News you can use
News you can use
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HELENA — Montana lawmakers are considering a proposal to repeal an obsolete state law that criminalized gay sex before it was struck down by the courts in the 1990s. Two years ago, a similar proposal to repeal the law cleared the Senate only to die in the more conservative House. But since then, the Montana Republican Party has removed from its platform the position that the GOP seeks to make homosexual acts illegal. The party remains opposed to gay marriage. More than a dozen advocates told the Senate Judiciary Committee o...
HELENA — A Montana family and their accountant are accused of tacking $70 million in bogus charges onto customer phone bills nationwide, then funneling some of that money through a religious organization to buy land and pay for the husband's legal bills. Steven Sann, his wife Terry, son Nathan and accountant Robert Braach run a maze of nine companies engaged in "cramming, " or adding unauthorized charges to a customer's phone bill, according to a civil complaint filed this month by the Federal Trade Commission. When c...
GREAT FALLS (AP) — Fort Benton Police say they are investigating a stabbing death. Police say a 21-year-old man died after being stabbed just before 2 a.m. Saturday. Police say a suspect is in custody, and that the suspect and victim knew each other. Names have not been released....
HELENA — As new gun laws are considered in the wake of recent mass shootings, the debate over such proposals in Montana is ramping up. One state senator has claimed that gangs of thieves are stalking gun owners, and a state representative is moving to resist any attempt to ban assault rifles. AP Photo/Matt Gouras David Phillip, left, and Kelly Phillip of Missoula pose at a pro-gun rally at the state Capitol on Saturday, Jin Helena. Rallies were held across the country this weekend to raise concerns about possible new gun l...
BILLINGS — A Montana judge issued an injunction Friday allowing wolf trapping and hunting to continue outside Yellowstone National Park, as lawmakers in Helena advanced a measure to loosen restrictions on killing wolves statewide. Combined, the two actions pave the way for a further ratcheting up of Montana's efforts to curb gray wolf numbers less than two years after they came off the endangered species list. Friday's decision from state District Judge Brenda Gilbert came after state wildlife commissioners attempted to c...
BILLINGS — Police are searching for two armed suspects who purported to be FBI agents when they allegedly kidnapped an Illinois man from a Montana hotel room. Police in Billings said Friday that 29-year-old Dejuan Laster is missing after two men showed up at the Extended Stay hotel where Laster was staying with an unidentified woman. After brandishing handguns and claiming to be federal agents, police say the suspects zip-tied the woman and questioned her extensively about Laster before releasing her. Laster has not been s...
HELENA — A measure to strip jail time for some first-time misdemeanor offenders, leaving just fines in place, easily cleared the Montana Senate on Friday despite opposition from county attorneys. The proposal would mean that the state would no longer have to provide public defenders for those charged with the crimes. Backers argue it would save money, ease crowding in jails and free up busy public defenders. The Senate unanimously approved the measure 47-0. It faces another set of hearings in the House. The list of o...
DENVER (AP) — Imagine a political change favored by an overwhelming majority of voters but mostly ignored by politicians. That's what campaign finance activists in Colorado and Montana are facing these days. They're scratching their heads at why politicians aren't talking more about campaign finance just two months after voters in both states, by wide margins, approved a ballot measure calling for federal changes to limit campaign spending. Activists gathered in the Colorado Capitol basement Friday to remind politicians of t...
BILLINGS (AP) — A Billings man has pleaded guilty to his 13th driving under the influence charge. The Billings Gazette reports that 55-year-old William Dean Grussing pleaded guilty Friday in district court. Grussing is scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 12 for the DUI from last June. If he's designated a persistent felony offender, he could receive up to five years in state custody. Grussing also pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of contempt of court....
HELENA — Lawmakers on Thursday were considering a renewed effort to test drivers suspected of driving under the influence of marijuana — a measure law enforcement agents said is necessary to deal with an increase in such cases. Republican Rep. Doc Moore of Missoula said his House Bill 168 provides a legal limit for the amount of THC — an ingredient of marijuana — that can be in a person's blood while operating a motor vehicle. He argued the measure is just aimed at enduring streets are safe, not at the debate over medical...
HELENA — Montana Senate Republicans held a pep talk Thursday for their members after documents detailing an internal power struggle publicly exposed a widening rift within the caucus — but the message was met with skepticism by at least one ousted leader. Senate President Jeff Essmann, appearing to offer a concession, told the caucus he will let the group decide policy goals collectively — including whether to back those coming from moderates. Essmann said his only personal goal is a conservative and balanced budget. AP Ph...
HELENA — Former NFL quarterback Ryan Leaf has been moved from a drug treatment center to the Montana State Prison for threatening a staff member and violating his treatment plan, a corrections official said Thursday. The former San Diego Chargers and Washington State Cougars quarterback was charged last spring with breaking into two houses and stealing prescription painkillers near his hometown of Great Falls. He pleaded guilty in May to burglary and criminal possession of dangerous drugs, and his five-year sentence called f...
HELENA (AP) — A series of emails shows plans by conservative Republicans to take over leadership of the state Senate from a more moderate faction. The documents obtained by the Great Falls Tribune also outline a long-term strategy that includes "changing the face of the Montana Supreme Court" and remapping legislative districts to favor Republicans, according to an email written by Sen. Jeff Essmann of Billings last September. "If we can implement the long term strategy we will be in a position to actually elect a majority o...
