Montana
Montana Supreme Court hears arguments on permit for Laurel power plant
HELENA — Wednesday in Helena, advocates made their case on whether the state correctly granted NorthWestern Energy a permit for their planned power plant near Laurel.
The Montana Supreme Court met before a full audience Wednesday morning, to hear oral arguments in a case that centers on whether the Montana Department of Environmental Quality did sufficient environmental analysis when approving an air quality permit for the Yellowstone County Generation Station – a 175-megawatt natural-gas-fired plant.
Jonathon Ambarian
Last year, a state district judge in Billings vacated the permit. It came after environmental groups challenged DEQ’s decision, saying the agency hadn’t taken the required “hard look” at issues like the plant’s greenhouse gas emissions and the impact of its lighting and noise on nearby residents.
During Wednesday’s arguments, DEQ and NorthWestern defended the permitting decision and called on the Supreme Court to reverse the district court ruling.
Shannon Heim, NorthWestern’s general counsel and vice president of federal government affairs, said greenhouse gases aren’t regulated the same way as other pollutants, so DEQ didn’t have authority to regulate them. Therefore, she argued the permit can’t be vacated simply because the department didn’t review their impacts.
“The DEQ could not, in the exercise of its lawful authority, deny the permit based on greenhouse gas emissions, because there are no legal standards for greenhouse gas emissions,” she said.
Jonathon Ambarian
Jenny Harbine, an attorney for Earthjustice, represented the plaintiffs – Montana Environmental Information Center and the Sierra Club. She argued DEQ is required to look more broadly at the possible impacts of a project, and that the emissions from the Laurel plant had to be considered in the context of the potential effects of climate change in Montana.
“Plaintiffs here are not criticizing the analysis that DEQ did do,” she said. “Our point is that there’s analysis that DEQ omitted.”
Harbine said plaintiffs are also concerned that, because the district court put a stay on its decision and NorthWestern was able to resume construction, they could begin operations without having had the full review plaintiffs believe is necessary.
Both sides in this case noted that the issues raised here overlap with those in Held v. Montana, the prominent climate change lawsuit that is also now before the Montana Supreme Court. In Held, a state district judge ruled that a law preventing regulators from considering greenhouse gas emissions in environmental reviews was unconstitutional. The 2023 Montana Legislature passed that law in response to the judge’s decision that vacated the permit for the Laurel plant.
Jonathon Ambarian
Jeremiah Langston, an attorney for DEQ, said the department had been planning to update its review in light of that law when it was blocked. He encouraged the Supreme Court to make its decision in Held and this case at the same time or somehow tie them together.
“It would be immensely helpful to DEQ to know what laws apply to its MEPA analysis for a project,” he said.
Harbine said Held gave an example of the broad impacts of the state’s policies on climate reviews, and this case provided a specific example.
“I would just urge that whether the issue is resolved in this case or in Held – or in both, which we think is most appropriate – that it be done in a manner that prevents the constitutional infringement that would be caused when that plant begins operating and emitting greenhouse gas emissions before those emissions have been studied by DEQ,” she said.
The Supreme Court generally takes no immediate action after an oral argument, and that was again the case Wednesday.
Jonathon Ambarian
After the hearing, the conservation group Northern Plains Resource Council held a rally at the State Capitol, saying the possible impacts of the Laurel plant’s emissions need to be taken into account.
Those in attendance chanted “Clean and healthful; it’s our right!” – referring to the Montana Constitution’s guarantee of a “clean and healthful environment.”
Mary Fitzpatrick, a Northern Plains member, said people in Laurel and downwind of the plant in Billings have concerns about the potential health effects. MTN asked her what she thought would have changed if DEQ had taken a closer look at the plant’s greenhouse gas emissions.
“It’s hard to say – you know, just listening to the arguments, I got the impression that, possibly, nothing – except that we would know,” she said. “You can’t manage or change what you don’t measure.”
John Hines, NorthWestern’s vice president of supply and Montana government affairs, said the company sees the capacity of the Yellowstone County Generating Station as critical to make sure they can keep serving customers when other resources aren’t available. He said solar and wind production tends to be more unreliable during extreme weather, and that the company will be forced to pay more to purchase power on the open market if it doesn’t have a on-demand generation facility like this.
“The bottom line is we have to have enough electrons and enough gas on our system to meet our customers’ needs when it’s critical weather – and, you know, we saw that in January when it was -45,” he said. “That’s our first obligation. And none of the groups who are throwing out alternative proposals have that responsibility.”
