(C) Daily Montanan This story was originally published by Daily Montanan and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . The Daily Montanan's top 10 stories of 2022 – Daily Montanan [1] ['Daily Montanan Staff', 'More From Author', '- December'] Date: 2022-12-27 Housing woes continue As prices continue to rise on everything, maybe nothing has been impacted more than housing. While the median house prices in Bozeman approached $1 million, other urban areas of Montana saw prices surge, along with interest rates, and inventory plummet. This had a devastating impact on renters, too. For this first time, Montana has a Supermajority in the Legislature For the past decade or more, Montana has become “less purple” – that is, less bipartisan. A conservative wave, ushered in part by former President Donald J. Trump’s “Make America Great Again” philosophy, resonated deeply in Montana. Montanans sent Republican legislators to Washington, D.C., and Helena in huge numbers, but none more profoundly so than when the GOP achieved a “supermajority” – veto proof – in the Legislature for the upcoming 2023 session. Ryan Zinke returns to Washington, D.C. Former Secretary of The Interior Ryan Zinke returned to Treasure State politics after a stint as a cabinet member under Trump. The former state lawmaker, Navy SEAL and Republican member of Congress regained a place in the U.S. House, although this time, it’s representing the western part of the state after Montana received another House seat in the latest Congressional reapportionment. Nearly a dozen nursing homes close After the pandemic funding ran out, nursing homes across the state started warning that the increased cost of staffing, which included pay rates for nurses tripling, meant they could no longer survive on Montana’s anemic reimbursement rate and might start closing. In 2022, 11 nursing homes announced that they would be closing, sending the remaining residents sometimes hundreds of miles away from the communities they knew as home. Meanwhile, the Gianforte administration said that a failed business model and new trends in aging and capacity were to blame. Judge finds unconstitutional three laws alleged to trample on voting rights Despite debunked election conspiracy theories in 2020, conservative Montana lawmakers jumped to change voting laws in 2021, including Election Day registration, identification requirements and a move to ban ballot collectors. They argued that changes were necessary to protect the integrity of Montana’s elections. The items landed in court, and after a two-week trial, a Yellowstone County judge found three bills to be unconstitutional. The Montana Secretary of State has appealed that ruling to the Montana Supreme Court. LR-131, ‘Born Alive Act’ fails Legislative Referendum 131, known as the “Born Alive Act,” purported to require medical abortion providers to save a fetus at the time of the procedure – something medical providers said is already enshrined in law. The medical community formed strong opposition to the measure saying it would lead to poor health care and rob already stressed and grieving parents from a precious few moments spent with infants whose survival was impossible. Montana voters solidly defeated the bill, and at least one poll shows most Treasure State residents appear to want abortion to remain legal. Recreational marijuana is legal and state coffers fill Despite fears of some lawmakers that legalizing marijuana would lead to chaos, crime and a surge of headaches, Montana became one of many states to have legalized pot beyond medicinal use. Even though many conservative lawmakers publicly opposed the notion of legalization, they ultimately capitulated after several votes that showed Montanans were squarely behind the measure. After nearly a year, cannabis dispensaries are legal in many parts of the state, and the revenue from taxation has filled state coffers. State officials try to fix an ailing state hospital For years, the state’s hospital in Warm Springs has been a source of violations and stories of abuse. This year, the problems culminated in the federal government cutting off Medicaid funding for the facility. Undeterred, the Gianforte administration has hired consultants, made staffing changes, and it appears that some long-term progress is being made toward ensuring the state’s hospital is reimagined and restructured. Historic Yellowstone flooding An unexpected warm spell that brought both rain and heat in the early part of the year caused historic and devastating floods in Yellowstone National Park, forcing park officials to close most of the park for part of the tourist season. Roads to Gardiner, Montana, were wiped out, blocking a popular entrance to Yellowstone and hurting the tourism industry in places like Gardiner and Cooke City. Officials from the state and federal government rushed resources and power to open the park to tourists, but the complete damage will likely take years to fully restore. Regents push back on gun policy When the 2021 Legislature passed a law that made it legal to carry concealed weapons nearly anywhere, lawmakers said that specifically included public college campuses. But the Montana Board of Regents pushed back, asserting that the Constitution gave the board power to govern those campuses without lawmaker interference. That led to a showdown in the courts that wound its way to the Supreme Court, which said the Montana Constitution is clear: The lawmakers cannot usurp the power that properly belongs to the regents. [END] --- [1] Url: https://dailymontanan.com/2022/12/27/the-daily-montanans-top-10-stories-of-2022/ Published and (C) by Daily Montanan Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/montanan/