Montana News Roundup: Power Rates Go Up, But Not as Much

There's still a rate increase coming for Northwestern Energy customers, but it will be half of what it could have been, following a decision by the Montana Public Service Commission.

PSC and the utility have been wrestling over the rate hike for nearly a year, with Northwestern claiming it needs the higher rates to cover infrastructure investments and operating costs in Montana. Last summer, that rate hike was more than 8%.

The two sides argued over the details, but Northwestern eventually cut the rate hike to 4.2% and that was approved last week by the regulators.

     💡 The rate increase will show on your next NWE bill.

MHP trooper okay after terrible crash

Montana Highway Patrol says a trooper who was hurt when he had to roll his patrol car to avoid a crash during a pursuit north of Billings is going to be okay.

The agency is still investigating the incident, which happened on Highway 3 north of Billings yesterday.

MHP says the trooper attempted to stop a driver for speeding but the suspect took off. However the chase ended tragically when the suspect slammed head-on into a semi, killing him.

     The trooper used his training to avoid the accident, rolling his car but escaping with non-life threatening injuries.

Billings man arrested in Wyoming for woman's murder

A 40-year old Billings man is facing homicide charges and is also accused of tampering with evidence related to the death of a 37-year old woman on the city's South Side.

Officers were called to a residence in the 6400 block of Southern Bluffs Lane to check the report of a suspicious death on Friday morning. Detectives figured out Anthony Ray Sullivan had fled in the victim's car and put out an alert. That led to his arrest in Lander, Wyoming.

Montana fire season finally roars to life

It's been a bad week for fires, with hotter and drier weather combining with lightning, and some human mistakes as well, leading to dozens of new fire starts across the state.

Montana DNRC reports there are now 86 active fires across the state, with 16 new fire starts in the past 24-hours. While most of those are smaller, several did see serious growth over the weekend.

The Wilder fire, burning in the northeast corner of Fergus County is the largest in the state. It has burned over 3400 acres as of Sunday afternoon. It's burning on steep, rugged public and private land, and while it's threatening some structures, none have burned. And Fergus County DES reports the fire was less active yesterday after rain showers moved through Saturday evening.

East of there, the Flicker Fire has scorched over 800 acres in Phillips County but is 40% contained. And containment was increasing on the 800 acre Horseshoe Fire, burning in open country in northern Garfield County.

A fire on Bear Creek southeast of Missoula burned nearly 500 acres but was 85% contained on Sunday.

    🔥  Also, fire crews are working on the new Magnum Fire, which has covered more than 100 acres south of Acton.