Author: Evelyn Pyburn

State Auditor Halts $50 million Fraudulent Insurance Scheme

8 February 2026
Evelyn Pyburn
No comments

Investigation by Montana State Auditor and Commissioner of Insurance James Brown, and other state and federal agencies, have halted a fraudulent scheme of more than $50 million from an insurance company and the Affordable Care Act (ACA often called Obama Care).

The out-of-state fraudsters targeted vulnerable Native Americans in Montana, explained Brown. They sent recruiters to Montana reservations, convinced their victims to signup for rehabilitation services under an ACA plan, then transported the victims across state lines to fake clinics – most often in California – “for rehab treatments that did not take place, were unnecessary, or performed at greatly inflated prices.”

The perpetrators then billed the insurance company and ACA about $9000 a day for three months, which was the term of the treatment program. After three months, the offenders would ”dump vulnerable Native Americans onto the streets” with no means of returning home or means of support.

Following almost a year- long investigation, Brown said he was able to “claw back” more than $23.3 million of $54.7 million in fraudulent treatment claims, which victimized “Montana health care insurers, their customers, and some of the most vulnerable members of Montana’s tribal communities.”

To date, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has approved the rescission of 80  policies, with dozens more under review. 

Brown said that a goal of investigating agencies and his office was to halt the fraud before the perpetrators were able to implement their scheme in other states. Their continued efforts are to locate some of the 207 victims of the fraud.

“We are trying to determine where they are at this point,” said Brown, “We don’t believe that they were knowingly involved in the fraudulent scheme.”

One reason that members of Montana’s tribal communities were targeted was that under the Affordable Care Act, Native Americans may enroll in a marketplace health plan at any time.

Not long after assuming office as State Auditor, at the beginning of last year, Brown was notified by PacificSource about the suspicious activity. PacificSource is a not-for-profit health insurance provider, and one of Montana’s three providers of health insurance plans under the Affordable Care Act. PacificSource identified more than 200 health insurance policies against which tens of millions of dollars in potentially fraudulent claims had been filed.

Commissioner Brown said, “PacificSource did the right thing by coming to our office quickly to disclose this serious problem and work with us to protect an important player in our state’s health insurance system. That helped us put an end to this fraud scheme which preyed on innocent and vulnerable people in our state.”

For its part, PacificSource spokesperson Erik Wood said, “We’re grateful to Commissioner Brown and his team for their partnership and support. Their involvement has been instrumental in helping stop suspected fraudulent activity in the individual marketplace. As a nonprofit health plan, PacificSource exists to keep health care accessible and affordable for our members, and preventing fraud is an important part of that work. We appreciate the state’s commitment to protecting Montanans and the integrity of our health insurance system.”

The State Auditor’s authority ends at the state border, so the continued investigation required contacting the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and state agencies in other states, including California and Arizona. Prosecution of the suspected criminals must be pursued by the federal government.

I am pleased that we were able to get out ahead of this. We stopped the fraud,” said Brown, “We are government officials doing our jobs.” 

The CSI investigation found:

* Unlicensed and out-of-state actors manipulating federal healthcare enrollment systems

* False residency claims, fabricated addresses and unsupported earnings information used to obtain coverage

* Immediate, high-dollar billing patterns designed to extract maximum payouts

* Evidence warranting criminal referrals at both the state and federal level 

“This was deliberate abuse of a broken federal system,” Brown said. “If you exploit Montana’s healthcare system, we will identify and unwind your fraud, claw back the money, revoke licenses, and prosecute you. Period.”

“Montana is not Minnesota,” Brown said. “If you try to run healthcare scams here, you won’t get excuses, delays, or political cover. In Montana, you’ll get investigations, rescissions, and criminal referrals.”

Lawmakers File Suit

8 February 2026
Evelyn Pyburn
No comments

Senate Majority Leader, Sen. Tom McGillvray, R- Billings, has joined two other Montana State Senators, Sen. Greg Hertz, R-Polson and former Sen. Keith Regier, R-Kalispell, in filing a lawsuit challenging the lawfulness of SB 542, which was one of Montana’s major tax reform bills passed by the 2025 State Legislature.

Filed in the Gallatin County District Court, plaintiffs in the case essentially claim that the bill is unconstitutional. It violates at several aspects of Article V, Section 3 of the Montana Constitution.

Sen. McGillvray explained that SB 542 was introduced by Sen. Wylie Galt, R-Martinsdale, as a tax freeze. As it passed through the legislative process it was amended so greatly that its purpose became unrecognizable as to its original intent, which made it unconstitutional according to the three Senators.

“It became a monstrosity,” said McGillvray.

