Big Sky Lede

This week the Legislature took up not just one, but three proposals to implement a recreational marijuana program in Montana. Reporter Seaborn Larson covered all of them and deciphers some unexpected drama as the bills crashed up against a legislative deadline.

Then deputy Tom Kuglin explains a bill that would change how prescriptive easements work in Montana, including a pitch to create a formal registration process along with fees and possible limitations if there’s public lands access nearby.

To wrap up, reporter Sam Wilson walks through how a bill to increase access to voting on the state’s reservations, a proposal that a legislative committee worked on extensively, ended up dying on the House floor. He’ll also talk about two bills that would prohibit so-called “vaccine passports” and loosen vaccine requirements, right as the state ramps up efforts to immunize residents against COVID-19.

This podcast from the Montana State News Bureau is created in partnership across five newsrooms – the Billings Gazette, the Helena Independent Republic, the Missoulian, the Montana Standard and the Ravalli-Republic. You can support this podcast and our efforts by subscribing. Visit any of these newspapers’ websites, and click on the Become a Member button at the top of the home page. We appreciate your support of local journalism.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this week’s show, Holly Michels, head of the bureau, dives into the $2.7 billion Montana is expected to get from the federal American Rescue Plan Act passed by Congress. While a lot is still up in the air about the funding, Holly shares what she’s been tracking.

Then reporter Seaborn Larson details what happened at initial Senate confirmation hearings for two judges appointed by former Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock. If the Senate doesn’t approve the judges, it means Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte can directly appoint to fill the vacancies under a new law Gianforte advocated for. All that’s happening as a legal challenge to the law advances.

Seaborn will also explain what’s going on with COVID-19 cases at the Capitol. A lawmaker tested positive this week but for the first time refused to release their name.

And then deputy Tom Kuglin will update what’s happened with a number of bills he’s tracking to change hunting laws in the state. Tom will also talk about how high demand was on the state’s great outdoor recreation opportunities last summer because of the pandemic and what we can expect to see this year as the weather warms up.

This podcast from the Montana State News Bureau is created in partnership across five newsrooms – the Billings Gazette, the Helena Independent Republic, the Missoulian, the Montana Standard and the Ravalli-Republic. You can support this podcast and our efforts by subscribing. Visit any of these newspapers’ websites, and click on the Become a Member button at the top of the home page. We appreciate your support of local journalism.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this week’s episode, reporter Seaborn Larson delves into a quickly filed lawsuit over a bill signed by Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte giving himself the power to appoint judges.

And then Seaborn takes a long-awaited first glimpse at the hefty bill to create a recreational cannabis program in the state. There’s a rough online of where the money from a 20% on sales might go, and not everyone is happy about it.

To wrap up, reporter Sam Wilson will shed some light on a pretty complicated piece of legislation that gets into the idea of “takings.” It’s a bill that could have huge effects on the state, a fiscal note says it’s impossible to estimate the economic fallout.

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This week’s episode of Big Sky Lede takes a bit of a different format. We’ll run down what’s going on in the Capitol and around state government, but also spend some time reflecting on the year-mark of the coronavirus pandemic in Montana.

Up first, Deputy Tom Kuglin talks elk management and a bill that would drastically change Montana's approach to it. The bill, crafted by Republican Speaker of the House Wylie Galt in coordination with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Park, saw a lot of opposition both on the process that brought it and its contents.

Then Reporter Seaborn Larson delves into the Montana’s new attorney general joining a lawsuit that’s aimed at stalling out immigration policy coming from the Biden administration. Through reporting that lawsuit, Seaborn found another story about Montana quietly entering into an agreement with the Department of Homeland Security over the enforcement of immigration laws.

Then, the bureau’s reporters have a roundtable discussion on the passage of a year since Montana's first COVID-19 cases and the process of chasing the story, from the early days when everything was up in the air to living through a pandemic while reporting on it.

This podcast from the Montana State News Bureau is created in partnership across five newsrooms – the Billings Gazette, the Helena Independent Republic, the Missoulian, the Montana Standard and the Ravalli-Republic. You can support this podcast and our efforts by subscribing. Visit any of these newspapers’ websites, and click on the Become a Member button at the top of the home page. We appreciate your support of local journalism.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As the Legislature hits the midway mark, our team breaks down what’s happened so far, what’s left to come and our observations along the way.

Holly Michels, head of the bureau, walks through what bills have already passed the Legislature and how other key priorities have fared. She’ll also run through what died up against the transmittal deadline and how busy the last two days before the break were.

