Who doesn’t love a summer road trip? Cruising down the highway with the radio cranked up and your favorite snacks in hand. Stopping at all of the weird roadside attractions to grab a quick selfie, and then you’re back on the road heading to the next stop.

Some states are more popular than others when it comes to road trips, but what about Montana? Where do we rank on that list? We have Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks, Flathead Lake, and several other things to do and see. Surely Montana is near the top, right?

According to our friends at WalletHub, Montana’s ranking might surprise you.

WalletHub looked at all 50 states to determine their ranking. The criteria used were the following:

• Costs Rank
• Safety Rank
• Activities Rank

Before we reveal Montana’s ranking, let’s look at some of the best road trips in the state.

So how did Montana stack up compared to the other 49 states?

According to the data, Montana is near the bottom when it comes to the best states for road trips. Out of the 50 states, Montana is ranked 47th. Why is that? Well, it has to do with the criteria mentioned above. Montana ranks 31st in Costs, 37th in Safety, and 34th in Activities.

If you were wondering which state came in 1st, that honor goes to our friends down in Texas followed by Minnesota and New York for 2nd and 3rd.

Which states are ranked lower than Montana?

You’ll have to head to the northeast to find states ranked lower than Montana. The states of Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Delaware rank 48th, 49th, and 50th. Yep, even Hawaii and Alaska beat out Montana.

Do you agree? Do you think Montana is near the bottom when it comes to the best states for road trips? Let us know by sending us a message on our station app.

Last month, Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS) pledged to block all legislation brought to the Senate floor, except, of course, for the Credit Card Competition Act, a giveaway to some of the largest corporations in the world.

The CCCA will allow large retailers like Amazon and Walmart to pad their bottom line by slashing interchange fees – the cost of processing a transaction – on credit cards. The idea is that by lowering those fees, corporations can pass on those savings to consumers, however, we all know after four years of corporate price gouging disguised as inflation that those savings are unlikely to make it back to you. The truth is this bill is a billion-dollar giveaway to big box retailers that will cost consumers billions of dollars in increased credit card fees and lost rewards.

We know that this bill won’t lower costs for consumers. When Congress implemented a similar policy to cap debit card interchange fees in 2010, consumers did not see any savings even though large retailers did. Nearly all retailers either kept prices the same or even raised them, according to a study from the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. As a result, mega retailers have been able to rake in more than $100 billion, and counting, while consumers did not pocket any savings.

I am also worried this bill will harm Nevada’s tourism industry, which depends on consumers who use their travel rewards points to book flights and stay in our local hotels. About 1 in 3 Americans have travel rewards cards and in 2022 alone, more than 800,000 tourists used their rewards to visit our state. They generated an economic impact of more than $1.16 billion here in Nevada, according to Airlines for America. That is money spent supporting our countless small businesses, dining in our local restaurants, and contributing to our overall economy.

Unfortunately, if this bill becomes law, consumers in Nevada and all over the country can say goodbye to rewards programs as they know them, since these are funded by the existing interchange system. Once banks and credit unions start seeing major interchange revenue drops, cash-back rewards, hotel points, airline miles, and other perks tourists use to visit Nevada will either be significantly cut back or eliminated altogether. Any change that will decimate rewards programs, increase credit card fees, and make travel more expensive will directly hurt Nevada’s bustling tourism industry and the small businesses that rely on it to stay afloat.

We can also learn from countries who have already made this mistake. When the Australian Reserve Bank implemented a similar policy on their credit cards just a few years ago, Australian consumers saw the value of their rewards points plummet by nearly 25%. They also lost access to no-fee credit cards and now pay hundreds of dollars in credit card fees every year. We can expect Nevadans to pay more in credit card fees and for their rewards points to plummet in value if this legislation passes.

Moreover, a study conducted by the University of Miami shows the country’s five largest retailers – Amazon, Walmart, Home Depot, Costco, and Kroger – are expected to pocket $1.2 billion from this bill. It’s no wonder why they’re lobbying Congress to pass it. Just like with the Durbin Amendment, Nevada consumers are not expected to see a dime of these savings.

Republican Sen. Roger Marshall is intent on making the Senate nonfunctional by blocking all bills – unless of course there is a way to benefit multi-billion-dollar mega-retailers. With the annual National Defense Authorization Act, multiple funding measures, and other must-pass pieces of legislation on the horizon, he is going to have plenty of opportunities to try and jam this through. We can’t let him win.

For the sake of Nevada consumers and our state’s tourism economy, I urge Nevada’s Congressional delegation to shut down this lobbyist handout to mega retailers.

Republicans from southeast New Mexico called for legislative priorities like stiffer criminal penalties and wildfire aid to the Ruidoso area as they await Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham to set the agenda for the upcoming “public safety” special lawmaking session starting July 18.

The governor called the session earlier this year after several priority bills intended to increase restrictions on firearms were either softened via amendments or blocked during the regular 2024 Legislative Session ending in February.

