Good morning; on the Beacon today, the Montana Highway Patrol honored the life of Chris Hoyt, a Polson officer who drowned over the weekend trying to rescue his dog. Local rental companies say instead of the boost in business you might expect during a housing downturn, they report higher turnover rates, budget cuts and an overall drop in rent prices. Our new sports columnist Mick Holien writes about how the University of Montana football program is the Tiger Woods of the Big Sky Conference. And Warren Miller recalls a flight over the Pacific during World War II.
Attorneys and others involved in bankruptcy proceedings for Montana’s ultra-exclusive Yellowstone Club have requested more than $10 million in fees and expenses — including some charges billed at more than $900 an hour. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said Thursday that politics did not influence the decision to spend millions of dollars in stimulus money on little-used border checkpoints – like those in Montana – while passing over higher-priority projects. In what is a highly unusual move, wolves killed 120 sheep at the Rebish/Konen Livestock Ranch south of Dillon last week. Democrats meet in Bozeman this weekend for a convention to pick new leaders and hear from their leaders.