Missoula councilman proposes misdemeanor crime, fine for refusing DUI breath test

By KEILA SZPALLER of the Missoulian

Refusing a breath test is slated to cost a suspected drunken driver at least $300 in a proposed ordinance heading to the Missoula City Council.

New Feb 10, 2010 | 6:15 am | Loading…

• Related: Referral to City Council committee
• Related: Draft of breath test refusal ordinance

British Columbia declares Canadian North Fork off limits to mining, energy development

By ROB CHANEY of the Missoulian

British Columbia Lt. Gov. Steven Point declared the Canadian portion of the Flathead River Valley off limits to mining and energy extraction in a speech to his parliament on Tuesday.

Updated: 6:24 am | Loading…

• Related: U.N. scientists urge stop to mining around Glacier National Park

Saying 'sovereignty in jeopardy,' Stevensville woman wants borders back in Montana Constitution

By CHARLES S. JOHNSON Missoulian State Bureau

HELENA - A Ravalli County woman wants to amend the Montana Constitution to restore the state's boundaries that were deleted when the state charter was rewritten in 1972.

New Feb 10, 2010 | 5:45 am | Loading…

• Related: Boundaries in 1889 Constitution

Wyoming Legislature may tell feds to back off on everything from gun control to endangered species

By BEN NEARY Associated Press

CHEYENNE, Wyo. - The Wyoming House of Representatives is taking the first steps toward possibly telling the federal government to back off on a range of states' rights issues, from gun control to endangered species management.

New Feb 10, 2010 | 2:15 am | Loading…

Budget-cutting suggestions inundate governor's office

By AMY BETH HANSON Associated Press

HELENA - Montanans have offered more than 700 suggestions for making cuts to the state budget, from cutting or eliminating the state motor pool to consolidating school districts and counties.

Feb 10, 2010 | 2:00 am | Loading…

• Related: Citizen suggestions for state budget cuts
• Related: Schweitzer asks for ideas on how to reduce state spending while maintaining services

Pair opening first medical marijuana shop in Hamilton; second on way

By SEPP JANNOTTA Ravalli Republic

HAMILTON - The city of Hamilton business license for the town's first medical marijuana shop ran Amanda Davis and Kyle McCready $20.

Feb 10, 2010 | 2:00 am | Loading…

MSU urged not to cut funding for student bus service, Big Sky Institute

By the Associated Press

BOZEMAN - Montana State University's budget committee is being urged not to cut funding for a science education and outreach group and for bus service between Bozeman and Livingston.

New Feb 10, 2010 | 1:50 am | Loading…

Idaho game officers confiscate wolf carcass from animal advocate

By the Associated Press

TWIN FALLS, Idaho - The Idaho Department of Fish and Game has confiscated a wolf carcass from a wolf advocate who put her own hunting tag on it after state officials killed the canine late last fall near Stanley.

Updated: 1:54 am | Loading…

Ken Toole files for re-election to PSC, representing Polson, Kalispell, Helena

By MIKE DENNISON Missoulian State Bureau

HELENA - Public Service Commissioner Ken Toole, a Helena Democrat, kicked off his re-election campaign Tuesday, saying he wants to continue working on behalf of small consumers and to develop clean energy sources.

Feb 10, 2010 | 1:30 am | Loading…

UM students collect coats, blankets to donate to Missoula's homeless

By AJ MAZZOLINI of the Missoulian

Warm blankets and even warmer relations are the goals of a blanket and coat drive this week at the University of Montana.

New Feb 09, 2010 | 11:45 pm | Loading…

Race to the Sky opens up to young mushers for 25th anniversary

By KIM BRIGGEMAN of the Missoulian

Her favorite school subjects are art and math, but rest assured: Aiyana Ferraro grasps the historic aspect of this weekend.

Feb 09, 2010 | 11:30 pm | Loading…

• Related: Going to the dogs
• Related: 2010 Race to the Sky contestants
• Related: Race to the Sky winners
• Related: Race to the Sky

DNA evidence leads to arrest of Thompson Falls man for murder of common-law wife

By the Associated Press

YAKIMA, Wash. - DNA evidence has led to the arrest of a Montana man in the fatal shooting of his common-law wife in July along Interstate 82.

