Montana
Montana Republicans urge state high court to reverse landmark youth climate ruling
HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Republican officials in Montana will ask the state Supreme Court on Wednesday to overturn a landmark climate ruling that says regulators must consider global warming emissions when approving oil, gas and coal projects.
Last year’s lower court ruling — following an unprecedented trial in a lawsuit brought by young environmentalists — was considered a breakthrough in attempts to use courts to leverage policies addressing climate change.
Yet for it to set a lasting legal precedent, it must be upheld by the state’s high court. That could nudge fossil fuel-friendly Montana to adopt policies more protective to the environment and also influence future climate change cases in other states such as Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and New York, which like Montana have state constitutional protections for the environment.
A reversal by the high court would add to a long list of defeats for attorneys representing youths in climate cases.
“The bottom line is whatever the state Supreme Court decides, it’s more likely to be important than the trial court ruling,” said Syracuse University professor David Driesen, an expert on environmental law.
Officials in Hawaii who faced a similar lawsuit from young environmentalists recently agreed to a settlement that includes an ambitious requirement to decarbonize the state’s transportation system over the next 21 years. And in April, Europe’s highest human rights court ruled that countries must better protect their people from the consequences of climate change, siding with a group of older Swiss women against their government in a ruling with potential implications across the continent.
Those cases and the Montana lawsuit have resulted in a small number of rulings establishing a government duty to protect citizens from climate change. Driesen said the effects of the litigation on energy policies have been largely indirect, but as the rulings accumulate, it could increase political pressure on energy companies to invest in cleaner technologies.
The Montana ruling, which has yielded little practical impact to date, has been criticized by Republicans who control the state’s legislative and executive branches.
“The District Court gave the plaintiffs their show trial last June, but it is now time for the State Supreme Court to do its job and overturn the flawed decision that followed,” said Chase Scheuer, press secretary for state Attorney General Austin Knudsen. Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte also pressed for a reversal.
Attorneys for the state argue that the volume of greenhouse gasses released from Montana fossil fuel projects is insignificant compared with global emissions and reducing them would have no meaningful effect on the climate.
The young plaintiffs in the case testified at trial that their lives have been profoundly affected by climate change: that worsening wildfires foul the air they breathe, while decreased snowpack and drought deplete rivers that sustain farming, fish, wildlife and recreation.
Environmental activists have cited the district court ruling in lawsuits challenging permits for a natural gas power plant, an oil refinery, a pipeline and a coal mine, court records show.
However, those lawsuits haven’t yet been served on state officials as the activists wait for the high court to weigh in, said Derf Johnson of the Montana Environmental Information Center, a plaintiff in the cases.
In March, regulators started looking at climate-changing greenhouse gas emissions in some cases. But environmentalists complain that the reviews are merely cursory and don’t account for the widespread damage being done by climate change.
“The state needs to start evaluating the individual projects. It’s where the rubber hits the road,” Johnson said.
District Court Judge Kathy Seeley said in her August 2023 ruling that it would be up to the Legislature to determine how to bring policies into compliance, dimming the chances for prompt changes in what is a fossil fuel-friendly state.
Numerous individuals and organizations filed briefs in support of the plaintiffs ahead of Wednesday’s oral arguments, including Native American tribes, health experts, outdoor recreation businesses and athletes such as acclaimed mountaineer Conrad Anker.
Republican legislative leaders, oil and gas interests, natural resource developers, the Montana Chamber of Commerce and the state’s largest utility, NorthWestern Energy, are supporting the state. NorthWestern is building a gas-fired power plant along the Yellowstone River near Billings that has figured prominently in the dispute over greenhouse gas emissions.
Carbon dioxide, which is released when fossil fuels are burned, traps heat in the atmosphere and is largely responsible for the warming of the climate.
June brought record warm global temperatures for the 13th straight month and also was the 12th straight month that was 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than pre-industrial times, according to European climate service Copernicus.
Montana’s Constitution requires agencies to “maintain and improve” a clean environment. A law signed by Gianforte last year said environmental reviews may not consider climate impacts unless the federal government makes carbon dioxide a regulated pollutant.
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Brown reported from Billings.
BOZEMAN: A 41-year-old Montana man was charged with murder Friday in a brutal slaying at a remote campsite that had been initially reported as a possible bear mauling by people who found the victim’s body.
The suspect allegedly told authorities that he arrived at the campsite northeast of Big Sky, Montana, on Oct 10 intending to stay the night but found it occupied by 35-year-old Dustin Kjersem.
Kjersem, who didn’t know the suspect, welcomed him to the campsite and offered him a beer, according to Gallatin County Sheriff Dan Springer.
But sometime later the suspect driven by an unknown motive hit Kjersem with a piece of wood, stabbed him in the neck with a screwdriver and hit him with an axe, Springer said.
The victim’s girlfriend and another friend found his body Oct 12 and reported it as a possible bear attack. It turned into a homicide investigation after wildlife agents found no sign of a bear in the area.
After DNA found on a beer can from the campsite was matched with the suspect’s DNA, he was tracked down this week and arrested in Butte, Montana, Springer said.
He was being held on $1.5 million bail, according to sheriff’s department records.
Montana Lottery players lined up for a chance to win $1 million on Friday morning.
The lottery announced that ticket sales for the annual Montana Millionaire drawing would start at 5:30 a.m on Nov. 1.
The lottery game had 500,000 tickets available for purchase. Within three hours, tickets were sold out.
