Flathead Valley News Buffet: Kalispell, Montana News

Good morning; on the Beacon today, with President Barack Obama’s plan to triple the size of AmeriCorps, Montana could be gearing up for a considerable increase in its already sizeable volunteer base. We're high on Mayor-elect Tammi Fisher and low on the state's dropping tax revenue in our weekly index of what’s up, down and in between. Attorneys are set to meet at a pretrial hearing Dec. 14 in the case against state Sen. Greg Barkus, who faces several charges stemming from a Flathead Lake boat crash that injured all five people aboard, including U.S. Rep. Denny Rehberg. State wildlife officials say they are shutting down wolf hunting along the North Fork of the Flathead River after the shooting of two wolves filled the area's season-long quota. And the Woodland Ice Center is open for skating at Kalispell’s Woodland Park.

One of the 13 people killed by a gunman at Fort Hood in Texas was a physician's assistant who served in the Montana Army National Guard for many years, his family said. A coalition of environmental and American Indian groups sued two federal agencies Monday to stop the mass slaughter of bison that migrate outside Yellowstone National Park in search of food. Bill Clinton will speak to Senate Democrats about health care legislation during their weekly caucus Tuesday. Rep. Denny Rehberg, who joined all but one of his fellow Republicans in voting "no" Saturday on the major health reform bill that passed the U.S. House, said the measure is an ill-advised "trillion-dollar government takeover of health care." Michael Jamison writes about the massive smoke in Libby due to the burning of Plum Creek slash piles just outside of town. And beef prices could be on the rise: Auction prices for young, lightweight cattle have increased $1 to $2 per hundredweight for each of the last two weeks as buyers look for animals that won't be fat enough for market until the economy improves.

Good morning; on the Beacon today, the rejection by voters of a $4.1 million-high school building reserve levy request in last Tuesday’s election came as something of a shock to local school officials. The Bigfork Stormwater Advisory Committee is beginning to accelerate its progress, installing two groundwater monitors. Construction is wrapping up for the winter on part of the major reconstruction of the Going to Sun Road in Glacier National Park. Flathead County has pulled its $35 million out of the state’s Short-term Investment Pool program. Several former Flathead County Library System Board trustees in Whitefish have publicly declared that they would like permission from the Whitefish City Council to research the possibility of changing the Whitefish branch’s relationship with the county, even if it means cutting ties all together. And Kitchen Guy Jim Gray goes off on the Montana's antiquated liquor licensing laws.

The health care overhaul bill that passed the House over the weekend faces a much tougher road in the Senate. Montana kicker Brody McKnight's 33-yard field goal on the final play sealed a 12-10 comeback win against Idaho State on Saturday, giving the Grizzlies their 12th Big Sky Conference title. Blayde Becksted and Everett Gilbert each scored a rushing touchdown as Montana State used a balanced offensive attack to post a 28-10 victory over Portland State on Saturday. A new dinosaur species has been lifted from the oblivion of a rock formation near Harlowton. Republican Public Service Commissioner Brad Molnar is feuding with Gov. Brian Schweitzer's administration, demanding e-mail records related to a proposed power line that would transmit energy to southwestern markets. Mike Dennison questions whether the state's aggressive public access laws are being violated when it comes to document requests. And Schweitzer orders a 35 percent cut in out-of-state travel by state agencies. Finally, a must-read story by John S. Adams on the mysterious uses of a Great Falls-based plane that may be used in illegal renditions by the CIA.

Good morning; on the Beacon today, the Montana Highway Patrol says a bus carrying the Kalispell Glacier volleyball team ran a red light and crashed into a truck, but there were no serious injuries. After four years of interviewing, compiling and editing, the MontanaPBS documentary “Never Long Gone: The Mission Mountain Wood Band Story,” is premiering all over Montana in the coming week. Just three years old, the Glacier High School Wolfpack are contending for the Class AA state football championship. Mick Holien is relieved the feud between Griz coach Bobby Hauck and the UM student newspaper, the Kaimin, is over – for now. And Warren Miller reminisces about the "good old days" of skiing in the 1940s in southern California.

