Montana

Montana governor launches sanctuary crackdown, probes capital city over ICE limits

Published

2 weeks ago

February 16, 2026

Montana governor launches sanctuary crackdown, probes capital city over ICE limits

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A western state’s governor and attorney general are launching an investigation into potential violations of a statewide ban on sanctuary cities and sanctuary-jurisdictional policies, pledging zero tolerance for failure to cooperate with federal immigration authorities.

Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte told Fox News Digital that he and Attorney General Austin Knudsen, both Republicans, will investigate the capital city of Helena under SB 200, which permits civil legal action and enforcement of fines against jurisdictions found in violation.

“In Montana, we don’t tolerate defiance and we support our law enforcement officers,” Gianforte told Fox News Digital.

DEM GOVERNOR IN DEEP-RED STATE CALLS FOR ICE PULLOUT, TRIGGERING CLASH OVER ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITY

Montana Republican Governor Greg Gianforte speaks at the ceremony to honor the four airmen killed in a 1962 B-47 crash at 8,500 feet on Emigrant Peak, on July 24, 2021 in Emigrant, Montana. (William Campbell/Getty Images)

“While the attorney general’s initial investigation will focus on the city of Helena, we’re really sending a message to all local governments across the state: If you are found to be in violation of state law, there will be penalties.”

In response to Helena City Commissioners’ vote to prevent local coordination with federal immigration enforcement, Gianforte and Knudsen announced the decision will be investigated as a potential violation of the sanctuary city ban originally authored by state Rep. Kenneth Holmlund, R-Miles City.

Gianforte said he has “serious concerns” about the resolution’s compliance with state law and said that under the sanctuary city ban, no state or local agency may refuse to cooperate with DHS.

THIS IS HOW TRUMP CAN BREAK DEFIANT SANCTUARY CITIES

In a letter to Knudsen formally requesting his office’s cooperation, Gianforte laid out how “securing the border has been a top priority of President Donald J. Trump after the previous administration let nearly 11 million illegal immigrants enter freely into the United States under their watch.”

He referenced Trump’s mass deportation efforts and said that it is unfortunate to see “recent events” elsewhere in the U.S. that have put immigration agents in danger.

In that regard, he described a recent Helena City Council vote as ordering local officers not to get involved in actions to assist other agencies nor to detain or stop a person based on suspicion of immigration law or status infractions.

JD VANCE, ICE FLIP SCRIPT ON SANCTUARY CITY LEADERS AS ‘CHAOS’ ERUPTS ACROSS MN: ‘THIS IS DANGEROUS’

ICE agents, left; Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte and President Donald Trump, right. (John Moore/Getty Images; William Campbell/Getty Images)

“This resolution is clearly designed to obstruct federal law enforcement operations,” Gianforte said.

Knudsen told the Flathead Beacon that Helena appears to be “thumbing its nose to the Montana Legislature” and must understand it does not make state law.

“I encourage [the city] to retain counsel [and] get a lobbyist…” he said in part.

A spokeswoman for the city of Helena told Fox News Digital it had not received any formal communication on the matter from Gianforte, and added that “as a general practice, the City does not provide comment on pending or potential litigation matters.”

“[Helena’s] resolution was drafted with careful consideration of applicable local, state, and federal law, and the City believes the resolution is consistent with those legal requirements,” she said.

“The City remains committed to upholding all applicable federal and state laws.

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Knudsen’s office signaled it is only officially looking at Helena, but local reports also pointed to concerns about Missoula — the state’s second-largest behind Billings.

A spokesperson for Missoula told the Montana Free Press it has never been and is not currently a sanctuary city, while adding that its police officers do not inquire about immigration status in public interactions.

Charles Creitz is a reporter for Fox News Digital.

He joined Fox News in 2013 as a writer and production assistant.

Charles covers media, politics and culture for Fox News Digital.

Charles is a Pennsylvania native and graduated from Temple University with a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism. Story tips can be sent to charles.creitz@fox.com.

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Montana

Your guide to local sports events, plus what’s on TV

Published

4 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

Your guide to local sports events, plus what’s on TV

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Montana

Montana Department of Agriculture focusing on innovation in 2026

Published

16 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Montana Department of Agriculture focusing on innovation in 2026

HELENA — You probably have goals and plans for 2026—the Montana Department of Agriculture does too.

“We’re really focusing on innovative agricultural practices,” Montana Department of Agriculture director Jillien Streit said.

It’s no secret that agriculture—farming and ranching—is not easy. There are long days, planning, monitoring crops and livestock, and other challenges beyond farmers’ and ranchers’ control.

