State bills providing funding for St. Mary diversion discussed

Members of the St. Mary's Rehabilitation Working Group discussed at its meeting Tuesday bills in the 2023 legislative session that would provide the project with millions of dollars.

House Bill 6 will provide $26 million to the project as a nontraditional loan, which requires repayment of interest but not principal, and House Bill 8 will provide another $26 million as a traditional loan.

Members of the group said they were extremely happy about this outcome, but the group's representative from the City of Chinook, Greg Jergeson, said he had serious concerns about the language in the bills.

The...