{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://zinke.house.gov/media/press-releases/congressman-zinke-secures-nearly-six-million-grants-northwest-montana", "Congressman Zinke Secures Nearly Six Million in Grants to Northwest Montana Community Projects", "2024-04-09", "2024", "2024-04", "Republican", "House", "MT", "Ryan K. Zinke", "Z000018", "zinke.house.gov", "zinke", "https://zinke.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "Funding provides more than $3 million toward emergency services and $3 million toward infrastructure\n\nKALISPELL, MT \u2013Yesterday, Congressman Ryan Zinke joined stakeholders from Lake, Glacier and Flathead Counties and Kalispell City Officials for ceremonial check presentations to celebrate the nearly $6 million in grant funding to support five separate public safety and infrastructure projects.\n\n\u201cProjects like this take the government back down to its most basic role: protecting our people and providing sound infrastructure,\u201d said Rep. Zinke. \u201cWith the rate of growth we\u2019re seeing across western Montana, I am focused on shoring up our roads, bridges, safety systems and emergency services. Most importantly, getting our county sheriffs the resources they need as the effects of the border crisis reach us here in Montana.\u201d\n\nOn the Flathead County Project:\n\n$1,315,000 for the Flathead County Emergency Service Radio Tower\n\nTo improve coverage and higher quality transmission for law enforcement radio traffic, Flathead Co. requested funding for two 800 MHz Simulcast Remote sites with 4 FDMA trunked channels and appropriate RF plumbing and antenna systems to Flathead County 911\u2019s Public Safety Radio System. Each site will utilize a GTR ESS 6-pack rack connected to one TX antenna, one RX antenna and a Tower Top Amplifier (TTA).\n\nPam Holmquist, Flathead County Commissioner said, \u201cGratitude knows no bounds for Congressman Ryan Zinke's unwavering dedication in securing crucial funding for our 911 dispatchers' technology upgrades. His tireless effort empowered our first responders with the tools they need to save lives efficiently and effectively. Thank you, Ryan, for prioritizing public safety and ensuring our communities remain safe and resilient.\u201d\n\nOn the Lake County Project:\n\n$300,000 - Law Enforcement Vehicles and Security Upgrade Project\n\nThe Lake County facility currently maintains felony authority over both Indian and Non-Indian offenders throughout the County, as well as misdemeanor authority for non-Indian offenders. Lake County is feeling the brunt of the opioid crisis \u2013 particularly with the abundance of fentanyl trafficking along highway 93, the main artery running north to south across the county. Lake County's detention facility is severely under-sized and over-crowded with a substantial, and growing, number of drug-related offenses. This requires both additional pre-detention screening and an increased need to move prisoners to other facilities in the state due to the lack of capacity. The requested funds will be allocated to procure: a) two fully-outfitted police cruisers and b) one Full Body Security Scanning System.\n\nOn the Glacier County Projects\n\n$500,000 - 911 Center and Radio Equipment for law enforcement\n\nThe Glacier County Sheriff\u2019s Office and Detention Center works with federal, Tribal, state, and local law enforcement agencies in the area. They hold Federal detainees as well as detainees from surrounding towns. The Sheriff\u2019s Office works daily with Blackfeet Tribal Law Enforcement Services to provide Law Enforcement for the County and the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, which recently declared a State of Emergency due to the worsening fentanyl crisis. The current 911 emergency system for the region is powered by personal computers and borrowed equipment. Vehicle and handheld radios used by the Sheriff\u2019s Office are nearly twenty years old and outdated. The requested funds are planned to be allocated to: 2 Dispatch Center consoles, Base Radios, 20 Vehicle and 26 Handheld radios.\n\n$410,000 - Patrol Vehicles and detainee safety enhancements for law enforcement\n\nThe Glacier County Sheriff\u2019s Office and Detention Center works with federal, Tribal, state, and local law enforcement agencies in the area. They hold Federal detainees as well as detainees from the City of Cut Bank. The Sheriff\u2019s Office works daily with Blackfeet Tribal Law Enforcement Services to provide Law Enforcement for the County and the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, which recently declared a State of Emergency due to the worsening fentanyl crisis. At the detention center, aging and faulty electronic lock technology has forced the use of physical keys and has negatively impacted response time to detainee medical emergencies. At the county level, the Sheriff\u2019s office has been forced to patrol the 3,037 square mile jurisdiction with aging vehicles over rough terrain. The requested funds are planned to be allocated to: Electronic Security Door System, and Police-equipped 4x4 patrol cruisers.\n\nTom Seifert, Glacier County Undersheriff said, \u201cI just want to take a little time to express my gratitude to Congressman Ryan Zinke. I have worked as a Law Enforcement Officer for Glacier County for 22 years. In those 22 years, I cannot remember a time when we had a representative show up, listen to our needs and do their best to help us. Usually people pass through, make promises and leave. It\u2019s fantastic to know we have a representative working for our state who actually wants to help. I can\u2019t express my gratitude enough. In my opinion, the needs of Montana\u2019s people should be first and foremost on the minds of our representatives. With Ryan Zinke, that certainly seems to be the case. It\u2019s been a pleasure working with Congressman Ryan Zinke and I hope to continue working on the needs of our people with you guys long into the future.\"\n\nOn the City of Kalispell Project:\n\n$3,315,000 for the Kalispell Two Mile Drainage Improvement Project\n\nAccording to city officials, this project extends stormwater infrastructure, reconstructs the road, and adds a sidewalk to connect existing infrastructure. This section of roadway was initially built as a county road. With housing developments extending beyond and annexing into the municipal limits, this section has yet to be improved, creating challenges in stormwater treatment and conveyance and pedestrian pathway travel from multi-family housing sections into the areas of developed infrastructure.\n\nMark Johnson, Kalispell Mayor said, \u201cI am more than thankful for the continued assistance we receive from Congressman Zinke in Kalispell. The allocation of Department of Transportation funds in the funding bill will improve drainage infrastructure and access and pedestrian safety on a section of Two Mile Drive. The growth we have seen over the past 4 years has strained our limited resources and having someone like Congressman Zinke in our corner has been a godsend.\u201d\n\nAdditional photos from the check presentation in Kalispell can be downloaded here.\n\nAll projects made their requests to Zinke\u2019s office through the U.S. House of Representatives Community Project Funding policy which allows Members of the House to propose up to 15 local projects to receive funding from eligible grant programs. All projects must meet the published grant requirements and pass a series of legislative hurdles. Both projects were approved by the House Appropriations Committee, of which Zinke is a member, the full House of Representatives and included in the joint funding package approved by the House and Senate and signed by the President. A full list of Zinke\u2019s projects that were funded can be found here.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-07T20:47:55Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://zinke.house.gov/media/press-releases/congressman-zinke-secures-nearly-six-million-grants-northwest-montana"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.5313378535211086, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}