Montana

Montana legislative leaders discuss expectations for the 2025 session

Published

10 months ago

January 4, 2025

Montana legislative leaders discuss expectations for the 2025 session

HELENA — On Friday, with just three days to go before the start of the Montana Legislature’s 69^th session, lawmakers were already at the State Capitol – some going through trainings on state law and the budget, others laying out their priorities for the session.

However, the real work starts on Monday. Legislators will have 90 working days to make decisions on key issues for people across the state, from taxes to health care to housing.

Republicans again hold the majority in both the House and Senate – as they have for every session since 2011. Sen.-elect Matt Regier, R-Kalispell, the incoming Senate president, says he’s expecting a “conservative bent” to the session, especially in light of the Republican victories at the federal level.

Regier says he believes it’s not a matter of whether lawmakers will approve tax relief this session, but of how much relief they’ll approve and how it will be done. During the 2023 session, Republican leaders endorsed a package of six tax- and budget-related bills that moved quickly through the process. Regier said it may be different this time around.

“I don’t picture it going through fast and unanimous at all,” he said. “Everybody’s got an idea of where they want to cut taxes: The governor obviously wants income tax, I know the Senate wants property tax, they’re talking about vehicle license fees – that goes to the general fund and it doesn’t need to – whether it’s child tax credit, veterans’ pensions, Social Security exemption – there’s been a lot of ideas floated around in the Senate.”

Regier said he believes his caucus wants to take a harder look at the state budget, to find areas where they can address spending.

Democrats in the Legislature have said tackling what they call a “crisis of affordability” in Montana is their top goal. They want to prioritize property tax relief as well, though they’ve argued their own proposals will be focused on targeting that relief to lower- and middle-income Montanans. They want to see more state investment in child care and in public schools, and to increase support for affordable housing.

House Minority Leader Rep. Katie Sullivan, D-Missoula, believes, despite differences, there are still areas where Democrats can find common ground with Republicans.

“I think the people of Montana have made it quite clear what we need to do when we get to Helena in January, and that includes property tax relief, housing costs, affordability of our everyday-to-day lives,” she said. “I think those are all big areas for bipartisan support, and I do expect that we work together to get those things done as quickly as possible.”

Sullivan also said she hopes the Legislature will act quickly to extend Montana’s Medicaid expansion program, so it doesn’t hang over the entire session. Republicans in the Legislature remain split on whether to continue the program.

One area GOP leaders are putting special emphasis on this session is proposed legislation to reform Montana’s judicial branch. Regier and House Speaker Rep. Brandon Ler, R-Savage, held a news conference at the Capitol Friday morning to highlight some of the 27 draft bills that came out of a Republican-led committee during the interim.

During the last two sessions – dating back to a 2021 dispute – Republicans have accused judges of systemic bias against conservatives and of issuing rulings that overstepped their proper authority. Those arguments have continued after more rulings this year – notably the Held v. Montana climate change lawsuit.

“With the egregious overreach of our judicial branch. I believe it is our job as the Legislature to do our due diligence in being their check and balance on government,” said Ler Friday.

Some of the most notable proposals include making judicial elections partisan, creating a new “Court of Chancery” appointed by the governor to handle business and constitutional cases, and changing the procedures for evaluating and disciplining judges.

Democrats have consistently pushed back against what they call “attacks on the judiciary,” and they refused to participate in the committee that proposed the 27 bills. Senate Minority Leader Sen. Pat Flowers, D-Belgrade, said he believed judges are doing their jobs properly, but that legislative leadership simply didn’t like the rulings.

“If you weaken the judicial branch, you are in effect weakening the power of our constitution,” he said. “We know Montanans love their constitution, and we want to make sure that our judges have the ability, in an impartial way, to uphold the integrity of that constitution. We’re going to do everything we can to make sure that we can deliver that for Montanans.”

The 2025 legislative session will officially get underway on Monday, Jan. 6, at noon, when House and Senate members take the oath of office.

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Montana

Missoula Woman Arrested After False Claims And Drug Discovery

Published

7 hours ago

October 31, 2025

Press Room

Missoula Woman Arrested After False Claims And Drug Discovery

Missoula, MT (KGVO-AM News) – On October 28, 2025, a Missoula Police Department Officer was dispatched to a possible physical disturbance at Council Grove Apartments. The caller, 41-year-old Danielle Auwen, reported someone was beating up her “baby-daddy.” The officer arrived on scene and contacted Auwen. The officer confirmed there was no threat or physical disturbance taking place.

Auwen advised that she heard people taunting her from inside the walls of the apartment and was shaking and stuttering. The officer observed that Auwen was displaying signs of paranoia due to drug intoxication. Dispatch advised that Auwen was previously permanently trespassed from the Council Groves Apartments.