The unemployment rate has surpassed 10 percent for the first time since 1983 — and is likely to go higher. House Democrats are scrambling to secure enough support to pass President Barack Obama's historic health overhaul initiative, working to soothe last-minute concerns from rank-and-file Democrats ahead of a make-or-break vote. The owner of a downtown Bozeman bar has filed the seventh lawsuit against NorthWestern Energy over a deadly March 5 natural gas explosion. David Benson, a veteran of political campaigns in South Dakota and Minnesota, has taken over as executive director of the Montana Democratic Party. Billings Republican lawmakers said Thursday that they will exert state rights if health insurance becomes mandatory under federal law. At the opposite end of the spectrum, single-payer supporters haven't given up hope. And two hunters near Boulder are shaken after a very close encounter with a lion.

Good morning; on the Beacon today, Molly Priddy looks at hospice care in the Flathead, a treatment in the spotlight after the debate over so-called "death panels" as part of health care reform. A request by the Northwest Montana Association of Realtors calling for a special session of the state Legislature to address “current inadequacies” in the property tax reappraisal carried out in the 2009 regular session was immediately swatted down by Gov. Brian Schweitzer last week. Glacier High School senior forward Maddey Frey has won the Western AA Player of the Year for girls soccer for the second straight year. And Wild Bill Schneider answers motorists' questions about why bicyclists ride the way they do.

Montana political and agricultural leaders hope Berkshire Hathaway's planned purchase of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad will lead to lower shipping costs in Montana, but they doubt much will change. Some Great Falls residents aren't welcoming the Montana Air National Guard's transition from F-16 to F-15 fighter jets, saying the noise from the new aircraft is bothersome. Yellowstone National Park recorded 3,267,683 visitors from January through October this year, exceeding the previous 12-month record of 3.15 million visitors set in 2007. State tax collections for the first four months of this budget year not only lagged those from the same period last year, but also trail what the 2009 Legislature forecast for this year, a legislative report issued Wednesday said. Working couples with two children in Montana start owing income taxes at a lower income than any other state, a report issued by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a left-leaning group in Washington, D.C. Authorities in Hardin are butting heads over the Two Rivers Authority board's move to charge the city attorney for animal-fouled carpets in the infamous jail. A conspiracy that brought nearly 20 pounds of cocaine to Billings and other Montana communities has ensnared at least eight people, including four former players and assistant coaches with the Billings Outlaws football organization. A week after rejecting the application for tribal recognition filed by Montana's Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians, Interior Department officials conceded Wednesday that the certification process is flawed and needs reform.

Good morning; on the Beacon today, Tammi Fisher will be the next mayor of Kalispell, winning handily in last night's election. Incumbent Frank Sweeney lost the Whitefish City Council race, and three new members are joining the council. And check out our full election rundown for info on the other races and school levy votes. The town of Eureka is on edge after the torching of a judge's office who is presiding over a contentious case. And Mark Riffey has a message for small business owners: Get aggressive.

Elsewhere in Montana elections, Polson overwhelmingly rejected the proposed resort tax by 84 percent, and so did Seeley Lake. The acquisition of Burlington Northern Santa Fe, the nation's second-largest railroad, by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway has some Montana political and agricultural leaders hoping it leads to cheaper shipping rates. The Montana Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld a state law cutting off workers' compensation benefits for injured, disabled workers at retirement age. And a fence is being installed around school property in Dupuyer to keep grizzly bears from wandering onto the playground.

Good morning; on the Beacon today, District Judge John McKeon of Malta has been named to preside over the case of state Sen. Greg Barkus, who faces several charges stemming from a Flathead Lake boat crash that injured all five people aboard. Owing mainly to a defunct real estate development in northern Idaho under foreclosure and a decision to plow $47 million into a reserve to provision for loan losses, Glacier Bancorp, Inc. reported a $1.5 million-net loss for the third quarter. Flathead voters will head to the polls Tuesday in an off-year election likely to draw significantly fewer to the ballot box than last year's presidential race. Fire officials confirmed on Monday that faulty wiring caused a fatal Evergreen trailer house fire. A 29-year-old Army sergeant killed during a training accident off the Virginia coast, Staff Sgt. James R. Stright, was remembered in Libby on Monday as a passionate man and fine soldier. Medical researchers have started a five-year investigation into the long-term health effects of human exposure to asbestos-tainted vermiculite ore in Libby.