Two guns bills passed: one to institute a seven-day waiting period for firearm purchases and another banning firearms at polling places. The wait time bill was shortened from its initial 14-day period, and both bills saw exemptions added for concealed carry.

This followed a controversial move by Lujan Grisham last year to ban concealed or open carry of guns in the Albuquerque area, in response to multiple shootings, which was struck down by a court.

New Mexico Rep. Cathrynn Brown (R-55) of Carlsbad warned that if Democrats attempted more gun regulations during the special session, the GOP would stand ready to oppose.

More: New Mexico GOP demands action on border security after visit to Santa Teresa crossing

“I would be very much against any additional gun restrictions,” Brown said. “I don’t know that she (Lujan Grisham) will try that. It certainly would take up a lot of time.”

Rep. Jim Townsend (R-54) of Artesia said instead lawmakers should focus on deterring crime, increasing security at the U.S.-Mexico border and providing some financial assistance to people and businesses in Lincoln County struggling amid two devastating wildfires.

The South Fork and Salt fires began burning in the Ruidoso area on June 17, torching more than 20,000 acres and leading to evacuations from the village and nearby Ruidoso Downs, while impacting more than 1,000 structures. Full-time residents were allowed to return Monday to assess any damage to their property, with many homes and businesses destroyed in the blaze.

“We have a lot of potential to get businesses going again, to help people that have lost things,” Townsend said.

Sen. Cliff Pirtle (R-32) announced a bill for the session on Monday to increase penalties for looting, specifically from homes and businesses evacuated in areas where an emergency declaration is in place, as with the fires in Ruidoso.

More: New Mexico GOP threatens ‘extremely painful’ special session if guns bills are introduced

GOP wants to address ‘impact’ of U.S.-Mexico border

To secure the U.S.’ southern border, which runs through a portion of the state to the west of Townsend’s district, he said lawmakers should meeting with law enforcement officials and follow their lead.

“If you want to address crime in New Mexico, you can’t ignore the impacts of the southern border. We should our law enforcement guys down there,” Townsend said. “We should listen to them, and do it.”

Members of the state GOP visited the border crossing at Santa Teresa on April 30, calling for funds for a series of cameras along the New Mexico portion of the border that could tie into an existing network installed by Arizona and a resolution to see State Police work with the U.S. Border Patrol on enforcement in the area.

Other initiatives in the GOP border package included legislation to prohibit state and local government policies to block cooperation with federal immigration authorities and adding a first-degree murder charge for distributing fentanyl resulting in death.

Brown said lawmakers should find ways to disincentivize drug traffickers she said target New Mexico’s border because of a lack of enforcement.

“The reason Cartels are dealing drugs in our country is because there’s money involved. It’s very profitable for them,” she said. “If we could blunt that, it would certainly help increase safety.”

More: Southeast New Mexico lawmakers claim victory, frustration after 2024 legislative session

Punishments for New Mexicans who commit crimes should also be increased, Brown said, through enhanced sentenced that could deter criminals while keeping those convicted of crimes incarcerated for longer.

“There’s a long list of topics we think are very germane to public safety, but it has to be true public safety,” Brown said.

She said Republicans were likely to publicize specific proposals in the coming weeks ahead of the special session and would look to address the topic in the next regular session starting in January 2025.

“The real cause of crime in Albuquerque is there’s no punishment for the people who are doing the crime,” Townsend said. “You got to take away the desire to do it in a meaningful way. The way you do that is when people realize the restitution they’ll have to pay society is not worth trying to get away with it.”

Republican leaders want crime, immigration bills considered

Republican lawmakers in the House on June 10 issued a letter to Lujan Grisham demanding the session’s priorities entail border security measures, higher penalties for fentanyl offenses and reforms at the Children, Youth and Families Department (CYFD).

 “The governor has a unique opportunity to set a special session agenda that would allow Republicans and Democrats to work together and solve the problems New Mexicans are demanding the Legislature address,” said House Minority Leader Rep. Rod Montoya (R-1) in a statement. “Our constituents are growing tired of state government ignoring their calls to stop the revolving-door criminal justice system, secure our southern border, and protect those children who are abused and neglected.”

Legislation intended to strengthen the state’s Racketeering Act was introduced June 13 by Republican senators, intended for the special session. The bill would expand the list of crimes that can be prosecuted under the Act and increase sentencing for human sex trafficking and “sexual exploitation of children,” read a news release.

Senate Republican Leader Sen. Greg Baca (R-29) said similar proposals were blocked by the Democrat-controlled Legislature in previous sessions, but the issue should be taken up this year if the governor “is serious about public safety.”

“The New Mexico Senate Republicans remain steadfast in our commitment to making our communities safer,” Baca said.

Adrian Hedden can be reached at 734-972-6855, achedden@currentargus.com or @AdrianHedden on the social media platform X.