It was introduced to freeze property taxes at their 2024 level, but it became a bill that revised and shifted taxes, provided multiple appropriations and even suspended local city charters, explained McGillvray. ”It became a bill with three different subjects and with multiple appropriations” – all of which stands in violation of the State Constitution, which requires that each bill must deal with only one subject .

Further – it was changed so drastically that the bill’s title no longer reflected its original purpose of freezing taxes at 2024 levels. The Montana Constitution also requires that a bill’s title must accurately reflect its subject matter. The Constitution restricts changing a bill so much that it is changed from its original intent.

Introducing bills dealing with several subjects – “that’s what they do in Congress,” said McGillvray, “They make a big bill with multiple appropriations, that picks winners and losers. They buy enough votes to get it passed. That is what we try to prohibit, so each legislator can look at a single subject.”

“Montanans pride ourselves that our Legislature debates each policy idea on its own merits, with genuine public participation. We’re not Washington, D.C., where massive bills get cobbled together behind closed doors and shoved down legislators’ throats as ‘must pass’ legislation,” continued McGillvray, “ Senate Bill 542 was Washington DC-style corruption. We warned our colleagues on the floor that SB 542 violated Article V, Section 11. We voted to send it to conference committee to fix the constitutional violations. The conference committee ignored the constitutional issues and passed it out with no changes – a sham hearing.”

Violation to Article V section 11: 1-5:

 (1) Change the original purpose of a bill (11) (1) a bill shall not be so altered or amended on it passage through the legislature as to change its original purpose.”  It changed from a 2 page 7 line amendment to freeze property taxes to raise property taxes permanently for some and lower it for others. 

2. . Single subject: (11) (3) (4) each bill except for a general appropriations bill … “shall contain only one subject, clearly expressed in its title.

SB 542 changed from one subject with the purpose to freeze property taxes to at least 3 subjects;

1.  Appropriate 92 million for the $400.00 rebate

2. Revise property tax rates in multiple property tax classes. It raised some rates, lowered others permanently, shifting the reduction from the 80% to the 10%, with the other 10% remaining about the same.

3. It suspended local charters and provided an additional appropriation to cover lost revenue for four years. (This is likely another constitutional violation) of local government powers. 

Senate Bill 542 is to be implemented in two phases. The first phase applied to tax year 2025 and the second phase will generate tax bills that will be issued in November 2026.

Air Show Tickets on Sale!

8 February 2026
Evelyn Pyburn
No comments

Despite a bitter cold wind, a large crowd gathered at the Billings airport to greet two members of the Blue Angels flight crew as they did a flyover of Billings in a F-18. The flyover of Billings launched ticket sales for the Yellowstone Air Show set for August 22 and 23.

The Yellowstone Air Show this year follows a hugely successful Air Show in 2023, produced by the same Billings volunteers, plus a few more. The visit by the two Blue Angeles, Lt. Ronny Hafeza and Cdr. Lilly Montana, was a routine mid-winter review with members of the Air Show committee to further plan and organize for the big event, explained Ben Flanagan, who is this year’s Air Show Superintendent.

Planners for the Airshow are focused on making it especially significant this year, since 2026 is the nation’s 250th Birthday. But in addition to that, 2026 marks significant milestones for the Blue Angeles. Lt. Ronny Hafeza and Cdr. Lilly Montana pointed out that it’s the 80th anniversary of the Blue Angels being a team and it’s their 40th year flying Boeing Aircraft.

After disembarking from their plane in front of an Edwards Jet Center hanger at the Billings Airport, Hafeza and Montana answered questions from those who gathered to greet them. Many of the questions came from a bunch of students from the Elysian Middle School Aero Club, comprised of students who are interested in aviation.

One of the students asked how they came to be called the Blue Angeles. The two pilots replied that was the name of the establishment where organizers met to put forth their plans to create the team in 1946. Formally known as the U.S. Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, the team has six Navy and one Marine Corps pilots,  flying Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and the Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules.

They explained that the jet in which they arrived in Billings is Number 7 and it is considered a “spare” jet, to serve as needed.

The Blue Angels typically perform in 60 or more shows annually at 32 locations throughout the United States.

Flanagan urged everyone to get tickets early. Tickets can be purchased on -line at yellowstoneairshow.com. Ticket prices begin at $10 for kids and $55 for adults for general admission. There are also tickets that go up to $350 for exclusive VIP service and special amenities. Flanagan explained that ticket sales will be limited by available parking space. Each day of the 2023 airshow about 20,000 spectators attended. This year they anticipate between 25,000 and 30,000 each day.

