Montana
Montana schools hit with swatting threats cause major disruptions and costs
BILLINGS — Billings West High School was one of the many schools across the state that received swatting threats Thursday morning, and the disruption was significant to daily operations and the emotional and financial well-being of those involved.
Billings Public Schools received a call around 9:30 a.m. Thursday indicating there was an active shooter outside of West High. The call was later learned to have come from a VPN registered overseas from Sweden. Officers responded immediately and prompted an immediate lockdown.
“We had a high number of officers that came in just to sweep the school just to ensure not only was the exterior and the perimeter secure, but also inside bathrooms, common spaces, those sorts of things. While they were doing the sweep, it was clearly evident that the school had locked down and had locked down well,” said BPS school safety and emergency management coordinator Joe Halligan.
Not long after, Billings Skyview High School received a similar call from a VPN registered in the Middle East.
“There was no students and staff who exited the building in a running or there was no fighting. Nobody was injured, thankfully. But there were teachers who did lock and barricade,” said Halligan.
Mack Carmack/MTN News
Similar threats were reported at schools across the state, including in Kalispell, Butte, Helena, Great Falls, and Bozeman. Elementary schools were also placed under secure status as the situation unfolded, meaning learning continued as normal, but outdoor activities were discontinued and no one was allowed in or out of the building.
The swatting threats, in which a fake emergency is reported to trigger a large law enforcement response, were determined to be a hoax.
“While I hate when these things happen, it does take a lot of time and energy and really does have a cost associated with it,“ said Halligan. “This was the most significant one that has happened this year.”
Fake threats like these still take a very real toll.
“Yesterday started out as a situation that could have been very real,” said West High English teacher Lance Edward.
For Edward, who is also the president of the Billings Education Association, the swatting effort was just the latest in a seemingly never-ending stream of school threats.
“I can tell you that over the years, these things have happened all too regularly,” said Edward. “This is one of the difficulties of teaching in this kind of climate. It is a taxing thing on all the educators. It is something that they weigh every morning when they get up and get out of bed and decide whether to come to work.”
The disruption caused by such threats is not just physical but also psychological. For students, the trauma of lockdowns and the fear that a real threat might be looming is a heavy burden to bear. The anxiety felt by students and staff during these events can linger long after the situation is resolved.
“From an education perspective, it interrupts your classroom. It interrupts the thoughts and minds of your students and your fellow teachers, and it is something that is incredibly disruptive every single time that it happens,” said Edward. “When I came into school this morning, I had a conversation with a teacher who was quite distraught about yesterday and the impact that it had on her classes, and when you don’t know if something is actually happening or not, it can be quite a traumatic event.”
In addition to the emotional strain, these hoax threats come at a high cost to taxpayers. TDR Technology Solutions, a New York-based company that tracks how much money school swatting threats cost taxpayers and school districts, released a 2024 report that estimates the country has lost over one billion dollars in the past two years due to these false threats.
The company uses data from school districts and law enforcement in a database and uses their yearly budgets to make their calculations.
“It’s much easier to communicate with the public when you use a dollar amount,” said the CEO of TDR Technology Solutions Don Beeler.
In 2023, Montana saw 139 safety threats that impacted over 79,000 students and cost the state $4.3 million.
“The last two years, we’ve been averaging about $500 million a year in threat costs, and it’s again, it comes taxpayers are paying for the instruction, but then the students aren’t receiving the instruction,” said Beeler. “Montana is not alone. We’re seeing this across the board in every state.”
The lockdowns at Billings West and Skyview high schools only lasted a few hours, but the company estimates the financial cost to the entire district was significant, at nearly $378,421.91. That includes $34,576 in lost instructional time, $174,869 from student absentees, and $168,978 in mental health costs.
MTN News
“We track lost instructional hours, so in addition to the cost that we’re looking at here, all of the cost of the first responders like the police department, things of that nature are in addition to this cost,” said Beeler.
Statewide, Beeler said the costs of Thursday’s swatting threats adds up to more than $822,000, impacting schools in Billings, Kalispell, Butte, Helena, Great Falls and Bozeman.
“In one day, it went up just under a million dollars in the cost for Montana taxpayers,” said Beeler.
For Montana schools, the emotional and financial strain continues to mount.
“It’s hard to put a number on that, but I think it’s safe to say that it takes a toll on students. It takes a toll on staff,” said Halligan. “When we bring a large number of officers to a certain location, it certainly puts a burden on the rest of the city because we’ve taken resources, we’ve allocated officers that may otherwise be in different locations of the city.”
Billings schools staff said that while the response to Thursday’s incident was as quick and efficient as possible, thanking efforts from law enforcement and the training staff receives throughout the year, they are under no illusion that this will be the last time such an event occurs.
“It’s one of the parts of the job, and that’s the unfortunate reality of today’s climate,” said Edward.
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
Gallery Credit: Stacker
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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