Flathead Valley Politics: Kalispell, Montana News

The aftermath of Election Day in Montana allowed both Democrats and Republicans to claim victories. Nationally, Democrats won a historic presidential election and strengthened majorities in Congress. With Gov. Brian Schweitzer sailing to a second term, Montana Democrats swept every statewide race, laying claim to all five seats on the powerful Land Board, which controls oil and gas leases and logging on state land.

Republicans, meanwhile, picked up a 27-23 majority in the state Senate, re-elected U.S. Rep. Denny Rehberg decisively and delivered Montana for John McCain despite an unprecedented effort in the state by Barack Obama. The state House was split between the parties, with a 50-50 tie.

WASHINGTON – The chairman of the Senate Finance Committee is adding his voice to the list of leading Democratic lawmakers pushing for the new president and Congress to make health care a top priority for 2009.

Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., on Wednesday made public his own plan for addressing what ails the health care system. It includes several features of President-elect Obama's plan, such as guaranteed insurance coverage regardless of pre-existing illness. He also would set up an insurance exchange, a sort of government-administered shopping center where people could go to buy coverage.

HELENA – Republicans said Tuesday they will seek a re-count in a Kalispell state House race, hoping to break a 50-50 deadlock in the chamber.

Last Tuesday, Montana voters chose an equal number of Republicans and Democrats to send to the state House and provisional ballots counted Monday did not change those results.

WASHINGTON – The government and the mortgage industry are set to announce the most sweeping effort yet to help troubled homeowners by speeding up the process for renegotiating hundreds of thousands of delinquent loans held by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency, which seized control of the two mortgage finance companies in September, scheduled a press conference for 2 p.m. EST. Scheduled to attend were officials from the Treasury Department, Wells Fargo & Co., the Department of Housing and Urban Development and Hope Now, an alliance of mortgage companies organized by the Bush administration last year.

Flathead County Commissioners made it halfway through proposed subdivision regulations Monday, before tabling the remaining rules for next week and setting aside a special date to tackle the controversial streamside setback regulations.

All three commissioners said they needed more time to read through and follow up on the public comment they had received regarding the streamside setbacks in recent weeks. Two public hearings late last month drew about 80 people each, most commenting on the setbacks.

Kalispell City Council members gave a mixed response Monday night to a request by executives for grocery store chain Super 1 Foods to figure out how to erect a sign along Main Street, should the company wish to open a new store in the old Tidyman’s building. While council members expressed a strong desire to have a grocery store open on a large piece of downtown Kalispell property that has been sitting vacant for three years, they were also concerned that changing city sign laws for Super 1 Foods would result in every business owner in town located off of Main Street clamoring for a similar rule change to have a sign on the city’s main thoroughfare.

“If we allow this then we are actually opening up for the entire sign ordinance to go by the wayside,” Councilman Jim Atkinson said. “I think we have to look at the bigger picture and we can’t deny any other signs if we allow this, as far as I’m concerned.”