Since it is the nation’s 250th birthday, the Airshow committee is focused on making the event very special. During the interim, since 2023, the planning committee leaders, which includes co-chairs Matthew McDonnell and Jake Penwell, have been researching and “getting a lot of lessons” on  how to make the show bigger and better. They will be better prepared in going through the planning stages and making sure “we have the right people.” Some committee members have attended air shows in other states to gather new ideas.

Flanagan, who is overseeing the physical arrangement of the field, said that one of the changes this year will be to locate the space where the Blue Angels park their planes closer to the crowd so more people see them getting in and out of their planes. It is part of the ground show and not many people got to see it last time, he said.

Of course the Blue Angeles are the stars of the show but other amazing daredevil acts and performances are being lined up, which will be announced as the event draws near.

The event depends on local volunteers. On the two performance days they need 300 to 400 volunteers, said Flanagan, and while they have a lot of volunteers they still need more. Anyone wanting to volunteer may do so by contacting the committee through the website.

Flanagan said that they have many of their sponsors lined up but there are still opportunities for more. He noted that one of the unique things about the Yellowstone Air Show is that they provide a hospitality tent especially for sponsors.

Coming Up Next

17 January 2026
Evelyn Pyburn
No comments

By Evelyn Pyburn

A government that recognized the individual, didn’t exist until the emergence of the United States. Even during the Enlightenment, just the concept of it was just as readily recognized as a threat to autocracy as it is today, and it was just as fervently opposed by aspiring dictators. Individualism became a reality for the very first time, and essentially the only time, with the American Revolution.

Individualism was the “shot heard round the world.” And it is still reverberating.

Now that New York City, a city previously distinguished as the embodiment of economic freedom and recognized as such throughout the world, has elected a communist mayor, and now that liberals are heralding Venezuelan’s communist leader, Nicolás Maduro, as a hero, we shouldn’t be surprised that socialists will now turn with vehement attacks on private property. Private property must be the next target. Efforts to destroy western civilization and impose communalism cannot happen in the same sphere as private property rights.

Private property rights are about the individual person, not the collective. If society is to erase recognition of the sovereignty of One, over the nebulous impulses of the masses, the individual as a concept CANNOT be allowed to exist – which is what private property is all about. PRIVATE PROPERTY IS STANDING ROOM FOR THE INDIVIDUAL.

That is why private property never existed before the writing of the US Constitution. Never before was there a reason to differentiate one property from another. All property – everything – including the person — without question, belonged to the king, the despot, the overlord, the political elite.

The singular individual did not exist as a concept nor as a reality. Each One was the property of the feudal lord — readily dispensable upon the wavering whims to serve the horde. Without the ability to own themselves and the means of survival, the individual person is but fodder for the mob.

Any collectivist crusade must extinguish private property. It will now be attacked with vehemence, because you and I, as individuals, must be quashed, silenced, suppressed, and that cannot happen if we are allowed to own property – the means of our survival.

But this attack is not new. It has been going on for a very long time. At the very least, since public schools quit teaching the tenets of the US Constitution — since students ceased to learn about the differences in “isms” and most especially about the importance of private property rights.

In fact, the violation of property rights in the US has its own government infrastructure, which has offices in almost every town in the country. They oversee centralized planning, building codes, zoning, and community development. Besides being shielded from most State oversight, these agencies get the lion’s share of their funding from the federal government.

And, wow, have they ever been effective. It is almost exclusively because of this weighty governance that our country has a housing shortage. Just think about it. Has there ever been a demand for a product that cannot be delivered by the market? It is almost unheard of.

High prices indicate high demand. What other product, in high demand, doesn’t have the whole of the market place rushing to deliver it to consumers, as fast as possible? Even if the product is illegal, producers rush to meet market demand, ie. drugs! Black markets!

Housing has essentially become illegal through the unaffordability and encumbrances of building codes and other superfluous regulations. So absolute is its government prohibitions, the market cannot overcome them.

I have covered the issue of centralized planning, zoning and building restrictions since the 1970s and in all that time I have never heard any discussion from anyone regarding property rights or cost. Never, never in adding a new restriction or requirement has anyone ever said, “How much will that cost the homeowner?”

Oh, yes, the cost of whether the agency can afford to enforce some new rule has been raised, but never, never, never a word about whether the property owner – the individual citizen—  can afford to pay for the new mandate. And NEVER has there been discussion about its impact on businesses, or the economy and certainly not on housing affordability.

So as the socialists wring their hands and cry crocodile tears about how homes are no longer affordable, don’t believe they are sincerely concerned. The laments are not directed at changing the dictatorial system; they are but advancing the welfare state. They are pleading for government housing. Paving the way for a greater collectivist state and more bureaucracy.

