HELENA — Montana’s attorney general told supporters he skirted the state’s campaign finance laws by inviting another Republican to run against him as a token candidate in next month’s primary so he could raise more money for the November general election, according to a recording from a fundraising event.

“I do technically have a primary,” Attorney General Austin Knudsen said last week when asked at the event who was running against him. “However, he is a young man who I asked to run against me because our campaign laws are ridiculous.”

Knudsen separately faces dozens of professional misconduct allegations from the state’s office of attorney discipline as he seeks a second term. He made the comments about his primary opponent during the fundraiser on May 11 in Dillon, Montana, according to the recording obtained by the Daily Montanan, which is part of the nonprofit States Newsroom organization.

In the recording, Knudsen is heard saying that Logan Olson “filed to run against me simply because under our current campaign finance laws in Montana, it allows me to raise more money. So, he supports me and he’s going to vote for me.”

Knudsen’s senior campaign adviser Jake Eaton declined to comment on the recording.

Olson, a county attorney in rural northeastern Montana, denied being recruited by Knudsen. Campaign finance records indicate his filing fee was paid by a longtime Republican operative who is also a Knudsen donor.

The state’s campaign finance watchdog agency, the Commissioner of Political Practices, is investigating complaints filed by the executive director of the Montana Democratic Party that allege an agreement between Knudsen and Olson.

Under state law, a person cannot pay or “promise valuable consideration” to another person to induce them to be a candidate, or to withdraw as a candidate.

Democrat Sheila Hogan’s complaints say Knudsen started raising donations exceeding the $790-per person allowed without a primary opponent long before Olson filed on March 11 — the final day for candidate filing.

“Olson is not a legitimate, good faith candidate for Attorney General,” both complaints state.

Eaton, who called the complaint against Knudsen frivolous, said it was “common practice for candidates to accept primary and general contributions and then return the money if there is no contested primary.”

He suggested Democratic Attorney General candidate Ben Alke, a Bozeman attorney, was also accepting more money than what is allowed from individual donors.

However, a search of Alke’s campaign finance reports shows only contributions to his primary campaign.

Knudsen and Olson have until May 23 to respond to the complaints, although Olson has requested an extension, commissioner Chris Gallus said Friday.

Olson has not raised or spent any money in the race, according to a report filed by his treasurer on Friday.

His April campaign finance report listed a debt of more than $1,500 to Standard Consulting of Helena for reimbursement of his filing fee.

“I did pay Logan’s filing fee and helped him file for office,” Chuck Denowh, a Republican operative and owner of Standard Consulting, said in an email Friday. “I did so because he asked me to.”

Denowh has donated $1,580 to Knudsen — $790 each for the primary and general elections.

Alke said the professional misconduct allegations and other actions by Knudsen are why he’s running for attorney general.

Knudsen is facing 41 counts of professional misconduct on allegations his office tried to undermine the Montana Supreme Court while defending a challenge to a state law about judicial nominations. The Commission on Practice is scheduled to hear the case in mid-July and recommend whether Knudsen should be punished.

Separately, in early 2021 Knudsen ordered the Lewis and Clark County attorney to dismiss concealed carry weapons charges against a man who allegedly threatened a restaurant manager trying to enforce the state’s pandemic mask mandate. Knudsen’s office later pleaded the case down to disorderly conduct.

In October 2021, a Helena hospital said three unspecified public officials threatened doctors after they refused to treat a COVID-19 patient with ivermectin, a drug for parasites that is not federally approved for the virus. Knudsen’s office later confirmed that he participated in a conference call with hospital executives and that he sent a Montana Highway Patrol trooper to the hospital to talk with the patient’s family after they claimed mistreatment — something the hospital denied.

“This sort of conduct from the chief legal officer and law enforcement officer of the state of Montana is inappropriate and I hope people are paying attention because this is just one of several issues with Austin Knudsen,” Alke said Thursday.

As Republican legislators representing Northwest Montana and the western edge of our state, we write to express our full support for the Montana Great Outdoors Project. The draft environmental assessment for Phase 1 of the conservation easement clearly illustrates not only that this proposal is the right move for conservation and the environment, but it’s also essential to protect good jobs and the Montana way of life, as well as preserve the very character of Northwest Montana. 

