Gianforte visits Plains

Montana Governor Greg Gianforte met with business and community leaders of Sanders County at the Butcher's Nook in Plains Thursday in an effort to find out what was on their minds.

Twenty-one men and women from Thompson Falls, Hot Springs, and Plains gathered for an hour-long informal gathering where several people voiced some of their concerns, including Senator Bob Brown, Sanders County Commissioner Dan Rowan and Plains Mayor Chris Allen. It was the governor's third annual "56 County Tour," which he kicked off last week beginning with a visit to Western Montana Specialty Foods in Superior, followed by the Butcher's Nook.

"Getting on the road to visit with Montanans is a top priority for the governor," said Kaitlin Price, the governor's press secretary, who added that this was his sixth consecutive tour since Montanans elected him in the U.S. House of Representatives. "The best and most important part of my job is meeting with Montanans where they live and work. Hearing from folks at The Butcher's Nook in Plains about their successes and challenges guides me in Helena and helps me deliver results to them. It's always good to be in Sanders County," said Gianforte.

"I was very happy and I felt honored that he chose our establishment for his meeting and for lunch," said Daniel Kauffman, who purchased the restaurant in April. His wife, Suzanne, helped serve lunch. Kauffman worked as a staff member for about year and half at the Butcher's Nook eight years ago.

"After kicking things off in southeast Montana last year, it's good to be back in northwest Montana to get our 2023 tour started," Gianforte said.

Gianforte was pleased with the state's economic status, saying they had surplus money that they are using to invest in the state prison and $300 billion into mental health services, including the rebuilding of Warm Springs. With a nine to one match from the federal government, he said they were able to put $200 billion into roads and bridges, half of which was allocated to counties. "Montana is now debt free," he said. The governor said he signed more than 800 bills sent to him by the legislature. He added that they brought innovation to education, expanded parental choice, and defended their constitutional rights. The 62-year-old Gianforte gave the group some background on his family, education, work ethics, and that he donates his annual salary to charity.

Rowan told the governor that Sanders County has infrastructure and law enforcement needs and that housing is a constant issue in the county. Allen said that Plains faces a lack of housing as well as the rising costs of housing. Denise Moreth, the general manager at Quinn's Hot Springs Resort, echoed his sentiments on housing by saying they have trouble hiring qualified people because of a housing shortage. "There's nothing here as far as housing when trying to bring in skilled workers. We have purchased or remodeled hotels that we own to accommodate 16 units for housing and it's not enough," she said, adding that it's extremely difficult to get housing for present employees and run the resort while trying to bring in skilled workers.

The governor said he has launched a housing task force in an effort to deal with the issue across the state. He noted that 40% of the cost of a new home is government regulation. One answer, he said, is they're trying to streamline the subdivision process by removing some of the unneeded regulations, such as building a duplex, instead of a single family home. He said that regardless of zoning, any homeowner could convert a basement or garage into a second apartment. He said they also put $100 million into a low interest revolving loan fund for local municipalities to pay for water and sewer in new subdivisions if the subdivisions have higher density.

Sanders County Sheriff Shawn Fielders remarked that Helena doesn't have enough classes for him to certify new deputies. He said they have only a couple classes a year and are backed up. "I have a problem right now where I've hired deputies that are not going to be able to go to the academy for over a year," said Fielders. "We train them the best we can on the street, but we can't train them the way the academy can," he said. The sheriff said that he'd like to see the state put on more classes or have some type of mobile "field training" program from the academy. The governor said that officer training is done through the Department of Justice and he would take that back to the attorney general.

With regard to law enforcement, Gianforte said that because of the show "Yellowstone," they have been inundated with applications for the position of livestock agent. "They think they're going to go shoot it up with the rustlers." One person quit after a week because they wouldn't issue him an automatic weapon. "Livestock agents in Montana are brand inspectors; we issue a clipboard."

Plains resident and outfitter Cody Carr said he'd like to see additional hunting seasons for predators. "When an ungulate population - elk, deer, and sheep - hits the red zone, a critical population, that would give FWP the opportunity to harvest over populated predators to allow sportsmen to hunt more predators, which in turn creates more opportunity for that sportsman to be able to feed his family," said Carr.

He also put in a plug for the state to purchase some of the timber company land, such as MKH, which has traditionally been open for public recreation and is now being bought up by private individuals. He said some of that land blocks off avenues to get onto public land. Gianforte said Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks is fully funded and the state is looking into "strategic" land acquisitions that would open up access to public lands behind it.

The governor talked about "peeling a lot back" on the regulatory side and not piling "rules on top of rules," but at the same time protecting the environment and consumers. He also talked about education and focusing on career technical education in the high schools. "We've given local school boards the ability now to let high school students spend two to 10 hours a week on a job site and they get graduation credit and they get paid for it." He said too many young people are leaving Montana for a lack of good paying jobs, something he wants to rectify. "The mission I've inherited from the people of Montana is number one, more good paying jobs, and we're going to do that not because the government has created it, and secondly, protect our way of life, and that's our constitutional right, our First Amendment rights, our Second Amendment rights that have been given to us by God and protected by our Constitution."