Montana/Region

Idaho wildlife agency kills 17 wolves in Lolo Zone

Published on Wed, 03/18/2020 - 5:08pm

LEWISTON, Idaho (AP) — More than a dozen wolves were killed last month to help curb struggling elk populations in north-central Idaho, wildlife officials said.

The Idaho Department of Fish and Game announced Monday it killed 17 wolves in the remote Lolo Zone, the Lewiston Tribune reported. The zone includes part of the Clearwater National Forests and stretches to the Montana state line.

The agency has carried out wolf culling operations in the region for eight of the last nine years, officials said.

Crews work to restore services, clear trees after storm

Published on Wed, 03/18/2020 - 5:08pm

KALISPELL (AP) — Crews in northwestern Montana expected to spend at least the rest of this week restoring services to customers and clearing hundreds of trees downed by a recent storm. 

Thousands of people were left without electricity, phone and cable service Friday when wind gusts between 65 mph and 80 mph toppled trees onto utility lines, roads, vehicles and sheds,  The Daily Inter Lake reported.

Officials said they can’t give a precise time when all services will be restored in the Flathead Valley, particularly in the Bigfork and Ferndale areas.

Ex-official defends Colo. ski closure complaint

Published on Tue, 03/17/2020 - 5:27pm
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DENVER (AP) — Colorado’s governor and a state lawmaker criticized a former Florida lieutenant governor who complained that his vacation was ruined when Vail closed its ski resort due to concerns about the coronavirus. 

Former Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp tweeted his displeasure Saturday after industry giants Vail Resorts and Alterra Mountain Company said they would close dozens of North America’s most well-known resorts, including the iconic Vail resort in Colorado. 

Several MT cities shut down bars, restaurants

Published on Tue, 03/17/2020 - 5:21pm

HELENA (AP) — Montana’s cities on Monday began shutting down bars and restaurants, the latest major disruption of day-to-day life in an attempt to slow the spread of the coronovirus.

Health officials for counties that include the cities of Billings, Missoula, Bozeman, Butte and Helena announced restrictions to be implemented Monday afternoon and Tuesday. 

Wyoming governor: Life must go on despite virus measures

Published on Tue, 03/17/2020 - 5:20pm

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — Wyoming’s governor on Monday called for a thoughtful, longer-term approach to the new coronavirus that looks beyond a series of shutdowns.

On a day when Wyoming’s biggest ski resorts closed for the season and the University of Wyoming announced it was switching to online-only education for the rest of the semester, Gov. Mark Gordon said he didn’t want to minimize the threat.

2 more Idaho coronavirus cases announced

Published on Tue, 03/17/2020 - 5:20pm

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Idaho health officials say two more people have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number of residents known to be infected with the coronavirus to seven. 

One of the cases announced Tuesday was in a woman under the age of 50 in the Ada County region, and the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare said she had no known interactions with the other two cases previously identified in the area. 

Still, officials believed her case was likely travel-related, and said she had mild symptoms and was recovering at home in isolation.

South Dakota officials: 1 new virus case, 11 total

Published on Tue, 03/17/2020 - 5:19pm

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — One more person has tested positive for COVID-19 in South Dakota, bringing the state’s total to 11, officials said Tuesday.

The new case is in Minnehaha County, which contains Sioux Falls, the state’s largest city. 

Five of the people who tested positive for the coronavirus live in the county. The latest case is a woman in her 50s. 

All the positive cases have come from people who traveled outside the state and there is currently no evidence of it spreading in communities, officials said. 

Review calls for changes at MT State Hospital

Published on Mon, 03/16/2020 - 5:35pm

BUTTE (AP) — An independent review of a Montana State Hospital unit did not find significant patient care deficiencies, but recommended changes in the unit’s operations.

The review of the Spratt Unit at the hospital in Warm Springs recommended additional staff, restructuring and the potential use of an outside contractor to provide hospice services, The Montana Standard reported.

Accepting patients with “neurocognitive disorders,” including dementia, requires the institution to deliver skilled nursing care and inpatient psychiatric care, the report said.

State Shorts

Published on Mon, 03/16/2020 - 5:34pm

Man shot in Lewistown; suspect killed by officers in Dillon

LEWISTOWN, Mont. (AP) — A person of interest in a weekend homicide in central Montana has been shot to death by law enforcement officers in Dillon. 

Douglas John Foster, 47, was suspected in the shooting death of David Byron Sessions, 52, whose body was found early Saturday after someone called 911 to report a shooting in Lewistown.

Police were concerned that Foster might be trying to hide in unoccupied buildings along the Missouri River after the shooting.

Iditarod mushes on; fans being urged to skip finish in Nome

Published on Mon, 03/16/2020 - 5:19pm

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — As Iditarod mushers drove their dog teams across Alaska on Saturday, race officials scrambled to make last minute changes prompted by concerns over the new coronavirus, including asking fans not to fly to Nome for the finish.

Officials late Friday night urged race fans, especially those from out of state, to skip the finish this week. City officials in Nome followed most other Alaska cities in closing or limiting access to most public buildings in wake of the state’s first positive test, that of a man from outside the United States.