Felony Assault Charge, Wastewater Lawsuit, BNSF Fire and Bat Vaccine

Host Taylor Inman covers the biggest headlines shaping Northwest Montana this week - a felony assault charge against a Nevada man tied to a brutal beating near Glacier Park International Airport, a court ruling upholding Lakeside's wastewater expansion permit despite a challenge from local watchdog groups, a small BNSF-sparked fire near Trout Creek that was quickly contained, and a vaccine effort to protect nearly 900 bats at Libby Dam from a deadly fungus. 

00:00 - Intro
00:39 - Felony assault charge near Glacier Park Airport
03:13 - Lakeside wastewater lawsuit ruling
07:37 - BNSF fire near Trout Creek
10:24 - Libby Dam bat vaccine effort 

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 1:24

Hello and welcome to News Now. I'm your host, Taylor Inman. We're going over the week's biggest headlines for Northwest Montana. Starting off this week, we'll hear about a criminal case centering a Nevada man with Flathead Valley Connections who is facing a felony charge after allegedly beating a man near Glacier Park International Airport last year. We have an update on a lawsuit filed by local environmental watchdog groups over Lakeside's wastewater expansion project. We'll get the details on what National Forest officials believe caused a small fire near Trout Creek on August 11th. And we'll hear what efforts state wildlife officials are making to combat white nose syndrome at the Livy Dam, a deadly fungus for bats that is making its way into northwest Montana. Prosecutors filed one count of aggravated assault against 28-year-old Ethan Alexander Driesman in Flathead County District Court on June 24th. A warrant for his arrest was issued on June 30th, and he was booked into county jail on July 29th. Driesman, who remains behind bars with a bail set at $75,000, pleaded not guilty at his August 6th arraignment before Judge Danny Kaufman. Using DNA evidence, investigators believe that Driesman was the assailant in a July 25th, 2025 beating near the intersection of U.S. 2 and Airport Frontage Road, according to court documents. The attack, which was reported by passing motorists at about 5 22 p.m., ended with the victim bleeding on the pavement, which is where responding Flathead County Sheriff's Office deputies found him. The victim was later airlifted to the neurological unit in Billings with a traumatic brain injury and several broken facial bones. He spent several days in a coma, according to court documents. While the victim lost all memory of the attack, witnesses described his assailant as wearing a sleeveless black t-shirt and driving off in a silver or gray Jeep. Grabbing surveillance footage from nearby businesses, jeputies found the Jeep parked at a nearby hotel shortly before the attack. The recording showed a man in a black Nike t-shirt hop in before driving off toward the intersection of US 2 and Airport Frontage Road. Cameras at a second business captured the victim brake check the Jeep while driving along Airport Frontage Road. The maneuver led to a collision, according to court documents. Both men got out of their vehicles and the victim was quickly dropped to the ground. The video showed the attacker raining punches down on the victim before getting back into his jeep and driving off, according to court documents. A tipster alerted deputies on July 25, 2025, to a vehicle matching the description of the Jeep at a business in Kalisbell. That's when deputies met Driesman, court documents said, where he allegedly acknowledged owning the Jeep but denied driving near the airport. Another tipster sent sheriff's office detectives photographs of Dreesman sitting in a Jeep wearing a sleeveless black t-shirt in August. Armed with a search warrant, investigators seized Dreesman's Jeep and recovered a black sleeveless Nike t-shirt from the vehicle, according to court documents. Authorities later sent the shirt along with DNA samples from both Driesman and the victim to the Montana State Crime Lab. A June 23, 2026 report indicated that DNA collected from the shirt belonged to Dreesman, the victim, and a third individual, according to court documents. If convicted, Driesman faces up to 20 years behind bars and a $50,000 fine. The permit allowed the Lakeside County Water and Sewer District to proceed with phase one of its efforts to expand and upgrade its decades-old wastewater system. The watchdog group, joined by the Confederated Salish and Kootney tribes, argued that the state agency's failure to conduct a deeper environmental analysis violated the Montana Water Quality Act and the Montana Environmental Policy Act. But Judge Danny Kaufman rejected these claims, finding that the state agency's review of phase one was legally sound. She said state officials took a hard look at the direct secondary and cumulative impacts of the permit and reasonably determined that there is no significant impact on the environment or lakeside residents, according to court documents. Evidence showed that the discharge treated wastewater would have significantly lower levels of pollution, according to Kaufman and her decision. Any contamination in nearby surface water such as Flathead Lake or Lower Ashley Creek would be