Groups argue suspending Molnar may jeopardize NorthWestern merger.

By DARRELL EHRLICK | Editor-in-Chief

It is Friday eve, as our Deputy Editor Keila Szpaller says about this time every week. And we begin with a novel wrinkle in the ongoing saga of Brad Molnar’s suspension from the Montana Public Service Commission. Here’s the intriguing part: A couple of groups say because he may have been wrongfully suspended, it could put the legitimacy of any merger deal between NorthWestern Energy and Black Hills Corp. in a possible legal gray area.

And, three western governors, including our Gov. Greg Gianforte, met up with their ol’ governor pal, Doug Burgum, who has left the state gubernatorial ranks to join the Trump administration as the Secretary of The Interior. And it turns out that as they were walking in a field in Bozeman, they decided the states should manage the threatened grizzly bear species. Some have argued the grizzlies are fully enough recovered that they don’t need the heavy hand of the federal government. Many conservation groups said it’s an example of the administration doing the bidding of western Republican governors who have been advocating this for years, if not decades.

Finally, we end today’s rundown of top stories by the beginning of the trial of former Montana Senate President Jason Ellsworth, who claims that his actions of issuing two large-dollar, no-bid contracts were part of his legislative privilege. While his fate in court is uncertain, Ellsworth will not be returning to the Legislature in 2027. He lost a race for a House seat in eastern Montana.

Montana Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen confirmed that three independent candidates have collected enough verified signatures to be included on the 2026 Election ballot. That includes one United States Senate candidate, one United States House of Representatives candidate, and one candidate for Montana Legislature.

Even though some of the extreme heat and record-setting high temperatures have subsided slightly, the temperatures are still very hot, and officials with the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks division and officials with Yellowstone National Park have announced more fishing closures and restrictions.

Statistics for 2025 pointed out two trends — definitely ones that Montana has had experience with. Fewer people have died from deaths due to firearms, which could encompass several different scenarios. Although while death by firearms are generally lower, the number of gun-related suicides continues to rise.

As the time for the current Congress winds down due to the election in November, members are rushing to finish some business or complete partisan legislation with the slim majorities of Republicans in both chambers. One of the things is additional funding for farmers and defense. The House Republicans have proposed $12 billion for farmers and $60 billion for defense.

The controversial chief executive of “My Pillow,” Mike Lindell, is running as a Republican candidate for governor of Minnesota. Yesterday, he received the endorsement of President Donald J. Trump, who selected his longtime friend and zealous supporter over two other GOP candidates.

An attorney with the Idaho Attorney General’s office has publicly responded to a threat that the Trump administration apparently sent to all states, warning officials that if non-U.S. citizens vote in the upcoming election that those officials could be held personally and criminally liable. Jim Craig, the lead attorney for the Idaho Secretary of State, pushed back saying that the really red Republican state government agrees with the president, and that there’s no need to resort to threats of criminal prosecution.

Despite protests from Maine and other states regarding the Department of Homeland Security’s policy of pulling suspected immigration violators from vehicles (which led, in part, to at least one death in the past week), President Donald Trump is urging the department to continue the practice, even as the agency on Tuesday had said it was re-evaluating the procedure.

Trump’s nominee to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Erica Schwartz, is unlikely to gain enough support in the closely divided U.S. Senate to be confirmed to the post. A number of Republican Senators questioned her, including about vaccines and recent decisions. Her answers didn’t seem to instill confidence, as one Senator accused her of rehearsed, polished answers.

Speaking of tough confirmation hearings, President Trump’s nominee for the Attorney General’s slot, Todd Blanche, received a heated hearing, too. His confirmation is questionable, too, especially since he seems to have been architect behind the “slush fund” that would have been used to reimburse citizens who have been victimized by “lawfare,” and have included many who participated and were found guilty in the January 6th riots at the U.S. Capitol.