Many political observers are considering the handful of important national elections today a very early test of President Barack Obama's political influence. A plan to use federal stimulus money to expand Internet service in rural areas of Montana is being assailed by regulators and telephone companies who believe the effort will essentially simply duplicate high-tech infrastructure already in place. Officials in Hardin say they intend to pay more than $1,400 to a California con man for meals and hotel rooms he provided to three city officials as part of his scheme to take over their empty jail. Two more Bozeman businesses have filed lawsuits against NorthWestern Energy over a March 5 natural gas explosion that killed a woman and destroyed half a city block. Snowpack in the eastern part of the state is way above usual. Public Service Commissioner Brad Molnar, facing ethics charges on his alleged misuse of state equipment and corporate donations, gets his day in court this week.

Good morning; on the Beacon today, in what is likely to be a recurring theme in Democrats’ attacks on Montana Congressman Denny Rehberg as he fights for reelection next year, his opponents say the five-term Republican consistently and hypocritically takes credit in his home state for benefits and projects funded by legislation he voted against in the House. The state Supreme Court unanimously upheld the Flathead District Court’s ruling that Whitefish violated a couple’s right to equal protection under the law after the city denied the couple’s building exemption permit. With 100 businesses signed up for booths at the upcoming Women’s Expo, a fundraiser for the Violence Free Crisis Line and its affiliated Abbie Shelter will hopefully provide a much-needed boost to the financially strapped agency. Flathead County commissioners voted last week to designate Flathead County as a “recovery zone” for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, making the county eligible for federal recovery bonds. Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks has captured an albino black bear near Olney and moved it to Glacier National Park. And Kitchen Guy Jim Gray writes up an amazing dessert you can make for breakfast.

Rehberg spoke Saturday at Montana State University Billings before about 500 people, saying he agrees with about 80 percent of the House health care bill.
Montana is reporting that federal stimulus money funneled through the state has so far resulted in more than 4,100 jobs created or saved by the cash infusion, and that most of them came in education and government. Aaron Mason ran for 108 yards and two touchdowns to lead Montana State to a 41-10 win in a Big Sky Conference game Saturday. Hundreds marched in Bozeman over the weekend in support of peace and tolerance as a reaction to the White Supremacist rallies staged there recently. Gov. Brian Schweitzer's recommendation that one firm get $70 million in federal stimulus funds to expand high-speed Internet service is being blasted by Montana telephone companies and regulators, who say the project won't extend new service to underserved areas. Yellowstone National Park's scientific research on wolves got caught in the crossfire of Montana's inaugural wolf season when hunters killed two collared wolves just north of the park earlier this month.

Good morning; on the Beacon today, Herron Park will host its 10th annual cyclocross race Sunday, Nov. 8, marking the third time the Flathead will host the state championship, with teams traveling from Helena, Bozeman, Missoula and beyond to compete. After 30 years in the Flathead, Semitool founder Ray Thompson is looking back at his roots while looking to the future. Jonathan Jarvis assumed the helm of America's national parks this month, but not before he made two important pilgrimages. And Mick Holien believes there just couldn’t be a better idea than the move that’s underway in Missoula to change the name of Campus Drive, which circles Washington-Grizzly Stadium and runs at the foot of Mount Sentinel, to Don Read Boulevard.

An arrest warrant was issued Thursday in California for Michael Hilton, a convicted felon who earlier tried to take over a Montana jail in Hardin, according to an attorney. A group that helps people sign up for medical marijuana cards is no longer welcome at the Great Falls Civic Center after the city complained of people smoking weed in and near the building. A former sergeant with the Ravalli County Sheriff's Department who is accused of stealing more than 40,000 rounds of ammunition has pleaded not guilty to felony theft. Attorney General Steve Bullock says the state's sex offender registry now has an Internet mapping feature. Neil C. Livingstone, president of a global investigative and security business in Washington, D.C., said he is being asked by people to return to Montana to run as a Republican for governor or U.S. senator in 2012. With the value of their investment assets plunging for the year ending June 30, Montana's two major state pension funds racked up massive increases in their unfunded liabilities, a legislative committee learned Friday.