Flathead Valley News Buffet: Kalispell, Montana News

Good morning; on the Beacon today, Whitefish City Manager Chuck Stearns is proposing a “local construction stimulus program” that would eliminate impact fees for four months on construction projects within the city’s tax increment district, an area comprising downtown and portions of the outlying neighborhoods. We take a closer look at the recent earthquake near Seeley Lake, which occurred along a fault known as the South Fork Flathead Fault, which runs from southwest of Augusta toward the Hungry Horse reservoir. Dick Nelson and his wife Carol decided to protect their Olney land’s character by putting 300 acres in a conservation easement. Three people are dead after an early morning house fire in Columbia Falls Friday. Lido visits Herron Park. And Kitchen Guy Jim Gray writes about how important service is to the restaurant dining experience.

A rare and nearly complete dinosaur skeleton stolen from private property in Montana and stored in an evidence locker for more than two years has been turned over to researchers. Montana's ban on corporate political contributions is still in place following a U.S. Supreme Court decision on the issue — but perhaps not for long, the state attorney said. Montana business and labor leaders worry that there may not be enough skilled workers to staff big manufacturing plants and build large industrial projects when the economy recovers. Previewing key elements of his State of the Union address, President Barack Obama is announcing on Monday a series of initiatives aimed at calming some of the economic fears of struggling middle class families. Montana Attorney General Steve Bullock is encouraging Montanans to learn about debt settlement companies before turning to one for help. A Billings area legislator's verbal attack on a hometown enemy is now at the center of an appeal before the Montana Supreme Court testing the constitutional immunity that Montana grants to shield legislators from legal actions over what they say in debates and speeches. Mike Dennison writes that Democrats have no one to blame but themselves for the health care mess. Ravalli County is considering re-instituting its "poor fund" to help residents who face eviction stay in their homes.

Good morning; on the Beacon today, U.N. scientists have recommended a moratorium on mining in British Columbia's Flathead Valley and the creation of a conservation plan for the remote region spanning the United States-Canada border, a U.S. official said Thursday. A Kalispell attorney is suing the Evergreen Water and Sewer District, and the developers and designers of a septic system that he says resulted in the drowning death of a 3-year-old boy in 2007. A collaboration between the Alpine Theatre Project and the Glacier Symphony and Chorale is performing the classic, "South Pacific" on Jan. 29, 30 and 31. Montana State will pay tribute to the late Craig Finberg of Columbia Falls during this weekend's game against Montana.

Montana doesn't have the authority to exempt itself from national gun control laws, the federal government argued in new court filings, hoping to beat back a movement from states adopting the Firearms Freedom Act. Gov. Brian Schweitzer said Thursday that he is canceling a new Labor Department computer system in order to save $18 million, the latest budget-cutting announcement amid new forecasts that a projected surplus is just about gone. U.S. Rep. Denny Rehberg says he will meet with U.S. Sen. Jon Tester to talk about the plan to both increase logging and wilderness area — but wants the meeting open to the public. Federal prosecutors filed a motion Thursday to dismiss the remaining charges against accused murderer Brian Weber, effectively scrapping a case that observers thought would bring closure to the Florence triple homicides. Missoula officials are disputing a list ranking it as America's second-worst city for job losses. Two legislative committees are sponsoring a training day March 3 so lawmakers can learn about declining state tax collections and their implications on the general-fund budget. U.S. Rep. Denny Rehberg, R-Mont., said Thursday he has joined 150 fellow House members in co-sponsoring a bill to block the Environmental Protection Agency from regulating greenhouse gases, which are seen as the chief cause of global warming. Six U.S. Marines stood at attention on the tarmac of the Yellowstone Jetcenter Thursday to collect the body of Cpl. Nicholas K. Uzenski, a 21-year-old Marine killed in Afghanistan Jan. 11.

Good morning; on the Beacon today, while most Flathead lawmakers seem to agree that a special session in 2010 is unlikely, no one would rule it out completely, saying it depends on how much worse Montana’s budget outlook appears. The Supreme Court has ruled that corporations may spend freely to support or oppose candidates for president and Congress, easing decades-old limits on their participation in federal campaigns – a ruling that could have vast implications for Montana's campaign finance laws. A group of huskies and husky-mixes were rescued from a squalid trailer owned by Juanita McGranor in Evergreen in June, and now they're finding new lives as pets and sled dogs. Contractors demolished a fire-damaged home in Stillwater Estates yesterday.