Then reporter Seaborn Larson casts an eye toward what is likely to be the biggest issue of the second half of the session -- the implementation of legalized recreational cannabis. He’ll explain who’s working to create the program, where the money generated from taxes on marijuana might go and what we can glean from the state’s experience creating a medical marijuana program.

To wrap up, reporter Sam Wilson will run through what’s alive and dead when it comes to legislation related to how Montanans vote.  He’ll detail the revival of the Ballot Protection Interference Act, a legislative referendum voters approved in 2018 but was struck down by a Billings judge in 2020. There's also a major proposal to increase access to voting on Montana’s reservations that nearly failed by lack of passing the deadline but got a last-minute reprieve.

This podcast from the Montana State News Bureau is created in partnership across five newsrooms – the Billings Gazette, the Helena Independent Republic, the Missoulian, the Montana Standard and the Ravalli-Republic. You can support this podcast and our efforts by subscribing. Visit any of these newspapers’ websites, and click on the Become a Member button at the top of the home page. We appreciate your support of local journalism.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We are taking a quick break this week, but we will back next week for transmittal deadline of general bills at the legislature. 

This podcast from the Montana State News Bureau is created in partnership across five newsrooms – the Billings Gazette, the Helena Independent Republic, the Missoulian, the Montana Standard and the Ravalli-Republic. You can support this podcast and our efforts by subscribing. Visit any of these newspapers’ websites, and click on the Become a Member button at the top of the home page. We appreciate your support of local journalism.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this week's episode, deputy Tom Kuglin digs into the dynamic between the Montana Legislature and the Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission as lawmakers debate bills that would usurp the commission rule-making process.

Then reporter Seaborn Larson shares the details behind a lawsuit and subsequent court ruling when evidence was spoiled by Montana Highway Patrol, and explains how the new head of the patrol was involved in that mishandling of a video from a trooper's car.

To wrap up, reporter Sam Wilson give us an outline of how infrastructure legislation is working its way through the halls of the Capitol this session and how a bonding deal brokered in 2019 is holding up.

This podcast from the Montana State News Bureau is created in partnership across five newsrooms – the Billings Gazette, the Helena Independent Republic, the Missoulian, the Montana Standard and the Ravalli-Republic. You can support this podcast and our efforts by subscribing. Visit any of these newspapers’ websites, and click on the Become a Member button at the top of the home page. We appreciate your support of local journalism.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Gov. Greg Gianforte said he’s lifting the statewide mask mandate. Bureau head Holly Michels was at the press conference where he made the announcement. She'll explain why it’s happening and how people are reacting.

Deputy Tom Kuglin covered a bill this week that would allow non-tribal members to hunt on fee lands within tribal reservations. He delves into the reasons the lawmaker brought it and why tribes say it doesn’t acknowledge their sovereignty.

And then the newest team member, data reporter Sam Wilson, walks through some of the elections and campaign coverage he’s been doing, from calls for “voter integrity” to concerns measures will restrict access to the polls.

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This week, Montana State News Bureau investigative reporter Seaborn Larson digs into a bill that would eliminate the Judicial Nominating Commission and give the governor sole authority in appointing judges when a vacancy occurs. He'll walk through why the governor wants the bill and why the state created the commission in the first place.

Then bureau deputy Tom Kuglin runs down the reasons a Thompson Falls lawmaker wants to allow the use of snares to trap wolves and why opponents don’t think it’s a good idea. He'll also discuss a pitch to create a muzzleloader season for the heritage firearm.

And bureau head Holly Michels will explain how legislation to eliminate same-day voter registration came back from the dead this week and who might have applied pressure and where to get the bill moved to the state House.

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A little more than four weeks into the Legislature, lawmakers are already moving through some of the most controversial legislation they’ll hear this session. Reporter Seaborn Larson explains the reasons behind that, and dives into the why testimony on one of those bills got shut down when a rabbi and reverend both tried to talk about racism.

A bill that would have penalized doctors for providing gender-affirming care to transgender minors met an unexpected end on the House floor. Bureau head Holly Michels walks through what the lawmakers who changed their minds said after the vote.

Gov. Greg Gianforte raised some eyebrows when he released the salaries for his cabinet positions. Deputy Tom Kuglin breaks down how much higher their paychecks will be than their predecessors and the administration’s justification.

And while the House has been the venue for most of the fireworks this session so far, the Senate had its own emotional, and at times, contentious hearing for a bill to crossbows during archery seasons for hunters with disabilities.

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