News you can use
News you can use
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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...
Senate backs embattled medical marijuana overhaul STEPHEN DOCKERY ,Associated Press HELENA — The Senate has backed a medical marijuana reform bill in an initial vote. But the proposal still faces hurdles as lawmakers struggle with one of the session's biggest issues. The 38-12 vote Wednesday indicated support for the plan. A final vote scheduled later Wednesday will require the support of two-thirds of the chamber to ensure passage to the House. That means at least 34 senators must vote yes for it to pass. Senate Majority L...
HELENA — The Montana House tackled another round of social bills on Tuesday, dealing blows to gay advocates seeking to repeal a law that makes gay sex a crime while separately giving a victory to abortion foes trying to make it harder for teens to get the procedure. Republicans running the chamber largely got their way on both issues, but many from their ranks split on a vote brought by Democrats attempting to advance from a committee a plan to repeal the antiquated anti-gay law. The attempt failed despite a 51-47 vote in f...
Montana Senate to vote on medical marijuana overhaul STEPHEN DOCKERY, Associated Press HELENA — Senators were working up against a deadline Tuesday on the latest measure to tighten Montana's medical marijuana laws, potentially setting up a clash with House Republican leaders who favor total repeal of the state's marijuana laws. Lawmakers are rushing to beat a procedural deadline, before extra votes would be required to pass the bill to the House. Senate Bill 423, carried by Senate Majority Leader Jeff Essmann of Billings, w...
Code of West proposal unceremoniously killed HELENA — The legislative attempt to enshrine an author's "Code of the West" in state law appears dead. A House committee on Tuesday overwhelmingly rejected the idea that had already cleared the Senate with the backing of Senate President Jim Peterson. The bill adopts the 10-point code from a book directed at Wall Street mismanagement. But the measure has been lampooned by the governor and others. Gov. Brian Schweitzer has openly threatened a veto and argues the Legislature has b...
Senate revives, endorses veteran jobs bill HELENA — A Helena Democrat's bill to help military veterans get jobs is getting a second chance in the Senate. Sen. Mary Caferro's Senate Bill 359 would set up a program to give loans to veterans and their spouses for short-term job training. At least half of the loan would have to be paid back by the veteran and the rest by the employer. Caferro says the measure is targeted at veterans who do not have time to go to a two- or four-year school. The bill originally called for giving t...
MISSOULA, Mont. (AP) — A cancer patient whose court-ordered hysterectomy was halted by the Montana Supreme Court earlier this month after the woman objected based on her religious beliefs and that she wanted children has decided to undergo the procedure. A motion filed Thursday in Missoula County District Court states the 46-year-old woman believes the medical treatment recommended is in her best interests. Justices on March 1 delayed a lower court's order that the woman undergo a hysterectomy to give her time to appeal a f...
House whacks Missoula marijuana, gay rights laws MATT GOURAS, Associated Press HELENA — The state House has shot down a Missoula city ordinance that extends discrimination protections to gays and upended a Missoula County initiative ordering police to make marijuana crimes their lowest priority. Republicans targeted the local Missoula policies in a pair of votes Tuesday. House Bill 516 would undo Missoula's local ordinance protecting residents from housing and employment discrimination based on "actual or perceived" sexual o...
Lawmakers punt on physician-assisted suicide MATT VOLZ, Associated Press HELENA — Montana legislators had been asked to choose between two proposed bills in creating a physician-assisted suicide law: Ban the practice altogether or create regulations for doctors and terminally ill patients to follow. Now it appears they'll do neither, leaving the state in the same legal limbo that has existed since a Montana Supreme Court ruling effectively legalized the practice more than a year ago. Attempt to bypass committee failed Both b...
Montana House votes to nullify Endangered Species Act MATT GOURAS, Associated Press HELENA — The Montana House has overwhelmingly endorsed a plan to disregard the federal law protecting endangered and threatened species. Republicans enthused by Gov. Brian Schweitzer's recent tough talk on wolves led a 61-39 vote Saturday to nullify the federal Endangered Species Act in Montana. Tea party politics in the Legislature have spawned increasing belief in an 18th-century doctrine that purported to give states the ultimate say in c...
Bill offering leniency for guns at school stopped STEPHEN DOCKERY, Associated Press HELENA— A House committee stopped a bill Friday to make allowances for bringing guns on school grounds, as concerns over guns at schools trumped worries that students were being treated too harshly for leaving hunting rifles in their cars. House Bill 558, which was tabled in committee, would have no longer made it a requirement to expel a student who brings a gun to school and proposed that guns locked in a vehicle on school grounds do not q...
Panel hears competing plans involving gay rights MATT GOURAS, Associated Press HELENA — A Senate panel agreed Friday it is time to remove an obsolete anti-gay law from the books — a move that surprised gay rights advocates at the Capitol separately dealing with proposed changes to discrimination laws. The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 7-5 to endorse a bill that removes from the books a Montana law declaring homosexual acts illegal, sending the proposal to the full Senate. The language remains in the code even though the...
Missoula judge reduces teen's sentence MISSOULA (AP) — A judge has thrown out a plea agreement that called for prison time for a 19-year-old Native American on a criminal endangerment charge, saying he should receive a deferred sentence like a former state senator did last month for a similar offense. "The state of Montana needs to treat defendants more or less equally and not give old, rich guys breaks and with young, poor Indians, whack 'em," District Judge Dusty Deschamps said Tuesday. Missoula County prosecutors had r...
