Good morning and happy birthday Branford Marsalis.
On the Beacon this morning, Flathead County Commissioners voted to weaken neighborhood plans, and make clear that such plans do not override zoning designations. The search for a missing backpacker in Glacier Park has been scaled back, with no sign of the missing 27-year-old man from Kentucky. Copperleaf Chocolate Company in Whitefish has expanded into a larger downtown location. The adaptation of Shakespeare’s “The Tempest,” by Olympia Dukakis premieres tonight in Whitefish. A man wanted for a string of cabin break-ins in Polebridge has been arrested after spending nearly a week along the U.S.-Canadian border.
In state news, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama will meet with veterans and military families in Billings Wednesday, before heading south to Denver for his party’s national convention. Down at the DNC, Gov. Brian Schweitzer is, apparently, in his element, though he has a ridiculous quote in Sally Mauk’s dispatch about things he’d rather be doing. The perfect compliment to that story is, I think, Ed Kemmick’s hilarious Sunday column this week about mock TV commercials for Schweitzer’s re-election campaign. Despite a mild fire season in Montana, the U.S. Forest Service is scrambling to come up with $400 million to pay for its nationwide firefighting efforts. Vice President Dick Cheney’s visit to Bozeman this week has been canceled.
And finally, feel like you have just too much time on your hands? Check out this new sport of champions, extreme ironing. Have a great Tuesday.