☛ ☛ NTERPRISEt h e l i v i n g s t o n E Tuesday, April 27, 2021 •฀Livingston,฀Montana฀•฀Vol.฀115 No.฀91฀ $1.00 MT will be the most well-represented state HELENA (AP) — Growing from average population per representa- man, Missoula and Kalispell. The sion, a non-partisan body of five premise of redistricting is that one to two U.S. House seats, Mon- tive of 760,000. overall population has grown to members — two appointed by we’re equalizing population for fair tana will go from being the least Montana was one of six states to over 1.08 million — about a 10% Republicans, two by Democrats and representation.” represented state in the union — gain an additional U.S. House seat increase. a chairperson appointed by the Former Montana Rep. Pat Wil- with close to a million people in the The state had two congressional state Supreme Court. liams, a Democrat who served in single congressional district in 2010 districts until it lost one after the Commissioner Kendra Miller, a the U.S. House from 1979 to 1997, — to the most well-represented. n National allocation 1990 census, as population growth Democratic appointee, said the including when the state still had The U.S. Census Bureau figures of congressional seats: stagnated during the 1980s. The at- commission is likely to face signifi- two House seats, urged the commis- released Monday show Montana’s large district has been held by cant political pressure as the pro- sion to consider a return to the east- recent population boom will let the Page 8 Republicans consecutively for more cess of redistricting begins. west divide, saying there is an state regain the second seat it lost than two decades. Miller said a return to the previ- “obvious separation of interest nearly 30 years ago. Even in a state dominated by the ous configurations, which divided between eastern and western Mon- With over 1 million people, the along with Texas, Colorado, Florida, Republican Party, which controls the state into eastern and western tana.” state’s current at-large congressio- North Carolina and Oregon. Texas the governor’s office, the state districts, is unlikely. The population Several mountainous communi- nal district is the most populous in gained two seats while the other House and Senate, and one of the in the western part of the state, ties in western Montana lean liber- the U.S. and is second only to Alas- states received one new seat. New state’s U.S. Senate seats, the second which includes Kalispell, Missoula, al, including Bozeman and Missou- ka’s in geographic size. representatives will be elected in U.S. House seat is not guaranteed to and the state capital of Helena, has la, while the plains in the eastern The state now has just over half a 2022 and assume office in 2023. favor the GOP. grown more rapidly than the popu- part of the state lean conservative. million state residents per repre- Montana’s growth has been led by The task of drawing Montana’s lation in eastern Montana. sentative after the 2020 census, sig- towns known for their proximity to congressional districts will fall on “That old map just isn’t going to nificantly lower than the national outdoor recreation, including Boze- the state’s redistricting commis- work,” Miller said. “The whole See House seats, Page 5 County Board WAITING for the RODEO of Health will look at gathering sizes By Sam Klomhaus Enterprise Staff Writer The Park County Board of Health is set to take up the issue of gathering sizes at a special meeting, to be held virtually at noon Thursday. Outdoor gatherings are capped at 250 under the county’s current rules, according to Park County Health Officer Dr. Laurel Desnick. Indoor gatherings are capped at 50 people, and bars, restaurants and brew- eries are limited to 75% capacity. Whether the limit will be removed, set higher or kept in place will be up to the board, which she does not serve on, Desnick said. Quite a lot of people in Park County are fully vacci- nated, Desnick said, which means they are quite safe, especially to gather outside in small groups. Indoor spread is up to 20 times higher than outdoor spread, Desnick said. Enterprise photo by Sam Klomhaus According to recommen- The Park County Fairgrounds rodeo arena is seen Tuesday from the east side. dations from the Health Department on the agenda for the meeting, individuals should use extra caution in Tickets now on sale, with crowd size to be determined crowded indoor spaces, including wearing masks and avoiding spaces with By Sam Klomhaus to take the issue up Thursday. ness owners downtown are uncom- poor ventilation. Enterprise Staff Writer “We have actual ticket sales,” cham- fortable with that, the parade could At outdoor events, people ber CEO Leslie Feigel said Tuesday. take a secondary route down B Street. should avoid gatherings that ickets for the Livingston Feigel said there are plenty of tick- The