The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to block an emissions rule that requires Colstrip upgrades. The federal regulation has major implications for the continued operation of Montana’s largest coal-fired power plant requiring hundreds of millions of dollars to meet a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 2028 compliance deadline.
Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen is facing a professional misconduct trial this week and Monday turned to the Montana Supreme Court to make his case about delaying the upcoming proceedings. He is accused of violating the professional code of conduct to the point of attempting to undermine public confidence in the courts.
With absentee ballots set to go out to voters in Montana by the end of this week Monica Tranel’s campaign for Congress and Democrats have had record-breaking fundraising as she tries to unseat incumbent Republican Representative Ryan Zinke. The nonpartisan Cook Political Report has moved the 1st Congressional District from “Likely Republican” to “Lean Republican” saying Tranel has made up ground against Zinke.
A court hearing in Glasgow held Monday will determine the fate of satellite voting on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation after members of the Fort Peck Tribes said a lack of satellite election offices on the reservation was causing voter suppression. A judge will decide if the Secretary of State along with Valley and Roosevelt County failed to provide services to voters. The lawsuit would force them to create satellite election offices in Frazer and Poplar to help ease the burden of travel.
The Montana Department of Commerce has published an application for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Pathways to Removing Obstacles to Housing program. In partnership with the Montana League of Cities and Towns the housing grant program aims to reduce barriers to affordable housing production by helping communities address infrastructure challenges and land use regulations.
Each year smoke-filled skies become a part of Montana’s summer and fall caused by wildfires and currently much of the haze is being caused by the West Mountain Complex Fire in Idaho burning just across our southern border. It is a combination of three separate fires in the Boise National Forest and crews are working to gain control of the Goat Fire the Snag Fire and the Dollar Fire.
Former Montana Public Service Commission member Roger Koopman has settled a four-year-old lawsuit against the PSC and four of its employees. He alleged commissioners and PSC staffers defamed him and invaded his and his family’s privacy and was seeking $2.5 million in damages.
U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced Montana’s Gardiner Park County Water District will be awarded a $162,000 grant. This funding will replace over 600 feet of water main pipes destroyed by the Yellowstone River flooding in June 2022. The new larger pipes will enhance the community’s water infrastructure making it more resilient against future severe weather events.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey an earthquake impacted southwestern Montana very early Monday morning. The epicenter was about 7 1/2 miles east of Dillon and the quake’s depth was just over 8 miles below the surface.
The Beaverhead Deer Lodge National Forest is looking for input on a proposal from Southern Montana Telephone to install a fiber optic line on the Wisdom Ranger District. The project is needed to respond to permit requests for infrastructure improvements funded wholly or partially by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