Much of the land between Kalispell and Libby has been owned by a rotating set of timber companies for generations. Those companies have been stewards of their private property, managing the forest for its health and creating hundreds of good-paying, blue collar Montana jobs. They’ve also generously allowed the public to hunt, fish, and recreate on their properties. Generations of Montanans have grown up with access to these lands. It’s impossible to count how many family memories of first deers, rainy Memorial Day weekend camping trips, and mountain sunset drives would have never happened without that access. 

If we lose the land to subdivision and development, we’ll never get back the magic of Northwest Montana. The Phase 1 easement will protect nearly 33,000 acres from such a generational loss. 

The Montana Great Outdoors project is a win across the board. It will keep the land in timber production as it has been historically. With recent mill closures in the Swan Valley and Missoula, it’s never been more clear that the future of forest health, wildfire prevention, and timber jobs are on the line with every land management decision. 

The project will also maintain the public’s recreational access to the land and preserve the character of Northwest Montana. Population growth is putting unprecedented development pressure on our part of the state. If we do not act to save open spaces and public access, we will lose them forever. This conservation easement will prevent that loss and ensure that future generations can hunt, fish, camp, and explore the forest north of the Thompson Chain of Lakes just as their parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents have. 

Finally, the financial impacts of the easement are positive ones. The land will remain in private ownership and contributing property taxes; there’s no shifting of the property tax burden to homeowners. The cost of the easement is being paid for by a combination of the landowner’s generous donation, the Forest Service, private fundraising, and state hunting license dollars. Montana taxpayers aren’t on the hook for the project. 

We are senators and representatives, elected by the people, but even more importantly we are hunters, fisherman, and outdoors enthusiasts. Some of us have history in the timber industry, several have multi-generational ties to this region. Our families live here. Simply put, this is home. The proposed easement is about protecting and preserving our home. We support the Montana Great Outdoors Project.

Sens. Mike Cuffe, R-Eureka, Jason Ellsworth, R-Hamilton, and Greg Hertz, R-Polson, and Reps. Steve Gunderson, R-Libby, Amy Regier, R-Kalispell, Braxton Mitchell, R-Columbia Falls, Courtenay Sprunger, R-Kalispell, Tony Brockman, R-Evergreen, Linda Reksten, R-Polson, and Denley Loge, R-St. Regis.

With changes approved just a month ago, some western Montana anglers are bound to get caught off guard.

There will be signs posted and presumably some leniency in the early stages. But with warmer weather comes more fishing pressure and a greater need to know.

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks wants to remind anglers of new fishing regulations that are taking effect for the Swan River this month. The Montana Wildlife Commission approved fishing regulation changes on the Swan River at its April 17 meeting.

MORE CATCH AND RELEASE, LESS BITE TO THE HOOK

The commission approved changing the catch-and-release requirements on the Swan River to include rainbow trout. Previously, only cutthroat trout were catch-and-release.

Another change in regulations affects the area from Piper Creek Bridge downstream to Swan Lake, where anglers can now only use single-pointed hooks. Treble hooks and double hooks are prohibited on this stretch. Anglers may remove treble or double hooks from the lure and replace them with a single hook, or the shanks may be cut off the other hook points to leave a single hook. Lures with multiple hook attachments may still be used, but any treble hook must be replaced by a single hook.

“OFFICIAL” OPENING DAY

There is an abundance of fishing year-round in Montana. But we still have an opening day for other bodies of water. Fishing officially opens on most rivers and streams on the third Saturday in May, which makes this year’s opener Saturday,  May 18. That is also when the new Swan River regulations go into effect. Since the 2024 fishing regulations booklet was already printed when the commission approved the Swan River amendment, signs are being posted at popular access sites along the river to inform anglers of the recent change.

If the Swan is one of your go-to spots, don’t be surprised if there is a little more game warden activity in the early stages of the new catch-and-release and hook regulations. If you’d like to become more familiar with all Montana fishing regs, check out the FWP Fishing Regulations page of their website.