Flathead Valley News Buffet: Kalispell, Montana News

Good morning; on the Beacon today, we've got Q & A with the candidates for Whitefish City Council. Myers Reece looks at the vital role radio broadcasters play in keeping Montanans updated on sports, especially in rural areas. Downtown Kalispell's Liberty Theater will now accommodate the rapidly growing congregation of the Fresh Life Church. And Dave Skinner wonders why Americans feel the need to hyphenate who they are, particularly in light of the White supremacy demonstration in downtown Kalispell.

Montana Republican Denny Rehberg says he is trying to make permanent a plan allowing guns on Amtrak trains with new legislation, but recognizes the idea faces a long road. The Montana Supreme Court has upheld a $21.4 million judgment against NorthWestern Corp. and several of its executives, in a case filed by 15 retired Montana Power Co. executives whose supplemental retirement benefits were cut off in 2005 without notice. Officials with Great Divide Ski Area say eager skiers can hit the slopes this weekend — the area's earliest-ever opening date. The Stillwater Mining Company said precious metals prices had bounced back considerably since hitting bottom last year, mostly offsetting the loss of the GM contract. Two men both known as family men within their communities died Tuesday in a plane wreck during dangerous weather conditions in a remote area of the Pryor Mountains. The National Rifle Association wants to intervene in a lawsuit over the removal of wolves from the endangered species list in Montana and Idaho. Waded Cruzado on Wednesday accepted the Montana Board of Regent’s offer to be the next president of Montana State University.

Good morning; on the Beacon today, Myers Reece offers up a primer on the issues and dynamics of the Whitefish City Council races, where it is clear that many people are dividing this year’s Whitefish City Council election into two camps: incumbent Frank Sweeney on one side and the three remaining candidates on the other side. The issues of transportation impact fees and the city hall lease dominated a Kalispell City Council candidate forum Tuesday, with challengers questioning the council’s budget priorities and decision-making. Incumbents meanwhile, defended their decisions as responsibly guiding Kalispell through one of the worst recessions in a generation. Montana Sustainable Building Systems, a new Whitefish company specializing in wood wall, roofing and floor systems, has taken European housing techniques and hopes to import them to the Flathead. State Sen. Greg Barkus is scheduled to be arraigned Oct. 26 on three felony charges stemming from an August boat crash on Flathead Lake that injured five people, including U.S. Rep. Denny Rehberg. State officials plan to dedicate portions of highways in the Kalispell area to three Montana Highway Patrol troopers killed in crashes in the line of duty.

Montana wildlife commissioners say there is little likelihood the state will increase the 2009 gray wolf quota. Authorities are looking for a small airplane that took off from Wyoming on Tuesday but did not land at its final destination in southern Montana. Montana Attorney General Steve Bullock has dropped his investigation into a California company following its attempted takeover of an empty Montana jail. A federal judge has overturned water quality rules for southeastern Montana that were approved by the Environmental Protection Agency, then assailed by the natural gas industry as a threat to drilling. Lewis and Clark County health officials say the death of a Helena adult at a Great falls hospital over the weekend was not related to swine flu. Attorney Karen Powell of Helena, chairwoman of the State Tax Appeal Board, has submitted her application for the Montana Supreme Court seat being vacated by Justice John Warner. Waded Cruzado is being offered the president’s job at Montana State University.

Good morning; on the Beacon today, U.S. Sen. Jon Tester sat down with administrators and physicians at Kalispell Regional Medical Center to discuss health care reform. We're high on Flathead Electric and low on Mother Nature for deciding to skip autumn in our weekly index of what's up, down and in between. State game wardens are looking for a poacher who shot a 6-point bull elk and left the animal to waste in the Blankenship Bridge area north of Columbia Falls last week. Planned Parenthood of Montana has announced it is closing its Kalispell clinic next month due to a decline in patients.

Eight white-supremacists wore bandanas to mask their faces while protesting earlier this week at the Gallatin County Courthouse in Bozeman. Wildlife officials in Montana will consider changes to the state's inaugural wolf hunt after hunters killed nine of the predators in just three weeks along the border of Yellowstone National Park. There will be no more school this week in the Anaconda School District because of high absenteeism from the flu. A person with symptoms consistent with the H1N1 influenza died at Benefis Health System in Great Falls on Sunday, but health officials are waiting for lab results to confirm the cause. Positive diagnoses of AIDS, HIV and hepatitis C have trended steadily upward for more than two decades in Montana.

Good morning; on the Beacon today, state Sen. Greg Barkus said Thursday he plans to finish his Senate term if possible, even as he fights felony charges in a high-profile boat crash that injured Congressman Denny Rehberg and three other passengers. A federal bankruptcy judge Thursday denied John Stokes extra time to argue that he deserves bankruptcy protection authorized under Chapter 11 rather than liquidation. Flathead Electric Cooperative has joined a dozen other Pacific Northwest utilities and energy providers in a partnership aimed at demonstrating how improvements in Smart Grid technology could potentially save money and increase efficiency. The Glacier High School golf program skipped the baby steps and just took off running. Tester will be in Troy on Saturday morning for a meeting at the high school discussing his bill, dubbed the "Forest Jobs and Recreation Act." Organizers of a petition drive to recall the Lincoln County sheriff in western Montana have failed to turn in any signatures. A 21-year-old Polson man accused of shooting his father to death in woods west of Kalispell pleaded not guilty Thursday to deliberate homicide. And the legendary Warren Miller reveals how he decided what to shoot in his 50-year career making ski movies.

