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Medical marijuana patient Carrie Sandoval, 56, joins marijuana activists at a protest in Denver on Wednesday, Sept 22, 2010. Sandoval says she opposes Colorado plans to start tracking how much marijuana patients are buying, saying the tracking would infringe on the privacy of people who use pot to treat disease. (AP Photo/Kristen Wyatt) Marijuana tracking on the way in Colo. KRISTEN WYATT,Associated Press Writer DENVER (AP) — Colorado wants to set up a first-in-the-nation tracking system of medical marijuana purchases to d...
A mother grizzly and two of her three cubs have been captured after killing one person and injuring two others during a late-night rampage through a campground near Yellowstone National Park. The mother, estimated to weigh 300 to 400 pounds, was lured into a trap fashioned from culvert pipe Wednesday evening, then left in place to attract the year-old offspring. By this morning, two of the younger bears had been caught and the third could be heard nearby, calling out to its mother. Fish, Wildlife and Parks Warden Capt. Sam...
With the levels of creeks and rivers subsiding, officials are going into full recovery mode following flooding in the last two weeks, although the complete impacts are still unknown and local residents are urged to be cautious. The costs of initial damage from an assessment at Rocky Boy's Indian Reservation have been released, with the total damage listed at $6 million and $2.3 million of that eligible for federal assistance, state Disaster and Eme r g e n c y S e r v i c e s Pu b l i c Information Officer Monique Lay said...
TV host and zookeeper Jack Hanna says he took his own advice and used pepper spray on a grizzly bear headed toward him. The Columbus Zoo keeper and frequent David Letterman guest said he was with his wife and other hikers in Glacier National Park on Saturday when a bear cub, weighing about 125 pounds, charged them. Hanna told The Columbus Dispatch that he held up a canister of pepper spray, which he takes routinely on hikes. "At about 30 feet, I unload my pepper spray, and the wind takes it," he told the newspaper. But the be...
A Montana physician who saw about 150 patients over 14½ hours during a medical marijuana clinic last year will be fined $2,000 for providing substandard care, the first time a doctor in the state has been disciplined in a marijuana case. The s tat e Board o f Medical Examiners' action follows a stern warning issued by the board to doctors who participate in the "cannabis caravans" that travel around the state registering medical marijuana patients. The board cautioned those doctors not to let their standards of care slip,...
Medical marijuana industry to buck more regulation MATT GOURAS,Associated Press Writer HELENA, Mont. (AP) — The medical marijuana industry made it clear Tuesday it will buck an overhaul of the 2004 voter-approved initiative that made medical marijuana legal and that led to a backlash of concern amid skyrocketing enrollment. A legislative committee voted Tuesday to send the overhaul — a long list of proposed changes packaged into three bills — to the 2011 Legislature. The hard look was prompted by a jump from a few thous...
A civil rights advocacy group filed a lawsuit Thursday on behalf of seven gay couples demanding the state provide them the same rights married couples have in making decisions affecting their family's health care, finances, inheritance and other matters. The American Civil Liberties Union claims in the lawsuit that the state is violating the Montana Constitution by denying those rights to gay couples in committed relationships. The 14 plaintiffs aren't challenging an amendment to the state constitution that bans same-sex...
The flooding at Rocky Boy's Indian Reservation south of Havre is getting statewide and national attention. Gov. Brian Schweitzer is touring the area today and Montana's U.S. senators Max Baucus and Jon Tester are sending a letter to the Federal Emergency Management Agency urging FEMA to help assess the damage and repair it. "It is critical that the damage assessment is completed as soon as possible so that every needed resource can be made available as soon as possible," Baucus and Tester wrote to FEMA Administrator William...
Growing up on a ranch on the Powder River near Miles City, Lee Stewart developed an aptitude for all things mechanical. He would go on to make the most of that aptitude in a 33-year career as a civilian mechanic for the U.S. Air Force. He became one of the Air Force's top hands at anything having to do with aviation hydraulics, and his years of service stretched from World War II through the wars in Korea and Vietnam. Stewart, who turned 95 in March, has a couple of file folders full of awards and certificates from the Air...
Researcher: Meth decline not linked to campaign MATTHEW BROWN,Associated Press Writer BILLINGS — A new study concludes that a multi-million dollar advertising campaign to deter youths from trying methamphetamines has had no discernible impact on abuse rates. Economics researcher D. Mark Anderson of the University of Washington said Tuesday that abuse of the drug already was on the decline before the high-profile Montana Meth Project was launched in 2005. An estimated $13 million has been spent on that campaign, and the p...
orld's oldest man marks 114th birthday in Montana GREAT FALLS, Mont. (AP) — A Montana resident believed to be the world's oldest man celebrated his 114th birthday Tuesday at a retirement home in Great Falls. Walter Breuning was born on Sept. 21, 1896, in Melrose, Minn., and moved to Montana in 1918, where he worked as a clerk for the Great Northern Railway for 50 years. His wife, Agnes, a railroad telegraph operator from Butte, died in 1957. The couple had no children. Breuning inherited the distinction of being the w...
Montana workers' comp overhaul gets green light MATT GOURAS Associated Press Writer HELENA — A proposed workers' compensation overhaul hammered out by business and labor is going to the full Legislature, despite stiff opposition from the equally powerful trial lawyers and doctors groups. A legislative committee tasked with fixing an expensive system unanimously approved the plan Thursday, sending it to lawmakers who meet in January. Fixing a worker's comp system that has become one of the most expensive in the nation has b...
