noteworthy News

Part 3: Gallatin County used resolutions to move Treasurer, Administrator, and election duties away from elected officials. The Commission says the form never changed because voters never approved a new label.

Meta’s $17B deal isn’t teen limits. The judgment makes adults surrender privacy, ramps up surveillance and account linking—and Meta waived constitutional challenges.

Gallatin County remains a High-Risk Auditee after a second Disclaimer of Opinion. An $8.5 million over-taxation error, unpaid fines, and unanswered questions about accountability continue to raise concerns for taxpayers.

Gallatin County Attorney Audrey Cromwell faces growing criticism from Attorney General Knudsen and local law enforcement over plea deals and a sharp rise in case dismissals, including domestic violence cases.

Auditors issued a Disclaimer of Opinion on Gallatin County’s FY2023 financial statements — the most severe possible outcome. Cash remains unreconciled since 2018 and every corrective action is listed as “Ongoing.”

Sen. Steve Daines and Rep. Andrew Clyde urge the DOJ to accept a Texas court ruling striking down NFA registration requirements for suppressors, short-barreled rifles, and short-barreled shotguns, and apply it nationwide.

Attorney General Austin Knudsen is demanding answers from Gallatin County Attorney Audrey Cromwell after a controversial plea deal in a domestic violence case tied to the death of Livingston teacher Catherine Sorensen. The ICE dispute remains unresolved.

Gallatin County Commissioners have been shifting power from elected officials to unelected staff for years — without a public vote. This new series explains what’s happening to your taxes, elections, and accountability.

Democrats are running fake “independents” in the general election while using dark money to rig Republican primaries. Montana voters are being targeted by out-of-state liberal money. Don’t get fooled.

Montana Supreme Court race: Judge Dan Wilson stands for biological reality and women’s safety

The Montana Republican Party has passed a resolution condemning massive dark money spending by far-left out-of-state billionaires and groups like Conservatives4MT in Republican primaries. Full details here.

Conservatives4MT is funded by liberal PACs like Way Back PAC and the Western Futures Fund (backed by Soros-linked money). Here’s the simple step-by-step breakdown of how they’re spending hundreds of thousands to influence Republican primaries in Montana.

A Helena consulting firm called Fireweed Campaigns is managing multiple Republican primary campaigns while its staff and funders push progressive causes. Full public records breakdown.

Bozeman’s homelessness crisis was made worse for years by the 9th Circuit’s Martin v. Boise ruling from San Francisco. Progressive policies tied local hands — now Montana is paying the price.

In the 1970s–90s Democrats were seen as the party of working Montanans. Today Republicans deliver those results while socialist organizations like Bozeman DSA push a far-left agenda in the Gallatin Valley. The numbers don’t lie.

Montana AG Austin Knudsen orders Gallatin County Attorney Audrey Cromwell to immediately drop her lawsuit and comply with ICE information sharing or face state supervisory control. Public safety vs legal delay tactics.

Gallatin County Attorney Audrey Cromwell has filed a petition with the Montana Supreme Court instead of complying with AG Austin Knudsen’s demand to share confidential criminal justice information with ICE. Public safety or delay tactics?

New campaign finance records reveal $500,000 from the Soros-linked Sixteen Thirty Fund flowed through Western Futures Fund into Conservatives4MT to support RINO candidates in the 2026 Montana primaries.

Gallatin County Attorney Audrey Cromwell refuses to back down, telling AG Austin Knudsen there is “no policy to rescind” on sharing criminal justice information with ICE. Knudsen threatens state supervisory control if she does not comply by Monday 5 p.m.

Rep. Shannon Maness calls out candidates attacking “party bosses” while they undermine the Republican Platform. Gallatin County Republicans agree — voters deserve honesty and accountability from candidates who run as Republicans.

Montana AG Austin Knudsen gives Gallatin County Attorney Audrey Cromwell until 5 p.m. Monday to share confidential criminal justice information with ICE or the state will take supervisory control of the office. Public safety or legal games?

While Bozeman claims it can’t afford more police traffic control, the City Commission approves a new sister city partnership in Ukraine and spends on bike paths and dog parks. Taxpayers are asking: where are our priorities?

MTGOP officially labels candidates paying Fireweed as “Fireweed Frauds” for working with the Progressive Dirty Money Network. These candidates are funneling thousands of dollars per month to Democrat-aligned consultants while running as Republicans.

Montana Republican Party officially opposes CI-132. The so-called “nonpartisan” judicial elections measure would shield activist judges who have struck down Republican bills protecting women, children, voters, and the 2nd Amendment.

Tom Burnett, member of Montana’s School Funding Interim Commission, reveals proposed school reforms would cost households nearly $1,827 per year in new taxes with almost no expected improvement in student proficiency. Focus on reforms within existing budgets instead.

Montana Republican Party releases official Honor Roll. All four Gallatin County-endorsed candidates — Caleb Hinkle, Jed Hinkle, Randy Chamberlin, and Trevor Walter — make the list for strong platform loyalty.

Montana’s open primary system was created in 1912 to fight corporate control, but today it’s being gamed by RINOs and non-Republicans. Bill Lussenheide explains why it’s time to retire the outdated system and move to closed primaries so Republicans choose Republican candidates.

