Good morning.
Tea Party Protesters are passionate, but some rallies lacked focus. Kalispell City Council voted again in favor of locating a prerelease center on the south side, and a man who escaped from a Missoula prerelease center was arrested in Kalispell. A Flathead High graduate and UM student will compete in the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association national finals in Murfreesboro, Tenn. Plum Creek Timber Co. has eliminate 39 more jobs in the Flathead. Polson’s marathon search for a city manager settles on three finalists.
In state news, court documents accuse Tim Blixseth of “looting” the Yellowstone Club, using loans for the club for his own personal gain. Lawmakers in Helena are mired in a budget stalemate that they must break by Monday or face a special session. Lawmakers may block an amendatory veto by the governor to delay a bill to expand the number of district judges in certain Montana counties, including the Flathead. And a Missoula biodiesel company is forfeiting its commodities license after failing to pay farmers for oilseeds grown last year. And a section on black history has been added to the Montana Historical Society’s Web site.