Montana

Report says growing need for bridge improvements in Montana

Published

3 months ago

December 12, 2024

Report says growing need for bridge improvements in Montana

LINCOLN — On Dalton Mountain Road, just outside Lincoln, a brand-new bridge opened to traffic just last month. The project to replace a decades-old timber bridge there was a big improvement – but according to a new report, it’s only a small part of a significant need for infrastructure upgrades across the state.

On Wednesday, at the Montana State Capitol, the Montana Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers unveiled a “report card” on infrastructure in the state, grading on 14 categories ranging from roads and railways to dams, broadband and even public parks. Their report gave Montana’s bridges a “C-,” defined as “mediocre” and “requiring attention” – and down from a “C” in the last report card in 2018.

“I think we’ve all seen across Montana in this past year, we’ve had a lot of closures in areas that we haven’t seen previously – Missoula, Bigfork, Twin Bridges, several areas with those aging bridges have caused major issues and detours,” said Lexi Leffler, a civil engineer who chaired the committee that worked on the report card.

Jonathon Ambarian

Lexi Leffler speaks at the official presentation of the Montana Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers 2024 “report card” on infrastructure in the state, Dec. 11, 2024, at the Montana State Capitol.

According to the report, of more than 5,200 bridges across Montana, about 600 are either closed or have weight restrictions because of their condition – and that number has been increasing 10% to 20% year to year. For bridges owned by the state, only about 2% have closures or weight limits, but for those owned by counties, it’s closer to 20%.

The old Dalton Mountain Road Bridge, built in 1956, was one of those county-owned bridges. In 2017, several foundation piles on the bridge failed.

“When the supports went, it got old real quick,” said Bob O’Leary, who’s lived in the area for 32 years. He crosses the bridge to Lincoln most mornings to pick up his mail.

Emergency repairs on the old bridge were enough to keep it open – but only with one lane, and only for vehicles weighing up to eight tons. O’Leary says residents were concerned fire trucks and ambulances might not be able to cross.

Lewis and Clark County asked for help replacing the bridge, and the state eventually contributed money to the project through two grant programs. Leaders awarded a $3.9 million contract to Sletten Construction, and in July, the road closed down as crews began work on a new “pony truss” bridge over the Blackfoot River.

The new Dalton Mountain Road Bridge near Lincoln was completed in November, replacing a nearly-70-year-old timber bridge that had carried weight restrictions since foundation piles failed in 2017.

During construction, drivers needed to take an 11-mile detour using Herrin Lake Road – and O’Leary got a very personal reminder of how important this connection is.

“It wasn’t an issue for me until August, when I had the heart attack and it took the ambulance 20 minutes to get over to the house instead of five minutes,” he said.

Leffler said, in a state as rural and spread-out as Montana, it’s not unusual for one bridge closure to have that kind of effect.

“There’s really a lot of ripple effects of that, even just down to small communities not being able to get their regular shipments to the grocery store,” she said.

The federal government identifies just over 350 bridges statewide as being in “poor” condition. The ACSE report card says about 900 Montana bridges require immediate repairs – around 15% of all the bridges in the state. It says federal and state governments have made investments – like 2023’s SAFER Act – but that the anticipated $535 million in funding over the next ten years would fall well short of the $4.4 billion in need.

“We hope this is a tool for citizens to learn more about infrastructure in our state, and we also hope that it’s a springboard for more discussions,” Leffler said.

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NCAA Tournament: How Kevin McGuff’s technical foul fueled Ohio State’s first-round victory

Published

7 hours ago

March 22, 2025

Press Room

NCAA Tournament: How Kevin McGuff’s technical foul fueled Ohio State’s first-round victory

The Ohio State Buckeyes were already struggling to find their footing in their NCAA Tournament first-round matchup against Montana State when coach Kevin McGuff was charged with a technical foul.

McGuff, frustrated with multiple calls against Ohio State to start the second quarter, indirectly helped the Bobcats cap a 10-0 run to take a 27-23 lead. (Sophomore guard Natalie Picton made two free throws, then slashed to the basket for a layup on the ensuing possession.)

At the same time, the technical provided a boost the Buckeyes needed to break a four-minute scoring drought.

“I think that’s the main thing that takes teams far, when you are fighting for something more,” Ohio State forward Eboni Walker said. “Him showing that consistently is what really fuels our team to want to listen and play hard for not only him, but each other.”

Picton’s layup was the Bobcats’ last basket for nearly 10 minutes of play, as Ohio State went on a 24-0 run that started in the first half and ended in the second.

With a 20-point cushion, the Buckeyes recorded a 71-51 victory at Value City Arena on Friday to advance to the second round.

Ahead of the postseason, senior Taylor Thierry had spoken about Ohio State’s need to play through missed and bad calls, and it was Thierry who was the charged with the foul (her third of the game) that set McGuff off.

“I don’t know if it’s built-up anger, but I feel like that kind of brings us together,” Thierry said. “It just motivates us to play together and just try to get stops. Again, just not focusing on things we can’t control.”

Cotie McMahon, Chance Gray provide key production in Ohio State’s 24-0 run

Fired up, the Buckeyes concluded their only path to victory was to take control and put the game in their own hands.

Following a pair of free throws from freshman point guard Jaloni Cambridge to break the scoring drought with 3:17 remaining in the half, forward Cotie McMahon powered her way to the basket on three-consecutive plays, recording five points.

McMahon finished with 15 points, with over 7 coming during the run.

Ohio State held a 32-27 advantage coming out of halftime and continued to pull away behind the hot hand of guard Chance Gray. The first three Ohio State possessions of the second half all resulted in Gray 3-point baskets.

