In Richland County, the power of the sun is on the primary ballot.

Last July, the county’s three commissioners, all Republicans, added Richland to a growing list of 27 Ohio counties that have banned utility-scale wind and solar power developments. In the rural stretch of north central Ohio, that would only apply to 11 of 18 townships, whose trustees requested inclusion when the commissioners asked.

The county-level renewable bans in Ohio exist under a 2021 law, passed by statehouse Republicans, that gives local officials unique powers to kill individual wind and solar projects in town or prohibit them entirely. State law is explicit that with other energy projects like oil wells and gas plants, only state officials, who aren’t exposed to the same political and electoral pressure, and not local ones can make the siting decisions. But in Richland, local citizens are fighting back. After turning in just a few dozen more than the required 3,300 valid signatures within 30 days of the commission vote last year, the Richland County Citizens for Property Rights & Job Development has put the ban up for a referendum.

That means a county that President Donald Trump won by more than 44 points will have the future of solar development on the ballot May 5. This marks the second challenge of a renewable ban, after Crawford County voters in 2022 overwhelmingly upheld a wind power ban there.

It’s been decades since anglers have been able to fish one of the region’s most popular rivers, the Gallatin, from a boat. That’s due to a 45-year-old regulation designed to prevent user-group conflicts and preserve the wade-fishing experience that recreationists from Gallatin Valley and beyond enjoy.

Now, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks is looking to implement a similar prohibition on fishing from vessels in the main stem’s low-flow cousin, the East Gallatin. The proposal is included in the 2027-2028 fishing regulations, which are currently open for public comment.

Some members of Montana’s angling community welcome the shift, describing it as a proactive effort to preserve spawning habitat along an important fishery. Others are wary of restricted access to one of the region’s sleepier rivers. They argue that the state should do more to address other East Gallatin threats, such as nutrient pollution and degraded habitat.

FWP Region 3 Fish Manager Mike Duncan told Montana Free Press that the agency is pursuing the change because shrinking streamflows and warming temperatures point to challenging conditions ahead for the area’s fish. He’s concerned that more anglers will find their way to the mellow, cottonwood-lined river northwest of Bozeman in search of uncrowded waters.