Montana

Montana redistricting commission starts work on state legislative maps

Published

2 years ago

August 3, 2022

Montana redistricting commission starts work on state legislative maps

HELENA — The Montana Districting and Apportionment Fee accomplished their first job final 12 months – dividing the state into two congressional districts. However their work solely will get extra sophisticated now, as they start the method of reshaping the districts that may elect 100 members of the Montana Home of Representatives and 50 members of the Montana Senate.

“We noticed how troublesome it’s to attract a line – one line,” mentioned Commissioner Dan Stusek, a Republican. “Now we’re drawing 100 traces.”

On Tuesday, the 4 bipartisan commissioners – two Republicans and two Democrats – every unveiled their preliminary proposals for Montana’s subsequent legislative map. Now, the general public can have a chance to weigh in on these maps.

Republicans Stusek and Jeff Essmann mentioned they centered on creating compact districts and minimizing break up communities of their maps.

Democrats Joe Lamson and Kendra Miller highlighted aggressive districts and their purpose of creating the Legislature’s partisan steadiness nearer to statewide vote totals.

Disagreements shortly surfaced. Miller and Lamson mentioned the Republican maps gave the GOP a bonus within the overwhelming majority of districts and diluted Native American voting energy, and so they opposed transferring them ahead for public remark.

“Asking us to stroll in as if we’re on equal footing and search for consensus just isn’t a good course of to us,” mentioned Miller. “I don’t assume that excessive Republican gerrymanders ought to come ahead.”

Essmann and Stusek mentioned their maps had been based mostly on geographical issues, not political ones, and that the distinction in partisan breakdown mirrored how Democratic voters had been concentrated in particular geographic areas. They argued their proposals met all authorized necessities.

“The Montana Structure and federal regulation doesn’t require proportional illustration,” mentioned Essmann. “What’s in our structure is compact and contiguous and equal, and respecting the Voting Rights Act.”

Miller mentioned, utilizing information from 10 statewide elections in 2016, 2018 and 2020, Essmann’s map would characteristic 66 districts gained by Republicans at the very least 80% of the time, 26 districts gained by Democrats 80% of the time and eight aggressive districts the place every get together gained at the very least 3 times. The identical information confirmed Stusek’s map with 68 Republican districts, 24 Democratic districts and eight aggressive districts.

The Democrats mentioned their purpose was to make the general breakdown near the 57% that Republican candidates obtained on common in these chosen races. In keeping with their information, every of their maps would have 52 Republican districts, 38 Democratic districts and ten aggressive districts.

Dave’s Redistricting App, the web redistricting instrument that the state used to share the proposed maps, calculates its personal “partisan lean” for every district. It estimated Essmann’s map to have 60 Republican districts, 25 Democratic and 15 within the aggressive vary – between 45% and 55% for every get together. It estimated Stusek’s map to have 58 Republican, 23 Democratic and 19 aggressive districts, Lamson’s to have 49 Republican, 31 Democratic and 20 aggressive, and Miller’s to have 50 Republican, 32 Democratic and 18 aggressive.

Dave’s Redistricting App estimates Montana’s present legislative map has 53 Republican-leaning districts, 27 Democratic-leaning districts and 20 aggressive districts.

Native American voting energy was additionally a serious matter Tuesday. Underneath the present legislative map, there are six majority-Native Home districts, every paired off to kind three majority-Native Senate districts. Nonetheless, in every of the Republican proposals, two of the Home districts centered on reservations would now not share a border, in order that they couldn’t be mixed in a single Senate district.

Democratic commissioners mentioned the lack of that majority-minority district would doubtless violate the federal Voting Rights Act, which requires minority communities to have districts that permit them the chance to elect a candidate of their alternative when attainable. Republicans mentioned what’s required to adjust to the VRA is open to interpretation, and that there would nonetheless be attainable methods to create a Senate district the place Native voters might elect their chosen candidate.

In the long run, Maylinn Smith, the fee’s nonpartisan chair, voted to ship all 4 maps ahead for public remark. She mentioned these are solely beginning factors.

“I don’t anticipate the maps we see at this time being the ultimate maps going ahead, so I would like public touch upon that,” she mentioned. “You might have framed the problems with the maps; I count on to have plenty of public remark in regard to that.”

From the tip of August to the center of September, the fee has scheduled six in-person public hearings to get suggestions on these maps, in Pablo, Missoula, Bozeman, Nice Falls, Crow Company and Billings. They can even maintain three on-line hearings over Zoom – one every for western, central and japanese Montana. The fee’s web site features a full schedule and data on the right way to present touch upon the maps.

Commissioners plan to carry a four-day work session to finalize Home districts the final week of November. They may undertake a tentative legislative map by the tip of 2022.

The brand new legislative districts is not going to be in impact for this 12 months’s election. They’ll be applied for the primary time in 2024.

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Montana

Joe Montana turns out for national championship game to support alma mater Notre Dame

Published

2 hours ago

January 21, 2025

Press Room

Joe Montana turns out for national championship game to support alma mater Notre Dame

Editor’s note: Follow Ohio State vs. Notre Dame live updates from the CFP national championship game.

