Good morning; on the Beacon today, on Dec. 2 at Grouse Mountain Lodge, an eight-person panel of health care professionals, school district officials and clergy members discussed what the community can do to increase its knowledge and become better equipped to prevent suicide and cope with its aftermath when it does occur. A trailer house fire in Hungry Horse badly burned a 2-year-old boy and destroyed the trailer. Sen. Jon Tester is urging Columbia Falls Aluminum and the Bonneville Power Administration to reach a long-term energy agreement by year's end that would restore jobs to the shuttered plant. Negotiations to remove Northern Rockies gray wolves from the endangered species list hit an impasse Monday, after Wyoming and Idaho refused to go along with an Interior Department proposal on the issue, Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer said.
Brushing past Democratic opposition, President Barack Obama announced agreement with Republicans Monday night on a plan to extend expiring income tax cuts for all Americans, renew jobless benefits for the long-term unemployed and grant a one-year reduction in Social Security taxes. Gov. Brian Schweitzer has been named the next president of the Council of State Governments. Gov. Brian Schweitzer has ordered flags to be flown at half-staff on Tuesday to honor a Montana trooper shot to death outside Three Forks. A group that will allocate mine cleanup funds in southwestern Montana is hearing arguments over how the money should be divvied up. The oilfield megaloads proposed to be trucked through Idaho and Montana may exceed Idaho's bridge weight limit. As a state, Montana is in better physical shape than a year ago, but residents are not nearly as healthy as they were in 1990, according to America's Health Rankings, an annual report that measures the overall healthiness of Americans. The Meth Project has been named the third-most-effective philanthropy in the world by Barron's, the business and financial magazine. Two more people applied for the job as state political practices commissioner before Friday’s deadline to bring the total number of applicants to 19.
Brushing past Democratic opposition, President Barack Obama announced agreement with Republicans Monday night on a plan to extend expiring income tax cuts for all Americans, renew jobless benefits for the long-term unemployed and grant a one-year reduction in Social Security taxes. Gov. Brian Schweitzer has been named the next president of the Council of State Governments. Gov. Brian Schweitzer has ordered flags to be flown at half-staff on Tuesday to honor a Montana trooper shot to death outside Three Forks. A group that will allocate mine cleanup funds in southwestern Montana is hearing arguments over how the money should be divvied up. The oilfield megaloads proposed to be trucked through Idaho and Montana may exceed Idaho's bridge weight limit. As a state, Montana is in better physical shape than a year ago, but residents are not nearly as healthy as they were in 1990, according to America's Health Rankings, an annual report that measures the overall healthiness of Americans. The Meth Project has been named the third-most-effective philanthropy in the world by Barron's, the business and financial magazine. Two more people applied for the job as state political practices commissioner before Friday’s deadline to bring the total number of applicants to 19.
Comments (0) TotalGood morning; on the Beacon today, fans of Northwest Montana’s smaller ski areas will have the opportunity to make turns in excellent snow as Lakeside’s Blacktail Mountain and Libby’s Turner Mountain prepare to open for the 2010-2011 season. The Flathead City-County Health Department has confirmed four cases of pertussis, commonly known as whooping cough, in the county and authorities are concerned about the possibility of an outbreak. The small crowd cheered and doled out high-fives at the Flathead County Commissioners’ meeting room on Dec. 1, a jubilant reaction to the 2-0 vote to adopt the final resolution approving the Lakeside neighborhood plan. On Tuesday, the Flathead County Commission unanimously approved a revised interlocal agreement for the “planning doughnut,” two weeks after the Whitefish City Council approved the same document.
