Dept. of Corrections to relocate 50 incarcerated women from Boulder to Miles City

The Montana Department of Corrections intends to relocate women currently incarcerated at Boulder’s Riverside prison, which holds about 50 of the state’s 370 female prisoners, to Pine Hills Correctional Facility in Miles City, according to agency spokesperson Carolynn Stocker. A press release shared by Stocker Thursday announced that the agency planned “to explore options for the use of the 144-bed Pine Hills Correctional Facility in Miles City to potentially house adult females.” Later, in response to questions about the press release from Montana Free Press, Stocker clarified that it is the “intent of the department” to move female inmates from Riverside to Pine Hills. About 70 women are serving prison time in county jails because there is not enough space for them in a long-term facility. Stocker said the agency will reconfigure Pine Hills as part of its plan to increase the number of beds statewide from 300 to 500. The department did not provide a timeline for those changes. The department didn’t specify the cost of the renovation in the press release or in response to MTFP questions, but said it will draw funds from House Bill 833, a $250 million allocation earmarked by the 2025 Legislature for increasing the state’s correctional capacity. “Given the historic investment secured by Governor Gianforte and the Montana Legislature, we will be able to leverage our existing infrastructure to more effectively serve those in our care,” Corrections Director Eric Strauss wrote in the press release. About 250 women, the majority of the state’s female prisoners, are incarcerated at Montana Women’s Prison in Billings, according to a department dashboard. The agency is not planning to expand the state women’s prison. The roughly 35 youth offenders currently incarcerated at Pine Hills in Miles City will be transferred to Riverside in Boulder, switching places with the female inmates. The department has not established a timeline for transferring prisoners, according to Stocker. The department has ruled out building a new facility in Butte, Boulder or Hardin, which it signaled last year could be a possible use of the HB 833 funds. Montana is also struggling to house its incarcerated male population. About 600 of the state’s 3,000 incarcerated men are serving time at Tallahatchie County Correctional Facility in Tutwiler, Mississippi. Roughly another 20 are serving time in in-state county jails. LATEST STORIES Gianforte suspends PSC commissioner Brad Molnar Brad Molnar’s suspension from the Montana Public Service Commission comes after a monthslong investigation into his conduct and a multi-part lawsuit associated with the investigation. In a letter dated July 9, 2026, Gianforte wrote that Molnar “repeatedly violated the sacred trust between him and the people of Montana and has shown no remorse for it.”… Missoula County adopts temporary moratorium on data centers The interim zoning proposal introduced by county staff pauses the development of new or expanding data centers for up to a year while the county updates its regulations to mitigate potential impacts on public health, safety and natural resources. EPA inks clean-up agreement with Columbia Falls aluminum plant The agreement between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Columbia Falls Aluminum Corporation comes about a decade after the 1,300-acre industrial heart of the aluminium smelting site joined the Superfund list.