Good morning and happy Get a Different Name Day. If you don’t like your name, today is apparently the day to change it.
Sorry about the late Buffet today; I’m having a busy morning. It’s a wet, snowy morning in the Flathead and the new Beacons are on the stands. And just in time for Valentine’s Day, it’s our official Love Edition, an issue with a number of stories focused on love, dating and relationships. I chronicled a night out in Kalispell, C-Falls and Whitefish, and met some very interesting folks out on the front lines of the dating wars. And Keriann Lynch writes about the valley’s active Baby Boomer Singles group, which has been meeting, mingling and having fun for nine years now. County Commissioner Gary Hall has sent a letter to Whitefish city officials urging that residents of the ever-controversial “planning doughnut” be excluded from the requirements of the city’s critical areas planning ordinance. And pawnshops and precious metal dealers in western Montana have seen a significant uptick in gold sales, as the economy and value of the dollar appear increasingly shaky.
Helena attorney and Democrat Jim Hunt made official yesterday his challenge to Rep. Denny Rehberg for Montana’s lone U.S. House seat, saying a moderately late entrance into the race will help voters focus on the issues and might help retain interest in the abbreviated race. A suspicious powder found at Kalispell Regional Medical Center last night turned out to be harmless silicone packing material. An independent consulting firm praised the staff of the Montana Board of Investment’s handling of last year’s investment panic that had several cities withdrawing millions from the state’s short term investment pool. And in Great Falls, the Department of Defense has approved a grant to study the economic impact of decommissioning Malmstrom Air Force Base’s 564th Missile Squadron.
And finally, this account of a blogger subjecting herself to a sonic-blasting crowd control device is a must-read. Ah, the sacrifices journalists make for a good story. Have a happy humpday.