Montana/Region

STATE SHORTS

Published on Mon, 02/03/2020 - 4:47pm

 Jury acquits former Absarokee man of 2013 negligent homicide

GLENDIVE (AP) — An eastern Montana jury has acquitted a former Absarokee man of a negligent homicide charge filed after Forest Dana was run over by a car and killed in July 2013.

Charges filed against Michael Thomas Holtz were dropped by Stillwater County in 2016 after prosecutors said no witness could positively say Holtz and not his twin brother was the driver. 

Lawmaker: Socialists should be shot or jailed

Published on Mon, 02/03/2020 - 4:45pm

BILLINGS (AP) — The Montana Republican Party on Saturday condemned a comment made by a state GOP lawmaker who said the U.S. Constitution calls for people who identify as socialists to be jailed or shot. 

State Rep. Rodney Garcia made the comment Friday at a state party gathering when he spoke about being worried about socialists entering the government and being “everywhere” in Billings, the Billings Gazette reported. 

Game farm quarantined after positive elk CWD test

Published on Mon, 02/03/2020 - 4:44pm

HELENA (AP) — A Montana game farm is under quarantine after an elk tested positive for chronic wasting disease, the state Department of Livestock reported.

The brain wasting disease hasn’t been identified in domestic deer or elk in the state since 1999, officials said.

The elk appeared healthy and was slaughtered for meat, but the illness was discovered in testing required by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Herd Certification Program. State officials did not identify the game farm involved or say where it was located, citing confidentiality requirements.

Dogs biting people, harassing wildlife draws ban in Tetons

Published on Mon, 02/03/2020 - 4:44pm

JACKSON, Wyo. (AP) — The U.S. Forest Service is cracking down on people letting dogs run off leash along trails in Wyoming and Idaho, following a surge in reports of dogs harassing wildlife and biting people.

Officials say it is unacceptable to treat Teton Canyon — which boasts stunning views of Grand Teton National Park — like it’s a “dog park.”

The Forest Service will more strictly enforce rules that say dogs must be leashed within 200 feet of trailheads and campgrounds, Teton Basin District Ranger Jay Pence said.

Famous log ‘mansion’ in Yellowstone area sold

Published on Mon, 02/03/2020 - 4:39pm
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CODY, Wyo. (AP) — The famous Smith Mansion along US 14-16-20 West has a new owner.

In October, the structure and its surrounding 5.04 acres were sold to Zhiru Huang of Mountain Lodging.

Huang also owns the Holiday Lodge, as well as the Green Creek Inn and RV Park that borders the Smith Mansion property to the northeast in Wapiti. She said it was a video promoting the property that sparked her desire to purchase, thinking of what could be.

The deed was granted in October.

Measures to help Wyoming coal workers recover pay move ahead

Published on Mon, 02/03/2020 - 4:38pm

CASPER, Wyo. (AP) — A Wyoming legislative committee has endorsed two measures to help workers recover wages from bankrupt coal companies but not one that would allow the state to sue on their behalf.

Many furloughed employees of Blackjewel in Wyoming didn’t seek unpaid wages when the West Virginia-based company filed for bankruptcy in 2019. The workers worried they wouldn’t be offered their jobs back at the Eagle Butte and Belle Ayr mines and other company facilities in Wyoming if they filed claims.

Wyoming lawmaker seeking two-crew minimum for trains

Published on Mon, 02/03/2020 - 4:38pm

CASPER, Wyo. (AP) — A state lawmaker proposes to require that trains have at least two crew members in Wyoming.

A bill sponsored by Democratic Rep. Stan Blake, of Green River, would apply to trains on Wyoming’s nearly 2,000 miles of Class I railroad, all of which is owned by BNSF and Union Pacific.

Blake is a Union Pacific employee.

A similar bill failed in the Wyoming Legislature in 2019 amid concern about interference with private businesses and collective bargaining.

“My contention is this is about safety,” Blake told the Casper Star-Tribune.

30 bighorns released on tribal lands

Published on Fri, 01/31/2020 - 4:40pm
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MANDAREE, N.D. (AP) — Thirty bighorn sheep are running free on the Fort Berthold Reservation as part of a new agreement between the state of North Dakota and the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation. 

The bighorns brought from Montana were released Tuesday as part of a plan to reestablish the sheep in the western part of the state. 

The Bismarck Tribune reports the bighorns come from the Rocky Boy’s Reservation.

MHA Tribal Councilman Cory Spotted Bear said 13 ewes and three rams were released near Mandaree, while 12 ewes and two rams were released near Twin Buttes.

Shelby woman convicted of lying to buy gun for teen boy

Published on Fri, 01/31/2020 - 4:39pm

GREAT FALLS (AP) — A north-central Montana woman has been convicted of two federal charges for lying on paperwork to buy a handgun that she then gave to a 17-year-old boy as an early birthday present.

A jury convicted Susan Kaytlin Scott of Shelby on Tuesday of false statement during a firearms transaction and transfer of a handgun to a juvenile, the U.S. Attorney’s office said. Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone under the age of 21 to buy a handgun from a licensed dealer and it is illegal for unlicensed people to sell or transfer a handgun to anyone under the age of 18.

Crow prosecutor pursues criminal charges in leadership fray

Published on Fri, 01/31/2020 - 4:39pm

BILLINGS (AP) — Criminal charges are pending against three senior officials with the Crow tribe who were involved in an attempt last year to oust its chairman and install new leadership, according to court documents and the tribal prosecutor.

Attorneys for the three officials denied the allegations, saying the charges were politically motivated and appeared timed to disrupt the reservation’s upcoming elections.