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Good morning.
This week, we have stark projections from a local pulmonologist regarding the medical costs associated with the development of a hyperscale data center north of town. Plus, the woman slated to serve as interim county attorney, the school district’snew medical charter school and a slew of local events, including a chance to ask project managers about the proposed jail expansion.
But first, a weather preview ☀️
The weekend forecast calls for daytime highs up to 69 on Friday and overnight lows down to 30 on Saturday night. Showers likely Friday night, possibly turning into snow.
Billings doctor shares stark projections on data center health impacts
A pulmonary physician told the Yellowstone County commissioners this week that the Big Sky Digital Infrastructure data center proposed for the Broadview area will conservatively result in $19 million to $33 million in new health costs and 1.2 to 2.2 deaths annually.
Robert Merchant, a semi-retired Billings Clinic doctor, presented his findings at the commissioners’ Thursday discussion meeting. Merchant ran projections based on the center operating at 100% and 70% of its proposed capacity. The numbers cited above are for the 70% capacity modeling. Fine particles containing nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, methane and other gases can contribute to asthma, heart attacks, cancer, low birthweight, cognitive functioning and other health problems, he wrote.
Merchant used the Environmental Protection Agency’s free tool, the Co-Benefits Risk Assessment Health Impacts Screening and Mapping Tool. Merchant said it was difficult to collect the necessary input values to run the modeling due to a lack of transparency from Quantica Infrastructure, the developer, and from NorthWestern Energy.
Merchant and another researcher used documents from the Department of Environmental Quality and Quantica’s request for a power connection with NorthWestern Energy, among other sources, he wrote in a memo explaining his projections.
Merchant said the environmental impacts from the data center, as currently planned, would spill well beyond Yellowstone County, stretching as far south as northern Texas.
“I don’t see how this is not a compelling government interest,” Merchant said. The “compelling government interest” piece comes from the 2025 Right to Compute Act, which granted robust legal protections to data centers and other computational technologies in Montana. It says, in part, that any governmental action that restricts the use of those technologies “must be limited to those demonstrably necessary and narrowly tailored to fulfill a compelling government interest.” There’s been considerable legal debate about whether the county can legally act to rein in the Quantica project in light of that law. Billings attorney Elizabeth Halverson told commissioners Thursday: “This is absolutely within your authority to do.”
“Inaction will result in health and economic damage to the public.” Merchant thanked the commissioners for their work and said he hoped the data he shared was useful to their analysis.
Merchant’s presentation was met with applause. Seats in the room were full, but the meeting was not as heated as some past meetings.
Sixteen people spoke after Merchant, urging the commission to take action against the data center project, including a mom with a sleeping baby, some first-time commenters and several regulars at the county meetings.
Billings native Arielle Dean named interim county attorney
Arielle Dean, chief deputy at the Yellowstone County Attorney’s Office, has been selected to fill the vacancy in the county’s top legal job.
The Yellowstone County Board of County Commissioners voiced support for Dean Thursday and said they’ll place her official nomination on the schedule for a vote next week. Dean is one of two top deputy attorneys in the criminal division, according to Chief In-House Counsel Steve Williams, who announced her nomination.
“She knows the office, its caseload and its obligations,” Williams told commissioners. Outgoing County Attorney Scott Twito, who has been tapped to lead the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Montana, recommended Dean.
Dean’s work deals in large part with domestic and sexual violence, according to a profile of her in Yellowstone Valley Woman. Dean, who was born and raised in Billings, got her undergraduate degree from Gonzaga University, her law degree from the University of Denver, and worked in the Denver district attorney’s office for four years before returning to Yellowstone County as a prosecutor, the article reported.
Dean will fill the first vacancy created by Twito’s departure, which will last until Dec. 31 of this year. That’s the remainder of his existing term, since he was up for reelection in November.
After the November election results are certified, which will almost certainly result in Twito being reelected since he is unopposed, the commissioners will make a second appointment for county attorney to replace Twito. That person will serve until the general election in 2028.
