We’re high on the Senate District 25 race (it could be the most expensive in the state’s history) and were low on Macy’s in our weekly news index of what’s up, down and in between…
HIGH
POLSON – The city on the lake is using federal grants to launch an aggressive new recycling program.
S.D. 25 RACE – In an otherwise slow election year, this race between Democratic challenger Kendall Van Dyk against incumbent Republican Roy Brown for this Billings district is shaping up as a doozy.
LOCAL COACHES – Three high school coaches were honored as the best in the state for fall sports: Terry Nelson for Whitefish boys golf; Richard Menicke for C-Falls boys cross country; and Bill Brist for Whitefish girls cross country.
NATIONAL GUARD – The Hamilton-based 230th Vertical Engineer Company of the Montana National Guard left Sunday for a 400-day tour in Afghanistan, to build facilities for the increased troops there.
BETWEEN
BRIAN SCHWEITZER – The governor has been frantically (and admirably) scrambling to trim whatever he can from state agencies and services to keep Montana in the black as the budget forecast plummets. Yet despite a pay freeze, news broke that 14 employees of his budget office received raises.
LOW
DRUNK DRIVERS – Some repeat offenders are avoiding severe penalties by refusing to blow into the breath analyzer, which is why county attorneys want to make it mandatory.
PUBLIC OPTION – It’s dead. As House and Senate Democrats enter into health care negotiations, a government-run health plan is not even on the table.
OIL AND GAS DRILLING – Interior Secretary Ken Salazar is introducing tougher rules for the awarding of oil and gas leases on public lands.
MISSOULA MACY’S – With the closing down of one of the retail anchors of downtown Missoula, a vacant building will serve as a reminder that even Montana’s most vibrant shopping districts are weathering hard times.