Senate Republicans derailed legislation Saturday to extend expiring tax cuts at all but the highest income levels in a political showdown that paradoxically clears a path for a compromise with the White House on steps to boost the economy. The Grizzlies secured a 66-57 win over UCLA. D.J. McNorton rushed for 207 yards and a career-high four touchdowns as North Dakota State overpowered No. 4 Montana State in the fourth quarter en route to a 42-17 victory Saturday in the second round of the FCS playoffs. An official with the state wildlife agency has told Montana State University's president that cooperation between the two entities could end due to one of the school's scientists challenging the agency's conclusions on how significantly a proposed wolf hunt would reduce wolf populations. Mike Dennison looks at the opposition in oil-rich eastern Montana counties to Gov. Brian Schweitzer's plans to distribute more of the royalties they enjoy to schools statewide. The future of the U.S. Forest Service will depend more on private citizens even as its responsibilities for land management expand, Regional Forester Leslie Weldon said last week. Seventeen people applied by Friday's deadline to replace Dennis Unsworth as the state's commissioner of political practices.
Senate Republicans derailed legislation Saturday to extend expiring tax cuts at all but the highest income levels in a political showdown that paradoxically clears a path for a compromise with the White House on steps to boost the economy. The Grizzlies secured a 66-57 win over UCLA. D.J. McNorton rushed for 207 yards and a career-high four touchdowns as North Dakota State overpowered No. 4 Montana State in the fourth quarter en route to a 42-17 victory Saturday in the second round of the FCS playoffs. An official with the state wildlife agency has told Montana State University's president that cooperation between the two entities could end due to one of the school's scientists challenging the agency's conclusions on how significantly a proposed wolf hunt would reduce wolf populations. Mike Dennison looks at the opposition in oil-rich eastern Montana counties to Gov. Brian Schweitzer's plans to distribute more of the royalties they enjoy to schools statewide. The future of the U.S. Forest Service will depend more on private citizens even as its responsibilities for land management expand, Regional Forester Leslie Weldon said last week. Seventeen people applied by Friday's deadline to replace Dennis Unsworth as the state's commissioner of political practices.
Comments (0) TotalGood morning; on the Beacon today, Jeremie Hollman, along with his mother-in-law KC Glastetter, authored the children’s book, “Glacier National Park: An ABC Adventure,” in 2008 and have just released their second offering, “Yellowstone National Park: An ABC Adventure.” A convicted sex offender is charged with rape and felony sexual assault for molesting his Kalispell girlfriend's 5-year-old son. A judge will decide on Jan. 20 whether the punishment in a plea deal for state Sen. Greg Barkus is appropriate for felony charges stemming from an Aug. 27, 2009 boat crash on Flathead Lake. Barkus pleaded no contest to felony criminal endangerment as part of the deal at a hearing in Kalispell Thursday. And The Shak in Whitefish opened this summer with the intent of showing Whitefish the wonders of barbecue.
Moments before he was gunned down in a shootout, a young Montana Highway Patrol officer came upon a running pickup truck that was parked in the middle of a rural road, authorities said Thursday. The nation's unemployment rate climbed to 9.8 percent in November, a seven-month high, as hiring slowed. Republican lawmakers don't have enough of a majority to override any potential gubernatorial vetoes, so they are considering putting some of the most controversial measures before Montana voters. As high-level negotiations continued Thursday in Washington on whether to extend tax cuts for a sliver of the nation's wealthiest citizens, U.S. Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., introduced a bill that would end them - yet extend Bush-era tax cuts to all other taxpayers. The Missoulian relates the story of how police there apprehended a rape suspect. Residents along the south shore of Flathead Lake say they were "blindsided" by a decision by Verizon Wireless to build a 21-story-tall cell phone tower just a few feet outside whatever regulations it may have come under in the Polson city limits, 70 feet from one subdivision and smack-dab in the middle of the lake, island and mountain views of many more homes south of the site. Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., on Thursday defended his vote this week against banning earmarks, warning that it would be bad for Montana and have little effect on the federal debt.
