News you can use
News you can use
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HELENA — The Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks in the last six years has acquired 232,000 acres for state parks, wildlife management areas and fishing access sites. But Parks Division administrator Chas Van Genderen said his division is in a "terrible fiscal situation" trying to pay for maintaining new land and other properties the state already owned. The Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission last month refused Van Genderen's request to raise fees at some state parks, citing the economic downturn. Gov. Brian Schweitzer s...
HELENA — Dozens of residents in Helena were awakened by an earthquake overnight. The National Earthquake Information Center says on its website that a magnitude 3.8 earthquake happened around 12:52 a.m. Sunday. The epicenter was about 20 miles northwest of Helena. Thirty-five-year-old Jen Tomaskie was at the home of a woman in her care in Helena and felt the quake. She says the whole house rattled, and she and the woman both woke up. Tomaskie says, "It really felt like someone drove into the garage and it shook the house." H...
The Associated Press HELENA, — A Montana Department of Transportation public safety video that features a horse picking up a rider at a bar and intended as a metaphor to encourage drinkers to get a ride home is being taken literally in a state well known for its horse culture. Helena Police Chief Troy McGee says he's received many calls from residents wanting to know if riding a horse while under the influence is legal. McGee tells the Independent Record it is. Montana law carefully defines a vehicle, and excludes those r...
HELENA — The Montana Board of Medical Examiners says a bill intended to restrict who can get medical marijuana contains wording that will end up having the opposite result and increase eligibility. Board members tell the Independent Record that House Bill 68 as written creates a "laundry list" of qualifying medical conditions that would increase medical marijuana use. Dr. Kristin Spanjian of Billings says the bill lists "inflammatory or degenerative arthritis" as a problem that qualifies. Spanjian said Friday that probably 4...
TUCSON, Ariz. — Rep. Gabrielle Giffords condition is improving and she is now in serious condition at a hospital after being shot in the head about a week ago. The University of Arizona said in a news release Sunday that the congresswoman is continuing to do well. The release says her condition changed from critical to serious because she is no longer on a ventilator. She is breathing on her own. Giffords was one of 19 people shot at a Safeway store Jan. 8. Six people were killed. TUCSON, Ariz. — Rep. Gabrielle Giffords con...
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Former Haitian dictator Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier returned Sunday to Haiti after nearly 25 years in exile, a surprise and perplexing move that comes as his country struggles with a political crisis and the stalled effort to recover from last year's devastating earthquake. Duvalier, wearing a dark suit and tie, arrived on an Air France jet to hugs from supporters at the Port-au-Prince airport. He was calm as he was led into the immigration office and did not immediately make a statement to a w...
Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — As lawmakers shaken by the shooting of a colleague return to the health care debate, an Associated Press-GfK poll finds raw feelings over President Barack Obama's overhaul have subsided. Ahead of a vote on repeal in the GOP-led House this week, strong opposition to the law stands at 30 percent, close to the lowest level registered in AP-GfK surveys dating to September 2009. The nation is divided over the law, but the strength and intensity of the opposition appear diminished. The law e...
Cheri Lynn (Heimbigner) Larson Cheri Lynn (Heimbigner) Larson, 47, a Chester native who served in the U. S. Army from 1990 to 1997 and was presently a loving mother and homemaker, died at her home in Laurel from complications of breast cancer on Monday, Dec. 12. Her memorial service will be 11 a. m. Tuesday, Dec. 20, at Our Savior's Lutheran Church in Chester. Following burial of ashes in the Chester Cemetery, a reception will be held at the church. Arrangements are by Rockman Funeral Chapel in Chester. She is survived by...
HELENA (AP) — U.S. Sen. Jon Tester's plan for more logging and wilderness areas in Montana again appears doomed by partisan differences accentuated by his heated 2012 Senate race with U.S. Rep. Denny Rehberg. Tester, a Democrat, has been trying to attach his Forest Jobs and Recreation Act to the year-end congressional budget deal. But Rehberg, a Republican, opposes the measure and says he is making sure House leaders won't accept it. Rehberg is challenging Tester in a race that is already among the most watched in the country...
In a startling turn of events indicative of the socio-economic turmoil of these modern times, the Occupy movement has moved north, farthest north in fact, where Santa's elves are spearheading an Occupy North Pole protest. A growing number of elves have been camping out in Biscotti Park, a short walk from ground zero for the protesters: Santa's Workshop. The encamped elves are sleeping in a makeshift village of igloos, yurts and ice castles while mounting their protest against...
Laurel — Hi-Line veterans, people who served in wars from as long ago as World War II, sometimes have to go to Helena to receive the medical treatment they need. It's not easy for them to get there. So the Disabled American Veterans has a van that brings people to Fort Harrison. But the van has seen better days, and it's time to get a new one. The community has rallied to help pay for the van. The latest to contribute to the cause is Triangle Communications/Hill County Electric Cooperative and the Havre Lions Club. This c...
Mayor Tim Solomon will ask City Council Monday to ratify his appointment of Kirk Fitch of Maricopa, Ariz., as Havre police chief. Fitch officially retired Thursday as deputy chief in Maricopa, a fast-growing city about 30 miles south of Phoenix. Fitch was a founding member of the police department in the city, which grew in population from 1,400 in 200 to about 37,000 people now. Prior to taking the Maricopa job, he was a Phoenix police officer, where he received the Medal of Valor. He won the commendation after he was shot...
