Montana/Region

Stevensville company announces layoffs, reduced hours

Published on Tue, 11/15/2016 - 4:50pm

STEVENSVILLE, Mont. — One of the largest employers in Stevensville says a loss of projects is leading to reduced hours and layoffs for about 100 of its 120 employees.

Selway Corp. operations manager Randy Osgood tells KTMF-TV (bit.ly/2f27LV3) that he believes the reductions at the steel fabrication plant will be temporary.

US finalizes rule to limit gas 'flaring' at drilling sites

Published on Tue, 11/15/2016 - 4:49pm

WASHINGTON — With two months left in President Barack Obama's term, his administration issued a rule Tuesday intended to clamp down on oil companies that burn off natural gas on public lands.

The new rule seeks to reduce waste and harmful methane emissions as part of a strategy to address climate change. But a new Republican administration under President-elect Donald Trump could reconsider the rule or even scrap it, although any effort to do so would likely take months.

Dogs indicate presence of mussels in Montana reservoirs

Published on Tue, 11/15/2016 - 4:49pm

HELENA, Mont. — Dogs trained to detect aquatic invasive species have alerted Montana officials to the presence of invasive mussels in two reservoirs.

Officials say the dogs smelled mussels in the Tiber and Canyon Ferry reservoirs, although officials have been unable to verify that mussels are actually present. Eileen Ryce of the Fish, Wildlife and Parks department says mussels can be the size of a sesame seed when they first settle in.

Bergdahl: Firefight recalled in search for missing soldier

Published on Mon, 11/14/2016 - 4:16pm
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FORT BRAGG, N.C. (AP) — A military officer testified Monday that he saw another soldier shot in the head during the 2009 search for U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who's accused of endangering comrades by walking off his post in Afghanistan.

At the same hearing, an Army judge also agreed to delay Bergdahl's trial by several months until May 15, 2017.

Prosecutors are arguing that two wounded soldiers' injuries should be allowed as evidence to show Bergdahl's disappearance effectively put other military members in harm's way.

Blackfeet close reservation waters due to mussel threat

Published on Mon, 11/14/2016 - 4:09pm

GREAT FALLS, Mont. — Blackfeet tribal leaders have closed reservation waters to all water craft due to the recent discovery of invasive mussel larvae in Tiber Reservoir, which is east of the reservation.

Fishing from the banks is still allowed. Nearby, Glacier National Park instituted a similar water craft ban last week.

Blackfeet Fish and Wildlife Director Dona Rutherford tells the Great Falls Tribune (gftrib.com/2eykiAP) the tribe plans to test reservation waters to make sure none have been impacted.

Upcoming session will focus on tightening state budget

Published on Mon, 11/14/2016 - 4:08pm

HELENA, Mont. — The upcoming session of the Montana Legislature will focus on tightening the state budget, and there will not be much money available for new initiatives, the incoming leaders of Republican legislative majority said Monday.

Republicans elected Sen. Scott Sales of Bozeman to be Senate president for the session that begins in January.

Timber interests welcome Trump win; environmentalists worry

Published on Mon, 11/14/2016 - 4:03pm

EUGENE, Ore. — When he visited Eugene last spring, Donald Trump promised to revive Oregon's timber industry, which for decades has been hamstrung by severe curbs against logging in federal forests west of the Cascades summit.

"Timber jobs (in Oregon) have been cut in half since 1990," he said during his May 6 stump speech to a revved-up crowd at the Lane Events Center. "We are going to bring them up, folks, we are going to do it really right, we are going to bring them up, OK?"

3 dead after multiple-vehicle crash in Flathead County

Published on Mon, 11/14/2016 - 4:02pm

KALISPELL, Mont. — Three Kalispell residents died and three others were injured in a weekend crash outside Kalispell.

Flathead County Sheriff Chuck Curry says the three-vehicle crash on U.S. Highway 2 on Saturday evening killed 43-year-old Edward Shawn Stefanatz, 44-year-old Tesa Marie Rein and 16-year-old Zachary Rein. All three were in the same vehicle and none were wearing seat belts.

Senate GOP leader says he asked Trump to back Keystone

Published on Fri, 11/11/2016 - 3:50pm
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LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Senate's top Republican said Friday he asked President-elect Donald Trump to move swiftly in approving construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, which has drawn strong opposition from environmentalists.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky told reporters he made the request during his Capitol Hill meeting with Trump a day earlier.

Children testify before sentencing in Kalispell abuse case

Published on Fri, 11/11/2016 - 3:33pm

KALISPELL, Mont. — The testimony of adopted children about being beaten, denied food and locked in a basement led a judge to say the abuse case sounded more like torture.

After hearing the testimony Thursday, District Judge Robert Allison delayed the sentencing of Amy Newman and Crystal Mears on two counts each of felony criminal endangerment, saying he wanted to look at the results of a family neglect investigation that led to Newman losing custody of the children.

Mears was investigated but did not lose custody of her two children.