Montana

Snowboarder dies after falling from ski chairlift at Red Lodge Mountain in Montana

Published

12 months ago

March 14, 2025

Snowboarder dies after falling from ski chairlift at Red Lodge Mountain in Montana

A snowboarder at a southern Montana ski resort was killed Monday after falling from a chair lift, according to a social media post from the ski resort where it happened.

“Yesterday was an unfortunate day at Red Lodge Mountain as a guest was injured as the result of a chair lift incident,” the resort shared on Facebook Tuesday morning, adding that the guest was on the Triple Chair. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the guest and his friends and family, and all guests and employees impacted by this incident.”

Loved ones and Carbon County Sheriff Josh McQuillan identified the man as 37-year-old Jeffrey Zinne.

He died after a fall from the Triple Chair at Red Lodge Mountain, Sheriff McQuillan said Friday, adding that the accident remains under investigation.

He was life-flighted to a hospital in Billings, where he died on Wednesday, according to Esther Jensen, a GoFundMe organizer raising funds for his family.

He was pronounced dead early Wednesday morning, KTVQ reported. According to KTVQ, the coroner’s office said his cause of death was accidental blunt force injury.

The coroner did not immediately responded to USA TODAY’s requests for comment Friday morning.

In an updated statement Friday afternoon, Red Lodge Mountain said the company is “deeply saddened” by Zinne’s death.

“Our most heartfelt condolences go out to Mr. Zinne’s family and friends,” the company said, adding that safety is a top priority at the facility. “We are working in cooperation with the Carbon County Sheriff’s Office and Iron Mountain Engineering, an independent professional lift inspector, to understand how this tragedy occurred. Until more is known, the Triple Chair will remain closed.”

Meteorologist says there were strong winds in the area the day man died

USA TODAY spoke with Peter Matos, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Billings Friday morning.

While the National Weather Service doesn’t have a weather observation site at Red Lodge Mountain, there are some close by, Matos said. One site is the Timbercrest site, Matos said. Around 11:15 a.m. on Monday, the Timbercrest site recorded wind gusts up to 50 miles-per-hour, coming in from the west. At 12:15 p.m. that day, the site recorded wind gusts around 52 miles-per-hour. Citing local reports, Matos said Zinne fell around noon.

“Those winds, they can make it over onto the other side of the mountain,” Matos said to USA TODAY on Friday. “Red Lodge is known for having strong downslope winds out of the southwest. We know that it was pretty windy across the entire area that day.”

A sweep of Red Lodge Mountain’s Facebook page shows that facility managers have previously shut down lifts due to strong winds and maintenance. For example, a January 2021 post reads in part: “Due to winds of 49+MPH at the top of Triple Chair, all lifts are currently on hold.”

‘Love you, Dada guy’: Remembering Jeffrey Zinne

In the GoFundMe description, organizers said Zinne’s death was a “tragic accident.”

“This unexpected loss has left his family, friends, and all who knew him heartbroken and in disbelief,” Jensen, the organizer, wrote. “Jeff was a devoted husband to his loving wife, Meghan, and a caring father to his 2-year-old son. His passion for life, infectious laughter, and kind-hearted nature touched everyone around him.”

According to Jensen, he put others before himself and was president of Montana Air Cartage. The company offers local shipping services and has been in business since the late 1980s, according to their website.

Jensen shared in the fundraiser description that Zinne’s widow and the couple’s son are grieving while also facing mounting financial burdens.

“Your contribution will make a significant difference in providing financial stability for Jeff’s family,” Jensen wrote. “All funds raised will go directly to his wife and son to help with funeral costs and medical expenses.”

The fundraiser ended with a note from the couple’s toddler son: “Love you, Dada Guy”.

This story has been updated with new information.

This story has been updated to add new information.

Saleen Martin is a reporter on USA TODAY’s NOW team. She is from Norfolk, Virginia – the 757. Email her at sdmartin@usatoday.com.