Updated: 1:57 am | Loading…

‘CSI Montana’ lessons reach students in Rudyard, Helena

By MICHAEL MOORE of the Missoulian

"CSI" went to Rudyard and Helena on Tuesday. Virtually, that is. Through a cooperative effort between Montana public schools, the state Department of Justice and a company called Vision Net, a toxicologist from the State Crime Lab in Missoula presented an interactive video class to the far-f…

Feb 09, 2010 | 11:20 pm | Loading…

Bitterroot forest seeks comments on thinning, burning plan for Sapphire drainages

By PERRY BACKUS Ravalli Republic

HAMILTON - The Bitterroot National Forest is considering a large vegetation management project in the Threemile and Ambrose creek drainages and officials want to know what folks think about the idea.

New Feb 09, 2010 | 9:45 pm | Loading…

Suspect in fatal Great Falls shooting to get evaluation at state hospital

By the Associated Press

GREAT FALLS - The trial of a Great Falls man accused of shooting his landlord to death has been delayed, while he undergoes another evaluation at the state mental hospital.

New Feb 09, 2010 | 9:35 pm | Loading…

Lewis and Clark forest proposes burns, thinning on 763 acres near Benchmark

By the Associated Press

GREAT FALLS - Lewis and Clark National Forest officials have approved a plan to ignite controlled fires and thin 763 acres in the Benchmark area to reduce the wildfire danger to cabins and lodges.

New Feb 09, 2010 | 9:30 pm | Loading…

U.S. Northern Command leader, Montana adjutant general address Guard officers, senior enlisted personnel

By MARTIN J. KIDSTON Helena Independent Record

HELENA - The top commander of U.S. Northern Command addressed more than 475 officers and senior enlisted personnel with the Montana National Guard over the weekend in Bozeman.

New Feb 09, 2010 | 8:35 pm | Loading…

Police don't suspect foul play in East Helena man's death

By the Associated Press

HELENA - Authorities say an autopsy confirms that a man whose body was found in a creek in East Helena died from drowning and no foul play was involved.

New Feb 09, 2010 | 3:40 pm | Loading…

Chief justice pitches ballot measure for alcohol abuse treatment, prevention

By JENNIFER McKEE Missoulian State Bureau

HELENA - Chief Justice Mike McGrath formally kicked off his privately funded drive Tuesday to ask voters this fall to approve expanding drug and alcohol treatment courts by $5 million a year taken from Montana's current alcohol taxes.

Feb 09, 2010 | 2:00 pm | Loading…

Desert Storm veteran to take helm of Montana VA

By the Associated Press

HELENA - The VA Montana Healthcare System has announced the appointment of a new director.

New Feb 09, 2010 | 1:50 pm | Loading…

Havre man gets suspended Department of Corrections sentence for fireworks stand blaze

By the Associated Press

HAVRE - The second of three Havre men who pleaded guilty to their roles in stealing fireworks and setting a fireworks stand on fire last summer has been given a suspended sentence.

New Feb 09, 2010 | 1:45 pm | Loading…

Lewistown places moratorium on medical marijuana shops

By the Associated Press

GREAT FALLS - The city of Lewistown has placed a six-month moratorium on opening any new medical marijuana businesses, while city officials decide how to regulate the businesses within the city limits.

Feb 09, 2010 | 9:15 am | Loading…

City of Bozeman selects specialty license plate to fund parks and rec projects

By the Associated Press

BOZEMAN - The Bozeman City Commission has selected a downtown streetscape with the Bridger Mountains in the background as the city's new specialty license plate.

Feb 09, 2010 | 7:40 am | Loading…

Biologists investigate report of wolf pack in Colorado

By JUDITH KOHLER of the Associated Press

DENVER - Biologists working with the owners of a western Colorado ranch are trying to determine if wolves have settled there.

Feb 09, 2010 | 7:00 am | Loading…