News you can use
News you can use
Sorted by date Results 821 - 845 of 2820
BILLINGS (AP) — Explosions at a fireworks manufacturing plant created a fireball that engulfed the building north of Billings. The Billings Gazette reports (http://bit.ly/15DlyCm ) two explosions ripped through Evolution Pyrotechnics Manufacturing Inc. near Acton Tuesday. Yellowstone County Sheriff's Sgt. Roger Bodine says the initial blast was small and the workers left the building, with one suffering minor burns. As fire crews began spraying the building, a larger explosion created a bright flash, a deep boom and a f... Full story
CANYON, Texas (AP) — The Texas prosecutor who brokered a 10-year probationary sentence for former NFL quarterback Ryan Leaf has set a deadline for paperwork to be completed on a plea deal that would allow the Montana native to serve his sentence in his home state. Randall County District Attorney James Farren sent letters on Tuesday to Leaf's attorneys in Texas and Montana, telling them he will start extradition proceedings to try Leaf in Texas on probation violations if the paperwork isn't completed by July 8. Farren w... Full story
BILLINGS . (AP) — A California couple convicted in a Bakken oil patch investment scam has been convicted on contempt of court charges in Montana. Suzette Gal and her husband, Mike Campa, were found guilty Tuesday in separate trials before U.S. District Judge Sam Haddon. Federal prosecutors say Gal had a telephone conversation with her jailed husband and discussed evidence four days into a trial that led to her conviction on fraud and conspiracy charges. The couple had been under a court order not to discuss the case. At t... Full story
HELENA (AP) — Federal prosecutors have charged a Montana Hutterite colony with possessing two illegally killed grizzly bears. The documents filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Great Falls charge the Pondera Colony near Valier and five of its members. One of the defendants, minister Leonard Kleinsasser, told a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agent the bears died from exhaustion. Kleinsasser says half of the colony members were chasing the bears prior to their deaths in September. Kleinsasser says they did not report the d... Full story
HELENA (AP) — Montana's congressional delegation is split on President Barack Obama's proposal to deal with climate change. The president on Tuesday said his administration will make rules to curb greenhouse gases emitted by new and existing power plants. Obama says the Keystone XL oil pipeline that would run through Montana will only be approved if the project won't increase overall net emissions of greenhouse gases. U.S. Rep. Steve Daines blasted the proposal as "a war on American energy." The first-term Republican c... Full story
BILLINGS (AP) — A hearings officer for the Montana Human Rights Bureau has ordered the state Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks to pay $20,000 to a Kalispell employee for retaliating against him after he questioned his punishment for comments made during an inadvertent phone call. The case involving former Aquatic Invasive Species supervisor John Wachsmuth began in June 2011 when he bumped his cellphone while kayaking, causing it to accidentally call a co-worker, The Billings Gazette (http://bit.ly/15zOf32 ) reported. T... Full story
HELENA — Lawyers representing the state of Montana say two political consultants are trying to run from their own lawsuit to avoid a legal setback in the ongoing saga surrounding mysterious political documents connected to the conservative group American Tradition Partnership. The state attorney general's office has expressed confidence in its case and wants to force a ruling from a federal judge this week. The consultants, Christian and Allison LeFer, meanwhile, want their suit dropped, arguing that their constitutional righ... Full story
HELENA — Federal prosecutors on Friday charged state Sen. Shannon Augare with drunken driving, obstructing a peace officer and reckless driving after the Browning Democrat allegedly told a sheriff's deputy last month he had no jurisdiction to arrest him and fled a traffic stop. The charges are misdemeanors and, if convicted, Augare would face penalties of between nine and 15 months in prison and up to $1,800 in fines. The U.S. attorney's office has requested a court summons be issued for Augare, said Assistant U.S. A... Full story
