News you can use
News you can use
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HELENA(AP) — A cold front moved in to the region Wednesday, providing welcome relief to firefighters in western Montana but bringing strong wind gusts and red-flag fire conditions to the south-central and southeastern parts of the state. The front meant temperatures in the 60s Wednesday morning near Bonner, where fire crews battled a 3,700-acre wildfire. The crews planned to take advantage of the cool, moist conditions to directly attack the fire's northern and eastern flanks. The fire was 45 percent contained and has cost $3... Full story
Long day at Montana Senate to approve GOP budget MATT GOURAS, Associated Press HELENA — The Senate was working late Monday tinkering with the state budget as Republicans agreed to put some money back in for electronic medical records as sought by Gov. Brian Schweitzer, although the vast majority of the proposals to restore the governor's plan were rebuffed by the GOP majority. Republicans running the Senate agreed early Monday that the state should indeed take about $35 million in federal money to help hospitals and local c... Full story
House backs bill to toughen laws for repeat DUI STEPHEN DOCKERY, Associated Press HELENA — A proposal to toughen the penalties against repeat drunk drivers was endorsed by the House Monday, one of a number of measures attempting to crack down on high drunk-driving rates in Montana. House Bill 14 carried by Democratic Rep. Mike Menahan would let courts look back to impaired driving offenses up to 10 years old when someone is being punished for a drunk-driving charge, a change from the current five-year cutoff. The measure, w...
BILLINGS — Public opinion on gray wolves remains sharply split as Montana and Idaho wildlife officials prepare to resume hunts for the predators after Congress removed their endangered species protections. Montana State Fish, Wildlife and Parks commissioners are due to meet July 14 to adopt a quota of 220 wolves to be killed during fall rifle and archery hunts. Idaho's hunt is scheduled for adoption in late July. Final details still are being worked out. AP photo A Mexican gray wolf moves through his new home after being rele...
Radio Shack satellite TV promotion a blast HAMILTON, Mont.— A southwestern Montana Radio Shack is offering would-be satellite television customers a bit more bang for their buck. Customers who sign up for some Dish Network packages at Radio Shack in Hamilton will be rewarded with a pistol or shotgun. Pacifists can pick a $50 Pizza Hut gift card. "I think it really, really fits the Bitterroot Valley," store owner Steve Strand told the Ravalli Republic for a story published Friday. Strand said it took some haggling to get D... Full story
HELENA — The Montana Supreme Court says Trout Unlimited can dispute water rights claims even though it doesn't have a claim to the water itself. The ruling overturns a Montana Water Court decision which had only allowed objections in ongoing cases by those with a water right elsewhere in a basin. But the Montana Supreme Court said Thursday the advocacy group has a long history of active contributions on the Big Hole River and should be allowed to object to the water rights claims if it chooses. Water Court judge Bruce L... Full story
HELENA — Three medical marijuana providers have been arraigned in the first criminal case stemming from a series of federal raids this spring on Montana pot distributors. Jason Burns, Jesse Leland and Joshua Schultz appeared Wednesday on charges of conspiracy, manufacture of marijuana, distribution of marijuana and money laundering. All three pleaded not guilty. They have been conditionally released. Schultz's Natural Medicine of Great Falls and Burns' and Leland's Queen City Caregivers in Helena were among more than two d...
BILLINGS — Forecasters said high temperatures in Montana on Thursday will trigger minor to moderate flooding over the weekend on rivers and streams scattered across the state. The prediction of more high water comes as many communities struggle to recover from weeks of flooding that inundated hundreds of houses and left many roads and bridges in need of repair. AP Photo/Rick Bowmer A high water closure sign is shown at a park Thursday, in The Dalles, Ore. States across the West are bracing for major flooding in the coming w... Full story
HELENA — The board of the state's largest workers' compensation insurer cut its rates by 20 percent on Friday, a move that some hope will help the business community and encourage more job creation and higher wages. The 7-0 vote by the Montana State Fund board (MSF) comes on the heels of House Bill 334, a massive workers' compensation reform package passed in the 2011 legislative session. Although it's workers' compensation costs are going down, Montana has the highest workers' compensation rates in the country. And l...
HELENA — Federal enforcement agents raided a Helena medical marijuana provider on Friday, the latest development in a continuing crackdown on pot distributors in the state. Paul Schmidt, the owner of Sleeping Giant Caregivers, was out of town Friday afternoon, but confirmed to The Associated Press in a brief telephone interview that agents were at his marijuana operation on the eastern edge of Helena. A search and seizure warrant signed Thursday by U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeremiah Lynch of Missoula authorized federal agents t...
HELENA — The Montana Land Board decided Monday to consider increasing grazing fees charged ranchers who run cattle on state land by perhaps twice as much. A study commissioned by the board found the state is charging far less for grazing fees than private landowners. The board, run by the five statewide elected officials from the governor on down, is charged with managing state land and raising money for the school trust. The land board gave the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation the go-ahead to begin a m...
