Good morning and happy birthday to one Donald Fauntleroy Duck, who debuted in Wise Little Hen 74 years ago. “Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!”
On the Beacon this morning, there’s a story about Montana delegates. Montana Dems will send 17 delegates who support Barack Obama and eight backer of Hillary Clinton to the Democratic National Convention. Myers Reece writes about a Whitefish woman who is starting an online artisan business, Quilt Keeper. The trial for a Kalispell man accused of driving drunk and causing a 2006 crash that killed a motorcycle rider is scheduled to begin today. And despite rainy weather, about 60 bikers participated in this weekend’s criterium in Whitefish.
A federal judge will begin hearings today to determine how much he thinks the government should pay out, in a case that began 12 years ago when a group of Native Americans sued the government, saying Washington had cheated them out of profits from land royalties. Agriculture Undersecretary Mark Rey says he will answer this week to Montana counties concerned about his closed-door talks with Plum Creek Timber Co. and a controversial road easement amendment.
And finally, this true-life story has all the makings of an Indiana Jones movie: divers swept out to sea, shark-infested waters, an uninhabited island and an aggressive Komodo dragon. Happy Monday.