Moments before he was gunned down in a shootout, a young Montana Highway Patrol officer came upon a running pickup truck that was parked in the middle of a rural road, authorities said Thursday. The nation's unemployment rate climbed to 9.8 percent in November, a seven-month high, as hiring slowed. Republican lawmakers don't have enough of a majority to override any potential gubernatorial vetoes, so they are considering putting some of the most controversial measures before Montana voters. As high-level negotiations continued Thursday in Washington on whether to extend tax cuts for a sliver of the nation's wealthiest citizens, U.S. Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., introduced a bill that would end them - yet extend Bush-era tax cuts to all other taxpayers. The Missoulian relates the story of how police there apprehended a rape suspect. Residents along the south shore of Flathead Lake say they were "blindsided" by a decision by Verizon Wireless to build a 21-story-tall cell phone tower just a few feet outside whatever regulations it may have come under in the Polson city limits, 70 feet from one subdivision and smack-dab in the middle of the lake, island and mountain views of many more homes south of the site. Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., on Thursday defended his vote this week against banning earmarks, warning that it would be bad for Montana and have little effect on the federal debt.
Comments (0) TotalGood morning; on the Beacon today, our annual Gift Guide features excellent ideas on unique gifts all made in Northwest Montana. Chief among those suggestions are skis from Whitefish's Montana Ski Company: skis handmade with wooden cores and top sheets from sustainable Montana timber. Nearly 200 local Special Olympic athletes will take over the Pin and Cue in Whitefish for the annual Holiday Bowl on Dec. 3, and organizers are inviting the public to join the fun as audience support. The Montana Highway Patrol says an Arlee woman swerved to avoid hitting a deer on U.S. Highway 93, leading to a crash that killed the woman and injured her passenger. And Mark Riffey sees a silver lining for business in the backlash over new TSA screening measures.
Extended unemployment benefits for nearly 2 million Americans begin to run out Wednesday, cutting off a steady stream of income and guaranteeing a dismal holiday season for people already struggling with bills they cannot pay. Reaching no quick fixes, President Barack Obama and Republican leaders in Congress vowed on Tuesday to seek a compromise on their sharply different views about tax cuts before year's end. Members of Montana's three state employee unions have approved a pay plan proposed by unions negotiators and the Schweitzer administration. The government is losing tens of millions of dollars in potential royalties from energy companies that let immense volumes of natural gas escape into the atmosphere, congressional investigators said in a new report. The U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday passed legislation funding $5.5 billion in settlement agreements that will mean hundreds of millions of dollars to Montana Indians. The group representing Montana school districts says Gov. Brian Schweitzer's funding plan for schools comes close to meeting their hopes for the next two years — but that his proposed transfer of oil-and-gas revenues to finance the plan is “unacceptable.” Leaders of the Montana Legislature on Tuesday announced their appointments for committee chairmen for the 2011 session. A bill calling for sweeping reforms in the nation's food safety regulations passed the U.S. Senate Tuesday with small business exceptions sought by Montanans.
Extended unemployment benefits for nearly 2 million Americans begin to run out Wednesday, cutting off a steady stream of income and guaranteeing a dismal holiday season for people already struggling with bills they cannot pay. Reaching no quick fixes, President Barack Obama and Republican leaders in Congress vowed on Tuesday to seek a compromise on their sharply different views about tax cuts before year's end. Members of Montana's three state employee unions have approved a pay plan proposed by unions negotiators and the Schweitzer administration. The government is losing tens of millions of dollars in potential royalties from energy companies that let immense volumes of natural gas escape into the atmosphere, congressional investigators said in a new report. The U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday passed legislation funding $5.5 billion in settlement agreements that will mean hundreds of millions of dollars to Montana Indians. The group representing Montana school districts says Gov. Brian Schweitzer's funding plan for schools comes close to meeting their hopes for the next two years — but that his proposed transfer of oil-and-gas revenues to finance the plan is “unacceptable.” Leaders of the Montana Legislature on Tuesday announced their appointments for committee chairmen for the 2011 session. A bill calling for sweeping reforms in the nation's food safety regulations passed the U.S. Senate Tuesday with small business exceptions sought by Montanans.