“We played really aggressively in transition,” McGuff said. “When there’s two people there (in transition), you can spread it out to somebody wide open, which is what happened and Chance was obviously capitalizing on those.”

Gray finished the game with 15 points, all coming from beyond the arc.

The run came to an end at the 6:18 mark in the third quarter with a Bobcats’ 3-pointer, but the distance Ohio State built was enough to secure a victory.

Ohio State will face No. 5 seed Tennessee in the second round at 8 p.m. on Sunday at Value City Arena.

bmackay@dispatch.com

@brimackay15

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Lawmakers consider bill to move Montana municipal elections to even years

Published

18 hours ago

March 22, 2025

Press Room

Lawmakers consider bill to move Montana municipal elections to even years

HELENA — Later this year, cities and towns across Montana will be holding elections for mayors and other local officials. However, a bill currently making its way through the Montana Legislature could significantly change how those elections will run after 2025.

House Bill 221, sponsored by Rep. Lukas Schubert, R-Kalispell, would move municipal elections from odd-numbered years to even-numbered years – putting them on the same schedule with federal and state elections. The House passed the bill 57-42, with almost all Republicans in support and almost all Democrats in opposition. It had its first hearing in a Senate committee this week.

(Watch the video to hear what city officials say about the possible change.)

Lawmakers consider bill to move Montana municipal elections to even years

Schubert said this move would get more people participating in local elections.

“I think it’s just a commonsense measure,” he said.

If HB 221 becomes law, there would still be municipal elections this year, but the winners’ terms would only last one year. Those positions would then go back up for election on the new schedule in 2026. There would also be special elections in 2026 and 2028 for one-year terms to get officials whose terms expire in 2027 and 2029 onto the new schedule.

Billings, Missoula, Bozeman, Kalispell, Great Falls and Helena are all scheduled to elect mayors in 2025.

Joe McKenney is a Great Falls city commissioner, first elected in 2021 for a four-year term expiring at the end of 2025. He says having to run at the same time as federal and state candidates could make it tougher for city candidates to get voters’ attention.

“There’s only so many billboards, there’s only so many bench signs, there’s only so many radio spots, there’s only so many spots that we can buy on the news,” said McKenney. “And when all of these hundreds – it could be hundreds – of candidates are on the same ballot, running at the same time, how do we get our message out?”

Schubert told MTN he didn’t think moving city elections would lead to local issues getting lost.

“Putting them in the even-numbered years, it doesn’t prevent anyone from looking at what their municipal or mayor candidate is – that’s clearly a distinct role from a president or Senate or anything else,” he said. “But it gives those other people that ordinarily don’t turn out an opportunity to vote, because it would be right there on the ballot.”

Two of Montana’s cities do have experience running local elections in even years: Butte and Anaconda. Both have consolidated city and county governments, and they elect their officers on the same schedule as counties.

Butte-Silver Bow chief executive J.P. Gallagher was reelected in November, at the same time as the presidential election.

“It brings more attention to it when it’s a federal and state election as well,” he said. “Sometimes, our local offices – people don’t know a whole lot about some of the elected officials that they’re voting for. And so it at least gets them to pay attention to those local offices and elections, and so I think it’s a benefit for us.”

In 2024, Anaconda-Deer Lodge County’s general election voter turnout was 81% and Butte-Silver Bow County’s was 76% – though the number of voters making a choice in each county’s chief executive race was about 5% lower. In 2021, municipal election turnout was 48% in Yellowstone County and Lewis and Clark County and 45% in Missoula County. In 2023, Gallatin County reported 33% turnout in its municipal general election.

In 2023, another bill to move municipal elections to even years passed the Senate but stalled in the House. Schubert said he believed the idea had a better chance of success this year because the Montana Secretary of State’s Office is more supportive.

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How to watch Ohio State vs. Montana State FREE STREAM today: Women’s March Madness NCAA first round

Published

1 day ago

March 21, 2025

Press Room

How to watch Ohio State vs. Montana State FREE STREAM today: Women’s March Madness NCAA first round

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Women’s March Madness is finally here. The fourth-seeded Ohio State Buckeyes host the 13th-seeded Montana State Bobcats in a Regional 3 first round matchup today – Friday, March 21 – at the Schottenstein Center in Columbus, Ohio. The early evening NCAA women’s basketball game is available to watch on multiple streaming services for free.

How do I watch Ohio State vs. Montana State for free?

This women’s March Madness game will broadcast live on ESPN2 with tipoff at 5:30 p.m. Eastern. Fans who have parted ways with their cable provider can catch the game at no cost by taking advantage of streaming alternatives like DirecTV Stream and FuboTV ($20 off first month), which both offer a free trial.

Sling TV is offering half off your first month for new customers.

Streaming service	Monthly Price	Free trial	Length	Discount
DirecTV Stream	$74.99	Yes	5-day	No
FuboTV	$84.99	Yes	7-day	$20 off first month
SlingTV	$45.99	No	N/A	Half off first month

Ohio State (25-6) weathered a challenging Big Ten schedule, that included national title contenders UCLA and USC. Those two teams were roadblocks for the Buckeyes making up three of their five losses, including a 75-46 shellacking by the Bruins in the Big 10 semifinals.

The Buckeyes tout four players in double figures, featuring Junior forward Cotie McMahon, who is averaging 16.6 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.0 assists while shooting 43.8% from the field.

After a brilliant campaign that churned out just three losses to Montana State (30-3) edged out rival Montana, 58-57, to win the Big Sky championship game.

Senior guard Esmeralda Morales powered in 25 points to knock off the rival Grizzlies. She is averaging 15.3 points, 3.7 assists and 2.8 rebounds while shooting 40.1% from the field.

The winner will play fifth-seeded Tennessee or 12th-seeded South Florida in the second round on March 23.