Montana State came into Saturday’s Week 0 matchup with New Mexico as a 13 1/2-point favorite despite being an FCS program traveling to play an FBS school. The Lobos may have beaten the spread, but the Bobcats made the oddsmakers look smart by going to Albuquerque and getting a 35–31 win

Scottre Humphrey ran four yards for the winning score with 10 seconds remaining, finishing off an 89-yard drive in 11 plays. Tommy Mellott’s 37-yard pass to Lonyatta Alexander Jr. was the big play of the drive, getting Montana St. to the New Mexico 26-yard line.

Montana St. coach Brent Vigen earned his first win over an FBS program with Saturday’s victory. He’s in his fourth season leading the Bobcats, who went 8-4 last year and begin the campaign ranked No. 4 in FCS.

The Bobcats rallied from a 31-14 fourth-quarter deficit, outscoring the Lobos 21-0 in the final frame. But a comeback win was within reach when Adam Jones ran 93 yards for a touchdown with 4:35 left in the game, pulling Montana State to within 31-28.

On the following possession, Montana St. forced New Mexico to punt from its own 37-yard line, setting up the opportunity for a tying — or winning — drive.

Mellott passed for 205 yards, completing 21 of 32 passes. But the Bobcats dominated in the running game with Jones rushing for 167 yards and a touchdown, followed by Humphrey’s 140 yards and a score.

For a coach that prides himself on toughness, that kind of defensive effort had to frustrate Bronco Mendenhall, kicking off his first season at New Mexico, which went 4-8 last year. However, the Lobos did score two defensive touchdowns, which may encourage the veteran coach.

New Mexico QB Devon Dampier threw for 173 yards and a touchdown, completing 19-of-27 passes. He also ran 35 yards and a score. Eli Sanders led the Lobos in rushing with 87 yards, while Luke Wysong added 95 yards receiving.

Next week, Montana St. travels to Utah Tech, which went 2-9 in the United Athletic Conference last year. New Mexico goes to No. 21 Arizona for a Week 1 matchup with the Wildcats, coming off a 10–3 season.

BILLINGS — The Montana Renewable Energy Association (MREA)works every day to ensure that the state is as clean and sustainable as can be. That’s why this Saturday, they hosted their annual clean energy fair to help reach out to the public, to inform them on some of these organizations that are working to make Montana a cleaner, and greener state.

2024 marks 13 years of the Clean Energy Fair.

“Who would have thought Billings would lead sustainability within the state of Montana,” says Glenn Foy.

Foy works with the City of Billings, as the Chair for the Energy and Conservation Commission.

Mack Carmack, MTN News

What seems like a fun Saturday activity, is actually about education, informing the public on some of the special things Montana is doing to be more sustainable.

“I think renewable energy as a resource is becoming a mainstay, definitely nation-wide, but we’re certainly seeing that in Montana. So, again, we want to empower people with the tools to make the right choice for them,” says Makenna Sellers, the Executive Director of the MREA.

The MREA hosts the fair each year, along with vendors from different local organizations and the City of Billings.

Mack Carmack, MTN News

This is the second year that the fair has been in Billings, allowing the city to introduce some of their initiatives and plans to the public.

“I like that we’re bringing that diversity to the state and providing a good, diverse energy mix for the state of Montana,” says Sellers.

This year, the City of Billings showed off some of their new strategies to be sustainable and save money.

Their “Methane Capture” plan has already earned the city five million dollars.

“So, it’s an excellent example of the city having sustainable footprint, as well as saving money,” said Foy.

Mack Carmack, MTN News

The plan is to capture the methane that comes from Billings landfills, and recycle it for trash trucks to run on.

“What’s more important is that, as part of that relationship, the city received almost five million dollars in terms of royalties associated with that effort from MDU (Montana-Dakota Utilities,” according to Foy.

The city also has another plan to use the West End of he city to drain water uphill. Currently, water is being pumped uphill, which uses a lot of energy.

Foy said, “There were so many great things that were ongoing in the city, relative to sustainability.”

The fair gave residents the opportunity to learn about some of the city’s plan for efficiency (an electric school bus, solar panels in schools), but also ways to make their lives more energy costly, like a compost pile or how to electrify homes at an affordable rate.

“If they want to integrate renewables to their house or to their business, or just looking on more ways to save electricity, come up with some ways to see efficiency measures, we want to empower people with ways to get connected, to make that happen,” said Sellers.

Mack Carmack, MTN News

Two major fires are threatening southeast Montana.

The Barber Draw fire sparked Wednesday just northwest of the Tongue River Reservoir and is currently at 8,000 acres in size.

The Remington fire first began in Wyoming but crossed the Montana, Wyoming border Thursday around 6 pm. As of 5:15 p.m. Friday, the fire has burned 128,771 acres. Pre-evacuation orders are still in place for the area south of Ashland to the Rosebud County Line.

The fire has crossed into three different counties: Powder River, Big Horn, and the southern end of Rosebud.

Keith Gerber is the operations chief with Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation and said they were originally at Tongue Reservoir for the Barber Draw fire, but the Remington fire quickly took precedent.

“We have close to 120 resources up there on the line for the Barber Draw fire, from smoke jumpers to contract engines, hand crews, dozers, blades,” said Gerber. “As of now, we’re setting up camp to support both the Barber Draw incident, our original team assignment, and potentially some operational support logistics for the Remington fire.”

Photo Gallery: Remington fire burns through Wyoming and Montana

The cause of the fire was determined to be lightning due to recent storms.

“Several recent rounds of moisture have come across Montana and thrown down some very abundant lightning with rain,” said Gerber.

As the fire grows, things are not looking positive for their efforts due to hot temperatures and high winds forecasted for Saturday.

“As large as this fire is, it’s not going to go out tomorrow. We’re going to have to get boots on the ground and folks around the perimeter of the fire to make sure it’s not going to move anywhere,” said Gerber.

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The fires have affected many in the area, including the Tongue River Reservoir Marina. This is the third time they had to order evacuations this summer.

“Being our third evacuation now, the worst part of this is the rentals, because a large part of our sales comes from boat rentals and days like today when the boat ramp is closed. We’re talking a significant amount of money that we have to bring back and missed sales as well,” said Ryan Bogers, the marina’s owner.

Bogers said this has significantly impacted their business, especially when they only have 10 days of their season left. They were hoping to be able to open back up on Friday, but due to the increasing Remington fire, that was not possible.

“It’s definitely concerning, especially when you drive and see black spots along the highway,” said Bogers.

The owner even assisted the fire crews on Thursday fighting fires, who had camps set along the reservoir with multiple aircraft pulling water out of the river.

“Right now, we’re just helping the fire crews out the best we can and let them do what they need to do,” said Bogers.

Fire season has taken a toll for many, and as the fire continues to expand, the future of the season is uncertain.

“It’s going to get worse before it gets better,” said Bogers.

Additional reporting from Mack Carmack