Over the decades, this has all unfolded so effectively because public school children were not, and are not, taught about property rights, or about the Constitution and the pillars that uphold its principles. While the children may pledge to support freedom, they were never told there is no freedom without property rights.

And, unless citizens stand their ground against the attack upon property rights that is manifesting before us, we will lose it all – property rights include more than a house. Property rights are our means of conducting business, advancing technology and new ideas, of earning a living and being able to keep it, of having the means to learn or to invest or to support those we care about – of being able to have a savings or to keep our retirement funds, or of having a means to travel and the latitude to do so, and of pursuing good health. Property rights are our means to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

Dudes are Coming

14 January 2026
Evelyn Pyburn
No comments

The Dude Ranchers’ Association Centennial Convention will be held in Billings, January 27. The event will feature the world premier of a new Wyoming PBS documentary exploring the past, present, and future of the American dude ranch.

“Call of the West” will screen at 7 p.m. in the Billings Livestock Horse Sales Ballroom of the DoubleTree by Hilton. The premiere is free and open to the public starting at 6:30 p.m.

“This film is about legacy, resilience, and the people who keep the spirit of the West alive,” says Wyoming PBS CEO Joanna Kail. “It reveals both the challenges they face and the passion that drives their dedication to this way of life.”

The documentary takes viewers inside working dude ranches across the region, highlighting families and operators navigating changing travel expectations, economic pressures, and the challenge of balancing tradition with modern realities.

Again, MEIC Files Suit Against Laurel Generation Station

21 October 2025
Evelyn Pyburn
No comments

Once again the Montana Environmental Information Center (MEIC) is suing the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) regarding their permitting of the NorthWestern Energy’s Yellowstone County Generation Station, located near Laurel. The case was filed by MEIC and the Western Environmental Law Center in Yellowstone County District Court on September 29.

Previous suits against the DEQ resulted in a re-do by the DEQ of their research in issuing a permit to the Generation Station, which still resulted in DEQ approving the permit. That was followed by another suit by MEIC again challenging the permit and demanding another re-do, claiming that they “…failed to consider greenhouse gas emissions and the lighting impacts of the facility” in its review. In that case, last January, the Supreme Court reversed a District Court’s decision to vacate the air quality permit, which was a win for NorthWestern Energy, which opened the Generation Station a year ago.

The new MEIC case might be viewed as a challenge to a new Montana state law – House Bill 971 — which bars the state from considering climate impacts in its analysis of large projects such as coal mines and power plants. 

The new MEIC case claims that DEQ failed to properly consider and disclose the climate impacts and greenhouse gas emissions associated with Yellowstone County Generating Station

The State Legislature passed House Bill 971 in response to the Supreme Court decision in Held v. Montana, in which the justices favored 16 youths who argued that Montana’s approach to regulating fossil fuel plants jeopardized their rights to a “clean and healthful environment”, which they claimed is guaranteed in the Montana Constitution.

Judge Michael Moses wanted to set aside the Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) permit for the Generation Station, saying that DEQ failed to adequately assess the power plant’s impact on “global warming” – an almost impossible and prohibitively costly undertaking. Because of that reality, the Montana State Legislature responded with HB 971 which declared that entities such as power plants do not have to meet such a high bar, in order to become permitted. The Legislature called the Judge’s requirement impossible and potentially far-reaching for future Montana projects.

MEIC and other environmental groups have kept NorthWestern Energy tied up for a decade in legal challenges and court cases, over the Yellowstone County Generation Station, which the utility proposed to build in order to generate enough power to serve the state during periods of high consumption when demand exceeds supply.

Most recently, MEIC has focused on complaints of excessive lighting and sound, having failed in blocking the plant’s construction on issues regarding zoning.

First they sued over whether the City of Laurel or Yellowstone County had authority over zoning. The Court declared that the County had authority since it is outside Laurel city limits. Then the environmental groups challenged the appropriateness of the facility, as an industrial development, located as it is next to the CHS Refinery and the City’s Public Works Department Wastewater Treatment Plant.

MEIC claimed that the Generation Station is in violation of county zoning laws, being located in an area, part of which was zoned industrial and another zoned agriculture.

NorthWestern Energy points to extreme measurers they have taken to minimize noise and lighting impacts. Decibels emitted from the plant are less than those of a restaurant, commented one company officials in guiding media through the plant. The lighting is minimal coming from street lights that are in use only to the degree necessary for safety and are directed downward.