HELENA (AP) — An interim committee trying to close a potential $1.5 billion long-term funding gap in the Teachers Retirement System is sending the full Legislature two proposals that would change benefits for new hires. The State Administration and Veterans' Affairs Interim Committee endorsed competing plans on Tuesday. One would reduce costs to the system by creating individual retirement accounts based on new teachers' contributions. The second would base benefits on a new teacher's last five years' salary instead of his l...
Schweitzer corners Travelocity over tax dispute MATT GOURAS,Associated Press Writer BUTTE, Mont. (AP) — Gov. Brian Schweitzer publicly hammered Travelocity leaders Tuesday over a growing tax dispute — the same day the online travel reservation company announced a program aimed at promoting the state. The Internet travel giant rolled out sponsorship of Montana festivals and highlighted its promotion of the state at the Montana Economic Development Summit in Butte on Tuesday. Schweitzer took some of the wind out of the ann...
PSC's Brad Molnar fined for ethics law violations HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Public Service Commissioner Brad Molnar has been fined $5,750 for violating state ethics laws, the commissioner of political practices said. Dennis Unsworth also ordered the Laurel Republican to pay nearly $15,000 to partially cover the costs of the investigation, the Lee Newspapers State Bureau reported. Unsworth mostly upheld the proposed order and record fine recommended by the hearings examiner, University of Montana law professor William Corbett. C...
HELENA (AP) — The state's tourism director was fired last month for failing to spend $4 million in bed tax money that the Legislature may now use to offset current budget shortfalls, Commerce Department director Dore Schwinden said. The Great Falls Tribune reported the reasons for Betsy Baumgart's firing Tuesday after obtaining documents from the Department of Commerce, including Baumgart's Aug. 20 termination letter. "You have repeatedly failed to satisfactorily perform your job duties, and have shown poor judgment in m...
Wildlife officials in the Northern Rockies said Wednesday they are considering hunting gray wolves in the name of research to get around a recent court ruling that restored federal protections for the animals. Environmentalists derided the proposal, vowing to challenge in court any new plans for hunting the estimated 1,367 wolves in Idaho and Montana. "They' re adopt ing the Japanese whaling approach of holding hunts under the obviously erroneous concept of research," said Mike Leahy, Rocky Mountain director for Defenders of...
A Montana advocacy group is shutting down its traveling medical marijuana clinics amid criticism that the so-called cannabis caravans have added thousands of people to the state registry without conducting thorough patient screenings. The Montana Caregviers Network has hosted the one-day clinics in hotels and conference centers across Montana for more than a year. For a $150 fee, the group brought together those seeking to become medical marijuana patients with doctors willing to prescribe pot. Starting next week, the group...
Payday loan initiative sponsors make final push MATT VOLZ, Associated Press Writer HELENA — Supporters of an initiative to cap interest rates on payday and title loans are making a final campaign push after the measure's opponents failed to convince a judge to remove it from the Nov. 2 ballot. Groups representing the poor, the elderly and women are among those who want to put an end to short-term loans that charge as much as 650 percent annual interest, saying it's a predatory practice aiming to trap vulnerable segments of t...
AP Interview: Ousted tea party leader seeks return MATT GOURAS,Associated Press Writer HELENA, Mont. (AP) — The Montana tea party association leader ousted over an anti-gay exchange on Facebook says he wants his leadership post back. The Big Sky Tea Party Association fired Tim Ravndal Sunday after learning of his online comments about same-sex couples made in July. The post spurred an exchange that appeared to joke about the 1998 beating death of a gay college student in Wyoming. Ravndal denies he was making a connection t...
Judge rules loan initiative will stay on Montana ballot MATT VOLZ, Associated Press Writer HELENA (AP) — A district judge ruled Thursday that an initiative to cap interest rates on payday loans will stay on the November ballot after opponents failed to prove signatures had been improperly gathered. The state certified the initiative, known as CI-164, after supporters turned in the signatures of 27,421 registered voters in 54 districts. The initiative seeks to cap the interest rate on payday loans at 36 percent. Opponents cont...
Browning priest wins honor for education work HELENA, Mont. (AP) — A Catholic priest from Browning has won a national award for his work at a school for grades 4 through 8 that is improving their high school graduation rate. The Independent Record reports the Rev. Edward Kohler received the Lumen Christi Award from the Chicago-based Catholic Extension. He helped found the De La Salle Blackfeet School in 2001. Of the school's 29 alumni old enough to have finished high school, 27 graduated. Catholic Extension says the g...
Schweitzer considers clemency request CALGARY, Alberta (AP) — The man who could hold in his hands the life of the only Canadian on death row in the United States says the Canadian government's plea for clemency will have only a limited influence on him. Double-murderer Ronald Smith is down to the final appeal of his death sentence in Montana. A decision is expected this month from the U.S. Supreme Court on whether it will review the Alberta man's case. His lawyer is not optimistic about the outcome. If the court refuses to g...
Shelby resident grows state's largest pumpkin GREAT FALLS (AP) — A Shelby man says he spent about $1,000 growing a state record 782-pound pumpkin this year. Kyle Koschmeder says he bought special seeds costing about $15 each, built a 600-square foot structure to grow the pumpkin in and put heating cables in the soil to keep the gourd warm on cold days. The Great Falls Tribune reports Koschmeder's was one of seven entries in the Big Sky Giant Pumpkin Growers Association weigh-off in Hamilton on Sept. 18. He broke the old s...
UND's Potvin named Montana State provost BOZEMAN (AP) — Montana State University officials say Martha Potvin has been chosen as the school's next provost and vice president for academic affairs. Potvin is dean of the University of North Dakota's College of Arts and Sciences and a biology professor. She was selected Friday from 73 candidates who had applied for university's No. 2 position. Doug Steele, MSU's vice provost and chairman of the search committee says Potvin will assume her duties in January. The 57-year-old P...
