America’s push for clean power had finally come for Colstrip, a southeast Montana town built around a power plant of the same name and a large open-pit coal mine.
Duane Ankney, a Republican firebrand in the Montana Legislature, set out determined to save the power plant and his adopted hometown if it was the last thing he did. Both were in better shape when Ankney, 79, died Saturday from apparent heart failure. Friends credited the former lawmaker’s passionate 10-year fight for Colstrip with changing the political will of state lawmakers, all while outlasting the attempts of two U.S. presidents to curtail coal power.
Ankney on the state Senate floor would defend Colstrip with populist fervor, the inward curled ends of his thick mustache twitching.
“He was a champion of the people. That was Duane’s strong suit. It doesn’t matter whether he was Republican or Democrat; he was always for the people,” said John Williams, Colstrip mayor. “That’s how he looked at things. He wasn’t looking at furthering any political career, or anything like that. He was a champion.”
“He was a champion of the people. That was Duane’s strong suit. It doesn’t matter whether he was Republican or Democrat; he was always for the people. That’s how he looked at things. He wasn’t looking at furthering any political career, or anything like that. He was a champion.”
John Williams, Colstrip mayor
Ankney had other political battles. He supported the successful repeal in 2013 of an obsolete Montana law criminalizing same-sex intercourse. That same year, Ankney guided a bipartisan state budget through the Legislature as chair of the House Appropriations Committee. Similarly, he and a minority of Republicans in 2015 collaborated with Democrats to expand Montana’s Medicaid program. At the time, the expansion extended health care to an estimated 45,000 Montanans.
The Republican’s 2013 speech on the repeal of Montana’s law criminalizing same-sex relationships brought some LGBTQ advocates to tears.
“I raised five kids. Oldest is a daughter. And I got four sons,” Ankney told lawmakers. “Three of them are veterans. And them four sons would give their last breath for my daughter to live her life in the way she chooses. To say she is any less of a person, or she is a criminal for her lifestyle, really upsets me.”
Ankney continued, “I know the power of prayer, and the power of God, and I don’t think God thinks any less of my daughter than he does of any one of you in here.”
LGBTQ advocates had for years been trying to repeal the defunct law that made same-sex intercourse a criminal felony, despite state and federal Supreme Court rulings years earlier against such discrimination.
Linda Gryczan, a longtime lobbyist, recalled watching the floor debate from the House gallery in amazement. She said Ankney’s speech came as a complete surprise.
“We were aghast. We were moved. We were in tears,” Gryczan said Monday to Montana Free Press. “That is something that was such an incredible moment in Montana queer history.”
Advocates later printed T-shirts with Ankney’s face on them to commemorate his contribution to the bill’s passage.
Many Republican lawmakers opposed officially striking the language from the Montana code. Ankney’s support in 2013 for the repeal became the focus of a primary challenge against him in 2014. Republican Barry Usher ran unsuccessfully against Ankney that year, then succeeded him in 2023 after Ankney termed out. That election, Ankney’s opponents characterized him as a big spender, a supporter of gay marriage and soft on the Second Amendment for not lowering the state’s hunting age to 12.
“Duane Ankney was a straight shooter who put his people before party. He never kissed a party boss’s ring, never backed down from a tough fight and always called it like he saw it,” Rep. Llew Jones, R-Conrad, told the Montana Free Press Monday. “Montana has lost a true representative of the people.”
Jones and Ankney teamed together in 2013 on what was known as the “Responsible Republicans” caucus, meaning they were willing to collaborate with Democrats on the state budget and other matters. Jones recalled bucking on one vote under extreme pressure from conservatives just to avoid another attack.
“The screen lit up with my vote, and Duane came storming back to my desk on the floor, mustache twitching, and demanded, ‘What in the heck is wrong with you? You’re our leader. Why would you think that’s even close to a good idea?’” Jones said. “He was right, and I changed my vote on third reading. Duane never wavered, and he never let the rest of us waver, either.”
The two lawmakers would pursue bipartisan outcomes on bills together for more than a decade.
In 2015, Ankney collaborated with Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock on campaign finance reform, the “Montana Disclose Act,” which Bullock named the bill. The law required political committees to report their ad buys and associated costs. The bill followed three election cycles in which unsourced “dark money” was pumped into political races, particularly Republican legislative primaries, as conservatives attempted with mixed success to usurp more moderate party members like Ankney.
But saving Colstrip, a town he moved to as a Navy veteran looking for coal-mining work decades earlier, became the fight of Ankney’s political life. First, the EPA under President Barack Obama proposed carbon emissions reductions for Montana that closely matched the output of Colstrip Power Plant’s oldest generators, Units 1 and 2. In 2016, the state of Oregon required utilities PacifiCorp and Portland General Electric to phase out “coal by wire” by 2030, eventually making their ownership shares in Colstrip useless. In 2019, the state of Washington passed coal power phase-out plans, as well. Utilities in the two states hold a combined 70% ownership stake in Colstrip.
“Duane was a fantastic advocate for Colstrip as well as Rosebud County. He was passionate about working for the people. That is what made Duane so effective and respected by all who dealt with him,” said Ron Roberts, senior vice president of Energy Resources for Puget Sound Energy.
Puget committed $10 million to help the Colstrip community transition to a post-coal era. Ankney was a member of the community board overseeing how the money was spent. When President Donald Trump took office in 2017, Ankney traveled to Washington to meet with Trump’s staff, who told him they were aware of Colstrip and were making plans. Those plans didn’t come to fruition until 2025, when Trump waived emissions laws to keep the power plant operating.
Senate President Matt Regier, R-Kalispell, said in a press release, “Duane Ankney was one-of-a-kind. You always knew where he stood, and where he stood was always with the Colstrip community and the rest of his constituents. His unwavering dedication to fighting for them was apparent in every conversation anyone had with him at the legislature. His memory and legacy will live on with us, and he is already missed.”
State politicians commented on Ankney’s death on X.
“I came to know Duane Ankney as a steadfast advocate for Colstrip, coal, and Montana. He effectively served with dedication and heart. Susan and I offer our deepest condolences to his family and friends and ask all Montanans to keep them in their prayers during this time of loss,” said a message on Gov. Greg Gianforte’s account.
Sen. Ellie Boldman, D-Missoula said on X, “He would say, ‘Hey kid, you’re alright, don’t let the bastards get you down.’ I would reply, “‘You too, old man.’ Duane was more than alright. He was a Montana legend. Walk on, dear friend. You were loved and will always be missed.”
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