Gallatin County Attorney Audrey Cromwell has refused to rescind her position blocking cooperation with federal ICE agents, even after AG Austin Knudsen’s April 6 deadline. She is now requesting a legal opinion instead. Gallatin County Republicans demand full law enforcement cooperation and public safety.

Gallatin County Republican Central Committee officially endorses Caleb Hinkle (SD 34), Jed Hinkle (HD 67), Randy Chamberlin (HD 68), and Trevor Walter (HD 69) for the June 2, 2026 Republican primary. Strong Constitutional Conservatives fighting for limited government, lower taxes, and Montana values.

Gallatin County still leads with strong natural population growth (1,141 births vs 686 deaths), but Bozeman faces growing progressive pressure from downtown voting blocs, Democrat commissions, and 2023 redistricting. To prevent Bozeman from becoming the next Missoula or Portland, we must keep Gallatin Valley.

Fireweed Republicans are being called out for running as fake conservatives while using Democratic consultants and funding. Shelley Vance and Russ Nelson are highlighted as prime examples. Gallatin County Republicans say it’s time to drop the disguise and be honest with voters.

Montana Republican Party Executive Board passes strong resolution against Fireweed Campaigns and the moderate “RINO” candidates it supports — including Shelley Vance and Russ Nelson. Gallatin County Republicans call for transparency and loyalty to conservative principles ahead of the June 2 primary.

Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen demands Gallatin County Attorney Audrey Cromwell immediately reverse her office’s unlawful policy blocking cooperation with federal ICE agents. Gallatin County Republicans stand for the rule of law and full law enforcement cooperation.

Serious questions are being raised about Llew Jones receiving $4.365 million in ARPA loans while serving on the state oversight commission. Gallatin County Republicans call for transparency ahead of the June 2 Republican primary against conservative challenger Zach Wirth.

In case you hadn’t noticed, Montana is a heavy whine-producing state. The vintners are many, from the Marxist professors and ranting radicals brought onto our campuses, to the farmers, corporate welfarists and chamber of commerce types, looking to government for special favors, subsidies and protections from competition. Montanans are intoxicating our politics with cases of expensive whine. Witness the “Republican” legislature’s latest budget bill (HB 2) that imposes on us an 18 percent increase in future spending. Another session where, thanks to the unholy alliance between Democrats and liberal Republicans, whining wins and freedom loses. We’ve made sots of our legislators.  When Bernie Sanders and “AOC” arrived in Missoula in their private jet recently, to lecture us on the evils of wealth-producing and environmental-polluting capitalism, these ultra-elitists decried the “oligarchy” of a democratically-elected president, who is actually trying to get a handle on profligate federal spending – including the billions of tax-funded largess going to their radical friends. Like all dedicated authoritarian leftists, Sanders and Cortez preach the gospel of envy and hatred, as true believers that everything good in society flows from government, and everything bad is the result of individual action by people who are entirely too free. As usual, they lied about the wealthy not paying their “fair share” of taxes. (Fact: the top 1 percent pays 46 percent of all federal income taxes.) Their sign-waving admirers believed every word of it. Ambling through the crowd of 2,500 at Bozeman’s 4/19 Hate Trump Protest, the whining signs and banners were so thick that it was hard for me to see their faces. Not a lot of love there – mostly profanity, swastikas and hatred. Spooky, really. Group-think to the extreme, while the frequent chant from the microphone was, “This is what democracy looks like!” A better chant might have been, “This is what Marxism looks like!” Unlimited government taxing and spending – while branding and slandering anyone who might try to bring spending under control. This didn’t look much like democracy to me – and certainly not like the free republic we once called America. Cynicism, skepticism, fear and distrust were all around me, aimed at anyone with a different point of view. That’s the message that rings out these days, and there is a chilling, spirit-killing aspect to it that is increasingly reflected in the politics of both parties, not just the Democrats. The whiners are winning, and the true heroes with their thumbs in the dike are few indeed, and deserving of our praise. Once there were legislators like Senator Casey Emerson -- creator of King Tool Company and the Montana Inventors Hall of Fame. Casey was the epitome of the American Spirit, who never quit believing in America. He always had a dream in his heart, an idea in his head, a bounce to his step and a sparkle in his eye. Most of his dreams in the world’s eyes did not succeed, but that only spurred him on all the more. He never whined, and I never once saw him carry a sign. All he desired – demanded – was freedom. Compare this to the floor comments you frequently hear from the GOP Government Solutions Caucus and their perennial leader, Republican Llew Jones of Conrad, explaining how much the teary-eyed recipients of their generosity need their help. Their latest “help” is a revamped House Bill 2 collection of slush fund accounts, designed to make it much easier to spend much more of our money. Their “generosity,” of course, isn’t based on personal giving, but on forcibly taking the earnings of others and bragging about it later. That’s what government does. We hear this kind of rhetoric all day long in Congress, our state legislature and from the governor’s office. I have some breaking news for these people. We don’t need paternalistic politicians telling us how much we require their help. Freedom is quite enough, thank you very much, along with a healthy measure of respect for our constitutional rights, our personal property and the liberty to be left alone. Let’s put our whine bottles down, and drink heartily from the fruit of freedom instead – nourishment for the soul that never runs dry. Roger Koopman is president of Montana Conservative Alliance. He served four years in the Montana House of Representatives and eight years as a Montana Public Service commissioner. He operated a Bozeman small business for 37 years.