Good morning and happy National Open an Umbrella Indoors Day.
On the Beacon this morning, our top story details a movement by a Bozeman conservative state lawmaker to target moderate incumbent Republicans in primary elections. Keriann Lynch reports that the county is preparing to shut down the Marion trash collection site, and may close down several other frequently used trash sites around the valley. Investigators said yesterday the Evergreen toddler fatally shot last week wasn’t holding the gun when she died, as was previously believed. In Whitefish, Great Northern Cycles is holding a mini-camp for bicyclists eager to take advantage of the warming weather. Down in Bigfork, the Little Guys Wrestling Program is resurrecting the sport after the high school dropped it. And Beacon columnist Bill Schneider gets into some of the more emotional objections to the recent wolf delisting.
U.S. Sen. Max Baucus, D- Mont. joined with Republican Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa to look into the finances of so-called “prosperity” preachers around the country. And Baucus and U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., are butting heads with the Department of Homeland Security over the deadline for federal Real ID rules. The five candidates for state superintendent of public instruction will debate in Helena April 3. And in Dillon, the bust of a large marijuana growing operation is drawing the attention of medical marijuana advocates.
Finally, while we seem to have most of this winter’s snow behind us here in the Flathead, Canadians – still receiving heavy snowfall – are succumbing to “snow rage,” fighting over snow clearing and parking spaces. Have a great day.