Good morning and happy birthday to John Lennon.
On the Beacon this morning, Myers Reece previews the songwriters’ showcase at Red’s, providing a venue for the valley’s best up and coming singers and songwriters. The timber industry in Western Montana is hanging on despite the toughest market conditions most workers in the industry have ever seen. The man who drowned accidentally in Flathead Lake and whose body was found Monday morning was identified as 43-year-old George Boss Jr. A Libby man sold an antique pistol for $920,000 at a Maine auction. And Beacon columnist Bill Schneider offers advice for hunters heading out this weekend who want to encounter game, but not grizzlies.
A federal judge issued a scathing criticism of the GOP challenge of 6,000 voters in Democratic counties and set a hearing for Oct. 14. Montana ranks No. 6 in a list of states with business friendly tax policies. Montana once again shows a large projected general fund budget surplus of $1 billion for legislators to work with in the next session. The U.S. Small Business Administration’s Montana District Office launched a hotline for small business owners concerned about the national economy. The state will offer eight tracts of environmentally sensitive land along the Rocky Mountain Front for oil and gas leasing. Moonlight Basin Ranch is laying off employees because of the bankruptcy of the ski resort’s primary lender, Lehman Brothers Inc.
And finally, check out this story on one of the most amazing private libraries anywhere, with everything from a Sputnik satellite to FDR’s plan to win World War II. And have a great – stay warm!