President Barack Obama and his Democratic allies are conceding for the first time that they may have to accept a less ambitious health overhaul bill than the massive one they've struggled for a year to assemble. The Schweitzer administration has decided to eliminate a pair of citizen advisory councils attached to the Corrections Department, and may look at eliminating other councils to save money. The number of acres of pine forest in Montana infested with the mountain pine beetle nearly doubled in 2009, but a forester says the epidemic is losing steam in some areas. Former Arkansas governor and 2008 Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee is scheduled to speak at Foothills Community Christian School's spring banquet in Great Falls this March. Five out-of-state men have been convicted on multiple wildlife charges stemming from an illegal outfitting operation in northeast Montana. And Mike Dennison reports that the day after Republicans torpedoed national Democrats' health reform plans by winning the Massachusetts Senate race, Montana's two Democratic U.S. senators had no clear plan for moving forward on the issue - although they said reform still needs to be tackled.

Good morning; on the Beacon today, the increasing demands of high school coaching have taken a toll on Patrick Dryden, the head football coach of Whitefish High school has recently resigned. The parents of a 3-year-old Kalispell boy who drowned after falling into a septic tank two years ago have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against a water and sewer district, land developers and an engineering firm. The Bigfork girls basketball team is dominating. Lido shoots a massive truss going up in Lakeside. And Mark Riffey believes it's way past time for a small number of people in the Flathead to pull together and build a viable, sustainable plan to pick ourselves up and take advantage of the assets we have. And Kellyn explains our new look, on the Web and in print.

In an epic upset in liberal Massachusetts, Republican Scott Brown rode a wave of voter anger to win the U.S. Senate seat held by the late Edward M. Kennedy for nearly half a century, leaving President Barack Obama's health care overhaul in doubt and marring the end of his first year in office. It's now gut-check time for Obama and congressional Democrats on their health care overhaul. Congress returns to a massive agenda in the new year – healthcare, a job-creation plan, financial regulation, global warming, and probes of the Christmas Day bombing attempt. But its first order of business is making sure the government can pay its bills. University of Montana economists predict that the state will see slow growth for the next few years. A swarm of minor earthquakes continues to shake the southwest part of Yellowstone National Park. The Missoulian's Michael Jamison reports on upheaval at the Troy Police Department. The Schweitzer administration has decided to terminate a pair of citizen “advisory councils” attached to the Corrections Department, to save money — and said Tuesday that it may consider abolishing other such councils. State video gambling tax receipts plummeted by nearly 18 percent in the last quarter of 2009, buffeted by the beginning of a statewide indoor smoking on bars and casinos and a recession that hit Montana hard. As President Barack Obama announced an extension of his Race to the Top education initiative Tuesday, Montana officials said they won’t be applying for any first-round funding — and may not apply for future funds, either.

Good morning; on the Beacon today, Bugge’s Construction CleanUp & Recycling business cleans the construction sites of new homes, remodels, renovations, demolitions and even haul off waste from foreclosed homes and abandoned rental properties. But instead of taking the material to a landfill, they recycle, resell or donate nearly everything. For several nonprofits in the Flathead, 2010 offers familiar fiscal challenges as well as opportunities to meet the higher need accrued during the last year. Check out our feature photo of rail slides above Whitefish Lake. Montana innkeepers are puzzled over statistics that show visitation at state and national parks was up last year, while hotel occupancy rates plunged. Oil and gas companies are on a high, while NBC is suffering a low, in our weekly index of what's up, down and in between.

A moderate swarm of earthquakes is rattling Yellowstone National Park in what researchers at the University of Utah say is a common event. Six U.S. Navy helicopters touched down on the grounds of Haiti's damaged presidential palace on Tuesday bringing reinforcements in the struggle for security and earthquake disaster relief — more than 100 U.S. troops. The District Court judge who denied Barry Beach's request for a new hearing over his long-fought murder conviction refused to step aside from the case.

