Montana

Storm of Smoke Hits Montana

Published

1 year ago

September 10, 2024

An AIR QUALITY ALERT is in effect for parts of central and western Montana.

Wildfire smoke is having an extreme impact on the air quality across Big Sky Country with a lot of Montana facing unhealthy conditions being outside. This is the worst air quality of this wildfire and summer season. Some places in southwest Montana including the Bitterroot and the Helena Valleys had “very unhealthy” air at times on Monday morning. Hamilton even had “hazardous” air quality. In these conditions, everyone should avoid being outside for long. This is not good weather conditions to hike or run or do things that require physical exertion outside. Recent hot weather allowed wildfires to grow across southwest Montana, Idaho and Oregon. The wind direction is carrying the smoke right across Montana resulting in the poor air. Changes are coming though that will result in better air quality. Tuesday will be cooler with less wind. Highs will be in the 70s to low 80s. The air quality will improve somewhat across northern Montana as the flow switches around to the north. The southern and western parts of the state will continue to have “unhealthy” air at times. A few isolated thunderstorms will pop Tuesday evening. A larger storm will begin moving into the state on Wednesday with mostly cloudy skies and scattered showers and thunderstorms. Highs will be in the 80s east, 70s central and west. Low pressure will move across the state from Wednesday night into Friday. Thursday will be mostly cloudy or overcast with widespread showers, thunderstorms and rain. Highs will be in the 50s and 60s west, 70s east. Rain and mountain snow will fall on most of the state’s wildfires. Rain will also fall on Idaho and Oregon fires as well. This along with cooler temperatures will slow the fire activity and thus the smoke output. These conditions will also be more advantageous for firefighters to be more productive in their efforts. Areas of rain will continue Thursday night into Friday. Some locations in western Montana could see between 1-2″ of rain! Showers will continue on Friday before the storm moves away. Air quality will improve significantly through Thursday into Friday. Friday will be stronger wind as well with highs in the 60s. This weekend will be partly cloudy with cleaner air and highs in the 70s to around 80. Looking farther down the road, several storms are likely through the end of summer and the end of September. There will be multiple opportunities for rain and snow on the wildfires. Conditions will be improving and fire/smoke season will be getting closer to its end thankfully.

Have a nice day,
Curtis Grevenitz
Chief Meteorologist

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Montana

Apparent AI Glitch in Filing by Montana Public Defender, Recent Congressional Candidate

Published

59 minutes ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

Apparent AI Glitch in Filing by Montana Public Defender, Recent Congressional Candidate

Everyone makes mistakes, even experienced professionals; a good reminder for the rest of us to learn from those mistakes. The motion in State v. Stroup starts off well in its initial pages (no case law hallucinations), but is then followed by several pages of two other motions, which I don’t think the lawyer was planning to file, and which appear to have been AI-generated: It begins with the “Below is concise motion language you can drop into …” language quoted above.

Griffen Smith (Missoulian) reported on the story, and included the prosecutor’s motion to strike that filing, on the grounds that it violates a local rule (3(G)) requiring disclosure of the use of generative AI:

The document does not include a generative artificial intelligence disclosure as required. However, page 7 begins as follows: “Below is concise motion language you can drop into a ‘Motion to Admit Mental-Disease Evidence and for Related Instructions’ keyed to 45-6-204, 45-6-201, and 4614-102. Adjust headings/captions to your local practice.” Page 10 states “Below is a full motion you can paste into your pleading, then adjust names, dates, and styles to fit local practice.” These pages also include several apparent hyperlinks to “ppl-ai-file-upload.s3.amazonaws,” “ppl-ai-fileupload.s3.amazonaws+1,” and others. The document includes what appears to be an attempt at a second case caption on page 12. It is not plausible on its face that any source other than generative AI would have created such language for a filed version of a brief….

There’s more in that filing, but here’s one passage:

While generative AI can be a useful tool for some purposes and may have greater application in the future, when used improperly, and without meaningful review, it can ultimately damage both the perception and the reality of the profession. One assumes that Mr. Stroup has had, or will at some point have, an opportunity to review the filing made on his behalf. What impression could a review of pgs. 12-19 leave upon a defendant who struggles with paranoia and delusional thinking? While AI could theoretically one day become a replacement for portions of staff of experienced attorneys, it is readily apparent that this day has not yet arrived.

The Missoulan article includes this response:

In a Wednesday interview, Office of Public Defender Division Administrator Brian Smith told the Missoulian the AI-generated language was inadvertently included in an unrelated filing. And he criticized the county attorney’s office for filing a “four-page diatribe about the dangers of AI” instead of working with the defense to correct her mistake.
“That’s not helping the client or the case,” Smith said, “and all you are doing is trying to throw a professional colleague under the bus.”

As I mentioned, the lawyer involved seems quite experienced, and ran for the Montana Public Service Commission in 2020 (getting nearly 48% of the vote) and for the House of Representatives in Montana’s first district in 2022 (getting over 46% of the vote) and in 2024 (getting over 44%). “Его пример другим наука,” Pushkin wrote in Eugene Onegin—”May his example profit others,” in the Falen translation.

Thanks to Matthew Monforton for the pointer.

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Montana

Your guide to local sports events, plus what’s on TV

Published

13 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

Your guide to local sports events, plus what’s on TV

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Montana

Montana Department of Agriculture focusing on innovation in 2026

Published

1 day ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Montana Department of Agriculture focusing on innovation in 2026

HELENA — You probably have goals and plans for 2026—the Montana Department of Agriculture does too.

“We’re really focusing on innovative agricultural practices,” Montana Department of Agriculture director Jillien Streit said.

It’s no secret that agriculture—farming and ranching—is not easy. There are long days, planning, monitoring crops and livestock, and other challenges beyond farmers’ and ranchers’ control.

(WATCH: Montana Department of Agriculture focusing on innovation in 2026)

Montana Department of Agriculture focusing on innovation in 2026

“We have very low commodity prices across the board,” Streit said. “We still have very high input prices across the board, and we have really high prices when it comes to our equipment, and so, it’s a really tough year.”

But innovation, including new practices, partnerships and technology use, can help navigate some of those challenges.

“We can’t make more time and we can’t make more land, so we need to start putting together innovative practices that help us maximize what our time and land can do,” Streit said.

Practices range from using technology like autonomous tractors and virtual fencing—allowing rangers to contain and move cattle right from their phones—to regenerative farming and ranching.

“It is bringing cattle back into farming operations to be able to work with cover cropping practices to invigorate the soil for new soil health benefits,” Streit said.

The Montana Department of Agriculture is working to help producers learn, share, and collaborate on new ideas to work in their operations.

The department will share stories of practices that work from farms and ranches across the state. Also, within the next year or so, Streit said the department is hoping to roll out technology to help producers collaborate.

“(It’s) providing a communication platform where people can get together and really help each other out by utilizing each other’s assets,” she said.

While not easy, agriculture is still one of Montana’s largest industries, and Streit said innovating and sharing ideas across the state can keep it going long into the future.

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