ROCKY BOY (AP) — Rocky Boy Indian Reservation officials have suspended without pay the Health Board Clinic director following a federal indictment on charges she stole more than $50,000 in federal and tribal money. Tribal officials announced the suspension late Saturday of 41-year-old Fawn Tadios. Charging documents in an indictment unsealed last week say that Tadios stole the money to visit her husband when the ex-Chippewa Cree Tribal chairman was in prison for theft of tribal money. Prosecutors say Tadios used travel m... Full story
WEST GLACIER (AP) — All 50 miles of Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier National Park are open. The Missoulian reports (http://bit.ly/12huXwQ) that crews opened the last gates Friday morning allowing access to Logan Pass from both the west and east sides. But park officials say travelers should be prepared for any type of weather on the pass that's at an elevation of 6,647 feet. Opening all 50 miles is an important event because businesses in and near the park rely on tourists drawn by the scenic route.... Full story
HELENA (AP) — Former Republican candidate for governor Rick Hill is asking a federal court to intervene in the complaint over a $500,000 campaign donation he received last year. Hill says he wants the court to block new Commissioner of Political Practices Jonathan Motl from acting on the complaint filed by Gov. Steve Bullock's campaign manager. The donation came after U.S. District Judge Charles Lovell briefly struck down Montana's limits on campaign donations amid an argument the limits are unconstitutionally low. Lee N... Full story
HELENA (AP) — Three former Blackfeet tribal leaders will serve three years of probation for holding illegal big-game hunts for country musicians that were filming an outdoors television show on the northwestern Montana reservation. U.S. District Judge Dana Christensen on Thursday also ordered Jay St. Goddard, Jay Wells and Gayle Skunkcap Jr. to pay $56,625 in restitution. Prosecutors filed an objection to Christensen's sentence after a lengthy hearing in Great Falls. They had recommended 15 months of prison for each man a... Full story
BOZEMAN (AP) — A bull moose's walking tour of Bozeman ended when state wildlife officials tranquilized the animal and released it in the Gallatin National Forest. The moose wandered around the city Thursday morning with an entourage of Fish, Wildlife and Parks wardens, police officers and reporters trying to capture photos and video of the journey. The moose made appearances near Montana State University, Bozeman's law and justice building, the Bozeman Daily Chronicle and a grocery store. Eventually, wildlife officials w... Full story
Montana delegation blasts farm bill failure HELENA (AP) — The Montana congressional delegation is blasting the House for failing to advance a farm bill. The House rejected its version of a half-trillion-dollar farm bill on Thursday amid wrangling over food stamp cuts. The Senate overwhelmingly passed its version of the bill last week. Freshman U.S. Rep. Steve Daines called the bill's failure "unacceptable." He voted for House legislation he called "long overdue," and said it still needs to be passed. U.S. Sen. Max Baucus s... Full story
HELENA — A retirement board was told Tuesday that a mistake in the Legislature's proposed pension fix for public employees could undo plans to balance the system in less than 30 years. The Public Employees Retirement Board is being asked to modify a rule in order to avoid a glitch that could leave the state's beleaguered pension system facing a huge shortfall. Lawmakers struggled mightily to agree earlier this year on pension system fixes that rely on contribution increases and a cut to inflationary increases. Democrats b... Full story
BILLINGS (AP) — Defense attorneys for one of two men charged in the killing of a Montana high school teacher said Tuesday that they've asked a state judge to rule their client ineligible for the death penalty because he is mentally disabled and to relocate his trial. Twenty-four-year-old Michael Keith Spell faces charges including deliberate homicide in the January 2012 kidnapping and murder of Sherry Arnold, a popular teacher in the small Bakken oil patch town of Sidney. Spell and Lester Van Waters Jr., both of Colorado, hav... Full story
BILLINGS — Defense attorneys for one of two men charged in the killing of a Montana high school teacher said Tuesday that their client should be ruled ineligible for the death penalty because he is mentally disabled. Twenty-four-year-old Michael Keith Spell faces charges including deliberate homicide in the January 2012 kidnapping and murder of Sherry Arnold, a popular teacher in the small Bakken oil patch town of Sidney. Spell and Lester Van Waters Jr., both of Colorado have pleaded not guilty to charges they grabbed A... Full story