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Montana

Missoula and Western Montana neighbors: Obituaries for March 11

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6 hours ago

March 11, 2026

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Missoula and Western Montana neighbors: Obituaries for March 11

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Montana AG letter alleges Helena violates law banning ‘sanctuary cities’

Published

18 hours ago

March 10, 2026

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Montana AG letter alleges Helena violates law banning ‘sanctuary cities’

HELENA — On Monday, Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen sent a letter to the City of Helena claiming the municipality is not in compliance with the state’s law banning “sanctuary cities.” The letter comes just under a month after the State of Montana launched an investigation into a city resolution on Helena Police policy and Helena’s involvement in federal immigration enforcement.

In the letter, Knudsen laid out the ways he believes the city’s resolution violated state law. The attorney general gave Helena 15 days to respond or reverse the policy. If the city does not comply, his office will pursue legal action.

“Helena’s resolution appears to contain blatant violations of this law,” wrote Knudsen.

MTN News

On January 26, 2026, the City of Helena adopted a resolution clarifying when and how the Helena Police Department will cooperate with federal immigration officials. The vote was 4 to 1. The Helena commission seats and the mayor are elected in non-partisan races.

In the letter, Knudsen alleges the resolution established “a broad sanctuary city policy” that seeks to protect every illegal immigrant, regardless of whether the individual had committed a serious crime or not. The state further claims the resolution gives illegal immigrants “special privileges” in plea deals and establishes a “free-for-all policy” where a police officer can request the unmasking of Department of Homeland Security and ICE officers.

Knudsen has requested that the City of Helena, in their response, specifically describe in detail how the resolution complies with Montana law, provide emails and correspondence from city staff and the commission regarding the resolution.

Helena City manager Alana Lake told MTN in a statement: “The City of Helena is aware of the issues being raised by the Attorney General’s Office and is reviewing the matter. While we cannot discuss the details of a potential legal issue, the City is committed to transparency and compliance with the law. The City takes these matters seriously and will continue to cooperate with the appropriate authorities while remaining focused on serving our community.”

Passed in 2021, Montana House Bill 200 prohibits a state agency or local government from implementing any policy that prevents employees or departments from communicating with federal agencies regarding immigration or citizenship status for lawful purposes. It also states governments must comply with immigration detainer requests if they are lawfully made.

HB 200 was backed by Republicans and passed with only Republican votes. Gov. Greg Gianforte signed the legislation into law on March 31, 2021.

Passage of the resolution by the Helena City Commission has drawn ire from conservative voices in Montana politics and on the national level.

The resolution said the commission supported the Helena Police Department avoiding “committing its resources to federal action for which it has no authority,” such as entering into an agreement with the federal government to directly enforce immigration laws. Under federal law, immigration enforcement is conducted by federal agencies under the Department of Homeland Security. However, under the Immigration and Nationality Act, state and local governments can voluntarily enter into 287 (g) agreements with the federal government that allow them to enforce immigration laws.

The commission further supported HPD’s policy not to stop, detain, or arrest a person solely on suspected violations of immigration law, including assisting other agencies in an arrest based solely on immigration law.

DEEPER LOOK: Helena has seen a growing debate over ICE and local police involvement

In the resolution, the commission also supported an HPD officer, using their own discretion, requesting the identification and unmasking of a Department of Homeland Security Officer if the HPD officer “feels it will not be interfering with the actions of federal officers exercising their jurisdiction.”

“This adversarial relationship by local law enforcement toward federal officers itself undermines public safety and forces immigration officers to fear for their safety when they are simply carrying out their lawful duties,” wrote Knudsen.

The resolution further supports the City of Helena’s policy not to consider immigration consequences in a plea agreement with a defendant.

The commission also supports the City of Helena not disclosing any sensitive information about any person – including immigration status, sexual orientation, or social security number – except as required by law.

“This is a restriction that directly conflicts with Montana’s prohibition on sanctuary jurisdictions, specifically ‘sending to, receiving from, exchanging with, or maintaining for a federal, state, or local government entity information regarding a person’s citizenship or immigration status for a lawful purpose,’” the attorney general wrote.

If a government is found to be violating Montana’s law banning “sanctuary cities”, the state could fine them $10,000 every five days, prevent them from receiving new grants from the state, and have their projects with the state re-prioritized. A government in violation can avoid penalties by becoming compliant with the law within 14 days of being notified of the violation.

