Montana
Kalispell Planning Commission to host hearing on city's future participation plan
Kalispell Planning Commission will solicit input Tuesday on a forthcoming public participation plan, which will change how residents engage with the city on developments and establish a long-term game plan for city growth.
The new plan is mandated by Senate Bill 382, also known as the Montana Land Use Planning Act, signed into law by Gov. Greg Gianforte in May 2023. Part of a package of bills aimed at addressing the state’s housing crunch, SB 382 was designed to front-load public comment for undeveloped land and then fast-track developments as an administrative process for periods of five years.
The Planning Commission meets the second Tuesday of every month at 6 p.m. at City Hall, 201 First Ave. E. Residents can attend in person or online at www.kalispell.com/480/Council-Meeting-Agendas-Videos.
City documents describe the goal of the proposed plan as creating a “clear and accessible public process” ensuring input is sought and considered “from a broad range of participants.”
As for practical application, the proposal calls for alerting the public to land use plan changes via notices published in newspapers, posts on the city website, social media updates and press releases, among other avenues. City staff would then organize meetings with community groups and government boards; disseminate surveys and comment forms; host charrettes and public hearings; and attend public events, among other outreach efforts.
The participation plan also warns that public input regarding site-specific projects will be limited under the new, state-mandated system.
“The changes will front-load public input, with limited public involvement during land use permit and application reviews, including subdivisions,” the proposal reads.
The Montana Land Use Planning Act applies to cities with more than 5,000 residents located in counties with a population exceeding 70,000. Eligible municipalities must comply with the new governance structure by May 2026, pending litigation by groups such as Montanans Against Irresponsible Densification.
That organization, which boasts members in the Flathead Valley, has argued that the law intrudes on municipal governance, violates the Montana Constitution’s right of participation and is bound to have disproportionate effects on neighborhoods.
After the hearing, the commission is expected to forward its recommendation to Kalispell City Council. City staff are recommending the commission endorse the proposal.
THE COMMISSION will also hear public comments on potential environmental impact of future upgrades and repairs on the Depot Park building.
The hearing comes as part of the city’s effort to secure a $500,000 Montana Historic Preservation Grant for the undertaking, which would see the building receive a new roof with historically accurate eaves, gutters and paint, according to city documents.
The city-owned structure has undergone interior renovations in recent months in anticipation of the municipality’s Parks and Recreation Department moving into the space. The agency’s former home is expected to subsequently be converted into an evidence facility for the Kalispell Police Department.
Lastly, the Scoreboard Sports Bar, TTC Investments and Mitch Tormohlen have submitted a request for annexation of a parking lot and abandoned alley right of way along 51, 55, and 75 Woodland Park Drive, which will serve as the subject of a public hearing. The applicants are asking that the land be zoned B-1, neighborhood business.
The 17,400-square-foot space is being eyed as the site of a future apartment complex, according to city documents.
City staff is recommending the commission recommend the annexation and zoning to Council following the public hearing.
Reporter Carl Foster can be reached at 758-4407 or cfoster@dailyinterlake.com.
Montana
Escobar, Jayapal, Members of Congress Call on Camp East Montana to be Shut Down – Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal
(Washington, D.C.) – Today, Congresswoman Veronica Escobar (TX-16) – joined by Representative Pramila Jayapal, the Ranking Member of the Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement Subcommittee, and 22 other Members of Congress – sent a letter to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Acting Director Todd Lyons calling for the immediate closure of Camp East Montana in El Paso. They cite urgent humanitarian concerns following multiple deaths in custody, documented unsafe conditions, and serious deficiencies in medical care.
This marks the fourth letter Congresswoman Escobar has sent to DHS and ICE leadership. The previous three letters have gone unanswered.
The letter can be found in its entirety below and here.
“Secretary Noem and Acting Director Lyons:
We are urgently calling on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS or the Department) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to shut down Camp East Montana in El Paso, Texas.
Camp East Montana has been operational for six months, and at least three people have died at the site since December 2025: Francisco Gaspar-Andres, Geraldo Lunas Campos, and Victor Manuel Diaz. The El Paso County Medical Examiner has officially ruled Lunas Campos’ death a homicide, citing “asphyxia due to neck and torso compression.”
