News you can use
News you can use
Sorted by date Results 1892 - 1916 of 2820
HELENA — The battle lines over competing workers' compensation reform plans crystalized Monday at a hearing for the Republican reform plan, as workers made it clear they don't like a bill partially written by the insurance industry. Construction, timber, oil companies all made up parts of the business community that aligned with the medical community in backing a Republican proposal aimed at cutting rates by as much as 40 percent. One eastern Montana oil business said it could save more than $600,000 in work comp costs a...
om Brokaw to receive honorary degree from MSU BOZEMAN (AP) — Montana State University will award former NBC anchor Tom Brokaw an honorary degree next month. The Bozeman Daily Chronicle reports the journalist and author plans to deliver a speech on Feb. 28 when university president Waded Cruzado presents him with the degree. Brokaw anchored NBC's Nightly News from 1982 to 2004. He has also written five books, won 12 Emmy Awards, two Peabody Awards, the Edward R. Murrow Lifetime Achievement Award and the Congressional Medal o... Full story
HELENA — The deadline is Friday for organizers to turn in signatures for proposed ballot initiatives that aim to repeal new state laws restricting medical marijuana and expanding eminent domain powers. Rose Habib, coordinator for a proposed initiative referendum sponsored by the Montana Cannabis Industry Association, said Thursday that the group has met the requirements required to put the question to voters in the 2012 general election. That meant gathering more than 24,337 voter signatures from at least 34 legislative d... Full story
HAMILTON (AP) — One of two Hamilton men charged in a phony investment scheme surrendered to Ravalli County officials after learning there was a warrant for his arrest. District Judge James Haynes of Hamilton issued warrants Tuesday for Harris Himes and James "Jeb" Bryant after state attorneys filed charges against the pastors in a phony investment scheme they say bilked a man of $150,000 in 2008. Sheriff Chris Hoffman tells the Ravalli Republic (http://bit.ly/qN7GO4 ) that Himes turned himself in Wednesday morning. Himes f... Full story
HELENA — The state employee unions say they have been able to secure a guarantee that employee health insurance premiums won't go up in 2012. The unions are separately fighting the state over a pay freeze that they argue was imposed by the Legislature in bad faith after they negotiated a raise with the administration. The unions are telling members that the freeze in health care costs will help make up a little bit for the "outrageous" pay freeze. The deal was reached earlier this week, but the governor's office says d... Full story
BILLINGS — Crews facing adverse weather forecasts rushed to bolster protective lines around blazes that have scorched tens of thousands of acres in the Northern Rockies, while firefighters in Oregon worked to corral a range fire that forced a kids' science camp to evacuate. Meteorologists warned that fire conditions would rise to critical Thursday afternoon and evening as thunderstorms roll across Montana, central Idaho and northwest Wyoming. The pattern of hot, dry weather and afternoon storms was expected to recur daily f...
HELENA — Montana's medical marijuana overhaul is due to take effect in less than two weeks, but the new law has been difficult to interpret and may have unintended consequences, the state's chief health regulator said Tuesday The law will ban commercial marijuana sales on July 1, leaving patients to either grow their own or find a provider who will be limited to care for a maximum of three patients. About a third of Montana's medical marijuana users grow their own currently, while the rest obtain the drug from registered p...
HELENA (AP) — A single-engine plane that crashed and killed two people in eastern Montana was conducting a prairie-dog survey for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, an agency spokesman said Friday. The Piper PA-18 Super Cub with two people on board took off from Miles City on Thursday morning and crashed in a rugged, remote area near the small community of Vananda, bursting into flames after impact. Rosebud County Sheriff Randy Allies said the men killed in the crash Thursday were 39-year-old pilot Chad H. Cyrus and 4... Full story
MISSOULA (AP) — A laid-off information technology administrator that a Missoula company attempted to hire back on a temporary basis after computer servers crashed was the person who hacked into the system that caused the problems to begin with, authorities said. The Missoulian reports (http://bit.ly/u4er6e ) that Vladimir Ivanovich Shved was charged Friday in District Court with two felony counts of unlawful use of a computer. His bail was set at $5,000. According to court records, the company's computer system had been d... Full story
MISSOULA — An attorney tied to a Missoula-based prostitution ring promoted through Craigslist has pleaded guilty. Benjamin Michael Williams of Missoula appeared in Justice Court on Friday and pleaded guilty to solicitation to commit prostitution, a misdemeanor. He was given a suspended six-month jail sentence and fined $500. The Missoulian reports he was the 12th client or would-be client charged in the case. The men who ran the ring — 30-year-old Richard Carpita and his then-roommate, 21-year-old Anthony Brazington — have...
BILLINGS — Montana's request for a presidential disaster declaration was approved by federal officials Friday following flooding that has caused at least $8.6 million in damage. The declaration makes the state eligible for federal assistance to repair and replace damaged roads, bridges and other infrastructure washed out by weeks of high water. It also means 31 counties and four tribes can be reimbursed for flood-fighting expenses ranging from overtime, to sandbagging and setting up temporary shelters. Courtesy photo An e...
