Montana
Texas man from Montana says community coming together during flood recovery and search
A former Montana couple is back in the flood damaged community of Kerville, Texas.
The Johnsons had been visiting relatives in Montana, where they lived for about 40 years, when the floods came through that area.
“There’s trees, debris. I have not seen any vehicles or anything yet,” John Johnson said about the devastation. “I’ve seen mattresses, tents. We have a concert on the river. The concert platform was on G Street, about a half mile down.”
Watch story about Kerville recovery and search here:
Kerville, Texas man from Montana says community coming together during flood recovery and search
Johnson and his wife have lived in Kerville for six years.
He willingly spoke with MTN News but wants the attention to be on the recovery and the efforts of the search crews.
“There’s over 2,000 first responders down here,” Johnson said. “Plus local people, local fire departments and all the different communities and stuff have been mobilized. My understanding is most of these guys have been going since the 4th, trying to help and find bodies and everything else. The community has stepped up big time.”
Many have put up crosses and flowers as memorials to the people lost in the flood.
And Gov. Greg Abbott has also seen those memorials.
“Governor Abbott did a really good job getting people down,” Johnson said. “Everybody I talked to said the state of Texas mobilized immediately. As soon as he found out, the helicopters are down here immediately.”
The governor and his wife visited Kerrville with President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump on Friday.
“The first lady and I are here in Texas to express the love and support and the anguish of our entire nation,” said the president.
“As we rebuild, we must also comfort the families of those who have suffered a loss,” Abbott said in a news release.
Johnson has helped at the Catholic Church and worked with a tree cutter in nearby Hunt and Ingram, but the roads are too jammed for him to get to Camp Mystic, which is about 19 miles from Kerrville.
The search has been long and meticulous.
“It’s going take months,” Johnson said. “It’s going to take a long time.”
“Our nation, we mourn for every single life that was swept away in the flood, and we pray for the families that are left behind,” said Trump. “It’s amazing the, the incredible spirit from those families.”
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.
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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