Camp East Montana was constructed in a matter of weeks and opened before construction was complete and it does not have enough federal staff on-site to provide adequate oversight. Over the last several months, Congresswoman Veronica Escobar, in whose district this facility is located, has sent multiple letters to DHS and ICE regarding concerns about the conditions at Camp East Montana, and has received no responses.
According to detainees, there have been constant and consistent problems at the facility since it opened, beginning with the facility’s poor construction and poor ambient temperature control. Upon opening, the drinking water at Camp East Montana tasted foul and made some detainees sick. Detainees continue to be served inadequate meals, including food that is rotten or frozen; last fall, the facility was also consistently failing to make dietary accommodations for detainees. Detainees have shared that they have sporadic access to outside spaces and recreational areas, and that their dormitory pods are cleaned only once every eight days, despite pods housing up to 72 people at a time. Laundry services are not consistent, and people are washing their clothes in the facility showers. Additionally, the facility experiences flooding and sewage backups when it rains, leading to stagnant water.
One of the biggest concerns with the Camp East Montana facility is the inadequate medical care being provided to detainees. Our offices have heard that only the most ill detainees are referred to the medical unit and that there are inconsistencies as to how soon after arriving detainees are able to undergo initial medical screenings. Detainees with chronic health issues who rely on regimented medications for their health have had difficulty accessing necessary medications, including blood pressure medication and insulin.
At least one of the deaths that occurred in ICE custody, the death of Francisco Gaspar-Andres, appears to partially be the result of poor medical care by staff at the facility. According to ICE’s own account, Gaspar-Andres sought medical attention from facility staff for increasingly serious symptoms, but was only transferred to an area hospital once his condition had severely deteriorated.
In addition to our concerns about poor medical care, we are also aware that detainees have experienced irregular access to their legal counsel, including instances of detainees having only two minutes allotted per phone call every 8 days, which is contrary to ICE’s Detention Standards on access to counsel, and that the belatedly created law library lacks adequate resources for the amount of people currently held at the facility. In January 2026, ICE announced the on-site death of Geraldo Lunas Campos “after experiencing medical distress.” ICE opened an investigation into the death, but did not provide a cause of death. However, The Washington Post later reported that another man detained at Camp East Montana had witnessed guards choking Lunas Campos when he refused to enter a segregated housing unit. Weeks later, the El Paso County Medical Examiner ruled that Lunas Campos had experienced “asphyxia due to neck and torso compression” and ruled his death a homicide.
Lunas Campos is the first detainee to die at Camp East Montana as a result of a use-of-force incident, but we are strongly concerned that he will not be the last if ICE is allowed to continue operating Camp East Montana.
ICE was given $45 billion in taxpayer dollars in the reconciliation bill, $1.2 billion of which were awarded to Acquisition Logistics, LLC, a company with no previous experience managing immigration detention facilities, to build and oversee Camp East Montana. However, in the wake of three deaths in custody so far, continued concerns about conditions at the facility, and ICE’s apparent disinterest in responding to oversight letters from Congress, we do not believe Camp East Montana is being run professionally or responsibly.
Camp East Montana must be shut down. For the safety of everyone at the facility, for an end to abuses to detainees, and for fiscal responsibility to the American people, the site cannot continue to operate. We are calling on DHS and ICE to move to immediately close operations at Camp East Montana.
We look forward to hearing from the Department promptly on this matter.
The other co-signers include Representatives Yassamin Ansari, Nanette Barragán, Yvette Clarke, Lloyd Doggett, Maxwell Frost, Jesús “Chuy” García, Sylvia Garcia, Daniel Goldman, Jimmy Gomez, Henry Johnson, Stephen Lynch, Seth Moulton, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Delia Ramirez, Andrea Salinas, Janice Schakowsky, Darren Soto, Rashida Tlaib, Paul Tonko, Lauren Underwood, Gabe Vasquez, and Nydia Velázquez.
Issues: Immigration
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