Welcome! Here are the topics for today’s common sense commentary:

• 23 Montana Voter Records
• Best & Worst States for Doctors 
• Great Falls Roundabouts
• UFOs and Malmstrom
• One More Thing

23 MONTANA VOTER RECORDS:

In a press release, Montana Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen announced that the Department of Homeland Security’s Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) conducted a thorough examination of 23 Montana voter records flagged through the SAVE tool. Based on all federal records at its disposal, USCIS confirmed that all 23 belong to individuals who appear in non-citizen status. A state review of the 23 voter records indicated nearly 150 ballots were cast in Montana elections. Additionally, several voter records indicated participation in Montana’s petition signature-gathering process.

The Daily Montanan reported on the story and said a spokesperson for Jacobsen’s office did not return questions over what years the 150 ballots were cast in, what counties they were registered to vote in, or what the next steps of contacting individuals or bringing charges would look like.

According to the Daily Montanan, potential non-citizen voters represent a mere 0.0029% of the state’s registered electorate—a figure so low it suggests the issue is being overstated.

BEST & WORST STATES FOR DOCTORS: 

WalletHub has released the 2026 report “Best & Worst States for Doctors.” 

Given the high cost of medical training and the difficulty of the profession, it is important for doctors to practice in states that offer strong financial opportunities along with favorable working conditions. To assist doctors in choosing where to practice, WalletHub compared all 50 states and the District of Columbia using 19 key metrics. These factors range from physicians’ average annual wages to hospitals per capita and the quality of each state’s public hospital system.

WalletHub reports that Montana is the best state for doctors. 

Here is what WalletHub had to say about Montana:

Montana is the best state for doctors, and it boasts one of the top hospital systems in the country. About 78% of patients in Montana gave their hospital a score of 9 or 10 on a scale of 0 to 10. Montana doctors are also well compensated. For example, the state has the second-highest average income for anesthesiologists, at nearly $442,000, in addition to high yearly incomes for psychiatrists and surgeons, who earn above $263,000 and almost $400,000 on average, respectively.

The Treasure State is also good on doctors’ mental well-being, as it has the lowest physician burnout rate. That bodes well for medical residents who train in Montana, as nearly 63% of them end up staying in-state, the second-highest retention rate in the country. Additionally, Montana enjoys both a high number of hospitals per 100,000 residents and physicians per 1,000 residents.

You can read the full report HERE. 

GREAT FALLS ROUNDABOUTS:

Every time I hear about new roundabouts being planned for somewhere in the state, I think back to the movie, “National Lampoon’s European Vacation,” where the Griswold family gets stuck for hours on a roundabout in London with Clark saying over and over, “Hey, look, kids, there’s Big Ben, and there’s Parliament… again!” (Clip)

Great Falls is scheduled to get two roundabouts. KRTV reports:

The Montana Department of Transportation is planning major upgrades to the Gore Hill and I-15 interchange in Great Falls.

MDT says growth in the area — including a [sic] increased airport traffic, business expansion, and more residents — is driving the need for improvements.

The project will add two single-lane roundabouts at the 31st Street Southwest and I-15 on and off-ramps.

I can hear it now, “Hey, look, kids, there’s the Great Falls International Airport and Cascade County Detention Center…again!”

UFOS AND MALMSTROM:

Every so often, this story (below) surfaces. I worked in the missile complex for several years and never saw a UFO. I loved working at night in the summer when you can see almost forever into the night sky.

I have no reason not to believe that the following happened. Maybe when the Feds get around to releasing the government records related to UFOs and alien life, as Trump said he would, we will find out. 

The New York Post is reporting that a retired US Air Force launch officer claims UFOs disabled multiple nuclear missiles when they appeared around the Montana base where he was stationed decades ago.

Robert Salas claims a mysterious force paralyzed the military’s ability to control 10 Minuteman I intercontinental ballistic missiles equipped with nuclear warheads at Malmstrom Air Force Base in 1967, the 85-year-old veteran said on the “Danny Jones Podcast” Saturday.

The truth is out there…

ONE MORE THING:

Be brave enough to suck at something new.

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