Helena Could Face Pricey Penalties in Sanctuary City Fight

Helena leaders aren't commenting on pending litigation, accusing them of violating Montana's ban against sanctuary cities.

The case cropped up yesterday as Governor Greg Gianforte and Attorney General Austin Knudsen announced the state would investigate the city's decision, a council resolution, directing local police to not assist ICE and other federal officers with immigration enforcement.

"This resolution appears to limit cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration agents, potentially a direct violation of our sanctuary city ban," Gianforte said during Wednesday's press conference.

However, city leaders are saying the resolution was drafted with "careful consideration," and the city believes it's "consistent" with both state and federal laws.

Sanctuary cities fight could be costly

Attorney General Knudsen is saying it's his job to enforce the sanctuary cities ban, which was enacted by the Legislature 5-years ago.

And he's warning that a civil court case could cost Helena tens of thousands of dollars.

"Depending on the outcome of that court hearing, the City of Helena is at real risk of losing Coal Board funding, which I suspect is not insignificant," Knudsen noted. "On top of that, they're looking at a $10,000 fine for every 5 days this policy is in effect."

Knudsen says the city has the option of overriding the ban if it comes back to the Legislature and lobbies for a change in 2027.

New Flathead River plan released

After several years of work, Flathead National Forest is releasing the draft management plan for the Flathead River, updating the current rules, which date back to 1980, and the early phases of the Wild and Scenic River Act.

A big thrust of the new plan is updating regulations in the face of the growing amount of recreation on all three forks of the river. The objective is to bring management in line with the WSRA. Public informational meetings are being set for the evenings of February 17th and 18th at Flathead Valley Community College.

Bozeman gets tough on traffic infractions

Bozeman Police say a new emphasis on traffic enforcement is having a big impact since the program was expanded last fall in response to the public's complaints about traffic safety.

Bozeman PD deployed a dedicated traffic unit in October, focusing on several high-priority areas like school zones. This week, the department is reporting that BPD officers made over 1200 traffic stops in January alone. That compares with just over 6900 stops for ALL of last year before the emphasis patrols began.

And police say drivers should be ready to get stopped as well if they insist on breaking Bozeman traffic laws.