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Erbacher had been on foot patrol with other officers Sept. 5 when they wit- nessed a car hit a truck. The driver of the car then drove toward the officers and struck Erbacher.
Erbacher shot into the vehicle. The driver, Godinez, wasn’t injured in the shooting.
Erbacher was treated at a hospital. He has been placed on administrative leave. Godinez allegedly admitted to drink-
ing and driving.
HELENA
6. Montana Explores Response to Federal Emission Cut Mandate
Nobody fully understands the rule behind a federal mandate to cut Mon- tana power plants’ carbon dioxide emis- sion rates by nearly half over the next 15 years, but multiple groups are already jockeying to have their say in what the state ultimately recommends.
In August, the Environmental Protec- tion Agency set targets for each state as part of President Barack Obama’s plan to reduce emissions nationwide to 32 per- cent below 2005 levels. Montana’s 2030 target is to reduce the rate of emissions by 47 percent compared to 2012.
Much of Montana’s electricity genera- tion comes from the eight working coal- fired plants in the state, resulting in one of the largest reduction requirements in the U.S., according to an analysis by the state Public Service Commission.
States have until September 2016 to submit their final plans or request a two- year extension. Officials are now explor- ing how to respond, even as regulators acknowledge they don’t understand the 1,500-page rule and all the supporting documents just yet.
“A month from now we’re going to understand things better and hopefully a little different than today,” Montana Department of Environmental Quality air quality bureau chief David Klemp said last week.
Gov. Steve Bullock plans to form an advisory committee that will make rec- ommendations on what actions the state will take. The Legislature also has formed a panel of lawmakers and citizens to examine the issue.
The panel’s chairman, Sen. Jim Keane, D-Butte, said he expects their work to be “substantial.”
HELENA
7. Stapleton Enters 2016 Race for Montana Secretary of State
A former state senator has entered the race to become Montana’s next secretary of state.
Corey Stapleton announced Sept. 9 that he’ll seek the Republican nomina- tion for Montana’s top elections official in 2016.
The Billings financial adviser served in the Montana Senate from 2000 to 2008. He was the Senate minority leader in 2007 when lawmakers failed to pass a budget for the first time in recent
memory, forcing a special session. Stapleton lost the 2012 Republican gubernatorial primary to former U.S. Rep. Rick Hill. He lost the 2014 primary for the state’s U.S. House seat to Rep.
Ryan Zinke.
Montana Republican Party Chair-
man Jeff Essmann praised Stapleton as a “trusted conservative leader.” Repub- lican officials said Essmann’s comments are not an endorsement of Stapleton’s candidacy.
State Auditor Monica Lindeen is seek- ing the Democratic nomination.
WIN
Democratic Secretary of State Linda McCulloch can’t run again due to term limits.
GREAT FALLS
8. Man Charged with Murder Captured After 3-day Search
A fugitive suspected of killing a man in Great Falls was captured Sept. 9 after a three-day manhunt north of Helena that involved more than 100 officers from several agencies, the Lewis and Clark County undersheriff said.
Officers found Branden Conrad Mies- mer, 26, at 5:45 p.m., said Undersheriff Dave Rau, adding that “everything went smooth” during the capture and that Miesmer did not struggle.
Lewis and Clark County Sheriff Leo Dutton said Miesmer was in a homemade trailer in the bottom of a ravine.
Miesmer has been charged with homi- cide in the death of Cody Steve Bruyere, 26, in Great Falls late Sept. 6 or early Sept. 7.
Officials had been going door-to-door and searching hillsides by ground and by air for Miesmer. More than 110 offi- cers from agencies that include the FBI, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and as far away as Gallatin County were involved in the manhunt.
BILLINGS
9. Montana Orders Drilling Limits to Help Sage Grouse
Montana Gov. Steve Bullock has ordered state agencies to enact a program to conserve greater sage grouse popula- tions by the start of next year as federal officials consider whether more sweeping protections are needed.
The order follows on a 2014 grouse conservation plan that places some restrictions on oil and gas drilling and other activities blamed for driving down sage grouse numbers.
Critics of the state plan say it has too many loopholes allowing companies to get around the restrictions.
Sage grouse are chicken-sized ground dwellers that range across 11 western states.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service faces a Sept. 30 deadline to decide if recent state and federal conservation efforts are enough to keep the bird off the list of threatened and endangered species.
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SEPTEMBER 16, 2015 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM
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