LAUREL — To understand the controversy surrounding locating a psychiatric hospital in Laurel, city officials have heard hours and hours of testimony objecting to the concept — even though nothing formal has been proposed and it’s nearly impossible to find a single public official willing to offer opinions on the record.

Part of that is because nothing has been formally proposed to the Laurel City Council — and on advice of the city’s attorney, the eight council members have remained silent because if and when a proposal is submitted to build the 32-bed facility there, those council members will decide whether to accept the annexation not (currently the land is in the county).

For years, the Montana State Hospital has been over capacity, forcing the state to do something about just having 53 psychiatric beds for criminal justice holds in a state of 1.2 million.

What spurred on a flood of negative comments and rallied the community was notice of the state entering a buy-sell agreement for 114 acres at the western edge of town, along Old U.S. Highway 10.

Since the state purchased the acreage, residents have implored the city council to stop the project. State lawmakers and administration officials have budgeted for, and repeatedly outlined, the need for more psychiatric beds, and a location that isn’t deep inside the western side of the state.

Laurel residents have already organized, split up public comment time and led an effort to recall the mayor, Dave Waggoner, saying his treatment for cancer has made him unable to devote enough attention to the psychiatric facility and other council business, a charge which he denied.

During a Jan. 27 meeting, citizens packed the small city council chambers in Laurel, and dozens of residents had their objections read into the record, even though city officials repeatedly reminded them there was nothing official to comment on.

“While mental health treatment is important, this is a forensic mental health facility that serves individuals who are in the criminal justice system. That reality must be acknowledged,” said resident Bailey Dempster, who lives near the potential project site. “This is not a sigma or fear. It is about responsibility and a facility of this nature should be located in areas designed to support secure operations and public safety, not next to children, schools and family homes. Once the facility is built, the the impact is permanent. The consequences will be carried by residents long after this vote is taken. Please reconsider this location and look for safer alternatives.”

Limited to a three-minute time period, the comments lasted for nearly two hours. Residents have banded together, with an extensive list of questions they took turns reading. As one person’s time limit expired another would begin reading so that more than 100 questions were read into the record, including demands to know whether city staff had been disciplined for speaking to state officials about the project.

City officials acknowledge that the chief administrative officer did reach out in August to offer a suggestion of a different site, one that was ultimately not chosen. Irritated residents wanted to know who authorized the conversation, and accused city officials of orchestrating the deal before the public had any chance to comment. During the meeting, city officials pointed out other cities had made similar inquiries and proposals.

Residents have decried the project, ticking off a litany of concerns ranging from its proximity to an elementary school to a strain on the Laurel Police or the municipal water system. Furthermore, they say building a state psychiatric facility so close to residential homes will lessen the value of current property and put owners at risk in case of an inmate escape.

“I got grandkids going to school here,” said resident Rich Holstein. “And there’s just nothing good that really comes out of this. And in the end, I think that we really need to be looking at that: What would benefit Laurel? If there’s no benefit to Laurel other than we sold them some land, then why are we doing this? It’s really simple. Why we are doing it, and it just doesn’t make sense.”

But they’re not the only ones objecting.

Laurel Public Schools has passed a resolution calling on the city council to reject any proposal from the state to build the facility, with school board members and even Superintendent Matt Torix testifying at a council meeting, urging council members to vote against a proposal that doesn’t exist yet.

In a legislative update earlier this week, officials briefed the Child, Families, Health and Human Services Interim Committee about the possible siting, noting that while the parcel of land spans 114 acres, the actual location of the building will be more than a half-mile away from Laurel Elementary School. The state also provided maps of other Montana communities, including showing that the current Yellowstone County Detention Facility remains closer to an elementary school than the proposed psychiatric site.

One of the vocal opponents to the Laurel site is the chairman of the Yellowstone County Commission, Mark Morse, who has criticized the state for taking advantage of the largest county’s residents because they have invested in facilities and programs that help those getting out of prison while receiving little support from the state itself.

