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The Montana Highway Patrol began its move from its longtime Helena headquarters to its new home in Boulder this week, marking what Sgt. Jay Nelson called “a historic moment” for the law enforcement agency.

The move marks the end of an era for MHP. The rented space at 2550 Prospect Avenue has been the home of MHP since 1996, and the organization has been headquartered in Helena since its inception 86 years ago.

“I started my career in that old building. I went there for my interview,” Nelson said. “It’s a change, but at the same time it’s a breath of fresh air.”

The 48-acre facility in Boulder is the former home of the Montana Developmental Center, but has gone largely unused since 2018. The MDC was founded back in 1893 and up until 2018 served around 50 individuals and employed 250. The only individuals still using the facility are 11 who are served by the Intensive Behavior Center, which the Department of Public Health and Human Services says are unable to be served safely in Montana’s communities.

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Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen sat down to talk about drugs in Montana on today’s Montana This Morning.

Knudsen is currently touring the state talking with law enforcement and local leaders about crime and drugs in their areas. He recently met with Gallatin County Sheriff Dan Springer who told him this area is seeing an increase in heroin use – while Yellowstone County continues to have issues with meth.

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Attorney General Austin Knudsen announced appointments to the Montana Missing Indigenous Persons Task Force. The task force’s main goals are to break down jurisdictional barriers and identify causes that contribute to missing and murdered Indigenous persons.

During the 2021 legislative session, Knudsen supported Representative Sharon Stewart-Peregoy’s House Bill 98 to extend the task force for two more years beyond its original June 30, 2021 sunset date. The taskforce is also charged with finding ways to improve collaboration among law enforcement agencies, reporting and tracking data, creating a network of communication among tribal communities, and administering the Looping in Native Communities grant program.

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The number of fentanyl-related deaths in Montana more than doubled in 2020 from the year prior, and the state is on pace to see even more this year.

The Montana Department of Justice’s State Crime Lab said the state recorded 41 fentanyl-related deaths in 2020. That’s up from 19 in 2019. And through May this year, 22 Montana residents have from fentanyl-related overdoses.

READ FROM FAIRFIELD SUN TIMES

With the rising number of violent crimes in Yellowstone County, State Attorney General Austin Knudsen stopped in Billings to meet with local law enforcement leaders.

Our team had the opportunity speak with the attorney general and ask him questions sent in from our viewers.

Knudsen says there’s a violent crime problem in Montana and with Billings as the largest city, it has become a central point for those crimes.

“Violent crime is up 50% just in the last six or seven years in Montana, across the board. All violent crimes. That’s a scary, scary stat. I think there were 50 homicides in the state of Montana last year and half of them were here in Billings. I mean, people have a right to be concerned here in Billings, it’s absolutely a problem,” the attorney general said.

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In Montana’s evolving and historically unusual feud between the Legislature and the judiciary, Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen has openly courted controversy. In the last three months, Knudsen and his staff have been accused of disrespecting the state Supreme Court, disrupting the judicial process and refusing to accept a court order. Outside of court, legal observers say Knudsen has improperly inserted the attorney general’s office into polarizing culture-war issues.

Knudsen isn’t expressing any second thoughts about his actions. If there’s one thing on which Austin Knudsen and his critics agree, it’s that respect for the way things are usually done is not his concern.

READ MORE FROM MONTANA FREE PRESS

Critical Race Theory is a controversial philosophy – a progressive idea that proponents say can increase racial equity and which critics describe as Marxist, anti-American and neo-racist.

It’s either “a way of understanding how American racism has shaped public policy, or a divisive discourse that pits people of color against White people,” as a recent article in Education Week put it.

“CRT seeks to diminish the reality that we are all unique and precious in God’s eyes,” Melody Clarke of Heritage Action for America told Fox News Friday. “Our individual destiny is up to our God-given talent, drive and ambition, not what someone else thinks about us.”

Nearly half of all states in the U.S. are taking measures to ban it from their public schools.

Montana

Attorney General Austin Knudsen effectively banned CRT programs in schools and state employee training programs after he issued an opinion labeling the concept “discriminatory.”

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A group of 20 Republican attorneys general sent a letter to Senate leadership Tuesday in opposition to David Chipman, President Joe Biden’s nominee for director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

The letter, which was first obtained by The Daily Caller, expresses concern regarding Chipman’s past as a major gun control activist, since he had worked as a registered lobbyist for gun control organizations Everytown for Gun Safety and Giffords

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Montana’s top prosecutor issued an opinion Thursday labeling critical race theory and some antiracism programs taught in schools as “discriminatory” and said they violate federal and state law.

Republican Attorney General Austin Knudsen’s decision bans the activities — which are also used for employee training — in the state. It came after Republican Superintendent of Public Instruction Elsie Arntzen requested earlier this month for Knudsen to weigh in on the issue.

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Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen issued an opinion Thursday that labels critical race theory and some anti-racism programs taught in schools as “discriminatory.” The binding opinion declared these activities are not only against state law but also violate the equal protection clause of the Constitution’s Fourteenth Amendment.

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A group of 19 Republican AGs, led by Montana AG Austin Knudsen, wrote a letter to President Joe Biden urging him to support additional energy infrastructure in the wake of the Colonial pipeline shutdown.

The letter argues that the Colonial incident demonstrates the need for additional energy infrastructure, including the controversial Keystone XL pipeline, which is critical for avoiding energy supply disruptions, maintaining the nation’s status as a net energy exporter, and supporting national security.

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