Family recounts losing two daughters to impaired drivers on Montana's highways

Published

10 months ago

May 5, 2025

Family recounts losing two daughters to impaired drivers on Montana's highways

May 5 marks the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.

Native women face murder rates more than 10 times the national average. Here in Montana, Indigenous women are four times more likely to go missing.

MTN is sharing some of the stories from the MMIW crisis; some of which you might know, some of which you won’t.

Maureena ‘Mena’ Twoteeth was walking along Highway 93 in January 0f 2022, next to Mission Bridge in St. Ignatius.

She was intoxicated and called for a ride. Mena was waiting to be picked up when she was struck and killed by a vehicle.

Watch the full story:

Family recounts losing two daughters to impaired drivers on Montana’s highways

A 22-year-old woman from Bozeman struck and killed her.

The initial police report did not indicate any drugs were involved. However, three years later, the Montana Highway Patrol confirmed to MTN that the driver had THC in her system.

We reached out to the Lake County Attorney for comment on this case, but have not heard back.

Now, Twoteeth’s family shares the impact of living next to roads that have stolen more than one of their loved ones.

Emily Brown/MTN News

Maureena ‘Mena’ Twoteeth was walking along U.S. Highway 93 in January of 2022, in St. Ignatius when she was struck and killed by a vehicle.

U.S. Highway 93 cuts right through the heart of the Flathead Reservation, and a lot of people walk alongside the road, which is known for its dangerous conditions and high speeds.

Many have lost their lives, which is why locals say: ‘Pray for me, I drive 93.’

“It’s just not safe,” sister Kristen Twoteeth said.

Mena was Cree and a member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes.

Mena Twoteeth — Maureena ‘Mena’ Twoteeth

After she was killed, a Tribal officer showed up at her mother, Bonnie Asencio’s, residence.

“I remember just being in disbelief, just holding myself because my body wasn’t doing what I wanted it to do, and that was stand up,” Asencio said.

But Mena wasn’t the first child Asencio lost.

Bonnie Asencio, member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes.

“Two of my children died before me,” Asencio stated.

Her daughter, Ruby Saluskin, was a passenger in a 2020 fatal crash along Montana Highway 35.

“My daughters are important. They are just as important as any other children in the world,” Asencio said.

Twoteeth family — Bonnie Asencio, a member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, has lost two daughters on Montana’s roads.

Now, only four of Asencio’s six daughters are alive.

“My mom’s voice keeps ringing through my ears to be safe, please,” sister Bonnie Saluskin said.

The surviving family lives alongside the roads where white crosses mark their losses.

“I had anxiety really bad after that. I couldn’t even drive really, and especially at like nighttime,” Kristen Twoteeth shared.

“There have been 58 crashes and 65 fatalities on Highway 93 from Wye to the end of the Flathead Reservation from 2020-2025,” Montana Highway Patrol Captain Sean Silvan shared in a statement to MTN.

Still, people commonly walk.

“Indian people walk. We’re not afraid to not have a vehicle. My mom lives a mile just right down the road here. I’ll walk over there easy,” Asencio said.

The family hopes someday for changes that would make getting around the reservation safer for the next generation.

“I would love for a billboard to be here that says: ‘You are now on a reservation and we love to walk,’” Asencio stated.

But all the while, they hold memories of loved ones lost on the road close.

Kristen Twoteeth got a tattoo of a cat for her sister Mena to honor her Indigenous name and remember her by.

Twoteeth tattoo — Kristen Twoteeth got a tattoo of a cat for her sister Mena to honor her Indigenous name and remember her by.

She also named her daughter after a saying from Ruby.

“My sister Ruby was always telling us to love each other. That’s what I named my baby, Leila Love, after her saying that,” said Twoteeth.

Bonnie Saluskin channels her emotions into song with one line being, “Now, death is no longer an option. That’s my word to my mom.”

As the family lives each day, they focus on caring for their remaining family members and elevating their loved ones’ stories whenever possible.

“Being able to be there for your children, being able to be there for your mothers, your, you know, your fathers, your, your family. That’s what this is all about,” Saluskin said.

“They are my daughters, and I love them with all of my heart. They continue to be mine even though they’re in heaven,” Asencio concluded.

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Apparent AI Glitch in Filing by Montana Public Defender, Recent Congressional Candidate

Published

8 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

Apparent AI Glitch in Filing by Montana Public Defender, Recent Congressional Candidate

Everyone makes mistakes, even experienced professionals; a good reminder for the rest of us to learn from those mistakes. The motion in State v. Stroup starts off well in its initial pages (no case law hallucinations), but is then followed by several pages of two other motions, which I don’t think the lawyer was planning to file, and which appear to have been AI-generated: It begins with the “Below is concise motion language you can drop into …” language quoted above.

Griffen Smith (Missoulian) reported on the story, and included the prosecutor’s motion to strike that filing, on the grounds that it violates a local rule (3(G)) requiring disclosure of the use of generative AI:

The document does not include a generative artificial intelligence disclosure as required. However, page 7 begins as follows: “Below is concise motion language you can drop into a ‘Motion to Admit Mental-Disease Evidence and for Related Instructions’ keyed to 45-6-204, 45-6-201, and 4614-102. Adjust headings/captions to your local practice.” Page 10 states “Below is a full motion you can paste into your pleading, then adjust names, dates, and styles to fit local practice.” These pages also include several apparent hyperlinks to “ppl-ai-file-upload.s3.amazonaws,” “ppl-ai-fileupload.s3.amazonaws+1,” and others. The document includes what appears to be an attempt at a second case caption on page 12. It is not plausible on its face that any source other than generative AI would have created such language for a filed version of a brief….

There’s more in that filing, but here’s one passage:

While generative AI can be a useful tool for some purposes and may have greater application in the future, when used improperly, and without meaningful review, it can ultimately damage both the perception and the reality of the profession. One assumes that Mr. Stroup has had, or will at some point have, an opportunity to review the filing made on his behalf. What impression could a review of pgs. 12-19 leave upon a defendant who struggles with paranoia and delusional thinking? While AI could theoretically one day become a replacement for portions of staff of experienced attorneys, it is readily apparent that this day has not yet arrived.

The Missoulan article includes this response:

In a Wednesday interview, Office of Public Defender Division Administrator Brian Smith told the Missoulian the AI-generated language was inadvertently included in an unrelated filing. And he criticized the county attorney’s office for filing a “four-page diatribe about the dangers of AI” instead of working with the defense to correct her mistake.
“That’s not helping the client or the case,” Smith said, “and all you are doing is trying to throw a professional colleague under the bus.”

As I mentioned, the lawyer involved seems quite experienced, and ran for the Montana Public Service Commission in 2020 (getting nearly 48% of the vote) and for the House of Representatives in Montana’s first district in 2022 (getting over 46% of the vote) and in 2024 (getting over 44%). “Его пример другим наука,” Pushkin wrote in Eugene Onegin—”May his example profit others,” in the Falen translation.

Thanks to Matthew Monforton for the pointer.

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

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20 hours ago

March 2, 2026

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

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Montana Department of Agriculture focusing on innovation in 2026

Published

1 day 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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