Good morning; on the Beacon today, several groves of quaking aspens in between Kalispell and Whitefish are being damaged by a long-horned beetle called the poplar borer. Polson’s city commission is mulling putting to a vote the adoption of a resort tax. And after a Flathead County Commission decision, Hootenanny Way is no more. Glacier National Park Superintendent Chas Cartwright says a study will be done to determine if health and safety hazards at abandoned mine lands in the park can be corrected. Kalispell Police Sergeant John Ortiz, who was named Montana’s Officer of the Year, has died after a year-and-a-half-long battle with pancreatic cancer.
Visits to national parks are up nearly 4 percent this year. The Idaho Department of Fish and Game Commission voted 4-3 Monday to let hunters shoot 220 wolves during a hunting season due to start in September. Some Montana senior citizens are pushing for a constitutional initiative that would take 10 percent of Montana’s share of oil and natural gas production taxes from the state general fund and deposit it into the older Montanans trust fund. The Ronan police department is investigating the death of a 50-year-old man after an altercation at a bar on Sunday night. And a Saco ranching family faces sentencing tomorrow for a long-running poaching scheme.