Good morning and happy birthday to the Hova!
On the Beacon this morning, the Nov. 21 Mountain Villa fire is exhausting the local Red Cross office’s ability to provide relief, and points out the necessity of renters insurance. Investigators are searching for the cause of a Wednesday morning fire that decimated the old Echo Lake store near Bigfork. It does not look likely that Whitefish Mountain Resort will be able to open this weekend for skiing off of Chair 7. Myers Reece has a fantastic profile of four local teens training to become professional video gamers. Beacon columnist Wild Bill Schneider points out how fees on National Forest lands have been discouraging public visits since implementation in 2001.
Brian Schweitzer will be the next chairman of the Democratic Governor’s Association. Missoula County officials will pay a $490,000 settlement after the abuse of a mentally ill inmate in 2006. The population of Montanans 65 and older will double by 2030, according to a new report, creating complications for all kinds of public funding needs. The deadline to raise $13 million has been extended for supporters of a new state history museum at the site of the old mall in Helena. So far, backers have raised $100,000. Carbon County Attorney Robert Lynum Eddleman and a woman face federal cocaine charges. And the Great Falls Tribune has an interesting look at how Montana’s two Democratic U.S. senators are moving up in seniority.
And finally, a Montana researcher had a hand in the discovery of the world’s oldest pot stash, found in China’s Gobi desert. Have a great day.