Earlier this week, former Rep. Jennifer Carlson, now a Gallatin County Republican legislative candidate, filed a campaign practices complaint in response to a batch of mailers opposing her candidacy. The mailers called her “DEI Jennifer Carlson” and featured an image of her holding a pride flag and sporting a “she/her” pin. 

But there’s just one thing: She never waved that flag or wore the pin. The image was doctored to add that button on her lapel and the flag in her hand, which she claims violates a newly enacted law that requires political groups to disclose the use of “deepfakes” in electioneering materials. 

“Pushing the woke agenda on Montana with your tax dollars,” the flier read. 

The mailers were sent out by Accountability in State Government, a political action committee run by former Republican legislator Dan Bartel. A nearly identical one was also sent out featuring Glasgow Republican Rep. Eric Albus. Carlson is facing off against Randy Chamberlin in the Republican state house primary, while Albus is running for a state senate seat against Republican Mark Wicks.

Those mailers made headlines this week, but they were just a handful in a batch of anti-diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) postcards that went out this month in Republican legislative primaries at a time when DEI has become a boogeyman pushed by certain conservative factions. 

One of those mailers calls a handful of Republican candidates “radical liberal[s]” and “too dangerous for the state house.” That particular flyer features a child looking out onto what appears to be a protest lined with the traditional rainbow pride flag and a transgender pride flag.

Another iteration of this type of mailer, which was sent out about multiple candidates, accuses the Republicans of “pushing DEI with your tax dollars.” 

Political action committees and campaigns often cite news articles and voting records to legitimize their claims. All of the recent anti-DEI mailers include footnotes that reference favorable votes on House Bill 9. But HB 9 is not explicitly a pro-DEI bill; rather, it's a routine funding measure that sends grants from earnings on the state’s coal trust for cultural and arts projects. The bill tends to easily pass the Legislature in most sessions. 

After the Montana State Auditor’s office suspended the licenses of Mr. Bail’s Billings location and its manager, Anna Yarbro, in mid-March, the company’s attorney requested a hearing to appeal the decision. The auditor’s office has now scheduled that hearing for Aug. 14. 

The auditor’s office had been investigating Mr. Bail for nearly six months before it suspended its license and ordered it to cease and desist all operations in Montana following a fatal shooting in Missoula involving four of its bail bondsmen. The state also suspended and later revoked the licenses of two bail bondsmen charged in the shooting. The auditor’s office is still investigating the other two unlicensed Mr. Bail employees. 

On March 4, bondsmen Brandon Wakefield and Austin Mistretta, along with Mr. Bail employees Jorrell Nagel and Ryan Smith, came to Missoula to apprehend Joshua Wykle, according to charging documents. Video footage showed that the men approached Wykle’s vehicle parked at the Town Pump on Reserve Street. Mistretta allegedly pointed what appeared to be a rifle at the vehicle, according to the documents. When Nagel was walking behind the Saturn, the car began to reverse. Wakefield then raised his gun into a “shooter’s stance,” court documents allege. 

Wykle died at the scene. According to charging documents, the other three men identified Wakefield as the shooter when questioned by responding Missoula police officers. Wakefield also told officers that he shot toward the victim, the documents allege. 

Wakefield, who pleaded not guilty to deliberate homicide, and Mistretta, who pleaded not guilty to attempted assault with a weapon, were issued temporary bail bondsman licenses Feb. 11, less than a month before the shooting. Nagel and Smith were unlicensed, having failed the licensing test multiple times in February, but both were armed and wearing body armor that identified them as “fugitive recovery agents” on the day Wykle was killed, according to the order from the auditor’s office suspending the company.

Brittany Williams, the Missoula County prosecutor for Wakefield and Mistretta’s cases, earlier this month declined to comment on whether Nagel or Smith will be charged. Williams said the investigation into Wykle’s death and a state investigation are ongoing. 

Depending on the outcome of the investigation and hearing, the state auditor could fine the bondsmen if they are found to have violated relevant state laws, in addition to any suspensions, the auditor’s office previously told MTFP. 

Recent snow and cold temperatures have slowed the growth of the East Side Fire, a 1,200-acre blaze in Custer Gallatin National Forest about seven miles south of Red Lodge, according to U.S. Forest Service spokesperson Jeni Garcin. No structures have been lost. The East Side Fire is still the largest blaze in the state, according to fire-mapping outlet Watch Duty.

The area received about three inches of snow Thursday night and Friday morning, Garcin told Montana Free Press. Instead of active firefighting, crews are patrolling for hot spots. 

“Things have slowed considerably. We don’t have any active flames out there,” Garcin said. 

The number of firefighters decreased from 133 to 93 in the last 24 hours, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. Ten engines and two helicopters are still deployed to the blaze. NIFC estimated the cost to fight the fire so far at $925,000.

The temperature near the fire will remain in the 30s throughout the weekend, and there is a chance for more precipitation early next week, according to Logan Torgerson, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. 

Butte’s Pekin Noodle Parlor, widely known as one of the oldest Chinese restaurants in America, is closing after 115 years. The Tam family has owned and run the restaurant since 1911, but due to “changing economic conditions,” the restaurant has shut down, according to the business’s Thursday Facebook post.

“... Despite our best efforts, we have reached a point where we must say goodbye,” the post stated. “To the people of Butte and the surrounding communities: thank you. Thank you for your loyalty, your stories, your laughter, and your support through the decades. You made Pekin Noodle Parlor what it was, and we will forever be grateful to have been part of your lives.”

The announcement garnered over 500 comments — many expressing sympathy and sadness — in less than 24 hours.