Checks mates: Zinke presents $1M+ to Gallatin, Beaverhead county sheriffs

Republican Montana U.S. Congressman Ryan Zinke touted $1,107,000 in federal funding for Gallatin and Beaverhead County law enforcement during a Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office visit on Friday.

The visit occurred two weeks after Zinke announced his retirement from Congress at the end of 2026 due to health concerns, endorsing conservative firebrand radio talkshow host Aaron Flint as his successor.

“I was going to run another term but I’ve got to get repaired,” Zinke said, referencing impending surgeries from his time as a Navy SEAL.

Zinke invoked similarities with Flint, an Army combat veteran.

“(Flint is) a public-lands supporter, (but as) a radio talk show host, (he is dealing with) the local issues every day,” Zinke said.

Zinke added the funding into HR 6938, the Commerce, Justice, Science; Energy and Water Development; and Interior and Environment Appropriations Act. Signed into law by President Donald Trump on Jan. 23, the legislation includes more than $8 million in federal funding for five key Community Funding Projects across the state, supporting water infrastructure improvements and bolstering law enforcement resources in western Montana counties, per Zinke staff.

“The biggest thing is if you want to know what’s going on, headquarters, (Washington D.C.) is fine but you go to the front line,” Zinke said to Belgrade Police Chief Dustin Lensing, Beaverhead County Sheriff David Wendt, Gallatin County Sheriff Dan Springer and media members. “The front line are the (local) elected officials, the county commissioners, the sheriffs. If the county commissioners and if the sheriffs say it’s your priority, then it’s my priority.”

The Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office is receiving approximately $907,000. Springer said the bulk of the funding is for purchasing a “rapid DNA” testing system enabling faster and more accurate crime solving.

The system can produce results in less than two hours, allowing deputies to accurately determine whether a person of interest at the scene of a crime is in the national FBI DNA database. Invoking cases like the 2024 murder of Dustin Kjersem, Springer said “rapid DNA testing” can be a valuable a tool, reducing wait times from three days to as little as 90 minutes.

“We work hard to build relationships with our federal, state and local partners,” Springer said. “The Rapid DNA analysis equipment will benefit the entire region in locating unknown suspects who commit felony crimes. If we can compress the time frame from collecting evidence to identifying a suspect it allows our investigators more of an opportunity to catch up to the criminal before they commit another crime or destroy evidence.

“If a suspect’s DNA is already in the system, we will be able to match evidence found at a scene to that individual within 90 minutes rather than hours, days, or months.”

The Belgrade Police Department is receiving $250,000 for two new patrol vehicles. The Beaverhead County Sheriff’s Office gets $200,000, also slated to fund purchasing two new vehicles.