Good morning and happy Leap Year Day.
Our top story on the Beacon today looks at how an economic downturn could affect endowments at colleges in Western Montana, thus decreasing the amount of financial aid those schools can offer. The sentencing hearing for a Kalispell man accused of two counts of vehicular homicide has been postponed. A couple from Vancouver, Wash. were killed in a head-on collision near Hot Springs Thursday. Citizen guest columnist Kip Willis hammers the county commission for its gravel policy. And a rambunctious and very drunk man makes a return appearance in the Police Blotter.
Gov. Brian Schweitzer was in Great Falls at 2 a.m. this morning to see off a fighter wing of Montana’s Air National Guard as they deployed to Iraq. Also in Great Falls, the proposed coal-fired Highwood Generating Station continues to run into problems, as several groups are accusing its air quality permits of being invalid. A long time Helena attorney may decide to run against Attorney General Mike McGrath for chief justice of the state Supreme Court. And the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service wants to expand habitat for the threatened Canada lynx.
And finally, in Italy, authorities broke up a ring of criminals building fake Ferraris and selling them for a fraction of the price of an original. Sadly, the counterfeit Ferrari still costs more than my Dodge. Have a great weekend.