Montana/Region

Another Montana man charged in US Capitol breach

Published on Mon, 03/15/2021 - 3:41pm

KALISPELL, Mont. (AP) — Another Montana man has been charged in the U.S. Capitol breach on Jan. 6, when Congress was certifying the Electoral College vote in favor of President Joe Biden.
Boyd Allen Camper made an initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Missoula on Friday morning, the Flathead Beacon reported. He did not enter a plea and was not detained, officials said.
Camper faces a handful of charges including entering the Capitol and engaging in disorderly or disruptive conduct along with parading, demonstrating or picketing in Capitol buildings.

Groups say mining would risk rare plant

Published on Fri, 03/12/2021 - 3:54pm
Article Image Alt Text

BILLINGS (AP) — Conservation groups filed a petition with government wildlife officials Thursday seeking protections for a plant that’s found only in the arid foothills of the Pryor Mountains along the Montana-Wyoming border, where a mining project is being proposed.

The thick-leaf bladderpod is a small, flowering plant that depends for survival on a fragile type of soil that’s made of lichens, mosses and other organisms. 

Legal counsel: $350M at stake with transgender athletes bill

Published on Fri, 03/12/2021 - 3:52pm
Article Image Alt Text

By Keila Szpaller
Daily Montanan

 

Montana could lose an estimated $350 million in federal funding — money that goes largely to student loans and Pell grants — if a bill that aims to regulate transgender athletes becomes law, according to the Montana Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education.

As climate fight shifts to oil, Biden faces a formidable foe

Published on Thu, 03/11/2021 - 3:07pm
Article Image Alt Text

CASPER, Wyo. (AP) — President Joe Biden’s bid to tackle climate change is running straight through the heart of the U.S. oil and gas industry -- a much bigger, more influential foe than Democrats faced when they took on the coal industry during the Obama years.

Coal dominated U.S. power generation for decades, with the bulk of that fuel coming from the massive strip mines of Wyoming’s Powder River Basin — a market that collapsed in recent years as utilities switched to natural gas.

Wyoming convenes panel after zebra mussels found

Published on Thu, 03/11/2021 - 3:05pm

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — Wyoming’s governor has convened an emergency panel to scrutinize algae balls and other aquarium products amid concern that an invasive mussel species could have found an unexpected route into state waters.

Zebra mussels recently turned up in globs of algae called moss balls sold in pet stores in over two dozen states including Wyoming, which has banned further imports of the products.

GOP Idaho lawmakers aim to defund party’s attorney general

Published on Wed, 03/10/2021 - 4:26pm
Article Image Alt Text

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — When the Texas attorney general sued to invalidate Joe Biden’s presidential victory in some states despite no evidence of widespread fraud, many said it had no chance.

As demand wanes, Idaho speeds up shot eligibility

Published on Wed, 03/10/2021 - 4:25pm

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Idaho public health officials are grappling with how to encourage coronavirus vaccinations for residents who are hesitant to get the shots, and they’re letting new groups get in line in the meantime. 

About 55% percent of residents 65 and older have had at least one shot, Idaho Department of Health and Welfare director Dave Jeppesen said Tuesday, and demand among that age group appears to be waning even as the state’s supply of vaccine increases. 

“This has resulted in some vaccine providers struggling to fill up their available appointments,” he said. 

With public access to Glacier east entrance closed to help tribe, businesses fret

Published on Tue, 03/09/2021 - 2:37pm
Article Image Alt Text

KALISPELL, Mont. (AP) — Public access to Glacier National Park’s east entrances has been prohibited since last March as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, with tribal, state, local, and federal officials reaching a consensus to maintain the closure even after other areas of the park reopened in order to safeguard vulnerable members of the Blackfeet Nation.

Former manager pleads guilty in North Dakota oilfield death

Published on Tue, 03/09/2021 - 2:36pm

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A man accusing of lying to investigators about the 2014 death of an oilfield worker in North Dakota pleaded guilty Monday in federal court.

Stephan Reisinger, 50, of Kalispell, Montana, is charged with obstructing an Occupational Safety and Health Administration proceeding stemming from the death of 28-year-old Dustin Payne, of Hazel Green, Alabama. Reisinger was a maintenance manager for Houston-based Nabors Completion and Production Services.

Wyoming to lift statewide mask mandate next week

Published on Mon, 03/08/2021 - 3:06pm

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — Wyoming will join a handful of states that have lifted mask-wearing mandates to limit the spread of the coronavirus, Gov. Mark Gordon announced Monday.

The changes to the state public health orders take effect March 16. Also being lifted are requirements for bars, restaurants, theaters and gyms, where employees must wear masks while customers not seated in small groups keep at least 6 feet (2 meters) apart.

Gordon cited Wyoming’s declining number of COVID-19 cases and success in distributing vaccines in lifting the restrictions.