“The demand for Montana Millionaire this year has been absolutely incredible,” Bob Brown, the director of the Montana Lottery, said in a statement. “We knew tickets would sell fast, but under a 3-hour sellout for 500,000 tickets is truly unprecedented.”
On the lottery’s Instagram page, players are seen in long lines for a chance to try their luck at the million-dollar game. Only four people can win the grand prize.
To have a chance at winning a prize, interested players paid $20 to play the game, the lottery said.
“The Montana Millionaire lottery is back, and this year is the biggest yet!” Three Amigos Mexican Restaurant & Cantina, a retailer for the Montana Millionaire tickets, wrote in a Facebook post. “With 500,000 tickets up for grabs and FOUR massive $1 million grand prizes, 2024 could be your lucky year.”
Montana Millionaire players could also win ‘Quarter Million Monday’
Players will also have a chance at winning $250,000 in the “Quarter Million Monday” drawing on Dec. 2, the lottery said.
All players that purchased a ticket on Nov. 1 are eligible for the “Quarter Million Monday” drawing on Dec. 2 and the “Grand Prize” drawing on Dec. 26, the lottery said.
Montana Millionaire game sold out quickly in 2023
The Montana Lottery said that tickets for the 2023 game sold out in five hours.
In 2024, the lottery added 120,000 more tickets for players to purchase.
What are the odds of winning Montana Millionaire?
The overall odds of winning a prize in Montana Millionaire are 1 in 73.5, the lottery said.
Here is a table that shows the odds of winning for each drawing.
Can’t see the table? Click here to view it.
The lottery said that the odds for the “Quarter Million Monday” drawing Prize will depend on how many tickets are sold before the drawing deadline.
How to play Montana Millionaire
To play Montana Millionaire you must purchase a $20 ticket. Tickets can be purchased at any Montana Lottery retailer (i.e. convenience stores, bars/taverns, grocery stores, and casinos), the lottery said. In addition, players can purchase tickets at all of the lottery’s self-service terminals throughout the state.
Unlike traditional lottery games, Montana Millionaire does not have a play slip or numbers for players to choose, the lottery explains. Instead, every player that buys a ticket will be given a number that ranges from 000001 to 500000.
The deadline for the limited-ticket game was originally set for Dec. 25 at midnight, the lottery said. However, once tickets are sold out they are gone.
Ahjané Forbes is a reporter on the National Trending Team at USA TODAY. Ahjané covers breaking news, car recalls, crime, food recalls, health, lottery, and public policy stories. Email her at aforbes@gannett.com. Follow her on Instagram, Threads and X (Twitter) @forbesfineest.
A Montana man found slain in his tent this month welcomed the suspect in his killing, a stranger, to his campsite and offered him a beer, the Gallatin County sheriff said Thursday.
Daren Christopher Abbey, 41, was arrested this week and charged with deliberate homicide in the killing of Dustin Kjersem, 35, whose body was found in his tent near Big Sky on Oct. 12, officials said.
It was a “chance encounter” at the campsite on the night of Oct. 10, and Abbey did not know Kjersem, Sheriff Dan Springer said at a news conference.
Abbey had planned to camp at the site, but when he arrived that night he found Kjersem was already there, with a wall tent, beds and a stove, Springer said.
Abbey in a confession to detectives, “stated Dustin welcomed him to the campsite and offered him a beer,” Springer said.
“At some point, this individual struck Dustin Kjersem with a piece of solid wood, stabbed him in the neck with a screwdriver and ultimately hit him with the ax,” Springer said. “The motives of this attack are still unknown.”
The state crime lab matched DNA from a beer can found in the tent to Abbey, Springer said.
Abbey was arrested Saturday in Butte, around 80 miles northwest of Big Sky. He was interviewed by sheriff’s detectives and Montana Justice Department investigators Tuesday and confessed to the killing, Springer said.
Kjersem planned to spend the weekend at the campsite with his girlfriend. He set up the camp on Oct. 10, a Thursday, and he planned to pick his girlfriend up from work the next night, Springer said.
Kjersem never arrived. The girlfriend and a friend drove to the campsite on Oct. 12, a Saturday, and found Kjersem dead in the tent, Springer said.
Kjersem’s injuries were such that the person who reported discovering his body suspected he had been attacked by a bear, the sheriff’s office has said. An autopsy confirmed it was homicide, not an animal attack.
Abbey had been living in a couple of different areas but most recently had a residence in Basin, Montana, a small community in the mountains northeast of Butte, Springer said. He had been employed in the Big Sky area at various times, Springer said.
Abbey was arrested on a probation violation in Butte but is charged with deliberate homicide in Kjersem’s death, the sheriff’s office said.
State Corrections Department records show Abbey was on conditional release after a prison sentence for a 2020 repeat driving under the influence case.
Abbey was being held in custody Thursday night without bond, jail records show. It was not immediately clear whether he had an attorney who could speak on his behalf.
The investigation could take months more. Springer said detectives will work to put together more pieces of what occurred, including what motive Abbey might have had.
“We have a bit of his story, but we don’t really know what the true story is,” Springer said. “We have a story — we just don’t know if it’s accurate.”
Springer said that after he killed Kjersem, Abbey removed items he may have touched or which could connect him to the crime, including a cooler and the ax. He returned the next night and took more items, Springer said.
The sheriff’s office previously said an ax, a Yeti cooler, a shotgun and a revolver were missing from the campsite.
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