Montana
Montana Disaster Services reports high turnover since ‘22 flood
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.
Where Khloe Kardashian Stands With Ex French Montana More Than 10 Years After Breakup
French Montana is done keeping up with reality TV.
In fact, he only agreed to appear on Keeping Up With The Kardashians and Kourtney & Khloé Take the Hamptons over a decade ago as a favor to then-girlfriend Khloe Kardashian.
“She said to get on the show,” he exclusively told E! News at the BET Awards on June 28. “And I got on the show. Shout out to Khloe.”
The “Ever Since U Left Me” rapper, who split with Kardashian in December 2014 after eight months of dating, said the experience was “fun” because her family kept it real.
“They filmed their real life,” he continued. “And we were part of something together that one time. So it felt great. It didn’t feel like work because they film what they do everyday.”
As for his future in reality TV, the 41-year-old said those days are over, shutting down any prospective offers with a simple, “Negative.”
Although the “Unforgettable” artist—whose real name is Karim Kharbouch—may not be returning to television anytime soon, he has no problem hanging out with his ex-girlfriend these days.
French Montana, Rick Ross & Max B Turn the BET Awards Into “
06/28/2026
More
GREAT FALLS — For Staff Sgt. Brianna St. Lawrence-Brody, service does not only happen in uniform.
Outside the gates of the base, she works at Benefis as a nurse, Great Falls Public Schools as a school nurse, and comes home as a wife and mom of four. For the Montana Air National Guard, she serves as a command post controller with the 120th Airlift Wing in Great Falls.
(WATCH: Montana nurse and Guard member earns national Air Force recognition)
Montana nurse and Guard member earns national Air Force recognition
This year, St. Lawrence-Brody was named the U.S. Air National Guard’s Outstanding Airman of the Year in the Non-Commissioned Officer category.
She said the recognition came as a surprise, especially because her path into the Guard started later than others.
“I joined very late in life,” St. Lawrence-Brody said. “I joined the Guard right before I turned 40. So for me, every opportunity that’s presented, I want to take the bull by the horns and just run with it and do the best of my ability.”
During the COVID-19 pandemic, she joined the Guard after finishing nursing school. She said she went straight from nursing school into helping open a COVID unit, while also working at Benefis.
She said that experience was the start of one journey, but not the whole of what she wanted to accomplish.
St. Lawrence-Brody joined the Guard for the opportunities, the challenge and to help build a future for her four children.
“It’s a little bit of a competition for myself,” she said. “Like, if I can do it, why not try my best to achieve it?”
120th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
As a command post controller, she assists in helping move information during emergencies and major events.
“Outside, obviously, I’m a nurse. Inside the Guard, I have nothing to do with the medical field, which is kind of amazing,” St. Lawrence-Brody said. “It keeps me on my toes.”
She explained balancing the Guard, two civilian jobs and four children takes support from her family, her employers and her unit. She said Benefis and GFPS have been supportive of her military service.
Her nomination included her deployment experience, training work overseas and involvement across the wing. St. Lawrence-Brody said she deployed to Ramstein Air Base in Germany, where she worked with an operations center supporting entities connected to Africa.
But, she says this recognition is not the finish line.
“This award, it’s not necessarily a landing pad for me,” St. Lawrence-Brody said. “I want to use it as a springboard.”
120th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
St. Lawrence-Brody hopes her story encourages others to keep taking on new opportunities, even when they feel uncertain.
“Get comfortable with being uncomfortable and be okay with doing things afraid,” she said. “I think when you get to be okay with doing things afraid, that’s where you’re going to find the growth.”
She has already won at the Air National Guard level, but she recently traveled to Washington, D.C., as part of the broader Air Force Outstanding Airman of the Year process, which includes nominees from the Guard, Reserve and major commands across the Air Force.
-
Boston, MA4 minutes agoScottish soccer fan who died in Boston was ‘Tartan Army to his core,’ fundraising page says – The Boston Globe
-
Denver, CO11 minutes agoNuggets decline Jalen Pickett’s team option for 2026-27 season, sources say
-
San Diego, CA14 minutes agoFormer City Manager, Jack McGrory: Straight Talk About San Diego, Part 2
-
Seattle, WA14 minutes agoArmed suspects linked to 3 Seattle robberies within 30 minutes – MyNorthwest.com
-
Milwaukee, WI26 minutes agoBrewers, Salvation Army pack hundreds of lunches for Milwaukee children through Feed the Kids program
-
Atlanta, GA29 minutes agoNew Venues in Atlanta for Summer 2026 Meetings and Events
-
Minneapolis, MN34 minutes agoMinneapolis City Council member Aisha Chughtai taking mental health leave for a month
-
Indianapolis, IN41 minutes agoState police arrest man in connection with two Monument Circle attacks
