Flathead Valley News Buffet: Kalispell, Montana News

Good morning; on the Beacon today, four dancers in the Northwest Ballet School and Company will perform together this season in their last production of the Nutcracker. Fight Force’s Kalispell Kombat at the Majestic Valley Arena is tonight. Doors open at 6 p.m. and the event begins at 7:30 p.m. The state Department of Revenue is defending the property reappraisal system, saying it's working so far. And Mick Holien celebrates the Griz seniors approaching the close of their college careers.


A judge says the government must keep Yellowstone-area grizzly bears on the list of threatened and endangered species, denying an attempt by federal officials to reverse an earlier court ruling. Hunters will have three more months to hunt wolves in Idaho. A federal appeals court ruled Thursday that Yellowstone County should not be held responsible for the legal defense provided to a former Billings man, Jimmy Ray Bromgard, who spent 15 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. The last of three people, Jennifer Anne Larson, charged in the death of a 3-year-old Billings boy was given a 10-year suspended prison sentence Thursday for criminal endangerment and must pay about $10,000 in restitution. The Missoulian's Vince Devlin report on how a Ronan woman who says she was repeatedly denied a prescribed medication while pregnant and serving time in the Lake County Detention Facility for traffic violations has sued the county, Sheriff Lucky Larson, chief detention officer Luke Mathias and Dr. Stephen Irwin, the jail's medical doctor. A bill written by Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., passed the Senate on a unanimous vote Thursday, keeping what he described as America's promises to its veterans, particularly those living in rural America. Two of Montana’s main business lobbies are taking aim at health care reform before Congress, saying it could drive up costs for businesses by increasing taxes or insurance costs. Bankruptcy papers filed by Moonlight Basin Wednesday afternoon paint a dire financial portrait of Montana’s newest ski resort. A new report says Montana's children are healthier than the national average, but many live in poverty.

Good morning; on the Beacon today, Molly Priddy examines whether the federal stimulus is delivering as promised in terms of providing jobs. After 42 years, Books West in downtown Kalispell is closing its doors. An environmental group is seeking to stop three logging projects on several thousand acres in northwest Montana, arguing that the timber sales would harm the area's fledgling grizzly bear population. And Wild Bill Schneider believes the timing is right to pass the Roadless Rule.

Gov. Brian Schweitzer says budget concerns are behind a decision to cut four Commerce Department jobs. Moonlight Basin Ranch said Wednesday the ski and golf community has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after Lehman Brothers decided to foreclose on an outstanding loan. U.S. Sen. Jon Tester said a lot of good things Wednesday night about the sweeping Senate health care bill — but stopped short of promising to vote for it. The new Senate bill is estimated to cost $849 billion and the debate over the bill is going to be a marathon. Some groups are criticizing a proposal from the state Revenue Department that would lighten penalties for businesses that sell alcohol to minors if they require worker training. The state's Human Rights Bureau says it has found "reasonable cause" to believe that a Bozeman housing ordinance is discriminatory. Doctors in Missoula are panning a new recommendation that women can wait until later in life to be screened for breast cancer.

Good morning; on the Beacon today, a retail renaissance in layaway is happening around the valley as the holiday shopping season approaches. Whitefish City Attorney John Phelps has announced his retirement, to become effective in July of 2010. We've got more on Semitool's acquisition by Applied Materials. And business columnist Mark Riffey explains how every day is Election Day when it comes to growing your business.

Montanans give President Barack Obama poor marks on job performance, don't approve of the federal stimulus spending and think that health care will get worse under the federal health care bill, according to poll results released Tuesday. University of Montana President George Dennison's new budget calls for cutting $1.4 million in personnel costs and $1.9 million in operations in an effort to plug a hole caused by the disappearance of one-time federal stimulus dollars. Construction of new homes unexpectedly plunged last month, as builders waited to see whether lawmakers would extend a tax credit for homebuyers. The state has notified about 2,000 jobless Montanans whose unemployment benefits have expired that they are now eligible for extended payments under a recently passed federal law. Montana businesses will be paying higher unemployment insurance premiums next year because of the increased amounts of benefits paid out due to the economic recession. Salish Kootenai College will name a new president early next year, and the names of the four finalists have been announced. And Montana Attorney General Steve Bullock is trying to raise awareness of prescription drug abuse in the state.

Good morning, on the Beacon today, California-based Applied Materials, Inc., will acquire Semitool of Kalispell for $364 million - be sure to check back throughout the day for updates on the deal from Beacon reporter Dan Testa. Approval ratings for Montana's Sen. Max Baucus are down 20 points after taking heat from both liberals and conservatives during his push for national health care reform. Officials at the Flathead County Planning and Zoning office say they have not been contacted during the third-party investigation into their department and county commissioners report that the investigation's fieldwork is complete. Montana's first wolf hunting season shut down on Monday after hunters reached the 75-wolf quota. Prosecutors say a Missoula woman embezzled $240,000 from an architect firm. State Attorney General Steve Bullock is suing BNSF for failing to live up to a 1984 agreement that the state says requires the company to pay some grain shipping costs in central Montana.

Sarah Palin plans on promoting her book, "Going Rogue," in Billings on Dec.8. The Montana Land Board delayed their decision on whether or not to lease vast state-owned coal tracts. Federal officials plan to spend $11.7 million for about 5,000 acres of private land in national monuments, forests and recreation areas in three Western states. A 24-year-old Missoula man received his fifth DUI only nine days being sentenced for his fourth. A 25-year-old Deer Lodge man was shot and killed in what officials say was a hunting accident while on a camping trip. A medical marijuana facility in Helena is hoping to make the business more legitimate now that the federal government has taken legal pressure off licensed producers.

