Good morning and happy birthday Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart!
On the Beacon today, two fugitives who escaped from a jail in Superior over the weekend have been apprehended. The recession has complicated Whitefish’s plans to build an emergency services center. Flathead County Commissioner Joe Brenneman’s bill to allow unincorporated communities to form villages isn’t gaining much traction in the Legislature. A Ronan woman has been arrested after her husband was found stabbed multiple times.
Montana’s unemployment rate rose to 5.4 percent in December, up from 4.9 percent in November. Smurfit-Stone Container Corp. filed for bankruptcy yesterday. A bizarre text message is circulating through Ronan saying a bar owner has a pool organized to bet on the date of President Barack Obama’s assasination – and the bar owner is furious. The stream access bill passed the House overwhelmingly yesterday. Legislative subcommittees began taking votes on certain budget issues, after Gov. Brian Schweitzer urged lawmakers to stop delaying some votes – though lawmakers denied Schweitzer had anything to do with their plans to begin voting. Senate Republicans killed a bill to set up guideline for carbon sequestration yesterday on a party line vote, and now plan to hold hearings on ways to streamline permitting for energy development projects. Sixty soldiers with the 189th General Aviation Support Battalion, along with eight Black Hawk helicopters assigned to the Montana National Guard, plan to head to Iraq this weekend.
And finally, no, this guy isn’t Batman, but he managed to crash land his car on the roof of a church in Germany. The pics are amazing. Have a great day and drive safely!