“The devil is in the details. Without details, I can’t support this facility being in Yellowstone County and that is ashamed, because Montana is in dire need of additional mental health resources but without details, I am concerned that they are building this facility not for additional space for these mentally ill folks, but as a replacement for the current forensic facility … which the state has admitted they struggle to staff,” Morse said.

Some of the claims, including Morse’s, have become almost accepted as gospel, which led the state to create a fact-and-myth, question-and-answer style presentation for lawmakers and the public in Helena earlier this week. One of the slides addressed the concern that Laurel was just opening the door to a larger facility, but officials from Montana DPHHS detailed millions of dollars of investments at Galen and Warm Springs, including staffing, saying, “DPHHS has invested more than $75M in MSH and Galen since 2021, signaling no intention of shuttering either facility.”

City officials aren’t commenting on the concept on the advice of the city attorney who has expressed concerns that weighing in publicly on the issue could prejudice the project and lead to a protracted legal fight.

Other state government officials are as conspicuously silent as Laurel residents are vocal.

During the hours of testimony reviewed by the Daily Montanan, two of Laurel’s legislative delegation — Sen. Vince Ricci and Rep. Lee Deming, both Republicans — have been invoked frequently as staunch opponents of the project. They wrote a letter to Gov. Greg Gianforte stating their public opposition to the state project.

When contacted by the Daily Montanan, Ricci said the letter spoke for itself, while Deming said he wasn’t even willing to talk about the letter.

Ricci and Deming oppose the project for several reasons. Both reference meetings that were originally planned and scrapped, including one which was going to be hosted by the Laurel Chamber of Commerce which was cancelled after members of the public were invited, but the press prohibited, something that would be a violation of the state’s open meeting laws and constitution.

“We maintain that the meetings should have proceeded. If only to respond to legitimate community concerns. The state has a responsibility to engage directly with the Laurel community on an issue of this importance and long-term impacts,” the letter said.

Laurel residents have also targeted other leaders, including Gov. Greg Gianforte, to try and halt the project. However, the governor’s office did not respond to inquiries sent this week about whether he had concerns with the project or the location siting in Laurel.

Other sites had been in the running to host the new facility, including Hardin and Miles City. The state has said repeatedly that Montana — a huge state geographically — should have two facilities to serve the east and west portions of the state. Demand is certainly a part of that driver — currently Yellowstone County is housing 18 prisoners who are being held because there’s no availability at the state’s only facility in Galen.

Moreover, nearly three-out-of-every four people needing admission to the psychiatric facility east of the Continental Divide are from Yellowstone County, with officials saying without the facility being located there, it may just re-create one of the current concerns: The travel time transporting prisoners back and forth from the eastern half of the state to Galen, located between Butte and Missoula, along Interstate 90.

One official who is working on the project told the Daily Montanan that both the governor’s office as well as officials from the Department of Public Health and Human Services both agree that because of huge demand for services in Yellowstone County, locating the psychiatric hospital anywhere else would be a misuse of state resources.

“Finally, it is abundantly clear that our constituents do not want this facility built anywhere near our town,” the letter from the two Laurel legislators concluded. “This issue is splitting Laurel and causing bitter divisions that we believe will be long-lasting. The fight over placing this facility in Laurel is just getting started. We believe that the fight against the facility will continue and the costs to the state and money will continue to increase.”

EXCLUSIVE: Max Walker-Silverman’s Rebuilding and Mark Jenkin’s Rose Of Nevada will bookend the second edition of industry-focused UK event Picturehouse Create, running from April 15-18 in London. 

Walker-Silverman’s Rebuilding will open the event on Wednesday, April 15, with the director in attendance. The film, starring Josh O’Connor, debuted at Sundance 2025 and will open in UK-Ireland through Picturehouse Entertainment on April 17.

