Just when I think I can’t get any more cynical about politics… In the July issue of Rural Montana, a newsletter published by the Montana Electric Cooperative Association, John Walsh states, “The federal government should stay out of the business of requiring particular energy sources for electricity generation..” He then states that each energy source should be able to “compete based on their cost.” But yesterday in the Laurel Outlook, he stated, “That’s why I’m introducing a bill in the Senate to force the Obama Administration to protect coal jobs by…

I know. I know. It’s hard to call this news since the Tongue River Railroad seems to always be in a perpetual state of delay. But today, representatives from the Surface Transportation Board (STB) announced on the monthly Section 106 Consultation call that the draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the proposed Tongue River Railroad won’t be out until sometime around April 2015.