Read the full letter from the Montana Attorney General to the City of Helena:

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Dispatches from the Wild: Montana’s wild inheritance at risk | Explore Big Sky

Published

1 day ago

March 10, 2026

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Dispatches from the Wild: Montana’s wild inheritance at risk | Explore Big Sky

Steve Pearce and the future of the BLM

By Benjamin Alva Polley EBS COLUMNIST

If you care about hunting elk in crisp October air, floating a clear-running river for cutthroat trout, or simply taking your kids camping beneath a sky unspoiled by drill rigs, you should be outraged that Steve Pearce was ever considered to run the Bureau of Land Management.

The BLM is the largest landlord in the West. It oversees nearly 245 million acres of public land—millions of those acres in and around Montana’s most cherished places. This land is the backbone of our elk and mule deer herds, our sage grouse leks, our pronghorn migration routes and our blue-ribbon trout streams. It’s also the stage on which Montana’s hunting, fishing and outdoor recreation economy plays out.

Putting someone with Steve Pearce’s environmental record in charge of that land is like handing your cabin keys to the arsonist who’s always hated it. In the four months since Pearce was first nominated, it emerged that, if confirmed, he and his wife would divest from more than 1,000 oil and gas leases in Oklahoma to address potential conflicts of interest. While some senators strongly support his “active forest management” approach, he still faces opposition from groups alarmed by his record on public land transfers. On March 4, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee voted 11-9 to advance his nomination, despite concerns from conservation groups.

Pearce’s track record is no mystery. He has consistently sided with extractive industries at the expense of wildlife, habitat and public access. He has supported opening more public lands to oil and gas drilling, weakening bedrock environmental safeguards and undermining science-based management. His votes and public statements have signaled again and again that he sees wild country as an obstacle to be overcome, not a legacy to be stewarded.

For Montana, that posture is an existential threat. Our big-game herds rely on intact winter range and unfragmented migration corridors across BLM lands. Aggressive drilling, poorly planned roads and relaxed reclamation standards shred those habitats. Once you carve up a landscape with pads, pipelines and traffic, you don’t get solitude—or mature bull elk—back with the stroke of a pen.

Anglers should be just as alarmed. Headwater streams and riparian corridors on BLM ground are the life support system for native bull trout, cutthroat and wild trout. A BLM director hostile to environmental safeguards is far more likely to greenlight development that increases sediment, degrades water quality and depletes the cold, clean flows our rivers depend on.

If Pearce takes office, outdoor recreation—and the rural economies built around it—will not be spared. In Montana, hunting, fishing and outdoor recreation pump billions of dollars into local businesses, guiding operations, gear shops and main-street cafes. People travel here precisely because of the open space, healthy herds and functioning ecosystems that BLM lands help sustain. When those landscapes are sacrificed to short-term profit, we don’t just lose scenery; we lose jobs, identity and a way of life.

This is not a partisan issue, especially in Montana. Public lands are one of the few things we truly share: ranchers who graze allotments, tribal communities with cultural ties to these places, hunters and anglers who’ve long defended habitat, and families who just want a place to pitch a tent. A BLM director should be a careful, science-driven steward accountable to all Americans—not a politician with a history of dismissing environmental protections as red tape.

Montanans know what’s at stake. We’ve fought bad ideas before—land transfers, giveaway leases, rollbacks to bedrock conservation laws—and we’ve won when we stood together. Steve Pearce’s nomination should have been dead on arrival. The fact that he was even on the list tells us how vigilant we must remain.

Our outrage must translate into action: calling elected officials, packing public hearings, writing letters and voting as if our public lands are on the line. Truly, they are. The BLM needs a director who sees these landscapes the way Montanans do: as sacred ground, not a balance sheet.

Anything less is a betrayal of the wild inheritance we’re supposed to pass on.

Benjamin Alva Polley is a place-based storyteller. His words have been published in Rolling Stone, Esquire, Field & Stream, The Guardian, Men’s Journal, Outside, Popular Science, Sierra, and WWF, among other notable outlets, and are available on his website.