Picturehouse Create will close on Saturday, April 18, with Jenkin’s Rose Of Nevada starring George MacKay and Callum Turner. Jenkin and producer Denzil Monk will join a Q&A following the screening, hosted by UK filmmaker Ben Sharrock.

BFI Distribution will release Rose Of Nevada in the UK & Ireland on April 24.

Industry panels will include ‘Apply Here: Film Funding in the UK’, in which Mia Bays, director of the BFI Film Fund, and David Kimbangi, senior commissioning executive at Film4, will aim to demystify pathways to financial support for short films and debut features in the UK.

A Stars of Tomorrow panel will look at the impact of the annual Screen talent showcase, featuring alumni Charlotte Regan, Archie Madekwe and Naqqash Khalid. Both panels will be hosted by Screen.

Netflix has joined Picturehouse Create as a Presenting Partner, backing the 2026 programme through its Generation N work that supports UK skills and training programmes.

“The UK is home to an extraordinary community of filmmakers and storytellers, and festivals like Picturehouse Create play an important role in bringing that creative community together,” said Ollie Madden, director of UK Film, Netflix. “Opportunities like this are exactly what our Generation N work is about.”

Further panels will include a discussion on film festivals with representatives from Edinburgh, Cambridge Film Festival and the BFI, a screenwriting masterclass, a day of events on the horror genre, including a discussion with directors Prano Bailey-Bond and Alice Lowe, and a speed meeting event with talent agents.

The Short Film Showcase will offer a $10,000 in-kind services prize from post-production firm Company 3, and a £1,000 cash prize from Picturehouse.

Further screenings in the festival include Francis Lee’s 2017 title God’s Own Country and Bailey-Bond’s 2021 Censor, with both filmmakers in attendance.

Additional events will be added to the programme, featuring executives from Film4, the BFI, and agencies Sara Putt Associates and Casarotto Ramsay & Associates.

Launched last year, Picturehouse Create aims to connect the independent filmmaking sector with the wider creative community. The ticketed event welcomes attendees with no prior filmmaking experience to hear from industry representatives from distribution, finance, production and exhibition, as well as filmmakers.

New Mexico Highlands University has named Johnny Montoya Associate Vice President for Government Affairs. Montoya will begin his role April 1, serving in a leadership position within the university’s Government Relations Division.

Montoya will serve as Associate Vice President for Government Affairs, Strategy and Operations, helping coordinate Highlands’ legislative strategy and engagement with local, state, and federal policymakers while supporting institutional initiatives that advance the university’s mission across northern New Mexico. His work will also support Highlands’ efforts to advance legislative priorities that strengthen student success, infrastructure, and economic development across the region.

Montoya brings extensive experience in government affairs and public policy across both higher education and the private sector. He previously served as Director of State Government Relations at New Mexico State University, where he represented the university before state leaders and coordinated legislative priorities. Most recently, he served as Vice President of State Government Affairs for Windstream’s Kinetic brand, leading public policy and government relations initiatives in New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas.

“Johnny understands how policy decisions shape opportunities for students and communities across New Mexico,” said Neil Woolf, president of New Mexico Highlands University. “His experience working with state leaders and his understanding of the higher education landscape will be a tremendous asset to Highlands as we continue strengthening our partnerships across the state.”

Montoya will work within the university’s Government Relations Division to support legislative priorities and expand Highlands’ engagement with policymakers and community leaders.

“Johnny brings valuable experience from both higher education and the private sector,” said Dave Lepre, Vice President for Government Relations. “He understands the legislative process and has built strong relationships at the Roundhouse that will help Highlands continue advancing its priorities for students and communities throughout northern New Mexico.”

Montoya said he is honored to join Highlands and contribute to the university’s mission.

“New Mexico Highlands University serves an important role for students and communities throughout northern New Mexico,” Montoya said. “I look forward to working with university leadership and policymakers to support Highlands’ priorities and expand opportunities for the students and communities the university serves.”