Montana/Region

State, federal agency seek damages for Yellowstone oil spill

Published on Fri, 10/28/2016 - 5:19pm

BILLINGS, Mont. — The state of Montana and U.S. Department of Interior have notified a Wyoming company that they'll seek compensation for damages caused by more than 30,000 gallons of oil that spilled into the Yellowstone River from a broken pipeline.

More than 90 percent of the crude was never recovered following the Bridger Pipeline Company accident in January 2015 near Glendive. The river was frozen when the break occurred and the spill temporarily contaminated water supplies for 6,000 people living downstream of the break.

Police officer shoots, kills man inside Montana hotel

Published on Thu, 10/27/2016 - 2:41pm
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BILLINGS, Mont. — A police officer shot and killed a 32-year-old Wyoming man in a hotel in Montana's largest city early Thursday after he allegedly turned on officers while holding a handgun, Billings Police Chief Rich St. John said.

It was the seventh fatal shooting by law enforcement officers since 2012 in Billings, which has a population of about 110,000 people. All of the prior shootings were ruled justified following coroner's inquests.

Helena man admits guilt in Glacier National Park standoff

Published on Thu, 10/27/2016 - 2:38pm

KALISPELL, Mont. — A Helena man has pleaded guilty to charges related to an armed standoff with National Park Service rangers that forced the evacuation of a campground in Glacier National Park.

The Flathead Beacon reports that 28-year-old Jesiah Richards pleaded guilty Wednesday to discharging a weapon and endangering other people in connection with the July incident.

Court documents say Richard fired a .44-caliber revolver through the roof of his tent on July 9 at the Sprague Creek Campground, which had been filled with people.

Credit union tells customers about possible security breach

Published on Thu, 10/27/2016 - 2:35pm

HELENA, Mont. — A southwestern Montana credit union has notified 135 of its members that some of their personal information could have been publicly accessible through its website between April 15 and June 30.

Rocky Mountain Credit Union President and CEO Ed Stofko says the information technology staff found a security issue with the website customers used to upload documents while applying for a mortgage.

Parents accused of abuse after 5-month-old baby's broken leg

Published on Thu, 10/27/2016 - 2:34pm

BILLINGS, Mont. — The parents of a 5-month old child are facing child abuse charges after taking the baby to a hospital emergency room with a broken leg and fractured ribs.

The Billings Gazette reports that 22-year-old Andrew Lewis McClure and 23-year-old Brianna Lynn McClure have each been charged with two counts of child abuse in connection to a July 2015 hospital visit.

The McClures brought their 5-month-old child to Billings Clinic in 2015 with a broken femur. Hospital staff also found the baby had healing rib fractures.

Montana official calls election rigging a conspiracy theory

Published on Wed, 10/26/2016 - 4:50pm
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HELENA, Mont. — The idea that next month's elections could be rigged is a conspiracy theory comparable to the U.S. government hiding aliens in Rowell, New Mexico, Elvis Presley faking his death or the 1969 moon landing being a hoax, Montana's secretary of state said Wednesday.

Secretary of State Linda McCulloch, a Democrat, sought to reassure voters that the state's elections won't be compromised after reports of stolen absentee ballots and people offering to deliver voters' ballots for them in at least three counties.

Man pleads not guilty to killing girlfriend's infant son

Published on Wed, 10/26/2016 - 4:49pm

BOZEMAN, Mont. — A southwestern Montana man pleaded not guilty Wednesday to deliberate homicide in the death of his girlfriend's infant son at a Bozeman motel last November.

Branden Moss, 21, of Clarkston, entered his plea before District Judge Holly Brown, who continued his bail at the $250,000 listed in his arrest warrant, the Bozeman Daily Chronicle (bit.ly/2eH7nsD ) reports.

Judge: Railway could be held liable if coal spills proven

Published on Wed, 10/26/2016 - 4:48pm

SEATTLE —€” A federal judge in Seattle has found that BNSF Railway could be held liable in a lawsuit claiming that coal spilled from trains pollutes waterways if environmental groups can show at trial that such discharges actually occurred.

Ruling in the case brought by seven environmental groups against the railroad, U.S. District Court Judge John Coughenour said Tuesday that coal particles and dust that fall directly into waterways from passing trains are "point sources" of pollution under the federal Clean Water Act.

Montana House race contrast: Navy SEAL vs Indian educator

Published on Wed, 10/26/2016 - 4:44pm

BILLINGS, Mont. — A decorated combat veteran warning about the threat of ISIS in America is being challenged for his U.S. House seat by a longtime educator who would become the first American Indian woman in Congress.

The race between Republican Ryan Zinke and Democrat Denise Juneau for Montana's only House seat reflects a broader divide playing out nationwide between Republicans focusing on foreign threats and Democrats honing in on domestic issues from education to the economy.

GOP candidate sinks $5.1 million into Montana governor's race

Published on Tue, 10/25/2016 - 4:34pm
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HELENA, Mont. — Bozeman businessman Greg Gianforte has now spent more than $5.1 million of his own money to fuel his campaign against Montana Gov. Steve Bullock, while the Bullock-backing Democratic Governors Association poured in another $1.5 million into one of the closest governor's races in the nation.

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