Yellowstone County commissioners appoint interim sheriff after Mike Linder retirement
Yellowstone County commissioners voted June 9 to appoint an interim sheriff after Sheriff Mike Linder’s retirement, placing temporary leadership at the Yellowstone County Sheriff’s Office.
The Yellowstone County Commission made the decision in Billings. It was an interim appointment, not a reported permanent appointment or election, and it addresses leadership of the county law-enforcement agency while a longer-term succession process remains ahead.
Commission acts after retirement
Linder’s retirement prompted the leadership transition. Commissioners appointed one interim sheriff, according to reporting published June 9 by KTVQ.
The action was a county commission vote. The approved reporting does not provide a vote total, so the public record available for this account establishes that commissioners acted but does not identify how individual commissioners voted.
The available source material also does not disclose the interim appointee’s full name or the precise duration of the interim term. The appointment should therefore not be characterized as a permanent selection of the next sheriff.
Temporary leadership for county law enforcement
The sheriff oversees county law enforcement, and the sheriff’s office serves Yellowstone County. That makes the appointment a county-government decision with direct significance for the agency’s leadership during the transition following Linder’s retirement.
The commission’s vote resolves the immediate need for an interim officeholder. It does not settle the longer-term question of who will permanently hold the office, based on the material available in the approved reporting packet.
No later permanent appointment was identified in the allocated reporting. The source material likewise does not set out a subsequent deadline or detailed procedure for choosing a permanent officeholder.
Political context acknowledged, motive not established
Commissioner Mark Morse publicly acknowledged a political dimension to the appointment, according to KTVQ’s reporting. The reporting does not establish partisan motivation for the commission’s vote, and the comment alone does not support an inference of misconduct or a finding about why commissioners acted.
For now, the verified outcome is narrower: Yellowstone County has an interim sheriff following Linder’s retirement, and the county’s longer-term succession remains a separate, unresolved stage. The June 9 action is an appointment to manage that interim period rather than a reported final decision on permanent leadership.
Sources
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