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are playing for their first national football championship since 1988. Going up against a fearsome Ohio State Buckeyes team, the Irish were going to need as much luck and support as they could muster.

Luckily, Notre Dame fans came out to Mercedes-Benz Stadium in droves for their team, including arguably the greatest quarterback in program history, 4-time Super Bowl champion Joe Montana.

Montana was the Fighting Irish’s quarterback between 1975 and 1978, even helping the team win a national championship in 1977. Now, he has returned, hoping to see his alma mater earn their first title in more than three decades.

Joe Montana college stats

In parts of three seasons, Joe Montana played in 27 games for the Irish, including nine during their championship 1977 season.

In 1978, Montana threw for over 2000 yards alongside ten touchdown passes and nine interceptions.

For his career, Montana completed 52% of his passes for 4121 yards, 25 touchdowns, and 25 interceptions.

Where was JoeMontana drafted?

Joe Montana was selected in the third round (82nd overall) by the San Francisco 49ers in the 1979 NFL draft. He would go on to win four Super Bowls with the team and earn three MVP awards.

Many football fans consider Montana the greatest quarterback in NFL history not named Tom Brady.

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Montana

Iconic Hollywood actress reveals she now lives in ‘modest’ Montana home

Published

10 hours ago

January 20, 2025

Press Room

Iconic Hollywood actress reveals she now lives in ‘modest’ Montana home

Award-winning actress Glenn Close has traded the glitz and glam of New York City for a ‘modest’ Montana home.

The ‘Back in Action’ star, 77, shared she moved out West in 2019 to be closer to her family.

‘Today, my home is in Bozeman, Montana. All of my siblings live here. My modest, 1892 brick house has a porch where I can see the mountains and say hi to neighbors,’ Close told The Wall Street Journal.

Her three-bedroom, three-bathroom, 2,316 square-foot home is just steps from downtown.

The humble abode features several brick walls, an open floor plan, a sunny backyard, a kitchen with stainless steel appliances and an island.

Close revealed she is expanding her Bozeman real estate portfolio with a new property.

‘I’m building a larger house about a half-hour outside of town. It’s going to be my Zen farmhouse and our family sanctuary,’ she said.

‘In the back will be a stone cottage, reminding me of the best years of my childhood.’

Glenn Close’s Montana three-bedroom, three-bathroom, 2,316-square-foot home is just steps away from downtown Bozeman

The humble abode features several brick walls, an open floor plan, a sunny backyard, a kitchen with stainless steel appliances and an island

Award-winning actress Glenn Close has traded the glitz and glam of New York City for a ‘modest’ Montana home

Close left the Big Apple for Big Sky Country a full year before the coronavirus pandemic prompted thousands of Americans to reevaluate their living situations.

‘I shot a film in Canada during the winter. It was fun and lovely, but I was homesick, and I never used to get homesick,’ she told Mountain Outlaw in 2021.

‘Not only is Bozeman my home, but I couldn’t wait to get back here. When I left to go to that job, Jessie and Tina [her sisters] were there to see me off at the airport. It was so great. I’ve come to realize how much I dread going away.’

The Hollywood legend wanted to reconnect with her roots and get in touch with nature.

‘When I was little, I got solace in nature, and that has never changed,’ Close said. ‘I always tried to create that same potential for my family, especially now to come back here and be with my siblings and have a piece of land outside of town that will always be here for my daughter and her children.

‘That’s my legacy. I just feel incredibly lucky. I do think these will be the best years of my life.’

Close stars in the newly released Netflix film ‘Back in Action,’ alongside Cameron Diaz and Jamie Foxx.

The actress is set to star in Kim Kardashian and Ryan Murphy’s upcoming Hulu series All’s Fair.

Close left the Big Apple for Big Sky Country a full year before the coronavirus pandemic

She is part of a star-studded cast that includes Kim, Naomi Watts, Niecy Nash, Teyana Taylor and Sarah Paulson,

The show will follow Kim, playing a powerful Los Angeles-based attorney who runs a successful women-led law firm.

Last week, Close got candid about her love life and explained why she has refused to pursue a relationship in nearly a decade during an appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show.

When Drew asked the actress if she had entertained another relationship since her September 2015 split from the biotech engineer, Glenn bluntly replied ‘no.’

‘I don’t know. I mean, I’m always up for anything, but I’m very happy right now,’ the three-time Golden Globe Award winner added.

‘I’m not searching. Because I’m actually — I’m not a hugely comfortably social person, so I don’t leap to go to a party at all. So yeah, I’m okay.’

Close said she is embracing a life focused on personal fulfillment and professional success.

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Montana

'Back in Action' star Glenn Close enjoying 'modest' life in Montana, hasn't looked back

Published

17 hours ago

January 20, 2025

Press Room

'Back in Action' star Glenn Close enjoying 'modest' life in Montana, hasn't looked back

“Back in Action” star Glenn Close is enjoying life in Bozeman, Montana.