“The Board has not yet determined the process for that second appointment,” Chair Mark Morse wrote in a statement to the media Monday. “Public comment is welcome as the commissioners work through both steps.”
All three commissioners expressed support for Dean Thursday.
“I’ve been impressed,” Commissioner Mike Waters said. “She’s very capable.”
Photo Op 📸
City runs free bus shuttle for Election Day
The city of Billings is running a free voter shuttle from the downtown transfer station to MetraPark and back on Election Day.
The service will run from 6:45 a.m. to 7:45 p.m. Nov. 3. The transfer station is at 220 N. 25th St. The shuttle will depart twice an hour, at :15 and :45, according to a flier from the city promoting the service.
Rusty Logan, general manager for Met Transit, said the city receives federal money for transportation services, and the feds want transit authorities to help facilitate transportation to polling places.
“It’s something the Federal Transit Administration encourages people to do,” Logan said.
Without the shuttle, anyone taking the bus to vote at Metra would stop at the normal stop closest to Metra and would need to cross several lanes of heavy traffic, according to Logan.
The majority of voting in Yellowstone County, or 85%, takes place by absentee ballot, Elections Administrator Dayna Causby told Montana Free Press earlier this month. The elections department mailed out 83,000 ballots for this fall’s general election, Causby said.
All polling places for Billings residents are located at Metra Park. Yellowstone County voters outside Billings have polling places mostly at schools.
A new charter school would serve students in the medical field
Billings Public Schools can’t get enough of public charter schools, now that they are allowed in the state.
On Monday, the board of trustees authorized the district to submit a proposal to the Office of Public Instruction for a fourth charter school: the Billings Health Science Academy. The school, which would open in August 2027, would serve 11th- and 12th-grade students and focus on medical career pathways. The school would offer industry certifications, dual credit coursework and supervised clinical or “work-based” learning, among other options.
Some of those options already exist in Billings Public Schools, but the charter would bring it together under one roof with consolidated leadership, partnerships and student advising, the application states. The school would aim to serve 90 part-time students in its first year. It would likely be hosted at Lincoln Center, according to the application.
The school district’s other charter schools are the Billings Early College School, which has 131 students enrolled and an 88% passing rate (A-C grades), according to materials from the board’s September meeting; the Billings Opportunity School, which has 123 current students and a 70% passing rate; and the Billings Multilingual Academy, which has 72 students. The multilingual school didn’t provide a comparable metric for passing rate.
Public Notice 🧐
Council to consider infrastructure projects
🗓️ Monday, Oct. 26
⏰ 5:30 p.m.
📍 316 N. 26th St., on the fifth floor.
ℹ️ The City Council on Monday will hear several infrastructure-related recommendations from staff, including plans for a new playground at Veterans Park, repair work at the water treatment plant to fix leaks and a request for TIF funds to expand the lobby and redo the entrance to 213 N. Broadway, a downtown building that currently houses Edward Jones.
Game of the Week 🏆
The West High Lady Bears volleyball team is on a roll so far with 11 wins and just four losses. Come cheer them on Friday night at West High’s main gym at 7 p.m. They’ll take on the Great Falls Bison. Go, Bears.
About Town 🚶
If you’re looking to branch out with your volunteer activities, come to Amend Recreation Campus at 4911 King Ave. E. Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. for the Make a Difference Day Volunteer Fair. Find a new gig that fits your schedule and interests. Ask not what your community can do for you…
Yellowstone County is hosting an open house Wednesday, Oct. 28, to share information about the two jail expansion measures on the general election ballot. The event runs 5:30-7 p.m. at The Front Porch, 109 W. First St. in Laurel. Members of the public are encouraged to attend and ask questions about the proposal.
Saturday and Sunday, MetraPark will host Billings Horror Con, a convention celebrating horror movies, television, books and more. A one-day pass is $15 for adults. Saturday at 6 p.m., there is a “vampire ball” for the 21+ crowd with a costume contest and cash prizes. The ball is $25. Tickets are available online.