BILLINGS— About 150 bison from Yellowstone National Park would be relocated onto state or tribal lands in Montana under a proposal announced Thursday as part of a long-stalled effort to establish new herds of the burly animals. After spending years in a government quarantine, the bison are disease-free and ready to move once the relocation is approved and fences are built, said Ron Aasheim with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. About $2 million would need to be spent on fencing for the two state-owned properties under c... Full story
WASHINGTON — It will likely be months before investigators know what caused an ExxonMobil oil pipeline to rupture near Billings, Mont., spilling about 1,000 barrels of crude oil into the Yellowstone River, a federal safety official said Thursday. Thus far, investigators are unaware of any safety violations by ExxonMobil related to the spill, Cynthia Quarterman, administrator of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, told a congressional hearing. The spill has fouled shoreline and contaminated b... Full story
BOZEMAN (AP) — The Bozeman Daily Chronicle and Montana Newspaper Association have filed a lawsuit against Montana State University seeking information concerning the school's suspension of MSU Symphony Orchestra conductor Shuichi Komiyama. The lawsuit filed Monday in Gallatin County District Courts contends 47-year-old Komiyama holds a position of public trust and that the public's right to know the reason for the suspension outweighs personal privacy concerns. The lawsuit also seeks court costs. The newspaper reported l...
HELENA — Police arrested a 48-year-old woman they say shot and killed her husband and another woman early Thursday, leading to a police standoff outside a Helena apartment building. Helena Police Chief Troy McGee said Michelle Coller Gable has been charged with two counts of deliberate homicide. She was treated at a hospital for an undisclosed injury and released into police custody. AP Photo/The Independent Record, Eliza Wiley SWAT team moves around the corner at scene of a double homicide Thursday near downtown Helena, M...
BILLINGS (AP) — The Billings City Council has postponed a final vote on an ordinance that would ban medical marijuana storefronts in the city. City administrator Tina Volek says that because there wasn't notice of a public hearing, it would be prudent to move the vote to the Oct. 24 meeting. Council members took Volek's advice and voted 9-1 Tuesday night to reschedule the meeting. The council passed an emergency 90-day ban on such businesses on July 5, but a judge issued a temporary restraining order on July 22 suspending t... Full story
HELENA (AP) — The Montana hospitals that control New West Health Services have tentatively agreed to transfer insurance coverage for 10,000 employees of five major hospitals to Blue Cross Blue Shield of Montana. Billings Clinic spokesman Jim Duncan tells Lee Newspapers of Montana (http://bit.ly/mOtmz7 ) that some of the hospitals want out of the insurance business so they can focus on upcoming health care changes. The other hospitals switching employee insurance to New West are St. Peter's in Helena, Community Medical C... Full story
BUTTE (AP) — Public school students in Butte were out of classes for a second day Thursday as 15 union administrators continued a strike that threatened Butte High School's participation in several varsity sporting events this weekend. The board of trustees held an emergency meeting Wednesday evening and discussed how it might deny a request by striking administrators to take personal leave Wednesday through Friday so they could be paid despite being on strike over salary negotiations. Photo by Walter Hinick/Montana S...
HELENA — Conservative groups are increasing their attack on Montana's campaign finance laws with a new lawsuit that seeks to dramatically expand how much money candidates can take in and who can give it to them. The federal lawsuit is being led by the same group that has so far been trying to overturn the state's century-old ban on corporate political spending. That case is scheduled for arguments this month before the Montana Supreme Court. The new challenge goes much further. It argues the state's limits on the amount t...
BUTTE — School administrators in a Montana town have gone on strike after failing to reach a contract, forcing the closure of schools for the duration of the work stoppage. The 15 principals, assistant principals and directors voted last week to strike at 6 p.m. Tuesday if they did not have a contract. Administrators were seeking the same percentage raise that non-union administrators are set to receive. Schools were closed Wednesday and for the duration of the strike. All school-sanctioned sports and activities were c...
HELENA — State gambling regulators say video gambling revenues have declined over the past two fiscal years, including a 16 percent drop in the most recent reporting period. The Gambling Control Division reported taxes collected from electronic poker and keno machines fell from $62.1 million in fiscal 2009 to $54.2 million in fiscal 2010, which runs from July 2009 through June 2010. The fiscal 2008 taxes were $63.4 million. Gaming Industry Association of Montana executive director Neil Peterson attributed the 2 percent d...
BILLINGS — Montana's governor said Monday he will not block the relocation of 68 bison to two American Indian reservations. Gov. Brian Schweitzer last week declared that no Yellowstone National Park bison could be moved within Montana. He cited mixed messages from the federal government on whether some quarantined bison could harbor the disease brucellosis. But Schweitzer said Monday the relocations can move forward because an Interior Department researcher said he believes the animals do not have the disease. AP P...
HELENA (AP) — A police officer training instructor testified that a Montana Highway Patrol trooper and a sheriff's deputy failed to follow their agencies' policies and procedures and inappropriately used deadly force in shooting a 13-year-old boy who had stolen $8 in gasoline. Alan Baxter, a former police commander and instructor for the Public Safety Officers Standards and Training program, testified Tuesday in Helena at a civil negligence trial in a lawsuit filed by the mother of Mark Keeley, who was fatally shot by the o... Full story
HELENA — A new poll released Wednesday found strong support for the state's stricter medical marijuana law, and showed that potential voters are nearly equally split in the U.S. Senate election. The Montana State University-Billings poll said 62 percent of respondents favored the overhaul of the pot law adopted by the Legislature earlier this year. The survey taken in mid-October included 411 adult residents and had a margin of error of 5 percentage points. The Legislature's crackdown on pot repealed the original medical m...
BILLINGS — A central Montana precious metals mine was under a partial closure order Tuesday as authorities investigated the death of a worker who crashed while driving a piece of equipment 1,200 feet underground. The victim was identified by Stillwater Mining Company as Dale Alan Madson, 42, a lead equipment operator who had worked at the mine since 2008. AP Photo/The Billings Gazette, Larry Mayer, File This undated file photo shows Stillwater Mining Company's mine at Nye, Mont. Underground work has been suspended at a c...
