Two seemingly unrelated government stories this week share a common thread — the question of whether Montana's oversight structures are adequate for the decisions being made in their name. An op-ed argued that the state is rushing toward data center approvals and the NorthWestern Energy merger without sufficient scrutiny, a concern that landed harder given that the PSC commissioner most skeptical of the NorthWestern deal, Brad Molnar, was suspended this week and can no longer vote on it. Meanwhile, Yellowstone County moved to seek a legal ruling on whether voters can weigh in on data center construction at all — a sign that the oversight question is being litigated not just in op-ed pages but in county commission chambers. On the corrections side, four Montana inmates have died in Mississippi this year at an out-of-state facility, and the state is now planning to move 50 women from Boulder's Riverside prison to Miles City — decisions being made under pressure from overcrowding with legislators pressing the Department of Corrections for answers. The Federal Election Assistance Commission going dark after the Trump administration removed all its members added yet another layer to a week in which the reliability of public institutions — at every level of government — was the dominant undercurrent. For Helena residents, the practical upshot is this: some of the biggest decisions affecting Montana's energy future and its incarcerated population are being made right now, with fewer watchdogs in the room than there were a week ago.