Montana News Roundup: Arrest in Slaying of Miles City Couple

Arkansas State Police have arrested the suspect wanted for the murder of a former Miles City couple.

ASP announced yesterday afternoon that they had identified and arrested 28-year-old James Andrew McGann of Springdale, Arkansas, and he's facing two murder counts. He's accused of killing Clinton David Brink and Cristen Brink while they were walking in a state park with their two girls on  Saturday. The 7 and 9-year-olds weren't hurt.

     Detectives aren't releasing many details until there's further work on the case.

Update in Billings shooting investigation

Billings Police say they no longer need the public's help locating a 27-year-old Billings man in regard to last week's fatal shooting of a Lame Deer man.

In a short post on Facebook, detectives thanked the public for help, but didn't say whether he was being held for questioning or further investigation.

The thunder rolls… again

Another round of thunderstorms means firefighters in Southwest and West Central Montana will be watching closely for additional fire starts today.

For the 5th day in a row, strong thunderstorms rumbled through last night, from Missoula south through the Bitterroot, and the Big Hole east to Butte. And those cells were expected to stay active as they moved east. Moist, unstable air will continue to impact the weather through week's end, with more thunderstorms and possible flash flooding. But temperatures are also starting to cool down.

Firefighting update

Firefighters are continuing mop-up on the Observation Point Fire, which forced evacuations south of Hamilton last week. That blaze was stopped at 105 acres. Work continues on the Dominic Point Fire east of Corvallis, which was the largest fire from last weekend's thunderstorm.

The largest active fire on state lands is the Monettes fire, which has burned just under 500 acres southwest of Havre and close to the Hill County line.

Yellowstone helitack crews spotted the Ash Fire in the southwest corner of the park yesterday, but managed to reach the site while it was still at 10 acres.

     ⚡️ The park had received more than 350 lightning strikes in 24 hours.

Daines praises nominated judge

Senator Steve Daines says Bill Mercer's time in the Legislature will make him a better U.S. District Court Judge.

Daines made that observation yesterday, as the Senate Judiciary Committee took up Mercer's nomination to fill the upcoming vacancy on the bench in Billings.

Daines noted Mercer's long legal career, including time as the U.S. District Attorney for Montana, as well as private practice, which included criminal and civil litigation. But he told the committee his time in the Legislature has added another layer of qualification.

"I believe his time in Helena has given him an important additional perspective on the law and the importance of judicial impartiality." -Sen. Steve Daines

During questioning, Mercer defended Montana's recent law changes on limits for lawsuits for child sex abuse survivors, and declined to comment on Presidential pardons for the January 6th protesters.

Northwestern commits to data center project

It appears that Northwestern Energy will be able to provide power to a massive new data center located outside Billings.

Northwestern says it's signed a "letter of intent" to power Quanitica Infrastructure's project, a 5000-acre "multi-asset campus" planned to open at the Big Sky Digital Infrastructure Campus.

    💡  It's a LOT of power. Phase 1 would need 500 megawatts by 2030, eventually growing to 1 gigawatt, all depending on permits and approval for the Texas-based company.