Hines said, if YCGS had been in operation during the January cold snap, it could have saved customers about $12 million over six days. He said renewables are a significant part of NorthWestern’s portfolio, and that it’s unfair for opponents to accuse the company of building the plant for profit because they could make more profit by building the same capacity in renewable projects.
Hines said YCGS could be fully operational within the next month and a half. He said NorthWestern has taken steps to address some of the concerns neighbors have raised about lighting and noise.
“We’ve been operating Yellowstone now in a test mode for quite some time, and local people have been asking us when are we going to start the engines,” he said. “So obviously the noise issue has been abated.”
POCATELLO, Idaho — It will go down as a Forever Team, only the second in program history, the type that gets remembered by a number, by a year, by a season.
First, it was 2017, the team that won the Big Sky tournament title in Ogden, Utah, in just the program’s third year of existence, catching the fancy of Griz fans who love a winner.
Now, 2026 joins the short list, not necessarily for what it won but for how it took back a program, taking it from mediocrity to within a few plays of challenging for another tournament championship.
That journey, which had more rough patches than smooth ones early before becoming one that won’t be forgotten, came to an end Wednesday.
After rallying from a pair of four-run deficits to knock off No. 2 Northern Colorado 11-7, Montana, the No. 4 seed, fell to No. 3 Sacramento State 10-7 at the Big Sky Conference Championship.
The Hornets advance to face No. 1 Idaho State for a championship on Thursday while Montana leaves us with dueling emotions: ‘How fun was that?’ mixed with ‘How long until next season starts?’
That’s what Forever Teams do.
“The run they made throughout the course of Big Sky play and this tournament is something that will last forever,” said coach Stef Ewing, who took her program from eight wins in 2025 to 22 this season.
“It was a really special experience to be with this group and see all the things they accomplished and how many streaks and records they broke. Big Mama Bear is proud of them.”
Montana rode the right arm of Carah Sweet hard over the back half of the season, and the sophomore consistently delivered.
The Grizzlies looked again to Sweet in Pocatello, giving her the start against Weber State, then Idaho State, then Portland State, against whom she threw a complete game on Tuesday.
She got the start against Northern Colorado on Wednesday and faced four batters who went single, home run, double, home run. It wasn’t the desired outcome but it wasn’t surprising either.
The Grizzlies trailed 4-0 in the bottom of the first before they had even recorded an out.
“Carah was incredible this whole tournament. She pitched her heart out until her arm couldn’t go in a circle anymore,” said Ewing.
“We knew we were going to run her out there and see what we could get, with (Kaiana) Kong ready to go. It wasn’t a problem. We knew we could score some runs, too.”
It wasn’t that long ago that Montana fell behind at Weber State 6-0 and didn’t panic. Rather, the Grizzlies stuck to their game plan and above all else just believed. Final: Montana 11, Weber State 6.
Montana got a run back against the Bears in the top of the second on a JoJo Christiaens home run, then gave up another run in the bottom of the second to fall behind 5-1.
Anyone not in Montana’s dugout was likely thinking the same thing: uh-oh, this isn’t looking good. What was happening in the dugout was another story.
“The hitters were coming back and saying, we can hit this pitcher,” said Ewing. “The in-dugout conversations were incredible. There was no doubt we were going to get it done.
“The kids knew they were going to be fine. You just let them go do their thing and make the adjustments they need to make.”
Montana tied it with four runs in the third, on a Chloe Saxton sacrifice fly, on a Christiaens RBI double, on a two-run single by Mackenzie Bekofsky, then took the lead for good in the fourth.
Jessica Cherms, who put together Montana’s third four-hit game of the season against the Bears, tripled down the right-field line and Grace Lopez got her home with a ground-out.
It’s hard to say whether Northern Colorado was more shell-shocked by Montana’s counter-punch or the Bears’ inability to do much of anything against Kong, who replaced Sweet in the bottom of the first.
After the Bears went up 5-1, Kong allowed no hits in the third, no hits in the fourth, no hits in the fifth, no hits in the sixth. “She came in and was phenomenal,” said Ewing.
The death blow came in the top of the fifth, in the form of a three-run home run by Lopez that had Northern Colorado centerfielder KK Christie throwing her glove to the ground in frustration.
When Lopez emphatically stomped on home plate, it was the last of 10 straight runs for Montana that had the Grizzlies up 11-5.
Christie led off the bottom of the seventh with a home run and the Bears later added an RBI ground-out as Ewing went from Kong to Audri Elias to get the game’s final three outs.
