Good morning; on the Beacon today, the original founders of the Backcountry Horsemen of the Flathead reflect on the nationwide expansion of their organization. A handful of citizens have raised questions over a private online forum used by the committee rewriting the Lakeside neighborhood plan, calling it secretive and illegal. At the Western AA divisional tournament in Missoula over the weekend, the Glacier High school boys track team cruised to a first-place finish. Kalispell radio host John Stokes is contesting a motion by the federal government forcing him to change his bankruptcy filing from Chapter 11 to Chapter 7, which would force him to sell off his assets in order to pay off his debt. Plum Creek is establishing an annual scholarship for a Montana high school senior that will provide $5,000 for the first year of study. And Mark Riffey rattles off some easy-to-make social media mistakes that small businesses should avoid.
Roughly 90 percent of economists believe the recession will end this year, though the recovery may not be smooth. Montana’s two universities want the Board of Regents to approve tuition increases for out-of-state students and fee increases. The Missoulian reports on the reaction of UM professors to the nomination of Sonia Sotomayor for the U.S. Supreme Court. U.S. Sen. Jon Tester updated Bozeman area residents on the prospect of reviving the Hiawatha passenger rail line across southern Montana yesterday. And management at Troy Mine has allowed warnings of a possible shutdown to expire.