This story was originally published by the Montana Free Press .

A pitch to build a new state psychiatric facility in Montana’s largest city, floated by the administration of Gov. Greg Gianforte but previously criticized by Billings officials, may not be entirely dead yet.

After a political fracas broke out this summer between local elected officials and Gov. Greg Gianforte’s administration, the project appeared to have stalled. In recent weeks, though, Billings-area mental health advocates and legislators have formed a working group aimed at salvaging the community buy-in necessary for the new institution to move forward.

Their message to the Gianforte administration — which is asking local leaders in Eastern Montana to volunteer their communities as a site for a state-run, 32-bed fac

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