Montana/Region

Montana man pleads no contest to neighbor's shooting death

Published on Wed, 05/18/2016 - 3:29pm

HELENA, Mont. — A Montana man who pleaded no contest to negligent homicide in the October 2013 shooting death of his neighbor has been given a 20-year suspended prison sentence in an agreement with prosecutors.

The sentence says he may not handle firearms or travel within 10 miles of the rural subdivision where prosecutors say he threatened his neighbors and locked gates in an ongoing land access dispute.

Prosecutors drop assault charge against man shot by police

Published on Wed, 05/18/2016 - 3:28pm

KALISPELL, Mont. — A Montana judge has dismissed a charge of assault on a peace officer that was filed against a military veteran after his defense attorney argued Kalispell officers did not give him enough time to react to an order to drop his weapon before shooting him.

Police were called to Ryan Pengelly's house on Jan. 13 to a report of a suicidal and homicidal woman. Officers were trying to take his mother into custody when she yelled. Pengelly has said he was asleep when he heard the commotion and grabbed a rifle.

Montana sets up 13 satellite voting offices for tribes

Published on Wed, 05/18/2016 - 3:26pm

HELENA, Mont. — Montana's secretary of state has announced that more than a dozen satellite voting offices have been established on the state's American Indian reservations ahead of the June 7 primary election.

The Great Falls Tribune reports the 13 offices will serve six tribal nations in nine counties. The announcement Tuesday comes after tribal leaders called on Secretary of State Linda McCulloch last year to open the offices to ensure American Indians had equal access to voting.

Condon's only grocery store, gas station burns down

Published on Wed, 05/18/2016 - 3:24pm

MISSOULA, Mont. — An early morning fire destroyed the only grocery store and gas station in Condon, a town of about 350 along Montana Highway 83 between Seeley Lake and Swan Lake.

Missoula County officials say the fire at Mission Mountains Mercantile was reported just before 12:30 a.m. Wednesday.

Deputy Bob Purcell tells KGVO-AM that firefighters did a good job of keeping the fire away from the gas pumps, two propane tanks outside the store and the power lines above the building.

Disease's spread blamed on elk, not bison or feed grounds

Published on Tue, 05/17/2016 - 3:05pm

BILLINGS, Mont. — Researchers say Montana elk are to blame for an animal disease spreading into new areas around Yellowstone National Park.

The finding disputes conventional wisdom that said park bison and wildlife feeding grounds in Wyoming were responsible.

Scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey and other institutions traced transmissions of the disease brucellosis following a recent spike in livestock infections.

US judge strikes down Montana campaign contribution limits

Published on Tue, 05/17/2016 - 3:02pm

HELENA, Mont. — For a second time in four years, a federal judge has ruled that Montana's campaign contribution limits are unconstitutional.

Tuesday's ruling by U.S. District Judge Charles Lovell could open the gates to a flood of money just three weeks before the state's June 7 primary.

The ruling, which came a day after Lovell announced he would decide the case without holding a trial, was a clear setback for the state's Commissioner of Political Practices, who defended the strict limits that voters enacted in 2011.

63 Indian reservations join land program

Published on Tue, 05/17/2016 - 3:01pm

BILLINGS, Mont. — U.S. officials on Tuesday added 63 American Indian reservations to an initiative that seeks to return millions of acres of reservation land to the control of tribes and warned that the $1.9 billion program is running out of money.

Reservations in 16 states in the West and Midwest are joining the Interior Department's "Land Buyback Program."

The Associated Press obtained details in advance of a planned public announcement.

Wildfire-fighters warn 2016 could be bad in California

Published on Tue, 05/17/2016 - 3:00pm

California could face a dangerous and difficult wildfire season in 2016 despite a relatively wet winter, federal officials warned Tuesday.

Most of the rest of the nation is expected to see an average summer, but even that means thousands of wildfires, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said after a briefing from the U.S. Forest Service, which is part of his department.

A five-year drought has left 40 million dead and dried-out trees in California, including 29 million that died last year alone, Vilsack said.

Commission recommends increased funding for child protection

Published on Tue, 05/17/2016 - 2:59pm

HELENA, Mont. — The Division of Child and Family Services is facing an alarming caseload increase with inadequate resources and training, causing staff to burn out and quit, the Protect Montana Kids Commission found after a six-month study of the agency.

The commission is recommending the legislature increase funding for child protection and for the court system, prosecutors and public defenders' offices to help handle the increasing number of child abuse cases.

Powell hospital files for bankruptcy to deal with lawsuits

Published on Tue, 05/17/2016 - 2:58pm

POWELL, Wyo. — Officials say the hospital in Powell has sought bankruptcy protection in response to about 20 lawsuits over surgeries performed by an orthopedic surgeon who used to work there.

The Powell Tribune reports that Powell Valley Healthcare's board of directors approved filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Monday. The board said in a statement the lawsuits from former patients of Dr. Jeffrey Hansen prompted the bankruptcy filing.

In court filings, Hansen and the hospital have denied any wrongdoing or negligence.