COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho (KMVT/KSVT) — Quinn Michael Brockman, 34, of Libby, Montana, was sentenced to 48 months in federal prison for possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, U.S. Attorney Josh Hurwit announced today.

According to court records, Brockman was pulled over in the Coeur d’Alene area while traveling through Idaho with over 216 grams of fentanyl pills that he had recently acquired in the Seattle area.  Based on the quantity involved, law enforcement’s investigation, and Brockman’s own statements, the pills had been acquired for the purpose of reselling in Montana.

U.S. District Judge Amanda K. Brailsford also ordered Brockman to serve three years of supervised release upon the completion of his prison sentence.  Brockman pleaded guilty in August 2023.

Fentanyl continues to plague communities throughout the country and these two cases are prime examples of its far-reaching effects.  Addiction to fentanyl was a contributing factor behind both of these cases.

“I am grateful for our collaboration with ISP and all law enforcement in North Idaho to remove fentanyl dealers from our state,” said U.S. Attorney Hurwit.  “Together, we are committed to addressing the fentanyl problem affecting the health of our communities.”

“Our ongoing collaboration with the DEA Task Force and the U.S. Attorney’s Office is a testament to a joint commitment to community safety,” said Idaho State Police Captain Paul Berger of District 1.  “These partnerships significantly amplify our effectiveness and underscore the critical importance of interagency cooperation in addressing our region’s complex challenges. By fortifying our ability to combat crime and upholding the law, we will continue achieving positive results and foster safer communities.”

U.S. Attorney Hurwit commended the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Idaho State Police for their investigation in this case.

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People are always on the search for certain things when they come to the Big Sky State.

Huckleberries, secret hiking trails, and…flathead cherries.

This year, we celebrate the 25th annual Flathead Cherry Festival. So if anyone starts asking you about the delicacy, just tell them they can go to this annual event. It will help get them off your back.

The festival is full of so many “Montana things”! Vendors from all over the state will have some of the best baked good you will ever taste, for sale.

Art work from talented local artists will be displayed for you look at and purchase. Imagine how great it will look in your family room.

Shopping, food, local Montana made products, what else could you possibly want?

The festival is July 27th and 28th and goes from 9 AM to 5 PM both days. The main street of Polson is going to be jam packed with Montana loving folks just like you and I.

There are certain events/festivals that you will forget about or miss during the summer, especially since there are so many great ones to attend, but the Flathead Cherry Festival is one you want to mark on your calendars early so you don’t have any regrets.

WHAT: Flathead Cherry Festival

WHEN: July 27th and July 28th (starts at 9 AM)

WHERE: Polson, MT (4 hours from Bozeman)

Make it a weekend getaway. Here are some places to stay if you are like me a love a good girls weekend.

HOTELS IN POLSON

AIRBNB IN POLSON

cc: Flathead Cherry Festival

Montana Disaster and Emergency Services said it has seen 60% staff turnover in the two years since the Yellowstone River flood and asked lawmakers Tuesday for 14 more full-time employees.

Administrator for the Disaster and Emergency Services Division Delila Bruno told legislators the staff losses are in part due to burnout, and most often they lose employees to the private sector after training them.

Legislators are looking into disaster and emergency service recovery response in Montana as part of a study bill passed in the last legislative session. Lawmakers in a subcommittee of the State Administration and Veterans’ Affairs Interim Committee will eventually have to draft recommendations for how to improve emergency response in the state.

Department suggestions beyond staff increases included enhancing recovery coordination between agencies pre-disaster, training state experts to provide damage assessments to reduce reliance on federal partners, developing a statewide debris management plan and increasing staffing to assist individual assistance post-disaster.

In June of 2022, the Yellowstone River flooded in a 500-year event with nearly 10 inches of rain and snowmelt in 24 hours, destroying homes and structures along the river and sections of northern roads leading into Yellowstone National Park from gateway towns. The event required a massive recovery effort.

In the past 12 years, Montana has made 50 statewide disaster declarations and 15 federal declarations, including the 2022 flood, Bruno said. The recovery team, which works to restore a community to pre-disaster conditions, has six open disasters it is working on – half of which are floods.

She said federal resources for recovery efforts significantly outweigh what’s available at the state and local level. It would be better to reduce the reliance on the federal government to get communities back on their feet, she said, and may allow for a faster response.

Rep. Kelly Kortum, D-Bozeman, proposed writing a bill to provide emergency services with the additional 14 staff members, but other lawmakers shot the idea down as premature and wanted to hear from other stakeholders first.

Bruno said in an example of how the department loses staff, if they trained someone up to be a floodplain manager, then they suddenly became incredibly marketable for disaster firms for nationwide projects.

“They pay way more than we do,” Bruno said. “That’s very, very common to see people get gobbled up in the private sector and work nationally.”

The legislature gave staff raises during the last legislative session, which Bruno said has been a huge help in retention. She said getting more employees to share in the workload could also help with burnout.

Bruno said there also needs to be an emphasis on hiring for different skill sets in the division, and said they need more grant writers and people who understand local policies.

“What is appealing to a lot of emergency managers that we have apply for these positions is that they still associate the work with kind of a first-responder type work,” she said.

She said the division is looking to develop a certification program to train people on the recovery aspect of the job and the more administrative side of the division, which she said is the bulk of their work, though there are opportunities for first responders as well.

“We want to make sure that whether you’re at the local level or you’re at the state level, when you take a job with disaster emergency services, it’s clear what your what your job really is,” she said.

Bruno said Montana needs to increase support for local communities to be able to respond and recover from disasters.

“We know we need more training at both the state and local levels,” she said. “We do know that Montana communities do a better job when they have the resources at their fingertips.”

The SAVA sub-committee did not take action Tuesday, but will meet with the full interim committee on May 23.

Nicole Girten is a reporter for the Daily Montanan, a nonprofit newsroom.