(WATCH: Montana Department of Agriculture focusing on innovation in 2026)

Montana Department of Agriculture focusing on innovation in 2026

“We have very low commodity prices across the board,” Streit said. “We still have very high input prices across the board, and we have really high prices when it comes to our equipment, and so, it’s a really tough year.”

But innovation, including new practices, partnerships and technology use, can help navigate some of those challenges.

“We can’t make more time and we can’t make more land, so we need to start putting together innovative practices that help us maximize what our time and land can do,” Streit said.

Practices range from using technology like autonomous tractors and virtual fencing—allowing rangers to contain and move cattle right from their phones—to regenerative farming and ranching.

“It is bringing cattle back into farming operations to be able to work with cover cropping practices to invigorate the soil for new soil health benefits,” Streit said.

The Montana Department of Agriculture is working to help producers learn, share, and collaborate on new ideas to work in their operations.

The department will share stories of practices that work from farms and ranches across the state. Also, within the next year or so, Streit said the department is hoping to roll out technology to help producers collaborate.

“(It’s) providing a communication platform where people can get together and really help each other out by utilizing each other’s assets,” she said.

While not easy, agriculture is still one of Montana’s largest industries, and Streit said innovating and sharing ideas across the state can keep it going long into the future.

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Montana

Frontier Conference women: MSU-Northern, Montana Western pull upsets to advance to semifinal round

Published

1 day ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Frontier Conference women: MSU-Northern, Montana Western pull upsets to advance to semifinal round

BUTTE — MSU-Northern and Montana Western pulled a pair of upsets Saturday at the Butte Civic Center to wrap up the quarterfinal round of the Frontier Conference women’s basketball postseason tournament.

The fifth-seeded Skylights started the day with a red-hot shooting performance to down No. 4 Rocky Mountain College 82-74. Western, the sixth seed, used a third-quarter surge to defeat No. 3 Carroll College 65-56.

MSU-Northern (17-11) and Western (14-13) now advance to Sunday’s semifinal round, where the Skylights will play No. 1 seed Dakota State at noon and the Bulldogs will face No. 2 Montana Tech at 2:30 p.m.

MSU-Northern 82, Rocky Mountain College 74

MSU-Northern sizzled in the first quarter, making seven 3-pointers to take a double-digit lead, and put together a crucial third-quarter run to get past Rocky and advance to the semifinal round.

Becky Melcher splashed four 3s in the first 10 minutes, and Taya Trottier, Canzas HisBadHorse and Shania Moananu added one apiece as the Skylights built a 29-13 lead. Melcher scored 14 first-quarter points and finished with a game-high 30 on 10-of-19 shooting (7 of 15 from 3-point range). She added 11 rebounds, a blocked shot and three steals to her stat line.

Rocky battled back to tie the game at 36-36 in the second quarter on a Brenna Linse basket, but MSUN responded with consecutive triples from Trottier and Melcher and took a 44-38 lead into halftime. The Bears eventually stole the lead back in the third quarter following a 9-0 run capped be an Isabelle Heggem bucket.

But the Skylights again answered — this time with a 13-2 run to take a 60-51 lead. MSUN led 66-59 going to the fourth and wouldn’t trail the rest of the way. The Skylights trailed for less than two total minutes of the game.

As a team, MSUN made 14 of 26 3s in the game. Ciera Agasiva was 3 for 3 from behind the arc, and Trottier was 2 for 3. Trottier had 18 points, eight rebounds and six assists, while Agasiva had 13 points.

Paige Wasson led Rocky (20-9) with 29 points but was 0 for 10 on 3-point attempts. Heggem had a double-double of 21 points and 12 rebounds.

Montana Western 65, Carroll 56

After neither team led by more than five points in the first half, Western broke open a 25-25 tie game by outscoring Carroll 20-9 in the third quarter.

Bailee Sayler scored 10 points in the quarter, including making two 3-pointers, to help the Bulldogs take control. They led 45-34 going to the fourth, and Carroll wouldn’t get closer than six points the rest of the way.

The Fighting Saints were just 18-of-65 shooting (27.7%) for the game.

Sayler scored an efficient 22 points on 7-of-8 shooting. She was 2 for 3 from 3-point range and 6 for 7 at the free throw line. The Missoula native also had nine rebounds.

Isabella Lund added 16 points for the Bulldogs, and Keke Davis had 11 points and 11 rebounds.

Carroll (19-10) was led by Kenzie Allen with 12 points. Willa Albrecht and Meagan Karstetter scored 11 points apiece for the Saints.

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