NorthWestern Energy officials point to the necessity of the Yellowstone County Generation Station to augment power supply when “the wind doesn’t blow and the sun doesn’t shine,” which means the alternative energy upon which they otherwise depend is not available – which happens quite often during the worst winter months. The company has on several occasions been forced to purchase power on the open market …which is very unreliable because it often happens when additional energy is also being sought by other utilities in the region.

Over the past few years NorthWestern Energy has had to spend about $5 million each year purchasing energy from the market to meet peak use demands.

The $310 million generating station is comprised of 18 reciprocating internal combustion engines that are capable of generating a total of 175 megawatts, which helps close the gap of the generation needs for NorthWestern’s customers in Montana.

NorthWestern Energy President and CEO Brian Bird has stated that the production of the Yellowstone County Generating Plant will cut in half the additional power that NorthWestern needs, but they won’t have all they need until the utility acquires ownership of Colstrip Units 3 & 4 at the beginning of next year.

Josh Follman, the generating station’s project manager, declared during an interview that the plant is “very good, very clean.” It is “One of the cleanest facilities because of its emissions profile.” According to Follman, the company does not have to monitor for emissions because their emissions are “far below the levels set to initiate controls. The plant is equipped with emission monitors that continuously take readings, and are programmed to “kick itself off” should emissions reach unacceptable levels. Because of its low emissions, NorthWestern is only required to submit reports to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), annually.

State Pauses Site Search for Mental Health Facility

10 September 2025
Evelyn Pyburn
No comments

By Evelyn Pyburn

Confronted with a lot of questions from local officials that are going without answers, State officials have stepped back from their pursuit of finding a site for a behavioral health facility, funding for which was approved by the Montana State Legislature.

After conducting a tour of potential sites in several communities, Director of the Board of Investments,  Dan Villa, who has been charged with the task of finding a site, announced that he needs more direction and information from legislators, the Governor’s office and the Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) in order to better answer the questions he is being asked by county and city officials about what kind of facility is envisioned and how it will operate.

The Montana Board of Investments was assigned the task of assisting DPHHS in finding a site for the proposed facility following the approval of $26.5 million by the 2025 Montana Legislature to build the long-discussed need for a facility. The facility will serve an ever-growing waiting list of inmates in need of mental health services. The Montana Board of Investments manages state-owned lands, and it is hoped that a property can be found that is already owned by the state as  a site, thus saving in its cost.

Senate Bill 5, which advanced the proposal in the state legislature, states that construction should start on the facility by June of 2026. Some comments from legislators, recognizing its urgent need, have suggested that it needs to be completed in two years.

As Villa visited the prospective sites – especially in Billings which has been broadly discussed as the preferable location – he was pelted with questions about how the facility would operate, what expectations would be imposed upon the community and taxpayers, and even whether it is to be a general “behavioral health facility,” or a “forensic facility,” which would accommodate criminals serving sentences, who need mental health treatment.

In June, it was reported that Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services Director Charlie Brereton told a state commission that they hope to locate a new facility “in the Yellowstone County region.”

In making the announcement, last week, that the search for a site is being put on hold, Villa told his Board of Investments that he needs more guidance to answer questions, especially in Billings where concerns run high that the addition of such a facility will just add to the burden of providing social services for the mentally ill and other unhoused, unemployed, indigent people.

County and city officials in Billings have asked how the patients or inmates of the facility will be processed, concerned that they will eventually be discharged with no support, compounding social problems and imposing additional costs on taxpayers. The lack of information that Villa has been able to provide has generated charges that the State is not complying with the state’s public information requirements.

Montana Senator Mike Yakawich, Billings SD24,  who served on the legislative committee that dealt with how to address the issue of behavioral health in Montana, said that it is estimated that the proposed facility would be about 50 beds and would hire 50 people or more.

The idea of building a second location for a behavioral health center is not a new idea, said Yakawich. It’s been around for about 20 years.

The only other option for inmates needing mental health care has long been Warm Springs, which can accommodate about 100 patients, which has faced its own struggles over the past couple of years. However, it too received funding from the recent State Legislature, which is expected to help solve some of its problems — problems which resulted in it losing its federal accreditation and federal funding.  Sen. Yakawich said that he is confident that Warm Springs will regain its accreditation this year.

Some state officials have stated that they believe Billings is a preferable location for a second location for several reasons, including a more strategic location to better serve Eastern Montana.

As Sen. Yakawich commented, it’s a very long drive for communities in Eastern Montana to transport prisoners to Warm Springs in Deer Lodge County. Transporting prisoners across the state from Eastern Montana communities is an onerous and costly process, he said.