Blue Pony Sammy Evans (left) tries to steal the ball during a Central A girls basketball game Friday night at the Havre High gymnasium. Havre High's Rydell Ruff shoots over a Livingston defender during a Central A boys basketball game Friday night in Havre. The Havre High girls basketball team picked up its first win of the young 2011-12 season by beating back the Livingston Rangers 65-39 Friday night at the HHS gymnasium. The Ponies got 13 points from Sammy Evans as they improved to 1-2 on the season. Friday night also saw...
WASHINGTON — Entering 2012, President Barack Obama's re-election prospects are essentially a 50-50 proposition, with a majority saying the president deserves to be voted out of office despite concerns about the Republican alternatives, according to a new Associated Press-GfK poll. Obama's overall poll numbers suggest he's in jeopardy of losing, even as the public's outlook on the economy appears to be improving, the AP-GfK poll found. For the first time since spring, more said the economy got better in the past month than s...
It won't be long before the 2012 NFL Pro Bowl rosters will be announced. Whether former Havre Blue Pony Marc Mariani will be on that list for a second straight year is anybody's guess, but over the last six weeks, no one in the AFC is probably more deserving than Mariani. The second-year Tennessee Titan wide receiver and return specialist got off to a slow start in 2011. Mariani was hampered, seemingly more than ot Tennessee Titans receiver Marc Mariani returns a kickoff...
The Sam Houston State Bearka AP Photo Montana's Sam Gratton scores a touchdown during last Friday's FCS quarterfinal game against Northern Iowa in Missoula. The Grizzlies meet the Sam Houston State Bearkats tonight at 6 in the FCS semifinals. ts are undefeated, ranked No. 1 in the Football Championship Subdivision, they've won 16 straight games dating back to 2010 and are coming off a nationally-televised blowout win over a very good Montana State team in the FCS...
The Havre High swim teams are already headed for the end of the first half of the 2011-12 season. And by the time the Christmas Break ends, the Blue Ponies will only be a month away form the Montana State Swimming Championships. But before they get to Christmas Break, the Ponies will have a busy weekend in the Great Falls High Pool in Great Falls. Today, Havre will compete in a dual meet with fellow Class A power Hardin, as well as the Great Falls Bison and CMR Rustlers. On...
The Havre High boys basketball team is remaining positive. The Blue Ponies went 0-2 in their opening weekend, but know the season is a long one, and that if they continue to improve things will get better. And the Central A Blue Ponies (0-2) know that this weekend could be the start of a positive turnaround. Tonight the Ponies will host the Livingston Rangers at 5 p.m. and Saturday the Ponies will host the Belgrade Panthers at 2 p.m. Both conference games will take place at the Havre High gymnasium. But as much as the Ponies...
The Havre High girls basketball team is young, but last weekend they made big strides that are hoping to build off of. Last weekend the Central A Blue Ponies (0-2) dropped their first two games of the season. Malta beat the Ponies 48-45 and CMR beat the Ponies 57-52. But despite the losses, the Ponies played very well. They executed a lot of things right and looked competitive right out of the gate. Hopefully that play and improvement continues this weekend, when the Ponies host two conference opponents. Tonight the Ponies...
MSU-Northern's Laci Keller (left) is fouled in the act of shooting during Thursday night's Duck Inn Classic game between the Skylights and Hope International in Havre. The Skylight won and will play again Saturday at 4 p.m. against Minot State. The Montana State University-Northern women's basketball team didn't play its best game by any stretch of the imagination, and on the flip side, the Hope International Royals were relentless for 40 minutes. Montana State...
With the formal end of the war in Iraq, Montana's U. S. senators called on all to honor the troops returning home and still abroad, and to ensure they have opportunities and services, and urged speeding up the return of U. S. soldiers from Afghanistan. Thursday marked the formal end of the U. S. war in the Middle-Eastern country, with the last of the U. S. troops scheduled to be home by the end of the month. "While we celebrate this long-awaited homecoming, may we never forget our fallen troops who made the ultimate...
Montana's senior senator has again called on the U. S. Department of Labor to use caution when looking at regulating child labor on U. S. agricultural operations. Baucus sent a letter to Labor Secretary Linda Solis Wednesday urging the department to "exercise restraint and avoid sweeping regulations that would disrupt the operation of family farms across the nation. " Department of Labor spokeswoman Sonia Melendez said Wednesday that no time has been set for the issuance of the final rule on the matter. At issue are proposed...
The U. S. Postal Service will delay the closing of 252 mail processing centers and 3,700 local post offices until mid-May. In a statement Tuesday, the agency said it would hold off on closings by several weeks to give Congress more time to pass legislation that would give it more authority and liquidity to stave off bankruptcy. The Postal Service is forecast to lose a record $14.1 billion next year. The agency said last week it had planned to begin closing processing centers as early as April and to close some post offices...
For the second time this year, the airplanes flying into the Havre City-County airport will be sporting a new name. It's not a new company that will be getting the Essential Air Service subsidy, as it was this spring, but a "rebranding" by current service provider Gulfstream International Airlines. Gulfstream announced this week that it will be referred to as Silver Airways, with a new logo and new planes, starting on Thursday. The change is a part of the airline's plan to recoup from its bankruptcy, filed last autumn. As a...
Havre Daily News/Nikki Carlson People line up along 1st Street as area law enforcement officers and agents wail the sirens on their vehicles as they drive through Havre Thursday evening to Chinook in honor of Blaine County Undersheriff Pat Pyette. Pyette died Wednesday after being struck by a vehicle while directing traffic on U.S. Highway 2 east of Chinook. In the day after Blaine County Undersheriff Patrick Pyette died, all of the respect and admiration he earned in his life came pouring in from family and friends,...