Comments (0) TotalGood morning; on the Beacon today, the frigid weather should be giving way to temperatures closer to normal, reaching the 30s and high 20s. Finley Point fire officials say a weekend fire caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage to a house on Flathead Lake. Polson state Sen. John Brueggeman has resigned his seat in the legislature, saying he needs to spend more time on his career after nearly decade in public service. Authorities in Polson have released the names of a weekend stabbing victim and the man suspected in the fatal attack.
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and the governors of the three Rocky Mountain states met Monday in Denver to try to figure out how to turn management of wolves over to the states — including the possibility that Congress could specify that the wolf population is fully recovered. A Russian mining giant announced Monday that it was selling its majority ownership stake in two Montana precious metals mines, but the mine operator said the move would not derail its major expansion plans. The Idaho Transportation Department has agreed to hold a hearing on whether to allow an oil company to haul four massive loads of refinery equipment through northern Idaho's scenic U.S. Highway 12 corridor. Democratic Rep. Kendall Van Dyk edged incumbent Republican Sen. Roy Brown 3,106 votes to 3,102 after a hand recount by Yellowstone County officials Monday. Congress could settle two major class-action lawsuits this week by African-Americans and American Indians who say they were cheated out of royalties or agriculture loans. Montana Public Service Commissioner Brad Molnar, accused in a hit-and-run accident in Laurel last month, denied traffic charges through his attorney on Monday.
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and the governors of the three Rocky Mountain states met Monday in Denver to try to figure out how to turn management of wolves over to the states — including the possibility that Congress could specify that the wolf population is fully recovered. A Russian mining giant announced Monday that it was selling its majority ownership stake in two Montana precious metals mines, but the mine operator said the move would not derail its major expansion plans. The Idaho Transportation Department has agreed to hold a hearing on whether to allow an oil company to haul four massive loads of refinery equipment through northern Idaho's scenic U.S. Highway 12 corridor. Democratic Rep. Kendall Van Dyk edged incumbent Republican Sen. Roy Brown 3,106 votes to 3,102 after a hand recount by Yellowstone County officials Monday. Congress could settle two major class-action lawsuits this week by African-Americans and American Indians who say they were cheated out of royalties or agriculture loans. Montana Public Service Commissioner Brad Molnar, accused in a hit-and-run accident in Laurel last month, denied traffic charges through his attorney on Monday.
Comments (0) TotalGood morning; on the Beacon today, with heavy snow and frigid temperatures in the preceding weeks, skiers and snowboarders can expect to descend more early-season terrain than usual when Whitefish Mountain Resort commences the 2010-2011 season on Dec. 4. Whitefish Municipal Judge Bradley Johnson is asking the Montana Judicial Standards Commission for a full hearing concerning an ethics complaint filed against him by a Columbia Falls woman stemming from a traffic dustup in a parking lot last summer. Polson police say a 32-year-old man has been stabbed to death and that an 18-year-old male is in custody. The Flathead County Animal Shelter is running at full capacity with more animals showing up each day; a situation that officials say may lead to turning away owner-surrendered pets. Many resources – from tax breaks to training grants to financing – exist to help small businesses, if they know where to look.
The release of more than 250,000 classified State Department documents forced the Obama administration into damage control, trying to contain fallout from unflattering assessments of world leaders and revelations about backstage U.S. diplomacy. Montana State hosts North Dakota State in an NCAA Football Championship Subdivision second-round playoff game on Saturday. Montana's jeans-wearing, gun-toting Democratic governor is stealing the thunder from a tea party-fueled Republican resurgence — and tweaking the new GOP Legislature in the process — with a unique plan from a Democrat to cut business taxes during a flagging economy. The governors of Idaho, Montana and Wyoming plan to meet with Interior Secretary Ken Salazar in Denver on Monday to talk about wolf management. Lawmakers, after taking Thanksgiving week off, arrive in town Monday along with the Capitol Christmas tree for the final stretch of the postelection session. The Missoulian reports on a wheelchair-bound Columbia Falls teen who bagged a six-point elk. The hand recount in the Billings Senate race between incumbent Roy Brown and Kendall Van Dyk has begun. Freshly re-elected U.S. Rep. Denny Rehberg has asked Montana's U.S. Sens. Max Baucus and Jon Tester to join congressional Republicans in their quest to end earmarks, the amendments to the president's budget proposals that direct federal funds to specific local projects. Year after year, the big kahuna in state spending is human services — and Gov. Brian Schweitzer's proposed budget makes no exception here, with substantial increases in Medicaid, the state-federal program that pays medical bills for the poor.