Even those questioning plans going forward readily concede the need for an additional facility in the State. Many of the inmates that are being held in local jails – including the Yellowstone County Detention Facility – should be in a facility that provides mental health care but there are no openings. Others are waiting long stretches in jail for mental health assessments they cannot get because of a lack of health care professionals.

Billings is the best choice for the site, say some civic leaders, because it has a wide variety of support services and a bigger workforce, as well as a larger community that might better attract prospective workers.  A shortage of prospective workers is a problem that has plagued Warm Springs, as well as law enforcement and jails, and other medical providers across the state.

That Billings is a preferred location because it already has other support services is exactly what makes the county commissioners and some city council members concerned about what such a facility could impose on the community and especially on taxpayers.

County Commissioner Mark Morse pointed out that the services that Billings has are beyond full capacity, with little or no funding available to expand them, while demand continues to grow.

Morse also emphasized that Yellowstone County decided some time ago to “invest in themselves” and take care of some of its needs for which county taxpayers have paid. They were not intended for use by the state nor should county taxpayers be expected to pay for the needs of the state, he said.

And, the State does not have a good record as far as the County Commissioners are concerned, in doing their part to support the full cost of State prisoners in the county jail. For more than a decade the State has refused to fully pay the county the daily cost of housing State prisoners. The State pays the county  $82.59 a day, while the County calculates the true cost at $117.

Morse further asked what will the State do when they release an inmate – just turn them out onto the streets of Billings?

In the past, there have been complaints from other county officials, who claim that other communities appear to give their troubled citizens a one-way bus ticket to Billings, which often means they are homeless and vying for the same over-capacity services in Billings.

Another county department head said that Yellowstone County does not have the workforce that the State is talking about. She said that while nationally they are claiming that there are two job openings for every worker, the figure is much higher in Yellowstone County. Every health care department, county sheriff and jail, as well as businesses, are struggling to hire the labor they need.

Questions about what the State’s plans are, went unanswered by the state officials, complained Morse and city officials. He said that in attendance during the site visit to Billings, there were representatives of a design firm and a construction contractor – “you don’t have them” unless there are plans available.

Yakawich pointed out that many of the answers about what the facility will be is probably not yet known because most of the planning won’t happen until a site is proposed.

Yakawich said he “gets” the concerns of the community, but has no problem with the facility locating in Billings. Yakawich said he understands the acute need not just for the State, but also for Yellowstone County and Eastern Montana to have a second health care facility.

Exposition Drive to be Revamped

10 September 2025
Evelyn Pyburn
No comments

Plans to revamp Exposition Drive, which passes by MetraPark, connecting the intersection of US Highway 87 and 1st Avenue North, which extends to Main Street in the Heights, are being pursued by the Montana Department of Transportation (MDT).

The community is invited to attend an open house to learn more about the Exposition Drive and 1st Avenue North Intersection project. The open house will be held at the Billings Public Library Community Room located at 510 North Broadway, on Tuesday, August 19 from noon to 1:30 p.m. and  4:30 to 6:30 p.m. 

The open house is designed to be an informal event for community members to meet the project team, ask questions, and provide feedback. As such, no formal presentation will be made. Information regarding the project’s design and schedule will be available. Information from the open house is also available on the project website.

The project is in the stage of design development and right-of-way acquisition.

Construction is projected to begin in 2027, although that is subject to change depending on funding availability, design completion, right-of-way acquisition, and other unforeseen factors.

“MDT is excited to discuss the project and share design concepts that aim to address capacity and queuing issues, enhance safety and mobility, as well as improve pavement conditions, drainage, and the pedestrian and bicycle environment,” said Mike Taylor, MDT Billings District Administrator.

The Exposition Drive (Main Street) & 1st Avenue North project will enhance safety and improve bicycle and pedestrian connectivity, vehicle capacity, freight, drainage, and pavement condition within the project area. These improvements are intended through the following project components:

Safety

* Installing raised medians on sections of 1st Avenue North.

* Improving lighting on Main Street and 1st Avenue North.

* Removing the unsignalized, eastbound slip-lane at the Main Street and 1st Avenue North intersection.

Bicycle and Pedestrian Connectivity

* New sidewalk and shared-use path connections on Main Street and 1st Avenue North, including a connection to the Jim Dutcher Trail.

* New or improved crossings at intersections throughout the project area.

Vehicle Capacity

* Converting the westbound right turn-lane at the Main Street and 1st Avenue North intersection to free-running movement.

* Adding a fourth northbound travel lane on Main Street from 1st Avenue North to 4th Avenue North.

* Improving storage lengths of turn lanes at the Main Street and 1st Avenue North intersection.