On the Beacon today, the Quiet Skies Committee, a public group critical of Kalispell’s plans to improve and possibly expand the city airport, held another meeting last week at the Outlaw Inn that may have only muddled the issue. A record number of candidates registered for public office on opening day of the filing season. With Sheila Bowen now retired, her replacement, Kevin Gartland, appears fully ready to continue and expand the Whitefish Chamber’s well-established presence. The Flathead Valley offers a wealth of groomed Nordic trails for skiers of all abilities, and some of the best are on Blacktail Mountain in Lakeside.

Republican state Sen. Roy Brown is one of the more high-profile figures reaching out to other social and fiscal conservatives, hoping to create a bipartisan movement against capital punishment. Ted Turner's offer to have Yellowstone bison on his land is is stoking a sharp debate over the role of deep-pocketed private entities in conservation. State labor officials are hoping to land a federal emergency grant to assist the growing number of workers whose livelihood has been affected by the closure of Smurfit-Stone Container Corp.’s Frenchtown linerboard plant. Montana forests managers will get a $20 million boost from the federal government to address the mountain pine beetle epidemic and general forest health. Chuck Johnson compares Schweitzer to other governors who have had to slash the state budget.

Good morning; on the Beacon today, gray wolves killed livestock in Montana at the rate of an animal per day in 2009, stirring a backlash against the predators in rural areas and depleting a program that compensates ranchers for their losses. When golf season is over and the snow falls, the Whitefish golf course turns into the Glacier Nordic Center – more than seven miles of groomed cross country skiing trails considered the most popular cross country skiing destination in the Flathead Valley. Although the newly elected Libby City Council intends to deal professionally with whatever civic matters come before it in 2010, the distrust, accusations and legal maneuvering that ensued between council members over the last several months could make that difficult. Mick Holien speculates on what the Pflugrad era will be like for the Griz. And Warren Miller offers up some highly suspect medical advice.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said he likes what he sees in Gov. Brian Schweitzer's handling of state finances, and is enlisting his help in a good government project. MSU's proposed tobacco-free policy has stalled as students continue to debate the balance between public health and personal rights. Arkansas Democratic Sen. Blanche Lincoln's reelection bid will test not only the clout of the energetic but unfocused tea party movement but also how effectively the Republican establishment taps it. Montana Republicans, with 62 legislative candidates filing on the first day of the election season, launched their bid Thursday to take control of the entire Legislature, blasting Democrats as purveyors of higher taxes, bigger government and environmental "obstructionism." Rancher Dennis McDonald filed Thursday as a Democrat for the U.S. House, pledging not to vote one way in Washington while saying something different in Montana - as he accused Republican U.S. Rep. Denny Rehberg of doing. Dozens of people would be set adrift and some could be institutionalized if the state follows through on a proposal to stop funding day programs for the seriously mentally ill, local officials say. And Bozeman's dispute with Schweitzer over using stimulus funds on tennis courts will be featured on CNN.

Good morning; on the Beacon today, the United States Geological Survey reported at 3.9 magnitude earthquake in western Montana. DREAM Adaptive Recreation Inc., an organization established in 1985 to give disabled children and adults access to recreational opportunities in the Flathead Valley, has been carrying out their mission for 25 years. Once again, Flathead High School proved over the weekend that it's equipped to win its fifth straight Class AA wrestling championship. Shane Dowaliby, Nick Andrews and Logan Triplett are among four finalists in the Third Annual National College Funny Filmmaker Competition. And Mark Riffey looks for the silver lining in the Smurfit-Stone closure.

Speaking of Smurfit, union leaders for laid-off millworkers at Smurfit-Stone Container Corp.'s Frenchtown mill finalized an agreement Tuesday related to severance pay and medical benefits. Former U.S. Sen. Conrad Burns has returned to Montana as he continues to recover from a Dec. 9 stroke. Montana Sen. Max Baucus plans to announce Thursday that five oil and gas companies will relinquish drilling leases they hold on the Rocky Mountain Front, an area prized by conservationists. The Schweitzer administration has canceled the controversial pay raises awarded to 14 employees in the governor's budget office at a time when most other state workers are facing pay freezes. The construction of a federal courthouse in Billings is on hold. The city of Bozeman is moving forward with plans to protect homosexual and transgendered city employees from discrimination and provide same-sex partners with the same benefits as opposite-sex couples.