Workers compensation: Employers, workers watch and worry CODY BLOOMSBURG Community News ServiceEmployers, workers watch and worry UM School of Journalism HELENA — It's not just for bricklayers with blown knees or loggers with severed toes. Workers compensation insurance takes care of stock boys with pulled backs and nurses who contract their patients' diseases. Most employers pay for it, and thousands of Montana workers might someday have to rely on it. But Montana's system is broken, say business owners and many l...
HELENA — Gov. Brian Schweitzer has chosen Helena attorney and former legislator David Gallik to head the state's political practices office. In picking Gallick, the Democratic governor ignored three other candidates forwarded by legislative leaders of both parties earlier Friday. Schweitzer was not bound to the picks. But when he picked Jennifer Hensley, one of the last nominees that lawmakers sent to him, the GOP-led Senate rebuffed that choice. The Senate must confirm Gallik when the Legislature reconvenes in 2013. G...
GOP budget plan continues march through the House MATT GOURAS, Associated Press HELENA — The Republican budget plan continued its relatively easy advance through the full House with just the smallest of changes on Saturday, a day when Republicans and Democrats were able to agree on aspects of the budget. Overall, Republicans are proposing a plan that reduces spending of state tax money overall by about 5 percent. On Saturday, the House moved the corrections, justice and natural resource agency portions of the budget with j...
Mom accused of hosting underage drinking party The Associated Press MISSOULA— A 38-year-old Frenchtown mother accused of hosting an underage drinking party has pleaded not guilty to six misdemeanor counts of endangering the welfare of children. Angela Marie Merritt was arrested Thursday night and appeared in Missoula County Justice Court on Friday. The Missoula County Sheriff's office says up to 15 underage students gathered at Merritt's house Thursday afternoon, 13 of whom were issued citations for being a minor in p...
Terrorism expert files for Mont. governor's race MATT GOURAS, Associated Press HELENA — Washington D.C.-based terrorism expert Neil Livingstone is seeking the Republican nomination for governor in Montana in 2012. Livingstone filed paperwork Friday with the Montana Commissioner of Political Practices allowing him to raise money. He also launched a web site site talking about his Montana roots growing up in Helena before joining the military and working as a security consultant in more than 60 countries. But Livingstone, p...
HELENA — Legislators are hearing a bill to require parental consent for minors seeking an abortion. Senate Bill 97 would require girls under the age of 16 to give 48 hours of notice to parents before receiving an abortion. Republican Sen. Jim Shockley of Victor told members of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Friday that the bill is about protecting children and involving mature decision makers in the abortion process. Supporters of the legislation say parents have a right to protect their children. Those in opposition s...
Bardanouve wing of Capitol close to reality 36-year Harlem lawmaker to be honored in Helena An iconic Hi-Line legislator is one step away from permanent remembrance in Helena, where he served as a legislator for nearly four decades. A bill renaming the east wing of the first floor of the Montana Capitol after Harlem legislator Francis Bardanouve passed its second reading — in a fairly close vote — Wednesday, and is scheduled for its third and final reading today. "He's fully deserving of that honor. Even more," Greg Jergeson...
AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File In This Feb.14, 2011 file photo a group of bison graze, just inside Yellowstone National Park near Gardiner. BILLINGS — Several hundred Yellowstone bison have been hazed back into the national park after spending the winter grazing in southwest Montana. Steve Merritt with the Montana Department of Livestock said Monday the animals are expected to stay inside the park as livestock return to the area. The bison were hazed from the West Yellowstone area by a state-contracted helicopter and g...
HELENA — Federal prosecutors have charged two charter bus drivers with reckless endangerment for driving a group of seventh graders on a Yellowstone National Park field trip while under the influence of alcohol. U.S. Attorney's Office spokesman John Powell says Kevin Stark and Jack Parrent made an initial court appearance Monday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Stephen Cole in Mammoth Hot Springs. Jerry Perkins, owner of the Bozeman-based bus company Karst Stage, says the drivers were arrested Friday by park rangers. The men h...
House gives nod to industry eminent domain bill MATT GOURAS,Associated Press HELENA, Mont. (AP) — The Montana House has given an initial endorsement to a pro-industry eminent domain bill which supporters of the high-voltage Montana Alberta Tie Line say is needed to rescue the stalled project. The issue pits property rights against economic development. A court ruled late last year that utility lines like MATL don't have eminent domain authority. The House endorsed the plan Friday on a 56-44 initial vote. Supporters say it is...
MT health director cries foul over budget process MATT VOLZ, Associated Press HELENA — Montana's health director says Republican budget writers are unnecessarily scaring Montanans by threatening deep cuts when the money to pay for the programs is there. The GOP-led House Appropriations Committee is considering the Department of Public Health and Human Services' 2012-13 budget. Director Anna Whiting Sorrell on Thursday called the GOP budget process a "façade." She says it will not give the department the resources to meet it...
Governor rejects GOP anti-federal health care laws MATT GOURAS, Associated Press HELENA — Gov. Brian Schweitzer agrees with Republicans that the looming federal mandate for individuals to buy health insurance is "onerous" and should be banned in Montana — but with one big exception. He thinks people should instead have the option to buy some form of cheap government-run insurance. `Schweitzer issued vetoes Friday suggesting amendments for two bills important to Republicans intent on undermining the federal health care law...