 Partnering with the community is an important part of properly planning for future projects. MDT welcomes the public to provide ideas and comments on the proposed project. Comments may be submitted online at mdt.mt.gov/contact/comment-form.aspx or in writing to Montana Department of Transportation, Billings office, PO Box 20437, Billings, MT 59104-0437. Please note that comments are for project UPN 7908000.

 Questions from the public should be directed to Design Project Manager Shaun Sampson at 406-4449413.

The Dream of Shoeboxes

23 July 2025
Evelyn Pyburn
No comments

By Evelyn Pyburn

Some noted figure recently said that the only way to end the housing crisis is to build more houses.

Totally true.

And, Bozeman, where the crisis could hardly have been more acute, is proving that.

Rents are dropping like stones in Bozeman, where 3,042 rentals have been built since 2021. Rents that formerly ranged in the $2000 to $3000 area are dropping to “several hundred,” if you are sharing rent. Landlords are even offering months of free rent as a signing bonus or $500 gift cards.

 A vacancy rate of 20 percent is being reported in Bozeman and hundreds of units are reportedly standing empty. But that is only for apartments, the demand for real homes is still acute.

According to one report, the City of Bozeman is even offering “incentives” to builders. They will relax building code regulations, such as building height, setbacks from the street and parking requirements! And, voila, they got it. They have hit upon the crux of the problem. The ONLY reason the market will not deliver a product – any product — to eager consumers is GOVERNMENT.

Building thousands of rentals – even if they are “shoebox” towers — proved that the law of supply and demand still functions. But in most cases the additional rentals only became viable because of REGULATORY changes, which enabled builders to affordably build them – but still it remains that other than long, looming walls of high-rise shoeboxes, regular housing (you know a house with a yard and picket fence) is still unaffordable and unavailable in Bozeman, as well as in most other Montana cities.

But in Bozeman, many of those wanting such accommodations have enough wealth to be influential, so city overlords are being compelled to pay attention. It’s rather nice of them to allow property owners to exercise their property rights, don’t you think?

Study after study of housing shortages across the country, by all kinds of entities, have consistently concluded that such regulations are the reason – the ONLY reason – that housing is unaffordable. Supply is not being built to meet demand. No one has denied that that is true, but it seems to not make much difference. Despite the study results, most city bureaucrats in Montana have done nothing to back off regulations. In fact, in some cases they seem to have doubled down.

That certainly seems to be the case in Billings, where over and over we hear that builders avoid building within city limits because of oppressive regulations – and where downtown buildings stand vacant because regulations to renovate them is so onerous that to do so is a high risk venture.

Like Bozeman, the State changed laws enough that builders have been able to affordably build high-rise shoeboxes in Billings. They now mar the landscape across the western edge of Billings, and many people can be heard to express their dismay at seeing them. “What is the idea of that?” one man was heard to exclaim.

The idea is to cram the blight of so many people into as small a space as possible.

Don’t think so? Go read the dreams and strategies of the top down centralized planners. This has been their long-term strategy of how to deal with the nuisance of people.

They didn’t even invent the idea. High-rise shoeboxes are exactly how poor countries have long dealt with their government’s inability to provide housing. But government is not supposed to be providing housing in the US – it is supposed to be a market commodity. We are not a poor country. People seeking homes are not poor. If left to their own devices, they would be building beautiful homes everywhere. So it became the goal of society planners – who see human beings as a blight upon the planet – to cripple the market — to restrict options as much as possible. The truth of the matter is they do not want you to be able to build the home of your dreams, so they impose restrictions that pile on costs, which means only the very rich and privileged can strive to build the home of their dreams.

High-rise shoe boxes is the goal!

Sure there are reasons that a city government should have requirements to safely integrate traffic and to connect to municipal systems, but go read the regulations – they extend far, far beyond that. They even mandate where to store garbage, where to plant vegetation, fencing material, or how wide a garage door or window must be.

Consider how little innovation there has been in how homes are built. That’s because less expensive approaches to building and innovations are seldom explored because implementing any new concept would require changing regulations for every town, city and county, across the land. The regulatory burden makes new ideas impossible for builders or home owners, ie. PROPERTY OWNERS. How we are to live has been left to the whims of bureaucrats, planners and new age visionaries, whose only ideas are about how to control and coerce.

Things – like high-rise shoeboxes — are going pretty much as “planned.” So don’t be fooled by bogus expressions of sympathy about affordable housing. Get used to high-rise shoeboxes because unless citizens step up and demand their property rights, this is the future of America – a real home that was long the “American Dream” is not part of the New World Order of those in charge.