Note: some links may lead to stories behind a news organization's paywall

If you want to start a good-old fashioned not-really-political argument, take a stance on clocks. Yesterday, we noted with tongue-in-cheek that we were cheering the U.S. House proposal to keep the entire nation on daylight saving time. In our defense, we were commenting on the hassle of having to set and reset clocks. We had several readers offer opinions on why we should support the time switch, or not. In addition to having strong feelings on, say, public lands, Montanans are also feisty about time zones. Many had feelings as strongly held as Bobcats or Grizzlies. Here’s an article from The Hill that talks about the switch, which would mean more light at the end of the day during winter, while going to work in the dark. During the winter solstice, it means that about half of Montana would see the sun during the eight o’clock hour, while almost all of the rest of it would see daybreak in the nine o’clock hour. But a sliver of the northwestern corner of the state would wait till the 10 o’clock hour.

As we celebrate the nation’s 250th anniversary, our friends at Smithsonian magazine have done research into the question: What was it like to live during that period? From a daily living perspective, it was hot, the clothes were itchy, and the food probably wasn’t what we’ve grown accustomed to. Apparently, powdered wigs, wool clothing and no modern sanitation made comfort elusive.

Former Montana Public Service Commissioner and current Billings City Council member Tony O’Donnell is having to backtrack after comments he made at a meeting where a proposal for subsidized housing was being discussed. He read a list of people who will be given priorities, including African Americans and Pacific Islanders. He questioned that, but then commented that he worried about “ghettoization” of the property, which drew accusations of racism and stereotyping, which he later denied by saying he was simply questioning the priorities and general diversity of Billings, according to Evan Butow’s reporting in The Billings Gazette.

Recently, we’ve reported the changing demographics of Montana, including in-migration and average house prices. In a recent piece by Jordan Hansen on the revenue the State of Montana is taking in, he noted that less money is coming from wages than previously, while more is coming from taxing income or retirement investments. That, of course, means something from a demographic perspective: That Montana is getting older, graying (defined as the number of people at least 65 or older).

It just so happens that during the past few days, one of our favorite eye-candy sources, Visual Capitalist, has presented a map showing what percentage of states are “graying.” For more than a decade, Montana has been called the grayest of the western states. That appears to be the case still, even after the huge surge of migration due to COVID-19.

There are two things that we can say from this map: Montana is the grayest state west of the Mississippi River — an arbitrary dividing line between east and west. But, Montana is not the grayest state in the union.  

Having most of the world’s history of recorded music at your fingertips is a great example of how far our technology has advanced. But, I still swear: It’s listening to us. More than Alexa. More than Siri.

After I had been crowing to my family about a recent second-hand thrift store find, the exact album popped up in my Facebook feed. Coincidence? Almost assuredly. Researchers say this is just a function of encountering many random things throughout the day — we only seem disturbed by the ones that fit with a pattern, and don’t think it odd that the other things that seem unrelated float by.

So, I am willing to chalk this up to one of the millions of random and coincidental things in life: The record that I recently found was Paul Simon’s 1973 “There Goes Rhymin’ Simon,” which remains a favorite of mine. I found a great copy of the album, and that’s always an excuse to play a favorite for me. The song includes “Kodachrome” and several other hits. I saw Simon when performed in Billings a few years back, and it still remains one of my favorite. And as much as Simon is revered as one of the greats of rock, pop and folk music, if it’s possible, I find him underrated. To me, he deserves to be in the conversation with Bob Dylan or Bruce Springsteen.

The Facebook post was from Joseph Vangieri — whom I don’t think I know. He wrote the following:

“Summer of ’73. I was 14 years old, riding my bicycle around town with this music etched into my brain.

“Paul Simon had just dropped ‘There Goes Rhymin’ Simon’ that spring. For a kid who knew him as the "Bridge Over Troubled Water" guy from Simon & Garfunkel, this record hit differently.

“I still have a vivid memory of pedaling down the street with ‘Kodachrome’ blasting—that bright, driving rhythm making everything feel alive. But the track that really hit hard that summer was ‘American Tune.’

“It was a heavy time. I had cousins over in Vietnam, and so many guys from town were living under the constant, heavy worry of getting drafted or wondering what would happen next. ‘American Tune’ captured that exact weariness and uncertainty perfectly. It became the soundtrack to a very specific, unforgettable moment in time.

'“Looking at this gatefold jacket on the turntable today brings it all right back. Music really is the ultimate time machine.”

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