DEER LODGE (AP) — Montana State Prison inmate Barry Beach says he will continue to fight to prove his innocence in the 1979 killing of Kim Nees of Poplar, but he'll have to carry on those efforts from behind bars. Beach was released from prison in December 2011 after a state judge ordered a new trial in his case. Last month, the Montana Supreme Court overturned that decision and Beach was returned to prison to serve his 100-year sentence without the possibility of parole. Beach, 51, has asked the Supreme Court to r... Full story
HELENA (AP) — The Blackfeet tribe's chief prosecutor says no decision has been made on whether to charge a state senator who fled a Glacier County sheriff's deputy who suspected him of drunken driving nearly three weeks ago. Prosecutor Carl Pepion said Thursday the investigation is ongoing and he is "waiting on some stuff." He said he had no further comment. Democratic state Sen. Shannon Augare of Browning was pulled over May 26 after deputies received a call of an erratic driver. Augare also is a Blackfeet tribal c... Full story
HELENA (AP) — Blackfeet Tribal Law Enforcement is asking for help in locating three children who are missing and may be in danger. Tribal officials say 8-year-old Ivan Redhorn III, 4-year-old Cerista Bullbear and 1-year-old Ivanna Redhorn were taken May 27 by their non-custodial parents. Officials believe 31-year-old Ivan Redhorn Jr. and Angelina Bullbear could be in the Ronan or St. Ignatius areas and may be traveling in a 2006 Nissan with Montana disabled veteran license plate B0387. Redhorn is 6 feet, 1 inch tall and 1... Full story
CHINOOK (AP) — A Kalispell man has been ordered to pay $8,000 in restitution for possessing the head and antlers of a trophy elk that was illegally killed in the Bears Paw Mountains south of Chinook. The state Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks says 38-year-old Timothy W. Giardina was initially charged with five misdemeanors for his actions on a hunting trip last November. Officials say he shot a trophy elk without a license and later cut off its head and antlers, and illegally shot two other deer. FWP says Giardina p... Full story
MISSOULA, Mont. (AP) — A former Missoula County sheriff's deputy who was fired over an inappropriate relationship with a 17-year-old boy has pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor charges. KECI-TV reports (http://bit.ly/18u3kKo ) Larry Mitchell Schwindt pleaded guilty Tuesday in Justice Court to official misconduct and attempted unlawful transactions with children. Charging documents say Schwindt put an ad on Craiglist as a female named 'Sarah' promising to have a sexual relationship with the boy if he first met Schwindt for a s... Full story
HELENA (AP) — A state judge is hearing arguments in a lawsuit over physician-assisted suicide in Montana. A group called Montanans Against Assisted Suicide is suing the state Board of Medical Examiners over its policy on complaints filed against a doctor for providing "aid-in-dying." The board considers such complaints on an individual basis and does not pass judgment on the procedure one way or another. The group argues the policy is a backdoor attempt at legalizing assisted suicide. A hearing is scheduled Wednesday b... Full story
GREAT FALLS (AP) — The family of a Great Falls eye doctor who disappeared at Lake Elwell in Liberty County last week is asking authorities to continue to investigate his disappearance, saying it's premature to assume that he drowned. The family of John Kumm, 50, released a statement Tuesday asking that the possibility of foul play not be dismissed, considering the timeline of events and Kumm's fishing routine. "While we agree that it is reasonably possible (that Kumm drowned), there is no conclusive evidence supporting the t... Full story
MISSOULA (AP) — The Missoula County attorney says he is willing to scrutinize the way his office handles sexual assault and rape cases, but will not cooperate with a Department of Justice probe he calls politically motivated. Fred Van Valkenburg spoke Monday at a City Club Missoula luncheon and blamed the Missoulian newspaper for unfairly creating a national story about rape in Missoula. He says he's never been told the number of sexual assault cases investigated and referred to his office are "unusual or out of p... Full story
