Montana/Region

Giant Idaho forest project on hold again after court ruling

Published on Thu, 08/13/2020 - 3:06pm
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BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A giant Idaho forest project favored by some environmental groups but decried by others is on hold again following a federal court ruling.

The decision Tuesday halts for the second time a 125-square-mile project on the Payette National Forest that includes commercial timber sales, work to improve fish passage, prescribed burning, the closing of some roads and restoration of Ponderosa pine ecosystems.

Region Shorts

Published on Thu, 08/13/2020 - 3:05pm

Billings man pleads not guilty to weekend homicide

BILLINGS (AP) — A Billings man pleaded not guilty in the weekend homicide of a fellow music producer. 

Rahim Calloway, 30, is charged with deliberate homicide in the death of Christian Skyler Henning, 25, on Saturday. Henning was shot several times, including once in the head, as he sat in a car outside a Dairy Queen in Billings, court records said.

Calloway turned himself in to law enforcement.

Montana Legislature to be polled on flavored vaping ban

Published on Thu, 08/13/2020 - 3:04pm

HELENA (AP) — The Montana legislature will be polled on a proposed ban of flavored vaping products, after numerous Republican lawmakers opposed the rule advanced by the Montana Department of Health and Human Services. 

Thirteen Montana senators and seven representatives, all Republicans, signed letters last month opposing the rule, stating that the health department does not have the authority to implement such a ban.

In Seattle, first Black police chief resigns over budget cuts

Published on Thu, 08/13/2020 - 3:03pm
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SEATTLE (AP) — Efforts to cut spending on police — a key demand of anti-racism demonstrators across the nation — have claimed an unlikely target: Seattle’s first Black police chief, who enjoyed deep support in its minority communities, is stepping down in protest.

Carmen Best announced her retirement Monday night, just hours after the City Council voted to cut her annual $285,000 salary by $10,000, as well as the salaries of her command staff, and to trim as many as 100 officers from a force of 1,400 through layoffs and attrition. 

Portland protest clashes re-emerge near US courthouse

Published on Thu, 08/13/2020 - 3:02pm

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Protesters and police clashed in downtown Portland in a demonstration that lasted into the predawn hours of Thursday, with some in the crowd setting a fire and exploding commercial grade fireworks outside a federal courthouse that’s been a target in months of conflict for Oregon’s largest city.

Officers used tear gas to break up the crowd of several hundred people who gathered near the Mark O. Hatfield U.S. Courthouse, the neighboring Multnomah County Justice Center and a nearby police precinct station.

Protesters hold up detention of 2 men in Ore. for 12 hours

Published on Thu, 08/13/2020 - 3:01pm

BEND, Ore. (AP) — U.S. Border Patrol officers late Wednesday used pepper spray on demonstrators as they pushed their way through a crowd to get to two men detained by immigration agents inside a bus that could not move for about 12 hours because of the protesters.

The men under detention were removed by the 20 border control officers and their whereabouts and identities were not clear Thursday morning.

Bozeman installing rainbow crosswalks

Published on Wed, 08/12/2020 - 4:25pm
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The city of Bozeman, Downtown Bozeman Partnership and Gender Equality Montana are partnering to bring Bozeman its first-ever rainbow crosswalks, a city press release announced. 

The crosswalks, which will begin installation Thursday, will be located at the intersection of Babcock Street and Tracy Avenue, and at the intersection Mendenhall Street and Willson Avenue in downtown Bozeman. Weather permitting, work is expected to be complete by Friday.

Montana Supreme Court won’t remove candidate from ballot

Published on Wed, 08/12/2020 - 4:24pm

HELENA (AP) — The Montana Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected an effort by the state Republican Party to remove Democratic attorney general candidate Raph Graybill from the November ballot, saying the petition filed on Aug. 3 didn’t rise to the level of urgency needed for the issue to bypass state courts. 

“Urgency or emergency factors do not spring from a party’s own unexplained dilatory action,” the justices wrote in their 5-0 ruling.

Man accused of shooting has bail set at $50,000

Published on Wed, 08/12/2020 - 4:24pm

BOZEMAN (AP) — A Montana man is accused of stealing a cellphone and shooting at a group of people after arguing with them over their noise levels in West Yellowstone, just outside Yellowstone National Park.

Brian Jones Marks, 47, faces a felony charge of robbery and three felony counts of assault with a weapon. Gallatin County Justice Court Judge Bryan Adams set his bail at $50,000, the Bozeman Daily Chronicle reported.

In court on Tuesday, Marks’ attorney George Isham asked for lower bail, to no avail. Marks did not enter a plea.

5 more COVID deaths in ND

Published on Wed, 08/12/2020 - 4:23pm

North Dakota health officials on Tuesday reported five more deaths related to coronavirus, the second-highest number reported in one day since the start of the pandemic.

The deaths included two Burleigh County residents — women in their 50s and 60s — and two Stark County residents — men in their 70s and 80s. A McKenzie County woman in her 70s was the fifth. All five had underlying medical conditions, according to the state Department of Health. The five deaths did not necessarily all occur on the same day.