Well, it's been a while since I've caught you up, and I've had my notes out this week just to keep it all straight, because it's been a busy stretch since September 3rd.

Back in Winifred, District 37 sat down with landowners and Fish, Wildlife and Parks to talk about our elk overpopulation problem. If you missed it, I put a couple videos up on Facebook, TikTok, YouTube and Instagram — one on the meeting itself, and a follow-up with an idea on how to help make ranchers whole when elk tear up their crops during that unprotected stretch from June to August 15th, when there's no hunting season to thin them out. That second video alone pulled over 9,000 social media video views, so I know this one's on a lot of your minds too.

On the 8th I made a run to Helena to pick up U.S. and Montana Constitutions for our eighth graders — a tradition I take seriously — and happened to be there the day Governor Gianforte rolled out his Fair Flat Montana Tax plan. The next day I sat in on a Winnett City Commission meeting, working through what to charge folks with a second, unused water meter on their property.

September 10th was heavy — the commemoration of Charlie Kirk's assassination, marked here in our own way — and that evening the Fergus County Farm Bureau put on a good meeting up in Denton. The 11th brought the 25th anniversary of September 11th, and I shared where I was that day at our memorial at Veterans Park, sandwiched between the tail end of the Montana Early Childhood Leadership Summit, where childcare struggles came up again — not just a Lewistown problem, but a statewide one.

Then came the Chokecherry Festival on the 12th — six a.m. setup, a full day of good crowds thanks to cool weather keeping folks around longer than usual. I left my mug at a booth and didn't get it back until I swung through on my way home from Great Falls. Small towns take care of each other that way.

The 15th was a full one: a sit-down with the CEO of American Prairie where I passed along, again, the ag community's ongoing concerns about their activity here — that hasn't changed. Same day, the Central Montana Association of School Superintendents met at Central Feed, and that evening the Yogo hosted a presentation on I-194, the Anti-Citizens United initiative, put on by its supporters. It was well done, but I'll say plainly: we still need a session from the folks opposed to it before anybody here makes up their mind. Hear both sides.

On the 16th I met with the DEQ director about the old sewage lagoon situation in Winifred, and I'm getting that information back to folks there. The 17th closed out the interim Local Government Committee meeting in Helena — watch it on legmt.gov under streaming. We approved continued funding for the statewide public-safety radio system before it runs out in mid-2027, and we're working to bolster 911 call-center funding, too — that dollar per phone line brings in $14 to $16 million a year, and it's not enough. We're waiting on an accurate dollar number from the 911 Advisory Council before we push for more.

We also heard testimony on short-term rentals, a plea to carve a new County 57 out of Missoula County for the Swan Valley, Seeley Lake, Greenough and Potomac areas — folks who feel a big county isn't built for rural needs, which I understand well — plus resort-area infrastructure financing for Big Sky, a pilot Grants Assistance Office with $500,000 to help Montanans navigate grant applications, and final language on a homeowners association act that, I made sure to confirm, won't touch anybody who isn't already in an HOA.

I got home on the 18th just in time to feel that little earthquake up in Great Falls — over in about a second — and I'm headed back that way today for a retirement party for an old colleague from my US Customs & Border Protection days.

Last thing: we've got an election coming. The November election quickly approaches and I'm asking you to vote for Troy Downing to keep representing Montana’s eastern district in DC, Kurt Alme to join Senator Sheehy as our second U.S. Senator, and Dan Wilson for associate justice on our state Supreme Court. Don't take my word for any of it — come hear from them yourself at the harvest dinner in Lewistown on October 4th. Until next time, stay logged in.