HELENA (AP) — Members of a House committee heard emotional testimony on a bill that would end the death penalty and replace it with life in prison without parole to save taxpayers the expense of such cases and prevent the possible death of a wrongfully convicted person. Marietta Jager Lane supports the bill even after her 7-year-old daughter was kidnapped in 1973, repeatedly raped, killed and dismembered. She told the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday that her daughter deserves a more honorable memorial than the s...
GREAT FALLS (AP) — A jury has awarded a former BNSF Railway Co. employee $1.7 million in damages in a civil lawsuit. The Great Falls Tribune reports (http://gftrib.com/YvDkUt ) jurors on Wednesday found BNSF negligently injured Robert Dannels' spine by assigning him work that caused trauma over the course of his career, which ended when the skid steer he was driving struck a metal pole as he was removing snow in the Havre area in March 2010. Dannels said he was thrown against the cab and he felt a popping sensation in his b...
HELENA — Montana's 63rd Legislature opened its doors last week, welcoming a new governor, 150 lawmakers, and even more staffers and members of the public. Legislators attended a number of introductory events while also getting down to business on several bills, marking the first five of 90 busy days off their calendars. So far, the House voted 99-1 to pass a $9.2 million "feed bill" to fund the current session and the start of the next Legislature in 2015. Committees prepped for hearings on the budget and lawmakers l...
DETROIT (AP) — Warnings about the zombie apocalypse may seem pretty amusing, but officials say they're dead serious about figuring out who hacked into the nation's public warning system to broadcast such messages in a handful of states. So far, people in California Michigan, Montana and New Mexico have heard the warnings about attacking zombies that have been sent over the Emergency Alert System. "Local authorities in your area have reported the bodies of the dead are rising from their graves and attacking the living," the me...
MISSOULA (AP) — The woman who accused former University of Montana quarterback Jordan Johnson of raping her a year ago said Wednesday that she had been kissing Johnson while the two watched a movie when he "just changed into a totally different person." She tearfully testified that he pinned her to her bed and raped her. She said she told him "no" several times. Assistant Attorney General Joel Thompson asked her why she didn't call out to her housemate, who was in the next room. She said she was terrified, in shock and c...
HELENA — Wildlife officials are asking lawmakers to make it easier to hunt and trap wolves in Montana. The House Fish, Wildlife and Parks Committee is scheduled to hear two proposals Thursday. The first by the FWP agency would allow hunters and trappers to buy multiple tags and use electronic calls. It also would reduce the price of a non-resident tag from $350 to $50 and eliminate the requirement that hunters wear fluorescent orange outside of deer season. The second bill by Republican Rep. Ted Washburn of Bozeman would g...
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Opponents of a railroad that would open Montana's coal fields to new mining have asked federal officials to halt their review of the proposal, alleging it would be much larger than disclosed with impacts stretching to the West Coast. Backers of the Tongue River Railroad say it would haul up to 20 million tons annually from a planned Arch Coal, Inc. strip mine near the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation. But opponents said Thursday they want to turn the spotlight on the potential for the $416 m...
HELENA — Gov. Steve Bullock's successful election campaign is announcing plans for the new governor's inaugural ball. Bullock took office Monday after beating Republican Rick Hill in November's election. Bullock takes office as lawmakers arrive in town to analyze his budget proposal. A release says that a celebration ball will be held Saturday, Feb. 9, at the Lewis and Clark County Fairgrounds. Tickets are being sold online at the fairgrounds web site starting next week for $25 each. The ball is scheduled to run from 7 p...
LIVINGSTON (AP) — A former state legislator accused of skirting a roadblock and resisting arrest asked for proof of a court's legitimacy, but kept disruptions to a minimum compared to a previous hearing. The Livingston Enterprise reports Joel Boniek appeared in Park County Justice Court Monday. Boniek pleaded not guilty to the misdemeanor charges from the July encounter with officers keeping people out of a wildfire area. Boniek told Justice of the Peace Linda Budeski he wanted proof her court is constitutional. She r...
HELENA (AP) — Gov. Steve Bullock's successful election campaign is announcing plans for the new governor's inaugural ball. Bullock took office Monday after beating Republican Rick Hill in November's election. Bullock takes office as lawmakers arrive in town to analyze his budget proposal. A release says that a celebration ball will be held Saturday, Feb. 9, at the Lewis and Clark County Fairgrounds. Tickets are being sold online at the fairgrounds web site starting next week for $25 each. The ball is scheduled to run from 7...
MISSOULA (AP) — Missoula's ban on the use of cellphones while driving transitions on Tuesday from an educational phase involving warnings to one with citations carrying fines up to $300. The Missoulian reports (http://bit.ly/X6HhQj) that a second citation can lead to a fine of up to $500. The ban allows for the hands-free use of cellphones, such as putting a caller on speakerphone or using ear buds with a microphone. Missoula Police Chief Mark Muir says officers issued 28 warnings in December. He says as daylight increases a...
KALISPELL (AP) — A man convicted of felony aggravated cruelty to animals in a Flathead County cat-hoarding case has failed to meet the requirements of his two-year deferred sentence by using drugs and failing to get a job or pay restitution. The Daily Inter Lake reports (http://bit.ly/U8f3rL Edwin Criswell was sentenced Thursday to two years with the Montana Department of Corrections. Criswell and his wife, Cheryl, were convicted in September 2011. He was given a two-year deferred sentence and they were ordered to pay $...
