a thing or two about state finance. But AFP got so much wrong that one can only conclude that it willfully distorted the truth in order to mislead Montana citizens. Where I come from in Montana that’s called lying.
David Bedey is a Republican state Representative from Hamilton.
Where Khloe Kardashian Stands With Ex French Montana More Than 10 Years After Breakup
French Montana is done keeping up with reality TV.
In fact, he only agreed to appear on Keeping Up With The Kardashians and Kourtney & Khloé Take the Hamptons over a decade ago as a favor to then-girlfriend Khloe Kardashian.
“She said to get on the show,” he exclusively told E! News at the BET Awards on June 28. “And I got on the show. Shout out to Khloe.”
The “Ever Since U Left Me” rapper, who split with Kardashian in December 2014 after eight months of dating, said the experience was “fun” because her family kept it real.
“They filmed their real life,” he continued. “And we were part of something together that one time. So it felt great. It didn’t feel like work because they film what they do everyday.”
As for his future in reality TV, the 41-year-old said those days are over, shutting down any prospective offers with a simple, “Negative.”
Although the “Unforgettable” artist—whose real name is Karim Kharbouch—may not be returning to television anytime soon, he has no problem hanging out with his ex-girlfriend these days.
French Montana, Rick Ross & Max B Turn the BET Awards Into “
06/28/2026
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GREAT FALLS — For Staff Sgt. Brianna St. Lawrence-Brody, service does not only happen in uniform.
Outside the gates of the base, she works at Benefis as a nurse, Great Falls Public Schools as a school nurse, and comes home as a wife and mom of four. For the Montana Air National Guard, she serves as a command post controller with the 120th Airlift Wing in Great Falls.
(WATCH: Montana nurse and Guard member earns national Air Force recognition)
Montana nurse and Guard member earns national Air Force recognition
This year, St. Lawrence-Brody was named the U.S. Air National Guard’s Outstanding Airman of the Year in the Non-Commissioned Officer category.
She said the recognition came as a surprise, especially because her path into the Guard started later than others.
“I joined very late in life,” St. Lawrence-Brody said. “I joined the Guard right before I turned 40. So for me, every opportunity that’s presented, I want to take the bull by the horns and just run with it and do the best of my ability.”
During the COVID-19 pandemic, she joined the Guard after finishing nursing school. She said she went straight from nursing school into helping open a COVID unit, while also working at Benefis.
She said that experience was the start of one journey, but not the whole of what she wanted to accomplish.
St. Lawrence-Brody joined the Guard for the opportunities, the challenge and to help build a future for her four children.
“It’s a little bit of a competition for myself,” she said. “Like, if I can do it, why not try my best to achieve it?”
120th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
As a command post controller, she assists in helping move information during emergencies and major events.
“Outside, obviously, I’m a nurse. Inside the Guard, I have nothing to do with the medical field, which is kind of amazing,” St. Lawrence-Brody said. “It keeps me on my toes.”
She explained balancing the Guard, two civilian jobs and four children takes support from her family, her employers and her unit. She said Benefis and GFPS have been supportive of her military service.
Her nomination included her deployment experience, training work overseas and involvement across the wing. St. Lawrence-Brody said she deployed to Ramstein Air Base in Germany, where she worked with an operations center supporting entities connected to Africa.
But, she says this recognition is not the finish line.
“This award, it’s not necessarily a landing pad for me,” St. Lawrence-Brody said. “I want to use it as a springboard.”
120th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
St. Lawrence-Brody hopes her story encourages others to keep taking on new opportunities, even when they feel uncertain.
“Get comfortable with being uncomfortable and be okay with doing things afraid,” she said. “I think when you get to be okay with doing things afraid, that’s where you’re going to find the growth.”
She has already won at the Air National Guard level, but she recently traveled to Washington, D.C., as part of the broader Air Force Outstanding Airman of the Year process, which includes nominees from the Guard, Reserve and major commands across the Air Force.
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