The release of more than 250,000 classified State Department documents forced the Obama administration into damage control, trying to contain fallout from unflattering assessments of world leaders and revelations about backstage U.S. diplomacy. Montana State hosts North Dakota State in an NCAA Football Championship Subdivision second-round playoff game on Saturday. Montana's jeans-wearing, gun-toting Democratic governor is stealing the thunder from a tea party-fueled Republican resurgence — and tweaking the new GOP Legislature in the process — with a unique plan from a Democrat to cut business taxes during a flagging economy. The governors of Idaho, Montana and Wyoming plan to meet with Interior Secretary Ken Salazar in Denver on Monday to talk about wolf management. Lawmakers, after taking Thanksgiving week off, arrive in town Monday along with the Capitol Christmas tree for the final stretch of the postelection session. The Missoulian reports on a wheelchair-bound Columbia Falls teen who bagged a six-point elk. The hand recount in the Billings Senate race between incumbent Roy Brown and Kendall Van Dyk has begun. Freshly re-elected U.S. Rep. Denny Rehberg has asked Montana's U.S. Sens. Max Baucus and Jon Tester to join congressional Republicans in their quest to end earmarks, the amendments to the president's budget proposals that direct federal funds to specific local projects. Year after year, the big kahuna in state spending is human services — and Gov. Brian Schweitzer's proposed budget makes no exception here, with substantial increases in Medicaid, the state-federal program that pays medical bills for the poor.
Comments (0) TotalGood morning; on the Beacon today, Jerry O'Brien is a volunteer who is always available for whatever help is needed. B.J. Lupton has observed the impact of nature’s whims on his business since 1977, when he purchased Snappy Sport Senter from his father. U.S. Sen. Jon Tester said Tuesday his compromise plan to both increase logging and expand wilderness still has a chance to clear Congress this year — a move that could be more critical for the legislation as hopes dimmed that it could clear a GOP-controlled House next year.
Gov. Brian Schweitzer, meeting Tuesday with the new Republican legislative leaders, asked them to fully consider his proposals and promised to do the same with theirs during a friendly initial get-together. Environmental groups on Tuesday sought to cancel the December sale of oil and gas leases on more than 234 square miles of public lands in Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota. Law enforcement officers who searched the medical marijuana business run by Jason Christ last week did so based on allegations that he kept hundreds of signed, blank doctor recommendations on hand, and altered checks for filing fees to the state agency that keeps medical marijuana records. Snow and withering cold that have pummeled Montana since Saturday cranked snowpack season into high gear.
Gov. Brian Schweitzer, meeting Tuesday with the new Republican legislative leaders, asked them to fully consider his proposals and promised to do the same with theirs during a friendly initial get-together. Environmental groups on Tuesday sought to cancel the December sale of oil and gas leases on more than 234 square miles of public lands in Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota. Law enforcement officers who searched the medical marijuana business run by Jason Christ last week did so based on allegations that he kept hundreds of signed, blank doctor recommendations on hand, and altered checks for filing fees to the state agency that keeps medical marijuana records. Snow and withering cold that have pummeled Montana since Saturday cranked snowpack season into high gear.