HELENA — Opponents of a new state law that allows companies to condemn private property in the path of new power lines have begun gathering signatures to suspend the law and bring it to a public vote. A coalition of groups against House Bill 198 has formed the group VoteFor125. Group spokeswoman Kate Ord of Dillon said the secretary of state approved the group's petition language last week. A bill passed in April allows a power line company with a state certificate for its route to use the power of eminent domain to c... Full story
GOP stops death penalty repeal; keeps anti-gay law Associated Press HELENA — House Republicans put a stop Friday to separate plans that would repeal the state's death penalty and get rid of an obsolete state law that criminalizes gay sex. Both plans had cleared the state Senate — but the large Republican majority in the House Judiciary Committee tabled them and made it clear the GOP supermajority in that chamber won't allow either to advance. The death penalty repeal would have replaced the punishment with life in prison wit... Full story
Governor's office calls GOP budget 'unacceptable' The Associated Press HELENA — The governor's office is lambasting Republican legislators' budget proposal as "unacceptable," "absurd," and "ridiculous" at the start of Senate hearings on the spending plan. Friday's comments by David Ewer, Gov. Brian Schweitzer's budget director, set a stark tone for what already promised to be tense negotiations over the next month. House Republicans sent the Senate a budget that cuts spending of state money about 5 percent, while rejecting a... Full story
HELENA — WhileMichael Dills and Blake Robertson may not have the pull of professional influence peddlers, the two student lobbyists from Montana State University said they have reason to hope the Senate will restore some of the $32 million cut from higher education budgets by the House. As the budget heads into the Senate Finance and Claims Committee, the two said three Republican senators — Alan Olson, R-Roundup, Taylor Brown, R-Huntley, and Ryan Zinke, R-Whitefish — have promised to help restore at least some of the money...
HELENA — More flood threats loom for Montana as an already-deep mountain snowpack increases and a cool spring brings more moisture. River basins in the mountains are nearly double their average snowpack levels, and eastern Montana has already dealt with some rivers and flooding in places. The National Weather Service said flood threats could persist into early July due to the cool weather. "It is going to be a big flood year," said Gina Loss, a hydrologist with the National Weather Service. "There is not any part of the s...
HELENA — U.S. Sen. Jon Tester's campaign reports that it raised more than $1 million in the first quarter of what promises to be a long, expensive race against challenger Denny Rehberg. Tester's office says it raised nearly $1.2 million in the first three months of the year and had about $1.5 million on hand. Rehberg's numbers were not immediately available. Montana's Republican congressman announced early in the year he would be challenge the first-term Democratic senator in 2012. The race may be one of a handful that c...
HELENA — U.S. Sen. Jon Tester's campaign reports that it raised more than $1 million in the first quarter of what promises to be a long, expensive race against challenger Denny Rehberg. Tester's office says it raised nearly $1.2 million in the first three months of the year and had about $1.5 million on hand. Rehberg's numbers were not immediately available. Montana's Republican congressman announced early in the year he would be challenge the first-term Democratic senator in 2012. The race may be one of a handful that c... Full story
HELENA — U.S. Sen. Jon Tester's campaign reports that it raised more than $1 million in the first quarter of what promises to be a long, expensive race against challenger Denny Rehberg. Tester's office says it raised nearly $1.2 million in the first three months of the year and had about $1.5 million on hand. Rehberg's numbers were not immediately available. Montana's Republican congressman announced early in the year he would be challenge the first-term Democratic senator in 2012. The race may be one of a handful that c...
HELENA — Dozens of protesters occupied the governor's offices for more than four hours and interrupted their meeting with him by playing old-time tunes on a piano and dancing on an historic conference table after he refused to renounce his support for an oil pipeline project. The protesters argued that Gov. Brian Schweitzer should oppose the planned Keystone XL pipeline from Canada to the U.S. after the Exxon Mobil pipeline spill in the Yellowstone River. AP Photo/The Independent Record, Dylan Brown Anti-oil protesters b...
HELENA (AP) — The Montana hospitals that control New West Health Services, including Northern Montana Health Care, 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 that some of the hospitals want out of the insurance business so they can focus on upcoming health care changes. Northern Montana Health Care would be included in the changes, as would other New West health c...
HELENA — The Obama administration rolled out state-by-state benefits of the president's jobs plan on Friday, saying 30,000 Montana businesses would see a cut in payroll taxes under the proposal and the average household in the state would see a tax cut of $1,240. The Obama administration touted the state-specific benefits of the $447 billion jobs program of tax cuts and new spending as the president began taking his pitch directly to Americans. The centerpiece of the proposal is a reduction in the Social Security payroll t...
HELENA — Gov. Brian Schweitzer is signing the Legislature's top measure aimed at cracking down on drunken driving. The so-called "24/7" program was overwhelming endorsed by lawmakers and was backed by Attorney General Steve Bullock. The program requires repeat DUI offenders to take a breath test twice a day, every day, at their own expense from the time of arrest until their sentence is completed. Supporters say it has proved successful in keeping repeat offenders sober during a pilot project, and costs taxpayers nothing s...
HELENA — Gov. Brian Schweitzer vetoed a measure Friday that had stirred debate over abortion during the legislative session by proposing to make it illegal to kill an unborn child except in cases of medical procedures. House Bill 167 brought opposition from backers of legal abortion, and support from those who want to eventually make the procedure illegal. Republican supporters argued safeguards in the bill protect a woman from being charged in some way for the death of her own unborn child and say it has nothing to do w...
HELENA — Gov. Brian Schweitzer said Friday that he will use an upcoming two-week trip to China to promote Montana wheat, beef, tourism and energy — and will continue to run state affairs by remaining in "24/7" contact with staffers. The governor is scheduled to leave Friday. He's set to be the keynote speaker at a conference in Beijing on coal technologies, such as producing liquid fuel from coal. The Gasification & Coal Chemicals in Asia Pacific 2011 Conference is being held next Wednesday and Thursday. "I have been ask... Full story
