Ivan Keeney lands a monster pike in Smith Lake. Meanwhile, Flathead County owes local deputies thousands of dollars in back pay.
HIGH
CONOCOPHILLIPS – This Houston-based oil giant is relinquishing its interest on 169,000 acres of oil and gas leases along the North Fork.
IVAN KEENEY – This beginning fly-caster may have set a North American record when he landed a 30-pound pike in Smith Lake.
HERRON PARK – This park west of Kalispell is getting two new trails, including one that meets the standards of the American with Disabilities Act.
DAVID CAMERON – The head of Britain’s Conservative Party leads in the polls heading into Thursday’s election there, and could become the next prime minister.
BETWEEN
JAY LENO – Giving the keynote speech at the White House Correspondents’ dinner over the weekend, this comedian managed to avoid offending anyone. But the consensus was also that he managed to avoid being very funny either.
LOW
BRITISH PETROLEUM – The growing and thus far uncontainable oil spill from an exploded BP drilling platform in the Gulf of Mexico is shaping up as one of worst environmental disasters in U.S. history.
NEW YORK CITY – An unsuccessful car bomb attempt in Times Square, foiled by an observant street vendor, once again puts New Yorkers on edge.
FLATHEAD COUNTY – A judge has ordered that Flathead County owes a group of sheriff’s deputies three years of back pay after salary miscalculations, awarding them roughly $237,000.
EXPORTS – The state reports Montana’s international exports dropped 28 percent last year amid the recession.