Comments (0) TotalGood morning; on the Beacon today, we run down skier visits and season pass sales at Whitefish Mountain Resort in recent winters. After considering, rejecting, and then reconsidering a proposal to change zoning regulations along U.S. Highway 93, the Whitefish City Council has tabled the issue until January. With the legislative session two months away, Montana lawmakers are wasting no time filing bill requests with the Legislative Services Division. Lawmakers from the Northern Rockies say pending bills aimed at getting gray wolves off the endangered species list have little chance of passage this year.
A former Park County sheriff has been sentenced to five years with the state Department of Corrections in an intimidation case that initially involved allegations he sexually assaulted a teenage girl. Real estate mogul Tim Blixseth is acting as his own attorney as he seeks to disqualify a bankruptcy judge who slapped the former billionaire with a $40 million fraud judgment. A conservative group, Western Tradition Partnership, has filed a lawsuit in its fight against charges that it illegally hid work to influence elections. Boeing Co. said Monday it has agreed to acquire Summit Aeronautics Group, a Montana manufacturer of titanium and other hard metal structures for commercial and military aircraft. Attorneys for the Montana Legislature have asked a district judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed by Gov. Brian Schweitzer against the 2009 Legislature and members of two of its key committees. The Montana Highway Patrol says the wintry weather that has buried much of the state resulted in nearly 600 crashes over the weekend. With a 42-inch base on the ground and more snow in the forecast, Bridger Bowl will fire up its lifts on Friday, two weeks ahead of the ski area's scheduled Dec. 10 opening day. Increased early-season snowfall over Rumsey Mountain has ensured Discovery Ski Area will open most of its front side terrain on Thanksgiving Day.
A former Park County sheriff has been sentenced to five years with the state Department of Corrections in an intimidation case that initially involved allegations he sexually assaulted a teenage girl. Real estate mogul Tim Blixseth is acting as his own attorney as he seeks to disqualify a bankruptcy judge who slapped the former billionaire with a $40 million fraud judgment. A conservative group, Western Tradition Partnership, has filed a lawsuit in its fight against charges that it illegally hid work to influence elections. Boeing Co. said Monday it has agreed to acquire Summit Aeronautics Group, a Montana manufacturer of titanium and other hard metal structures for commercial and military aircraft. Attorneys for the Montana Legislature have asked a district judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed by Gov. Brian Schweitzer against the 2009 Legislature and members of two of its key committees. The Montana Highway Patrol says the wintry weather that has buried much of the state resulted in nearly 600 crashes over the weekend. With a 42-inch base on the ground and more snow in the forecast, Bridger Bowl will fire up its lifts on Friday, two weeks ahead of the ski area's scheduled Dec. 10 opening day. Increased early-season snowfall over Rumsey Mountain has ensured Discovery Ski Area will open most of its front side terrain on Thanksgiving Day.
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Gabby Johnson said: "New poll out today: A roaring 10 percent of the American people think Congress is doing a good job. Denny Rehberg picked a bad time…
waterman said: "It might mean that some just do not like successful people or accomplishments."
RIGHTOFCENTER said: "Yea, just look at what Unions have done in this Country. They have just about bankrupted local and State governments all across this great country. …
ponymt said: "I’m not sure why it cut my statement short but the following is the complete sentence.. Additionally, consider how “responsible” society has…
RIGHTOFCENTER said: "I have to agree with Craig moore, I too was a big supporter of Gallagher, but I would have been a big supporter of anyone…
Yudamni said: "I would not trust Tester. He is supposed to represent Montana. When over 60% of us were against Obama Care he still voted for it! …
waterman said: "It might mean that some just do not like successful people or accomplishments."
Gabby Johnson said: "New poll out today: A roaring 10 percent of the American people think Congress is doing a good job. Denny Rehberg picked a bad time…
JB said: "Oh, joy…more taxpayer dollars being spent for a worthless circle jerk, to benefit a minority of folks that don’t believe in God."
ponymt said: "I’m not sure why it cut my statement short but the following is the complete sentence.. Additionally, consider how “responsible” society has…