During an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Close explained that since moving to Montana in 2019, she has adapted to the lifestyle.

“Today, my home is in Bozeman, Mont. All of my siblings live here. My modest, 1892 brick house has a porch where I can see the mountains and say hi to neighbors,” she told the outlet.

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Glenn Close left New York City for Montana in 2019. (Getty Images)

After several years in Big Sky Country, Close is looking to expand her property portfolio.

“I’m building a larger house about a half-hour outside of town,” she said.

“Today, my home is in Bozeman, Mont. All of my siblings live here. My modest, 1892 brick house has a porch where I can see the mountains and say hi to neighbors.”
— Glenn Close

“It’s going to be my Zen farmhouse and our family sanctuary. In back will be a stone cottage, reminding me of the best years of my childhood.”

In 2021, Close spoke to Mountain Outlaw about leaving New York City for Montana a year before the world paused because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“I shot a film in Canada during the winter. It was fun and lovely, but I was homesick, and I never used to get homesick.

Glenn Close is in the process of building her family’s “sanctuary” in Montana. (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

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“Not only is Bozeman my home, but I couldn’t wait to get back here. When I left to go to that job, Jessie and Tina were there to see me off at the airport. It was so great. I’ve come to realize how much I dread going away,” Close told the outlet at the time.

Close’s sister, Jessie, lives in the home next-door, and her sister, Tina, lives in a property nearby. Close’s two brothers, Alexander and Tambu Misoki, also live in Montana.

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“When I was little, I got solace in nature, and that has never changed,” Close said. “I always tried to create that same potential for my family, especially now to come back here and be with my siblings and have a piece of land outside of town that will always be here for my daughter and her children.”

“That’s my legacy,” she added.

At the time, Close explained that her years living in Montana have been the “best” years of her life.

“You can wake up at four in the morning and think you’ve made every wrong decision in your life, and then you stay awake until dawn, which is an incredibly deadly place to be,” the award-winning actress said. “I just feel incredibly lucky. I do think these will be the best years of my life.”

Close calls the last six years living in Montana the “best” years of her life. (Steve Granitz/FilmMagic)

Close’s life has not always been so peaceful. The “Hillbilly Elegy” star was infamously known to be a member of the Moral Re-Armament cult.

GLENN CLOSE SAYS CULT UPBRINGING LEFT HER PSYCHOLOGICALLY TRAUMATIZED

During Close’s interview with WSJ, she explained that her “world changed” when she was seven, and her family joined the cult. It wasn’t until 1970, when Close was 22, that she broke away from the cult.

Moral Re-Armament, also known as MRA, was a religious movement that began in the 1920s when a man named Frank Buchman began evangelizing and became successful with it. Some of the beliefs he touted were the importance of surrendering oneself to a higher power and the practice of solitary silence. Over the years, he attracted thousands of followers from a number of countries.

Glenn Close was a member of the Moral Re-Armament cult from seven to 22. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, Pool)

When World War II loomed over the planet, Buchman made the decision to name the group Moral Re-Armament, explaining that he planned to use spirituality to unite the world and bring peace. The group’s critics scoffed at his simplistic vision, but others became enamored with it. One of those people was Glenn Close’s father.

After he joined the group, he left to work in Africa, while Close and her siblings were placed in Switzerland at the MRA headquarters. In a 2014 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the actress detailed the strict rules and manipulation that took place behind the scenes.

“You basically weren’t allowed to do anything, or you were made to feel guilty about any unnatural desire,” she explained. “If you talk to anybody who was in a group that basically dictates how you’re supposed to live and what you’re supposed to say and how you’re supposed to feel, from the time you’re seven till the time you’re 22, it has a profound impact on you. It’s something you have to [consciously overcome] because all of your trigger points are.”

Frank Buckman discusses Moral Re-Armament with legendary actress Mae West in 1939. (Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone)

In a 2021 interview with Prince Harry and Oprah Winfrey, she elaborated, saying, “It was really awful. We were so broken up. It’s astounding that something you went through at such an early stage in your life still has such a potential to be destructive. I think that’s childhood trauma.

“Everybody spouted the same things, and there was a lot of rules — a lot of control. Because of how we were raised, anything that you thought you would do for yourself was considered selfish,” she explained.

In 1970, when Close was 22, she left the group but still struggled.

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“I would have dreams, because I didn’t go to any psychiatrist or anything,” she told The Hollywood Reporter. “I had these dreams, and they started with betrayal, a sense of betrayal, and then they developed into me being able to look at these people and say, ‘You’re wrong. You’re wrong.’ And then the final incarnation of those dreams was my being able to calmly get up and walk away. And then I didn’t have them anymore.”

Close continues to act. Her latest project, “Back in Action,” includes Jamie Foxx, Cameron Diaz and Kyle Chandler. The Netflix film debuts on the platform on Jan. 17.

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Fox News Digital’s Emily Trainham contributed to this report.

Janelle Ash is an entertainment writer for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to janelle.ash@fox.com.

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