Welcome! From local politics to the Super Bowl, here are the topics hitting the column today:

• MT Senate District 12
• Helena City Commission
• House Judiciary Committee
• Super Bowl LX
• One More Thing

MT SENATE DISTRICT 12:

The Helena Independent Record’s opening about a candidate for Senate District 12 was amusing:

Montana Public Service Commissioner Randy Pinocci, a pugnacious Republican from Sun River, has filed to return to the Montana Legislature.

Pinocci’s last eight years on the PSC have been marked by infighting, investigations and the occasional mutiny. In other words, Pinocci is no stranger to confrontation, and the race he’s filed for in Senate District 12 is bound for conflict.

Wendy McKamey is the current senator representing SD-12, and she is running for reelection. She is one of the patriots who was actually a bipartisan state senator. She suffered the wrath of the MAGAs for her bipartisanship. There are already some negative ads about her on social media. 

The IR reported that Pinocci was a self-proclaimed RINO hunter. I thought the GOP Chairman said they were doing away with the RINO name? 

The other day, I wrote about when someone is called a RINO or DINO, it’s usually a sign that the candidate is actually worth voting for. So keep that in mind! 

Read the complete IR report HERE. 

HELENA CITY COMMISSION:

Doing their best impressions of President Donald Trump and Border Czar Tom Homan, Montana Governor Greg Gianforte, and Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen announced they will investigate the city of Helena for stating that it will not assist U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, according to the Montana Free Press (MTFP). 

The Montana Legislature passed House Bill 200 back in 2021, which Gianforte says “explicitly bans sanctuary cities in the state of Montana. Under this law, no state or local government can enact policies that refuse cooperation with federal immigration authorities.”

So is little ol’ Helena a sanctuary city? Cool! 

This ‘nothingburger’ is clearly designed to throw red meat to the MAGA faithful—essentially a Knudsen campaign event funded by the taxpayers. You can read a press release from Knudsen HERE. 

A more productive use of Gianforte and Knudsen’s resources would be an inquiry into the actions of Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen. Key questions remain regarding the financing of recent postcard mailings and the specific voter information disclosed to the Trump administration.

HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE:

The testimony of U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi was yet another example of how far Congress has fallen. In front of the House Judiciary Committee, the oversight process devolved into a spectacle of insults and raised voices, where answering questions from those charged with executive oversight appeared to be entirely optional.

Congress is broken. 

You can watch the hours-long hearing HERE. 

SUPER BOWL LX:

NBC News reported that Super Bowl 60 was a ratings touchdown for NBC, with roughly 125 million people tuning in to watch the Seattle Seahawks prevail against the New England Patriots and Bad Bunny make history at the halftime show.

But the overall viewership numbers fell short of surpassing last year’s record number. Super Bowl 59, which aired on Fox, FOX Deportes and Telemundo and streamed on Tubi, drew 127.7 million viewers, according to Nielsen.

Apple Music’s Super Bowl halftime show, featuring Bad Bunny, averaged 128.2 million viewers between 8:15 and 8:30 p.m. ET, Nielsen said. Full global viewership for the show will not be available until early next week.

The event also broke NFL records on social media, which most likely could be attributed to Bad Bunny.

The AP covers the event HERE. 

ONE MORE THING:

I didn’t like the Puppy Bowl because I couldn’t understand a word they were saying. -Tim Wolfe

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