Another officer advised that the apartment manager wanted Auwen removed and charged. Auwen advised that she was aware of the trespass, but stated she thought it was cancelled. Another officer pointed out trespass paperwork was taped to the front door of the apartment where Auwen was located. Auwen was arrested and asked the officer to grab her bag.

Officers Searched Her Bag at the Jail

The officer determined Auwen was on probation and contacted the Probation and Parole Office. The on-call Probation Officer requested that Auwen be violated for a probation violation and search the bag Auwen requested be brought to the jail. During a search of the bag, the officer located eleven yellow pills, determined to be Gabapentin. The officer contacted the PO, who advised Auwen was not prescribed Gabapentin.

According to court documents, Auwen currently has an open case and a pending Petition to Revoke in Montana’s Fourth Judicial District Court before the Honorable Leslie Halligan. Given that Auwen is now charged with an additional felony, while violating her conditions of release by Missoula County District Court and her conditions of probation, the State requested a warrant in the amount of $25,000 be issued for Auwen’s arrest.

READ MORE: Missoula News – Crime Reports

Auwen is currently being charged with felony criminal possession of dangerous drugs and criminal trespass to property. According to the jail roster, her bond was set at $50,000 for a probation violation and $25,000 for the drug charge.

The information in this article was obtained from sources that are publicly viewable.

Cities with the most UFO sightings in Montana

Stacker compiled a ranking of cities with the most UFO sightings in Montana using data from the National UFO Reporting Center.

Gallery Credit: Stacker

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Montana

Montana’s congressional delegation pushing back on plan to import Argentina beef

Published

1 day ago

October 30, 2025

Press Room

Montana’s congressional delegation pushing back on plan to import Argentina beef

HELENA — When President Donald Trump announced a plan last week to import more beef from Argentina, it drew quick criticism from ranchers in Montana. Now, Montana’s members of Congress say they’re pushing the administration to change course.

U.S. Sen. Steve Daines told MTN he quickly began hearing from Montanans in the cattle business after reports came out about Trump’s plan.

“The word I would describe is they feel betrayed,” he said.

(Watch the video to hear more reaction from Montana’s congressional delegation.)

Montana’s congressional delegation pushing back on plan to import beef from Argentina

Daines said Montana beef producers have already been under pressure from drought and market forces. He said this step was “an unforced error” by the administration.

All four members of Montana’s congressional delegation are Republicans. They all say the Republican president’s plan was the wrong direction and that they’ve made that case when speaking with administration leaders.

U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke, who represents Montana’s western congressional district, says he understands why Trump wanted to tackle high beef prices, but that this wasn’t the right way for him to do it.

“Having a healthy cattle industry, having a healthy poultry industry and having a healthy supply chain for food is really national security,” he told MTN. “So he understands that, and I think we’re going to see some action in making sure or calming a lot of the fears from the cattlemen out there.”

Earlier this year, Daines visited Argentina and met with its conservative president, Javier Milei, during a South American tour advocating for Trump’s trade policies. He said his opinions on the country and its government don’t play any role in his feelings on this proposed deal.

“I don’t care if this is Argentinian beef or beef coming from anywhere else in the world,” he said. “The answer for what’s going on right now in the markets is not to import more beef – bottom line. It doesn’t matter where it comes from; it happens to be Argentina.”

Daines said it would be better for Montana’s cattle industry for the U.S. to focus on opening export markets rather than import markets. In 2017, Daines celebrated an agreement that led to China buying millions of dollars in Montana beef – but he said Thursday that the country has shut the doors to American beef during the ongoing trade dispute with the Trump administration.

“We were shipping over $1 billion a year in beef last year, and now it’s gone to zero,” he said.

In a statement to MTN, Sen. Tim Sheehy said he’s been talking with Trump and his team, looking for a path forward.

“Empowering hardworking ranchers who feed America and lowering prices for American families at the grocery store are not mutually exclusive,” he said. “Both can be accomplished by lowering input costs and providing a reliable, pro-growth environment for producers so ranchers can grow their operation, capture more of the value they create, and feed the nation with affordable, healthy, high-quality beef.”

Zinke and Daines say they also see areas where the federal government can make moves that will benefit both Montana ranchers and Montana consumers. Daines wants Congress to do more to tackle the huge market share four large packing companies have in the beef industry – a situation he calls a “monopoly.”

“Our ranchers don’t set the price; that price is set for them,” he said.

Zinke wants to put additional emphasis on country-of-origin labeling for beef.

“In Montana, we have a brand and that brand has value,” he said. “When it’s made in Montana, you know it’s at the top, the quality is there. And our ranchers sell premium product – that’s important.”

Daines said he supports country-of-origin labeling also, though he wants to make sure any additional steps the U.S. takes doesn’t lead to unintended consequences or retribution from countries like Canada.

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