Good morning, and happy Frankenstein Friday.
It’s a brisk and booming news day in the Flathead. In an interview with the AP, Gov. Brian Schweitzer disclosed that Canadian officials have been working for years to get the sentence of one of Montana’s remaining death row inmates, a Canadian, commuted. The Montana High School Association has fined Bigfork High $50 and given it a reprimand for allowing a football player to practice without having a physical – the fine was issued over the collapse of Jeffrey Bowman, who died a week later and whose parents are currently in a dispute with Bigfork High over its report of the incident. Myers Reece previews the state football tournament coming to Columbia Falls, in which Whitefish and C-Falls will be competing. Editor Kellyn Brown reflects on how Whitefish, for all its divisive politics, still sets a good example for the rest of the valley when it comes to the community’s engagement in local politics. Becky Lomax writes up the Whitefish Theatre Company’s first play of the season – looks like a good one for the Halloween season. Stop the presses. Someone smashed my pumpkin.
In state news, Schweitzer is touting the prospect of a Democrat winning the presidential race in Montana – it’s all about gun rights, according to the gov. A Terry rancher was ordered to pay $15,000 in restitution for the unintentional poisoning of 3 bald eagles. In Congress, the latest incarnation of a bill to expand children’s health insurance passed the House, though again, it lacked the votes necessary to override a presidential veto.
Finally, in yesterday’s Washington Post, conservative columnist George Will teed off on none other than the good old University of Montana. Will, a perennially harsh critic of campaign finance restrictions, wades extraordinarily deep into student elections at UM, lambasting school officials for its spending restrictions on student campaigning. It’s always good to quantify campaign expenditures in terms of how many Domino’s pizzas it can purchase. Have a great weekend.