Centers for Disease Control do not readily allow for Roundup Rodeo this summer ets available, and that people are COVID-19 guidelines urge people to social distancing. Mixing are now on sale by phone and already coming in regularly to buy avoid gathering in large groups, and vaccinated and unvaccinated at the Livingston Area Cham- tickets. if they do attend a large gathering people increases the risk of ber of Commerce. The Livingston Roundup Parade, wear a mask and social distance. COVID-19 spread, according TThe Livingston Roundup Associa- which accompanies the rodeo and is Feigel said more details on the to the recommendations. tion, which puts on the rodeo, had pre- usually held July 2, will be a pared parade should be firmed up in May. “Structured events, such viously been using a waiting list for down, hometown affair this year, with The Chamber of Commerce’s regu- as spectator sports, reli- people who wanted tickets because of no paid acts, Feigel said. lar hours are 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. week- gious services, theatrical/ uncertainty regarding how many peo- Hopefully that will allow people to days. Tickets can be purchased via musical events, and auc- ple would be allowed to attend. spread out, Feigel said. cash or check at the chamber, and can tions with assigned seating, Currently, outdoor gatherings in Feigel said she’s planning on the also be reserved by calling the physically distanced are Park County are limited to 250 people, parade taking its normal route down Roundup Association at (406) 222- most safe,” the recommen- but the Board of Health is scheduled Main Street this year, but if the busi- 3199. dations state. Governor signs 3 bills restricting abortion access HELENA (AP) — Montana Gov. abortion activists. to abortion and interfere with the But at Planned Parenthood of unconstitutional and will be chal- Greg Gianforte signed three bills “It’s a promising day, a day that relationship between patients seek- Montana, which operate five of the lenged in court.” Monday restricting abortion access will go down in our state’s history ing abortions and health care pro- state’s seven clinics, 75% of abor- Another measure passed by the in the state, celebrating it as a suc- as we defend life,” Gianforte said. viders. tions are done through medication, Legislature last week would put to c e s s a f t e r s e v e r a l The new laws mark a “We have waited 48 years to see rather than surgical procedures, voters in the next statewide elec- attempts to pass similar shift in the state’s our governor in Montana sign this and medical experts say they are a tion the “Montana Born-Alive measures in previous approach to abortion regu- bill,” said Rep. Lola Sheldon-Gallo- relatively safe. Infant Protection Act.” If approved year were vetoed by for- lation, after 16 years way, the Republican who sponsored Pro-abortion activists say the law by voters, abortion providers would mer Democratic gover- under Democratic gover- the measure to ban abortions after will disproportionately harm low- be required to care for fetuses born nors. nors, who vetoed past 20 weeks of gestation. She said the income, rural and Native American alive during botched abortion pro- The bills ban abortion attempts by the Republi- Supreme Court’s landmark Roe v. residents in the state. cedures. after 20 weeks of gesta- can-controlled Legislature Wade decision — establishing a Caitlin Borgmann, executive Opponents of the measure say tion, require health care to limit access to the pro- nationwide right to abortion in 1973 director of the American Civil Lib- fetuses are not killed in the rare providers to give preg- cedure. Montana joins sev- — was misguided. erties Union of Montana, said in instances when they are born alive nant women the opportu- eral other GOP-led states The American College of Obste- January that the bills represent a during botched abortions, but nity to view an ultrasound MONTANA in passing additional tricians and Gynecologists says step toward a long-term goal to receive care and are protected before performing an LEGISLATURE restrictions on abortion fetuses are incapable of feeling make abortion completely unavail- under state and federal law. abortion, and place sever- 2021 access this year. pain until 24 weeks of gestation. able in Montana. Republican lawmakers also al restrictions on abortion Republican lawmakers Proponents of the rules limiting “These bills represent the worst attempted this year to pass a con- pills, including requiring have said the bills will pro- where and how abortion pills can be kind of government overreach — stitutional amendment to define life that they be administered in-person tect the health and safety of women administered said the pills can placing the government between as beginning at conception, in an rather than through telehealth.