Human Trafficking – a Hidden Crime; and a Big Problem for Billings

23 July 2025
Evelyn Pyburn
No comments

By Evelyn Pyburn

Human trafficking is a bigger problem in Billings than most people know – in large part because it is a hidden problem.

It happens behind the scenes. Its victims are most often silent. Its evidence isn’t recognized and there is little to almost no support for the victims.

Britney Higgs is determined to change all that. Last week, Britney launched the first lap of a 35-day trek from Billings to Denver, to bring awareness and hopefully to raise funds for survivor homes and resources to help re-establish a life for the survivors.

Britney began her trek on Elysiann Road west of Billings, cheered on by family and friends and board members of HER, an organizations formed to address the “gap” in the means available to rescue survivors of human trafficking.

It is Britney’s goal to walk about 20 miles a day along back roads. Sometimes her 14-year-old son, Asher, will join her. She has a support crew. Following along behind in an RV, will be her husband, Sammy, and their other three children, Judson, 12; Emlyn, 6; and Jeremiah, 4.

Britney hopes her effort will draw attention to the problem and generate contributions. She will be walking 580 miles and hopes she can get a thousand dollars for each mile — $580,000. [Contribute by going to the HER website, https://hercampaign.org/walkforher/]

For the survivors of human trafficking, the road to recovery is a lot longer. “We get calls weekly,” said Britney, “for survivors who need immediate placement.” It isn’t unusual for the survivors to be in fear for their lives, if they remain in the community. So, besides immediate shelter, sometimes they also need to be placed in another community to reduce their risk.

Sammy and Britney learned about how serious the problem is when the filming company they own was engaged to film a documentary about human trafficking. The gig took them to other countries around the world, and brought home the vivid reality of the crime, as well as the stunning realization that Montana ranks as one of the more problem states for human trafficking – especially in Billings.

“Coming back, my heart was broken for the restoration of survivors,” said Britney, “And it was happening in our own back yard!” The Higgs had learned that even if rescued from a situation, the lack of support services left them with nowhere to go. “There was a gap between rescue and freedom,” said Britney, who determined there had to be something more.

Britney founded the organization, HER, and, with the help of others, started developing a program and establishing a blueprint for the program, so that it can be taken up by other communities across the nation. Besides raising funds, Britney hopes that her walk will capture the attention of other communities who can duplicate the program.

“It takes a high level of care to come along side of the survivors,” said Britney. Besides needing an immediate safe house, they need crisis stabilization and long term care and support.

By the time they are rescued, many are so devastated that moving forward hardly seems an option. Britney said that one woman told her that even though she was physically free, “I wish I had died in captivity because I have nothing left to give.”

In Billings, now, there is immediate placement in a safe home, with the opportunity to move into a long term program to help survivors rebuild their lives, train for employment, get a job and gain the confidence to move forward – to gain 100 percent recovery. The program can serve as many as six people at any one time. In Denver, too, they have safe homes and a stabilization program which can serve 13 survivors at any one time. HER accepts women, women who are pregnant, and women who have a child under age 3.

The state of Montana has made some efforts to improve upon the situation. Emergency responders are being trained to recognize situations, which involve human trafficking. The Department of Justice has established a process of tracking statistics, a process which has improved 1400 percent, said Britney.

Who are the victims of human trafficking and why has it grown to be such a problem in Billings?

The victims are most often women, and all too often children.

The legalization of drug use catapulted human trafficking in Montana. Human trafficking goes hand in hand with drug use, said Britney. While there are cases where a victim is kidnapped and transported to a different location, quite often it happens right on the street where you live. And, it’s not just in the “bad part of town.” It can happen in any home where someone – a spouse, a boyfriend, a parent, etc. becomes addicted and needs money to buy drugs.

Britney explained that the process usually begins with “grooming” their victim to sell sex for money, and then force them to do so. It becomes increasingly difficult for the victim to break free. They are often involved in broken homes or are victims of child abuse. They are reluctant, and often afraid, to tell anyone about their ordeal and have nowhere to turn for help.

About 85 percent of the victims were in foster care. Many are native people, said Britney.

Stacy Zinn, a board member of HER, and former special agent with the Drug Enforcement Agency, was among those supporting Britney at the start of her 35-day trek. Zinn commented that she wished more people were aware about the seriousness of human trafficking in Billings. “They can say it is not happening,” she said, “because the activity happens in the darkness.” Victims don’t talk about it. Drugs are often involved. And, often kids and the very young are taken advantage of, said Zinn.

The number of cases tracked by the Montana Department of Justice increased from 7 in 2015 to 143 in 2023, an increase of 1,900 percent.