President Barack Obama won the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday. The backcountry wolf hunt in Montana just north of Yellowstone National Park will be halted half an hour past sunset Friday by order of Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. A U.S. House vote Thursday put Congress on the verge of significantly expanding hate crimes law to make it a federal crime to assault people because of their sexual orientation, over the objections of many Republicans. And the Billings Gazette has acquired a memorandum of understanding between Hardin's economic development agency and American Police Force, released by the agency on Thursday, laid out a proposal under which APF would provide a police force for the city of Hardin.

Good morning; on the Beacon today, three felony charges were filed against Kalispell state Sen. Greg Barkus Wednesday after his alleged driving of a boat under the influence of alcohol led to an Aug. 27 crash on the shore of Flathead Lake, but shortly after making an initial court appearance, Barkus' attorney issued a statement disputing the alleged blood alcohol content (BAC) levels upon which the charges are based. We take a closer look at the firm hired by Flathead County to look into allegations of misconduct within the county’s planning and zoning department: the Moonlighting Detective Agency. And Wild Bill Schneider lashes out at road rage directed toward bicyclists.

Sen. Max Baucus says the final committee vote on health care legislation will take place next week. An investigator says that she found no wrongdoing by Deputy State Auditor Walt Schweitzer, the governor's brother, amid allegations he used the office to raise political money. A former Secret Service agent named as the would-be operator of a Montana jail and law enforcement training center served 14 months in prison for stealing money from the government. Health departments around the state are making decisions about who will receive the first swine flu vaccines expected this week. Creditors are trying to foreclose on the Bitterroot Resort ski area west of Florence. The head of New West Health Services, Montana's second-largest private health insurer says it could lose a few thousand customers because of big rate increases in 2010 for state employees choosing its plan - and that he's perplexed by how the state came up with the change.

Good morning; on the Beacon today, after numerous benefit extensions, the end of September marked the exhaustion of unemployment benefits for more than 2,800 Montanans, according to the National Employment Law Project – and by the end of the year, that number is expected to top 5,600 if benefits are not extended. Glacier National Park officials say more than 325,000 people visited the park in September — an increase of about 24 percent from a year ago. Whitefish has garnered national attention for the outdoorsy, fun-loving atmosphere that we have all come to know well by being named one of the top 10 "coolest" small towns in America by Budget Travel Magazine. By the middle of the month, the Kalispell Bar will reopen with a decidedly more laid-back atmosphere than in its rowdier heyday. Be sure to check out Lido Vizzutti's sick slideshow of the 16th Annual Glacier Jazz Stampede. Authorities on Tuesday still wouldn't say whether charges would be filed in an August boat crash that involved a state senator and left five seriously hurt, including a U.S. congressman. Wal-Mart is re-evaluating its plans to build a supercenter store in Polson even though it recently won a protracted court battle over the proposed store.

A college business professor from Laurel, A.J. Otjen, says she is going to enter the Republican primary to challenge incumbent U.S. Rep. Denny Rehberg. The Montana Supreme Court came down strongly on the side of homosexual rights with a 6-1 majority that upheld a ruling giving parental rights to a Missoula woman who had been in a 10-year lesbian relationship that included two children legally adopted by the other woman in the partnership. And after hearing assurances that a California company will have nothing to do with providing law enforcement in Hardin, Big Horn County commissioners voted Tuesday to allow the city to create its own police department.

Good morning; on the Beacon today, a small rally in Kalispell Saturday by people who said they were concerned about the rights of white people was in line with what the Montana Human Rights Network has identified as “an upswing in white supremacist activity recently” in the state. State wildlife officials are investigating the death of an adult female grizzly, whose carcass was found in the Flathead National Forest north of Columbia Falls. We're high on "Butt Huts" and low on Michael Hilton in our weekly index of what's up, down and in between. Hunters in Montana reported taking nine wolves through the end of last week in the state's first-ever organized wolf hunt.

Plans for a California company to take over Hardin's empty jail were put on hold Monday, following last week's revelations that the company's lead figure has a criminal history. A foot of snow has fallen in Red Lodge and the National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning for south-central Montana. Montana's unemployment rate remains low compared to the national average, but as the recovery creeps in here, it is occurring without jobs. And MSU-Billings business professor A.J. Otjen of Laurel said Monday she is challenging Rep. Denny Rehberg in the 2010 House GOP primary to offer voters an alternative to "the far right."

Good morning; on the Beacon today, authorities say a 39-year-old Flathead Valley man has died after being involved in a collision with another motorist. The Flathead County River Commission is tackling several aspects that come with living near the water, including pollutants, riverbank stabilization and farming procedures. For weeks now, game wardens have been visiting road entrances throughout the Flathead to make sure signs are posted prominently detailing whether the area is open to motorized use. Grab a broom, pick out a stone and put on your sliders – curling has arrived in Whitefish. For Bailey Eaton, 16, her competitive spirit thrives in running. And the Kitchen Guy wants to talk chicken.

The state and a court-appointed receiver continue to inventory the assets of two Polson men and their companies as they seek to recover money for those who invested in what the state calls a $14 million Ponzi scheme. Montana brewers are wasting little time taking advantage of a new state law that allows then to sell beer with a higher alcohol content. Gov. Brian Schweitzer, like many governors, does not disclose his out-of-state travel done for political or personal reasons. Two enterprising men think they have a good solution to a new state law prohibiting smoking inside public places: Butt Huts. And a feature in the Great Falls Tribune looks at what Sen. Jon Tester has been working on while his colleague, Sen. Max Baucus has been in the spotlight.