Here are the topics that I have provided commentary about today:
- Independence Day 2023 Fire Incidents
- Sheehy Endorsements
- Montana Supreme Court
- End Family Fire
INDEPENDENCE DAY 2023 FIRE INCIDENTS:
According to a press release from Great Falls Fire Rescue, Great Falls Fire Rescue’s B Platoon had a busy 4th of July. B Platoon responded to 22 calls for service. Of these calls for service, GFFR responded to seven calls related directly to fireworks. GFFR responded to five dumpster fires that were a result of improperly disposed of fireworks.
The most interesting thing from the press release was GFFR responded to one fireworks-related emergency medical call. A male had his thumb blown off by a fire work. GFFR and GFEMS treated the patient and transported him to Benefis East.
Ouch!
Read the complete press release HERE.
SHEEHY ENDORSEMENTS:
Tim Sheehy is a Republican running for U.S. Senate in Montana. U.S. Senator Jon Tester (D-MT) currently holds the seat.
I’ve seen Sheehy get endorsements from U.S. Senator Steve Daines, Governor Greg Gianforte, and most recently, U.S. Representative Ryan Zinke. Other elected officials who endorsed Sheehy are U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, Tom Cotton of Arkansas, and Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma.
I had never heard of Markwayne Mullin until I did the research for this piece. Can Jimbob or Earldale be far behind?
These endorsements are placing some pressure on U.S. Representative Matt Rosendale, who many believe will challenge Sheehy in the primary. Many of the Republican Party higher-ups want Rosendale to run for reelection in the House and not run for U.S. Senate to give Sheehy an easier path to the nomination.
We’ll see if these endorsements have any effect on Rosendale. I bet not.
MONTANA SUPREME COURT:
With Chief Justice Mike McGrath and Associate Justice Dirk Sandefur deciding not to run for another term, MTN News is reporting that three people have thrown their hats into the ring for Chief Justice and Associate Justice.
MTN reports that one candidate has already filed campaign finance paperwork for the chief justice position: Jeremiah “Jerry” Lynch, a former federal magistrate judge for the District of Montana, working out of Missoula.
As for Associate Justice, MTN News says two state district court judges have launched campaigns for the associate justice position. The first is Dan Wilson, one of five judges of the 11th Judicial District, which covers Flathead County. He was elected to the position in 2016 and reelected in 2022. The second candidate is Katherine Bidegaray, from Sidney. She has spent more than 20 years as one of two judges for the 7th Judicial District, which covers Richland, Dawson, McCone, Prairie and Wibaux Counties in Eastern Montana.
I’m sure there will be more candidates. Check out the story from MTN HERE to learn more about the candidates.
END FAMILY FIRE:
These ads have been running in Montana and I think they are powerful. End Family Fire is a movement to promote responsible gun ownership. A partnership between Brady and the Ad Council, its mission is to encourage safe gun storage in the home.
The ad that caught my attention is titled, “Prepare for Misuse” and it’s 60 seconds.
Please watch it HERE and share it.
The Western Word 
Tester just announced he raised another 5 million in campaign contributions to match the first quarter of 5 million also. It appears the elected GOP leaders of Montana are badly miss reading their own voter base. Did they not pay any attention to the last legislative session.? The national leaders want Sheehy who they claim will be moderate and more able to beat Tester. Tell that to the Trump MEGA crowd of Montana or in fact how moderate is the U.S. House of Representatives,as MEGA crowd certainly is running both. Rosendale is a very popular MEGA figure in Montana even for all his ridiculous no votes. It’s fairly obvious I believe Matt Rosendale never one to be told what to do so I’m a little confused to understand the logic here of Montana elected GOP
leadership of trying to tell Rosendale what to do. It certainly will be embarrassing to Daines if Rosendale beats Sheehy in a primary but I believe it won’t even be close. Deep down I think the GOP realizes Tester just isn’t going to lose to any one. But I guess they had to try their one in million shot to save face .
When I was a kid, missing digits were a common sight. But of course we had M-80s to shoot off. They were like mini sticks of dynamite. They would send a bucket a hundred feet in the air, or completely obliterate a mail box. Or take off numerous digits at once.
Funniest thing I ever saw happened one time when I was in sentry dog training in the military. We had to get the dogs accustomed to loud explosions, so one thing we used were M-80s. We’d praise up the dog after the explosion to reassure them that it was OK. Eventually the dogs would ignore the loud booms.
We had an old sergeant who decided a good way to use the M-80 was to shoot it out of a slingshot. He’d light the fuse and send it skyward. One day he lit the fuse, pulled it back and let it fly, except that it hit the slingshot itself and ricocheted right back and down the front of his shirt. It was quite a sight watching him jump around to get that thing out, but he finally did. I don’t remember him using that method again. I’ve had a healthy respect for fireworks since then.