non-detectable. The permit issued for phase one allows the discharge of treated wastewater into state groundwater via rapid infiltration basins, an earth and basin designed for wastewater discharge. Lakeside County Water and Sewer District can discharge up to 200,000 gallons per day into the Delta aquifer with the permit, according to court documents. Kaufman concluded based on the presented evidence that only the aquifer would be affected. Another claim made by the project's critics was that the environmental assessment failed to consider potential harm to aquatic life and threatened species, but Kaufman rejected this assertion. She wrote that it is abundantly clear that the Montana DEQ explained that aquatic life will not be harmed. She also denied the group's request to merge concerns about phase two of the wastewater expansion project in the lawsuit. The two entities filed their request on July 17th after the state agency approved phase two in June. They argued that the state's piecemeal approval of the project violated the Montana Environmental Policy Act, since agency officials were aware of future plans to build a wastewater treatment facility during the first phase. But Kaufman also rejected that argument. She wrote that phase two contains an entirely different administrative record that must be considered on its own merit, separate from phase one. Citizens for a better flathead and the Confederated Salish and Kootenie tribes are deciding whether to appeal Kaufman's decision to the Montana Supreme Court. The groups criticized the judge for forming conclusions based on data provided by the Lakeside County Water and Sewer District. They argued that Kaufman dismissed rigorous peer-reviewed science prevented by expert witnesses for the watchdog group and the tribe. Citizens for a Better Flathead co-executive director Mary Flowers said, quote, a good enough standard directly contradicts the Montana Constitution. The world-class waters of Flathead Lake and the Flathead Basin deserve a comprehensive high-bar scientific review, not piecemeal analysis based on minimal compliance, end quote. Kaufman noted in her decision that reports from experts contracted by the groups, quote, do not actually contradict any of the data or modeling within the fact sheet of the environmental assessment. There was a difference of opinion behind the data collection, but nothing that conflicted with Water Environmental Technologies data, the contractor hired by Lakeside County Water and Sewer District. Lakeside County Water and Sewer District General Manager Rodney Olson said in a statement that, quote, they care just as much about Flathead Lake and keeping the water clean as anyone else in the community. Meanwhile, the groups filed a separate lawsuit on August 14th focused on phase two of the project. Flathead Lakers, a Pulson-based advocacy group, joined the litigation that once again targets the State Department of Environmental Quality in Flathead County District Court. The groups argued that the state violated the Montana Environmental Policy Act through its piecemeal review of the wastewater project and failure to conduct a rigorous environmental impact statement. They've asked the court to pause the project while the case is litigated and ultimately overturn the state agency's approval of phase two. Flower said in a statement, quote, that they fully recognize our growing region needs modern, effective wastewater infrastructure, but the science is clear that placing a massive discharge facility over this vulnerable floodplain aquifer is a grave risk. End quote. Judge Heidi Olbrecht is presiding over the case. The 1.1 acre blaze ignited 20 feet from a set of train tracks along the west bank of the Clark Fork River, just north of Childs Road, according to Trout Creek Fire Chief John Goobel. Volunteer fire departments from Trout Creek and Thompson Falls, joined by Kooteny National Forest, respond to the incident just before 1 p.m. Reports of black smoke came in at 12 37 p.m. from a witness on Blue Side Road in Grimes Creek, according to Google. Fire personnel reached Blue Side Road before realizing the fire was on the opposite bank, tacking an additional 20 minutes to their response time. They got to work dowsing the flames as it blazed on the edge of a dense forest. The fire was spreading up a hill where several homes are perched at a quick pace, according to Google. A helicopter arrived and carried water to the fire from a reservoir. Responders contained the fire within an hour and it was snuffed out within two. Google said it was a hot and dry afternoon, which makes for dangerous fire weather. Fortunately, there was only a light breeze. He said the blaze could have been much worse if it had been a windy day. He said the availability of resources, quick response, and lack of wind gust helped firefighters stop the fire quickly. Flames had spread at a fast pace and it would likely have caused widespread damage. Forest Service officials determined that the spark came from BNSF railway train tracks, according to the Kootenie Interagency Dispatch Center. BNSF did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The small blaze dubbed Child's Fire sparked a week before the three-year anniversary