It was the most runs scored by the Grizzlies against the Bears since 2017, Forever Teams finding common ground.
Lopez drove in four, the ninth time this season a Montana player has driven in as many. Christiaens had her fourth three-hit game of the season, Kong collected her sixth win.
And then there were only three left standing: Montana, Sacramento State and Idaho State, though the Bengals had the winners-bracket advantage of sitting and watching on Wednesday.
Montana’s fifth game of the tournament felt like the 10th round of a hard-fought fight. You knew the Grizzlies would keep swinging, but could they keep the fresher Hornets from doing the same thing?
“Our pitchers by that point had all thrown a lot,” said Ewing. “We were just trying to figure out who could get us some outs.”
Elias got the start and pitched herself both into and out of trouble in the bottom of the first, loading the bases with nobody out but only allowing one run, on a hit-by-pitch.
Montana scored once in the top of the first to go up 1-0, Lopez doubling, Saxton RBI singling, and left the bases loaded, as Sacramento State did in the bottom of the first.
Montana’s last lead of the game came in the top of the second, 2-1, and came in similar fashion, Lopez hitting a double, Saxton driving her in with a single.
Lopez would end her sophomore season, in which she hit .368, going 3 for 4. Saxton also would go 3 for 4 in her final game in a Montana uniform, the lone senior on this year’s team.
Montana walked four batters in the first two innings and hit another, allowing the Hornets to go up 4-1 while hitting three singles.
“The walks and hit-by-pitches were just crippling,” said Ewing. “We just gave them some runs.”
Sacramento State began pulling away from there, adding two in the fourth, one in the fifth, three in the sixth to go up 10-3.
But Forever Teams don’t just concede. Hailey Boer had a pinch-hit double and scored in the top of the sixth.
In the seventh, Bekofsky hit a two-run home run, Montana’s program-record 51st of the season. Then Brianna Gutierrez singled and Cherms doubled to left-center to bring up the top of the order.
Could they do it again? They could, almost. Lopez singled to center to drive in two but the game ended with her trying to get to third, striving to do just a little bit more, a little bit more, a little bit more.
“Love this team’s fight. They never stop playing until the final out. We made some mistakes but we just keep going. We made every swing count and every out count,” said Ewing.
Montana’s one and two hitters in the lineup had six hits. Four, five and six all had two. In between was Anna Cockhill who went 0 for 3 with three line-drive outs that Hornets will be feeling in the morning.
“They said they were going to come out here today and empty the tank, and they did,” said Ewing. “We came up short but it was a great day for Griz Softball and a great Big Sky tournament for Griz Softball.
“If some line drives fall, we could still be playing. It’s bittersweet that it’s over but an incredible run and incredible job by these kids.”
The first Forever Team, in 2017, showed what the Montana softball program is capable of. The next Forever Team rekindled that belief, with all those underclassmen carrying that torch forward.
“We talked from the beginning about changing this program,” said Ewing. “It started with these kids showing up every day and just doing it. They bought in and believed it.
“We have some great kids and some great leaders. I’m thankful for what they’ve done for this program. It hurts that it’s over but the future is bright.”
Camaree Uljua, Belgrade’s director of Public Works, said that the city will now advance to American Waterworks Association national conference in Washington D.C., but the victory comes with another valuable perk.
“We have a bit of a lighthearted rivalry with Bozeman and some of the bigger cities in the state,” Uljua said. “It’s kind of bragging rights.”
The Montana Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at May 5, 2026, results for each game:
Winning Mega Millions numbers from May 5 drawing
12-22-50-51-55, Mega Ball: 10
Check Mega Millions payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Big Sky Bonus numbers from May 5 drawing
03-06-12-18, Bonus: 11
Check Big Sky Bonus payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from May 5 drawing
14-20-23-30-55, Bonus: 02
Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
When are the Montana Lottery drawings held?
- Powerball: 8:59 p.m. MT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
- Mega Millions: 9 p.m. MT on Tuesday and Friday.
- Lucky For Life: 8:38 p.m. MT daily.
- Lotto America: 9 p.m. MT on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
- Big Sky Bonus: 7:30 p.m. MT daily.
- Powerball Double Play: 8:59 p.m. MT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
- Montana Cash: 8 p.m. MT on Wednesday and Saturday.
- Millionaire for Life: 9:15 p.m. MT daily.
Missed a draw? Peek at the past week’s winning numbers.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Great Falls Tribune editor. You can send feedback using this form.
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