Missoula County Attorney enters endgame

By Dan Brooks in Montana Politics 1 Comment
Missoula County Attorney Fred Van Valkenburg

Missoula County Attorney Fred Van Valkenburg

Fred Van Valkenburg is back from vacation today, and I do not envy him his voice mailbox. Probably he checked it while he was away. We know he read the paper, because he sent attorney Jim Ghidella an angry email after Ghidella wrote a letter to the editor critical of Van Valkenburg’s fight against the US Department of Justice. For those of you who have not followed this story: in 2012, the DOJ announced that it was investigating the University of Montana, Missoula police, and the county attorney’s office for improper handling of sexual assault cases. The police and UM cooperated, and their investigations are now over. Van Valkenburg, on the other hand, has insisted all along that Justice has no jurisdiction over his office, and recently got $50,000 from the county commission to pursue a declaratory judgment against them. That lawsuit was filed earlier this week—just in time for us to learn about the agreement that Montana’s state attorney general made with the DOJ in 2012 to cooperate with investigators.

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Acquitted Griz quarterback wins Best Athlete in reader poll

By Dan Brooks in Montana Politics, Uncategorized 12 Comments
Former Montana Grizzlies quarterback Jordan Johnson was acquitted of rape charges in March.

Former Montana Grizzlies quarterback Jordan Johnson was acquitted of rape charges in March.

I like Missoula very much. After living here a few years, though, I have also concocted a theory of Other Missoula, home to the approximately 40,000 people who wear sweatpants to the mall. Those of you familiar with the Problem of Others are likely beginning to suspect that all my theories are products of wounded solipsism, and you are probably right. I would like to point out that Other Missoula is a real and terrifying thing, however, as demonstrated in this year’s Missoula Independent Best of Missoula poll. Best Athlete? Jordan Johnson, the indicted, suspended and now reinstated Griz quarterback who did not play this year because he was busy being acquitted of rape.

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MT rejects federally-funded Medicaid expansion, possibly by accident

By Dan Brooks in Montana Politics 0 Comment
The Montana State House

The Montana State House

The 2013 session of the Montana state legislature ended last week, and now the state House and Senate will slumber until 2015. Legislators in Montana meet for 87 days every two years, which means that A) there’s a lot of pressure to get everything done and B) not everybody has had a ton of practice. The second phenomenon became evident earlier this month, when Rep. Tom Jacobson (D–Great Falls) accidentally voted the wrong way on a parliamentary objection, causing a tie in the House that allowed Speaker Mark Blasdel to reject federal funding for Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act.

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