of the River Road East Fire, a 17,000-acre inferno that destroyed at least 15 homes and 55 additional structures in Sanders County. Ten property owners sued BNSF Railway and Montana Rail Link in October 2023, arguing that the fire was started by a passing rail car. Witnesses saw the flames sparked near a BNSF Railway track in Paradise on August 18, 2023, according to court documents. The lawsuit now lists more than 90 plaintiffs representing roughly 40 properties. The Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation joined plaintiffs in the suit as an intervener on April 23rd. Residents pointed fingers at BNSF Railway again two years later when the Knowles fire sparked near Paradise on August 20, 2025. The blaze scorched more than 3,800 acres before it was contained on September 6, 2025. It burned property owned by some of the same families that saw losses from the River Road East Fire in 2023, according to attorney Teague Westrope, who represents plaintiffs in the suit against BNSF and Montana Rail Link. Lolo National Forest concluded its investigation of the River Road East Fire in early May and handed it over to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Office of General Counsel. Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks vaccinated nearly 900 bats at Libby Dam against the fungus that causes a deadly condition known as Whitenose Syndrome. A crew of 43 people from the State Wildlife Agency and seven partner organizations worked for two hours on the night of July 29th to administer the oral vaccine to one of the largest maternity bat colonies in the state, after traces of the fungus were discovered in bat boxes outside of the Libby Dam during a routine monitoring last summer. While the disease has devastated some bat colonies in eastern Montana, the positive result marked the first time the fungus was observed in the treasure state west of the Continental Divide. None of the 1,500 little brown and pneuma myotis bats in the colony had developed symptoms of white nose syndrome when technicians confirmed the presence of the fungus, but Montana Fish Wildlife and Park statewide bat biologist Shannon Hilte was still devastated by the results. She said that they all thought there would be more time before it jumped the Continental Divide. Since it was first observed in New York in 2006, whitenose syndrome has killed millions of bats across the U.S. and Canada, often devastating entire colonies in one fell swoop. The cold-loving fungus colonizes on the skin of some bat species. As it grows, the fungus eats lesions into the bat's wings and disrupts physiological cycles, including hibernation. Infected bats wake up more frequently during the winter, causing them to deplete fat reserves and starve to death. In Montana, the fungus first appeared in Azura Cave in Cascade County in 2020. Within two years, about 98% of the 2,000 strong bat colony in the cave perished from the disease. Whitenos syndrome does not affect humans or other animals. Still, the disease's high fatality rate makes it a legitimate ecological and economic threat to communities in northwest Montana. All 15 bat species native to Montana are insectivores and provide the state with the equivalent of $680 million a year in agricultural pest control, according to Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks. Hilti said in a release that bats may be tiny, but they play an incredibly important role in Montana's ecosystem health and agriculture production. She said, quote, Many of us have been watching the massive population declines move westward with white nose syndrome. Having management tools like the vaccine has finally given me some hope that we can help bats persist. End quote. The oral vaccines that technicians administered at Libby Dam are not 100% effective in preventing white nose syndrome. Instead, the drug acts as an immune boost, helping bats that have been colonized by the fungus fight off the infection. In field trials throughout the Western U.S., researchers with the U.S. Geological Survey found that bats that have been vaccinated against white nose syndrome had lower amounts of the fungus on their bodies and less wing damage. They were also more likely to return to the same roost the following year, suggesting the vaccine boosted overall survival rates. While promising the effects of the vaccine are short-lasting, and the State Wildlife Agency said that annual vaccinations will be needed to give the Libby Dam colony the best chance of survival against white nose syndrome. Hilti said helping bats get through white nose syndrome is an all-hands-on-deck situation, and the clock is ticking. Thanks for joining us. News Now is a podcast from the Daily Interlake. We're proud to be the largest independent newsroom in Montana and the longest continuously published newspaper in the region. Today's stories are written by Report for America and Daily Interlake reporter Hannah Shields, Daily Interlake news editor Derek Perkins, and Daily Interlake reporter Hayley Smalley. You can read the full versions of these stories at dailyinterlake.com. And if you haven't already, subscribe to our YouTube channel to never miss an episode of The Pod. Everybody stay safe and have a great week.