Good morning; on the Beacon today, a proposed logging project in a heavily-used network of trails near Whitefish on Spencer Mountain has residents there mobilizing to make sure that recreation is considered as part of the plan. The jail in Columbia Falls will close its doors when the new county 911 center begins operation this February, prompting the city to change its routine way of incarcerating prisoners. A spokeswoman for Many Glacier Lodge in Glacier National Park says work to correct health and safety issues at the lodge will begin in a year. Leaders of the Flathead Valley Multi-Faith Project are planning their second annual potluck Thanksgiving dinner for Nov. 22. Kalispell's Old Steel Bridge fishing access is a high traffic area for anglers and those looking for an accessible outdoor break. Kitchen Guy Jim Gray continues his criticism against the state of Montana's alcohol licensing laws.

Montana's state Land Board on Monday will have the chance to offer up for lease a vast tract of coal in the southeastern corner of the state. Smoking in Montana's bars, casinos and restaurants was forbidden Oct. 1, but some Great Falls residents are complaining the prohibition isn't being enforced. Medical marijuana providers in Montana, while legal, still face obstacles regarding whether law enforcement and others understand what's legal and what's not. A Lincoln County woman, Morgan Jackson of Eureka, was killed on Friday when she lost control of the Mazda she was driving on U.S. Highway 93 near Stryker. Lee's Mike Dennison has a great analysis this week of how health care legislation in Congress will affect Montanans having trouble with their current insurance. He also looks at his own family's health care, and the "socialist" care his son receives while attending college in Vancouver. And one economist says taxpayer-funded offshore information technology work for state projects isn't necessarily a bad – or even uncommon – thing.

Good morning; on the Beacon today, a city councilman in Libby says the Environmental Protection Agency owes the asbestos-plagued Superfund community $2 million for the demolition of several contaminated buildings owned by the city. On Saturday, Flathead High School graduate Brock Osweiler will become the first quarterback to start as a true freshman for Arizona State University since Jake Plummer in 1993. The Banff Mountain Film Festival arrives in the Flathead again next week. The Hockaday Museum is expanding its offering of classes meant to broaden students' art experiences, like a current class in mask-making. And Warren Miller talks about his experiences being stuck on chairlifts all over the world.

A federal judge approved a settlement in a class-action lawsuit Thursday that was filed against the Great Falls-based financial services company D.A. Davidson after a computer hacker broke into a database containing confidential client information. Environmental groups are asking Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer to push for changes in a pending regional power plan so that it reduces greenhouse gas emissions over the next 20 years. Groups all over the state protested outside the offices of Rep. Denny Rehberg, R-Mont., over his vote against health care overhaul legislation. Meanwhile Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., was in Bozeman making the case for how rural Montanans will benefit from the health care legislation. And Tom Lutey's got a story on how the ag industry is faring better than many other sectors of the economy, but farmers aren't immune from the recession either.

Good morning; on the Beacon today, in the weeks leading up to the Nov. 3 election, the Whitefish political landscape had become one of contentiousness, even bitterness – but now it's time to heal. John McMenamin of Kalispell says he will try again to limit property tax increases with a constitutional ballot measure. With little or no pressure from developers to buy up the agricultural lands along the Flathead River corridor, the Flathead Land Trust has found its mission to preserve those private parcels, mainly through voluntary conservation easements, made much easier of late. Ryan Keenan, a 12-year-old golf prodigy from Bigfork with a vision impediment in both eyes, shot his first career hole-in-one last week. And Dave Skinner writes about the tough row-to-hoe that new National Park Service Director Jonathan Jarvis faces.

New claims for unemployment insurance fall more than expected last week, evidence the job market is slowly healing as the economy recovers. With few Americans enjoying the benefit of paid sick leave, those feeling symptoms of swine flu are unlikely to stay home from work. The illegal shooting of an 800-pound grizzly bear is the latest of several cases of poachers killing a trophy animal and leaving its carcass to rot, Montana wildlife officials said. A Hays man says he recently shot a 200-pound adult mountain lion that was lounging in a tree about 40 feet from his front door — further evidence the big cats are moving into Montana's prairies. UM President George Dennison could be looking at a $75,000-raise. A former middle school teacher’s aide who is accused of abusing an autistic boy by placing his head under water after he dozed off in class has returned to Great Falls to face charges.

Good morning; on the Beacon today, with the economy in the Flathead still struggling, Tammi Fisher’s mayoral victory was among several others throughout the valley, particularly in Whitefish, that saw candidates running on pro-business platforms swept into office. Plum Creek Timber Co. is enjoying a fruitful energy conservation partnership with the Flathead Electric Cooperative and the Bonneville Power Administration. With all of Northwest Montana’s football teams knocked out of the playoffs, the region’s state championship hopes rest on the shoulders of three volleyball teams: Flathead in Class AA, and Libby and Polson in Class A.

A new AP poll indicated President Barack Obama still has the approval of a majority of Americans, but it's an increasingly pessimistic nation. Camelina companies say federal officials have approved the use of meal from the biofuels crop as a 10 percent supplement in cattle feed. Dozens of wild bison from Yellowstone National Park would be relocated to a Montana ranch owned by billionaire Ted Turner, under a recommendation made by state and federal officials Tuesday. Chuck Johnson reports that fixing Montana’s financially unstable state government pension funds through higher investment returns alone will be extremely hard to do after they lost nearly 21 percent of their value last year, the state Board of Investments executive director said Tuesday. Newly released estimates for U.S. wheat, corn and soybean crops may put to rest fears that a wet harvest season in many parts of the country could cut into production. State and federal officials have increased the reward to $11,000 in a grizzly bear poaching case on the Rocky Mountain Front. A Stevensville man wants to change Montana’s constitution to allow citizens, not just judges, to convene special investigative juries in their counties.